Cheap Hunting Party (Book) (Elizabeth Moon) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hunting Party

A bit too much on the horses.
I enjoyed the book, though I feel that Honor Harrington is a more interesting and tightly written series than any of Moon's space operas. This book was plauged by a few minor flaws, first the smuggling ring on the ship was left quite vauge. I hope this was deliberate and that the culprits (and their unknown cargo) are uncovered. I also feel she spent too much time describing horsemanship.

The villian, an admiral who hunts men for sport, appears only breifly, just long enough to say a few lines and get shot. It would have been interesting to hear a bit more of his thoughts, to let the readers develop a bit of antipathy towards him before he exited the stage.

The other flaw in the book is that Heris finds the book stolen from her by minor characters. The spoiled rich kid on the ship who grows into his wealth and standing, "Bubbles", the odious George and the wealthy owner of the ship are all more interesting, well developed than the hero.

Despite these flaws, it is a readable and pleasant diversion, and I do plan to read the rest of the series.

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Strong writing setting up for a series
What struck me most about this book is the ease with which I read it - suggesting that Moon's writing makes for effortless reading. It is the strength of the writing, but not necessarily the plot or characters, that enables me to give 4 stars to "Hunting Party".

The plot, if nothing else, is weak. Captain Serrano, recently evicted from the RSS, has taken on a job as captain of a private vessel for a rich old lady, Cecilia. She considers the role well beneath her proud ability as captain, but seems to have no other choice in her career path.

Lady Cecilia has onboard a (lazy and unwelcome) retinue: her young nephew and his friends. Neither she nor the Captain have much respect for the youngsters, and a prank set up by her nephew, brings the lady and the captain closer.

Soon after take-off, things start to go wrong. The normally fastidious Captain Serrano suffers a backlash from a lip-service she gave the vessel before take off. A death and machine problems on ship force an early landing and a bet with the lady who loves horseriding and fox hunting.

Once at their destination planet, the youngsters slip away from the eagle eyes of elders, and get themselves into a heap of trouble on a small island. Coincidentally, here is relation to Captain Serrano, and the reader finally become privy to her past.

The book's plot is something that might be expected of a children's story, although some of the characters are more mature than that. The young nephew and his friends are more of an annoyance than a contribution, and have confusingly similar names.

Nevertheless, "Hunting Party" makes for a fascinating read, and Moon has a way of expression and an eye for detail that draws the reader in. It has left me with the excited anticipation for the rest of the series, which I will definitely read.

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Enid Blyton writes Starship Troopers!
The best thing about this novel is that after reading it I have decided to write a novel myself. My inspiration being that if I was iliterate and had English as a secondary language I could not come up with a bigger pile of rubbish. According to some of the other reviews this book is the weakest of the series. I will never know as this book has put me off *reading anything ever again!* It really is that poor. How people can justify giving it 4 or 5 stars in a review is beyond my comprehension. Books like 'A Game of Thrones' by George RR Martin, or 'Perdido Street Station' by China Miéville, deserve that kind of rating. Read them... Go. Now.