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This is about the books not the movie.
possibly contain spoilers you are warned.
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I was intrigued by the recent hype of the upcoming new movie the hunger game. I heard from many people that the story is really good with a tinge of battle royale elements in it which I find a very good read from the suspense to the mystery for the next events.
To get the feeling for the upcoming release of the Hunger Games movie. (from the trailer I saw it looks pretty good) I decided to finally get my hand on the books and read the whole series before go watch the movie.
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How shall I put it?
The first book was amazingly good. On par or beyond any of the book from the harry potter series and possibly just as good as the original battle royale. Although I can see similarity here and there but there are definitely major difference to set them apart. The story fit well together and there was never a lack of actions. The main character seems well developed. An brilliant young girl with determination and wit who is willing to save her own sister and force herself face down a path of never ending obstacles and make fool of the bad guys.
All in all, the book has a major plot and themes to follow and the story flows. The characters seems lively and real as I couldn’t help but chuckle at the conversation between the main character and the mentor
In addition, I was touched by the sadness, intrigued by the next danger that can happen just around the corner and I can’t wait to start on the second book.
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The Second book. Alas the book that supposedly enables connection between a great beginning and a supposedly super amazing ending. Fall a bit short of my expectation. I admit I wasn't expecting much from Catch Fire but I was still excited to see what happen next to the main characters. I was welcomed by half of the book with details of the victory parade followed the game that brought little character developing to anyone but the main character and her lover. It feels like the time have stopped itself and force us to watch through hours and hours of Katniss and her Chubby go through events in motion not for fun just because it is there to fill the empty space. I find myself more than once beginning to doubt my belief for the main character. Obviously, the love triangle is developing with the ending of the First Hunger Game. But I thought through all the things that happened in the first book, the main character can be at least more determined and more able minded to think what is happening around her. But nothing new happened. The second half of the Catching Fire mainly involved another group of events that seems vaguely familiar from the first book and ended on a cliff hanger that I find myself wondering If I really want to know what happen in the end.
Admittedly I was no longer the same person at the end of the first book. The second book’s storyline definitely deflated a bit. However, I still got hope for the author to put the story back again. Perhaps there is a rebound to the main character’s feelings and we can find our brave and determined Katniss from sadness and through redemption.
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I got some of what I wanted. I guess in the epilogue of the Last book.
How Shall I put it? Disappointment washes over me. The brave and cleaver girl was no longer what she used to be. The story was flatter then the second book and often fill with events you scratch your head to make the sense of it. More than once I was wondering aloud if this was written by the same author that wrote the first book. If the second book was ok, this one is below the belt. From the story, we saw Katniss struggle with herself on events of war and sadness; she was no longer the self assuring confident girl with fire in her eyes. Every other page we find her trying to find a small corner to hide herself from everything that is going around her. She becomes more sensitive to criticism and more selfish to others. It feels like we are getting to know a new person that seems vastly different than the one from the first book. The storyline become very predictable with the introducing of the team 451. A group of stock characters that you know that author put it there to be kill off later. Instead of waiting for unexpected dangers and fantastic new plots I find myself facing down a river of new characters with no characteristics of their own only waiting to get killed in the next page. Even though the story is wrote as a war story to show the gruesome and the scary aspect of the war. I find myself unable to attach my heart to what the main character or for that matter, anyone from the story at all. Everything seems one dimension as Katiness seems to go into frenzy at random interval only to be allowed to do it again and again for no real purposes at all.
The story was filled with main character’s thought and ideas that I felt of only the author refine and develop it more the story can be much more interesting and easier to read.
The Epilogue in the end we saw the love triangle finally got resolved. But I guaranteed that when the time come and you forced yourself to read the ending. You probably no longer care.
Now After I finished the whole series, I felt like I should probably not read the last two books. I was really disappointed and felt a beautiful and possibly well crafted story got ruined. But all this is just personal thoughts and rants.
 
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I am really not sure how they can make a movie out of the last book. I hope they will just leave it alone as it is.
Poll: To people who read the serie. Do you recommand the last book?yes (20) 57% no (14) 40% I don't know (1) 3% 35 total votes Your vote: To people who read the serie. Do you recommand the last book? (Vote): yes
(Vote): no
(Vote): I don't know
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On March 25 2012 04:14 harman wrote:
I am really not sure how they can make a movie out of the last book. I hope they will just leave it along as it is.
Leave it along, but why? I'm sure there will be lots of demands for it. And its most likely they'll create the whole trilogy given that the current one is so successful. I haven't read the books, but judging by this blog it does sound like the worst of the three.
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On March 25 2012 04:31 RogerX wrote:Show nested quote +On March 25 2012 04:14 harman wrote:
I am really not sure how they can make a movie out of the last book. I hope they will just leave it along as it is. Leave it along, but why? I'm sure there will be lots of demands for it. And its most likely they'll create the whole trilogy given that the current one is so successful. I haven't read the books, but judging by this blog it does sound like the worst of the three.
I guess you couldn't say the last book is a bad book per se but the first book and maybe to an extent the second is amazingly well written compare to the last one. If you haven't read it yet I strongly suggest you give it a shot. It gave people the kind of feeling that the author wasn't really there any more when she wrote the last book.
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On March 25 2012 04:38 harman wrote:Show nested quote +On March 25 2012 04:31 RogerX wrote:On March 25 2012 04:14 harman wrote:
I am really not sure how they can make a movie out of the last book. I hope they will just leave it along as it is. Leave it along, but why? I'm sure there will be lots of demands for it. And its most likely they'll create the whole trilogy given that the current one is so successful. I haven't read the books, but judging by this blog it does sound like the worst of the three. I guess you couldn't say the last book isn't a bad book per se but the first book and maybe to an extent the second is amazingly well written compare to the last one. If you haven't read it yet I strongly suggest you give it a shot. It gave people the kind of feeling that the author wasn't really there any more when she wrote the last book.
Will do, I love the movie so why the heck not with the book :D
As a fan, I would feel pretty upset if they just stopped producing the ending. Finish what you started, I guess.
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The first book was fine, but how can you say it was as good, or better, than any of the harry potter books? That just doesn't make any sense.
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On March 25 2012 05:31 scarper65 wrote:
The first book was fine, but how can you say it was as good, or better, than any of the harry potter books? That just doesn't make any sense.
well for the first book, the anticipation to what is going to happen next and the gripping actions certainly is not worse then those from harry potter book. admittedly, the two series are of different genre. But they both have the same amount of plots and stories that make you want to know what is going to happen next to the main character. In my opinion, the story was flowing in a way that I haven't seen since Harry Potter. But too bad the rest of the series just fall off..
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I wouldn't recommend the series to anybody. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't good enough for me to pass it on to anyone else. The second and third book in particular were just awful. The entire second book basically didn't matter at all. The third was just dumb, had so much pointless garbage in it, even more ridiculous and unbelievable garbage, and just...ugh.
The first book wasn't bad, though. Definitely the strongest of the three.
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I really loved the first, and the series got less good with each book. I realise the author seemed to be shooting for turning the main character into a complete emotional wreck by the end, but that just isn't fun to read. This girl is amazing initially and you really like her, but she gets more and more bitchy as it goes on. The love triangle becomes a total farce as she just abuses the emotions of both of the guys until + Show Spoiler + essentially says fuck it i cba.
Also, I know the 3rd book seems to revolve around showing that even good and righteous wars seem often fruitless with the amount of sadness that war of any kind brings, but the deaths were executed wrong I felt. The one given the most focus + Show Spoiler +, you care much less about than that of + Show Spoiler +, who was given such a ridiculously anticlimactic death. It lasted like 1 line, and then there was one more line of 'noooooo' and that was it, he was practically never mentioned again. He is a character who is developed a lot in the 2nd/3rd books and you grow to really love the guy and you get so damn angry when he's gone and ignored in the space of a couple lines.
Also, something that still pisses me off is at the end of the 3rd book + Show Spoiler +katniss voting for another hunger games, WTF is that shit, I can only think its purpose is to show how mentally retarded she has gotten at that point
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Enders Game puts the Hunger Games to shame
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On March 25 2012 06:34 Lyter wrote:Also, something that still pisses me off is at the end of the 3rd book + Show Spoiler +katniss voting for another hunger games, WTF is that shit, I can only think its purpose is to show how mentally retarded she has gotten at that point
+ Show Spoiler +She had to vote yes out of fear of Coin.
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On March 25 2012 05:58 PH wrote:
I wouldn't recommend the series to anybody. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't good enough for me to pass it on to anyone else. The second and third book in particular were just awful. The entire second book basically didn't matter at all. The third was just dumb, had so much pointless garbage in it, even more ridiculous and unbelievable garbage, and just...ugh.
The first book wasn't bad, though. Definitely the strongest of the three.
That's about my thoughts as well. Not sure why some people love it so much.
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Never read the series, but it sounds like Hunger Games could be thrown into the ever-growing category where it would have been much better published as stand-alone work.
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I just finished the first book, and it was pretty good. Nothing I'd go recommend to people, but I liked that I could just pick it up at work and stop in the middle of whatever due to the simplicity of it. But it sucks since it seems that I'll be disappointed for the second book. Xxio told me on IRC that he just stopped reading at the second book too. The ending of the first one did seem like it could make the second book be either really good or really bad since they have a lot to work with.
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+ Show Spoiler +I really liked the first book, but it seemed like they couldn't make a good sequel because of what happened. Second book had a pretty bad plot, I mean, going back to the arena? For real? Ending of the second one was really unexpected though, which I liked, but third book didn't really make much sense either. And the ending of the third book pissed me off really hard. Like she worked so hard to get to Snow's Palace and suddenly the parachutes explode and it skips forward a couple days. WTF. Ending wasn't terrible though. Overall, I really enjoyed the series. Kinda predictable, but still a good read 
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I found the writing style kind of off-putting, but couldn't tell you why. But the first book was still pretty interesting.
Not a huge fan of the second/third book. It feels like the author set out to write a trilogy but only had plot for one book.
Would still recommend the first book to people with some reservations. And since it's a trilogy you can't just read the first book and stop!
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On March 25 2012 12:02 Whole wrote:
I just finished the first book, and it was pretty good. Nothing I'd go recommend to people, but I liked that I could just pick it up at work and stop in the middle of whatever due to the simplicity of it. But it sucks since it seems that I'll be disappointed for the second book. Xxio told me on IRC that he just stopped reading at the second book too. The ending of the first one did seem like it could make the second book be either really good or really bad since they have a lot to work with. I do not recommend the second book either. I really regret reading it. I loved the first book but the second book just shat all over it. Third had potential to be good, but the bridge from 1 to 3 was just too damn shit and cause of that 3 also becomes bad. The best way to summarise it is (as mentioned by someone above): Wanted a trilogy, only plot for 1 book, and shit just falls apart.
On March 25 2012 05:31 scarper65 wrote:
The first book was fine, but how can you say it was as good, or better, than any of the harry potter books? That just doesn't make any sense. As good as 1, 2 and 5*, better than 7, worse than the rest imo. Not a book I'd say "GO READ IT NOW" but I'd def not say no to reading the first book if anyone asked me if it was worth it.
Edit: typo
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I just finished the series, and I have to say, 'Mockingjay' is one of the most depressing books I've ever read. Collins likes to mutilate her characters emotionally/spiritually/physically, and by the beginning of the final book most of the prominent characters are irrevocably damaged goods.
Katniss is a trainwreck. She is so traumatized that every few pages she runs and hides from the world in a closet or something. You keep expecting her to overcome it, bringing back the good ol' Katniss from books 1 / 2, but worse and worse things just keep happening to her, and her state only goes downhill. There's maybe a couple pages at the end of the book where she starts trying to put herself back together, but there's not enough devoted to it for a reader invested in the trilogy to recover with her by the end. Even if it summarized that she manages to live as happily-ever-after as she's capable of, it doesn't qualify as a happy ending.
There's a large number of things left on depressing notes. Her relationship with Gale didn't need to work out romantically, but she now mentally associates him with her sister's death and they've parted ways permanently. Katniss' mother has now lost almost everything and now lives far away. Peeta, morally the best of them all, was not his old self whatsoever for 99% of the book, and may never fully recover. Finnick gets to be reunited with Annie / wedded with her, just to have his head eaten off by a mutt like fodder. Even with Coin dead, it's never really confirmed if the future is much brighter under Paylor, and it's grimly implied that this is just a brief respite from an eternal cycle of self-destruction. I think I could come to terms with it all if Prim wasn't killed off; it feels like it totally invalidates the struggles of the first book (the best book imo).
But hey, Plutarch seems pretty happy at the end of the book, so there's one character.
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I thoroughly enjoyed every book, I don't really have a complaint except Rue dying but it had to happen I suppose. I also liked the movie. Really I wish there were more books but I'll take this lovely story. ^^
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Well, the current contract is for the third book to be made into two films - yeah, I know, right? It's not even like Twilight and HP7 where there was at least a logical place for the split to happen.
I disliked Mockingjay when I first read it, but upon re-reading, I actually think it's pretty true to the universe and the characters - it just happens to be horrifically grim, and it kind of reaches too hard in terms of structure, I think. I suppose I think it's a good book, but in pushing the characters to the brink, turned them all into really unlikeable people - Peeta got hijacked into someone horrible, Gale become a ruthless commander in the war, they killed Prim, whose safety was Katniss' entire motivation for the whole series, and in doing so, made her have a psychotic break.
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On April 01 2012 15:52 khaydarin9 wrote:
Well, the current contract is for the third book to be made into two films - yeah, I know, right? It's not even like Twilight and HP7 where there was at least a logical place for the split to happen.
I disliked Mockingjay when I first read it, but upon re-reading, I actually think it's pretty true to the universe and the characters - it just happens to be horrifically grim, and it kind of reaches too hard in terms of structure, I think..
I guess it's all good and all that the book is teaching the lesson that the war and real life is unforgiven and gruesome. But the problem with it is that readers who read the first book is that they wanted to be emerging in the fantasy universe that was described by the author. The readers wanted to find similarity between themselves and the characters from the story which they love and are fond of and can be related in some way. The HP author did a good job here because we all want to be in the wizard world after read the book and we can all find something related to from the characters from the book. On the other hand, Mockingjay totally just switched from a fantasy world into something completely realistic and unenviable. That completely ruined the mood to some degree.
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Alright, I'm going to say having read the 3 books, book 1 is probably the worst. Nobody in this thread aside from OP and SetStndbySmn discuss any reasons why except simply the other 2 were crap or pointless etc.
The entire series is about Katniss' inner monologue, the struggle mentally with self identity and the eventual breakdown with the realization that the people rebelling with her are just the same as the old. The 3 books progress in a very logical and grim manner. The heroine eventually understands the hopelessness of the situation and even succumbs to it, that makes it real.Sometimes, even though you can spark and lead a rebellion, you're just another pawn in someone else's game. This book isn't happy go fun times, despite being for Youth Girls,
The first book is very much like Battle Royale and the writing itself is decent. The character development is nice but aside from that (and the innumerable descriptions of food, which it's nice to have that PoV and show the stark contrast of the 2 world's Katniss essentially experiences...but it's a lot of pages of food), the plot is extremely predictable because most of the Hunger Games are spent with us knowing that Katniss will survive and Peeta is good. The only eyebrow moment was the berry scene, but since she introduced the berries in the previous chapters, we knew that was going to come back up.
The second book deals with how the rebellion starts, how these characters learn to accept the role that's thrust upon them and the choices they need to make for their family's safety (i.e. run away, pretend to love Peeta/Wedding, willing to die in Quarter Quell). I find most of the tributes much more likeable or at least a relevant emotional connection when they die unlike the previous book which only had Rue's passing throw pain to the reader. (this is the book I actually enjoyed the most of the three, we see Katniss maturing as a character in her monologues and the games themselves were much more interesting)
The third book completes Katniss' mental transformation, and although it might be hard for the reader to deal with her multiple sedations, or the loss of Peeta, these are all really relevant. Some plot points can be contested, I guess, such as the death of Prim and the execution of Coin by Katniss, but most of the other areas are explained and if you could suspend belief in areas of book 1, then this shouldn't be a problem.
If people are still posting about this, please let me know as I'm genuinely interested in where book 2 and 3 fell off the map so much for you. The series itself was good for me, not great, but I really feel that the majority would have either liked the series as a whole, or not all. Liking the first book (of all the ones to choose from) seems strange unless you were looking for a "Katniss is a feminist super hero and all things fall into place" storyline. The dark (but still semi-happy ending) teaches a lot about societies to teenagers, and books like Animal Farm or 1984 all have ominous endings (NOT that I'm even beginning to compare THG literature to them). If you want to find happiness, in the end, she managed to win because she stemmed the cycle of oppression by killing Coin (although someone takes her place) and Peeta comes back to her.
Edit: Minor points from OP:
- With the Star Squad in book 3, you note the introduction of stocks who will clearly be killed and that makes it predictable and it's lame that Katniss is just going around on her mission. Let me just say this, the story at that point is NOT about the horrors of war, it's the parallels of this mission to the Hunger Games. Collins LITERALLY (yes, I'm using the L word) wrote her 3 books in the exact same manner 1) First half is table setting and character development 2) Second half is an action based battle 3) The resolution (which is longer in Book 3 obviously).
- Stock characters in 451 = stock characters meant to die in Hunger Games (basically everyone but Rue) or in Quarter Quell.
- Stupid war mission = All the arena battles (mission is survive vs mission is survive until President Snow)
- I would argue you should feel even more emotion in book 3 because people of actual importance die (Finnick who has survived 2 books & Boggs who should have as much impact as someone like Rue or at least Madge).
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just finished the third book. not quite sure how i feel about the series as a whole yet, i will say that the last book is very draining. i cant help but relate katniss to ender in how everything horrible that could possibly happen to her does, but unlike ender she doesnt get a peaceful death, somehow she has to live with it. i can say i was not a fan of the epilogue, reminded me to the crappy one at the end of harry potter
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I like the Hunger Games cause it felt like a mesh between two of my favorite books: Ender's Game and Battle Royale. However, I feel that the action/brutality of HG is subpar compared to Battle Royale. The psychology and banter of HG are subpar compared to Ender's Game.
To delve into specifics:
Mazer Rackham > Haymitch
Bean > Any possible supporting character from HG
Peter Wiggin > Snow and/or Coin
Abused Girl who has sex with boys before killing them > Any Career
Kazuo > Any Career
Mental Breakdown of Ender > Mental Breakdown of Katniss
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+ Show Spoiler +Wow, holy shit, the second book sucked so much ass I can't bother with the third. If the creator of The Hunger Games in the second book was in on the plan to free them and rebel all along, why the fuck did he put in all that dangerous shit that almost killed them all if not for pure blind luck. Why the fuck, if he was in communication with the rebels, did he not just tell them what was going to be on the map, like that clock bullshit etc.
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I just finished mockingjay there last night, ending my reading of the series. I thought it was a pretty good series although i found the ending to be a little anticlimatic. I think Collins says at the end of the third book that it was inspired by her fathers endevors in the vitanam war, and how he showed her the impacts of war in life. In that respect the third book did its job imo. Spoiler is my thoughts on the ending.
+ Show Spoiler +On the ending, im not too shure if its a happy or a sad ending. I mean Katniss ends up with peeta and actually being in love with him, but lost prim, her sister that she spent the entire series trying to protect.Those responsible do get their comuppons i suppose, but i guess the message is that life goes on.... A bit cynical but realistic i suppose, at least its different and dosent end up with gale comming in to save the day like a knight in armour or something childlish like that. What do you guys think about it?
Overall i loved the series, great charactures, great plot and there were some funny and 'wow' moments.
And i was very suprised with the film, it actually explained more (like the sceens with president snow and what happened to the gamemaker) And it did'nt cut out a ton of the book like the Hp films, which im very happy about. 8/10
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Wow I feel like I've been punched in the stomach.
That last book was nothing like what I expected.
I thought this trilogy was a little light reading; there was nothing light about that ending.
+ Show Spoiler +I was really dissapointed to be honest; I think it ended up doing nothing well. If you want to read a touching and accurate portrayal of the human side of war there are many much better stories.
Right from the start of book3 it takes a darker turn that wasn't fitting with the rest of the series (certainly not book1).
And at the end she just dissapears into obscurity without anyone even caring about what she has to say? This is the mockingbird; the face of the revolution. She ended up with Peeta (that was one of the few things I liked about the ending); surely they would've been at least celebrities?
As I said, this book is a sucker punch. Maybe the main reason I'm annoyed is because I wasn't expecting it.
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