Book Review: The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

A good, quick read.  While it may be a young adult novel slightly geared towards teenage girls, I enjoyed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Firstly, it is set in a 1984-ish post-apocalyptic world, and it just so happens that I love all kinds of post-apocalyptic fiction.  Secondly, it is written in an engaging, fast-paced, and addicting style.

Ignoring the romance sub-plot, The Hunger Games presents itself as a graphic and bloody adventure, following the bad-ass heroine Katniss Everdeen through her survival of the yearly ‘Hunger Games’ - a no-rules, televised contest reminiscent of ancient Roman gladiator battles, with a helping of nature survival thrown in for good measure.  While some people may not appreciate the violence and conflict, they define the book, and set it apart from most of the nonsense that is usually found in the young adult novel category - I would say that it barely fits into the young adult categorization.

One thing I didn’t like about The Hunger Games is something I found out in the last chapter - the story doesn’t end with this book, and it is rather the first in a planned trilogy.  It’s hard to be patient, especially with such engaging writing, and a semi-cliffhanger ending.  Thankfully, this is merely a trilogy, and doesn’t require the patience that the Harry Potter series did.  Another thing that detracts from the story for me, but probably not for most people, is a lack of explaination for many of the technological accomplishments described in the book, such as unseen television cameras and microphones located wherever necessary, and seemingly magical supplies capsules that float down directly to the games’ contestants locations (I was reminded of the supplies that show up exactly when you need them in a lot of shooter video games).  Thankfully, the writing more than makes up for these nit-picky shortcomings, and I dare say that nearly anyone will find The Hunger Games an enjoyable read.

The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins): 4.5/5

Have you read The Hunger Games?  What did you think?  Have you read any of Suzanne Collins’ other books?  Would you recommend any of them to me?  How about any good post-apocolyptic fiction?

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