Review: Tales of the Axis: The Hunter’s Prey by Justin Hui

Author Justin Hui catapults readers into a wild, humanity-filled galaxy in Tales of the Axis: The Hunter’s Prey, a character-driven thriller armed with clever sci-fi twists.

After centuries of tepid tolerance and extraterrestrial expansion, the United Commonwealth and the Valderian Empire are on the verge of historic trade agreements that could reunite the human race. However, when the Valderian emperor is killed in an explosion, Princess Adelia finds herself thrust into power, and dropped into a lion’s den of deadly manipulation and political maneuvering.

Adelia’s tragedies continue after being arrested by her father’s “best friend,” who alleges that she had something to do with the emperor’s assassination. Even with her fiercely loyal brother, a rogue Prateorian commander, and a mysterious adept named Val to aid in her escape, Adelia faces the fight of her young life. On top of that, the tenuous alliance between humanity’s two factions is thrown into chaos, and inches closer to all-out war, even as a greater enemy rises in the shadows.

Thematically, this book embodies many of the classic dichotomies of sci-fi and fantasy novels, including the breakdown of outdated thinking, the rise of the young to replace the old, as well as existential threats that unite and divide players in unexpected ways. Blending mystical powers, technology that is light years ahead of our own, and a diverse cast of unexpectedly relatable characters, this operatic adventure unravels like a well-crafted legend.

The expositional “lore” passages are helpful, but they can feel a bit distracting early on, as they break the fourth wall of narration. Additionally, the prose is written in present tense, which can be effective during action sequences, but often makes it feel like the narrator is doing far more telling than showing. Small procedural details can become mundane – even descriptions of futuristic weapons, such as Splinter Rifles, are spelled out like a textbook, instead of being integrated more organically. The powers within this futuristic world are revealed more slowly, however. Characters who are “adept” and can use the Axis drive the fantasy elements of the story forward, while the Seion Guild keeps the mystery and intrigue alive.

Despite the far-advanced timeline of this novel, the language feels strangely contemporary, with few linguistic or vocabulary shifts, particularly in strings of idiomatic conversation that could easily be heard on the street today. Given that the United Commonwealth and the Valderian Empire were separated for so much time, and remain largely divided, the overlap between the cultures may raise an eyebrow. Granted, some of the hierarchical structures, technologies, and fashion trends are described as being different, but the two sides of humanity don’t feel as radically split as one might expect.

On a technical level, there are few grammatical or proofreading errors, though the sentences are often choppy and the syntax can fall into a formulaic pattern. A skilled editor could inject more enlivening language and elements of dynamic storytelling to further elevate the prose.

Those critiques aside, this far-flung future fiction is sprawling and entertaining. Hui proves to be a creative world-builder who isn’t afraid to delve into the details, as well as the drama.