This is a fun adventure that had me laughing out loud! I look forward to sharing it with my Grandson.
by Jeff Gunhus
- File Size: 322 KB
- Print Length: 197 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0988425904
- Publisher: Seven Guns Press (October 17, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B009SRYACA
Genre: Middle Grader, Adventure
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0
Book Description
Publication Date: October 17, 2012
If you're not a monster hunter, don't read this book!
Seriously, this book is not meant for you. By reading it, you run the risk of attracting monsters to your position and being attacked. So, unless you are willing to join the fight...just walk away.
Still here? OK, don't say I didn't warn you. Let me introduce myself. I'm Jack Templar and I'm an orphan.
Recently, I discovered that I came from a long line of monster hunters. You know, vampires, werewolves, zombies, you name it. Turns out there was some kind of truce between monsters and the hunters that kids under fourteen were off-limits. I didn't find out about all this until the day before my birthday. Yeah, you guessed it, my fourteenth birthday. So, all bets were off. The monsters were coming to get me.
Not only that, but I also found out that if monsters around the world could choose one human to kill, it would be me. Why? I haven’t a clue, but the hunters I've met talk about a prophecy and that they think I'm the One...whatever that means. I’d like to find out some day, but for right now, I’m just trying to stay alive.
If you want to hear a story that will scare you, gross you out and forever change the way you look at the world around you, then you came to the right place.
But, if you want to keep the illusion that the world is a safe and orderly place, then get out of here and stop wasting my time.
Do your duty, come what may.
JT
"Gunhus brings young readers a monster-filled romp...complete with action, cliff-hangers and surprise reveals." -Kirkus Reviews.
Review:
Jack Smith is on the eve of his fourteenth birthday when strange things begin to happen. The day before his birthday he wakes up and discovers muscles, strength and agility he didn’t have before. He is thrilled with this but then alarmed to meet a real vampire on his way to school. The strange thing is the monster recognizes him and threatens attack for his birthday.
Jack helps some friends by facing up to a bully in the lunch room. When he is called to the principal’s office he is faced with another monster... more than just the usual nasty lady. She also seems to know he will have an interesting birthday.
Later in the day Jack runs into a young girl, Eva, who introduces herself as a third degree hunter. She tells him that he needs to begin training and then has to explain that he is from a long line of monster hunters. He has been protected at sunset on his fourteenth birthday he becomes fair game. She is attacked by Harpies and Jack jumps in to protect her. Too bad she didn’t get to tell him that his fighting releases the monsters from waiting till the next day. Now the he has to fight off attacks without additional training.
There are surprising allies and foes as Jack, Eva and Jack’s young friends, battle their way through vampires, zombies, werewolves and other monsters. Through the day he learns his real name is Jack Templar and that he is believed to be a special hunter. His dream girl from school is used as bait to draw him to the Lord of the Creach, the head Vampire, who wants to slowly torture, then kill him. Although Jack might like to think it is a “very complex, very creepy, dream”, too bad it’s not.
The story is told by Jack as the narrator. It is filled with great humor and written in a tone and tempo suitable for middle readers but entertaining for adults too. There are a few typos and questionable grammar in a place or two but that didn't interfere with the entertainment. The reader is hooked from the very beginning with taunts of ‘be brave and read on or close the book and stay away from dark places.’ The attitude had me chuckling out loud! There is appropriate young boy humor including nose picking friends and lunch room bullies. There are lots of mishaps and a few tender moments.
Lots of questions remain as Jack survives his introduction to the dark world of monsters and sets off to Monster Hunter Academy which sounds like another fun adventure.
If you are prepared to face monsters and have fun doing it then grab this book and get started. And don't forget: "Do your duty, come what may."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of Jack’s friends, Will, spends a lot of time in detention:
He was constantly in trouble because his mouth ran full-time and typically went twice the speed of his brain. You know how sometimes inappropriate things come into your head but a little voice stops you from blurting it out because you know it might be rude? Well, Will didn’t have that little voice. Location 167.
I received the eBook for an honest review as part of a BookBlast Tour.
Jack Templar: Monster Hunter
Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits...until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.
As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.
Author Jeff Gunhus
Jeff Gunhus grew up in Cyprus, Greece, and Saudi Arabia where there was a distinct lack of television. He quickly found books were the gateway to incredible adventures, fascinating characters and unbelievable discoveries. Now, with five children of his own (all who watch too much television, in his opinion), he has enjoyed revisiting his old books and reliving those adventures all over again.
Kirkus Reviews
"Gunhus brings young readers a monster-filled romp to read at their own risk. In the first few pages, Jack, the storyteller and main character, warns readers not to read about these real-world monsters that would seem to only exist in fiction. The tone is set--sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek and likable; rooting for Jack is easy...Gunhus masterfully introduces fully realized characters with whom readers can connect almost instantly. The pacing is quick but not rushed, and events seamlessly progress, complete with action, cliff-hangers and surprise reveals. "
Amazon Reviews
Watch out Percy Jackson here comes Jack Templar
Move over Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, there's a new kid in town - Jack Templar, and he will take you on a wonderful adventure of good vs evil, with friends and enemies at every turn. The twists and turns keep the reader on a roller coaster of entertainment in the way of JK Rowling and Rick Riordan. ~ Penny Brein
Fast paced adventure through and through
Written for middle school aged students, this book is action-packed from the beginning and will hold the attention of young readers. Not only that, as an adult reader, it was hard to put down, so parents will enjoy it as an easy read. ~ bluejellybean
Kids will love it!
Not only will kids love it, adults will too! I don't want to give the plot away but this is a book worth reading. This book is creatively written drawing in the reader to be a participant in the story. There is lots of action with enough blood and guts to be interesting without being gross. Girls will like it too with the strong female role models and the hint of romance. Even though this is a children's book, I couldn't put it down. I will definitely be adding this to my classroom library. I am looking forward to reading the book in this series and sharing it with my students. Awesome book! ~ pixiep
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Book Trailer
WARNING
Yeah, you read it right. I’m a monster hunter. Back before I actually became one, I would have thought that sounded totally awesome. And don’t get me wrong, in a lot of ways it is. But most of the time, I’m either running for my life or hiding in the shadows, praying the monster chasing me doesn’t pick up my scent. And I’m almost always scared to death. In a few pages, I think you’ll see why.
But there are a few things I need to warn you about before I tell you my story.
First, this isn’t a cartoon. These are bloodthirsty creatures who will stop at nothing to kill. They are scary. Very scary. Second, the only way to stop them is to kill them first…and that gets gross and messy. Third, this is all real.
You think I’m kidding, don’t you? I can almost see you smirking as you read this. But this isn’t a joke. Monsters are real and the story I’m about to tell you really happened. If you’d rather walk through life believing that monsters are only found in books or on the movie screen, then you should shut this book right now and go do something else.
I give you these warnings because the story I’m about to tell you isn’t for everyone. Not everyone can handle it. The blood. The gore. The monsters.
This life was thrust onto me. I had no choice but to take up a sword and fight. But you can still walk away and pretend this dark world doesn’t exist. Or you can walk through the door that I’m about to open and find out the truth about the world around you.
But I warn you (and this is a big warning), if you read this book, if you learn about the monsters that roam among us and the hunters who fight them, if you decide to learn the truth, then you will become fair game for the monsters to chase.
Make sure you understand what I’m saying.
If you read this book, you will be part of this world and the monsters will come after you too. You will start to see things that no other humans can see. The shadows will move when you walk near them. The creatures of the night will seek you out, testing the doors and windows of your house, looking for a way in.
And, at some point, they will find you, just like they found me, and you will be forced to defend yourself.
So, think carefully before you turn the page, because once you do, there’s no turning back.
Ever.
Once a monster hunter, always a monster hunter.
See you on the other side.
If you’re brave enough.
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