Every now and again I see a scorching deal on some speculative literature. Usually I put my money down, or alternately rue the day I every paid full price for whatever the book or books may be, and let that be that. Very occasionally I take the time to tell you guys you should maybe think about spending some of your hard-earned as well.
Today, two things. A choice! Though of course you always could choose both, or neither, as you please...
With the release of The Hunger Games in cinemas just a week and change away, and the tang of anticipation in the air, now would be an excellent time to satisfy your curiosity about the original trilogy. If you haven't already read this series - in which case my reviews here and here and here might be of some use to you - now's your chance! And for £4.99 all in? You can hardly go wrong. That's half the price of a single ticket to see one third of the adaptation at the pictures.
But say you're the contrarian type. Everybody's banging on about The Hunger Games and the last thing you want to do is join the queue. You want to read something similar, but different. Something you can know about - and crow about - when everyone else is cooing along with the Mockingjay's morning song. Well I have just the thing for you, too!
The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness has also been optioned for a feature film adaptation or three, but if they ever happen they're a fair ways away as yet, so never mind that fact for the moment. Instead, take heart in the extended recommendation of the good folks over at Pornokitsch, because of course Jared and Anne awarded Patrick Ness' most recent novel - A Monster Calls - the coveted Red Tentacle for the year's best book.
I should say that I've not read this particular trilogy myself, but I absolutely, positively intend to. A Monster Calls was every bit as affecting and effective as Jared and Anne said, so The Book People have my £6.99 already. I'd suggest you seriously consider taking the same course of action.
To those of you who've read both series, unlike me, or indeed either, I want to know: is the Chaos Walking trilogy really all that? And are The Hunger Games, as I concluded way back when, wholly overrated beyond the brilliant first book?
Gods bless The Book People, I love them!! :) Thanks for the heads up :)
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth, I actually liked the Chaos Walking trilogy better than the Hunger Games. I haven't finished either series, and I've heard arguments on both sides praising/criticizing each. But while I found the first novel of the Hunger Games a good, but not great, book with some really great and horrifying moments, I found The Knife of Never Letting Go one of the most emotionally affecting novels I've read. Moments of hilarity and companionship are interspersed with horrific bleakness and enormous pain, both physical and emotional. It's not an easy read, especially for a young adult novel.
ReplyDeleteBasically, when I finished the Hunger Games I was impressed, but not immediately driven to get the next book. I bought the second book of the Chaos Walking trilogy immediately, after finishing the first one. Although, to be fair, the absolutely horrible cliffhanger at the end of the first book probably has something to do with that.
I'm not a huge Hunger Games fan. I definitely see the appeal (I'm a sucker for teen-sports-fiction-with-lethal-elimination), but it felt like watered down Battle Royale. I suspect that, were I actually YA, it would resonate much more strongly. (And now I just feel... old). The Chaos Walking trilogy is absolutely brilliant, (although it does make my head ache due to Ness' very creative interpretation of language).
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the kind words!