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Old 04-10-2012, 08:13 AM   #65
ndixon
Mostly Harmless
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Posts: 41
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: UK
Device: Kindle 4, Nook Simple Touch
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer View Post
Since she had no intention of writing a second (or third) book until after the first was published, the first book sounds like the perfect jumping-off point to me. Since at one point, she fully intended that to be the end of the story.
I read all three in a week, so I had more of a sense of one longer book split into three main sections.
I liked the ambiguity and awkwardness at the end of the first book and didn't need to see it resolved one way or the other. Yeah, it could have ended there for me.

I felt the second book was just a desperate rehash of the same ideas, with the supporting characters less well developed and a bit of a deus ex machina at the end to quickly sort things out and lead into the next phase of the trilogy.

The third book had a welcome change in tone, and felt much darker, but left me with the feeling that Collins was hacked off with the whole thing by then and just wanted to be rid of it. It reminded me of when Douglas Adams got fed up of Fenchurch and the whole Hitchhiker's series in Mostly Harmless.
Mockingjay feels quite bleak, and the ending, from the descent of the silver parachutes onwards, feels rushed. Maybe I'm being too picky, but I don't think it's fair to just dump that on the reader suddenly and dash through without exploring the impact more thoughtfully.
Spoiler:
Prim doesn't appear in the books much, but is still a central character, and it seemed odd to dispatch her suddenly and then move on rapidly towards Katniss' new life in D12 without covering more fully the loss of a family member, and its impact on the other characters. I found myself stunned that Prim suddenly appeared in that situation and was quickly wiped out. I know there was a point to be made about political leaders and the morality of war, but even by the time I'd read the epilogue it still felt unresolved.


My general problem with the whole series is that it felt derivative, and I kept being reminded of other books and stories: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Matrix (Hovercrafts, 13 and the whole idea of being inserted into the games and lifted out again), 1984 (especially the Hanging Tree stuff in Mockingjay - just kept thinking "Under the spreading chestnut tree...")

Last edited by ndixon; 04-10-2012 at 08:25 AM.
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