Hunter’s Last Life,
Clair Runyan, (1st Books, 2003, now Authorhouse)
This is Clair’s second published novel (see review of Flight in the September, 1991 Grapevine)
and I believe that it is much better than his first. Without question, it's a real
page turner. Also, even though the plot is involved, the writing was very
tight. Everything connected, if not soon, then eventually. Every gun
eventually was used (Chekov's dictum), no red herrings to upset the reader. And it
moved!! Best of all, I was able to relate to the main character, Jason Hunter, even
though he was a throw back to the time of Cromagnon (no chuckles here, please).
The story, briefly, involves Jason, a Cromagnon man who drank a special potion which
causes him to hibernate for millennia when the world climate cools and to awaken when the
climate warms--and he’s been doing this all through history. He is now moderately
wealthy and living a gentile life in a small university town. He has just met a student
with whom he has fallen in love, in spite of the complications his unusual life places on
such a relationship. His life is going pretty well until he realizes that a series of
bizarre murders in the United States may be the work of his adversary from the days of
pre-Homo Sapiens, Magnus Grote. Grote, a bully and vicious killer, unfortunately had
swallowed the same potion. After many such hibernations the two have finally met again in
modern times. Grote is a formidable enemy, even more powerful than Hunter, because his
roots are Neanderthal. Worse, he has discovered that Jason is alive and well and in love
with this attractive student and so he decides to finish off his longtime foe.
Now this may all sound like a bit of a stretch, and I'm not a fan
of fantasy nor do I read as much science fiction as I used to, but strangely, I'd not put
this book into either of those genres . It’s really just a good
romantic-adventure with a wee bit of 'what-if' thrown in. Clair tells a good story. It's
clever, it's based on reality (even if belief must be suspended at times), it's
dramatic, and it’s loaded with conflict and resolution. RES OLUTION.
WHOMP!! No pussy-footing around. It’s great fun to read, an escape from the
here and now; and all of us need and appreciate those writers who can provide this.