SPFBO XI Review: The Way We Were Hunters by Brien Feathers

Rating: /10

The trouble with the Fallen is they look human.

The Fallen are the children born affected by the Drakon, otherworldly beasts that arrived on a meteor and devastated Rosya in a decades-long war. Now, as the nation heals and moves forward, a second conflict looms. This time the enemy is not the Drakon, but the Fallen, and the trouble is they look human.

Lena, once a marksman, was demoted after shooting her training instructor and now serves as a laundress at Bunker 47. Though the position isn’t the career she’d hoped for, she finds peace in its routine… until she tries to help a friend and finds herself owing a favor to Captain Arkhimov.

The captain is tall, imposing, a celebrated war hero, and a stickler for rules—everything Lena is not. But when she ends up on a mission with him, she’s excited nonetheless.

The mission had been simple: go check on Bunker 17, which has gone dark. But when the task turns lethal and the bodies begin to pile up, Lena learns the captain is not who he claims.

I read this book as a judge for FanFiAddict during SPFBO XI. These opinions are entirely my own and don’t necessarily represent the views of the rest of the team.

The Way We Were Hunters is a dark, character-driven fantasy that blends romance, mystery, and grounded military grit into something refreshingly unique. Set in a war-scarred nation still reeling from the arrival of the Drakon—otherworldly, dragon-like beasts that fell from the sky on a meteor—the story explores what happens after the monsters are gone… and the fear simply finds a new target. In this case, the Fallen: people altered by the meteor’s influence, who are treated like ticking time bombs.

It’s a premise that sounds wild on paper—psychics, dragons from space, post-war bunkers—but Brien Feathers roots it so firmly in lived-in detail that it never feels over the top. The pseudo-Russian, Cold War–tinged setting gives the story weight and texture, grounding all the speculative elements in something that feels tactile and real.

At the heart of it all is Lena, a former marksman turned laundress after a career-ending mistake. She’s a fantastic protagonist—sharp-tongued, practical, a little pessimistic, but deeply human. There’s a justified anger simmering beneath her surface, yet she still tries to do right by the people around her. That mix of sass, weariness, and reluctant compassion makes her incredibly easy to root for. She feels like someone just trying to survive in a harsh system rather than a larger-than-life hero, and that authenticity carries the story.

Then there’s Captain Misha Arkhimov, the imposing war hero who becomes her reluctant partner. His mystery unfolds gradually, and the more we learn about him, the more compelling he becomes. Their relationship is central to the book, and it’s refreshing to see a dark fantasy romance where the romance genuinely impacts the plot rather than feeling tacked on. The connection between them—messy, physical, and complicated—adds tension and emotional stakes to every mission. While we see most of it through Lena’s perspective, which leaves some of Arkhimov’s motivations in shadow, that ambiguity fits his character and keeps the intrigue alive.

Plot-wise, the story moves quickly and wastes little time getting Lena out of her routine and into danger. What begins as a simple bunker check spirals into something far more lethal, with twists that steadily escalate the stakes. The ending, in particular, lands with an enticing hook that makes it very hard not to reach for the next book immediately. Some plot beats come fast and back-to-back, but the momentum keeps the pages turning.

Feathers’ prose is another highlight. Whether she’s describing intimate, quiet moments, bursts of brutal violence, or the melancholy of everyday life in a bunker, her writing is evocative and confident. The tone shifts naturally between tenderness and grit, giving the novel a strong emotional range.

Overall, The Way We Were Hunters strikes an excellent balance between romance, grounded fantasy, and sharp-edged action. It’s dark without being hopeless, romantic without overpowering the story, and imaginative without losing its realism. If you enjoy dark fantasy, romantasy, or unique settings with a bit of bite—and don’t mind a little spice along the way—this is absolutely one to check out.