If someone would have told me that I would fall in love with a series of children's books featuring giant bats, giant rats and giant cockroaches among other creatures, I would have been very skeptical. In fact, after I found Gregor the Overlander in a used bookstore and picked it up to see if it should be added to my growing library of children's books, it sat in my to-be-read pile for more than a year. When I finally sat down with it, I was less than half way through when I took a break and drove to town to buy the rest of the series. I knew that I would want them on hand so that I could finish the series in one big rush. Which is exactly what I did. Then I ordered the entire set in hardcover for myself and mailed the paperback editions to my adult daughter for her to enjoy. Which she did. Since then, I've recommended the series to a number of people, almost all of whom read and enjoyed it as well.
In this, her first novel, Suzanne Collins has created a wonderful alternative world that exists side by side with our own. Well, okay, it exists underneath our own, far underneath. Collins is a master at describing that world, enabling me to perfectly envision each new landscape as our heroes move from one area of their diverse world to another. The vast sea, the poisonous jungle, the searing heat of the volcanic wastelands - everything still remains vivid in my mind. And Collins accomplishes this without taking pages and pages to do so.
There's a simplicity to the books - not only does Collins never over-described the world, she allows readers to use their imaginations regarding the characters as well. In fact, I'm not quite sure if she ever gives a physical description of eleven year old Gregor at all. But just as as I could imagine the vistas, I could picture the wonderful characters - Boots, Ripred, Luxa, Ares and Temp among so many others - as well and very clearly.
There's love and caring in the Gregor series, family, friends, humor and sorrow, duty, prophecies, adventure and, of course, a world to save. The Underland Chronicles deals with war and does a very good job of forcing readers to look at both sides of the disputes underlying the conflict. (Parents should be cautioned that in the course of the 5 book series, more than one beloved character dies.)
The series should be read in order:
Gregor the Overlander
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
Gregor and the Marks of Secret
Gregor and the Code of Claw
My only complaint about the Underland Chronicles is that I found the ending of the series vaguely unsatisfactory. While I appreciate that, with what Collins has given me and how she left things, I can create my own future for the characters, I know I'd still love to read more stories set in this world, perhaps 15 years or so down the road. If Collins does not want to revisit these specific characters, I'd still enjoy another trip to this world, with a catch up to the fate of the characters we met in these volumes revealed somehow as part of the Underland's history. I can only hope. :-)
Suzanne Collins is also the author of The Hunger Games, a young adult novel. Both editorial and reader reviews have been overwhelmingly positive and it's currently sitting in my to-be-read pile. Catching Fire, a sequel to The Hunger Games is due to be released on September 1, 2009. I hope readers who have enjoyed The Hunger Games will not dismiss The Underland Chronicles - thinking it for children - and will be willing to give Collins' earlier series a try.
Highly recommended.
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Popular Highlights in this book
“Even when people think you’re wrong, you keep trying.”Highlighted by 649 Kindle readers- “Do rats love?” said Gregor dryly. “Oh, yes,” said Ripred with a smirk. “We love ourselves very much.”Highlighted by 582 Kindle readers
- “Ask your daddy the time, and he tells you how to make a clock.”Highlighted by 543 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
Gorgeous New Covers!
The best fantasy series from my childhood might not have the big screen adaptation it deserves (yet!), but it does have some gorgeous new covers, and is still a great read all these years later.
Top reviews from other countries
Super Piski
Worth it (Si buscas leer algo en inglés coge este libro)
Reviewed in Spain on March 9, 2015
D.M. Cain
Great book for both kids and adults
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2014
ama.rezension
"Underland Chronicles" - alles andere als "unterirdisch"
Reviewed in Germany on December 26, 2010