Easy like Sunday morning
My eyes be upon the Lord forevermore; for he shall pull away my feet from the snare. Look thou on me, and have thou mercy on me; for I am all alone and poor. -Psalm 25
I just finished reading Hunger Games: Book one. It’s a super quick read (takes less than a day if you’ve got nothing else to do) and it’s decent. I mostly read it because I figured the movie was going to be a whole thing and I didn’t want to miss out. I don’t know if everyone has read it already or knows the premise, so I shan’t sayeth too much, but basically, it takes place in the distant future where global warming and solar flares have decimated North America.
There’s a big war and then an uprising and the continent is left divided in 12 districts and ruled by a brutal, capricious capitol. Think Oz.
I guess.
Every year, as a reminder to never uprise again, each district sends two children to the capitol, one boy and one girl, to fight all the other young tributes from the other districts. 24 kids enter, 1 comes out. Think Thunderdome.
I guess.
Anyway, the story is a trilogy, I’m in the nascent stages of Book two now and as I was reading it in mass today… what? The diocese wants to show a 25 minute fundraising video about how catholic charities helped this weirdo white couple keep their house, I will read my kindle while they exercise that privilege. They’re not the boss of me.
Anyhoo, it dawned on me that there is no religion or God of any of kind in the Hunger Games world. There is country — with anthems and flags and stuff. There is law, soldiers and arrests and executions. There is technology — evidently we get super medicines in the future and global TV. Heck, there is even nature for hunting and swimming and such. But no God.
Curious.
March 11th, 2012 at 10:09 am
It’s all down a steep hill from the first one.
I think part of the no god thing is the whole fascist, godless state idea. But given the first-person point of view, there is a lot about the people in the districts (including whatever one the protagonist whose name i’ve forgotten lives in) that the reader never sees. There’s no god in [insert plant name here's] life, but i’m guessing that’s not necessarily supposed to be the case for every resident of every district.
March 11th, 2012 at 11:25 am
Mmm… I thought about that. Katniss is a disaffected half orphaned 16 yr old, so maybe God believably plays no part in her life. But what of effie and the president, all the ceremonies we see, theres never a “and god bless the capitol” or “by jove’s arrow blah blah blah” the closest they come is to “may the odds ever be in your favor.”
March 11th, 2012 at 11:26 am
And do you mean to say the next two books are sucktacular?
March 11th, 2012 at 11:37 am
Sucktacular may be too strong. I thought third better than second. But first was only one I found entertaining (although since each was my free kindle book for the month in which I read it, i was not too bothered).
March 11th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
I thought the second one was good(ish), but the third was boring. Too much non-action in the third book for me.
I’ll keep my comments on the lack of religion to myself. Because I’m still holding out for that Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!
March 11th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
My wife says that the first was great, the second readable, and the third shoot-me-in-the-head.
March 12th, 2012 at 12:19 am
I with Fisch, except the wife and I both say so…
March 12th, 2012 at 12:19 am
I know you think I can’t read, but I do. Sometimes. I guess.
March 12th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Maybe the author is irreligious….?
or
Some people think that as civilizations grow older they stop ‘clinging to religion’ (and guns). The series is set in the distant future, so no religion/god is described by the author.
I agree with the general concensus that the books get worse as you go.