gossamer_lens's Reviews (1.48k)

2023 - I just... I thought this book was good but not great when I first read it 10 years ago. My god. Looking back at it, it is so interesting and wonderful. I get why I didn't like parts of it then. But with an older and post-BLM perspective... it is very good, thoughtful, fast-paced, and the characters are beautiful. 

How the story deals with themes of PTSD, love, trauma, and revolution is amazing. I think it is everything the Dystopian YA trend of the time wanted to be. This series nails what it is doing and is so fun while doing it. God, I miss the endless reading I could do in 2010. It was so fun to revisit this series! 

2010 - Gave 4 stars with no review

A solid and fun story. Nothing crazy. Did enjoy particularly the political intrigue.

Overall I really like the story of Beowulf. This particular translation has very clear heart and sole put into it. You can tell the respect Maria has for this work and the history of it. It is also fun and a very fresh and modern take, which I think all good works deserve to have from time to time so that new audiences can be reached. This does that very successfully. 

That said, the older English translations work quite nicely for me and I did find some of the modern language to make my brain stall and get caught on the wording instead of letting myself stay emersed. Which is quite alright but makes it more of a 4.5 read for me. 

Chullain's reading this with me made it a solid 5 star experience. But I'll let me rating round down as it reflects my actual enjoyment of the book.

The overall premise and idea was fun. I liked the technology and various other aspects. However, the main character was not really fun to have the whole story from the POV of. It felt like he didn't really grow or learn, he was oddly possessive, and the way his interactions went with other characters didn't make sense or feel reasonable a lot of the time. This would have been fine... except that it just all went his way all the time despite him not doing anything to result in that. If my library ever gets the next books on Audibook I might listen to it. But honestly, it was a fun read that I will probably forget about in a few months. I probably would have really enjoyed this or really hated it when I was a teen. Reading this now, it felt very... basic for the genre.

The way Collins in no way redeemed Snow but also gave a realistic portrayal of someone who is indoctrinated by fear, paranoia, and the mentality of "others" bringing them down... It's just so good. Collins is a fantastic writer who can weave an interesting plot at a breakneck pace with rich character analysis. *chef's kiss* 

Giving a 4 instead of 5 because I felt a lot of the references to the main trilogy felt a little cringe and it was difficult at points to be stuck with Snow's POV.

Engagingly written, beautifully narrated by Davis herself on the audiobook, and an interesting life story. Would highly recommend to anyone who is unaware of how racism affects people in America in and out of the Hollywood machine.

God damn. I just love books. The characters are charming, layered and fun. The world is fantastic and the themes are engaging. Love it!