Josiah Smallwood's Blog: Rimigafob's Ramblings - Posts Tagged "the-hunger-games"

I've recently sent my third book to my publishers, and the second one should be coming soon! I don't have a release date yet, but I think it might be out before the end of this year! I want to extend a thanks to all my friends and family who've supported me in my efforts to become a successful writer, both in the past and moving forward!

What I'm reading!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Every year, the oppressive Capitol forces each of the twelve districts to send two tributes - one male and one female - to fight to the death in an arena on national television until only one lone victor remains. When Katniss Everdeen - a hunter from the poorest district - volunteers to save her sister's life, she must push herself to her limits to survive.
Going to be re-reading these books and watching all the movies in celebration of the new novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, coming March 2025!

What I'm watching!

The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze: When winter comes to the great valley, Littlefoot, his family, and all the dinosaurs must learn how to deal with the threatened food supply. Spike also meets a family of spiketails who make him question if he should leave or stay with his friends.
I've made it halfway through my Land Before Time marathon! I've been surprised with how much I enjoy these films, and for this one specifically, I actually didn't see much of it growing up, so this'll be new for me!

What I'm playing!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: After being asleep for a hundred years, Link wakes up having lost his memories. He finds himself in the post-apocalyptic fantasy world of Hyrule, a ruined kingdom filled with hostile monsters, but with the guidance of his old friend princess Zelda, he may find the strength to become the light that must shine on Hyrule once again.
I've been spending my time playing master mode for this playthrough, and to be honest, I don't know if I'll stop until I either somehow beat the game or this mode kicks my butt...ha!

Near the end of 2024, I decided to revisit one of my favorite book series, The Hunger Games, in preparation for the new novel, Sunrise on the Reaping! To celebrate the new book, I'd like to rank every book and movie in this franchise to see which pieces of this story are the best of the best!

But first, I want to clarify a few things: I'll be ranking the books and their movie counterparts put together, as I think it'll offer more to talk about for me than if I ranked them separately. And while I evidently feel like some parts of this story are better than others, there's nothing here that I wouldn't call at least good, so no matter how low an entry is placed, I still recommend it! And of course, all of this is my opinion, so feel free to disagree!

Oh, and SPOILER ALERT for the entire franchise, of course.

#4: Mockingjay: The final book in the original trilogy, and the only novel to have two movies instead of one.
In this finale of the series, Katniss Everdeen takes up her role as the Mockingjay to bring down the Capitol while also facing corruption from within the rebel movement.
While Mockingjay is a worthy finale to the series, with a fantastic story and intriguing drama, it struggles in areas that the other books excelled in. The pacing has issues, and the love triangle, while not without purpose, is a turn-off for a lot of readers.
The movies are also the weakest in the film series. Since this story was split into two parts, the films had to add a lot of filler. Some of it was pretty good, like the scenes where we see the rebellion from outside District 13, but most of it didn't make the film any more exciting, especially in Part 1, where the story couldn't have as much action as the others. Still, it's gripping to see the propaganda exchanges between the Capitol and District 13, and the finale is still great.

#3: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: The prequel novel, set decades before the start of the original trilogy.
After the loss of his family's fortune, Coriolanus Snow has to keep up the facade of his family's wealth as he tries to get a scholarship to go to university. But when he establishes an unexpected connection to his tribute in the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray Baird, his life takes a twist.
The prequel gives a lot of cool backstory to Collins' world, showing us what the games were before they became the spectacle we saw in the trilogy. There's also a lot to grapple with thematically, especially in the relationship between Snow and Sejanus Plinth. However, there's a few issues with the book version, such as the change of pacing in the third part and confusing aspects of the ending.
However, the film does a great job avoiding the issues that plagued the book, so much that it could be argued to be better overall. Still, I would consider both the book and movie to be essential for fans of this franchise, as both have their strengths.

#2: The Hunger Games: The book that started it all.
After Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her sister's place in the 74th Hunger Games, a fight to the death on national television, she's sent to the Capitol to train until the day the games begin. If she wants to survive, she'll have to push herself to her limits physically and mentally, especially when the history between her and the male tribute, Peeta, becomes a factor in the games.
Fast-paced and full of tension, this book introduced us to the world of Panem and kick started one of my favorite franchises. While later books were able to expand the universe further and take it to new heights, the first book will always stand out as one of the best dystopias in fiction.
The movie is also one of the best, effectively bringing the world to the screen and perfectly acted. While it's not quite as good as the book, it's still an essential moviegoing experience.

#1: Catching Fire: The second book in the trilogy.
After surviving the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss is thrown into the arena again thanks to President Snow. But this act of cruelty is not quite unexpected, as a revolution is brewing among the people of Panem...
While the first book introduced us to Panem, the second book expanded it into what we know it as today, introducing fan favorite characters such as Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason, as well as expanding on existing aspects such as life under the Capitol's regime.
The film adaptation is also the best of the movie series in my opinion! While it obviously couldn't include every detail from the books, it expertly captures the themes and escalating conflict among the characters and the world!

And that's the end of the list! Hopefully, I'll be able to get my own copy of Sunrise on the Reaping soon, and once I finish reading it, I'll provide an update on where I'd put it on this list! Thanks for reading!

*****

Oh, you wanted to check down here as well? Well, I wanted to dedicate this section to my expectations for the new novel, because I've got some things I want to share.

First, we know that this book is going to be based on Haymitch Abernathy's Hunger Games, but story-wise we already know how a lot of it went from what we saw in the second book. Maybe we'll get some more details that could put our understanding of these events in a new light? While I'm sure it'll be exciting to see the 50th Hunger Games while it's happening as opposed to in retrospect, I think we'll need to see some new aspects about it in order to make the book truly impactful.

Second, I'm more interested to read about the themes Collins will write about. She's said that she was inspired by David Hume's ideas of "the easiness with which the many are governed by the few" as well as the use of propaganda. I can't wait to see what she's written about that.

And finally, I've noticed something peculiar about the cover. On the cover of the first two books and the prequel, a ring surrounds the mockingjay, symbolizing how the people of Panem are trapped under the Capitol's tyrannical rule. And on the cover of the prequel, there's a snake slithering across the bottom, symbolizing President Snow himself. On the cover of the last book, the ring is gone, showing that the people of Panem are free. On the new book, the Ring is broken is places, and the bird and snake are in a quarrel, like they're preparing to fight. Does this mean that there's some sort of challenge to the Capitol that's going to happen in this story? While that does sound like it could be exciting, I'm worried that, since we know that the Capitol still has a firm grip on the districts at the start of the first book, all the tension will be sucked out. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Sunrise on the Reaping is just around the corner, coming out on March 18th! Thanks to you guys for reading, and I hope to see y'all on my next blog post!

Hey everyone! Got a little bonus-but-maybe-not-actually-bonus post for y'all today!

Back in March, I ranked every book and movie in the Hunger Games franchise for my monthly bookish post. At the end, I gave my thoughts on the then-upcoming novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, and promised that once I finished it, I'd give an update and let y'all know just where I'd put it in the ranking.

Before we go further, I want to clarify that every book in this series is S tier, so there's no disrespect to any entry no matter where I put it.

Oh, and, y'know: Spoiler alert!

So where DO I put it?

Well, aside from the stuff I put in my review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), one of the things that make this book stand out among the others, in my opinion, was the amount of fanservice. We meet a variety of fan favorite characters from the series at earlier points in their lives, such as Mags and Beetee. We even find out that the latter has a son who he tragically loses to the games.

Another standout aspect is the state of the world. It's like a middle child in between what we saw in the first prequel and the first book. In TBoSaS, we saw the games in their early incarnation, devoid of the flair and spectacle Snow would add to them, and outside the arena, we saw Panem in the aftermath of the Dark Days. In THG, we saw that the games have evolved into a great national event, filled with a variety of festivities that make the cruelty of the games less real to their high-class audience. In SotR, it's mostly earlier versions of the latter world, notably in the interview and training area sections.

For the story, I was worried it would suffer because it involves a challenge to the Capitol when we knew it still had a firm grip on the Districts 24 years later. But the way it was pulled off both story-wise and theme-wise was very well done.

And speaking of theme, the ideas and messages present on the book are also top-notch. I loved how Collins explored the use of propaganda, and the message of perseverance in the end was also very touching.

In the end, I'd place it right smack in the middle of my ranking, at #3. The books beneath it may outshine it in certain aspects and sections, but on the whole, it's a more that satisfying addition to this series! Hope the movie doesn't disappoint!