This book was reviewed via Netgalley

 

Hunter’s Mudman is a timeless tale of striving against evil. Levi is a mudman- a golem- who was created in the death camps of Nazi Germany, infused with the desire to kill those who torment and torture the innocent. Sixty years on, Levi still lives, continuing to carry out his grim task wherever it takes him.

 

During one such escapade, Levi finds Ryder, a young woman in need of rescue. This sets Levi on a path that takes him from Inworld Earth to the parallel dimensions of the Hub and Outworld, on a quest to stop the release of a dangerous elder demigod, and to find answers to his own existence.

 

Levi is the quintessential anti-hero. Initially, there’s not much to love about this gruff man with a tortured path. He’s an antisocial killer. Granted he’s driven to kill by the commands of his creation, yet, like Hannibal Lecter and Dexter Morgan, Levi kills those who deserve it. Shadowing his path, the reader walks the grim darkness with an avatar of vengeance. Or be it justice truly? Who can say? For me, Levi is an avatar of personal destruction, fueled by fierce, consuming nauthiz energy.

 

Dexter finds his victims through his job as a forensics analyst. Levi finds them because he can sense the evil staining their auras. Thanks to his ability to work with earth and to shift his form, it’s easy for him to get away with the murders he himself carries out. As the story progresses, Levi’s interactions with Ryder begin to humanise him in ways his previous attempts could not have. Besides Levi’s growth, his dubious guide Chuck also goes through a psychological shift that gives him a boost of courage, and a measure of loyalty to people fast becoming friends of a sort.

 

I found Hunter’s descriptions to be fresh, rather than falling back on comparisons more common, which added to my reading pleasure. There were also several descriptions that terrified me, especially the flesh golem and the human-bred homunculus. They actually found their way into my dreams.

 

There were a few small grammar/spelling errors. Most were unnoticeable unless you are reading with an eye to that. The only biggy is a misspelling of Birkenau in chapter 5. Also, in chapter 9 is a reference to the heart replenishing blood, an error only noticeable to picky med people- bone marrow is responsible for replenishing blood lost. In chapter 11, there is a part where the text goes all bolded for no reason.
????? Highly recommended if you like paranormal thrillers, psychological thrillers and books such as Jeff Lindsey’s Dexter Morgan series, Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter books, the tv show Supernatural.