Listen free for 30 days
-
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- A Hunger Games Novel
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Series: Hunger Games
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Teen & Young Adult, Literature & Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £19.29
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Hunger Games: Special Edition
- By: Suzanne Collins
- Narrated by: Tatiana Maslany
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emmy Award-winning actress Tatiana Maslany narrates a brand-new special edition recording of the first audiobook in the worldwide best-selling trilogy from Suzanne Collins! In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
-
-
Please have Tatiana narrate the next two books!
- By Alison Morris on 05-12-18
-
Four: A Divergent Collection
- By: Veronica Roth
- Narrated by: Aaron Stanford
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listeners first encountered Tobias Eaton as "Four" in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Listeners will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When heard together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias Eaton's life.
-
-
Love it!
- By Alexandra on 12-12-17
-
Midnight Sun
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Jake Abel
- Length: 25 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. At last, listeners can experience Edward's version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun. This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire.
-
-
At last! (with certain reservations!)
- By TracyLavinia on 05-08-20
-
City of Bones
- Mortal Instruments, Book 1
- By: Cassandra Clare
- Narrated by: Ari Graynor
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistably drawn towards a group of sexy demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the dangers of forbidden love.
-
-
City of Bones
- By Tracy on 02-01-11
-
Delirium
- Delirium Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Lauren Oliver
- Narrated by: Sarah Drew
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie. There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it. Then, at last, they found the cure.
-
-
FANTASTIC **********
- By Alice on 03-02-13
-
The Maze Runner
- The Maze Runner, Book 1
- By: James Dashner
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there - or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything - even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horror that patrol its corridors, to try and find out.
-
-
Enjoyable
- By A. Crawford on 15-02-16
-
The Hunger Games: Special Edition
- By: Suzanne Collins
- Narrated by: Tatiana Maslany
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emmy Award-winning actress Tatiana Maslany narrates a brand-new special edition recording of the first audiobook in the worldwide best-selling trilogy from Suzanne Collins! In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
-
-
Please have Tatiana narrate the next two books!
- By Alison Morris on 05-12-18
-
Four: A Divergent Collection
- By: Veronica Roth
- Narrated by: Aaron Stanford
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listeners first encountered Tobias Eaton as "Four" in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Listeners will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When heard together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias Eaton's life.
-
-
Love it!
- By Alexandra on 12-12-17
-
Midnight Sun
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Jake Abel
- Length: 25 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. At last, listeners can experience Edward's version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun. This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire.
-
-
At last! (with certain reservations!)
- By TracyLavinia on 05-08-20
-
City of Bones
- Mortal Instruments, Book 1
- By: Cassandra Clare
- Narrated by: Ari Graynor
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistably drawn towards a group of sexy demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the dangers of forbidden love.
-
-
City of Bones
- By Tracy on 02-01-11
-
Delirium
- Delirium Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Lauren Oliver
- Narrated by: Sarah Drew
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie. There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it. Then, at last, they found the cure.
-
-
FANTASTIC **********
- By Alice on 03-02-13
-
The Maze Runner
- The Maze Runner, Book 1
- By: James Dashner
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there - or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything - even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horror that patrol its corridors, to try and find out.
-
-
Enjoyable
- By A. Crawford on 15-02-16
-
The Host
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 22 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect.
-
-
Impressive
- By indigodreamer on 14-11-11
-
Stranger Things
- Suspicious Minds
- By: Gwenda Bond
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the summer of 1969, and the shock of conflict reverberates through the youth of America, both at home and abroad. As a student at a quiet college campus in the heartland of Indiana, Terry Ives couldn’t be farther from the front lines of Vietnam or the incendiary protests in Washington. But the world is changing, and Terry isn’t content to watch from the sidelines. When word gets around about an important government experiment in the small town of Hawkins, she signs on as a test subject for the project, code-named MKULTRA.
-
-
terrible narration
- By Jcarlisle on 21-03-21
-
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Book 1
- By: J.K. Rowling
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!
-
-
Sells its self as always
- By Amazon Customer on 23-01-19
-
To Kill a Mockingbird
- By: Harper Lee
- Narrated by: Sissy Spacek
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the '30s.
-
-
You have to listen to this!
- By David J Avery on 20-07-15
-
Ready Player One
- By: Ernest Cline
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place.
-
-
Awful fan fiction
- By "tommypot" on 26-07-18
-
A Game of Thrones
- Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire
- By: George R.R. Martin
- Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
- Length: 33 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must...and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.
-
-
An enthralling story
- By Sally on 08-01-12
-
The Cat I Never Named
- A True Story of Love, War and Survival
- By: Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, Laura L. Sullivan
- Narrated by: Leila Buck
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1992, and Bihac, Amra's hometown, is a multicultural city with Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. But when tensions escalate, the Serbs turn on their Bosnian neighbors. The Serbs control the army, and now they have peaceful Bihac surrounded. Soon Amra and her family are dealing with starvation and the threat of brutal violence; school, friendships, and the attentions from a new boy have to take a back seat to finding food and the tragic fallout from rising bigotry and ethnic hatred. Through it all, a stray cat, Maci, serves as a guardian spirit to the entire family.
-
Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood
- By: Trixie Mattel, Katya Zamolodchikova
- Narrated by: Trixie Mattel, Katya Zamolodchikova
- Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drag superstars Trixie Mattel and Katya have long captivated fans with their stunning looks, onscreen chemistry and signature wit. In Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood, the pair channel that energy into an old-school etiquette guide for ladies. In essays and how-to sections, Trixie and Katya will advise listeners on beauty and fashion and tackle other vital components of a happy home, such as money, entertaining and friendship; sharing advice and personal stories in high-concept fashion.
-
-
Essence of these two biological women
- By Mary Repunte on 11-10-20
-
Eragon: The Inheritance Cycle, Book 1
- By: Christopher Paolini
- Narrated by: Gerrard Doyle
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight, his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power.
-
-
Great
- By hana warren on 22-01-15
-
Thrawn (Star Wars)
- By: Timothy Zahn
- Narrated by: Marc Thompson
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this definitive novel, listeners will follow Thrawn's rise to power - uncovering the events that created one of the most iconic villains in Star Wars history.
-
-
Don’t understand the high reviews
- By Chris Bledsoe on 15-01-20
-
9 from the Nine Worlds
- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
- By: Rick Riordan
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill, Devon Sorvari, Nick Chamian, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Travel the Nine Worlds with your favourite characters from the world of Magnus Chase in a brand-new series of adventures. Find out why Amir Fadlan hates clothes shopping in Midgard, see how Mallory Keen learns in icy Niflheim that insulting a dragon can be a good idea, and join Alex Fierro as they play with fire (and a disco sword) in the home of the fire giants, Muspellheim. But watch out for Thor, who is jogging through all Nine Worlds so he can log his million steps - and is raising quite a stink....
-
-
Love it
- By Evelyn M Wilkins on 30-08-20
-
The Institute
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids, abducted from across the United States, are incarcerated. In the Institute they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts - telepathy, telekinesis - for concentrated effect. Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He's just a regular 12-year-old, except he's not just smart, he's super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use....
-
-
Another winner from The Master!
- By Kirsty on 17-09-19
Summary
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute...and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DizzyKitten
- 20-05-20
Just speed it up! - Narrator is fine
I’ve seen reviews on audible UK and US which say how terrible the narrator is. Honestly, I think audible have slowed it down because on 1x speed it is very slow and monotonous, and does not sound natural. I am listening at 1.4x speed and it sounds SO much better! He’s not monotonous at all and at this speed, it sounds like natural speech. I’d say 1.3/1.4 are the best speeds to listen at to get the most out of the narrator’s expressions and differing voices. Please don’t write this book off because of the narration reviews!! I am thoroughly enjoying it!
Edited to add: I’ve just finished it and had to come back and add to my review that I really enjoyed this book. It gives us Snow’s history perfectly and shows us exactly why he hates Katniss so much. Brilliantly done. One minute, you’re rooting for Snow, the next you want him to fail. Loved it!
41 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M. Radford
- 23-05-20
Bad Production
Book aside, the production of this audiobook has some serious problems.
For such a highly anticipated book, you’d think they’d have edited probably and someone would have done a listen through for mistakes before publication.
The audio changes pitch and volume constantly. It is very clear where recording was stopped for one day and picked up the next. I like the narrator, but for an established stage actor, you’d think he would check is vocals.
At one point the book starts repeating itself. Half a page is read and the repeated, this happens a few times.
Really disappointed in the production.
If they re-record or even just clean up the version they have, i think it will do the book more justice.
At the moment you lose the story to the bad audio. Both author and narrator deserve better.
Please fix it!
32 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sherry
- 19-05-20
Amazon / Audible team please change the narrator!!
I cannot listen to this the way it is. Please please can you change the narrator. The whole thing is ruined, I can't get past first chapter. Thank you - I will wait....
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ciara Harding
- 25-05-20
NARRATOR
I found it hard to listen to the narrator doing female voices and speaking songs.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michele
- 20-05-20
Not really sure
Firstly the guy that reads this is a bit bad at it. For all the singing you’d think they’d find someone a little less annoying to read it all. However I like that he sounds stuck up because it’s sounds very capitol like.
Then we get to the story.
It’s very confusing. A lot of boring parts too. I think the purpose of this was to explain some of the origins a bit better but it would have been better to focus on the rise of snow. I’m a bit annoyed that I want to root for him and see his humanity in this. I thought he was meant to be the bad guy.
There are a lot of good explanations for things and these can interest the reader. Some parts of the story are interesting but it takes a long while to see action and it’s pretty short lived. Back to confusion and a slow pace. Lucy isn’t someone I really care about further than not wanting her to lose the games.
Despite all my complaints so far it’s a good book. I’m into part 2 now and have liked it if not exactly loved it. It’s not as good as the first trilogy but it’s an ok book and I hope the writer takes whatever criticism she may get on board and improves for whatever she plans to do next. However I hope she’s also not bullied into doing a basic cash grab book as some fans seem to want this without thinking of how boring that could really be. Maybe she’ll never do anything with this story again. I’d be sad if that were the case but I hope she still improves for whatever book she does do no matter what.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 19-05-20
Great book but not a fan of the narrator
Not a fan of the narrator of this book. But other than that the story is great
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S J Hollis
- 07-06-20
Terrible Narration
They chose the wrong narrator. That droning voice ruined an already bloated story. Speaking the songs in such a robotic voice was awful. "La la la, la la, la, la la la" was the last straw.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 25-05-20
Narrator
The main issue with this audio book was the narrator. He was bland and didn’t convey much emotion in my opinion. Also, the songs could have been sung or at least said in a more sing song way instead read as a poem.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mosco Moon
- 06-07-20
Good book, wrong voice
Book was really good! I roughly enjoyed getting to read the story from Snows perspective. It was weird to feel empathy for him at points, only to wind up loathing him at the end. If that's what the author intended, bravo, you did a good job!
Only a couple of points stopped me giving the story 5 stars. I really liked the nod of Snow hating the mocking Jay's and how that related to the hunger games... Except what started as a nod became a truck to the face as we were rammed with the reference over and over again. Only after the second hanging did his hate make sense, before that it felt misplaced and forced.
Some sections felt long and drawn out and others really quick. Like the ending flashes by in 30 mins yet there were plenty of scenes that didn't seem to have a whole lot happening that were dragged out.
I loved learning about where the hunger games started, but would have loved it more for the reasoning behind why they choose to give the winners big houses and loads of food when it felt like the capital themselves were barely making it.
Now onto the voice. Sanitino was brilliant at reading, his voice I could listen too for days and I adore the way he puts voices on for characters. But I feel a woman would have been better reading this. There were too many scenes of young girls singing and him awkwardly speaking the lyrics was jarring and pulled me from the story while I cringed. I found myself skipping songs as a result. Someone willing to sing them and do the singing of young girls better probably would have worked for this.
There were points too where it was clear the audio had been rerecorded. I get this was probably done in lockdown, but the sudden downgrade in quality of the audio only pulled me from the story again at points. For these reasons I'm giving it 3 stars.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Debbie cooper
- 21-05-20
reader was boring
the reader had very little expression in his voice . It made the story boring to listen to
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Dr.
- 19-05-20
All about the narrator
I listen to audiobooks. A lot. So, I know something about narrators. A good narrator fades into the background as the characters rise through their voice, creating a seamless performance. Santino Fontana is not a good narrator. A good reader, but not a narrator. The book is read in a monotone with zero differentiation between the characters. There are several points where the characters are singing and this is not even attempted. The disconnect between the text saying that the character is singing and unemotional reading of the text is jarring. There is no good reason for a narrator this poor to be reading this book. I mean, it's the Hunger Games. They had their pick of vocal talent that they selected this guy? Now, the narrator is not going to keep me from this book. I'll probably enjoy it, too. But I will not have the immersive experience that a truly talented narrator brings to the story. It's unnecessary and a real shame.
918 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rj
- 19-05-20
The narration is the worst I’ve heard
This is the dullest , monotonous reading I’ve heard for a high anticipated book. Why did they choose such a horrible , Boeing reader !!
I will finish the story, but the narration will limit the number of listens.
Hopefully they re-record with better talent.
416 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Edgars Dumins
- 19-05-20
Bad part
Good story and interesting premise BUT the reader is not interested,he sounds bored.
I would have prefered Tatiana (original book reader) to Fontana.
312 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- amybw
- 19-05-20
struggling to get through chapter 1
Like others have said, this reader is awful.
He sounds like he is reading a mundane "same stuff, different day" news story.
Not much inflection. Pauses in the wrong places.
Almost as if he is reading a list.
No change of tone when changing to a flash back.
Character voices are barely changed.
When excitement happens at the reaping it brings about a yawn. :(
203 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com
- 20-05-20
A Powerful Prequel
Suzanne Collins, the award-winning and best-selling author of The Hunger Games Saga, invites the readers and listeners back to this beloved series with the recently released The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
With its action set 64 years before the exhilarating events in The Hunger Games, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel, an origin story for one of the most hateful characters in this extremely appreciated works of fiction. Coriolanus Snow is a young man down on his luck, his family fortunes are gone and he is chosen to be a Mentor for one of the kids destined to fight to the death in The Hunger Games.
Fans of this series will discover how the games were in their inception, how The Capital looked 10 years after the war and most importantly, how this renowned character, hated and despised in the original stories, started his path to power.
After his excellent performance for Stephen King's The Institute, actor, singer and narrator Santino Fontana does a great job in bringing to life the events, characters and locations in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.I enjoyed Santino Fontana's delivery of this work and I am always glad to listen to him.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a great opportunity for fans of The Hunger Games to step back into this world filled with violence, action, horrors, betrayal, dirty politics, dark secrets and unforgettable characters. Although I am not a Hunger Games fan, I think I'll pick up the series as soon as I'll get some free time as I am ''hungry'' to relive the events set after this prequel.
If you liked this review please vote Helpful below and find more of them here and on theAudiobookBlog.
I also post honest reviews at the author, narrator or publisher's request, you can get in touch with me for more details.
Thank you & stay safe,
Victor
200 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Robert
- 19-05-20
Narrator is perfectly fine
Ok, I’ll be totally honest, this is JUST a review of the narrator. I am only a few minutes into the book but I can’t figure out why people are so up in arms. He’s fine. Sure, it’s been a VERY long time since I listened to the original books but compared to the hundreds of narrators I’ve listened to since 2005, this guy is fine. IMHO narrators tend to fall into two categories; those who do a lot of voices and bring a lot of acting to the performance and those who more or less read to you. This is a reader for sure but even in the first few minutes he’s already done a different voice for one character. I think most people will be fine with this narration once more people have listened.
198 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- JS
- 19-05-20
Great Narrator, Engrossing Story
I'm breaking my rule of always finishing a work before writing a review because I can't believe the reviews saying that Santino Fontana doesn't provide a good performance here. Fontana gives a measured narration that fits a third-person limited perspective. Since there is no "narrator" character in this work, (unlike the originals, where the narrator is Katniss), it wouldn't make sense for Fontana to go over the top with emotion during the narration. In fact, I would argue that it would be distracting for him to do so. He still provides proper inflection during narration and dialogue.
UPDATE: I've finished the book and am really impressed with this story. It's darker and bleaker than the original trilogy, but it's still incredibly compelling. The narrative goes to a few unexpected places and the way Suzanne Collins fleshes out Snow, adding real dimension without trying to redeem him from irredeemable actions, is an incredible feat.
140 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sam
- 19-05-20
I like the narrator
I’m a big fan of Santino Fontana so I’m probably biased but I enjoy his narration. He does different voices for different characters. And he might be dry at times but I think it fits the character (or at least how far I’ve gotten). I honestly wasn’t going to bother listening to this until I saw he was the narrator. As for the story itself it’s such a weird choice for a prequel. Never while reading the Hunger Games trilogy was I like “oh Snow is so interesting I must know more about him”
107 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lynette Garet
- 19-05-20
Narration not good- turn up speed.
While the story is, as expected, good, the narrator is pretty disappointing. Up the speed to 1.1- it helps.
77 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kallensmama
- 19-05-20
poor narrator so far
Just started, but so disappointed in the narration so far! ugh I was so invested in the previous narrator that it's a difficult adjustment. We'll see how it goes..
57 people found this helpful