This structure, which Collins had previously used in her series The Underland Chronicles, came from Collins's playwriting background. Īs with the previous books in the trilogy, Mockingjay contains 27 chapters, with nine chapters in each of the three parts. She describes the Hunger Games as 'an updated version of the Roman gladiator games, which entails a ruthless government forcing people to fight to the death as popular entertainment.' Collins also explains that the name 'Panem' came from the Latin phrase ' Panem et Circenses', which means 'Bread and Circuses' and refers to the strategy used by Roman emperors to appease the masses by providing them with food and entertainment (Juvenal, Satires, 10.81). Ĭollins has said that there are also many parallels between the Roman Empire and the fictional nation of Panem. After a while, Theseus, the son of the Athenian king, decided to put an end to the Minotaur and Minos's terror, so he volunteered to join the third group of victims, ultimately killing the Minotaur and leading his companions out of the monster's Labyrinth.

In Greek mythology, as a punishment for the killing of King Minos's son Androgeos, Athens was forced to sacrifice seven youths and seven maidens to Crete, who were then put in the Labyrinth and killed by the Minotaur. The book has been adapted into a two-part movie, with the first part released on November 21, 2014, and the second part released on November 20, 2015.Ĭollins has said that the main inspiration for The Hunger Games series came from the classical account of Theseus and the Minotaur. It received a generally positive reaction from critics.

The book sold 450,000 copies in the first week of release, exceeding the publisher's expectations. The hardcover and audiobook editions of Mockingjay were published by Scholastic on August 24, 2010, six days after the ebook edition went on sale.

The book continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, who agrees to unify the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol. It is chronologically the last installment of The Hunger Games series, following 2008's The Hunger Games and 2009's Catching Fire. Mockingjay is a 2010 science fiction novel by American author Suzanne Collins.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins