Saturday, January 25, 2014

Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac Review


"Years ago, seventeen-year-old Apache hunter Lozen and her family lived in a world of haves and have-nots. There were the Ones—people so augmented with technology and genetic enhancements that they were barely human—and there was everyone else who served them.

Then the Cloud came, and everything changed. Tech stopped working. The world plunged back into a new steam age. The Ones’ pets—genetically engineered monsters—turned on them and are now loose on the world.

Lozen was not one of the lucky ones pre-C, but fate has given her a unique set of survival skills and magical abilities. She hunts monsters for the Ones who survived the apocalyptic events of the Cloud, which ensures the safety of her kidnapped family. But with every monster she takes down, Lozen’s powers grow, and she connects those powers to an ancient legend of her people. It soon becomes clear to Lozen that she is not just a hired gun.

As the legendary Killer of Enemies was in the ancient days of the Apache people, Lozen is meant to be a more than a hunter. Lozen is meant to be a hero."

What a strange odd book. It totally reminds me of the Hunger Games, before Katniss was forced into the Hunger Games. It's a strange mixture of pre-Hunger Games Katniss and the Selection's caste numbers. Throw in the Hunger Game's Mutant Animals and the Native American's legends, and you get the Killer of Enemies.

I think that's an awesome way of summarizing this book. Of course, I'm slightly off.

Okay, I lied. I'm really off because I can't think of anyone who is like Lozen or a book which is like Killer of Enemies. Maybe I need to think a little more.

Anyway, the plot is hard to swallow. There's a few plot holes, but none were too big of a deal. I trotted along the pace of the book easily. Flashbacks and telepathy made the plot confusing. What's even worse was the freaky mutant birds. Apparently, Lozen, the main character, can also hear their thoughts, which makes the book even weirder.

It gets stranger.

Apparently, there's a freaky stalker who is stalking Lozen in her mind. I repeat, IN HER MIND. It's already creepy enough when someone is stalking you physically. But mentally? That makes this book seriously insane.

The caste system's details are slowly picked up. Lozen didn't really spend a lot of time glossing over the details of society. Instead, she focused much more on hunting and killer freaky mutant birds and animals, while her family is held as leverage. Lozen, who is a trained hunter, rarely thought about her family. She's more focus on her life, which seems to be just perfect for her character. 

Lozen, as I said before, is a skilled hunter, who lost her father and uncle. She is a prisoner to a society, which forces her to go out and hunt dangerous animals. For most of the book, she's a frozen robot, never moving in expression and more boring than possible. Even with her flashbacks and thoughts for her family, she's quite dull and dry. She doesn't have a lot of humor and is quite serious when it comes to practically everything. She even makes mutant birds seem boring, even though they talk in her head. It's something about the way she talks, which makes everything so boring. (And today isn't depressing Monday). 

The ending weirds me out. I have a strange and particular feeling that the Killer of Enemies plot was thrown in randomly. It comes in at the last minute, obviously a little late for the party. Too bad most of the drinks are gone.

Rating: Three out of Five 

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