Horror

Manhunt

Manhunt

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  • Create Date：2022-03-16 08:52:37
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gretchen Felker-Martin
  • ISBN：1250794641
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Summary

Y: The Last Man meets The Girl With All the Gifts in Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt， an explosive post-apocalyptic novel that follows trans women and men on a grotesque journey of survival。

Beth and Fran spend their days traveling the ravaged New England coast， hunting feral men and harvesting their organs in a gruesome effort to ensure they'll never face the same fate。

Robbie lives by his gun and one hard-learned motto: other people aren't safe。

After a brutal accident entwines the three of them， this found family of survivors must navigate murderous TERFs， a sociopathic billionaire bunker brat， and awkward relationship dynamics―all while outrunning packs of feral men， and their own demons。

Manhunt is a timely， powerful response to every gender-based apocalypse story that failed to consider the existence of transgender and non-binary people， from a powerful new voice in horror。

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Reviews

Liam James ，

Horrific in all the right ways。 I laughed， I cried， I felt nauseated and I was scared。 This is the future of the genre looks like。

Marie ，

The best thing about this book is the cover。 The title is Manhunt， but there is more violence against women than actual hunting of the zombified men。 I was so excited to read this book as I'm a huge fan of the zombie genre and was looking forward to getting into a post-apocalyptic world ruled by women。 I ended up dissapointed and had to force myself to finish the book。 I agree that representation matters and it was refreshing to have a book with diverse characters， but this book lacked depth。 It The best thing about this book is the cover。 The title is Manhunt， but there is more violence against women than actual hunting of the zombified men。 I was so excited to read this book as I'm a huge fan of the zombie genre and was looking forward to getting into a post-apocalyptic world ruled by women。 I ended up dissapointed and had to force myself to finish the book。 I agree that representation matters and it was refreshing to have a book with diverse characters， but this book lacked depth。 It thrives to be "edgy"， hiding behind needlessly graphic depictions of violence/gore and unnecessary sex scenes without adding to the storyline or character development。 。。。more

Melissa Pesu ，

Okay， don’t get me wrong: it’s so incredibly important to promote novels with trans characters AND to promote trans authors。 I just found this novel to drop off in the middle which sucked for me because I was vibing so hard！This story is so kick ass， I loved it in the beginning。 I thought， and still think， this book is unique and， despite my rating， I do hold it to a high regard for that reason。 The mc’s were easy to love and I enjoyed the world building。 I just wish I enjoyed it the whole way t Okay， don’t get me wrong: it’s so incredibly important to promote novels with trans characters AND to promote trans authors。 I just found this novel to drop off in the middle which sucked for me because I was vibing so hard！This story is so kick ass， I loved it in the beginning。 I thought， and still think， this book is unique and， despite my rating， I do hold it to a high regard for that reason。 The mc’s were easy to love and I enjoyed the world building。 I just wish I enjoyed it the whole way through！！It took me a couple of days to read since it does cover some heavy shit: TERFs & transphobia， and r*pe。 But， I thought it was approached in a way that wasn’t harmful so we love that。I feel weird about reviewing this since this book isn’t written FOR me， so feel free to ignore my words。 Although， I haven’t really said anything; let’s be honest。 。。。more

Mikah ，

A much better review than mine called this “the feel-bad classic of the decade，” which is probably the best description I’ve seen so far。 This book is truly A Lot。Manhunt works more as a trans-centric rebuttal to popular gender plague narratives than it does as an actual story， but it’s an engrossing and electrifying read if you can stomach it。 Incessantly horrifying and bleak。 Content warnings for basically everything。

Nina ，

Went into this really excited for the concept。 Unfortunately， didn’t feel like the book itself lived up to its potential， although it was pretty fast-paced。 Characters are flat， enormous deus ex machina late in the plot with a laughable understanding of computer science/engineering。 Writing really leans into splattercore， but by the third act the lack of variation in tone just felt dull。 Felt like more of just a revenge fantasy with the level of political analysis you might expect from a Twitter Went into this really excited for the concept。 Unfortunately， didn’t feel like the book itself lived up to its potential， although it was pretty fast-paced。 Characters are flat， enormous deus ex machina late in the plot with a laughable understanding of computer science/engineering。 Writing really leans into splattercore， but by the third act the lack of variation in tone just felt dull。 Felt like more of just a revenge fantasy with the level of political analysis you might expect from a Twitter screed， than a real narrative with any nuance about human motivation。 Somehow not a single cis woman seems to miss a man for any reason apart from their mating or breeding potential？… huh。 Definitely understand how this could be a cathartic read， but it wasn’t what I was hoping for。 Also， this is picky， but the shelf life of adderall （1 year） is shorter than the shelf life of spiro （3 years）。 There isn’t enough spiro in this world because of shelf life/expiration etc etc but every terf is snorting adderall like they’re a professional club kid？？ 。。。more

Geo Froggatt ，

I have never read Y: The Last Man， but I have always loved the premise and have wondered what would happen to trans people and people of different gender experiences during an apocalyptic plague that only effects a certain gendered part of the population， in this case men or people with high testosterone。 We begin with two best friends， Beth and Fran， trans women， trying to survive in New England。 They are manhunters。 For reasons I won't go into here， they kill the infected men and harvest certa I have never read Y: The Last Man， but I have always loved the premise and have wondered what would happen to trans people and people of different gender experiences during an apocalyptic plague that only effects a certain gendered part of the population， in this case men or people with high testosterone。 We begin with two best friends， Beth and Fran， trans women， trying to survive in New England。 They are manhunters。 For reasons I won't go into here， they kill the infected men and harvest certain parts of them。 Any time they are out hunting， they are in terrible danger。 There are not just infected men that pose a threat， but also bands of TERFs scouting certain areas， as well as other general apocalypse survivors。 Enter Robbie， who lives by his gun and one hard-learned motto: other people aren't safe。 After a brutal accident entwines the three of them， this found family of survivors must navigate murderous TERFs， a sociopathic billionaire bunker brat， and awkward relationship dynamics， all while outrunning packs of feral men， and their own demons。 Content warning for graphic transphobia， graphic rape， gore， animal death， suicide， brief antisemitism and self-harm。 There were definitely moments in this story that felt like it was just listing off trans feminist buzzwords， but I admire that this book doesn’t water itself down for anyone’s comfort。 I admit that this story sounds cheesy on paper and potentially like what a liberal feminist caricature of a young angsty trans teen on Tumblr would write （especially with certain pop culture references）， but Gretchen Felker-Martin does a great job at breathing life into this story and concept。 I admit that I am aware of the author’s bad behaviour online （and I’m not going to go into extensive detail about it here）， but I decided to continue on and read this book because I loved the idea of an own voices trans story in the horror genre， especially one with a post-apocalyptic setting。 I am a firm believer in separating the art from the artist （while occasionally acknowledging and analyzing a piece of art with the context of the artist’s identity）， especially since there are ways of reading and experiencing a book without monetarily compensating or supporting the author。 The writing style does feel similar to the author’s own Twitter tirades， but I feel like this energy charged the novel with something unique and it successfully translated into a distinctive atmosphere， tone and vibe。 This book won't be for everyone， not just because it's bleak， splatter horror， but because if you're not trans or know a lot of trans people and understand modern trans culture， it won't hit the same。 The entire book feels like the worst TERF hate spiral come to apocalyptic life。 You need to know TERF ideology and language。 You need to know about the trans experience beyond the surface level stuff。 I anticipate that a lot of people will come away from this book （or will abandon it partially-read） angry and/or confused because they just don't get it， and that's not the author’s fault。 As a cis man， I admit that this book will be more effective for trans people， but I think that anyone who loves a trans person or knows a trans person will find this story worthwhile。 I loved the unflinching gore because it successfully establishes the tone of this post-apocalyptic world。 There were moments where I struggled to move through the book， the pacing felt a little bit jagged at points and I didn’t quite connect with Fran or Beth until about halfway through the book， and I think that was because the events in Manhunt are quite over the top in their execution。 While I understand why， and that this is a mirror of the trans experience overall as opposed to being a realistic singular experience， at points it began feeling more like the author’s commentary and her own aggressions than it did a fictional piece of work。 While I would usually celebrate this choice， it was to a point where it felt disruptive。 Maybe this is just an example of something that I， as a cis man， cannot understand， but I think that this is an important factor to consider because it felt much more like it was telling me a point of view， rather than showing me。 I would have also liked a few calm moments to get to know the characters among all the aggression， especially as the characters are so morally grey that it doesn’t give you much time to really connect to them， or learn if the bad guys really have no redeeming features or complex depths when you look at them for the individual characters they are rather than the wider injustice and hatred they represent。 On the other hand， the feeling of never getting to sit down with the characters and get to know them initially reflects the post-apocalyptic and frantic nature of this world that we are dropped in。 The characters barely get time to relax and reflect because of their circumstances， so the reader doesn’t really get to either。 I appreciate that these trans characters aren’t watered down for mainstream audiences。 I like that they didn’t care to focus on using the mainstream “right” or “correct” language to describe themselves or their experiences and just said and expressed what felt right to them。 This made them feel more human and complex to me。 I loved the concept and premise but I ultimately felt like this story didn’t live up to its massive potential。 I could see this becoming a violent， gritty film or series， it’s incredibly cinematic and makes a lot of important comments on gender politics and what it means to be a woman。 It wasn’t always my cup of tea， but I think this book will prove itself very important for a lot of people， and I can see students reading and analyzing this book sometime in the near future。 I highly recommend this book for LGBT+ readers who want an apocalyptic story focused on trans experiences。 。。。more

Gill Friedlander ，

4。5 starsThis was absolutely fantastic。 A very on the nose metaphor but so well done it doesn't really matter how pointed it was。 A huge cast of characters that managed to all be， mostly， super well fleshed out。 I fell for them all， even the "bad" ones。 This tore me apart and ripped me to bits and then reminded me of the goodness that's out there， even when people are literally tearing each other limb to limb。 Excited to see what's next for Felker-Martin。 4。5 starsThis was absolutely fantastic。 A very on the nose metaphor but so well done it doesn't really matter how pointed it was。 A huge cast of characters that managed to all be， mostly， super well fleshed out。 I fell for them all， even the "bad" ones。 This tore me apart and ripped me to bits and then reminded me of the goodness that's out there， even when people are literally tearing each other limb to limb。 Excited to see what's next for Felker-Martin。 。。。more

Douglas Campbell ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was really excited to read this book。 I love apocalyptic horror and queer characters。 It’s fun to read gory content。 The first 50 pages or so were good。 Then it lost me and started to frustrate me。 There’s no depth to the main characters that isn’t expressed through self-hate and hyper sexuality。 I could not care about any relationships that “developed” on the page because all they did was have sex immediately upon meeting， or fantasized about having sex with everyone。 I see what the author wa I was really excited to read this book。 I love apocalyptic horror and queer characters。 It’s fun to read gory content。 The first 50 pages or so were good。 Then it lost me and started to frustrate me。 There’s no depth to the main characters that isn’t expressed through self-hate and hyper sexuality。 I could not care about any relationships that “developed” on the page because all they did was have sex immediately upon meeting， or fantasized about having sex with everyone。 I see what the author was trying to do with the fat character， but she didn’t succeed。 There’s only one fat character， and just the way her body exists is used as a gross out factor while she’s being used to advance the other characters storylines。 Another thorn in my side about this book is that the feral， XY-chromosome-having， monsters are just called ‘men。’ And yet the only transgender man in the book is also called a man。 And most instances of the word men and man used are describing the monsters。 If the author truly sees trans men as men， this should have been done differently。 It feels gross and incomplex。 There are plenty of inconsistencies in the writing。 It felt like a first draft。 Are there still enough animals to hunt and eat？ Or not？ The book says there are hardly any animals at the beginning， that the feral men raped and tore them all apart in hunger。 But then they show up plenty of times later， even a seagull is fine chilling in the middle of warfare and gunfire near the end， in order to be a bloody mess and feathers at the end of a gun。 At one point in the book， a character says there are no fish that haven’t been “boiled away by climate change，” and then later there are people eating and catching fish。 This makes no sense for the timeline of the story either， with it being around 2016-2018 when the plague was raging。 The less humans there are fighting wars and using oil， the less factories there are after a plague like the author describes， the earth starts to heal。 Less humans equals less climate change。 It’s not going to keep getting worse when there are hardly any corporate entities anymore to compound the damage。 The book isn’t worth the hype but still an interesting read especially if you want horror with trans characters。 Prepare for anatomical language that can cause dysphoria。 And plenty of SA throughout。 That’s a given though and not a reason to not pursue the book unless you are triggered by those things。 There are no happy or triumphant moments in this book， but there are a few cathartic ones。 After reading Manhunt， I suggest grabbing a light-hearted and fun YA novel to decompress， especially since the author of Manhunt doesn’t think adults should read YA。 Read whatever you want， with no shame。 And screw anyone who tells you to only read depressing and “meaningful” literature。 。。。more

Marvin Gärtner ，

Wow， I've honestly never read something similar before and I certainly took me two or three dozens pages to get into the book （and the narrative voice of Felker-Martin） but afterwards it was more than worth it and I finished it in less than 24 hours。 It's certainly not a book that's easy to read， not one that you can consume like so many other books。 It packs quite a punch， hits you straight in the face with its honesty， its roughness， its brutality， its emotionality。 This novel is pure art。 Wow， I've honestly never read something similar before and I certainly took me two or three dozens pages to get into the book （and the narrative voice of Felker-Martin） but afterwards it was more than worth it and I finished it in less than 24 hours。 It's certainly not a book that's easy to read， not one that you can consume like so many other books。 It packs quite a punch， hits you straight in the face with its honesty， its roughness， its brutality， its emotionality。 This novel is pure art。 。。。more

James McKinley ，

4。5/5

David ，

gory， gruesome， brutal， merciless。 an absolutely essential queer text。 f*ck TERFs forever。 buy this book！！

Katie ，

"Steve fucking Martin did not survive the apocalypse。" "Steve fucking Martin did not survive the apocalypse。" 。。。more

Ally Ang ，

Funny， disgusting， sad， horrific， sexy， tender。 I cried when I finished this book because I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters。

Shoshanna ，

I have never read a book quite like this before。 It's like someone thought， "What if there was a terrifying gender dystopia like Handmaid's Tale， but let's make it more terrifying， more violent， more funny， extremely sexy， and using a model of gender more based on hormones instead of body parts that includes trans people！？"I don't read enough books by trans women。 Some of the things characters think or say， I thought I was the only person who thought them until I read it。Highly recommended， but I have never read a book quite like this before。 It's like someone thought， "What if there was a terrifying gender dystopia like Handmaid's Tale， but let's make it more terrifying， more violent， more funny， extremely sexy， and using a model of gender more based on hormones instead of body parts that includes trans people！？"I don't read enough books by trans women。 Some of the things characters think or say， I thought I was the only person who thought them until I read it。Highly recommended， but get ready for sex and violence， and get ready to take breaks for your mental health。 It's harrowing。 。。。more

CHILTONM ，

KINETIC

Caitlin ，

This is a horror novel that hits on so many levels。 It is very in your face， and it needs to be。 It is grotesque and brutal and honest in ways most books are not。 It is also a glimpse into a reality most choose not to see in so many ways and is a vital narrative for today’s world。

Faith Simon ，

（CW: foul language used throughout， transphobia， very explicit death/gore， se*ual assault， TERF ideology）。Bro， this book is h o r n y。Honestly， if you took into account everything I am as a person， you'd come up with this book。 Seriously， my entire experience listening to this was amazing， I loved this book so much， it is by far one of my favorites I've read this year。 That being said， yes， I love shameless fucking anybody in sight scenes at the end of the world， no less trans sex representation （CW: foul language used throughout， transphobia， very explicit death/gore， se*ual assault， TERF ideology）。Bro， this book is h o r n y。Honestly， if you took into account everything I am as a person， you'd come up with this book。 Seriously， my entire experience listening to this was amazing， I loved this book so much， it is by far one of my favorites I've read this year。 That being said， yes， I love shameless fucking anybody in sight scenes at the end of the world， no less trans sex representation。 This has gotta be one of the most explicit books I've ever read by literally every single sense imaginable， I can't begin to applaud the author enough for putting her personal experience into print the way that she did， this is one glorious book for it。 About the audiobook， I looooved the narration， I very much appreciate a trans narrator to narrate the experiences and voices of trans characters， Mani fique。 I WILL say， and this is a bit of a critique of the book as well， that I wouldn't recommend reading this book via audiobook just because over the constantly overlapping viewpoints。 The story changes POVs rapidly throughout each chapter and I assume on paper this is some sort of indication of this， with the audiobook I constantly had to backtrack to figure out who's viewpoint I'd suddenly switched to or just wait until their name was said sometime。 I don't like， hate this method， especially since I think new chapters for each changing viewpoint is a bit annoying， I just think in this case it's a bit rapid-fire。 The lived experiences of trans folx are front and center in this book y'all， the way this book is written is so wonderfully sarcastic and enthralling。 I loved the author's voice of storytelling。 To demonstrate this a bit， I have compiled a list of some of my favorite quotes from the book; "New men， she thought - like coke zero， same great vicious disregard for our lives， none of the socially enforced restraint。""The other woman saw him。 Her eyes widened in disbelief as the 'Oh right， trans men-switch flipped， and she collected herself。" "Get it together you fucking infant。" "Beneath her surface irritation， Indie sensed a wriggling， rat-like panic。 The unthinking terror of the very rich when something unclean looks like it might touch them。""You know what happens when you wait for the ones holding a whip to have a heart。 Or you listen to the nice white people who coordinate their protests with the cops。"If you want a deep and true， real look into the lives that trans women are living today， read this book。 The only difference between now and the plot is that men actually get murdered for harassing women。 Honestly though， the plot of this book is amazing。 It is like Ring Shout， a book I read earlier this year in the sense that it is commentating on real world events in a horror-esque theme。 This is a wonderful commentary of the negative effects of toxic masculinity & enforced patriarchy on everybody， most of all those who least benefit from those societal pressures the most。 This book is diverse， I loved Robbie being an Indigenous character。 The commentary on TERF ideology was really compelling and almost made sense at times。 It was hard to feel a connection to the feminist teachings yet despise the anti-transness of it all。 In the sense of the plot of this novel， the author truly examines how far one can go to deny trans women into women's' spaces， when others think it's justifiably acceptable， etc。 Really fascinating， like I said。 If you， like I am， are getting into pandemic-reads lately， this is a great addition to your reading list。 。。。more

Jessica Woodbury ，

This book certainly couldn't have come out at a more relevant moment， as much of the reading world is talking about gender-apocalypse novels。 They've been around for a while， most notably with The Power in 2016。 Since that time there's been a notable pushback because these books require a gender binary， whatever happens puts men in one category and women in another。 These narratives almost always ignore the fact that trans people exist。 A new crop of them has started to acknowledge trans people This book certainly couldn't have come out at a more relevant moment， as much of the reading world is talking about gender-apocalypse novels。 They've been around for a while， most notably with The Power in 2016。 Since that time there's been a notable pushback because these books require a gender binary， whatever happens puts men in one category and women in another。 These narratives almost always ignore the fact that trans people exist。 A new crop of them has started to acknowledge trans people exist but groups them not based on their gender identity but based on the sex they're assigned at birth， which doesn't really feel all that much like progress。 MANHUNT is determined to take on the task of addressing the gender apocalypse in a way that makes more sense in a world without gender binaries。 But the thing is that it mostly succeeded in making me think that it isn't about whether trans people exist in these narratives， but whether these narratives should exist and I'm not sure that they should。Felker-Martin's solution is a smart one， here the virus that turns people into something like zombies crossed with rabid dogs， is based on testosterone levels。 It creates a much more complex scenario off the bat。 Cis women can turn， some men don't turn， and trans people find themselves in an even more complicated world than the one they lived in before。 Trans men and masc people can no longer take testosterone， trans women and femme people are even more reliant on hormones when they are in even shorter supply。 It causes all kinds of gender dysphoria for trans people， and creates a society where TERFs now have an extra piece of ammunition: that trans women are monsters who could change at any moment。In many ways it's a smart metaphor， because this is how TERFs see the world now。 The book leans heavily into misandry （it's literally the title of an early chapter）。 But it also creates such higher stakes for trans people that this may have the most queer suffering in a book I can recall。 Felker-Martin is determined to make trans people the center of her narrative， and is willing to lay bare her characters' dysphoria in ways few trans people do to a broad audience。 It is real， but it's also painful。 （I also want to add that one of the major characters is a fat cis woman of color， and just as there's a lot of transphobic language that trans characters use when they struggle with dysphoria， she and others use a lot of fatphobic language in similar ways。） This book gets so bleak that even when I was on board with the broad strokes of what Felker-Martin is going for， the way she not only attacks TERFs but also those who are inclusive only to exploit the poor， I just needed a break。 This book is brimming with dysphoria and transphobia， it's also extremely violent and gory， including scenes of torture and sexual assault。But also， I think it's worth noting that one of the major characters （who also gets to be a point-of-view character that we follow for much of the book） is herself a TERF。 I know that's going to be a dealbreaker for a lot of people， so I want to call it out。 The storyline humanizes her and also allows her a redemption arc。This is a book that will work best for people who want to see the anger and pain of the world played out through a horror trope。 But if you are a reader who thinks the world is probably so bleak now that making a world that's even bleaker for trans folks sounds exhausting， then I would recommend taking a pass。 For me， I leaned towards the latter often。 And as I mentioned earlier， I think I would like to avoid gender apocalypse novels going forward。I did the audiobook and was happy they had a trans reader， it fit the material much more。 But be warned， this is a book set in New England， mostly in the greater Boston area， and while the Boston accent the reader takes on is passable， there are some slips where locals will be appalled。 "That's not how you pronounce Worcester！！"， etc。 。。。more

Melanie ，

Well written and pretty intriguing。 I just can't do it。 I don't mind the tranny sex， but there is so much of it。 In addition， it's pretty gross sex and violence。 I believe there is a good market for this， just not me。 Well written and pretty intriguing。 I just can't do it。 I don't mind the tranny sex， but there is so much of it。 In addition， it's pretty gross sex and violence。 I believe there is a good market for this， just not me。 。。。more

Justin ，

。。。。。。。yeah。 We're done here。 Um。。。oof。 Where to even begin！ I just can't keep going。 I'm barely even 150 pages in and not only does there seem to be no plot but this is。。。nasty。 Putrid。 Rancid。 Disgusting。 Sick。 I need a fucking thesaurus。 There probably aren't enough words to describe this type of depravity？I'm all for gore。 Horror is probably my favorite genre and I tend to enjoy it all。。。body horror， paranormal， slashers， you name it。 And I don't necessarily think she's a bad writer， she see 。。。。。。。yeah。 We're done here。 Um。。。oof。 Where to even begin！ I just can't keep going。 I'm barely even 150 pages in and not only does there seem to be no plot but this is。。。nasty。 Putrid。 Rancid。 Disgusting。 Sick。 I need a fucking thesaurus。 There probably aren't enough words to describe this type of depravity？I'm all for gore。 Horror is probably my favorite genre and I tend to enjoy it all。。。body horror， paranormal， slashers， you name it。 And I don't necessarily think she's a bad writer， she seems to write action scenes very well， shes enormously descriptive。。。well， maybe to a fault。 But I don't really get a sense of an actual plot or an endgame。 These characters seem to be working towards nothing because the entire world is hopeless and has completely gone to shit and frankly， I would just rather die。I also just want to say that I appreciate that this exists。 Because I can't even imagine how cathartic it must have been for a trans woman to express herself in such a no-holds-barred， graphic and indiscriminate way。 I'm very glad she has that outlet and I'm glad someone was willing to publish her work。 Because it appears there are quite a few people out there who DO enjoy and identify with this book。 I'm just simply not one of them。 I like a plot。。。I like a bit of downtime away from organ harvesting， testicle eating， murder， rape， every expletive you can imagine from c*nt to f*ggot to tr*nny over and over and over and just。。。outright filth and dirt and I need to shower， frankly。 I'm not a prude but we're talking every other page here。。。I DO kind of have a problem with the author。 She enjoys publicly calling out bad reviews which is just tacky。 She loves gatekeeping what people read and is very belittling。 I was drawn in by the cover and I love anything post-apocalyptic Mad Max-ish but。。。no。 Nope。 DNF at page 143。 。。。more

Vincent Berry ，

5 stars because fuck terfs。

Brianna ，

I've been sitting here with this book in front of me staring at it for the past few minutes trying to comprehend what I just read。 Manhunt managed to do what horror novels of late have struggled to - make me truly uncomfortable and squirm。 And no， it's not in the pulse-pounding， supernatural evil sense。 The true horror comes from the unflinching social commentary and the grisly violence is just the cherry on top of this cake。This is so unlike anything I've ever read and I look forward to this au I've been sitting here with this book in front of me staring at it for the past few minutes trying to comprehend what I just read。 Manhunt managed to do what horror novels of late have struggled to - make me truly uncomfortable and squirm。 And no， it's not in the pulse-pounding， supernatural evil sense。 The true horror comes from the unflinching social commentary and the grisly violence is just the cherry on top of this cake。This is so unlike anything I've ever read and I look forward to this author's future works。 。。。more

Dea ，

I will go into more detail below but wanted to leave a quick spoiler free quip。 If you are going into this expecting a fun actiony monster hunt with sharp commentary on the state of our society， you will be disappointed。 There is very little actual monster hunting in this book， maybe 5% tops。 And the sharp commentary does not go beyond just angry rants， which are cathartic but ultimately do not add to the discussion。 If you instead want to read misery porn， and there is a LOT of on page sex and I will go into more detail below but wanted to leave a quick spoiler free quip。 If you are going into this expecting a fun actiony monster hunt with sharp commentary on the state of our society， you will be disappointed。 There is very little actual monster hunting in this book， maybe 5% tops。 And the sharp commentary does not go beyond just angry rants， which are cathartic but ultimately do not add to the discussion。 If you instead want to read misery porn， and there is a LOT of on page sex and most of it is miserable， because one or both participants are not enjoying themselves， at which point you ask why is this even happening， and some of it venturing into rape territory， then by all means dive in！ （view spoiler）[I will do my best to keep this short and not turn it into a rant over aspects that I may have not understood properly。 I am fully aware that I might not be 'in the know' and thus not best equipped to make judgment calls， but still and opinion is an opinion even if it is not an informed one。First， this book has more sex than your smuttiest smut novel。 I don't read smut novels so I cannot speak from experience， but I feel that if there was any more sex on page there just wouldn't be any room for plot。 The sex is also very abusive。 At first I thought it was a way to illustrate power-dynamics between the participants， but by the third time I read about someone spitting in someone's face I started to wonder if the author just enjoyed writing about spitting and hitting。 Which is cool， not kink shaming， but the BDSM community might have something to say about the obvious abuse and non-consent once again being presented as BDSM kink。 Second， for a book where men are monsters it has a lot of hate aimed at women， all sorts of women。 It brought on the same feeling as the “Handmaiden's Tale”， that men are monsters but women are crafty bitches that are just waiting for men to get out of the way so they can stab each other in the back。 Both TERFs and the mean-girl clique are matriarchies on the surface， but in reality they are the same old patriarchal structures just with women at the helm。 Which brings me to the point， why bother taking men out of the picture？ Is the point that women， if given power， would do the same thing？ That being awful to each other is just human nature？ And why such lack of imagination？ Can the author not imagine any other government systems besides the exploitative ones we have？ Or is the point that the form of government that can survive in the apocalypse is one built on the old system of patriarchy？ And the language everyone uses is so misogynistic。 The two protagonists， the mean girls， and the TERFs toss around terms like 'cunts' and chastise each other for acting like a pussy。 I would expect the 'womyn power' nazis at the very least to be careful about the language they use。 It isn't edgy， it is old and worn out to the point where it doesn't elicit a reaction beyond annoyance。 Third， I feel like Robbie got short-changed。 While Beth and Fran offered different experiences based on one 'passing' and the other one not， Robbie's experience would offer a drastically different view because for him striving to 'pass' would also mean striving to resemble 'the enemy'。 Aside from casual lamenting about being looked at while walking the halls of the mean-girls club there is nothing about others' opinion of him or whether or not it colors his opinion of self。 Fourth， and this one simmered for the whole time I was reading the book， running out of meds is an actual danger in the book which does not translate to actual danger in the real world。 So unless the author's point was that trans individuals， especially trans women， are actually dangerous and we should all learn to live with that fact， maybe this wasn't such a good plot choice to make。 The concept of the book was fascinating。 The action was really great， not too detailed not too abstract， just enough to get you worried about the survival of the protagonists。 Trans characters are underrepresented in the media and it is good to see not just one token story but a variety of narratives to represent different experiences。 That said， none of those things made up for scattered story telling， world-building inconsistencies， and frankly tropey pointless violence towards women and minorities。 PS: I did not know where to put this， so I will put this here。 I was completely willing to leave a 4 star review on this book despite all my issues with it， explained at length above， until I reached a certain scene。 It is Part III， Chapter III， “Natural Woman”。 Specifically， where the protagonists are asked to stay and help defend “Fort Dyke”。 tHe paused， open mouth full of half-chewed mush。 Beth wondered if he breathed through his nose that loud when he sucked cock。 Fran looked pale。 Indi’s expression was carefully neutral。 That threw me out of the narrative and made me so angry I wanted to stop reading right there。 What the fuck， Beth？ （And by Beth I mean Gretchen） How does that fit into the platonic relationship you two have had until now？ How does that fit with the gravity of the situation？ How are you OK with sexualizing him when all he is doing is eating？ I don't know if it was because I was already annoyed at him being denied a character arc besides being in a relationship with Fran or not， but it was a strong spike of emotion and I did not feel it was fair to leave it unmentioned。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Juliette Smith ，

The first 50 pages had me really engaged！ It reads like really fast-paced YA at the beginning。 Towards the middle I got a little bored， or disengaged， and then by the end I was hooked again。The horror in this book is horrifying- so vivid and dark and gory。 So well written and hard to put down like a car crash you can’t look away from。

J ，

This book was a very visceral experience。 It is definitely gruesome and filled with graphic horror scenes that were thought provoking and emotionally affecting。 Readers should be aware that this is very much a horror that doesn't have a straightforward triumphant ending nor is it filled with simple heroic figures to root for。 There are many triggers for violence of all types， bigotry， etc。 which may not be suitable for readers who are uncomfortable with intense and explicit scenes。 This book was a very visceral experience。 It is definitely gruesome and filled with graphic horror scenes that were thought provoking and emotionally affecting。 Readers should be aware that this is very much a horror that doesn't have a straightforward triumphant ending nor is it filled with simple heroic figures to root for。 There are many triggers for violence of all types， bigotry， etc。 which may not be suitable for readers who are uncomfortable with intense and explicit scenes。 。。。more

Kevvie ，

This book was incredibly difficult to read and I cried through a lot of it。 If you're not trans， then you definitely need to read this so you know how trans people are treated。 Yes， the apocalypse scenario is a fantasy， but the way trans people are treated in the novel is very real。Trans people should be very careful reading this book。 It is overflowing with transgender representation， but the novel is very cruel towards those characters。 You're not going to have a good time with this book。 I di This book was incredibly difficult to read and I cried through a lot of it。 If you're not trans， then you definitely need to read this so you know how trans people are treated。 Yes， the apocalypse scenario is a fantasy， but the way trans people are treated in the novel is very real。Trans people should be very careful reading this book。 It is overflowing with transgender representation， but the novel is very cruel towards those characters。 You're not going to have a good time with this book。 I did not have a good time with this book， but I kept reading because of how much I related to these characters。 It hurt， though。 。。。more

Cristian ，

Quite refreshing to find this masterwork among a sea of hyper-sanitized queer literature publishers seem to prefer these days。This is special。 I want more。

Tara ，

I really enjoyed the characters， and the premise was so unique and fascinating。 The plot structure felt weird to me， and by the final climax， I was kind of desensitized to the drama。 The writing was funny， sometimes profound， and relatable。 Lots of tws for all sorts of things， but it's post-apocalyptic fiction， and I think the horrific scenarios in which the characters find themselves all represent a much deeper commentary on our society。 I really enjoyed the characters， and the premise was so unique and fascinating。 The plot structure felt weird to me， and by the final climax， I was kind of desensitized to the drama。 The writing was funny， sometimes profound， and relatable。 Lots of tws for all sorts of things， but it's post-apocalyptic fiction， and I think the horrific scenarios in which the characters find themselves all represent a much deeper commentary on our society。 。。。more

Olivia Stransky ，

I only read about one dystopian book per year because they are always harrowing， and I'm so glad I read this one！ Fans of The Stand will love this。 It's gory， it's suspenseful， it pulls from the present in so many insightful ways， and the characters are wonderfully complicated。 Fuck TERFs， fuck milquetoast allyship。（view spoiler）[ I think the scene that will stick with me the longest is when Beth and the other trans girls are kicked out of the queer collective house they live in and are left sta I only read about one dystopian book per year because they are always harrowing， and I'm so glad I read this one！ Fans of The Stand will love this。 It's gory， it's suspenseful， it pulls from the present in so many insightful ways， and the characters are wonderfully complicated。 Fuck TERFs， fuck milquetoast allyship。（view spoiler）[ I think the scene that will stick with me the longest is when Beth and the other trans girls are kicked out of the queer collective house they live in and are left staring at the front door， which has a big "all genders and sexualities are welcome here！" sign painted on it。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Randy Rasa ，

Brilliant high-concept horror， but yikes is it brutal and gruesome。 The major problem I had， other than the unrelentingly harsh tone， was that the transitions between point-of-view， at least in the audiobook version， were really hard to keep up with。 That said， I did enjoy the centering of trans women and trans men perspectives， and the delicious identity of the villains。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Manhunt

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Manhunt&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Manhunt&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0