The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Assuming rpg.net posts these reviews in the order I sent them in, and you're reading them in that order, you've already read my review of book three in the Predator & Prey series, entitled Werewolf. You're also aware that my thoughts on said book were less-than-enthusiastic. A few days after I finished reading P&P: Werewolf a friend of mine gave me his copy of book two in the series, entitled Jury. After Werewolf I was ready to find myself devoting several hours of my life that I would never get back to reading a book that would offend my intelligence. Instead I found that the author of Werewolf can actually produce a good read when he sets his mind to it.

Predator & Prey: Judge focuses on Douglas Sands, a middle-age paperpusher whose imbuing comes along while he conducts an affair with a younger co-worker. It follows him trying to comprehend his newfound understanding of the world, his encounters with fellow Hunters, and his dealings with both the vampire he encountered at his imbuing along with an entity the other Hunters have been dealing with. A simple summation of a pretty good story.

The best part about this book for me was that Sands is of the Martyr creed, but the author manages to avoid the stereotypical "pain is yummy" attitude about Martyrs found in 99% of all Hunter books. I don't agree exactly with Sands viewpoints, but they do make sense, and his being part of the Martyr is understandable. If you've read my review of the Martyr Creedbook you know my personal affection for them, and so it made me very happy to see a member of the creed treated with respect. The character of Sands would be a good example of "Hunters are real people," an idea that White Wolf loves to talk about, even if its authors don't always follow the idea. His responses and behavior are realistic, making him a three-dimensional character.

Another amusing bit of this book is that one of Sands' coworkers is also imbued, and at the end of the book it is hinted that one of the Hunters Sands is teamed up with has a sister who is also imbued, and may be the Hunter introduced in P&P: Werewolf. I laugh at this, as in the Hunter Storytellers Handbook it's commented at one point that Hunters knowing each other before the imbuing are really just a crutch for players and Storytellers who can't come up with an idea for why imbued would be working together. Apparently it's cool for White Wolf writers to use this plot trick, not only here but in many other Hunter books. Can you say "hypocrites?" I knew you could.

The problems that exist with this book are minor. There is an extensive detailing of Sands' attempt to enter the lair of a monster, one that is for the most part visible to anyone passing by, and all I could think was "He could have smashed in a window or door and gone in that way, and it would have taken less time and he would have been less noticible." Several of the other Hunters are introduced more or less at random throughout the book, giving us a peek into their imbuings while interrupting the flow of the main story, and when Sands finally meets them they have very little personality on their own. A few times I had to flip back several dozen pages and seek out where a character was spontaneously introduced to the reader, just to keep them all straight. Also, the back of this book says the story continues in P&P: Werewolf. None of the characters in this novel show up there, with the possible exception of the sister mentioned by the one Hunter in this book, so there's no reason for you to waste your money upon it. If you want, e-mail me and I'll give you a short summary on P&P: Werewolf, so you don't have to waste your money upon it.

All in all P&P: Judge is a good read, and worthy of purchase. Let me note one thing: Three of the books in this series are titled Judge (this book), Jury (book four), and Executioner (book five or six). I comment on this because when Judge was first released many Hunter fans were mad because they thought it was going to focus specifically on the Judge creed, and were disappointed when they read it and found they were wrong. Please don't let that fact cause you to ignore this quality book.

Predator & Prey: Judge
Predator & Prey: Judge Capsule Review by Ralph Dula on 09/03/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average) I was honestly surprised by how enjoyable this novel turned out to be. Product: Predator & Prey: Judge Author: Gherbod Fleming Category: Novel Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Hunter Cost: $6.50 Page count: 284 Year published: 2000 ISBN: SKU: ww11701 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Ralph Dula on 09/03/02 Genre tags: Modern day Horror Conspiracy Vampire	Assuming rpg.net posts these reviews in the order I sent them in, and you're reading them in that order, you've already read my review of book three in the Predator & Prey series, entitled Werewolf. You're also aware that my thoughts on said book were less-than-enthusiastic. A few days after I finished reading P&P: Werewolf a friend of mine gave me his copy of book two in the series, entitled Jury. After Werewolf I was ready to find myself devoting several hours of my life that I would never get back to reading a book that would offend my intelligence. Instead I found that the author of Werewolf can actually produce a good read when he sets his mind to it. Predator & Prey: Judge focuses on Douglas Sands, a middle-age paperpusher whose imbuing comes along while he conducts an affair with a younger co-worker. It follows him trying to comprehend his newfound understanding of the world, his encounters with fellow Hunters, and his dealings with both the vampire he encountered at his imbuing along with an entity the other Hunters have been dealing with. A simple summation of a pretty good story. The best part about this book for me was that Sands is of the Martyr creed, but the author manages to avoid the stereotypical "pain is yummy" attitude about Martyrs found in 99% of all Hunter books. I don't agree exactly with Sands viewpoints, but they do make sense, and his being part of the Martyr is understandable. If you've read my review of the Martyr Creedbook you know my personal affection for them, and so it made me very happy to see a member of the creed treated with respect. The character of Sands would be a good example of "Hunters are real people," an idea that White Wolf loves to talk about, even if its authors don't always follow the idea. His responses and behavior are realistic, making him a three-dimensional character. Another amusing bit of this book is that one of Sands' coworkers is also imbued, and at the end of the book it is hinted that one of the Hunters Sands is teamed up with has a sister who is also imbued, and may be the Hunter introduced in P&P: Werewolf. I laugh at this, as in the Hunter Storytellers Handbook it's commented at one point that Hunters knowing each other before the imbuing are really just a crutch for players and Storytellers who can't come up with an idea for why imbued would be working together. Apparently it's cool for White Wolf writers to use this plot trick, not only here but in many other Hunter books. Can you say "hypocrites?" I knew you could. The problems that exist with this book are minor. There is an extensive detailing of Sands' attempt to enter the lair of a monster, one that is for the most part visible to anyone passing by, and all I could think was "He could have smashed in a window or door and gone in that way, and it would have taken less time and he would have been less noticible." Several of the other Hunters are introduced more or less at random throughout the book, giving us a peek into their imbuings while interrupting the flow of the main story, and when Sands finally meets them they have very little personality on their own. A few times I had to flip back several dozen pages and seek out where a character was spontaneously introduced to the reader, just to keep them all straight. Also, the back of this book says the story continues in P&P: Werewolf. None of the characters in this novel show up there, with the possible exception of the sister mentioned by the one Hunter in this book, so there's no reason for you to waste your money upon it. If you want, e-mail me and I'll give you a short summary on P&P: Werewolf, so you don't have to waste your money upon it. All in all P&P: Judge is a good read, and worthy of purchase. Let me note one thing: Three of the books in this series are titled Judge (this book), Jury (book four), and Executioner (book five or six). I comment on this because when Judge was first released many Hunter fans were mad because they thought it was going to focus specifically on the Judge creed, and were disappointed when they read it and found they were wrong. Please don't let that fact cause you to ignore this quality book.