Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I hadn't planned on reading this when it first came out, as I'm generally skeptical about prequels. Then, after a Hunger Games re-read this year as part of a reading challenge, I got curious and thought to check this out - thanks in no small part to the fact that Santino Fontana narrated the audiobook. I was pleasantly surprised.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes isn't a fantastic book, but it is entertaining and introspective, and just generally much better than I expected it to be. It was really interesting to follow Snow's point of view in his youth, to see how he might grow up to become the ruthless president we all love to hate. One thing that actually had surprised me on my HG re-read was how I remembered him being so much more present than he truly was, a sure sign of a memorable villain who permeated the trilogy without actually appearing for very long at all. So, it was fascinating for me to spend more time with him.

Coriolanus Snow isn't likeable - at all - and as a character isn't terribly complex either, driven as he is solely by a desire to succeed and restore his family's former glory, power and - above all - money. He is extremely self-centred makes some terrible choices; following his reasonings is truly unpleasant but I liked that this isn't an attempt at rehabilitation. At no point in the book is it suggested that we should somehow excuse his behaviour: the best we readers can hope to do is to understand it, but there is no salvation in sight.
I was particularly worried about the romance, but again I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is little space for doubt in the relationship between Snow and Lucy Gray: what he claims to be love is only further desire for power, a wish to control and possess a free spirit.

As with the original trilogy, none of the themes touched upon here are particularly subtle - and this extremely toxic behaviour is no exception - but as this is essentially aimed at a younger audience I won't count it against the book. It was also much more introspective than I anticipated, with several reflections veering more towards philosophical musings on human nature and social contracts. Again, not particularly deep and sometimes slightly too on-the-nose (I fully expected certain characters to start quoting The Leviathan at some point) but still a pleasant addition to the universe. I can fully see why some readers who loved the original trilogy might have been disappointed by this one, as the action is very limited and the time spent in the arena was - for me at least - probably the most boring part.

The secondary characters are fairly weak here. As far as Capitol inhabitants go, there are just too many characters who seem to have no distinctive traits whatsoever. By the halfway mark I still couldn't tell the difference between the different mentors - nor the tributes to be honest. The ones who do get some more space for development are fairly stereotypical and one-dimensional, archetypes more than fully fledged characters in their own right. Lucy Gray and Sejanus particularly could have benefited from further development, and I was sorry not to see them gain some of the complexity their characters could have had.

There are multiple elements connecting back to the original trilogy which serve to further understanding (I particularly enjoyed unveiling hints to the origins of Snow's instant hatred of Katniss) or add context to the world, although at times they seemed just a tad too many - fan-service more than real development. The world also isn't particularly built upon in this book, so I expect that if anyone were to approach this universe starting here they would probably have trouble orienting themselves.

Where the book really had issues for me though was in the pacing, which feels all over the place. It started strong, then slowed down considerably, then rushed back at the end... I basically had whiplash. There were also too many repetitions, which really didn't help and made the narrative drag a lot. As far as the audio narration goes, I enjoyed Santino Fontana's interpretation, but really can't understand why they had him recite the song lyrics instead of actually singing them. Having the lyrics just there interrupted the flow and was - again - deeply repetitive most of the time, while having the actual music would have really helped to lend them more emotion, as it had in the HG audios narrated by Tatiana Maslany. I'm truly baffled as to why one would hire a singer to narrate a book featuring multiple songs and not make him sing... Anyway, that's just my opinion!

Overall, this was better than I expected it to be but still had a lot of issues. I am still glad I read it though, and I will look forward to reading the next book when it releases!

Content Warnings

readwithsophsx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

lochnessbookster's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

Content Warnings

wild_rabbits's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

Content Warnings

chavonnwshen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a haunting book!

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onefineelephant's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

9/10. I really enjoyed this book. Coriolanus is a very complicated character and an unreliable narrator which makes him so intriguing. However, I was worried that he was going to come across as the hero of this story (considering how awful he is from the original trilogy) but thankfully his paranoia and selfishness permeate every page. Essentially, he is the main character but he is still a villain or at the very least problematic. It is fascinating seeing things from his point of view and even understanding his actions while also recognizing that he could have acted more humane. Coriolanus is more humanized because of this book since we get to see his hardships and emotions, but his putrid personality still affects everything he touches. Additionally, I love the Covey and addition of songs with their meaningful lyrics embedded in the story. It helped that I could listen to the movie's soundtrack, though, to actually grasp the songs' tunes. I knew how this book would go because I saw the movie first but I enjoyed the book so much more because I could actually understand his motivations and thought processes. Suzanne Collins does a great job of portraying him while also writing him in a way that clearly does not excuse his behavior. As always, I am in love with her writing and will always praise her work.

SPOILERS:

As I said, I watched the movie before reading the book so I knew the events of the book. While watching the movie, I wondered if Coriolanus actually loved Lucy Gray like he said or if he felt attracted to her but was manipulating her for his own benefit. I guess both could be true, but the book makes it clear that he does actually love her even though his own paranoia, selfishness, and manipulation spoil even the most pure thing in his life. The concepts of trust and love come up in this book quite a lot, especially at the end, and I think it is fascinating to examine what those concepts look and feel like. Coriolanus claims to love and trust Lucy Gray (even to himself) but ultimately proves that while he may love her, he is incapable of truly trusting anyone. I think the only person Coriolanus ever truly trusted was Tigris and we know that he ended up having a falling-out with her later in life. Considering his actions throughout the book (causing Sejanus's death, murdering people, becoming a Peacekeeper/cop, horrendously improving the Hunger Games, turning on Lucy Gray), I take deep satisfaction that he grows up to be miserable and alone. Snow may land on top, but tyrants always fall eventually.

Content Warnings

jessiesnoww's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

I LOVED the first 2/3 of the book, but then the pace slowed way down and the stakes were much lower.

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