If You Loved The Hunger Games, Have You Heard of The Underland Chronicles?

Most people have heard of The Hunger Games. The first book was published in 2008, with a second following in 2009 and the third in 2010. Since then, it has been made in to four films, with the third book having been broken in to two films, the last of which only came out a few months back in November 2015. They were a great success, and what most people associate with Suzanne Collins. But did you know, before all this, she published a five-book fantasy series?

The Underland Chronicles, a five book series by Suzanne Collins, published over the years 2003 to 2007, follows the story of a twelve year old boy called Gregor, as he jumps down a vent behind the washing machine after his sister Boots falls down there. What they find down there, is a world full of massive insects, cockroaches, bats, mice, spiders and the main enemy of the story —  rats. There are also humans too, called the underlanders. They live in a city called Regalia, which is totally lit by torches. They even use lamps to provide light to the crops in their fields. This is the the backdrop, for five page turners each based around a prophecy, which follow the adventures of Gregor and the underlanders.

Why the series is better than The Hunger Games:

1. There are 5 books
There seem to be so many trilogies around these days. I like trilogies, because we get to know the same characters over the span of 3 books, which means we can learn more about them and follow them through situations which would be hard in the space of a stand-alone novel.

However, I feel like sometimes, I want more than just 3 books. With The Underland Chronicles, we have 5 whole books with these characters, which means we have time for a lot of development, a lot of page turning action, but also a lot of quieter times. No one wants to read a book that’s all about the happy times of a person’s life, because that would be boring.

To see the moments of peace between the storms, is beautiful, especially when we know these characters well and have been through a lot with them. My favourite book in The Underland Chronicles is book 4, because it is almost the quiet before the storm of book 5. However, I don’t think I’d have enjoyed it so much, if I had not had the first 3 because I think what made the book, was the pause to observe character interactions after all they’d been through together.

2. There are more plot twists.
I know most Hunger Games fans are probably thinking that the twist at the end of Catching Fire was pretty massive, but that’s just one of many with those in The Underland Chronicles. I’m not saying she’s got worse at plot twisting, just that the ones in The Underland Chronicles were more shocking.

3. Better handling of morality
It may be because she had the length of five books, or it may be because of the nature of the world in which she set those books, but I feel like she dealt with a lot more moral issues therefore she subsequently spreads a lot more messages. People in the book world nowadays often see dystopia as the heartland of moral messages, but I also think fantasy is getting in there to. In fact, it probably had been a long time before dystopia was born. I do like a book that makes me think. I did find The Underland Chronicles very thought-provoking, even more so than The Hunger Games.

Here’s what you’ll be getting more of:

Amazing world building.
I think it’s fair to say all readers, writers and literary analysts of any kind, have to say that the world building of the arenas for the games are pretty epic. Well, her fantasy world is epic as well and should not disappoint.

Complex and hard to read characters.
The main female in The Underland Chronicles, Luxa the queen of Regalia, reminds me in a very weird way of Gale from The Hunger Games.

Bloodshed and battle.
This time it’s fights between oversized rodents and humans, but it is still thrilling.

Character deaths.
I know character deaths are a controversial issue, but it’s not a realistic story if our favourite characters are somehow invincible in a messed up world full of death, is it?

And here’s one bad thing that she still needs to work on in my opinion: bad endings. Yes, I know it’s controversial but I was not a fan of the Mockingjay ending. In fact, I actually thought it was the worst book in the trilogy. I did enjoy the last book in The Underland Chronicles, however, the overall ending was a bit pathetic, in fact it was actually worse than the Mockingjay ending.

But the question remains, why are these books so not heard of?

Here’s why:

They were earlier in her career.
It is true other authors have published less well known books before the ones they get famous for.

The first chapter of the first book in the series is really, really boring.
The first chapter sets out with the, it’s the summer, all the other kids have gone to summer camp, but Gregor can’t go because he has to look after his little sister so his Mum can work because his Dad is missing, storyline. It is such a well crafted chapter, that totally immerses the reader in the boredom feeling, that it is counter productive because I actually wanting to just give up on the book. Thankfully I didn’t, but it makes me wonder how many people did.

It was about younger kids.
I don’t actually feel like it’s a negative, because though it’s about a 12 year old boy, i actually think that he is more mature than we conceive 12 year old boys to be. However, it’s true that more girls than boys read books, and girls these days like a driven female protagonist to get behind. Gregor does not fill that role. He is an interesting protagonist, but potentially outside a lot of peoples’ comfort zones.

So, all that’s left for me to say I suppose, is if you’ve enjoyed The Hunger Games, or if this series sounds interesting to you, read it. I know it’s such a cliché, but it’s well worth every page. Also, don’t even let yourself contemplate giving up until you’ve got through at least the first 10 chapters. It gets ever more interesting from chapter two onwards.