Page Count: 77,397
Expected Completion Date: Aug 19th, 2094
Book Count: 206
Title: Catching Fire (Book II of the Hunger Games Series)
Author: Suzanne Collins
The first book in the Hunger Games series was a near miss for me, it left me with a lot of questions, but ultimately character development and my general liking of the genre helped me get through it. Catching Fire, book II of the series, didn't answer most of the questions that I had from book I but none the less did an amazing job of holding my attention and making me crave more.
Character development and story development both contributed to me liking Catching Fire. There is a clear villain and hero(es) in the book now, and an ultimate goal in sight. This is different from the first book where hero(es) and villains were muddied by the fact that it was really a story inside of a larger story. Suzanne Collins has done an especially good job developing the evil character in the series, making it impossible for every reader not to want him dead. Her use of description while discussing characters is vivid but not overly wordy, both of which I appreciate.
Catching Fire also did a good job of not opening new doors to deep questions while making me want to read Book III by ending on a cliff-hanger. The general theme continues (poverty, haves and have nots, etc...) but the theme is developed in a way to where it isn't simple pinpointing what Miss Collins is comparing to in real life -- if anything at all. There is the haves and have nots within the United States, possibly suggesting that the poor have no say and the rich enjoy watching them suffer for their entertainment, or it could be an attack against Capitalism as a whole (some working hard to produce for the few), or it could be an international comparison, putting the United States, or more likely the West as a whole, on the unethical side of the coin, while making the third wold countries equivalent to the poor in the book where we (the West) force the poor to work almost as slaves, in order for us to enjoy life. I lean towards the last interpretation but it really could be any of them.
The failure of Catching Fire answering my deepest question from Book I (how did the Capitol become so sadistic as to like watching kids murder each other?) was more than made up for by great descriptions of scenery, character, and plot. I look forward to ending the series but am going to put it on hold for a couple weeks while I finish up other books that I have started.
The first book in the Hunger Games series was a near miss for me, it left me with a lot of questions, but ultimately character development and my general liking of the genre helped me get through it. Catching Fire, book II of the series, didn't answer most of the questions that I had from book I but none the less did an amazing job of holding my attention and making me crave more.
Character development and story development both contributed to me liking Catching Fire. There is a clear villain and hero(es) in the book now, and an ultimate goal in sight. This is different from the first book where hero(es) and villains were muddied by the fact that it was really a story inside of a larger story. Suzanne Collins has done an especially good job developing the evil character in the series, making it impossible for every reader not to want him dead. Her use of description while discussing characters is vivid but not overly wordy, both of which I appreciate.
Catching Fire also did a good job of not opening new doors to deep questions while making me want to read Book III by ending on a cliff-hanger. The general theme continues (poverty, haves and have nots, etc...) but the theme is developed in a way to where it isn't simple pinpointing what Miss Collins is comparing to in real life -- if anything at all. There is the haves and have nots within the United States, possibly suggesting that the poor have no say and the rich enjoy watching them suffer for their entertainment, or it could be an attack against Capitalism as a whole (some working hard to produce for the few), or it could be an international comparison, putting the United States, or more likely the West as a whole, on the unethical side of the coin, while making the third wold countries equivalent to the poor in the book where we (the West) force the poor to work almost as slaves, in order for us to enjoy life. I lean towards the last interpretation but it really could be any of them.
The failure of Catching Fire answering my deepest question from Book I (how did the Capitol become so sadistic as to like watching kids murder each other?) was more than made up for by great descriptions of scenery, character, and plot. I look forward to ending the series but am going to put it on hold for a couple weeks while I finish up other books that I have started.
