A Symphony of Serpents and Sarow

The Embers of Rebellion

In a world cloaked in shadows, where the air is thick with tension and fear, lies a dystopian society filled with suppression and rebellion. A society where inequality and unjust is the norm. A world torn apart and forced to fight each other for the own entertainment of the hierarchies. Districts formed with roles to appeal to the authorities, with each one given a different duty to keep the post-apocalyptic economy running.  Yet one question remains... Why?

Have you guessed the book yet? I'll give a hint; it's a series, got it? It's the hunger games. Honestly if you didn't get that I'm embarrassed for you. Unless you don't know what that is to begin with, then in that case, I'm even more embarrassed. Rather you've read the books or watched the movies, the concept is the same. Yet in today's blog, the hunger games is not the main focus point. It's actually the new addition to the series, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. If you have yet to read or watch this new addition, allow me to paint a ROUGH picture for you.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes delves into the origins of the hunger games. It explores the early years of the twisted capital and the evolution of its infamous events seen in the previous movies. Its set decades before the original plot we all know. It shows the origins of Coriolanus Snow before he comes to his ruthlessness power. He was actually a mentor who fell in love with his tribute, Lucy Gray, who so happens to be from district 12. (If you know the series, then you know that this is a crucial fact for the plot). He does everything he can to protect her and get her out alive by putting up an act of love, making her sing to the people so they like her, and he even rigged the game. After they had won, his ambition slowly clashes with his affection for Lucy Gray.

This eventually leads Snow on a journey of self-discovery and a moral descent. Through the plot and the intricate character development, Snow finds himself on a haunting exploration of his power after wanting to expel the poverty of his family. Snow becomes entangled with the capital's schemes along with his own eagerness leading him towards darker impulses. He becomes the perfect candidate for presidency to carry out the reaping and other cold-blooded events that eventually lead to the corruption of Panem.

I cannot begin to express how excited I was when I heard that there was going to be another hunger games addition. I think that it lived out to its expectations and then some. It was definitely intriguing to see the slow corruption and back story of the leading villain in a book series I was obsessed with as a kid.

I also have to say that I went back and read the books one more time after reading the "prequel" and all of the connections that you see with in the first few books are crazy. Now I promise that I'm almost done with my fangirl rant. I just want to say that I definitely recommend this book for anyone who has read or seen the hunger games. It was pretty cool having a little throwback to my childhood.