Suzanne Collins twists her dystopian saga into a devilish, confounding origin story.
The 18-year-old heir presents a dynastic facade, residing in the Capitols most opulent apartment building.
His blond curls are perfect.
Credit: Scholastic
He writes such beautiful essays.
The Snows are penthouse poor.
Ten years ago, rebellion besieged their city and left Coriolanus an orphan.
The war didnt get them; the property tax will.
Continued status depends on Coriolanus attending the University he cant afford.
Suzanne Collinsbled out herHunger Gamestrilogy so fast, releasing three parts annually in three recessionary summers.
Did she need years to recover?
The prequel is stranger than its predecessors, and funnier, overlong, dangerously goofy.
It grasps shamelessly for social meaning and conjures a vampiric spell.
Also: Too much!
Young Coriolanus is an unabashed elitist, sensitive to the undercurrents of power.
The opening chapters draw you into his fake-it-till-you-make-it illusions.
Coriolanus and his fellow students get matched with Tributes from the Districts.
They’re also creative consultants.
The event must be eventized; this murder bowl needs somezhuzhing.
Its executive vocab in the gladiator pit.
You just know Collins took meetings in Hollywood where some suit repeated the phrasemore meaningful experience.
Enter Lucy Gray Baird, District 12s newest sacrificial Tribute.
Its also an opportunity.
Some key moments inBalladtake place while people sit in a room watching TV and tapping their computers.
Who wants a second-screen novel?
Coriolanus, Sejanus, and did I mention Dean Highbottom?
You feel were disappearing up someplace.
Its the emotional hellscape of a dying Empire.
Think Ancient Rome, or go look outside your quarantine window.
Coriolanus motivations are desperately palpable: Save the family, keep the nice apartment, never go hungry again.
The storytelling itself trends desperate at times.
Chapters close on violent cliffhangers that edge into parody: “Then the world exploded.”
Dr. Gaul proves those opening epigraphs werent messing around.
The expository impulse brings momentum to a halt.
With bloody betrayal spiraling all around, Dr. Gaul demands Coriolanus write an essay about chaos.
Balladruns over 500 pages, and at one point it almost seems to become a different novel.
There are too many folk music interludes, some ludicrous franchise callbacks, and a genuinely awe-inspiring final setpiece.
Gone isCatching Fires All-Star teamwork andMockingjays the-city-is-the-arena sidestep.
Collins can befunny, man, like Coen Brothers funny.
