Sunrise on the Reaping (2025) by Suzanne Collins is the fifth book in the series of Hunger Games novels, and the second prequel to the original trilogy. The story is that of Haymitch Abernathy and his turn as tribute in the Second Quarter Quell of games, twenty-five years prior to those featuring Katniss Everdeen. Collins does an excellent job of adding further texture to her world of Panem and highlighting the tension between the Capitol and the Districts. The presence of President Coriolanus Snow is felt more than seen, but he is a malignant and manipulative force. There are a multitude of "cameos" that provide motivations for how characters act in the original trilogy. And the games and arena encounterd here are in an intermediary stage between those of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Hunger Games.
I liked this installment; I just hope this series and its world-building avoids the Star Wars "trap" of tying everything back to the legacy storyline if it continues to grow.
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