Audio Review // Predator: Hunters and Hunted – Official Movie Prequel
Looks like I’m back in the Aliens/Predator franchise again… I just can’t stay away! This series pulls me back every time. For me, it captures what true sci-fi horror should be: humanity is fragile, and the deep dark of space (or even Earth’s jungles) is absolutely terrifying.
Today’s audiobook takes us right into the thick of it, the official prequel to The Predator movie (I know I am reading backwards). Let’s dive in.
Title: The Predator: Hunters and Hunted – Official Movie Prequel
Series: Aliens / Predator / Prometheus
Author: James A. Moore
Publisher: Titan Books
Buy it on Amazon: Click here
Review
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: this novel was designed to hype up Shane Black’s The Predator movie. But credit where it’s due, James A. Moore delivers a tight, action-packed story that’s genuinely fun to read (or in my case, listen to).
There are quite a few characters to juggle, which can get a little confusing at first, but three stand out:
General Woodhurst
Roger Elliott (CIA)
Tomlin of the Reapers
The Reapers are one of the coolest additions, a Black Ops group trained specifically to deal with Predators. At the start, they’re just tackling drug cartels, but soon enough they’re facing the real thing, and those moments are the highlight of the novel. Honestly, they deserved more page time, the Predator vs. Reapers fights were so good they left me wishing for at least 10 more minutes of action. Whilst Roger Elliott is another standout. He’s a Vietnam vet who actually survived a Predator encounter years earlier, only to be blacklisted and dismissed as crazy. Naturally, when events start to unfold, he’s proven right, and his arc was both satisfying and engaging.
One of the most refreshing elements of the novel is that we get chapters from the Predator’s own perspective. Seeing the Yautja’s respect for Earth’s flora, fauna, and “the hunt” added depth we rarely get outside the comics and movies. It’s something that would be hard to pull off on film, but here it really works.
Of course, no Predator story would be complete without shady politics and power-grabs. Greedy agencies double-dealing over alien tech? Check. A sly mention of Weyland-Yutani? Absolutely. Those little touches tie the novel neatly into the wider Alien/Predator mythos.
Final Thoughts
This is not high-brow sci-fi with deep morals, and that’s exactly why it works. Hunters and Hunted is a fast, violent, world-building adventure that hits all the right Predator notes. Between the brutal action, the lore, and even a few surprises from the Yautja’s POV, I had a blast.
Highly recommend for Predator fans. If you love the franchise, you’ll get plenty of blood, lore, and explosions to sink your mandibles into.
What did you think? Drop a comment below! Thanks for reading.
