The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

As I was heading to the Olympics to watch some sport which is main main hobby besides reading, I needed something to read that I could easily pick up and wouldn't be too heavy such as Game of Thrones.

So I chose The Hunger Games, and all I can think is....

"May the odds be ever in your favour."

This book certainly deserves a 5/5.

I must admit that I read this on the devil box or Kindle for those of you who don't know my dislike of digital print and there was an interview at the end of the book with Suzanne Collins. I just want to note this point of annoyance on my part before I begin to talk about the actual story. Suzanne Collins in her interview is asked about what influences brought her to think of the Hunger Games and she mentioned seeing things on the news etc which is fair enough, but there is certainly one source of inspiration that is not mentioned and that is the film Battle Royale which is the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the concept of the story so I was rather shocked that this was not mentioned, but maybe she wanted to sound original.

Rant over. Feel free to ignore the previous paragraph.

The main character in the book is the young Katniss Everdeen, a girl who was born in District 12 of the state of Panem which has risen up out of the ruins of the contemporary United States which has been brought down by climate change and other nasty things like that. District 12, provides coal to the Capitol whilst other districts provide their own specific products.

Part of the reason this book appeals to me is that from the get go it is very obvious that there is a very Roman aspect to this tale in the way that the client kingdoms have to provide tribute to the capitol who controls everything.

Because of a previous rebellion by the districts each year the surviving districts must offer up one girl and one boy aged between 12 and 18 to take part in the Hunger Games. In the games the children will fight to the death (and of course be broadcast on national television) until there is only one survivor.

Through circumstances the two that head to the games for District 12 are one Katniss Everdeen and a young boy named Peeta Mellark.

The two characters are pretty brilliantly presented in my opinion. Katniss is a pure survivor who has shut out most emotions since a very early age to make sure that her family survives. Peeta however, whilst being from a very (and I cannot emphasize how very small) better family in terms of their circumstances, he wears his heart on his sleeve and is not afraid to show his emotions. For a man who has often been described as super stoic I wish I could be more like the character of Peeta Mellark.

I cannot really say more about the two of them without spoilling more of the story than I already feel I have. This is also the reason that whilst I have read the following two books within two days of The Hunger Games, I might wait to write them up.

When reading The Hunger Games, I couldn't help but feel that several of the characters represent very important aspects of a persons character. For instance, Primm, Katniss' younger sister represents pure innocence. Peeta I feel represents courage in a number of ways. Haymitch represents despair and having had an alcoholic close to me I can understand how he drinks to cover up the pain. Effie, who represents decadence and the arrogance that comes with it, and finally Cinna who represents kindness. I also have a feeling of what Katniss should represent but I want to keep that one to myself so I don't cloud your views.

The pace of the book is very good and at the end of every chapter I just wanted to read one more chapter and then next thing I knew the book was finished.

If you look at the surface of The Hunger Games you have a book about a girl who is thrown into a bad situation and kids are made to kill each other for mindless entertainment.
What I got was a book about sacrifice. Sacrifice for ideals that are bigger than the individual and that can give hope to not just the masses but those close around us. I must admit that to a lesser extent I really enjoyed the absolute devotion that Peeta shows Katniss throughout the story is very moving and was nice to think that occasionally people can meet "the one" even as hardship is thrust on them.

Battle Earth II, III and IV by Nick S Thomas

Well, its been a busy time of late. I have found myself reading series of books which is why I haven't been reviewing much. My last review was OK Battle Earth I by Nick S Thomas, which was a highly enjoyable read, and because I was reading it on the Kindle, it made it easy to just keep on reading without really noticing that I had started a new book.

Then of course came the games. For those of you that know me, I have a deep passion for sport that I do not express to anyone, except when there is a big tournament on that particular sport. Then came the Olympics, the time in which titans walk amongst us and the hopes of millions across the globe rest on the shoulders of very few. So what does one do when the sports that you love such as fencing, hockey, athletics, rowing and cycling come along what is a man to do....

Get your arse to London is what that man does.

My travel to the games meant that I needed something to read and so in the space of a week I got the chance to read through the Hunger Games books which I will review shortly.

But back to Battle Earth, which because I read them over the course of three days I will review as if they are one book.

Battle Earth II, III and IV by Nick S Thomas.

 Just as the first book I will give the three books a 4/5.

The three books are very similar to the first book, with the only variation really being book IV.
Things seem dire at the beginning of book II with the human forces holding their alien foes in the ruins of Paris but losing many for every enemy they take down.

They then get pushed back and France falls beneath the boots of a different type of oppressor and it falls to the united nations of earth to rally in Germany and continue the fight.

You get told that the alien forces are attacking other places on the earth, but refreshingly the action always remains fixed on the characters you know. Even to the point that you also get to follow a resistance movement on the moon.

As you could expect from humans, we quickly learn from our enemies and develop technology that levels the playing field and we are able to take the fight back to them.

The books continue with great pace and the characters never seem indestructible and do remain very human. You also begin to learn more about the aliens, without it becoming bogged down in anything too unbelievable. To be honest with reading this, I got the feeling that the TV series Falling Skies pinched the idea for the aliens from these books.

Books 1-3 are very similar as if they are one story, then book 4 comes along and it shifts a little. It is still a great read but its as if its a new chapter in the story and I would say that if there is not another book in the series then do not read four, but if there is another then wait so that you can go through them as it left me wanting more as its seems like there should be more on the way.