THG: Anyone else not really enjoy these?

[Chad]

I listened to the three books via audible last month.

While I enjoyed the first book, I just didn't care for the series overall due to books 2 and 3. I only somewhat enjoyed the 2nd book – it had some good twists, but mostly more of the same from book 1 to me. Then I really struggled to finish the 3rd. It just didn't keep my interest at all.

I really began to loathe everything about Katniss not too much into the 2nd book. She was just too naive – it pained me that she couldn't even grasp what was going on in the present, much less try to put two and two together for the future. I just wanted to slap some sense into her.

Two things did not help: 1) I didn't realized these were written for "young adult" when I started the series and 2) I had recently listened to the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series and the Millennium trilogy. I believe this had a lot to do with me not enjoying the series – I just didn’t get sucked in. The bar was set too high with these other series.

Anyone else have these feelings? Again, I liked the first book, but I should have probably stopped there.

[Nick]

They were ok. Not my favorites and doubt I'll reread them within the next 10 to 20 years. Some interesting concepts but on the whole pretty much a rehash of other scifi/horror. The point of view was about the only really unique thing and even that can be debated as not all that unique against Battle Royale. I do plan on watching the movies but that is more out of curiosity about how they will portray certain parts.

But as a gateway read for younger audiences I'm in full support of the books. You can do much worse reading in the young adult reading section of the bookstore. I can understand why the books are popular for their intended audience.

[Michael]

I agree, I think this series should have ended after the first book. I had to rthing.eally slog through the second and third books. I am not really into the whole "who will she choose"

[Lindsay]

Chad wrote: "I listened to the three books via audible last month.

While I enjoyed the first book, I just didn't care for the series overall due to books 2 and 3. I only somewhat enjoyed the 2nd book – it ha..."

Personally, I could not get into the Hunger Games either. I do like fantasy/scifi, both adult and ya, but this story just irritated me.

[Louise]

I usually read a lot of ya fantasy, but I got sort of a bleh feeling reading about this series, so I'll probably go read some Garth Nix instead.

[Lindsay]

Louise wrote: "I usually read a lot of ya fantasy, but I got sort of a bleh feeling reading about this series, so I'll probably go read some Garth Nix instead."

I know what you mean. Although it's very popular, I just couldn't get into it. I like ya fantasy too and discovered an indie book that is an interesting read: LightMasters: Number 13

I'll have to look into Garth Nix. Hope you find something you like.

[Kevin]

Molex wrote: "I agree, I think this series should have ended after the first book. I had to rthing.eally slog through the second and third books. I am not really into the whole "who will she choose""

Yeah, I agree.

[terpkristin]

Molex wrote: "I agree, I think this series should have ended after the first book"

This is exactly how I feel. I think my enjoyment of the first book was sullied by the second and third tomes. When I recommend the book to others, I always advise that they don't read the second and third books. The first book I thought was quite good and stood well on its own.

[Brian]

Right now I'm only 1/3 through the 2nd book, but I'm enjoying it more than the first one. Granted, I really didn't like the first one and while the second is better, it's still not that good in my opinion. But the world is so intriguing (and the books are really short) that I'm going to finish all three.

There are some young adult books that work for both adults and young adults, which is the sort I'm used to. But these books really seem to be just for young adults. And the bar was definitely set too high for these books.

[Kyle]

Collins is out of her depth writing strategy. Katniss spends a huge chunk of those books with the best range weapon and the only night vision, and she can't put it together what she should do. Strategy Fail. Makes me want to yank the book out of the hands of every 12-year old I see and replace it with Ender's Game;)

[Stephanie]

I strongly agree with others here that books 2 and 3 ruined this seires for me. My major problem with books 2 and 3 was the characterization of Katniss and the incredibly weak plotting. I also listened to these books and was wondering if part of my irritation with Katniss was a result of the reading by a 40 something year old woman which made it hard for me to remember that the protagonist was a 16 year old girl. Nah....I still think Katniss would have annoyed the pants off me on paper.

[terpkristin]

I think what drove me the most crazy with books 2 and 3 is that they felt like last-minute add-ons. The original book was a pretty decent book that stood quite well on its own. The second really needed the third to follow it up, and both felt rushed. To me, the "series" felt like Collins only intended to write one book, but got pushed into writing the other two by a publisher who wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the original.

[Kevin]

terpkristin wrote: "I think what drove me the most crazy with books 2 and 3 is that they felt like last-minute add-ons. The original book was a pretty decent book that stood quite well on its own. The second really ne..."

Yeah, I hear a lot of people feel that way.

[Kevin]

Kyle wrote: "Collins is out of her depth writing strategy. Katniss spends a huge chunk of those books with the best range weapon and the only night vision, and she can't put it together what she should do. Str..."

Could not agree with you more. Everyone needs to at least know of Ender's Game even if they are not going to read it one way or another. Its the best book ever written that was never intended to be used as widely as it is today

[Nick]

Kevin wrote: "Everyone needs to at least know of Ender's Game even if they are not going to read it one way or another. "

I haven't read Ender's game yet but that will be the only book I buy by Orson Scott Card. I don't believe in funding hate mongers.
http://io9.com/5838334/the-real-reaso...

[Kevin]

Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Everyone needs to at least know of Ender's Game even if they are not going to read it one way or another. "

I haven't read Ender's game yet but that will be the only book I buy by Or..."

If you feel that way about Orson Scott Card, then do you feel the same way about other political driven authors who show it in their writing like Terry Goodkind or Ayn Rand?

[Nick]

Kevin wrote: "Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Everyone needs to at least know of Ender's Game even if they are not going to read it one way or another. "

I haven't read Ender's game yet but that will be the only boo..."

Yes. At least in the case of the two you've mentioned. I don't share there point of view. I might read Ayn Rand just to know what I'm talking about when I discuss her philosophy with others but I'm not a fan.

[Kevin]

Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Everyone needs to at least know of Ender's Game even if they are not going to read it one way or another. "

I haven't read Ender's game yet but that will b..."

Then does the author has to have the same political beliefs as you do or is it just in general? Because I think most people on here hate Orson Scott Card, Terry Goodkind, and Ayn Rand because they have different or the opposite political beliefs as they do.

[Kevin]

Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Everyone needs to at least know of Ender's Game even if they are not going to read it one way or another. "

I haven't read Ender's game yet but that will b..."

Yes, I feel like if someone is in line with someone else's viewpoint whether its political or otherwise, even if the person displays it, they are more likely to use whatever the person has produced no matter what it is.

[Nick]

Kevin wrote: "Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Nick wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Everyone needs to at least know of Ender's Game even if they are not going to read it one way or another. "

I haven't read Ender's game yet bu..."

I will, in general, avoid authors with political views that diverge significantly from my own. I would make it a more steadfast rule when they tend to preach it in their writings.

[Sean]

Boycotting an author because of their political beliefs alone is silly, however I refuse to read any novel where I can figure out the author's party affiliation from the story, which rules out Rand, Goodkind and Card (keep in mind, I'm a libertarian, so Rand and Goodkind are nominally on my side). I also refuse to give money to bigots, which rules out Card a second time.

[Nick]

Kevin wrote: "Yes, I feel like if someone is in line with someone else's viewpoint whether its political or otherwise, even if the person displays it, they are more likely to use whatever the person has produced no matter what it is. "

Not going to lie. That sentence is a bit muddled. Almost had to diagram it to understand it but I think I know what you are trying to say.

[Violinknitter]

Wow. I can't imagine culling my reading list because of political disagreements with an author. I have serious disagreements (political, philosophical, whatever) with some of my favorite authors. I still love their books. (Short list of authors I would have to avoid if I were trying to avoid people with whom I disagree on one or more significant issue: Robin McKinley, Elizabeth Moon, Ursula K. LeGuin, Orson Scott Card, George MacDonald, Isaac Asimov, Diana Wynne Jones, Madeleine L'Engle, Chaim Potok, E. Nesbit, Susan Cooper, Terry Pratchett, Patrick Rothfuss, James Thurber, etc.)

[Nick]

Violinknitter wrote: "Wow. I can't imagine culling my reading list because of political disagreements with an author. I have serious disagreements (political, philosophical, whatever) with some of my favorite authors. I..."

If you have that many authors you "significantly" disagree with then maybe you need to adjust your definition of "significant" to something with a higher threshold. When I said something about political views being significantly divergent from my own I meant more than one or two things. Besides the three listed here the only author I can think of avoiding because of difference in views was Michael Crichton later in his career. Heinlein held a lot of views very different from my own but the few books I've read by him I've found to be interesting none-the-less. As sean said its more the authors that become overly preachy in their books.

[Cory Day]

I love Orson Scott Card's books and Ender's Game is one of my favorite books ever, but I am doing my best not to actually BUY any more of his books new. I don't generally have a problem reading things written by people who disagree with my beliefs, but giving money to a person who has actively used his income to fund groups I don't agree with... that's different. So instead I use the library or buy them used. It may be splitting hairs, but it makes me feel better.

[Violinknitter]

Nick wrote: "As sean said its more the authors that become overly preachy in their books."
That makes sense. I dislike preachiness even if I happen to agree with an author's viewpoint. I pick up a book in hopes of a good story, not a political dissertation (or philosophical or religious or whatever.)

[Micah]

Violinknitter wrote:That makes sense. I dislike preachiness even if I happen to agree with an author's viewpoint. I pick up a book in hopes of a good story, not a political dissertation (or philosophical or religious or whatever.)"

But isn't that what a lot of literature is about? Especially really good Sci-Fi literature.

[Nick]

Micah wrote: "Violinknitter wrote:That makes sense. I dislike preachiness even if I happen to agree with an author's viewpoint. I pick up a book in hopes of a good story, not a political dissertation (or philoso..."

That depends on the skill of the author or politician. If you are really good at making a argument in favor of a point of view you can change peoples minds in your favor but if you don't do a good job you can end up just turning people away from wanting to read what you've written all together. And if the author is really really good, they can tell a good story incorporating their point of view and people who disagree can just ignore it as fiction if they want. Very few authors do this well. Heinlein did a good job of this with Starship Troopers. He setup a society incorporating his view of how society should work but at the same time made it feel like a story immersed in a thought out and interesting world. I didn't agree with everything he said but I could appreciate some of his arguments. This is a far cry from promoting hate and distrust of a part of society as Card seems to have been doing recently.

[Micah]

Nick wrote: "This is a far cry from promoting hate and distrust of a part of society as Card seems to have been doing recently."

in his books or in his private life? I have only read Ender's Game so I don't know if his other novels portrayed a more political or bigoted point of view. And if it was his personal life then I could see not buying his books but getting them on loan or some other way.

My question was more to the effect of isn't most great sci-fi work an allegory for a situation on our own world, in our own time? I would never not read something just because I heard it was preachy or that the authors view point was to skewed. I was always told that a lot of literature was intended to challenge our accepted notions of the world and try to make us see the world from a different point of view than our own.
We don't have to agree with the point the author was making but we should understand why we don't agree with it. To just not read something because we felt offended or that it didn't agree with our own preconceived notions would be an awful thing to happen in my opinion.

(we totally hijacked this thread by the way.)

back to the original point of the thread: I enjoyed all 3 books. I read them on audio from Overdrive and they all flowed quite easily for me. Some of the parts would annoy me (when Katniss would be so bullheaded for one) but then I would remember that the story is about a 16-17 year old girl who was thrust into this situation and could not do anything about it. Seen from that light everything in the books worked for me.

[Violinknitter]

Micah wrote: But isn't that what a lot of literature is about? Especially really good Sci-Fi literature.

I agree with Nick's response: "if the author is really really good, they can tell a good story incorporating their point of view and people who disagree can just ignore it as fiction if they want." I expect an author's worldview to inform the stories she or he writes. That's one of the reasons I love good literature: I want the opportunity to see the world through someone else's eyes. I don't, however, particularly like opening a fiction book and finding passages of preachy essays thinly disguised as character dialogue or worldbuilding information.

And I probably shouldn't say much more, because I've contributed too much to this particular threadjack.

[Kevin]

Forgot an author to add to the political disscussion, but not really political, Stephen Donaldson with his Thomas Convent Series. A lot of people I know on here hates the character and the series. I think the reason mainly is because in the first book, Lord Foul's Bane, Thomas rapes a girl.

[[deleted user]]

Just... just gonna let it all out there, eh?

Spoiler tag that, man.

[Daniel]

Personally when I recommend YA fantasy/sci-fi I top my list with Timothy Zahn's Dragon and Thief series, which end-to-end is far superior to HG