A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Spoiler Free Review [CC]

[@merphynapier42]

I think some will love this book for the extra world building and history it provides and how cool it is to see the capital and The Games in such an early and unpolished stage. I could also see some enjoying watching Snow's slow and subtle decent. I did not. But I'm excited to discuss it with you guys and hear what were the things you loved and/or hated.

[@AnotherNerdyPerson]

A prequel shouldn't rely on high stakes violence, especially if an "old" character is the focus --since we know they ultimately live, jt undercuts the tension. A prequel should focus on world building what wasn't seen, expanding on what was, and showing the growth of characters into how they became who they were in the "original" series

[@michaelodonnell824]

Would you recommend that someone new to the Hunger Games should read this first? (This doesn't apply to me)

[@SunnyLovetts]

AnotherBookishLycanthrope The Hobbit was a prequel but it was full of both world building and also stayed exciting. :)

[@emullinsstreams]

@@AnotherNerdyPerson to me, this book succeeded in that. Apparently a lot of others disagree.

[@Milamberas45]

@@SunnyLovetts Hobbit came out before Lord of the Rings so it's not prequel...

[@deadlyk12538]

I find it super cool that "Lucy Gray" is also an old poem in which a girl gets lost and possibly dies in a SNOWstorm

[@synflwr]

That’s quite clever, I feel stupid now I thought the name was just a random one.

[@aimun5255]

Omg I was thinking why the name sounded so familiar n chalked it up to common name and common surname

[@awafflefry7126]

😮😮😮

[@unicornbarfingrainbows7599]

Spoilers I hope that means she died at the end. I hated how unclear ending was. I heard the ending was meant to be open, but I still dislike it

[@mariamahmed2021]

OMG HAHA yes! Btw: When they reference that song in the epilogue, I pretty much lost my mind. Emotions were high, man.

[@claudiacarmona264]

Well its still a better story then The Cursed Child.

[@JohnBradford14]

Is Cursed Child basically the new Twilight?

[@vavrinminhas3494]

@ John Bradford Some people liked Twillight, I don't think I can say that about The Cursed Child.

[@octaviablackthorn9]

hello gamers I know a few unfortunately. They just have bad taste

[@j.fragoso7451]

Reading the back of a gallon of milk is better than reading The Cursed Child. Your setting the bar way to low.

[@FantasticBeasts2024]

It’s not a book. It’s its own thing. It’s a HP play. The “book” is a screenplay of the theatre production.

[@krose4694]

I guess the main point of the book was less about understanding snow’s character or journey, but more about further exploring the philosophical discussions and implications of the Hunger Games. I agree that it was slow and the plot meandered enough to keep me wondering what exactly the point was, but despite this, the questions about human nature, freedom, and control are still lingering in my mind which gives the book some sort of extra meaning

[@mariamahmed2021]

I AGREE WITH THIS 100%

[@nik-my-hero]

Exactly, this book provides a look into how characters view human nature. Which goes BEYOND just adding more lore to the series. Snow develops his view of humanity and what motivates throughout the book. I found that process super compelling because everything in that world view dictates how we should handle humanity. However, I agree in that the end of the book glossed over the end when it could’ve used “more”

[@ThegreatGatsby131]

Yes thank you,😀

[@deogryffin1006]

The whole book is a big monologue of snow's philosophy and all the side characters, inculing the romance, do is complicate it and bring new aspects to the monologue. The moment I started viewing it this way, I knew I loved it.

[@oh-wonder2129]

I kind of agree, but the author could've nailed this by taking a different approach. Maybe choosing a more interesting character to whose story tell.

[@breckenschossow4042]

i would like to see Haymitch's hunger games, he was in one of the quarter quell and it was really the birth on the Mockingjay. If you read the book you would know that in the Haymitch's games Katniss's mom's friend (Maysilee Donner) was in it and she was actually the first to take the Mockingjay pin with her to the games, if I am remembering correctly. When she died the family got the pin back and then it eventually got passed down to her niece Madge, who convinced katniss to take the pin as her tribute token. It would be interesting to see more of that story and how the Mockingjay originally appeared. (all of this is based on the book) To my understanding, the Mockingjay pin had always been somewhat of a sign of rebellion as the Mockingjay was created to help the capitol but the district was able to manipulate the capital using them. That makes me wonder why Maysilee had taken the Mockingjay pin as well, was she rebellious in any way and did it have any effect on the future stories that we already know? I don't know, maybe I am the only one who thinks it would be interesting to see the start of the iconic Mockingjay pin. Anyways sorry for the rant, not sure if this 100% accurate but let me know what you think.

[@mariamahmed2021]

I would love that too but I feel like since Suzanne Collins already summarized those Games in Catching Fire, it would be kinda difficult to write that.

[@lisanachtmans4132]

@@mariamahmed2021 That's actually exactly why I would enjoy hearing this story. Suzanne Collins already introduced Haymitch's whole story in catching fire therefore a sequel would not feel that far fetched and forced just to add another book to the series. It may be true that we already know a lot about Haymitch's hunger games and about his character but on the other hand a sequel would not just represent a chance to tell Haymitch's story in the arena but as well to talk about his family, his friends and his life before the arena and after the arena. What made Haymitch to the man we saw in the hunger games? Who was his mentor? In which way did the Capitol exploit him? All in all I think that Haymitch is a very interesting character with multiple layers. It's a real shame Collins missed that opportunity! I mean even though it would have been Haymitch's point of view we could still have seen how Snow shaped the games and the Capitol.

[@mariamahmed2021]

@@lisanachtmans4132 That actually would be really interesting because even though we might know how the Games go or about Haymitchs character, as you said, there is still a lot we dont know so if Suzanne Collins decided to write that, I would be totally down.

[@selantrian]

I completely forgot about this. This is so cool. There’s always more to The Hunger Games than I remember, which is why I love it so much

[@JJ-he5in]

The Capitol didn't create the Mockingjay, they created the Jabberjay. The rebels were able to find out their use and - as you stated - used it against the Capitol. The Jabberjays were then released into the wild to die off but instead mated with the mockingbirds and then came the Mockingjay race. They were accidentally created and they spread rapidly. In a way, this was an embarrassment to the Capitol and it showed a lack of control, just like the rebellion.

[@_axolotl_6783]

My feelings on this book are kinda complicated, I found I really enjoyed the story, however I feel like because the pacing was a bit wonky it took away from my experience as a whole. However I really enjoyed how different Lucy Gray was from Katniss, I kind of expected a deprived, depressed, angry girl from 12, but we got something totally different, which I think was one of the best points of the book.

[@mariamahmed2021]

@Ryan J. Henne I definitely agree!

[@crooked7592]

Yes! the pacing was so weird, but the story was good. Although, I was a little confused by the third part, it didn't make a ton of sense to me. I feel like it should have ended differently, but still keep the sad, lonely vibe.

[@soemwriter]

So am I the only one who thought that there are super many connections between the girls? Both stood out at their reapings where they wore their mother's dress, both are gifted singers, both gained the sympathy of the Capitol through interviews (though for Katniss it might have been more due to Peeta's interview), both have a heart for songbirds/mockingjays, both know the lake outside of 12, both are kids from the Seam, both need the Hob for their surviving (Lucy sings, Katniss trades), their families both own a goat, both have a (kind of) little sister...

[@TheLibraryofAllenxandria]

If he's named Coriolanus, Collins might be signaling that change into villian. The Roman general Coriolanus was a war hero who became corrupt once he came to power, then marched on the city once they booted him out. Collins loves her some Roman names lol Thanks for the review!

[@Bluejaybooks]

Yes, there is a Q and A with the author at the end of my edition to the book, and she draws a parallel between Snow and the Roman general you're talking about in it. So that was intentional.

[@Viewable11]

Coriolanus from Shakespeare's book also has the same aristocratic philosophy that some people deserve to have more money and power than others based on who their parents were.

[@TheLibraryofAllenxandria]

@@Bluejaybooks oh that's awesome! I was unaware. Love Classical references!

[@TheLibraryofAllenxandria]

@@Viewable11 yep! Shakespeare's play is based on the Coriolanus story, up to and including that his mom was the one who convinced him to ditch his siege, but Shakespeare's Coriolanus is much better and fuller realized character than the meager history references we have of more the man's deeds rather than his character!

[@silverhawking]

True. Coriolanus's story ends with him giving in and sacrificing his life to save his family, though: it's definitely not as solid a parallel as some of the other Roman names.

[@MusicalRocky]

"Small choices that he makes that start snowballing..." Heh, snow.

[@Ariel-xn4nl]

me exactlt

[@artemisfowl1790]

I shouldn't have cackled, but I did.

[@AmpersandsDeadChannel]

Heh, balling.

[@cricketcalin]

Given the comments it sounds like we need a Dear Authors: prequels

[@thegreatlioness]

Yes we do, that would be great.

[@jaxsetbertoncarlism8873]

Nonsense, the book is amazing and a classic so im sure the absurd callforths to the other series were publisher mandated

[@shirleytatha8189]

I was in awe when I read this book... because you can tell from the details that it wasn't just an afterthought

[@addisonhunt2066]

But then you have ones like magicians nephew that was really good!

[@emullinsstreams]

We got a backstory though, and this is almost more realistic in the sense that he's complicated. He didn't start out one-dimensionally evil; his circumstances helped create him just like this happens in real life. Maybe it's because I didn't treat it like a plot-driven novel but rather a character-driven novel, but I wasn't bored. I'm not surprised, though, because a lot of people will likely dislike this book going in because they also didn't want a Snow story.

[@lucaleone4331]

I agree with you. I kind of thought it odd that according to Merphy she expected snow to be a Voldemort like person, when Snow was never this person in The Hunger Games. I can clearly see how he got to be President Snow in this book.

[@weliveinasociety]

I love hearing villains' backstories, so I think I will love the book. :)

[@mariamahmed2021]

I definitely agree with how it is more character-driven than plot driven.

[@shelly4055]

I liked your comment about this story being character-driven instead of plot-driven. I viewed this story as a drama rather than an action story. When I understood what genre it fit in my mind, it made the book way more compelling because I wasn't expecting action left and right. I came to enjoy the character interactions and conversations that fully developed them.

[@hellomehi6692]

Same here. I loved the slow pace allowing me to drink in every flaw of Coriolanus and every pivotal decision. I loved all of the contrasting opinions of the mentors. I loved seeing things from Snow's point of view and honestly (not to hate on anyone you can have your own opinion) don't see why anyone wouldn't want to hear his side.

[@MrRorosuri]

I guess im in the minority. Cause i loved it. Gave it 4/5.tnx for the review.

[@dsnake1]

I loved it too. The solidification of the Capitol-favoring Hobbsian point of view inside of Snow was a wonderful way of showing Snow's motivations (outside of whatever helps Snow best, I suppose). His problematic, at best, view of other people was something I really enjoyed, as well. We don't often get dirtbag main characters who don't get comically bad or get redeemed, just progressively get more set in their ways. It was fun.

[@claudiacarmona264]

I love it. I would give it the same rating because the pacing is what bother me.

[@patfuss8998]

I wouldn’t say I loved it because love is a strong word but I definitely liked it

[@jaxsetbertoncarlism8873]

@@dsnake1 i think it was a fall from grace than simply not being redeemed, as snow was just emotionally stunted but still a decent person at the start

[@JustinSusan]

I loved the book

[@darthxvader3847]

Strange things did happen here, No stranger would it be. the biggest plot twist for me, is the lover in "the hanging tree."

[@nataliamatos4503]

if we met at midnight in the hanging tree

[@bluedune8458]

Salve to Cat Overlords you just replied with spoilers

[@darthxvader3847]

@Salve to Cat Overlords (Spoilers alert) Honestly I was confused at this part, really Idk if Lucy really loved snow because she kept on singing about Billy. But also snow's feelings was questionable. the ending really made me so speechless idk if suzzane rushed it or what. And yes I agree she didn't die, because she moved to North which is district 13. Many theory she is Alma Coin. not sure but who knows

[@averenelux6412]

@@darthxvader3847 Lucy can't be Coin because Coin is in her 50's in Mockingjay and Lucy would be in her late 70's like Snow. Aslo it was mentioned that Haymitch had a mentor who "won games so long ago that nobody remebered that" and I think 40 years between Haymitch's games and Lucy's is enough, to say it was a long time. Mentor aslo died of old age not that long after Haymitch won and Lucy would be around 50-60 so (as horrible as it sounds) could die at that age considering all that crazy stuff or maybe some late trauma and addiction like with many other victors? I aslo don't think District 12 had another victor and because of how rare it was I don't think somebody would forget her existence (maybe if it was d1 or d2 it could be possibile, but not in d12) You never know. It's just more logical for me.

[@darthxvader3847]

@@averenelux6412 yes I get your point. But somehow it's confusing tho, it was mentioned too in the book that Lucy gray can't go back in district 12 because the Mayor will kill her, he's accusing her of killing mayfair. She can never go back to 12. Lucy was the first victor of district 12 yes. as mentioned in catching fire there was a Victor before haymitch, but Dr. Gaul erased all the recordings of Lucy's hunger games, she said in the book that It won't go on history. Gaul erased all the data, this is why in the train scene in catching fire, katniss never found the footage of the 1st victor of district 12. The ballad of songbirds and snakes left me hundred of unanswered questions. the book has already an epilogue, so I'm hoping that the next book will be in Lucy Gray's POV. I mean Lucy gray can't just dissappear/vanished.

[@lucaleone4331]

Im not really a fan of how you viewed Snow, especially when comparing him to Voldemort. Voldemort is a sociopath and an all around genocidal maniac. Snow is not that, he never was even in the Hunger Games. He is definitely dictator-esque but he did it out of a way to keep control and "peace" in a time where the world is tearing itself apart. I'm glad I actually liked this book and felt this was clearly presented well in this book. I liked reading from him he wasn't clearly good, but wasnt overtly bad. Im not sure why someone would have wanted to see this from Snow. I liked how you could see that most of his actions were done out of surviving and they weren't clearly selfless. He had many shades of grays and faults. I think my favorite part about this was how Snow was portrayed. (I still dont like him as a person mind you, just think that its very evident he isnt mustache twirling evil and you can see how he eventually turns into the president Snow we know from The Hunger Games)

[@eveaudrey9662]

she didn't compare Snow to Voldemort she said she would've preferred if Snow's story was similar to Voldemort's background/origin story.

[@kmizo27]

I agree with you, I personally like antagonists who can elicit sympathy in some way. Being born "evil" or just becoming "evil" abruptly is kind of boring to me. That ending though, ooof.

[@user_.b]

honestly im tired of the ableism that is inherent in "he was BoRn a sociopath/psychopath/narcissist etc so obviously he a dictator now." I think that wanting all the really, really bad guys to just be born bad comes from some pretty gross societal ideas that we have from some harmful stereotypes we see in popular media. I like the idea of a villain who wasnt born super evil, just kinda a selfish person, because that's far more accurate to real life and much less harmful to actual people with mental illnesses here in the real world. I also am tired of the "slightly mentally ill person sNaPS and kills people" thing, and I am glad we didnt get that either.

[@amara560]

@Blake Tran Voldemort's evil is part nature and nurture. Do you know how he was conceived?

[@simohayha6031]

@@amara560 with a love potion which is why voldemort is incapable of feeling love/loved.

[@noammoriah5915]

"Small choices that he makes that start SNOWballing into the character that we all already know and hate." no pun intended?😂

[@miguelmelo2663]

I hadn't even noticed that 😂

[@noammoriah5915]

5:16

[@MusicalRocky]

Great minds notice alike!

[@mdr11]

I loved seeing the Games in a more primitive state, as you said. I also really liked seeing how Snow manipulated people in conversation, it gave us a glimpse of what he would become when the stakes raised later. He wasn't entirely sadistic and evil but he definitely was manipulative, cunning, and self-serving, and I'm glad we got to see that.

[@lucaleone4331]

I feel like the Games, as you said, wasnt supposed to point out the death of the tributes. We got two books of that. The point of this book is to see the Capitol. I think the reaction wasnt to feel sympathy for the dead, but to see how people in power react. You get some very selfish idiotic mentors obviously, but its interesting to see the people who didn't have this disgusting reaction to people dying. I think it helped build the gray of the capitol the book has been pushing toward.

[@juandavidrozo3411]

***Mild Spoilers*** I actually really liked the book. The pacing was bit all over the place at times, and it kinda take point out of the overall experience. However, I found the story, plot and overall narrative really enjoyable. And I friggin loved to see Snow become the President we all love and hate. At first it seemed as a redemptipn story, making him seem as a tormented soul that became the way he is in the original trilogy beacuse "the world made him this way". However, he shows emphaty, and even some paralells to Katniss, Finnick and Annie and other tributes. Yet he chose to use that understanding of what they feel, not for good, not as a morivation to be better, and create a better world. No, he bacame evil and creates that same suffering to other people, making him infinite times more evil, in my perspective. (Besides that he already was somewhat manipulative and a emotionless bitch from the start). (Not a native speaker, sorry if this whole thing is nonsense lol)

[@kate___lynch]

I agree with you!

[@ceyx1201]

What if Dr. Gaul didn't fuel him? Maybe his good side will develop more?

[@joseHernandez-mg1us]

@@ceyx1201 Personally, I think so, although to be more exact not his good side but his indifferent side From the beginning, Coriolanus proved to be quite an arrogant, self-centered, cold, calculating and ambitious person, however none of those characteristics made him automatically evil, to some people it may seem unpleasant but definitely not evil since although it is true that in the beginning of the novel made clear his contempt for the people of the districts due to being raised by his grandmother and his experiences with the war, the truth is that his main concern at that time was to find a way to go to University and have a good career to be able to solve the economic problems that his family has and things like politics, philosophy or the hunger games really did not matter to him at all and it was until Dr. Gaul appeared with her theories about control and human nature that he became interested in those topics, but I think the point where he began to see her as a mentor to him Instead as a crazy maniac (which was what he thought of her up to that point) it was when Highbottom ruined his dream of going to college and he began to see Dr. Gaul as his only ally and his only hope for remedy his situation i think if this hadn't happened coriolanus would have tried to fulfill his fantasy, you know, the one he had before met Dean Highbottom after winning the games where he imagined himself going to college and convincing Lucy Gray to stay with him, but I'm not sure if Lucy Gray would have agreed or not and I don't even know if Coriolanus really could have done that, but that's another topic I think that if this had happened then coriolanus would not have cared if the games continued or not and there is even the possibility that he would have positioned himself against them in an attempt to please Lucy Gray and I think that without him the hunger games they probably could have been canceled since we know that Coriolanus basically designed the format of the current hunger games, so without him maybe the hunger games could not have continued

[@pretendtheresaname9213]

When you've never read Hunger Games but you like and watch this entirely.

[@relikvia4]

Too true. That entire franchise seems so dumb but Merphy is too adorable to skip.

[@lylasmith8985]

relikvia4 it’s not. Try to read it before you judge

[@jakegraham3758]

relikvia4 you gotta read it, their short the 1st and third one should take you a few days to read and the second should take you a day or two

[@FionaA17]

The franchise is ok - not amazing. The first book is good, the second is crap and the third is slow, like real slow. The ideas are cool - i think the movies are better, though i will read this book.

[@ezequielvillarreal4427]

@@FionaA17 the movie are definitely not better wtf 😂 I mean they're good, but they're are not even close to what the books gives you.

[@Mercyfalls]

I feel that the question on whether you love or dislike this book is largely based on what kind of story the reader expects. And I sadly feel that a lot of people missed the point of "Why?" this story needed to be told as you put it. If you see this book as solely an add-on to Katniss' story about the hunger games and only rate it on the world building aspect, then yes you will proably be disappionted. But I feel like Snow's story was more about tackling important questions like the morality of humans, the need for safety vs freedom, the meaning of goverment and rules and human nature itself. Are humans born evil and capable of killing thus the necessarity of control from a higher power to keep them in check and inforce structure? Or are humans only a product of their enviroment and will act accordingly to what they have to do in the situations they are forced into? There are SO many interestion philosophical questions and points this book offers and should make you think about. What would I do if I was forced into these situations? What is my human nature if you take away all the rules of society? So I personally thought this was a very compelling read. I liked the plot and the characters (Snow's descent from neutral but ready to do anything that serves him and only him into doing mlre and more evil things and Sejanus journey from altruistic person trying to do the good and right thing until his demise by being betrayed of someone he thought he could trust, betrayed by his own need to try and see only the good in people) but I LOVED the deep and dark morality conflicts like the Doctor that keeps on pushing Snow into this world view that humans are just evil animals and she can do whatever she wants out of curiosity and experimentation because nothing truely matters. Or the Dean who got tricked into "creating" the Hunger Games and having to carry partial blame and not knowing how to cope with that. I could go on and on, so as you can propably tell I love this book. So yes, as only "add-on" to the Hunger Games series its 'meh'. But as a stand alone book to make the readers think and question these philosophical concepts its amazing.

[@mikuhatzune012]

Yeah I feel the same way and I am a little sad and disappointed because many of the reviews people are doing don't even talk or mention this things. Like many only care about the writing style and how it adds to the triology, yet they don't aknowledge the important psychological, philosophical and political undertones of the book which were really the point. They also avoid talking of the doctor which (though not the main antagonist of the story, because she was never against Snow) was the main responsible one in pushing and manipulating Snow into the president we know, and I belive this happened because many (unfortunately) simply did not care enough or didn't understand her purpose. I think Collins want to dwelve and develop this topics because the action, romance and katniss psychological trauma did not allowed her to do so as much as Snow greedy arrogant control obsessed persona.

[@MadhumithaJR]

Your comment deserves more recognition

[@zatanna-]

You are so right i cant even explain. And i dont agree with the "snow was not built well" we saw couple episodes from his life. But still in this episode it is not hard to see his sick and sadistic way of thinking. His essays to dr Gaul, the way he loved Lucy Gray, how sickly paronoid he was in most situations, how he killed dean... shortly the book was good i really liked it. And if susanne colins writes a new Hunger Games sequel or prequel i will read it.

[@ihatebees8775]

I didn’t read even half of this lol

[@MadhumithaJR]

@@ihatebees8775 no one cares

[@ryanjstannard]

Honestly, I like prequels a lot better if they have characters that aren’t in the main series. That way it avoids a lot of predictability.

[@sivad1025]

I don't know if you like Breaking Bad, but the best thing Better Call Saul did was create new characters whose fates we don't know. So even though we know where the main characters end up, we don't know how their actions affect those around them. Point is, you can follow a character in a prequel when you know their fate, but you have to have another character who's directly affected by the main character as an audience surrogate. It's really the only way prequels can work

[@futurestoryteller]

Roger Ebert used to say about movies that it's not what they're about, but how they are about it. I really don't agree with the idea that telling a story any different from what people expect is a strict necessity, because the story is less important than how it's presented. Yeah, Spider-Man suffered pre-Marvel because they kept re-hashing the origin we already knew. But we already knew Batman's origin story, and nobody scorned Batman Begins. Godfather II doesn't introduce any new characters in its prequel segments. If all you want is something brand new, eventually you're going to run out of things to watch anyway.

[@tropibanana4662]

Same. I actually read ABoSS thinking Coriolanus Snow was President Snow's father because I'm stupid, but tbh I think it makes the story better.

[@jaynadoesart]

AND plot holes/inconsistencies

[@camilamolina8602]

"A tendency toward obsession was hardwired into his brain and would likely be his undoing if he couldn't learn to outsmart it". That is why he was so abrupt with his emotions and desires because he was so obsessive with possession and control/power. Obsession lead his character to be so unstable morally and emotionally.

[@leegornik8656]

I understand now why Snow hates Katniss so much now: 1) Obviously she reminded him of Lucy Gray and the mockingjays 2) At the very end, when Lucy Gray ran way form Snow in the forest after she realised how evil he is, she said that she went to harvest katniss roots....One of the last things she said to him was about katniss

[@stefanmakara373]

I think it is a bit deeper than that. I think he first disliked the attention she got because he recognized she was going to be too much of an underdog. Secondly, when she was singing that lullaby to Rue, the same lullaby he heard Lucy sing to her little sister. Also, when she undermines Capitol's authority by threatening to leave the Games victorless. Naturally, her connection to the mockingjays. Snow despises them with the entirety of that cold gaping hole he has instead of a heart. Katniss IS mockingjay... And most importantly, she's a woman he should have power over but can't control her. For the same crimes 64 years later he made out Lucy to be a villain, categorizing her as a scheming killer. The same way he scoffs at Katniss's kindness and courage and decides that she just functioned to save her skin. Which isn't only related to Lucy, it is about the fact that it is how HE uses kindness. From the first few pages we realize that he made sure to be kind and be seen as such only for his own benefit. Projecting is one of his major flaws.

[@RendyRuban]

Not to mention Katniss and Lucy has similar appearance. Dark hair, Olive Skin. Also loves to sing, but Katniss is more fiery in my opinion. But there's a bit more going on there I think.

[@leegornik8656]

@@RendyRuban yeah, I definitely thinks it's deeper then my comment, I'm just lazy lmao

[@Watch7maker]

@@stefanmakara373 you took this person’s comment way too seriously

[@stefanmakara373]

@@Watch7maker No, I just have a lot of feelings.

[@cleverpighiding]

I always appreciate the captioning, thanks

[@meg0739]

I really, really, really liked this book a lot and it’s now one of my favorites, but I guess I can understand why people didn’t really like it. The pacing was a bit off, and Coriolanus became “evil” basically only near the end of the book instead of becoming worse and worse over time. But overall, it was a very good review (as always) and helped me to understand the reasons why people didn’t like it as much as I thought everyone would.

[@shirleytatha8189]

When I read it I pictured that this is was the first of another trilogy and the abrupt ending was meant to create suspense which would be explained in the next book Also, it took me a chapters in to realize that he was indeed 'the' president Snow

[@marshallhamelin4609]

See I really loved the book until it got to the end and basically never see Lucy again and have no idea what happens to her

[@juliakeeton6953]

I don’t think he only became evil at the end. He was evil throughout the book. All of his good actions he did only to benefit himself. At the end, this was just the first situation in which he could show his complete callousness and evil soul. But it was always there beneath the surface.

[@amara560]

I have to disagree on him 'becoming evil' at the end. You see how his choices are very selfserving throughout the book. Starting with Tigris sacrificing so much for their family. He doesn't give much thought to how that all impacts her.

[@deogryffin1006]

Honestly he was evil the whole time. He never really changes.

[@alexandriaceballos1938]

To be fair, Snow has always been mystery to me when diving into the original trilogy since we don’t know anything about him. It’s obvious that this book is pretty much about him rising to power.

[@bracerofplanets6274]

Yeah, you're basically right. Right off the bat, you know that Snow has ambitions and you know where he ends up, so it's just how he gets there.

[@jakegraham3758]

Hallstrand Books which I mean there is less interesting things than the rise of a villain, especially one as irredeemable as snow

[@Ramkoff]

It actually isn't about his rise to power, Mockingjay tells us how he did it just without the details. The book is about how he become the person who will do all those things to get to power.

[@505Swirl]

Honestly, I only liked how we figure out why Snow doesn't like the songs from a singing Katniss! Made me smile at those parts, because I would assume Snow had a flash back to his time in 12 lol Also I secretly wanted Katniss to be Snow's secret grandchild lol Like their grandchild ended The Hunger Games idk lol

[@loveyourlife9166]

I'm not sure if I would have liked that but I was kinda toying with the idea as well 😅

[@weirdguy1495]

A book about Snow's backstory? Count me the hell in. He's probably the most intriguing part of the Hunger Games story for me.

[@lucaleone4331]

Then I think youll like this. Give it a shot, hes incredibly complicated. And I found him the best part of this book.

[@MiracleWinchester]

You will fall in love with him

[@weirdguy1495]

@@MiracleWinchester Nah.

[@undi601]

Buchanan Winchester i thought i was the only who kinda found him attractive(?)

[@RendyRuban]

Give it a shot. It's worth it.

[@leanneknitter8948]

Definitely feel like I am in the minority when it comes to "evil" characters because I absolutely LOVE seeing how a character becomes evil; whether they were always twisted like Voldemort or if it was a slow decent into evil, or a small series of events, I'm here for it. I will read and watch anything as long as there is a good story. (Haven't read this particular book yet though so can't offer any opinions on it). Motivation behind behaviors, and figuring out how a character has become to be as they are, are always interest points for me, which is probably why I did undergrad in psych and doing grad in mental health/school counseling, the mind and behaviors are fascinating to me

[@stormfischerr]

with everything going on lately, I actually forgot this book was coming out 😂 I want to start reading more again instead of being on my phone all of the time, so maybe reading this and possibly rereading the original trilogy will be fun and helpful

[@estherjurad0]

Same here.

[@smarthydra061]

Good idea! I want to get this new book, and I am going to soon, and when I do, I will reread the series! It actually sounds like a ton of fun.

[@balrajsingh1492]

According to me, a prequel should have followed the story of first rebellion in panem and origin of the games(and getting a view of life of coin.) Or a deep dive into story of district 13.

[@candidlyopinionated19]

That would have been awesome.

[@Xeson]

And about Snows father during the rebellion maybe. So that we are know about his son and later dictator, but we don't need to emphasize or relate to him as a main character.

[@lucaleone4331]

In terms of a "explosive plot" then this would have worked. But it clearly wasnt in the intention of her book. People looking for a "rebellion" story just need to reread The Hunger Games. This point of view was a lot more tragic and showed it from the Capitols point of view. I think anything else would have just been fan service and wouldnt have gotten the deep messages that Collins was trying to portray.

[@mariamahmed2021]

The whole jabberjay and mockingjay plot and Snow's feelings towards both and Snow's use of jabberjays and Lucy's use of mockingjays....sigh....

[@jaxsetbertoncarlism8873]

This isnt about the plot or lore, its a psychological study of how normal people become fascists and bigots, and is much needed to bridge the divide that is cementing across people today.

[@yiannis5972]

I NEED a spoiler review cause ngl im never gonna read it but I wanna hear you express your opinions on it

[@dckomiko1370]

I've finished it. Honestly, we fans don't know what to feel after the ending lmao

[@madelinemartin4475]

Dc komiko Ok, so I haven’t read it, but do you think that the ending leaves enough unanswered questions for her to end up writing another sequel to this book?

[@lucaleone4331]

@@madelinemartin4475 No I dont see her creating new one. I felt like the book did what it needed to accomplish. This review actually frustrated me as I feel like Merphy (I love her) but missed alot of the intentions of the story. It showed this tragic new North America aka Panem and a war that is attempting to be immortalized so that people never forget it, and so that certain people can control it. We see the loss of innocence in this tragic world and what people will do to survive. There is alot of gray characters and no right choices as most of them lead to incredibly difficult paths, some people too weak to live in them. This book I think actually sets up the hunger games perfectly because its extremely tragic and you're left feeling without Hope. luckily you can go pick up the Hunger Games and feel a bit better that atleast some people win.

[@onnih4482]

@@lucaleone4331 well said!

[@jaxsetbertoncarlism8873]

You have to read this, Collins writing chops are miles ahead of the YA hunger games she wrote. This is literary fiction at its most refined

[@diogocaetano843]

I don't understand the problem that people have with interesting villains, I always found President Snow could be a cool character study and I find it strange that people dismissed this book from the start because it was about Snow. Usually books don't have cool menacing villains and I found at the time that I read the books that Snow was more than just your cookie cutter villain, another case of a great villain is the Lord Ruler on the Mistborn series, if Suzanne Collins failed to deliver this cool character study is another story

[@paulwilliams1731]

To my understanding, they didn't want him to be presented as sympathetic or have redeeming qualities, which is understandable as a lot of media recently skews towards redemption arcs. Although it seems out of touch with the series to assume that, given the kind of story the original told, and how Collins wrote it. This had the potential to be incredibly interesting. I haven't read it, and don't soon plan to, however. I just think given the current political climate Collins might have been trying to delve deeper into a Panem that had echoes of today.

[@Marenks]

I think it was a great idea to show the story through Snow's perspective. He's so selfserving and manipulative that from another characters perspective he might look kinda nice. With is internal monologue we can't really understand what his motivation behind each of his actions and we can see how he view everyone around him.

[@Mjstcblnde]

Light Spoilers ahead: I enjoyed the book, and thought it was quite interesting to see Snow in this way. I agree it did drag in a lot of places but I was fairly engaged most of the time. I like that while you could understand him and where he came from and kind of sympathize with his character, you as the reader always saw how twisted he was especially when even other Capitol characters seemed like more decent people in comparison. I wouldn't want him to read like a hero or even a good person so I'm glad that he consistently wasn't. It reminded me a bit of The Talented Mr. Ripley. His selfishness and self preservation was always a priority and I find it even more interesting that we as readers still read 500+ pages about him and have been so invested in the Hunger Games books in general. I almost wonder if publishing this book about this character is Collins making a statement. Like we as readers are as interested in these books in which terrible people do terrible things as the people in the story are interested in the Games (I know you didn't like the book, but I am guessing that it will still be quite popular). Just an interesting parallel especially in this time period for America. I think that this book was probably originally intended to give us the Capitol's side of the story in terms of the war, and Snow was the best character to do that with given how much he impacted Panem, the Capitol, and the Games in his lifetime. I think it is always interesting to see how certain types of people tend to rise to power and the fact that he is so manipulative and able to operate under this guise of doing what's best for humanity (which he did seem to believe to an extent) is incredibly relevant. I also thought that Collins was walking a fine line to make sure Snow wasn't this normal kid who turned evil or was raised to be a bad person. He was just someone who was filled with anger because of what he experienced as a child, extreme pride, and a very high sense of self preservation that overtook anything else. He may not be as much a manifestation of evil like Voldemort, but I don't think he was ever meant to be. We see that he does live by his charms and his clever thinking, and I don't think he could ever change even for "love" and while that makes the story a bit predictable, I don't think it's necessarily bad. He does change throughout the story but he never loses his core values and you can see that in the future between this book and the Hunger Games, he probably becomes more distant from his family and friends and leans more on his new "father" figure in order to keep out people who make him vulnerable or could be used against him. I found it interesting that we see he used to have some kind of bond to at least one other person and I can see the trajectory of how that bond is broken after this book. Another thing I noticed was that when I started part 3 it felt like I was back at the beginning of a whole new book, and it was definitely dragging. I wonder if she was considering making this into two books instead of one? I can't remember ever reading a book that I felt had a very clear place where it seemed it could be divided into more than one novel. I do think that part could have been cut a bit and I have to say it was my least favorite part of the book until that part at the end where it picked up. And a personal thing: I didn't like all the songs. I know it fits her character and some were relevant but I got tired of reading them. I enjoyed getting Snow's analysis of some but others I could have gone without.

[@monmothma3358]

Good review, I agree with a lot of what you say. I think it's interesting that love for Snow meant weakness - he ultimately felt threatened by being in love because it would mean another person had a hold on him. Pretty sad.

[@justinchapman7673]

You don’t want to listen to the audio version then. The guy reading did a great job but every song he read was like nails on a chalkboard. He read them in a feminine sing songy voice.

[@calicomm1481]

@@justinchapman7673😂I just finished the audio version and yeahhhhh the songs were not great. I also felt like he made Lucy seem disingenuous at times. It kind of makes me want to read the book for myself but I got a bunch of little kids so that probably won’t happen anytime soon.

[@nataliarossi19]

You are the best booktuber I've ever seen. I have been watching booktube for years and found your channel recently and honestly, you made me fall in love with reading again. I just spent 1 hour reading and i haven't done this in so long. Keep up the great work, you're doing amazing and thank you for putting so much effort into this.

[@merphynapier42]

thank you so much, this means a lot to me

[@arachnid3297]

This is literally double size of other books of series lol, they can make 3 movies out of it

[@ethanpham4778]

emilemilemil How about An Unexpected Hunger Games, The Desolation Of Snow, and The Battle Of Five Mentors?

[@christopherbacon1077]

Which my have been the whole point. Cynical? Oh, a tad.

[@v6llainy]

This reminds me of the lord of the rings

[@cymbaline4384]

But should they?

[@arachnid3297]

@@cymbaline4384 if you ask my opinion, well I would say no because fans are disappointed or the plot is not compelling enough, but I believe they can make good adaptation out of the book, but it will never be like the first parts of series

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

Wait... are you telling me his name ISN'T Cornelius Snow?

[@drawingnikaycee9261]

Its coriolanus snow.

[@junjunjamore7735]

Thank Jesus I'm not the only one who've been misreading it until this video.

[@Gigglingsiren]

I read it Cornelius as well

[@dontreadmyprofilepicture6080]

@@drawingnikaycee9261 look what the cat dragged out drive.google.com/file/d/19XycfCChLyuIvlDfaWFhtCbQFaKLOJot/view?usp=sharing

[@sadhvika5075]

Coryo lae nus

[@SHADOSTRYKR]

I found the action in the Arena very hard to visualize. I had a hard time building the space in my mind. It seemed like it changed in size from a small gladiatorial area to something akin to a NFL stadium with all the superstructure accessible to the tributes. And it had structures in the arena that were hard to place and they seemed to jump around.

[@savannahatkins1488]

On a completely unrelated topic: I finished the Mistborn trilogy yesterday thanks to your recommendation and am completely recked! 😭 It was amazing though, I'm so glad I found your channel!

[@merphynapier42]

I'm so glad you loved it!!

[@Sofitk810]

I feel you! OMG that ending!!! I'd recommend to read also mistborn era two that is very funny. It's a nice break.

[@sirgog]

Mistborn is amazing, as is the short story The Emperor's Soul by Sanderson (same universe but not the same world as Mistborn). I like all of his stuff but IMO those are the highlights. Stormlight Archive will join them when it's closer to finished.

[@kendra5781]

Sofia Vespucci The ending completely crushed me as well!

[@dontreadmyprofilepicture6080]

WOW htat is SO unrelated! Coo-does! drive.google.com/file/d/19XycfCChLyuIvlDfaWFhtCbQFaKLOJot/view?usp=sharing

[@jintarman]

Suzanne Collins: I'm having trouble coming up with a title can I borrow yours? George R.R. Martin: Sure just change it around a little so it's not obvious

[@futurestoryteller]

You know, this is a particularly petty complaint. I don't know why, because I don't really read anything, but I've been floating around booktube for something like a year now, watching people's reviews and quite frankly every damn thing people queue up has a "GRRM title."

[@sivad1025]

@@futurestoryteller I don't think it's petty. Every time I see this book, I think it's a knock off SoIaF. It's such an unusual naming convention that is so different from the rest of the Hunger Games books. I don't know how you can't notice it

[@futurestoryteller]

@@sivad1025 You mean sort of like "Six of Crows" "Throne of Glass" "A Crown of Swords" "Debt of Bones" "The Way of Kings" a "Crown of Thorns" Maybe even... "The Lord of the Rings" Even worse if I allow for repeats from the same author, "A Court of Thorns and Roses" that's even closer. How about "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" or "The Ballad of Jesse James" "The Ballad of Lefty Brown" This is why marketing firms treat people like they're stupid... And yeah, it sounds different for a book in the series, which was previously a trilogy I bet that's never once happened before either.

[@mariamahmed2021]

In the Acknowledgements, she actually says her editor chose the title of the book haha!

[@GlareBoxTV]

Perhaps a future sequel can be called: 'A Song of Birds and ice' 'A song of Snow and Birds' 'A game of Snow and Mockingbirds' 'A Plate of Fish and Chips' (sorry that's Avatar)

[@nataliamatos4503]

This review completely reminded me of how I felt when reading Mockingjay, which I also believe is boring for the most part (the first 2/3) only to be interrupted by some scenes that were so fast-paced that had it been a movie you could have missed some of it. Anyways thanks for the review!

[@katrina5683]

Still don’t understand why they thought it needed to be two movies other than to get more money from the franchise.

[@1tzm3hh11]

It's actually very interesting in my opinion! I do feel like some of the details were a little bit rushed but other than that I loved it!

[@marina.chayka]

@@katrina5683 Money is literally the only reason.

[@anamoreno449]

I agree, for me it was very similar to reading mockingjay

[@alemartinez5541]

On the contrary of Mokingjay. I found the first 2/3 of this book v. Interesting, and the last third v. Boring

[@nathanielgaryantes9742]

Personally so loved the book, I also love to sing, so after reading each song I sung it to myself. I also liked how Snow didn’t “turn evil” as was expected, he was just always kind of a Sociopath.

[@KatieMacLean]

I think the litmus test for if you'll like Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is if you liked Mockingjay. The Hunger Games was always an intro to Political Sciences for new and young adults. They were heavily philosophical with deep metaphorical, allegorical, and blatant political themes. Mockingjay took away a lot of the pretense of the action and romance and dove straight into political commentary. This prequel really extended this philosophy and added valuable nuances to the political theory she discusses. So if you liked Mockingjay, you'll love this one! If you didn't love Mockingjay, you'll hate this one

[@deogryffin1006]

A decade later I don't have any strong emotions regarding the original books and I loved this one. In a vacuum it worked incredibly well and explored well themes I can only vaguely recall in the previous ones. Bottom line is it's a themes driven book. There are no characters, there is no plot. It all served to further snow's internal monologue about the political landscape and overall philosophy and i loved that about it.

[@GrimmFilmEnt]

Lucy Gray is more nuanced than most people give her credit. Everything about her is appealing, from the moment she shows up at the reaping, the arrival at the Capitol Zoo, playing the crowd watching the tributes there, her interactions with Snow, the events in the games, all of it. Even the moment she goes out to pick katniss roots, it all points in one direction but can be interpreted differently. She's closer to Alma Coin than Katniss Everdeen. Lucy Gray Baird is a survivor... by any means necessary. But the readers are blissfully unaware of it because the main protagonist of the book is Coriolanus Snow we will all learn to hate. Imagine if we experienced this game through Sejanus' perspective. Loving Lucy Gray would have come with a hefty price. Snow almost paid it too, even though he worked himself into that position, but again, for her. It's a more complicating story than it appears, just like Hunger Games, which is why I love Suzanne Collins' writing.

[@xsexyminxyx]

I so wished she had chosen to focus on the 2nd quarter quell where Haymitch won. It would've fleshed out a lot of his background and also and insight into katniss's mother, peetas parents etc who were all kids at the time.

[@nirisu6954]

I feel like a story about Haymitch would’ve been too similar to the first or even second Hunger Games movies. people would get bored because, while it provides more lore for long time fans, it would’ve pretty much been the exact same premise as the first book- and it would ruin most of the suspense because we already know who wins, Haymitch, and we know how he does it, from stuff we have gotten from the other books. It would do well as a short film or short story absolutely (there actually is a short film on youtube about the second quarter quell and it’s excellently made, go watch that), but turning it into a full length book or movie wouldn’t have caught peoples attention because it would’ve been to similar to what we already had. Having the next story (well, prequel) set up in the 10th games in the pov of a young Snow is a lot more captivating because it adds more context to Snow that we didn’t know (we already know pretty much everything about Haymitchs backstory already, whereas with Snow we didn’t) and helps to show how the hunger games as a whole developed and how it came to be what it is later. So while i absolute agree i would’ve loved to see Collins write about Haymitchs game or even see a professional film on it, it wouldn’t have made sense for other reasons, so i think that’s why she didnt

[@ainacamiramonet9301]

Most of my excitement for this book went away when I fount out that Snow would be the main character, but I thought I’d wait for the reviews. I’m happy to hear that this wasn’t a “redeem Snow” story, but I’m hesitant of picking it up because really, the only thing I really wanted out of the prequel, was worldbuilding (the Games in a more primitive state sounds interesting too). I guess I’ll wait to see what other people say and maybe I’ll try to find it in the library or get the e-book.

[@dkim6157]

Merphy: I'm definitely not trying to discourage anyone from reading it... Me: There's no way I'm reading this book.

[@merphynapier42]

😂

[@megroy6396]

^Literally same.

[@kschuller5651]

@Jordyn Cursed Child was the worst thing that happened to any series ever. Period.

[@lucaleone4331]

You should probably read some postive reviews if you're only going off of Merphys review. I normally love her opinons but I just finished this book and felt like Merphy missed alot of the point of this book. So check out some other reviews maybe.

[@lwm5610]

I’m personally disappointed with this book, but I did manage to get through the whole thing. I do agree the pacing was weird, especially compared to how fast paced the Hunger Games were. I also made a book review for this, if anyone wants to check it out haha!

[@lwm5610]

Jiralhanae and Cure it’s good that you enjoyed it!!

[@yates4722]

It seemed like it was setting up for a sequel

[@merphynapier42]

I 100% agree. We'll be getting an announcement for a sequel in a month or two.

[@hanztian]

Merphy Napier 😮 ooh I’m a hundred pages in and like it so far, but do you really think they’re going to announce a sequel that soon already?

[@dsnake1]

I really hope there isn't a sequel. I think we saw who Snow is, how he's always been, and I don't think there's anything more to gain from more of his life. He's so self-centered, and this shows through his actions throughout the book. Seeing his selfish power grabs wouldn't be all that interesting to me.

[@bracerofplanets6274]

True, but I honestly hope not....

[@areebamirza]

@@dsnake1 yes, and anything beyond this would be too predictable. A Lucy gray pov would be more interesting.

[@poopinacup5178]

I loved this book. I couldn’t stop reading it, and I loved the whole thing. The end made me sad, but you could see it coming. I see how people dislike it though.

[@jessicastrike5640]

I really like prequels because I’m a sucker for extra lore, history, and those little lines that are foreshadowing/hints towards what we know comes later. But it has to be a well done prequel and it doesn’t sound like this is EDIT Jessica of 2023 has now finally read the book in time for the film coming out in a few weeks and I have to say I did love it as an exploration of Panem and the history of the games. That being said the pacing was definitely off and it wasn’t the dive into Snow that I would have wanted for a prequel to his character

[@areebamirza]

Please give it a try.

[@Mariak82]

I am really enjoying it.

[@areebamirza]

@Jordyn exactly. Thank you

[@jessicastrike5640]

I’ll probably get to it but it’s not urgent for me. I always viewed Snow as a Machiavellian villain, manipulating and scheming so not overly interested in a tragic backstory with that Joker style one bad day that turns him evil

[@daniellacastillovasquez8583]

I actually REALLY enjoyed it, I think it was very well done

[@nxtzy7358]

I loved the hanging tree song and how she makes it to where we see where it is from and why it means so much to Katniss.

[@hannahnoel3035]

I'm 2/3 of the way through and I really like it so far. Snow is a great villain, and I actually like following him a lot more than I thought I would.

[@elizabethmaines430]

unpopular opinion, but i personally find it amazing. not only does collins unpack the mystery that is snow, but she does it in a perspective that’s unique and different from the original series. not only were the first books told in the eyes of katniss via 1st person, but it was told from the losing side of the war. of course katniss thinks snow is a monster, because that’s her perspective: perspective is reality. in songbirds and snakes, it follows snow when the games are being further developed, polished, and even challenged by the citizens of the capitol. not only are you viewing the capitol’s perspective through their lifestyle and rebuilding, but you find out perspectives that contrast from the views around the time of the 74th hunger games, mainly due to conditioning and the warming of history on the capitol’s part. you also get to see a glimpse of the conflict of the war that lingers as the districts remain angry and rebellious. this, of course, is my opinion and everyone is entitled to theirs! feel free to comment so we can respectfully talk about it if you wish!

[@jolienvandamme2909]

The longer I watch your review, the less I get interested. The original trilogy I liked but not enough to reread it or to read this sequel. I’m not really a fan of Suzanne's writing style and the way she describes actions. The abrupt things that you talked about are something I also noticed in Mockingjay.

[@angelscores4332]

Idk about y’all but I absolutely love this book so far, or maybe because I like books that dive deeper into its story other than action or drama. Seeing snow go from day to day figuring out wtf is going on is so interesting to read

[@fraserking4747]

I actually rewatched your other video mentioning this book last night on a whim, and now I get this notification? Consider me spooked.

[@iliaevrev9069]

I think the book was really good. Yes, of course Snow is the enemy, but he was represented in a different light. Only at the end he became Snow, not Coriolanus. There was a big symbolic in the book, like the mockingjays, the song - The Hanging Tree, the other song, the lake, all of the snakes, the plant - Katniss. And all of that is related to the other books, although the story is 65 years earlier :)

[@hannacortes6713]

Personally, I think it was very interesting to see how Snow became who he is, specially with the interactions with Dr. Gaul. I was so shocked by some of his experiences and how power and control developed more and more into his life. Even though I hate Snow, I think he is such an interesting character and I really appreciated this book. However, I totally agree with you about the exciting parts being so short. I didn’t find the book boring but I couldn’t savor the impactful parts because they went by so quickly.

[@emmamckenzie5503]

So I suppose this is an unpopular opinion, but... I actually loved it. It was such an interesting, in depth look at choices that we make and how our backgrounds influence them. Yes, we see Snow's descent into evil, but I saw him being the same way throughout the entire book. He was manipulative to everyone: Sejanus, Highbottom, (near the end) his classmates, and above all Lucy Gray. He had the choice to impact people for good, but when the time came, he didn't. It's such a contrast between him and Sejanus, who let his background influence him for good, seeing the games for what they are, and advocating against them. (although it lead to his untimely death) And in response to the claims that Snow fell in and out of love too fast... that wasn't love. I think that he was just so desperate for power-power that he had the potential to hold- that he latched on to Lucy Gray, thinking "this is something/someone I can control. I have a say in her life and fate. I like this." And their last interaction at the end, when she refuses to "obey" him, refuses to be under his control, he casts her aside, as if she is a loose end, a flaw in his plan. He may think it is love, but as the readers, (or me, anyway) we see what it really is: a man so frustrated by his upbringing and lack of control, that the minute be gets even a little bit, he descends further into evil.

[@gypsymoth8977]

The thing I like about Suzanne Collins is her concise description (so important if you build a damn world) combined with a capacity for symbolism and near prose. Those things don’t always run together and it makes for compelling and satisfying reading.

[@Dina0180]

I loved it. I liked to see young Snow, and what made him the way he was in hunger games. I have no idea how anyone could be bored with it. Lots of Unexpected twists and turns..

[@georgiamabel7197]

The references in this book to the original trilogy were both fascinating and satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[@cgphotoandfilm]

I felt like this was a meh book because I was like “ooh is she gonna do this? Oh no I guess not.” throughout the book. It wasn’t disappointing, but it wasn’t groundbreaking. The ending felt extremely rushed with the entire third part dragging until the final chapter which was like this this this OVER and I was like ‘hold up, what’. I personally gave the book 3 1/2 stars simply because of pacing and how I felt meh when it ended. I may reread it again in a month or so knowing what happens simply to see if I still feel the same way.

[@cgphotoandfilm]

Oh and take note that I am a diehard Hunger Games fan and an avid reading. I LOVE the trilogy. I’ve read it multiple times, have seen all the movies and was highly anticipating this book. Just thought I’d throw some background in there

[@Matthew_Murray]

I’m curious enough I’m going to read it but now I also want a “Dear Author’s revisiting a series” edition

[@FantasticBeasts2024]

Every author these days. Harry Potter Twilight Mortal Instruments Percy Jackson Fifty Shades Divergent The Hunger Games, etc.

[@arthurtheaardvark13]

I LOVED this book! Couldn’t put it down and thought it was the best of all the books (I.e. better than the trilogy books). I knew Snow and Lucy Gray were not getting a happy ending but that did not stop me for rooting for them, or more so hoping Snow would realize that love conquers all. I thought it was well done in showing how Snow slowly spirals into evil due to one of the scariest big bads ever: Dr. Gaul. What an amazing villain! And great twist on the Dean at the end as well, both what Snow did to him and how the Hunger Games wasn’t actually something he supported (explains why he gave Lucy Gray all that money)

[@maryxxam7400]

I enjoyed it It was nice insight into snow And As much as I like Harry Potter This is waaaay better than the cursed child

[@l.4325]

It’s funny how people can see stories so differently! I LOVED IT. SO MUCH! Even better than I thought - couldn’t stop reading it. Personally, I think it’s an amazing novel. As good as the trilogy, and together with the Harry Potter series on the top of my “favourite books ever” list 🤩

[@octaviablackthorn9]

I’m about halfway through. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. It’s a *shrug* book for me. Nothing special. But then again, I never enjoyed the writing style of the original trilogy, so...

[@aidansevern3134]

In my opinion, part three was significantly better. I was pretty disappointed with the first two parts, but Snow's story in Part 3 left me pretty satisfied.

[@MieBilla]

@@aidansevern3134 Same. The only moment I felt compelled and invested in the story was when Lucy Grey disappeared.

[@gnarrcan108]

Honestly this book is for the fandom kinda readers that really want to project themselves into the world and lore. Some people will take whatever content they can get as long as it expands the lore and world over the quality of the story.

[@hypnodrowsy1449]

It seemed like from your first video about this book that you went in with a pessimistic and already negative view on the potential plot. Not sure if I agree with the critiques made.

[@dharmishtayadav9211]

Reading this book gave me chills because of how you can see his descent into being who he was in THG and seeing it all from Snow's pov. I mean i hated reading it from his pov but it was definitely interesting

[@rosykindbunny1313]

*Spoiler Alert!* Ok, so this is my favorite book in the Hunger Games franchise! It's just so chilling, and the characters are really loveable and you can't help rooting for all the tributes! And the end was such a twist! I actually just finished last night. I couldn't sleep, wondering if Lucy Gray was dead or not. Actually, it was probably good that she hid from Coriolanus. You might argue that he'd never kill her, but he never thought he'd get Sejanus killed. His descent into madness was such an unnerving rollercoaster ride, and I can't believe he manipulated the Plinths and poisoned the Dean (although he kinda deserved it). I guess Snow really does land on top!

[@lindseysummers8534]

That's why I loved Darth Plagueis by James Luceno. We meet a young Palpatine, who we know will become Sidious, but you see him grow under the wing of Plagueis. You knew how it was going to pan out, but the journey was fantastic. If you want good villains at the forefront, please read this book, as well as Tarken and Dark Lord of the Sith, which are also by James Luceno. Good, well known villains becoming who we know. He just writes villains well.

[@gabemiz2021]

Who else found this channel in the atla torture event and became obsessed ever since

[@al-muthannaathamneh120]

I found it in the review of the original ATLA

[@shamitsharma7304]

@Atharva Deshpande That's bound to happen when a channel grows quickly.

[@mariamahmed2021]

I found myself nodding along to more than 90% of what you were saying in this review, but I still couldn't help loving this book! More than just the world-building, this book felt like a dive-in to the original themes of the Hunger Games where we're questioning how and why things could have gotten so bad, and the answer is in this book. I agree that the main issues with this book were pacing and predictability. With pacing, I would have preferred a faster pace but I also liked that we got to spend so much time in Snow's thoughts, trying to understand his character. This book was extremely predictable, but I actually wrote a text to my friend saying, "Even if I guessed every plot point, I would still love this book for the execution of it." And I stand by that! Still, your review was incredibly accurate for me and I loved hearing your POV!

[@ob4243]

I've read the first 100 pages so far and I'm really enjoying it. Personally, i really like the style of Suzanne Collins' writing and new characters but my opinion may change as I read more.

[@DorablePizza]

*SPOILER* I absolutely love the book! I feel the writing style is very different from the original trilogy and I think that's why most people will favor the original trilogy over this prequel but I actually like Suzanne Collins writing style in this book more than I did in the Hunger Games. I enjoyed reading about Coriolanus Snow slow descent into madness. My favorite part of the book was when Coriolanus found the peacekeeper rifle he used to kill the mayor's daughter with. This is where he finally snaps. He loved Lucy Gray but he loved power and success more. Finding the peacekeeper rifle meant that he did not have to live in exile. This is where he chooses power over love. Many people will not like that Lucy Gray fate was left was left to the reader's imagination. I honestly can't wait to see the fan theories that come out of this. Is Lucy gray Dead or Alive? Is Lucy Gray actually this character? Is Lucy Gray an ancestor of so-and-so? I am not as excited to hear about people's opinion of the ending as I am excited to hear people's interpretation of the ending. If anybody bothered to read this comment, I love to continue the discussion and if you have any theories hit me up I love to hear all about them! ; )

[@User24597]

I feel like she did not understand the point of the book and his point of view. He was on the path to be messed up but he needed something to pull the trigger. The point was not the romance, or games or the war. It was about Snow and his path to what lead to be a tyrant to enjoy killing people. Snow thought he loved her and maybe he did but it was like a possessive relationship and with power you possess and own what you want which is what he wanted, so in a way he had the power with her, after he realized he did not need her for the power he dropped the love and that is why it was abrupt, because he would become an officer with so much power. After you kill the supposed love of your life you can kill and it will not hurt as bad. That’s why he said it’s the people who we love most that destroy us, because Lucy gray wanted to kill him after she found out what he was capable of, she knew he was sick over power and he thought she was in the wrong but in reality she was scared. In conclusion I think you set your own expectations to what you thought he was going to be like but it was far more complex than anyone expected.

[@CrowsNest05]

I actually really enjoyed it, because of all the lore it added. Before, I had always imagined the games as being similar to how they were when we first saw them with Katniss (if a little bit less ‘polished’), but it was fun that the style of the games in TBOSAS was totally different from what we were used to! I also really liked that Lucy Gray was so much different from Katniss.

[@magician531]

It's on my TBR, but I completely forgot to get a copy. Thanks for the reminder!

[@kingmartyn4108]

Hi Merphy, Would you, or have you, done a video about writing styles? Its the biggest thing that turns me on or off about reading and wondered what you thought about the subject and how they affect your interest in a book.

[@malcolmmacinnis247]

Yeah why can't we just let sociopaths be sociopaths?

[@futurestoryteller]

Because life isn't that simple? I read separate articles once on the childhoods of Kim Jong Un, and Osama Bin Laden. As I remember they were both described as shy, friendly kids, with sweet dispositions who _cared a lot about other people._ Now, maybe for one of them I read it wrong, or I'm remembering it wrong, or I didn't get the whole picture, but the fact is people aren't born this way. Even so-called "genetic psychopaths" can be trained not to exhibit the traits of anti-social personality disorder, through exposure to the right environment. And anti-social personality disorder is what we mean when we say _sociopath._ Besides it sounds like he had enough narcissistic, controlling and apathetic traits for us to conclude he _was_ a sociopath "being a sociopath" which makes it sound like she wanted a mustache twirler to me.

[@tm9272]

this book pretty much is just a sociopath being a sociopath from page one so....¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@krystireads960]

I personally really enjoyed this book. I did have some issues with the pacing during part 3, it just wasn't as interesting to me as the rest of the book was. But I think a lot of it just made me appreciate the original trilogy more because there were hints to certain things that make me want to reread the other books even more. I totally see where you're coming from in all of this though and I agree that there will definitely be mixed opinions!

[@emerymorgan4389]

I don’t think Coriolanus really loved Lucy Gray. I think he THOUGHT he loved her, but I think he was just clinging to her; this one beacon of hope that could decide his future. And I think as soon as a better option came (when he passed the peacekeeper test) he ditched Lucy Gray, and convinced himself that she was trying to kill him to justify his actions

[@dannyy3438]

I personally really enjoyed this book. I loved how we got to learn new history of Panem and how the hunger games used to work. I also really love Lucy Gray. She’s bad ass and I just really loved her character. I know Suzanne said this was the last HG book but I really hope we get another one.

[@hannahbee264]

I liked this book, because I loved Snow perspective. As much as we want it, people aren't monsters. For them to start doing monstruous things, they need a background story. His decent was very realistic to me.

[@shamitsharma7304]

This book would've been great in the wait between Catching Fire and Mockinjay.

[@briangronberg6507]

Thanks! I’ll give it some thought. I thought the idea of a Snow origin story could be interesting depending on how Collins approached it, even if we know there aren’t any stakes for a character when found in dangerous situations. I get the sense though that the direction Collins took was an examination of how totalitarianism oppresses everyone in a society, even those involved in government (e.g., Seneca). I’m sure I’ll read it eventually, but I appreciate the review

[@dsnake1]

It's more of an examination/comparison of the Hobbsian view of Power warding off Warre vs Locke's Law of Nature and Reason, in my opinion. The Capitol has always been a comically evil caricature of Hobbsian philosophy, and now we got to see Snow internally struggle with that point of view and eventually realize it was what's best for those in power, which he strove to be.

[@RaTamaZone]

For me, I really wanted to find out what happened that made him and Tigris enemies. And I wanted to see HOW he became the President. This book was supposed to answer these questions. It did not do that. Overall, I was disappointed.

[@dontreadmyprofilepicture6080]

sure you did buddy, sure you IDD drive.google.com/file/d/19XycfCChLyuIvlDfaWFhtCbQFaKLOJot/view?usp=sharing

[@stevemarethyu3003]

The difficulty with prequels that you talked about is one of the things that makes a show like Better Call Saul such an amazing piece of art. The fact that Vince Gilligan and company can put together a story where we know the ultimate ending, but still put us on the edge of our seat wondering how we get there is really impressive!

[@LauraMaisano]

I read Rebel, the add on for the Legend series, and while it was an enjoyable book and I liked gettng to see Day's brother's POV, it was just...ok. It didn't have the same impact as the original trilogy or depth of emotion.

[@belleah5562]

Laura Maisano I loved it! Mostly because I love Eden, and I liked that it focused on the ramifications of having a parent figure who almost died several times to keep you safe. But I think if you aren’t particularly attached to Eden as a character, you can probs pass up on it. Also, go into it knowing that June is no longer a main character.

[@FionaA17]

I seriously need to read Rebel!!! Champion destroyed me 😔

[@prettylilmexiCAN]

I loved the book! I see it more as it’s own story in the same world and don’t compare it to the trilogy we know. My favorite part of the Hunger Games trilogy was never Katniss and PETA and Gails love but was always the politics, writing style and world base. The fact that things happen fast is a showing that that’s how fast things change. And the majority of suffering is done not in the moment of delegation of the punishment but the punishment themselves. At first I was not happy with a book about Snow. But I was pleasantly surprised! I actually didn’t care for Lucy Gray , but again the wild and political combat is why I return to the world

[@marijanedoe]

i wanted a book from haymich’s perspective

[@louisekatherine1440]

YESSS

[@louisekatherine1440]

I would LOVE a book about haymitchs life hes one of my favourites

[@staydismantling9354]

yes I'd love a book about how Haymitch won his games

[@gfyphg9871]

I think comparing an evil character like Voldemort with authoritarian dictator is nonsensical. If you get to learn about the life of famous dictators, you see the most of them weren't bad people from the start but had lives and personal traits that make them evolve into evil people. We had a dictatorship until the 70s in Spain. Franco was not born evil, he had trades in his personality that were exploited and that made him become the evil authoritarian dictator that he would be in the future. It is not realistic to have an evil person from the start.

[@malcolmmacinnis247]

Oh no child murder must be canceled!

[@jmc1829]

I'm at 1/4 of the book and I loved it already! super interesting so far and so many detail we didnt know!!! (not spoiling anything)

[@miracledraw6868]

I like your channel but I honestly think you went into this with a negative mindset with how you were dead set on a Finnick or Mags book looking at your previous vids on this book, and because you did not want a Snow book. I honestly don't think it was really good and a good backstory. There was one thing in the book I did not enjoy and it was not Snow. It was that thing that there was a tad to many of them scenes. I feel it has set up the possibility of a squeal. Still like your channel and respect your opinion.

[@merphynapier42]

I'm glad you enjoyed the book! I actually went in feeling pretty neutral about it. I wasn't excited about the idea of Snow because I knew it could be great, but it would be hard to pull off, and I could see it going either way. I personally didn't like the execution of it. But like I said in the review, I get why some people will feel differently than me. I'm glad you enjoyed it more than I did :)

[@miracledraw6868]

@@merphynapier42 Thanks and thanks for the resonse ^^ and sorry my bad I got the impression you where not a fan going into it. but yeah personally loved it. I can see why some people may not like it the thing i felt there was to much of I will mention in your spoiler review but that thing that happens to Snow in part 3 loved it. As it explains Snow line in the movie between him and Senac Crane but will mention that in the spoiler review as well. But anyone calling this a Cursed Child is wrong I will say that xD

[@dontreadmyprofilepicture6080]

@@merphynapier42 lol ok man.. drive.google.com/file/d/19XycfCChLyuIvlDfaWFhtCbQFaKLOJot/view?usp=sharing

[@thedude911911]

loved the product reels in the beginning of the video with the actual book - a really nice detail! And just in general the editing made me give a like instantly hehe, Thank You!

[@Mmmmmmmona]

6:18 so you basically wanted tom riddle in the hunger games

[@pyronixcore]

I never got the hero vibe from Tom Riddle's public persona. As a child the other kids feared him, he was described in Dumbledore's memories as alone and friendless, a bully and particularly dominating and cruel to other children. At Hogwarts he put on a persona of model-student, playing on his poverty and using his magical talent to impress and gain favour from the teachers but to the students he was a bully, exercising power as a school prefect to create a power niche with his little gang in Slytherin over other students. He never really tried to hide his contempt, sense of superiority or overall malice from his contemporaries at any particular period of his life. He only masked his true self when he believed he would benefit most - at school it was a case of making sure he learned as much as he could and developing a network of like-minded or weak-enough individuals that he could manipulate. When he rose to power, it was through brute strength and brutal suppression: something Snow exercised in a very different, and politically engaged kind of way.

[@jakegraham3758]

Keith Davis after reading that a Tom riddle prequel would be dope, unfortunately JK Rowling is making so much in royalties every year she’ll never write another one

[@Mmmmmmmona]

@@pyronixcore I also never got a hero vibe tom riddle, maybe that's because we already knew how he was gonna turn out or because he was genuinely a horrible person who was great at hiding it.