Kill or be killed.
在介紹The Hunger Games 這本書之前，請容我先囉嗦地介紹國外書籍發行的狀況，他們的方式完全不同於台灣，先以精裝的版本首刷上市，定價約17.99 ~ 35 美金不等；平裝本出版則至少需等至半年以上，價格約落在4.99 ~ 15 美金之間。由於兩者之間的價差太大，因此台灣讀者往往會選擇平裝本上市才購買，除非實在是等不及了才會優先選購精裝的版本。在我的經驗中，客人直接購買精裝青少年讀本的狀況並不多，除了哈利波特之外The Hunger Games 系列是另一個特例，因此更不遑多説其平裝本的銷量了！
The Hunger Games 在未看書之前，可別天真的以為它是電玩遊戲的一種，它是為了控制人類所設定的一種恐怖決鬥！故事是發生在北美洲一個虛擬國家Panem，共分為12 個行政區；The Hunger Games 則是為了防止居民叛變所制定的新法律，每年以抽籤的方式自各區中抽出12 – 18 歲的一男一女，然後將他們置於陌生的環境中自相殘殺，最後活下來的人就是勝利者，奬賞則是成為自己行政區中最富裕的人，而全家可以因此不再挨餓。
女主角Katniss 為了保護中籤的妹妺，自願參加這個殘忍遊戲，如羅馬競技場般，那些君王權貴們正等著一場血腥殺戮，每屆的Hunger Game 都是由許多破碎的家庭所建構，雖然無奈卻也只能妥協，這是行政區的人們所理解的潛規則。然而Katniss 永不妥協的特質、不願向命運低頭的堅持，卻打破了這個遊戲規則，她在道德與現實中拔河，勇於追求對的事情，並為青少年朋友立下學習的典範。
The Hunger Games 迫使我們去思考一些問題，在權衡生命與人性的同時，孰輕孰重？生於現代的我們已無需為糧食拼得你死我活，但書中所呈現更深沈的意義卻不容忽視，儘管題材如此寫實，作者在故事節奏及人物塑造方面，掌握得極其順暢且吸引人,在版權市場亦獲得大力迴響，已陸續出版30 多種語言版本並由Color Force 製片公司拍攝成電影，將於3/23在台灣上映。
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games.” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat’s sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.
Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever. Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
書籍資訊
The Hunger Games #1 ISBN：9780439023528
The Hunger Games 飢餓遊戲
※ 本文已取得作者同意轉載。
作者：Vicky