Seeing the
names of three prominent genre figures on the cover of Hunter’s Run is certain to prompt a reaction: Gardner Dozois,
though a writer, is predominantly known as an editor of science fiction shorts;
Daniel Abraham has written one original fantasy series and has a second (less
original) underway, and George R. R. Martin (need I introduce him) is author of
the best-selling fantasy series on
the market. Coming upon the cover, it
would be easy for the young genre reader to think what lies beneath is a book
of triple the quality. The more experienced, however, may be curious how such a
veteran group might work together with a single premise—a science fictional
premise, at that. The answer: the novel
is both typical and atypical of the genre, and depending on approach vector
(aka expectation) along those two lines, will be considered worth the while or
not.
In a
fashion similar to Philip Jose Farmer’s To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Hunter’s
Run opens with a man, Ramon Espejo, discovering a strange alien object in
the remote mountains of the planet Sao Paolo, only to find himself floating in
a tank of fluid, disconnected from the world.
His lizard-like captors revealing themselves, he is given the classic
choice: death, or helping track down the policeman who had been following
Ramon, learned of the alien’s existence, and is now fleeing back to
civilization to inform everyone that mankind is not alone on the planet. Ramon siding with logic—and certainly no
friend of the government, he’s put on a leash by an alien calling itself
Maneck, and together the two head off in pursuit. It doesn’t take long, however, before bits of
knowledge are revealed that force Ramon wonder whether it is a policeman, or in
fact rather something more familiar that the two hunt.
The hunt
merely the vehicle, the main focus of Hunter’s
Run is Ramon Espejo. An anti-hero,
life burns inside him to the point drinking and fighting have lead him to
murder—the reason for his flight to the mountains. Objectionable, bull-headed, anti-social,
atavistic—Ramon’s interaction with not only Maneck his captor but the human
population at large is along primitive, uncivilized lines rather than those of
the classic hero of science fiction.
Making for an interesting character study, his turbulent on-again
off-again relationship with Elana, his continual quest for freedom in a world
whose laws are designed to confine him, the events leading to the murder, his
turbulent relationship with local law enforcement, and overall chip on his
shoulder make Ramon a difficult man to cheer for while he’s tethered to Maneck,
cursing captivity, and dreaming of escape.
The resolution of Ramon’s story no less certain, this marked difference
in story arc to the majority of science fiction is the single most intriguing
point of the novel. The three authors
should be commended on the manner he is developed and the differences in the
way he interacts with society in general throughout the development.
But for as
intriguing as Ramon’s character is, his interaction with specific characters
seems more perfunctory than in-depth.
The interplay with Maneck, while accomplishing its goal of drawing out
the animal dependencies and possibilities of humanity, nevertheless feels as
though it sells itself short, a significant amount of space remaining to carry
on the discussion. Likewise, Ramon’s confrontation with the man he and Maneck
are chasing likewise feels under-developed—more discourse needed to better
develop the relationship. As it stands, there is a slight feeling of
incompletion, as though it could have been taken further to the benefit of
theme.
While the
overall frontier/wild-west setting of Hunter’s
Run, as well as Ramon’s encounter with a technically advanced species,
nicely emphasizes the more primitive aspects of the man’s character, there are
some issues with plot. Firstly is said
technical enhancement. There is a
semi-logical impasse that arises in the following statement (taken from
Wikipedia) that summarizes plot impetus: “The
aliens… enslave Ramon using highly advanced technology, deciding that since he
is human, he can be used to track down and find the other intruder.” Heavily contrived, to say the least. It’s also fair to say, however, that once
this impasse has been swallowed, the narrative moves forward apace, leading to
equivocal scenes in the town of Fiddler’s Run late in the novel… But I digress.
In the
end, Hunter’s Run is not what anyone
seeing the three names on the cover could predict the story to be. No lines visible between the author’s
contributions (though I suspect Abraham put in the lion’s share of content),
the final product is smooth concept and prose-wise. An anti-hero the focal point, Ramon Espejo is
a rough-and-tumble guy, and his story accordingly coarse. His clawing at the world, sometimes meeting
soft meat and others hard bone, evoke a person everyone knows but do not like
to spend time with. The journey the
three authors take him on thus defies traditional science fiction, making the
book more interesting than a lot of the other familiar tropes used would have
it be. The plot at times convincing
(e.g. Ramon’s ultimate fate) and at others contrived (e.g. the initial plot
motivation), the result is a story hovering between the socially conscientious
and more entertaining works of science fiction.
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