**spoiler alert** I loved the first two books. The world building was amazing. A post-apocalyptic America called Panem, 2 tributes one boy, one girl,...more**spoiler alert** I loved the first two books. The world building was amazing. A post-apocalyptic America called Panem, 2 tributes one boy, one girl,(children aged 12-17)from 12 districts sent to kill each other until only one, the victor, is left for the entertainment of the Capital. The Capital rules over the districts.
It's dark, it's gory, it tells the tale of 17 year old Katniss Everdeen. This particular book, the last of the series, fell flat.
The ending left me wanting to know more. What happened to Katniss? What did she do, other than bear two children to Peeta. What did he do?
I didn't understand why her sister had to die. It wasn't necessary, and it was the reason Katniss ended up in the hunger games in the first place, to protect her sister.
The epilogue just didn't do the book justice, it felt hurried, like the author was in a rush and ran out of time, or maybe pages.
It makes me sad to be so invested in a series and have it end without really explaining so much.(less)
I thought it was good when I read it. When I read the entire series from start to finish, I realized it was great. The foreshadowing is just so obviou...moreI thought it was good when I read it. When I read the entire series from start to finish, I realized it was great. The foreshadowing is just so obvious from day one that when you get through it it's a facepalm moment.
Wow. I listened to this on my iPod the last couple of days. Set, at the time, in the 1970's, I thought it was outdated, and frankly, thought it could ...moreWow. I listened to this on my iPod the last couple of days. Set, at the time, in the 1970's, I thought it was outdated, and frankly, thought it could have used some better biology research. Even in the '70's we had microscopes with lights, not mirrors. We couldn't see bacteria moving on a slide without killing, staining and fixing them and viewing under a 100X lens. And a disease was 'released' when there were (unexplained) bombings, wasn't found by researchers, just by an average joe who found the moving bacteria right away.
I smirked. The reader is excellent, I've enjoyed him before, and continued to listen, assuming the books was written in the '70's.
Although the big bad uglies were called vampires, they were zombies. Wonderful, evil, disgusting, zombies, one of my favorite post-apocalyptic characters.
The MC, Robert Neville, is the last remaining man on Earth who is not infected by the bacteria. He feels he was immune because he was bit by a vampire bat when he was a soldier. He speculated that the bat was infected by the vamp virus and transmitted it to him. Since he didn't get the virus directly from a human and he fought it off, he became immune. OK, I'll overlook the fact that he could have been used to make a vaccine, or if it was a bacteria, that the researchers should have found, they could have tried antibiotics, but hey...the book was written in 1954. He did an amazing job detailing possibilities 20 years in the future. It's easy to pick on a book written 57 years earlier, if you don't realize it was written 57 years earlier:) Worse, if you're a biologist who didn't realize it was a book that early.
There are few books and shows that I am amazed by the far thinking of the author. One would be Star Trek, with the wonderful clam shell 'Cell Phones. I'd like to add Richard Matheson as another. Doing a little research, I discovered he wrote some of those early Star Treks. The take home message isn't given until the last few lines of the book. He is legend, the last of the non-infected humans. He is now the outsider, the 'wrong' one. It all depends on your point of view as to what 'wrong' or bad or evil, is.
I haven't seen the movie of the same name, though I understand it was updated. There were actually a few made, which attests to the longevity and adaptability of the basic premise. Very cool!(less)
I usually keep my TBR pile in order, however, well, somethings are like chocolate: it's too good to let sit around. So I bought the book and while...moreI usually keep my TBR pile in order, however, well, somethings are like chocolate: it's too good to let sit around. So I bought the book and while I was waiting for the paper, downloaded it to Kindle and sucked it down.
Unlike Magic Bleeds, this books sets up a lot avenues for Kate to take in her future war with her father. She learns more about what and who she really is. She also gains a new understanding for the motivations of the man she called her father, though they shared no common blood. The discovery of what Kate's mother really was offers more insight into where Kate has gotten all her strengths from. It also scares her.
In many ways, MS feels more like a bridge to the future books, though it wasn't an unfinished piece in the slightest. Saving magic and magic wielding humans and creatures IS important in Kate's world, and she is very successful at asskicking the job done.
Kate is intelligent, more so than she even realizes, and in MS she listens and learns crucial information about how to control her blood and where her strengths lie. She also has to overcome the programming her foster father and her guardian and learn to accept the help from her friends.
Ah, and Curran. Unlike many other series where the relationship grow soggy once they are consummated, Curran and Kate keep up the snarking and competition. Kate still can't accept that Curran actually cares for her. First, she was worried because of the eventual clash between her blood father and herself, and the fear that everyone she is close to died. Now she is worried he had ulterior motives in becoming her mate.
It's a wonderful book crafted in the way expected from Ilona and Gordon. Five stars. Now, to read the Hex short before I return to my regularly scheduled TBR pile.