arayo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Classism, Child abuse, Violence, Police brutality, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Cannibalism, Drug use, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
marisabenn's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was SO SLOW and could have been 300 pages shorter. The last chapter is amazing, but it's soooo much character building for 300 pages. It was honestly a struggle to finish this, and I only did because of the movie.
This was definitely an amazing villain origin story. I loved to see Snow become a sociopath... but again, it only really shines in the last few chapters.
Lucy Grey deserved so much. I loved her, even if I didn't really trust her. I was hoping she would be the poisoning that leads to Snow's chronic bleeding, but no. We never learn her fate which is disappointing.
I wish there were more chapters that went into the future and we could see Snow become president and even an introduction to Katniss.
I can't say I recommend this, but it was a decent addition to the trilogy.
This was definitely an amazing villain origin story. I loved to see Snow become a sociopath... but again, it only really shines in the last few chapters.
Lucy Grey deserved so much. I loved her, even if I didn't really trust her. I was hoping she would be the poisoning that leads to Snow's chronic bleeding, but no. We never learn her fate which is disappointing.
I wish there were more chapters that went into the future and we could see Snow become president and even an introduction to Katniss.
I can't say I recommend this, but it was a decent addition to the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence and Death of parent
Minor: Cannibalism, Cursing, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Dementia, and Drug abuse
mgcalder's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Abandonment, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, Gun violence, Murder, and Torture
cluckieduck's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was excellent...until it wasn't.
Suzanne is an excellent storyteller, and it was great to revisit the world of Panem 60+ years ahead of the The Hunger Games. I loved the background and expansion of how the Hunger Games themselves were developed, the extra layers of detail showing the Capitol's recovery from the rebel attacks, and the morsels of call-backs (call-forwards??) to the OG trilogy kept me enthralled.
The use of President Show as the protagonist was an interesting choice. It was hard to equate the Coriolanus (or Coryo to those near & dear) of TBoSaS with the eventual antagonistic, sadistic President Snow. I was waiting for such a major cataclysmic event, and perhaps my lacklustre feelings towards the ending are because I expected something major, but I found the ending just...meh.
I wanted and obvious turn of our protagonist from 'good' to 'evil' when, in truth, Coriolanus was always a morally grey sociopath, so there was no chance for me to be shocked into his villainous turn. I wish we could have gotten an alternate POV removed from his own internal monologue to get an outsiders perspective on his behaviours or actions. Lucy Gray would have definitely benefit from some more screen time, IMO. She was an intriguing character and her eventual arc left little to be desired. In truth, I was definitely waiting for seemed like such an odd (and kinda lazy) choice to me.
All in all, it just didn't really...go anywhere or provide anything necessary to the overall universe of the Hunger Games. What is has done though, is make me want to re-read the original trilogy because it's certainly been a while!
Suzanne is an excellent storyteller, and it was great to revisit the world of Panem 60+ years ahead of the The Hunger Games. I loved the background and expansion of how the Hunger Games themselves were developed, the extra layers of detail showing the Capitol's recovery from the rebel attacks, and the morsels of call-backs (call-forwards??) to the OG trilogy kept me enthralled.
The use of President Show as the protagonist was an interesting choice. It was hard to equate the Coriolanus (or Coryo to those near & dear) of TBoSaS with the eventual antagonistic, sadistic President Snow. I was waiting for such a major cataclysmic event, and perhaps my lacklustre feelings towards the ending are because I expected something major, but I found the ending just...meh.
I wanted and obvious turn of our protagonist from 'good' to 'evil' when, in truth, Coriolanus was always a morally grey sociopath, so there was no chance for me to be shocked into his villainous turn. I wish we could have gotten an alternate POV removed from his own internal monologue to get an outsiders perspective on his behaviours or actions. Lucy Gray would have definitely benefit from some more screen time, IMO. She was an intriguing character and her eventual arc left little to be desired. In truth, I was definitely waiting for
Spoiler
her to die in the Hunger Games, so having her win and then, eventually, wiping the entire games out of existenceAll in all, it just didn't really...go anywhere or provide anything necessary to the overall universe of the Hunger Games. What is has done though, is make me want to re-read the original trilogy because it's certainly been a while!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Classism, Confinement, Death, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, Dementia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Vomit
dorothea03's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
So intense, so many twists. I was so conflicted reading this because I know that Snow is the villain of The Hunger Games so it was very weird rooting for him. Most of the twists took me by surprise and I couldn’t put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Cannibalism
sav_22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Vomit, Torture, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Grief, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Dementia, Death of parent, War, Colonisation, Classism, and Excrement
brandie_abbie19's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Abandonment, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Grief, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Death of parent, Confinement, Classism, Gun violence, War, Violence, Physical abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Murder, and Toxic friendship
maybeans's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Following the trailer for the movie, I had decent hopes for this book, and unfortunately, it didn’t live up to them for me. The first two parts of the book move way too fast, I could barely keep up with what was happening at times. Very important plot moments would occur not only in the middle of chapters, but in the middle of paragraphs. It felt like I was constantly being rushed to the next plot point. Then, for a decent chunk the third and final part, the story crawls—or rather, moves at a normal pace that feels slow compared to the breakneck speed from the first two parts. Then, it speeds up again at the end. I would have liked to linger more on Coriolanus’s thoughts and emotions.
The biggest issue I had with plot besides the pacing was The Hunger Games. Just getting a recount of what was happening in there was pretty dull; I’d much rather be seeing the action. I’m not sure what the best thing would have been to remedy this; maybe the story should have seitched between Coriolanus’s POV and Lucy Gray’s?
In terms of character, the only very memorable character to me was Lucy Gray (Sejanus was fun too), and even her character feels like it could have used more work The plot was too rushed for me to care about any of the classmates, and I was intrigued by the Covey but never got quite enough time with them.
As for Coriolanus himself…I’m confused as to whether or not Collins wanted the reader to sympathize with him. It seems like it at times, as we see him being vulnerable, caring about his family, those sort of things—but his rich boy ideals and, you know, knowing who he ends up being makes it very hard to sympathize with him. But that’s okay. I’m fine not sympathizing with him. I’m just curious as to whether or not Collins wanted the reader to.
Another issue I had was how telling the book was; I felt like there was basically no trust for the reader to pick up on things themselves. Any time a character has done something secretive or is plotting something (which is pretty often), the reader is told exactly what’s planned—and worse, it often goes exactly as expected, so there’s no surprise for the reader. There was almost a very good moment in which I thought the reader was being entrusted to figure out the truth,but then two pages later, the reader is told exactly what Coriolanus had been thinking. Not only is it unfair to assume the reader won’t figure it out on their own, it feels out of character for cunning and secretive Coriolanus.
Finally, the ending.
The one redeeming quality for this book, as I mentioned in that last spoiler part, is the tension—specifically the tension created by the concept. That’s what’s always kept me going with Hunger Games books—I don’t love them, but I need to know how it ends, and I need to experience it for myself.
The biggest issue I had with plot besides the pacing was The Hunger Games. Just getting a recount of what was happening in there was pretty dull; I’d much rather be seeing the action. I’m not sure what the best thing would have been to remedy this; maybe the story should have seitched between Coriolanus’s POV and Lucy Gray’s?
In terms of character, the only very memorable character to me was Lucy Gray (Sejanus was fun too), and even her character feels like it could have used more work
Spoiler
(Her deciding to run off with Coriolanus, for example, felt unrealistic to me because I didn’t buy that she’d leave the Covey behind)As for Coriolanus himself…I’m confused as to whether or not Collins wanted the reader to sympathize with him. It seems like it at times, as we see him being vulnerable, caring about his family, those sort of things—but his rich boy ideals and, you know, knowing who he ends up being makes it very hard to sympathize with him. But that’s okay. I’m fine not sympathizing with him. I’m just curious as to whether or not Collins wanted the reader to.
Another issue I had was how telling the book was; I felt like there was basically no trust for the reader to pick up on things themselves. Any time a character has done something secretive or is plotting something (which is pretty often), the reader is told exactly what’s planned—and worse, it often goes exactly as expected, so there’s no surprise for the reader. There was almost a very good moment in which I thought the reader was being entrusted to figure out the truth,
Spoiler
(when Coriolanus gives Lucy Gray the compact for storing the rat poison)Finally, the ending.
Spoiler
I’ll have to ruminate on this longer, but it felt rushed and anti-climactic to me. I realize they were foreshadowing Lucy Gray’s unknown fate with the story about the ghost girl, but 1. they should have introduced that way earlier, and 2. it still felt…meh, to me. I was relieved she didn’t get brutally murdered, but it just sort of felt like a letdown after the wild ride. Especially since the book’s greatest strength for me was the tension—I needed to know how it ended. Also I do not buy that Coriolanus was truly in love with Lucy Gray and then turned on her that quickly. Also also, I was really hoping for an epilogue in which Coriolanus observes something from the original trilogy and is reminded of Lucy Gray—Katniss’s dress reveal in Catching Fire and Katniss singing “The Hanging Tree” in Mockingjay come to mind.The one redeeming quality for this book, as I mentioned in that last spoiler part, is the tension—specifically the tension created by the concept. That’s what’s always kept me going with Hunger Games books—I don’t love them, but I need to know how it ends, and I need to experience it for myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism, and War
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Child death, and Sexism
Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Grief
ghostboy99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Violence, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Murder, and Genocide
kathis_wonderland's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Das Lied von Vogel und Schlange ist ein Prequel zur Die Tribute von Panem Trilogie von Suzanne Collins. Hier geht es um den zukünftigen Präsident Snow, der als Mentor bei den Hungerspielen teilnimmt. Sein Tribut ist Lucy Gray aus Distrikt 12. Im Laufe der Vorbereitungen und der Hungerspiele entwickeln beide Gefühle füreinander. Coriolanus möchte alles tun, um Lucy Gray als Siegerin der Spiele zu sehen.
Nach langem hin und her habe ich das Buch nun endlich gelesen. Ich habe mir anfangs Sorgen gemacht, wie mir das Buch gefällt. Es ist jetzt schon viele viele Jahre her, dass ich die Trilogie verschlungen und geliebt habe. Jedoch war Das Lied von Vogel und Schlange irgendwie ganz anders als die Trilogie, aber doch sehr ähnlich. Man hat sich direkt wieder in Panem zurechtgefunden, jedoch war der Schreibstil an Snows Persönlichkeit angepasst. Ich fand es richtig spannend über die Vergangenheit von Panem zu erfahren. Die Geschichte von Snow gibt einen ganz anderen Blickwinkel auf die Geschehnisse.
Sehr interessant war für mich einfach der Konflikt zwischen "mag ich Snow" oder "mag ich Snow nicht". Wenn man die Trilogie gelesen hat und auch die Filme gesehen hat, weiß man einfach, wie böse Snow eigentlich ist. Hier in diesem Buch ist er jedoch Protagonist und somit auch der Sympathieträger. Ein richtig netter Mensch war er anscheinend noch nie. Er ist sehr auf sich bezogen und möchte überall gewinnen. Dennoch lernt man auch gute Seiten an ihm kennen. Dieser Konflikt hat mein Hirn ziemlich verwirrt. Jedoch hat genau das das Buch so spannend gemacht.
Das Buch war sehr spannend zu lesen. Ich habe schon lange kein so spannendes Buch mehr gelesen. Einfach zu wissen, dass Snow später der Antagonist ist und darauf zu warten, was ihn denn zum Bösewicht gemacht hat. Ich habe hart darauf gewartet zu wissen, warum er Distrikt 12 so hasst. Leider war ich dann von diesem Plot-Twist und dem Ende des Buches etwas enttäuscht. Das Ende ist nicht ganz eindeutig. Das hat mich einfach nicht ganz zufriedengestellt.
Leider war meine Ausgabe des Buches auch recht fehlerhaft. Ich habe einige Beistrichfehler und Grammatikfehler gefunden. Gewisse Sätze haben auch absolut keinen Sinn ergeben. Das hat mich ebenfalls gestört.
Ich fand das Buch wirklich spannend, obwohl es sehr zu inneren Konflikten geführt hat. Ich freue mich jetzt auch schon auf den Film im Kino. Es war schön wieder in die Welt von Panem zurückzukehren.
Nach langem hin und her habe ich das Buch nun endlich gelesen. Ich habe mir anfangs Sorgen gemacht, wie mir das Buch gefällt. Es ist jetzt schon viele viele Jahre her, dass ich die Trilogie verschlungen und geliebt habe. Jedoch war Das Lied von Vogel und Schlange irgendwie ganz anders als die Trilogie, aber doch sehr ähnlich. Man hat sich direkt wieder in Panem zurechtgefunden, jedoch war der Schreibstil an Snows Persönlichkeit angepasst. Ich fand es richtig spannend über die Vergangenheit von Panem zu erfahren. Die Geschichte von Snow gibt einen ganz anderen Blickwinkel auf die Geschehnisse.
Sehr interessant war für mich einfach der Konflikt zwischen "mag ich Snow" oder "mag ich Snow nicht". Wenn man die Trilogie gelesen hat und auch die Filme gesehen hat, weiß man einfach, wie böse Snow eigentlich ist. Hier in diesem Buch ist er jedoch Protagonist und somit auch der Sympathieträger. Ein richtig netter Mensch war er anscheinend noch nie. Er ist sehr auf sich bezogen und möchte überall gewinnen. Dennoch lernt man auch gute Seiten an ihm kennen. Dieser Konflikt hat mein Hirn ziemlich verwirrt. Jedoch hat genau das das Buch so spannend gemacht.
Das Buch war sehr spannend zu lesen. Ich habe schon lange kein so spannendes Buch mehr gelesen. Einfach zu wissen, dass Snow später der Antagonist ist und darauf zu warten, was ihn denn zum Bösewicht gemacht hat. Ich habe hart darauf gewartet zu wissen, warum er Distrikt 12 so hasst. Leider war ich dann von diesem Plot-Twist und dem Ende des Buches etwas enttäuscht. Das Ende ist nicht ganz eindeutig. Das hat mich einfach nicht ganz zufriedengestellt.
Leider war meine Ausgabe des Buches auch recht fehlerhaft. Ich habe einige Beistrichfehler und Grammatikfehler gefunden. Gewisse Sätze haben auch absolut keinen Sinn ergeben. Das hat mich ebenfalls gestört.
Ich fand das Buch wirklich spannend, obwohl es sehr zu inneren Konflikten geführt hat. Ich freue mich jetzt auch schon auf den Film im Kino. Es war schön wieder in die Welt von Panem zurückzukehren.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Alcohol, War, Animal cruelty, and Cannibalism