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A review by edrickashay
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
5.0
Gruesome details don’t let you forget you’re reading a Hunger Games novel, an imperfect self-centered main character who thinks himself in love, great worldbuilding, paired with expertly organized storytelling…I forgot how good of a writer Suzanne Collins is.
You may not like the characters, you may not like where the story goes, but lets give credit where credit is due. They are all masterfully controlled and told by Collins.
I’m not sure why this book is rated anything less than 4 stars, unless the readers aren’t fans of dark fantasy and are rating based on personal preference. In which case, why would you read a Hunger Games novel?
My mind is stuck on fantastic attention to detail:
Great atmosphere, great characters (who, by the way, aren’t supposed to be likeable), amazing internal struggle and a battle between what you think you want and who you really are, teenagers who think themselves in love, natural dialogue that helps place and individualize characters, foreshadowing, hints and nods to the original series (at times excessive for my personal taste), character-driven – clearly I cannot say enough good things about this book.
I did think the story hit a lull at the mid-point of the novel, but quickly picked up within a hundred pages or less. I would love to read this story as someone who didn’t know who President Snow was and had never read a Hunger Games novel; I’m not sure I would’ve kept reading if I wasn’t desperate to figure out what made Snow “turn” into who he was – but he always was who he is.
I also disliked how quickly the two main characters fall for each other, and how blinded by their own love they are, but I guess trauma does that to young people. I am also, not quite a fan of all the singing, but that’s extremely personal preference.
Overall, I think this book is being sold short. It isn’t written in any inherently unique or earth-shattering way. But I think people aren’t realizing how beautiful the writing, the story structure, and the characters all are. You may not like the characters, you may not like where the story goes, but lets give credit where credit is due. They are all masterfully controlled and told by Collins
.
We studied the first Hunger Games’ first chapter when I studied writing at SCAD, which gave me an extreme appreciation for how writers set up their novels. Suzanne Collins masterfully sets the stage for the atmosphere and Snow’s greatest motivation within the first page.
You may not like the characters, you may not like where the story goes, but lets give credit where credit is due. They are all masterfully controlled and told by Collins.
I’m not sure why this book is rated anything less than 4 stars, unless the readers aren’t fans of dark fantasy and are rating based on personal preference. In which case, why would you read a Hunger Games novel?
My mind is stuck on fantastic attention to detail:
Great atmosphere, great characters (who, by the way, aren’t supposed to be likeable), amazing internal struggle and a battle between what you think you want and who you really are, teenagers who think themselves in love, natural dialogue that helps place and individualize characters, foreshadowing, hints and nods to the original series (at times excessive for my personal taste), character-driven – clearly I cannot say enough good things about this book.
I did think the story hit a lull at the mid-point of the novel, but quickly picked up within a hundred pages or less. I would love to read this story as someone who didn’t know who President Snow was and had never read a Hunger Games novel; I’m not sure I would’ve kept reading if I wasn’t desperate to figure out what made Snow “turn” into who he was – but he always was who he is.
I also disliked how quickly the two main characters fall for each other, and how blinded by their own love they are, but I guess trauma does that to young people. I am also, not quite a fan of all the singing, but that’s extremely personal preference.
Overall, I think this book is being sold short. It isn’t written in any inherently unique or earth-shattering way. But I think people aren’t realizing how beautiful the writing, the story structure, and the characters all are. You may not like the characters, you may not like where the story goes, but lets give credit where credit is due. They are all masterfully controlled and told by Collins
.
We studied the first Hunger Games’ first chapter when I studied writing at SCAD, which gave me an extreme appreciation for how writers set up their novels. Suzanne Collins masterfully sets the stage for the atmosphere and Snow’s greatest motivation within the first page.