The Hunger Games

[hard-boiled pat]

i think that these books are written with movies in mind rather than reader enjoyment... much like action movies are written with video games in mind.

[JSWolf]

I enjoyed them.

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by rhadin

I read the books and thought they were good -- not great, but certainly enjoyable. This afternoon I saw the movie, and I thought it was very well done. Closely follows the book. Donald Sutherland plays the "dictator". The Cinna character was not nearly as well developed as in the book, which was too bad. Woody Harrelson was a disappointment as Katniss' mentor.

I thought Stanley Tucci was excellent as Caesar Flickerman. Ditto Elizibeth Banks as Effie. Both very funny characters.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by cassidym

I thought Stanley Tucci was excellent as Caesar Flickerman. Ditto Elizibeth Banks as Effie. Both very funny characters.

Stanley Tucci is one of the best actors around and I agree, he was excellent. I particularly liked how he was able to give that huge smile when he opened his interviews. But that blue hair. . .

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

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.

You know, I have heard several people say this, but I have a hard time believing it. The first and second novels were published exactly a year apart. While I certainly can believe that a novel can be written in a few months, getting it written and published in a year when it wasn't planned for seems to strain my credibility a bit. Particularly with the obvious dangling plot threads that were left (in Hunger Games its mostly about personal issues, but still).

--
Bill

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Am I the only one that found this series (save for book 2) one of the worst set of books (other than twilight) that became super popular in the past few years?

I found them to be extremely predictable. My daughter begged me to read them, so I read them. She couldn't believe it when I told her that it was so predictable, so somewhere around half way through book 2 I told her how the story was going to end. She then asked me who she'd choose, so I told her and she sulked and stopped asking :-)

Edit: Oh, and I totally agree that book 3 was a complete flop....

[bill_mchale]

Well, I am going to stick with my belief that the books are actually pretty good. I do think though that if you view them purely as a thriller and a romance, you are going to be disappointed. The key, in my mind, is focusing on the fact that Katniss is an unreliable narrator. Really every thing she does, and every decision she makes should be considered in light of the fact that she misses an awful lot of what is going on and only appears to figure that out about some things later (but not about all things).

--
Bill

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

You know, I have heard several people say this, but I have a hard time believing it. The first and second novels were published exactly a year apart. While I certainly can believe that a novel can be written in a few months, getting it written and published in a year when it wasn't planned for seems to strain my credibility a bit. Particularly with the obvious dangling plot threads that were left (in Hunger Games its mostly about personal issues, but still).

--
Bill

I fully admit I could be wrong about the "only one book planned until after it was published" part. I wish I could find the original interview, though, where Collins admitted she initially had only one book planned... and only changed her mind after her publisher "flashed the cash" for more books. I remember thinking it was a refreshingly honest interview at the time. But I realize no one has any particular reason to believe some guy on the internet with no links to back him up.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I fully admit I could be wrong about the "only one book planned until after it was published" part. I wish I could find the original interview, though, where Collins admitted she initially had only one book planned... and only changed her mind after her publisher "flashed the cash" for more books. I remember thinking it was a refreshingly honest interview at the time. But I realize no one has any particular reason to believe some guy on the internet with no links to back him up.

I would be willing that when the publisher got the draft for the first volume, he decided he wanted more set in the same world. That allows them time to get plans a lot more organized and perhaps rework the ending of the first book enough to give people a reason to buy the second...

--
Bill

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

I would be willing that when the publisher got the draft for the first volume, he decided he wanted more set in the same world. That allows them time to get plans a lot more organized and perhaps rework the ending of the first book enough to give people a reason to buy the second...

--
Bill

That jives with what I've found. Collins finished writing The Hunger Games and pitched it to publishers which resulted in her signing a six-figure, three-book deal with Scholastic in 2006. The first book in the trilogy was then published in 2008. It seems likely to me that those two years between signing the deal and releasing the first book were used to rework the ending of the original novel and at least get some work done on the second novel and probably some overall direction for the third.

By the way... I mean none of my comments as condemnation in any way. I just remember reading the interview and thinking "Wow!" Why can't more authors admit that they had no plans to write a series until the publisher convinced them to do so with lots and lots of money?

[AlexGrama]

How much do they cost? I'm planning on buying them.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by AlexGrama

How much do they cost? I'm planning on buying them.

There seems to be a big discount over at Kobo for few more days:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=173071

[AlexGrama]

Originally Posted by Asawi

There seems to be a big discount over at Kobo for few more days:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=173071

Thank you very much. The 1$ + 1$ + 1$ sounds better.

[ukim]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Am I the only one that found this series (save for book 2) one of the worst set of books (other than twilight) that became super popular in the past few years?

After reading Battle Royale...I found Hunger Games a complete rip-off, just changed a few things here and there. Suzanne Collins to me couldn't write action of she was given a knife and a wet paper bag to hack through.

I understand that it's not about "kids killing kids", and when she wasn't writing action, and writing dialogue, she did a good job...which was why I think I loved book 2.

But wow....I was so underwhelmed that I think the movie might actually be better than the book on this one. They will portray the action much much better on screen than her written words.

And don't get me started on book 3....wow...save for the ending, one of the worst things I've read....but again, it was all action.

So after reading some reviews I'm in the minority about book 2 being worse than Hunger Games and Mockingjay, but at least that held my interest.

What were your thoughts on the books? I tried to be vague because of spoilers for those that want to see it and have not read it when it comes out.

i‘ve just finished reading the trilogy ,can't believe it took me a total of four days .
but i heard the movie's awesome , though i failed to see jennifer lawrence as katniss.

[Tim_A]

I hadn't even heard of these books until I saw the trailer for the movie. But having sat confused through Dragon Tattoo because I hadn't read the book, I decided to go and read it before seeing the movie, which I did.

I liked the fact that the book was written in the first person. It gave it a narrow focus and a certain naiveté - we don't know what Katniss doesn't know, and have to figure it out just as she does.

Spoiler:

I didn't find myself investing in Peeta's character, even after the 'bombshell'. I guess that's because katniss herself is largely indifferent. Rue on the other hand... she only makes a relatively brief appearance, and from the outset we know how it will end, but for me this was the pivotal point of the book, for this is where Katniss breaks, and ultimately that's what the book is about - the breaking of Katniss.

Just how broken, we don't find out till book 2.

Books 2 and 3 I read after seeing the film (thanks to Kindle, the next book is just a click away...), and so now Katniss Was Jennifer Lawrence, Haymitch Was Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci Was Caesar Flickerman (both expertly cast IMHO) and so on. It's in book 2 that we realise just how bad things are, and what have been the unforeseen consequences of the first book. To the victor, the spoils, but at what price? Things go from bad to worse, and as soon as the Quarter Quell is announced, we just know what's going to happen. This time around though, the games feel somewhat rushed and underwritten. Tick tock... come on let's get this bit over with... Again though it's written in the first person and we're often just guessing what's actually going on. Oh, but there's a doozie of a cliffhanger!

Book 2 is really a bridge to book 3. I guess if I'd had to wait a year for it to be published that would have made it somewhat disappointing, but Kindle-click and off we go. This is where the rebellion really kicks off, and the body count keeps rising. People we don't like die. People we like die. People we *really* like die. By now we have a lot invested in many of these characters, and their deaths come like body blows (although some of them could be better written). We do really share the sense of desolation by the end. And then it all falls apart.

Unfortunately the last few chapters degenerate into a poor, rushed, unsatisfying mess. We've had 1200 pages of being put through the wringer: Can they survive; will they survive; will they; won't they; which one; tragedies; agonies; more screaming nightmares than you've had hot dinners; an entire box of Kleenex (and I'm a 50 year old man, for crying out loud!), and the payoff is a throwaway "oh, x got a cushy job in district 2". I nearly threw my Kindle across the room!

Overall though, I'd say it works well as one long book. Shame about the ending.