The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Hunger Games is possibly one of my favorite franchises/series to exist. I remember when I was in the seventh grade (nearly a decade ago!) beginning the trilogy. I remember watching Catching Fire in the movies with my best friend and watching Mocking Jay part 1 with my dad. Good times :)

This prequel has me slightly over the fence. The beginning felt slow, the romance towards the end felt unnecessary and stretched out. The middle, once the Games start, is what I found to be the most influential part. Actual commentary as the Hunger Games should be. I shed tears over most of the tributes and also for best boy Sejanus when he was hanged. Cory on the other hand can choke. But I already felt that way when I finished Mockingjay when I was in 8th grade and this prequel supports those feelings.

Lucy Gray was meh and so was the Dean. Dr. Gaul was kinda cool in a mad scientist way and side character Festus is also best boy along with Sejanus. Cory having his own little Hunger Games moment towards the end with his love was exhilarating and provided a parallel to Katniss and Peeta. I also enjoyed the little “Easter eggs” that hint towards the trilogy, they made me happy.


For my last remark I have to say that the book was too long and certain scenes and moments could've been left out or shortened and reading the last 100 pages was difficult as I felt the romance drag out the book, but nevertheless I enjoyed the book.


Also: would've preferred a book on the first rebellion, life before Panem, how Panem came to be, or even a book on Haymitch's Quarter Quell! Way more interesting than Snow >:(

Wow, this book was SO hard to get into! I had to FORCE myself just to read 10 pages every night and, I can't lie, I finally just gave up and read some spoilers. And I'm pretty happy I did because the ending was altogether disappointing as well.

There were some things I liked about the book, like having it told from Coriolanus' point o fview. When we were first introduced to him, I was generally surprised that he seemed like such a “nice” guy and I was intrigued to see his fall from grace into villainy. However, all of this just seemed to get lost in his generally muddled thoughts and just left me confused. He is presented as this super smart, logical-to-the-point-of-cold guy (as we see him later in the Hunger games series) yet, his thoughts come across as meandering and pointless.

I wish I could have loved this, but I couldn't even finish it.

President Snow reminds me of [a:Elmore Leonard 12940 Elmore Leonard https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1240015224p2/12940.jpg]'s bad guys. He gives you the kind of detail into their inner workings that although you may not like them, you do understand their reasonings. Since I'm not fond of him, it's hard to get enthusiastic about his biography. And I'm more sensitive to negativity and gruesomeness now, than I most likely was when I read the series.

I mean, it was fine. It reminded me that I really do find this world fascinating. I do not, however, give a flying f**k about Snow, so that was a bit of a drag. Honestly I was much more interested in the secondary characters than the lead. It was fine.

The ending was so disappointing. I was hoping to be explained how Snow got to presidency. Besides that, at least the first 10 chapters were so boring.

Lots of times I changed on whether I was rooting for the POV character here. It takes to the very end to be sure.

You know when you kinda know what happens but are also prepared to be surprised? That's this book. I think there could have been a better delivery-especially since the author has such great talent. Nonetheless, I am glad to have read it.

It took 150 pages to get interesting, and though I did enjoy how well the original series felt entwined despite it being a prequel, the ending was anti-climatic. Giving it a 3 purely because I'm a tried and true Hunger Games fan, and I loved all the little references to the original series.

“Bueno, ya sabes lo que dicen: el espectáculo no se acaba hasta que canta el sinsajo”

A pesar de la crítica negativa y de unas cuantas cosas que no me gustaron, el libro está plagado de símbolos y explicaciones y tiene un final tremendo. Así que se merecía un 4.5
~ la evolución de Snow de “bueno” a malo a malo malo malo

I actually thought the first two thirds of this book were alright, the Hunger Games are fun (even though everything about it is kind of fucked up, it still is just kind of silly fun for some reason) and seeing them from a perspective outside of the arena was a bit novel, but maybe if I had read the original books more recently it would feel a bit redundant again.

And then the last third of the book is just... kind of boring? I didn't really care about Snow as a character at all. Maybe I'm forgetting details from the original trilogy but it seems to barely matter that he is Snow at all. This isn't even really a fall from grace story, he's kind of a shitty person on a shitty path the entire time. He briefly flirts with being not shitty, not even good just not shitty, and then decides to be shitty.

I actually liked a lot of the prose in the book, it's easy to read and it's evocative without being overly descriptive. Just nice light reading. But there are a lot of terrible story beats that repeat over and over, like Snow having a secret or something and being sure he was going to be found out, being confronted by someone, and then oh actually they didn't know and he's actually had this good thing happen! Or vice versa where he was sure he got away with something, but oh no, he's caught! The inner monologue he'd have leading up to these events so clearly laid out that it would twist the other way every time. Ugh.

The hunger games is one of my favourite sagas, so I was eager to read this one. The story of Snow was impressive and I could connect some dots between the two stories.
Also, that was a moment when I remember Katniss, so I read the whole hunger games again.
It's an amazing idea to explore the background of other important characters of the hunger games world. I loved the book.

Mantiene la estructura de siempre, personajes bien construidos pero la mayor parte del libro es paja innecesaria y aporta bastante poco a la trilogía principal, quitando algunas escenas de Lucy Gray que nos recuerdan bastante a Katniss y ese simbolismo del sinsajo, las rosas y la importancia de la canción de Hangin' Tree. Y todavía hay que tener bastante imaginación para hacer un paralelismo entre la Bandada que tienen los rebeldes en esta precuela y la Bandada que surge en Sinsajo con Katniss, Peeta, Finnick y compañía. Lo único que me ha sorprendido ha sido que Tigris fuera prima de Snow, y aún así, tampoco explica mucho por qué traiciona a su primo ayudando a Katniss a derrotar el régimen de Snow.

Otra cosa de la que tampoco sabemos nada es de qué pasará con Lucy Gray, aunque entiendo que la autora nos ha querido dejar en ascuas por todo eso del fantasma que da nombre a su personaje, muy bonito y muy simbólico, pero no tiene mucho sentido crear un personaje para después dejar inacabado su arco argumental, me parece muy raro por parte de Collins ya que suele seguir una estructura muy marcada en sus novelas con un arco estructural cíclico de 9 partes y un cierre del ciclo, aunque si lo interpretamos de la otra forma sí que tiene un final metafórico por todo el tema de la nieve que nos cuenta la canción. Decepcionada, pero no mucho.

3.5

I am taking some time to think about this book after finishing it write something more thoughtful about it. For now, I will say the book is good but doesn't live up to my expectations mainly because of pacing during the beginning of Parts 2 and 3. In these sections, it felt like there wasn't much purpose to the plot.

I know there was a ton of hype over this book. I was very excited for this book when I found out it was coming. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed. This book had me on a emotional roller coaster. I loved Coriolanus and Lucy and Sejanus especially. There were so many dynamics with the characters alone and the circumstances each the capital members and the tributes were in was shocking. I thought the original trilogy circumstances were rough but omg I was shocked the setting and environment this book set the scene with. It was well written and honestly was not the side I expected to see out of Coriolanus since the original trilogy he was a vile, and very hateful individual to those that defied the capital. Dr. Gaul really pissed me off with her psychotic thinking and methods but yeah. I'm trying to keep this spoiler free but I loved everything about this book.

Seems like a lot of people were left disappointed by this, but I personally enjoyed it.

I found the insight into how the Hunger Games came to be really interesting. I also found the insight into how Mr Snow turned out the way he did very fascinating.

Interestingly, whilst it didn't happen with the original Hunger Games trilogy, I really found myself questioning the morality of the hunger games. Mainly how the privileged people of the Capitol used it as a form of entertainment. I get it was their way of punishing the people of the districts (or the rebels), but it really was so wrong on so many levels.

Talking of which, I really despised Dr Gaul! She was horrid!

I'd forgotten what an engaging storyteller Collins is and it was fun to escape back into the world of Panem. I sympathize with the impulse to humanize and complicate Coriolanus Snow's character, but his development at the end felt a little forced.
I would also like to lodge a complaint regarding the audiobook. When books are part of a series, or have been made into movies, it seems logical (necessary) to have internal consistency regarding pronunciation. The reader for this book pronounces Panem more like the defunct airline than the dystopian world. He also reads every song in the same cadence (even when songs are recognizably from our time.

This book was major MEH. I wanted to like Snow, but I just couldn't will myself to do it. It was interesting to see how the monster was created, but I couldn't muster the empathy to care about him at all. Definitely my least favorite of the series. What I really want is a book about the 50th Hunger Games. I really need to know how Haymitch won his games.

Collins takes another dive into the hunger games universe, what a shame the pool was empty.

Unlike the original trilogy were Katniss's character was fully formed over the three books. Collins has attempted to do the same with Snow in one and this is where the problems start. There is little to no character arc for Snow.

Starting the story as unlikable, untrustworthy and completely self interested and ending about the same. Some of the secondary characters are more interesting than Snow himself. Instead of showing the fall of Snow's Family and then his bloody and poisonous rise to power. Collins takes the reader through less than a year off Snow's Life at school, including the 10th hunger game. The rest of Snow's rags to riches story is covered the last few chapters and written withsuch lack of enthusiasm I wouldn't be surprised If this wasn't a quick cash grab.

One of the biggest redeeming features of this book was the Narrator in the audiobook version, who does an amazing job voicing all the characters. For this reason alone the book is worth listening to and is the reason I gave it the rating I have.

3.5 stars.

Wouldve been amazingly deceptive if I weren't a 22 year old English college graduate. Also, very good analysis of the Democratic Party. Full review to come at my blog.

One never quite knows what to expect when returning to a universe a few years removed. Additionally, writing about someone we know in a fashion is a special challenge. In my opinion, Collins rises to the task.

I was guessing throughout the book, enjoying the new directions the story goes. It feels strange to have any positive or empathetic feelings the known protagonist in the future, which is a complement to the storytelling.

The forces and influences that push and pull at us work to shape our views and the choices we make, steering our direction. Sometimes people find themselves envious of what another has while the other wishes for the life of the other. The wrestling match in our souls as we struggle to find our ways in this life are quite dramatic. I see this played out in this book. Knowing the reality of this struggle helps us see and understand those influences.

Me disseram mas quis checar por mim mesma: concordei com amaioria. 64 anos antes de Katniss, o retrato de Coriolanus Snow é só repulsivo. Ele soa egoísta, mimado, superficial, um produto do seu meio. Mesmo apaixonado, continua unilateral e sem profundidade, buscando sempre o que vê em si: desconfiança e traição. Dá pra pular sem remorsos mesmo.

I have never been genuinely angry over the ending of a book before.

Meh. Nothing particularly intriguing or meaningful here. There were a few points where I was tense, but unlike the other books nothing was psychologically thrilling. We all knew Snow was terrible, no?

I'm a diehard fan of The Hunger Games. But this book fell flat for me. I loved the extra world building and I liked Lucy Gray's songs. But Snow isn't a compelling character. This got a third star only because once again a narrator can make or break a book. Fontana made this book so much better.