The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, 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 outmaneuver 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 favor 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. 

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4/5 stars

Collins successful manages to make you, in the beginning, empathize to a small degree with Coriolanus Snow and the hardships he and his family endured while simultaneously making you repulsed by his elitism and lack of empathy for most of the people around him. Facing facts, he still was 100% better off in their most dire situation than anyone in the districts. It quickly devolves into just reviling him because he is just the worst. 

Without giving too much away, I found it an interesting notion that Snow and his contemporaries were responsible for some comforts and compassion that were not given in the earlier games which is saying a lot because the 74th Hunger Games was awful, but as you’ll read, it was far worse in the 10th Hunger Games. And despite their humanizing the participants in the Hunger Games, the underlying goal was not compassion, but for the entertainment value it would bring to the residents of the capital as well as helping to solidify their allegiance to the Capital’s control.

Parable of the Sower: Graphic Novel Adaptation - Damian Duffy & John Jennings

In this graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind the #1 bestseller Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, the author portrays a searing vision of America’s future. In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny . . . and the birth of a new faith.

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4/5 stars

I was first introduced to the incredible work of Octavia Butler when I took an African American Literature class in college and after that I was hooked. I'm a bit of a completionist when is comes to the work of some authors and Octavia Butler is one of those authors. She was a master of science fiction and a pioneer of speculative fiction. Of her collected works, I read Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents last, which ended up being very timely as there are many things about Parable of the Sower that reflected and still reflect the current state of the United States despite the fact that these books were originally published in 1993 and 1998 respectively. I mean, there is even a politician whose slogan is "Make America Great Again." 

via GIPHY So, of course, when I saw that Damian Duffy and John Jennings were teaming up again to bring this story into graphic novel format, I could not wait to get my hands on it. It definitely did not disappoint.  I feel like this was a really well-executed and faithful adaption of the story. I am very much looking forward to their adaptation of the second and final novel, Parable of the Talents.