Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy.
After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion.
The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Suzanne Collins continues the amazing story of Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire, the second novel of the phenomenal Hunger Games trilogy.
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This was a nice follow-up to the Hunger Games. As a bridge between Hunger Games and Mockingjay, it begins to explore the price of victory and the various costs of publicity. The supporting characters introduced also help add nuance to those main themes. I read this back-to-back with Mockingjay, which says a lot about the easy readability, but Mockingjay sticks out better in my mind, so the majority of my review will be there.
Review of 'Catching Fire - Audio Library Edition' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
There are some predictability issues here.
-When Katniss came home and found a scary guest in the study, I had guessed it would be President Snow. -When they did the whole marriage proposal thing, I had seen that coming from a mile away as well. -The uprisings in the other districts, I had seen those coming already during the victory tour. -The quadre quell rule of tributes being picked from those who had already won before, I had guessed that already the first time it was mentioned that there would be something extra-special about that. -The mockingjay symbol of the resistance, I guessed that as well at first go.The only surprise about that was exactly how long it took Katniss to realise that the new head gamemaker showed her that very same symbol in secrecy while they were dancing. -The fact that there was a plan to escape the arena …
There are some predictability issues here.
-When Katniss came home and found a scary guest in the study, I had guessed it would be President Snow. -When they did the whole marriage proposal thing, I had seen that coming from a mile away as well. -The uprisings in the other districts, I had seen those coming already during the victory tour. -The quadre quell rule of tributes being picked from those who had already won before, I had guessed that already the first time it was mentioned that there would be something extra-special about that. -The mockingjay symbol of the resistance, I guessed that as well at first go.The only surprise about that was exactly how long it took Katniss to realise that the new head gamemaker showed her that very same symbol in secrecy while they were dancing. -The fact that there was a plan to escape the arena instead of playing the game -Peeta's claim that he and Katniss were already married. (I guessed that particular revelation verbatim) -The training scores.
I hadn't, however, guessed Peeta's claim about Katniss expecting, or Cinna's outing himself as a member of resistance movement. I did suspect he was involved or at least disapproved of the Games in general, but I didn't think he would out himself so obviously.
Being able to predict all those things so quickly was a little annoying, but other than that, I liked this book as well. And when it comes to romance, I find myself rooting hard for Peeta, based almost entirely on the fact that I find Gale's character irritating and possessive.
Part 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy, in which the victorious tributes deal with the aftermath of the games and the start of a rebellion they unknowingly fueled. Katniss is a little annoying in this book with her stubbornness, but still enjoyed it.
I don't know if, after reading these books so long ago, I could write a review for each one...so I'm going to write and all-encompassing review of The Hunger Games Trilogy.
The Hunger Games (Book #1) - The best of the three. Catching Fire (Book #2) - Gets better from about the half-way point on. Mockingjay (Book #3) - Not that great. Probably the weakest of the three. Then the ending sucked HARD.
The Hunger Games is a story about North America after a horrific war has wiped out life and government as we know it. The survivors have banded together to form the Capitol City and various outer Districts, each with its own jobs/manufacturing tasks. The Capital City controlled everything to the point that the Districts rose up and revolted. And they were crushed. To remind the Districts that they must never revolt again, the Capital initiated The Hunger …
I don't know if, after reading these books so long ago, I could write a review for each one...so I'm going to write and all-encompassing review of The Hunger Games Trilogy.
The Hunger Games (Book #1) - The best of the three. Catching Fire (Book #2) - Gets better from about the half-way point on. Mockingjay (Book #3) - Not that great. Probably the weakest of the three. Then the ending sucked HARD.
The Hunger Games is a story about North America after a horrific war has wiped out life and government as we know it. The survivors have banded together to form the Capitol City and various outer Districts, each with its own jobs/manufacturing tasks. The Capital City controlled everything to the point that the Districts rose up and revolted. And they were crushed. To remind the Districts that they must never revolt again, the Capital initiated The Hunger Games. Each District must deliver one boy and one girl to fight to the death against the other District children for food.
All this happens before our story begins...
We begin with the 74th annual Hunger Games and our main character, Katniss Everdeen from District 12, is competing in the Games. While it won't shock readers to know that the main character wins the Hunger Games, there are still surprises, twists, and gut-wrenching scenes of loss and heartbreak. This is the first book. It was fantastic and an exceptional read. The Hunger Games could stand alone without the other two books and still be a knock-out first novel. In fact, I kinda wish I stopped reading here.
The second book picks up with the Victory Tour that follows the Hunger Games. Katniss, am anti-authoritative rebel, ended up pissing off the leaders of the Capital City with her actions in the 74th Hunger Games. So during the Victory Tour, she has to deal with the consequences of her actions from her Hunger Game win. This part really seemed somewhat repetitive and boring, especially after all the excitement of the first book. Then, everything changed from the middle of the book on. And it was almost as good as the first book. Definitely full of unexpected surprises until the cliffhanger ending...
The third book picked up from the cliffhanger ending of book two and completely different than the other two books. Mockingjay deals mostly with Katniss Everdeen being the figurehead of a District-wide revolt against the Capital City. The difference in plots alone doesn't make the book bad, just not as interesting as the other two. Then came the surprise "dramatic" conclusion to the trilogy and...IT SUCKED HARD. The ending was SO BAD it pretty much ruined the entire trilogy for me. I don't think I'd ever read these books again, cause I know how it ends and IT. IS. HORRIBLE.
My advice to anyone...Read "The Hunger Games" book #1 and THEN STOP.
Review of 'Catching Fire Movie-Tie-in-Edition [Paperback] [Nov 10, 2014] SUZANNE COLLINS' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This time I tried the audio version. The narrator isn't the most dramatic, but it is still an engaging read. That is despite the fact that Katniss Everdeen is supremely dense, and is wrong about everything. Maybe I am looking at this with too adult eyes. She is however loyal and honourable, almost to a fault, and that is what makes her endearing.
The only other criticism I have about this book is that Collins almost completely ignores the viewing audience during the Games. Last time the characters actions were driven by the audience. This time it seems like Collins remembered the audience 3/4 of the way through the Games.
An improvement over the first book, probably due to it being less naive. The plot "twists" (I've seen them coming again) were a bit, -er-, "uncreative", maybe. She has to go through everything again? Seriously?
Well I also expected a higher amount of revolutionary vibe, but I guess that'll be the next book, then.
Review of 'Catching Fire Movie-Tie-in-Edition [Paperback] [Nov 10, 2014] SUZANNE COLLINS' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Not nearly as intense as the first, but I think that's probably a good thing. In this book, we see the aftermath of Katniss' & Peeta's victory - it's not just a play-by-play of the events within the arena which would have been redundant.
It's the further adventures of Katness in the world of Panem. This one starts immediately after the first book. I thought this was an improvement over the first book. A little more complicated plot, but still a very easy read. Great stuff!
Better than the first book, but you could see the plot coming a mile away. Not surprisingly, the same problems (present-tense style, insecure character) repeat themselves here.
Si le premier volume était prometteur, la suite dépasse mes espérances. Les personnages sont bien en place, leurs péripéties fascinent et hypnotisent, on a vraiment hâte de voir comment tout cela va évoluer (ou dégénérer). Le personnage de Katniss (entre autres) prend de l’épaisseur, de jeune fille assez dure habituée à dissimuler ses émotions, on la découvre défaillante avec une forte émotivité, qu’elle exprime de plus en plus. J’ai craint une répétition avec les Quarter Quell mais non, la chose est bien traitée et on avance dans l’histoire sans avoir l’impression de relire la même chose. Un final qui vaut son pesant de cacahouètes.
Review of 'Catching Fire Movie-Tie-in-Edition [Paperback] [Nov 10, 2014] SUZANNE COLLINS' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Catching Fire seems to take a long time to get going. There's plenty of time to plant the seeds of rebellion in the readers' minds but then it all seems a bit rushed near the end when the real action takes place. However, the end is a cliff-hanger so make sure you have the final book ready to read back-to-back!
