Series: The
Underland Chronicles
Author: Suzanne
Collins
Genre: Children's Book/ Middle
Grade Reader, Fantasy, Adventure
Series Overview
Since his father
disappeared, it's up to 11-year-old Gregor to look after his younger sisters,
while his mother struggles to put food on the table. When toddler sister Boots
tumbles through a hole in the laundry grate, Gregor doesn't hesitate to leap in
after her. What he finds below is a dark, cavernous world populated by giant
rats, bats, and bugs that live beside normal-sized humans with translucent skin
and violet eyes.
Led by
soon-to-be-queen Luxa, the humans of Underland rule a magnificent glowing city
called Regalia and train incessantly to do battle with their mortal enemies,
the Gnawers (or, as Overlanders call them, rats). Gregor's arrival is enough to
push the two kingdoms to the brink of war. According to a number of ancient
prophecies, the humans are doomed, unless a mysterious "warrior" from
the overland aids them on their quests.
Gregor has no
desire to be this "warrior," nor fulfill any prophecy. But fate
intervenes, and he has no choice. Soon he and Boots are off and running with
the brave and arrogant Luxa, bonded bats devoted to their humans, friendly
cockroaches, and even a wise-cracking rat with hidden motives for joining the
humans. From a rescue mission deep inside the rat kingdom to a sea voyage into
a labyrinth to a search for life-saving medicine in a poisonous jungle,
Gregor's adventures will bring out abilities he never knew he had. Perhaps this
peace-loving boy really can be the warrior.
Series Review
I find the
writing of Suzanne Collins (author of The
Hunger Games) addicting. After reading Gregor
the Overlander, the first of The
Underland Chronicles, I felt compelled to get my hands on the second book.
Wisely, I ordered the next four books of The
Underland Chronicles together, and
when they finally arrived, I devoured them one after the other, like chocolate
truffles in a sampler box.
It probably has
to do with the way Suzanne Collins builds the suspense. Gregor has become the
caretaker of his family; every minute he stays in Underland, he causes worry to
his mother and leaves dependent members of the family to fend for themselves. Of
course Underland has problems of its own, and there's almost always some kind
of crisis going on which requires the warrior, as well as a prophecy predicting
that things will get much, much worse. Now the prophecies tend to be cryptic
and subject to more than one interpretation, so even when you think you know
where it's going, you probably don't.
All this is
enough to keep the pages turning. But then we're introduced to our companions.
Most of them don't get along, are hiding secrets, are mortal enemies, or all of
the above. The quest sets off, and there's action, action, and more action,
pausing only enough to get to know our new friends. But be careful who you grow
to like, because characters die constantly—at least one in every book. And even
after the crisis has been averted, the underlying hostilities between rats and
humans are still boiling hot.
The interesting
thing is that Gregor, though named the Warrior, is probably one of the most
peaceful characters in the books. He doesn't have the same prejudice as the
Underlanders and is willing to accept almost all of his companions. He's quick
to apologize, quick to forgive, quick to come to the aid of anyone he thinks is
being bullied or treated unfairly. He's not always perfect, but he's willing to
understand. He's a genuinely good guy.
And like all good
guys, he gets put through the wringer. I'm starting to think Katniss had it
easy compared to all that Gregor had to go through. Not only is he an unarmed
kid pitted against monstrous rats and told to carry out prophecies he can't
understand, he has to do it while babysitting a toddler. Most of the adults
don't care a whit for his safety. If they're not shoving him into dangerous
quests or expecting him to fight in a war, they're locking him in dungeons or
trying to stone him. And these are the "good guys."
This should give
you an idea that while talking animals and rhyming prophecies sound all very
cute, this is actually a pretty intense series. The main themes are war and
peace, and the books deal with such light and fluffy subjects as child
soldiers, biological warfare, and genocide. All the while characters are
decapitated, devoured alive by mites, suffocated, and thrown to their deaths. I
swear, if these weren't animals dying, this book would be slapped with an R
rating.
Don't get me
wrong; it's not that I don't think kids can handle it. It just gets dark and
depressing at time, especially in the last two books.
I'm a little torn
with how the series ended. On the one hand, threads from as early as Book 2 got
tied into the ending, nice and neat. But then there were some things I thought
were being set-up—interesting characters, new skills—that either didn't go
anywhere or ended up being too little, too late.
Moreover, the story ended on a
bit of a depressing note. For as much as it was teased that peace might be
possibly, war ultimately reigned, and it was sad and violent and morally
ambiguous. Realistic? Perhaps. But in a kid’s book about giant talking animals,
I’d prefer a little fantasy.
