This novel intrigued me for several reasons. First, the title includes the word ‘lament’. The Hunter’s Lament. It already makes my heart bleed, and I’m down for that. Additionally, the main character is a bounty hunter named Bitter Sweet, who is also not exactly a young buck anymore. I LOVE older characters because of they bring experience and wisdom, life seen and lived. So many opportunities to make a really solid character!

So… did I get what I was hoping for with The Hunter’s Lament? Yes. A bold, solid, unwavering YES!

Other than the blurb, the story itself cannot be further exanded on, because damn, son! There were some wicked twists in this story as we drew to the conclusion. I mean, Pannett did not hold back! I gasped. I fucking gasped – and let me tell you, I’ve read a lot of twists but there are twists and then there are TWISTS that make you gasp! Gasping aside, I may have shed a few tears, too, because I got so attached… but I’ll expand on the attachment in a little bit…

The Hunter’s Lament is a fast paced quest within an environment that in itself is one big obstacle, whilst being threatened by multiple enemies. There are the Vol Empire men, consisting of dangerous magickers and deadly Wyns. There are of course others who would make their money hunting bounty and Sweet’s crew is against another group which is led by a dirty fucker, indeed. Let’s also not forget about nature. Nature can be, and is, quite deadly too. As you can see, we have a mix of imminent danger at every step and that sure does crank up the anticipation levels.

The story is well-written and does not leave you wanting when it comes to characters. It’s exciting and I’ve already mentioned the twists. So, now we come to the bit that put the ‘hell yeah’ into an already smashing story.

Sweet. Bitter fucking Sweet.

He’s the man of this show, no two ways about it, and you can’t escape this story, what they’re doing, what’s happening, what they’re planning not for one single bit because this book places you into Sweet’s thoughts. Into his head, into him. It’s so intimately connected to this tired, weary bounty hunter that it will not take long for the reader to feel the aching bones, the mental fog, the just wanting to be… somewhere else, doing something else… but what?! Thing is, the story isn’t written in first person POV. It’s not, and yet you still feel every single aspect of Sweet as if it was delivered first person. Unreal.

But then, Pannett goes a little step further, and does what any sane author would do – gives the reader a focus point in this chaos that is the life of a bounty hunter. Truth and lies, and how they can be used.

And it works fantastically at presenting the overall feeling and vibe of this tale as well and zoom into pain point that stings the most, that is to blame the most, that is the catalyst, the cause and the effect. *shuddering* I am happy like pig in shit because it’s 1. gritty, dark fantasy, a genre I love the most, 2. it’s a standalone (it’s a standalone, Steve, right?), and 3. it has such human element through it’s main character development that I want to break out in song and dance. Love. It. Period.

Leaving fan-girling over Sweet aside, I also enjoyed how other characters felt off the page. Stover, for one… I sure was looking forward to the conclusion to his particular character arc. From page one, that fucker annoyed me to no end, and his crew were being just WAY too lenient with him. I’d have docked the bastard every time he opened his mouth, but hey… It is what it is… Violent Fey – wow. She’s tough as nails and I loved how she never broke her serious, and seriously dangerous character. Observant and distant. And I bet you’re wondering, oh, hello, there’s a female in the crew, I bet there’s some ‘obligatory’ love interest element? Nope. None. Zilch. Not a single mention of any love, at all. Refreshing! I was kind of worried that there’d be some cringey shag behind the boulders in the mountains somewhere (because I tell you, a lot of others would have shoved it in there SOMEHOW! PUN INTENDED!) and I was never more pleased to realize I needn’t have worried at all. Anyway, the Wyn in Sweet’s crew… Mysterious. We get to know very little of him but through his actions we know exactly the right amount! Daraday… from an innocent, lost youngster to a complete scary hardass… Bryn, the softy that could be better off farming somewhere! And, you know, the crew actually gels well, despite them all being like individual cacti that don’t really fit into the same pot side by side. But they work!

Anyway, I fear I am giving you a sense of false delight. Make no mistake, the body count is damn high in this book. Damn high, indeed.

I’m sorry, but you do realise, this is literal porn for a gritty fantasy fan, right?! Right?! There were just moments in The Hunter’s Lament that felt epic… they were these pivotal moments when the very human realization strikes and you’re in the middle of a chaos, with no way out, and it’s like you’re wrapped in cotton, thinking – Who am I? Why and I here? What now? – and then poof, you snap out of it and take a step towards something, anything.

I mean, I could keep on going singing praises for this book but then we’d be trudging on spoiler territory and nobody likes a spoiler. So, get this book and get stuck right into despair and tired resignation with Sweet. And when you finish, let me know if you cried, as well. We can DM each other about how beautiful and brutal and unfair life is. How bittersweet. Go on, I’ll wait….