The final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy is kind of frustrating. At least in part it is meant to be. For much of the book Katniss, the arrow wielding heroine, is kept out of the action. Makes sense given the civil war going on that the powers that be would not be that eager to have a 16/17 year old in combat. And her use as a symbol for the rebels is powerful as it allows the author to riff on the media representation and misrepresentation of events and how that can cloud minds. However, when Katniss has been the center of the action for the first two books, much of this book dragged for me waiting for her to get her chance. Blessedly, even during this down time, the triangle of Katniss, Peeta and Gale never smothers the story. This was my biggest fear when beginning to read the trilogy. Events are managed well that tumble them in and out of each other's lives in ways that complicate and ease the tension of their bonds. When the action picks up in the second half it is vivid and shocking. I'll give the book credit that there was a desire to lull me into a bit of complacency so that the finale would seem more brutal when the violence finally does when it rears itself upon the reader. While books one and two deftly incorporate the sci-fi elements into the story in a way that the reader still feels the real world behind them, the third book smothers the reader in the fantastic so as to become a whir and a blur. There is senseless waste in any war, and little time to mourn, but some of it just felt like nonsense. I actually began to wonder if she were beginning to imagine it--partly because some of her life and death situations seemed to be base on whim. Her excuse a little too often is that events have driven her beyond caring. While not completely successful, it does fairly well conclude the trilogy--though it did not leave me wanting more.