Search - The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, Bk 1)

The back of the book hooked me into buying this book. The premise of the story is there is a veil that leads to a prison where demons and worse things have been hidden from our world. And there is only one hunter. One per generation ala Buffy. Max is dark to Buffy's light however. The tattoo's are really interesting and a great addtion to the story. They come alive and protect her.

However I must say that the story itself falls flat. I felt like I was either struggling to understand some secret vocabulary or I was bored and really didn't care. There are too many people/things doing mysterious things for mysterious reasons. And none of it really gets resolved in the end. It felt like a prequel novel to a more complete book. I will get the next one to see if it's better fleshed out since the idea of the book was so great.

On the whole though I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

First off... This is not the first in this series...that is why so many readers felt lost. The first story from this series is in an anthology called "Wild Things." You must read this story first and you will fully understand the The Iron Hunt.

Now....I completely agree with Linda C. This book was fabulous. It was refreshing and had a completely different feel to it than most of the books that I have read in the paranormal genre. It is very different from Liu's Dirk and Steele series. I can't wait to read the second book! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

"Silver smoke winds around my torso, peeling away from my ribs and back, stealing the dark mist covering my hands and lower extremities...tattos dissolving into demon flesh, coalescing into small dark bodies. My boys. The only friends I have in this world. Demons.

"I am a demon hunter. I am a demon. I am Hunter Kiss."


If you are looking for a soppy supernatural romance with a bitchy heroine and a alpha male love interest don't get this book! You, like some of the other reviewers, will be dissapointed.

This one took my breath away. The first person viewpoint is intense and startling. It's IS a little confusing, but it's meant to be. The reader must put the pieces together just like the heroine does. And this is no swooning heroine. She's not looking for a prince charming. She's got the world on her shoulders and demons at her back and she knows she'll win simply because she must. The description of the demons and other supernatural characters are guttural and poetic. Think more Dante's Inferno than Anita Blake.

If you're tired of bland prose and want something more etheral, more guttural. If you're tired of flighty heroines whose only determined quest is to sleep around. And if you're tired of heros who are full of the same annoying, macho blandness then you will like this book.

A new twist on the paranormal protector theme--worse than werewolves or vampires--demons preying on humanity!

From back cover: Silver smoke winds around my torso, peeling away from my ribs and back, stealing the dark mist covering my hands and lower extremities...tattoos dissolving into demon flesh, coalescing into small dark bodies. My boys. The only friends I have in this world. Demons.
I am a demon hunter. I am a demon. I am Hunter Kiss.

By day, her tattos are her armor. By night, they unwind from her body to take on forms of their own-demons of the flesh, turned into flesh. This is the only family demon hunter Maxine Kiss has ever known. It's the only way to live, and the very way she'll die. For one day her demons will abandon her for her daughter to assure their own survival--leaving Maxine helpless against her enemies. But such is the way of Earth's last protector--the only one standing between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veil. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment--and one man--changes everything.

I saw this on the book share bookshelf at work. It looked interesting enough so I picked it up and decided to give it a chance. I'm really glad I did. This is probably one of the most original stories I've read lately, and the main character is very likeable. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre you will enjoy this book.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Review: The book has an interesting premise - the main character is a demon Hunter, which is a hereditary position, passed from mother to daughter. Along with that role she gets demons that are bound to her. If she dies, they die. During the day they are tattoos on her body, protecting her from all harm. At night they peel off and help her fight the evil that lurks in the dark. Someday, out of self interest they'll abandon her in favor of her daughter and those that she's hunted will turn on her.

Unfortunately, the premise was all that was interesting. From the beginning it's clear that the author is trying to build tension for a big event at the end of the book. However, for that to work I have to care about either the characters or the world. The world is a modern setting, but we don't see much of it except for a homeless shelter and the bad part of town. I read 74 out of 305 pages and did feel connected to the main character at all. I just read a big confrontation between the main character and a demon, one where she expected to die. I found I didn't really care either way if she did, and was almost hoping that she would so that I could go read something else. The supporting cast were given very brief introductions that didn't really make me want to know more about them either.

The book reads a bit like the 2nd book in a series. It feels like you are supposed to know the characters, what they do and some of the world specific definitions already (like the non-standard use of "zombie").