Greetings! Welcome to Books That Burn. I'm Robin, welcome to another book essay about something that was too big of a thought to fit into a normal review, specifically: Why Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is not like The Hunger Games. Please feel free to send us suggestions for future essays. Before I get started, I'd like to thank our Patron who gets a monthly shoutout, Case Aiken. The support of our Patrons makes this podcast (and blog) possible, and we're grateful to all of you.
When perusing other reviews of Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong, I've seen many comparisons to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This comparison is both slightly true and mostly unhelpful as a generalization, as what they have in common are either superficial genre features or not unique to The Hunger Games. I understand why the comparison occurs to people so I'd like to take it seriously. Nicole and I have covered The Hunger Games on our podcast, and I recently reviewed Immortal Longings. I'll also make some reference to an earlier book with many of the same elements as later appeared in The Hunger Games: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. You can find both parts of our podcast discussion on that book here (Part 1, Part 2), as well as my written review of Battle Royale. While I think it does make sense to compare and contrast them, these books are not interchangeable.
Please refer to the link for the full essay.
Anatomy of Sequels - A Reviewer's Perspective
Queerness and Monstrosity in ”Night Shine” and ”Moon Dark Smile” by Tessa Gratton
Sleep No More, The Innocent Sleep, and the Death of Personality
Additional Reflections on ”Feed Them Silence” by Lee Mandelo
Reflections on ”Singularity” by William Sleator
Ensemble Heist Stories in Fiction
Stand-Alone 29: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Highlight 29: “War Girls” by Tochi Onyebuchi
Stand-Alone 28, Part 2: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Stand-Alone 28, Part 1: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Highlight 28: A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
Highlight 27: Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud
Stand-Alone 27: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Highlight 26: The Grace of Kings” by Ken Liu
Stand-Alone 26: Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
Highlight 25: A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
Stand-Alone 25: The Storyteller’s Daughter by Cameron Dokey
Highlight 24: Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
Stand-Alone 24: Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
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