"Twists of fate, fear of failure and characteristic high-stakes conflicts - this Hunger Games prequel will have dystopia devotees on the edge of their seats"
As the tenth Hunger Games plays out, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes explores the life, trials and roots of eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow, President of Panem when we reach the story of the original The Hunger Games trilogy. With the formally powerful house of Snow now teetering on poverty and ruin, Coriolanus is set on mentoring the winning tribute to escape “the endless dance with hunger that had defined his life”, go to university and then “embark on some lucrative profession”. But in a devasting blow, he’s assigned the task of mentoring Lucy Gray Baird, the lowliest tribute from District 12, and “everyone knew what happened if you went to the districts. You were written off. Forgotten. In the eyes of the Capitol, you were basically dead.” But with their fates now interlocked and their survival in his hands, Coriolanus vows to do his best to take care of Lucy. What a twisted, conflicted assignment this turns out to be, and all the more engrossing for being apparently doomed.
Though more meandering and meditative than the original trilogy, fans will be fascinated to discover the complex causes of President’s Snow’s villainy, and it’s shot-through with core themes - friendship bonds, betrayal, power and oppression – that devoted readers will relish.
"Everything you would expect from Collins is
here: fraught teenage love; plenty of violence... the themes of friendship,
betrayal, authority and oppression will please and thrill"
The Guardian
"It works beautifully... please don't
make us wait another decade"The Times
Ambition will fuel him. Competition
will drive him. But power has its price.
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth
annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus
Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games.
The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its
fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able
to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuvre his fellow students to mentor
the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment
of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest
of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - ; every
choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph
or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside
the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute...
and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire
to survive no matter what it takes.
Three books, four films and one worldwide phenomenon,
The Hunger Games changed the face of global YA.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was a global number
one hit in hardback.
Soon to be a major feature film releasing in 2023.