I had the pleasure of meeting this book after I saw the movie
What is the time they use to read the book?
Unlike some readers, I had the pleasure of meeting this book after I saw the movie. And I have not read the 2 other books. Usually before I write a review, I make a point of reading all of the previous reviews of the book on this site. Unfortunately the sheer mass of these makes this impractical. So I might be stating views already given, but here goes.The most interesting aspect of what reviews I did read were those by people negative. Like KMR, who suggested that &#34;the premise ... lacks authenticity&#34; and &#34;the people of Panem are so resigned ... they never question it&#34; and &#34;in 74 years, not even one tribute has questioned the mandate&#34;. But look at our own unlamented North Korea. Under a stifling and near absolute dictatorship that harks back to 1945 when World War 2 ended 67 years ago. Where in the last 20 years a famine killed over a million people. Yet no rebellion. The 67 year Korean rule is not so far from the 74 years of the Hunger Games. Perhaps the reviewer should be more cognisant of actual history.Then there is the reviewer Pseudotriakis, who opined that &#34;the book is boring&#34;. Here the overwhelming mass of readers would absolutely disagree. As you can see by trolling the reviews, most found it gripping. And that is the verdict of the marketplace, based on the book's success. Plus, the movie was a faithful rendition of the book, as stated by the author herself. The movie was a smash for 2012. Which goes to show that the book was not boring.Further, Pseudotriakis ventures that &#34;Even when she is forced to kill, she feels little or no remorse&#34;... &#34;The author never lets her kill pre-emptively, only allowing her to act in self defense&#34;. The reviewer lacks enough introspection to see that he is largely answering his own question. The reason that Katniss feels no remorse is basically because she killed in self defense. Though I suggest that the author did this precisely to avoid the harder issue of how to depict the character if she had indeed killed several opponents, especially if this was done deliberately. If you read the book and think back slowly over the tournament events, you might get an extra appreciation for what Collins did and her skill as a writer. For all of the action and deaths, Katniss manages to segue aside. This lets her emerge at the end not as a hardened stone cold killer, and much easier for the reader to identify with.I suggest that overall the critical comments about the society or societies in the book inadvertently show the author's constraint. She built this out into 2 more books where she fleshed out those facets. Including from what I can gather in the blurbs, where indeed people rebel against Panem. If she had put these into the current book, it would have made for a far longer text. Keep in mind one practical factor. This first book was market speculation by the author, as it really is for any author. She did not know how well it would be received. Investing too much time in a huge tome that was all 3 novels would have been a big risk of her time. Likely too that the publisher would have baulked at backing it.Hey, if you liked this novel, there is another story about a death match that starts with 64 gladiators in a future world. Each paired with an opponent and in every round half the players die, until only 1 is left. Berserker's Planet by Fred Saberhagen. Not as successful in the marketplace. Mostly perhaps because the characters in that book exhibit far less empathy than Hunger Games. The biggest differences with Hunger Games are that those fighters enter the contest willingly and can be of any age. If the combat premise of Collins was interesting and you want more, try that book. It is also a reminder that Collins certainly did not invent the idea of a death match with only one winner. Surely there are other books of death matches, but the Saberhagen text is what I've read.Another book recommendation that will be more germane to some readers is the companion text about the filming of the movie, The Hunger Games: Official Illustrated Movie Companion. Well composed and gives a cool backstory about the travails of filming in the forests of North Carolina. 