I was turned on to this young adult trilogy by a fandom. I was listening to some podcast or other (can't actually remember which... hmm maybe it was a youtube vid... nope it was definitely a podcast) and I listened to a group of enthusiastic fellow geeks go off on a literary tangent to rave about the final book in a series called "The Hunger Games". They were so enthusiastic about adventure and thrill of the story I immediately opened my laptop to check it out online. (Hmmm fandoms are directing me to more and more of my fiction at the mo... "Oooo you liked such and such! Well your gonna loooove this!")
After trying and failing to pick up a free copy through Bookmooch (check it out - it's a second hand book exchange community) I eventually succumbed and ordered it through Amazon's market place. I was not dissapointed.
I yearn for a book that makes me want to rush home to read. It doesn't necessarily have to be a masterpiece, it simply needs to capture my imagination; to introduce me to a world and characters that continue to play out in my mind even after I close book. The Hunger Games approaches this literary high. Set in a disstopian future where a wealthy and technologically advanced elite oppress the impoverish majority, it reminded me a lot of Stephen King's The Running Man... obviously not quite as well written and a little less gritty. I was swept up in the survival story of Katniss Everdeen (the names are probably the worst bit of the book!) as she is forced to fight her fellow citizens to the death for the amusement of the masses. The romantic interest was a little hammy (at least it's not as unhealthy as the twilight trio) but I am really hoping that the wider world and the back stories of the minor characters are more fully explored in the next two books.
I guess the greatest compliment I could pay the book is to say I bought the next one. Suzanne Collins, I will journey a little further in the world of Panem with you...