Lionsgate

Last year, Scholastic announced that author Suzanne Collins was going back to Panem for a prequel novel, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’, set before the events of her best-selling ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy.  There was some hesitation from fans, who were concerned that it was too soon after the original books’ publication for another installment.  Now that it has officially been confirmed that ‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ is about a young President Snow, fans are furious.

According to the description:

“[Young Snow is a] teen born into privilege but searching for something more, a far cry from the man we know he will become. Here he’s friendly. He’s charming. For now he’s a hero.”

Fans are not having it.

As on Twitter user, with the handle Blackness Everdeen, wrote:

“I just don’t need the origin story of a fascist white man who ran a pedophile ring and literally murdered children for sport.

“Maybe someone else will enjoy it but now is not the time that I can read a hero to villain narrative.”

The general consensus is that this hits a little too close to home at this point in time.

Here are some more reactions:

Perhaps the most succinct reaction was:

There are some who are rolling their eyes and suggesting maybe fans should actually wait to read ‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ before judging it.  They suggest that this isn’t a redemption arc for Snow, as he winds up evil in the original books.  (This is a prequel, after all.)

The best villains are complex.  They’re not just flat out evil.  But it seems that Snow bears too close a resemblance to certain… high-profile, real-world politicians… well, one in particular, and no one is interested in understanding what makes a character like him tick.

Scholastic

But if you want to read the book and judge for yourself, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ arrives in stores on May 19.

 

Source: Fast Company