Tagged: underland chronicles
Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins
(Cover picture courtesy of Whitcoulls.)
Everyone has been trying to keep Gregor from seeing The Prophecy of Time. That is because the final prophecy calls for the warrior’s death. The warrior being Gregor, of course.
With an army of rats quickly approaching and time running out, Gregor must gather up his courage to defend Regalia and get his family back home safely. There is a code that must be cracked, a new princess to contend with, Gregor’s burgeoning dark side, and a war designed to end all wars.
The fates of the Underland and the great warrior, Gregor the Overlander, masterfully unfold in this thrilling and suspenseful final installment in Suzanne Collins’s Underland Chronicles.
Suzanne Collins still hasn’t managed to end a series well, but she did manage to end her first series, the Underland Chronicles, better than The Hunger Games trilogy.
What I like about Gregor and the Code of Claw is the character development. Gregor has come a long way since the first book and is finally accepting the role of warrior, despite the fact that the Prophecy of Time calls for the warrior’s death. His feelings for Luxa have also developed at a very natural rate and are complicated because of all the awkwardness of a first love. We also learn more about other characters’ backstories, especially Ripred’s, since there is more to him than meets the eye.
If you’re not going to read the series for its amazing characters, you should read it for the world-building. The Underworld is populated with gigantic rats, mice, bats and cockroaches; it’s definitely not your stereotypical fantasy world. Humans have adapted to their new environment, but because they still need light, they are at a distinct disadvantage to the other creatures they share their world with.
The tension between the races that has been mounting in the past two books has finally spilled over into full-scale war. One of the good things about Suzanne Collins’ writing is how she doesn’t let characters get through violence unscathed. The war that erupts affects everyone; no one, especially Gregor, is immune. But one of her greatest strengths is also one of her greatest weaknesses because her endings are never satisfying. I don’t like completely happy endings, but I certainly don’t like endings that are completely tragic either. Suzanne Collins must find a balance between the two extremes in her future books, but alas, it’s too late for Gregor and the Code of Claw.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
(Cover picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Now, with the third prophecy fulfilled, Gregor is drawn ever deeper into a brewing crisis. For generations, rats have run the mice—or “nibblers”—out of whatever lands they’ve claimed, keeping them constantly on the move. But now the mice are disappearing, and the young queen Luxa, who credits them with saving her life, is determined to find out why.
When Gregor joins her in a fact-finding mission, he is relieved that this time, at least, there’s no prophecy on the line. But when the true fate of the mice is revealed, it is something far more sinister than Gregor or Luxa had imagined—and it points the way to the final prophecy he has yet to fulfill. Gregor’s role as warrior and his abilities as a rager are put to the test in this suspenseful, action-packed penultimate installment of Suzanne Collins’s thrilling Underland Chronicles.
Gregor and the Marks of Secret is a really great build-up to the final book, in my opinion. We learn about the aftermath of the plague in the third book, characters become much better defined and the ever-present threat of war finally becomes a reality. Honestly, what’s not to like about this book?
Unlike in The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins allows the romance to develop at a natural pace. The young love between Luxa and Gregor begins to bloom, with all of the awkwardness and heartache that it entails. Collins does not neglect relationships between other characters as well, as evidenced by Howard’s almost brotherly protectiveness of Luxa and Vikus’ rocky relationship with Solovet. These relationships are in the background, but they have certainly not been neglected.
As always, the plot moves along very quickly as Gregor rushes head-on toward his ultimate destiny. There are rarely any slow scenes, but the ones that are present are a welcome reprieve when you need to put the book down and go to sleep. Both boys and girls will enjoy this book because the themes of love and loyalty are universal and Gregor is an excellent narrator. Suzanne Collins’ Underland Chronicles have long taken a back seat to her more famous Hunger Games trilogy, but it’s time that they were recognized for the great books they are.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
(Cover picture courtesy of Book Infinity.)
With two prophecies fulfilled, Gregor is now focused on the Prophecy of Blood, which calls for Gregor and Boots to return to the Underland to help ward off a plague. But this time, his mother refuses to let him go…until Ripred the rat convinces her that Gregor and Boots need to stay for only a brief meeting. Finally, Gregor’s mom relents, provided she is allowed to travel with them.
When they arrive in the subterranean city, the plague is spreading—and it has claimed one of his closest companions. Only then does Gregor start to understand how the illness plays with the fate of all warmblooded creatures, but he still doesn’t know how he can combat it.
The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins is probably the only series besides Harry Potter that I enjoy more and more as it progresses. Since it is Suzanne Collins’ first series, you can see marked improvements in her writing style, pacing, plot and characterization. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods is the third book in the series, but it is definitely my favourite out of all five books.
The main reason I love this series so much is the characters. Suzanne Collins has created an unique, memorable main character in Gregor, but it is the secondary characters that I love the most, particularly Hamnet. Hamnet is the son of Vikus and Solovet who ran away from Regalia ten years ago to live in the jungle, but it is his reason for doing so that makes him so compelling. He was once a warrior, but it is the conversation that he has with Vikus that haunts me to this day:
“What do you do here that you could not do there?”
“I do no harm,” said Hamnet. “I do no more harm.” (Ch. 13, pg 161)
When we finally do learn Hamnet’s full backstory, it only cements my picture of him as a tragic hero, much like Lancelot in the Arthurian legends. Suzanne Collins is very gifted at making characters appear cold and hard on the outside, yet highly sympathetic when you learn why they are like that. It is truly her characters that move the plot forward at a fast pace and it is her characters that will keep readers eager to get their hands on the next book—especially with the little plot twist on the last page of this book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
(Cover picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Months have passed since Gregor first fell into the strange Underland beneath New York City, and he swears he will never go back. But he is destined to be a key player in another prophecy, this one about an ominous white rate called the Bane. The Underlanders know there is only one way to lure Gregor back to their world: by kidnapping his little sister, Boots.
Now Gregor’s quest reunites him with his bat, Ares, and the rebellious princess, Luxa. They descend into the dangerous Waterway in search of the Bane, and Gregor knows what is at stake. If he does not fulfill the prophecy, his life, and the Underland, will never be the same.
Just like in the case of The Iron Daughter, this is a book that does not suffer from Book 2 Disease. In fact, I like it even more than the first book because there are many interesting new characters (Photos Glow-Glow, Zap and Howard, for instance) and a great plot that throws many twists and turns at you, especially at the end. Gregor also becomes a much more interesting character as he braves even more dangers to help protect a land he owes no true allegiance to.
What I like about this book is the fact that Suzanne Collins does not spare her characters any pain. Gregor, unlike a lot of heroes, gets injuries and these injuries actually leave scars. What a novel idea! People get scarred in real life (both mentally and physically) and Suzanne Collins injects this realism into her writing. Sometimes she goes overboard, but no one is perfect.
What is odd about Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (and really, the entire Underland Chronicles) is that it is written in a style more suited to tweens and young teens, but it contains just as much violence as The Hunger Games. I would definitely recommend this book for younger readers who are mature simply because of the violence, which is not something I would normally warn readers about. This really is an excellent book, but it does have mature content.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
(Cover picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)
When eleven-year-old Gregor follows his little sister through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland beneath the city. There, humans live uneasily beside giant spiders, bats, cockroaches and rats—but the fragile peace is about to fall apart.
Gregor wants no part in the conflict between these creepy creatures. He just wants to find his way home. But when he discovers that a strange prophecy foretells a role for him in the Underland’s uncertain future, he realizes it might be the only way to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Little does he know his quest will change him—and the Underland—forever.
Many readers are familiar with Suzanne Collins’ second series, The Hunger Games trilogy, but few are familiar with her first series, the Underland Chronicles. Gregor the Overlander is a novel that would be great for younger readers who can’t get enough of The Hunger Games.
Gregor the Overlander is a story about Gregor, an eleven-year-old boy who lives in New York. His dad has been missing for over two years and no one knows where he went. But when Gregor and his little sister fall down a grate in their apartment’s laundry room, Gregor discovers the Underland, a world of darkness in which humans, rats, cockroaches and bats coexist in an uneasy peace. While he wants to get back home as soon as possible, a prophecy made by the founder of the human city will change his life forever.
Gregor is a strong protagonist like Katniss is, complete with flaws and shortcomings. But the one thing that keeps him going throughout the novel is hope, the hope that he will find his father alive and bring him back home. I was rooting for him to succeed from start to finish because he is such a believable protagonist.
Suzanne Collin’s first book is just as dark as The Hunger Games and she spares Gregor no pain. While this book is written for younger readers, there is quite a bit of death and sadness. I would recommend it for mature tweens and young teenagers.
I give this book 4/5 stars.