The Beast Hunters

De: Christer Lende

Narrado por: Jonathan Johns

When a monster brutally kills her parents, Ara is saved by two beast hunters. Becoming their apprentice, she discovers serums, secret bestiary knowledge, and remarkable abilities—all to save unsuspecting souls from the same fate her parents suffered. But, terrifying creatures lurk everywhere and Ara must master the art of beast hunting quickly if she is to uncover the elusive beast plaguing the village of Cornstead.

©2021 Christer Aanestad Lende (P)2022 Christer Aanestad Lende

Interesting people against creative monsters

Perfect narration for the kind of story.
I really enjoyed the mystery.
Very creative monsters and a interesting cast of protaganists.
It did get a bit bloody at times.

Fun coming of age story

This is a great story for a road trip. It’s short enough that it can be listened to in a day and immersive enough to make the ride go by quickly. Can’t wait for the next story to come out!

I need more of this

The Beast Hunters is a joyful reunion with the fantasy genre. A gripping story about the lives of two beast hunters and their somewhat unusual companionship; the 17-year-old girl Ara. This story is full of unexpected twists and subtle hints that make the reader very curious about what is about to come, making it hard to stop reading. This is a world with lots of interesting monsters and a fun trio to follow. The author is great at creating good personalities and fun moments without trying too hard. I highly recommend this book.

Wonderful characters and storyline

In my opinion, the best part of this book is its characters and their interactions. They are as fleshed out as you could wish and I adore how their personalities bounce off each other.
Next best aspect is the story, as well as how good it is in expanding on the world in which it takes place.
My only critique is that the wording in the book occasionally goes from "I am totally immersed in this book" to a somewhat clumsy exposition dump in which the main character explains (rather than shows) how she feels or which event in her past she is reminded of. These moments sadly dragged me straight out of the plot, and I had to patiently wait for the good and convincing writing to take over again.
4 of 5 stars :) I eagerly await the next book in the series to experience the gang's next adventure and to see the evolution in Ara, Kendrick and Topper's characters.

Fun, simpler adventure like The Witcher

The Beast Hunters is a fun and straightforward adventure tale of a young woman out to find a purpose for herself after tragedy ends what life she thought she was destined for. The best aspects of the story are the worldbuilding, the interestingly unique beasts, the missions that the characters embark on, and the action and tension that keep it all together are executed effectively. Also, all of the threads that are opened are generally resolved by the end of the story, which was pleasantly surprising and satisfying since this was the first book in the series.

On the flip side, the dialogue is often rough, forced, and ill-fitting, the characters don't feel fleshed out (with a few exceptions), and combining these two aspects makes for a lot of melodramatic situations that stunted the progression. While I didn't love the character work, I enjoyed what they were doing as surrogates to hear about their exploits and travels. I think if the dialogue and character development improved, this would be a great story and would be admirably close to The Witcher in terms of quality storytelling.

The Witcher meets Fantastic Beasts meets YA

The narration by Jonathan Johns was solid, I enjoyed the voices he did and his pronouncements of all the monsters.

When a beast surprises Ara parents, they fall victim to the deadly attack. Ara is left with nothing and no one, and although her parents weren’t shining beacons of parenthood, that’s still a daunting reality to find yourself in for someone that’s not quite an adult yet. In enter the beast hunters to save the day. They were working another case, and therefore they were too late to save her parents. They take her under their wings, and while she’s traveling with them, they gain her trust and begin to teach her of the world and monsters around her. When they reach their destination of Cornstead, they are plunged into mystery, deception, and a bit of short-legged mayhem!

This read like a coming of age, young adult blend of The Witcher and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Like if Geralt was a little less gruff (a lot less) and the world wasn’t so dark. If Ciri wasn’t always gone and was instead more the focus. This world is described as being filled with dangerous monsters and beasts, many with cool and original names like Fantastic Beasts. However, with most of the story taking place within the walls of Cornstead, the reader doesn’t actually get to experience many. Instead, we receive an almost inspector’s apprentice mystery, where we learn only as clues trickle in. With that being said, it’s certainly in no way slow, it just took me by surprise.

Though the ending was a little rushed for me, as I did not feel fully connected to the trio of characters yet, I really do enjoy them. I liked how the author weaved a story that started with abusive parents and then gave us the rest of the story with understanding and accepting male protectors. Ara has to battle within to trust them, to let them in, and that continues on to the very last page. The town’s guard is displayed to perfectly play off of them with male toxicity and anger.

It fittingly felt almost like finishing The Sword of Destiny, where the Witcher shorts only leave you wanting more—as a book one, this is poised to do just that in the sequels.