Hunger Games author could have learned a few things from J.K.

Sorry. I've been away for a while. Not physically away but psychically lost in the world of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy. With all the hype, I thought I better read these books.

I was blown away by the first two-thirds of the first novel, The Hunger Games: it was beautifully written and so intense! But since then, down hill in my opinion. The last third of the first novel and the entire second book were both siginificant disappointments.

The third book, Mockingjay, is better so far but I haven't finished it. Maybe I'll report on my final thoughts later.

Why do I write about this in a blog dedicated to Harry Potter? Because my disappointment in the Collins novels has highlighted for me yet another aspect of J.K. Rowling's art that continues to impress me.

One of the great weaknesses, I think, of The Hunger Games trilogy is that, even as she attempts to deal with more complex, more complicated themes in the second and third books, Collins fails to elevate the sophistication of her writing and narrative approach.

The first book in the series offers a simple, straight-line plot with simple themes and few significant characters. It's perfect for the young adult audience for whom she writes.

In the second book, however, she introduces significantly more characters, a more complex plot and a series of more challenging concepts, yet tries to keep the writing at the same level. It just doesn't work.

The third book is somewhat better becuase, while she doesn't elevate her writing at all, she does simplify the plot and the number of characters somewhat: the focus is back on Katniss and the central enemy she faces, President Snow. Any more-challenging themes are reduced to the background.

Rowling, on the other hand, allowed her writing style to mature along with her target audience, matching the increasing complexity of the characters, plots and themes of each novel. While the first book in the series is a children's book with a simple plot, clear themes and a select group of central characters, the seventh book is a fully adult novel, perfectly matched with the complex plot and characters, the mature themes she explores.

I have to admit, the first 150 or so pages of The Hunger Games is as good as anything I've read, including Rowling's books, but Collins doesn't seem able to sustain that greatness. She tries to tackle more complex plots, characters and themes but she can't break out of her simple, young adult approach to the writing.