Suzanne Collins The Underland Chronicles 5 Books Set (1-5) Gregor The Overlander

Caution: spoilers ahead. I imagine that many adult readers of the Underland Chronicles are like me, and came across these books after reading the Hunger Games trilogy and looking for more works by Suzanne Collins. I admit, I started to read Gregor the Overlander and was a little skeptical: short, simple sentences targeted for a little bit younger reading audience, talking animals, somewhat formulaic quests based on prophecies seemingly taken for granted. I enjoyed the first few books, but for me it was toward the end of the third book where I felt like Collins really hit her stride and told a tale in the second half of the series that I would say can stand toe-to-toe with the more heralded Hunger Games trilogy. In some ways, the unadorned sentences and the younger protagonists magnify the horror and tragedy of the tale; to be honest, this series packs one emotional gut-punch after another, even for an adult reader like myself ... I would think that for many children it could be a little too intense. As an adult reader, however, I was impressed by the storytelling, the characters, and the ability to create a world at once magical and yet also brutal, grim, and frighteningly like our own. So many moments in this series stand out, but for me the last two books were truly mesmerizing. I think about the juxtaposition in the 4th book between the birthday party, which is one of the few (and last) moments of childish fun and innocence in the series, to be replaced shortly by the terror, helplessness, and true moral anguish represented by the genocide of the mice at the hands of the rats (in many ways, that had to be one of the darkest and most hopeless points in the series). I think about the moment when Gregor lies dying in a lightless cave alone but for the mutilated corpses of his friend and of his mortal enemy ... and his thoughts are consumed by the belief that this end is most fitting, that death is preferable to life for a damaged warrior, lost between worlds. At the same time, this is a series full of hope, even in its darkest moments. The genius of the Underland Chronicles (similar to the Hunger Games trilogy which would follow them) is two-fold: first, Collins weaves a tale of unrelenting action and adventure and yet does not allow the reader to simply enjoy and revel in the action simply for the sake of action--there are no winners or losers in Collins' wars ... only victims. This leads to the second key point: unlike many other tales, where wounds miraculously heal and traumas are forgotten, in Collins' world wounds cut deep, scars remain, and the depth of the physical violence is topped only by the mental and emotional trauma. The Underland Chronicles are about war, and the hope against hope that people will reject war even though the more natural inclination is to embrace it. In Collins' capable hands, Gregor is a delightful, nuanced, and complex protagonist: a reluctant warrior who sees himself in his enemies, is quick to see the virtues in others and the flaws in himself, and grasps the true horror of his task--and yet continues on, even if it destroys him. Any critiques I have of the series are relatively mild. Perhaps my most nagging thought is that I wish Collins had spent more time on Gregor's decision to leave the Underland ... that he leaves is not surprising, but that he leaves it seemingly forever is somewhat more so. Gregor cannot forsake the Overland without abandoning his family, and as he himself notes, the existence of a warrior in a time of peace makes that peace all the more tenuous. At the same time, if he leaves the Underland, he also leaves behind a woman who loves him (it's hard to call Luxa a "girl" anymore; I still find the words, "Look at my city, Gregor. Look at my home" to be among the most haunting in the series), and a friend in Ripred who understands his fears and his dreams more than anyone else possibly could in either world. Obviously, the emotional impact of the ending diminishes greatly if Gregor leaves the Underland with "ok, see you all next Saturday!" as his parting words ... at the same time, it seems like he still has the potential to do good in the Underland--and the Underland has the potential to ease some of Gregor's deeper emotional scars. Yet Collins, who chooses her words extremely carefully, adds no qualifier to the last words of the penultimate chapter: "parting them forever". Less major concerns: I was glad that skepticism toward the prophecies finally emerged toward the end of the series, but it could've been interesting if this tension between fate and free will had emerged a bit earlier in the series. Also, given the constant state of warfare, it was surprising that the humans never seemed to develop projectile weapons given the aerial superiority provided by bats ... put another way, the rats would have no answer for Katniss on a bat! In the end, however, what an incredible series. To me, although written in a way that a younger audience can understand, this is an extremely "adult" tale in its themes and message. Like Gregor, the reader must leave the Underland ... but to paraphrase Gregor, we will never get rid of it, no matter how hard we try.

Excellent quality. This is a series I enjoyed growing up and was excited to purchase as a gift for a family. This series is geared towards middle grades or upper elementary, depending on the reader. From what I can recall, every book in the series is an action-packed adventure that sparked my love for reading.

My 8 year old son started this series at the beginning of summer and cannot put them down! He has the next book in his hands while he's ending the current book he's reading because he can't wait to learn what happens. In fact, he's about to start the 5th and last book. He absolutely loves the characters and the story line. This is what he says: Gregor (who is 11 then 12 years old) doesn't believe but eventually learns that he is a powerful warrior in a series of prophecies made by Bartholomew of Sandwich, the founder of the Underland. He helps save the Underland from various threats by helping the humans, who are allied with the giant cockroaches, bats, mice, moths, and spiders, battle against the giant ants, snakes, and oversized rats. It has humor and is a great action story. There are traitors, enemies, and those who can be trusted. You don't only learn about Gregor but you also learn all about other characters like Queen Luxa, Ripred the Rat, Temp the cockroach, and a few others. It has every element that he loves in a good story. He is glad that there are 5 books to the series because it's such a great adventure. He said to give it 50 stars!!

Although "The Underland Chronicles" are supposed to be geared towards young adults, it was a very entertaining read for someone much older. I can certainly see how it is predominantly a series for the younger crowd but there was so much more to the series. The books are fantastic, all the way through. The relationships developed between characters within each book was great but they also carried on throughout the series, which made it even better. Each "quest" was a lot of fun and a good mix of high paced action, intense anticipation, and just overall fun. The box set was a great purchase because I got through each book within a few days, I didn't want to put them down! Luckily, I had the next one ready to go as soon as I finished the last. I highly recommend this series to readers of all ages, they really are a lot of fun!

I recently got a nostalgia wave and remembered checking these books out from the library as a tween, and so I went and checked out the first book in the series. It was even better than I remembered, so I decided to buy the series outright. Had a blast re-reading all these books for the first time in years.

On my fourth read of this series, and it always surprises me how much I still enjoy reading it. I can still remember scouring my middle school library for a good fantasy book and choosing this series at random, and then getting home from school and shutting myself up in my room for hours on end reading away which is actually kind of uncharacteristic of me. My first read through was so rapid, I barely retained any of the story which I appreciated later on and have continued to read this series as fast as I could so I can get the most out of it and so the plot twists will still catch me off guard. I'd have to say my only gripe about this series is the ending, and I had to take off one star because of it. Don't let this discourage you from reading it though, it's just such a good series that you'll hate to see it come to an end.

Ich bin über eine Harry Potter Fanseite auf diese Buchreihe aufmerksam geworden. Die Gemeinsamkeiten beschränken sich jedoch darauf, daß die Hauptfigur ein Junge ist, und daß es in unserer Gegenwart, bzw. hier in diesem Fall unter New York, eine Art geheime / versteckte Parallelwelt gibt von der niemand etwas weiß, und daß es spannende Geschichten sind. Magie oder ähnliches gibt es nicht, dafür ungewöhnliche Tiere und Pflanzen, die sich in einer Welt ohne Sonne entwickelt haben. Dafür, daß es sich um eine fünfteilige Serie handelt, kommt das erste Buch ziemlich eigenständig daher. Anders als bei Harry Potter, gibt es keinen Bösewicht wie Voldemort, den es am Ende zu besiegen gilt. Daher habe ich nach dem ersten Teil befürchtet, daß die restlichen lange nicht so gut sein könnten. Diese Befürchtung war jedoch grundlos; die Autorin versteht sich darauf, spannende Geschichten zu schreiben. In jedem Buch gibt es etwas Neues zu erleben. Die Bücher sind in etwa alle gleich lang, und handeln jeweils einen Zeitraum von wenigen Wochen ab. Das führt dazu, daß die Geschichte nicht so ausufernd beschrieben wird wie das bei Harry Potter der Fall ist, wo ein Buch immer ein ganzes Schuljahr abhandeln muss. Stattdessen wird sich auf das Wesentliche konzentriert, nämlich das Abenteuer selbst. Die Bücher sind von Anfang bis Ende vollgepackt mit Spannung. Die einzige Kritik die ich hervorbringen kann, ist der Druck. Die Scholastic-Ausgabe hat bei mir in jedem Buch Kleckser/Schmierer, auch in Farbe, und der Textsatz ist stellenweise abenteuerlich, es gibt manchmal einen Zeilenumbruch mitten im Absatz der da gar nicht hingehört, manchmal ist ein Satz ganz ohne Leerzeichen in eine Zeile gequetscht (z.B. 4. Buch Seite 342 liftedherupintheair.Theywerebothlaughing.Heremem-). Wie sowas durch die Qualitätskontrolle gehen kann, ist mir schleierhaft. Ich müßte daher für die Ausgabe eigentlich einen Stern abziehen, mache es aber nicht da die Bücher so oder so fünf Sterne verdient haben - jedes einzelne davon.

Llegó a tiempo y en perfectas condiciones, y sobra decir que las portadas son preciosas y la historia es increíble. Es una de mis sagas favoritas de todos los tiempos.

Excellent book series, delivered in good condition.

histoire fantastique, très bien écrit et qui nous transporte complètement. Ecrit pour des ados, je recommande cependant cette série à tous, petits et grands y trouveront leur bonheur !!

Desde hace muchos años quería leer esta serie de libros por ser los primeros que escribió Suzanne Collins. Conseguí esta edición más accesible en el precio y estoy muy contento ya que me están gustando mucho. Están dirigidos al público infantil (tal vez 10 años para arriba) pero como adulto lo estoy disfrutando. Estoy por terminar el segundo y no me arrepiento de haber comenzado con ellos.