Gregor and the Marks of Secret

By: Suzanne Collins

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

p>Rich in suspense and brimming with adventure, the New York Times best-selling Underland Chronicles unfold the fate of the Underland and the great warrior, Gregor. Suzanne Collins is also the author of the best-selling Hunger Games trilogy.

In the fourth volume of the critically acclaimed Underland Chronicles, Gregor is drawn ever deeper into a brewing crisis. For generations, rats have run the mice - or "nibblers" - out of whatever lands they've claimed, keeping them constantly on the move. But now the mice are disappearing, and the young queen Luxa, who credits them with saving her life, is determined to find out why.

When Gregor joins her on a fact-finding mission, he's relieved that this time, at least, there's no prophecy on the line. But when the true fate of the mice is revealed, it is something far more sinister than Gregor or Luxa have imagined - and it points the way to the final prophecy he has yet to fulfilled.

Gregor's role as warrior and his abilities as a rager are put to the test in this suspenseful, action-packed penultimate installment of Suzanne Collins's thrilling Underland Chronicles.

©2007 Suzanne Collins (P)2008 Listening Library

Thoroughly Enjoyable

I enjoy complex and intricate young reader's books, and these have so far lived up to my expectations.

Character development is handled brilliantly. The plot is fresh. I came away wanting to hear more about the characters and their lives.

There are some interesting points to mention. I'll limit myself to minor plot points, no major spoilers.

It's interesting that the underland word for "human" is "killer". They seemed uncomfortable with that, but it makes sense.

Not because I think humans are especially violent compared to other species. In most aspects, we're just an unremarkable species. We're not very strong, fast, or massive. We don't have any interesting body parts like wings or claws. We can't fly or burrow or spin webs. Basically all we have to distinguish ourselves are our tools. And the most distinctive and interesting tools we have are our weapons of war.

Even if the underland humans kill as much or less as the other animals, it would be a stretch to expect them to be named after their screwdrivers or shovels. I wonder now if this was the type of reasoning that the author went through. Could be... or maybe she just wanted to portray humans as being an especially violent species.

I also found it very interesting that much of this latest book seemed to be inspired by history and the second world war.

The Bane seems to be the rat version of Hitler, uniting the rats in an attempt to perform genocide on the mice - a transient species of intellectuals with no fixed home who are blamed for the current conditions that the rats find themselves under.

And his plan for killing them is to trick them into entering a volcanic "gas chamber".

And there's the classic question "If you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a baby, would you?". It's very interesting that these books touch on the underland version of that question.

It's an excellent read, I recommend it.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Not boring, but not the best.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book if my friend had read the previous ones, after all, it is a continuation of the story, and it would be hard to follow without reading the ones that come before this one.

If you’ve listened to books by Suzanne Collins before, how does this one compare?

I've listened to the Hunger Games trilogy, and I've listened to Gregor from the first book, and they are equally good. Paul Boehmer is a great narrator and he does a pretty good job with Gregor and all the characters.

Do you think Gregor and the Marks of Secret needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Ít does, because the next one is the end of the story and Gregor's journey.

Any additional comments?

This book is good, but it didn't hook me up as Gregor and the Profecy of Bane, but I'll keep listening because I want to find more about Gregor's end and all of Sandwich's profecies.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love the entire series - very Harry Potter like.

Have you listened to any of Paul Boehmer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to all 5 books and think Paul Boehmer does a fantastic job with all the different characters - highly recommend and keen to listen to other books narrated by Boehmer.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I would love to see this series made into movies. Tag line - Harry Potter goes underground!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Ready for another

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, but only as an entire series - it is entertaining

Any additional comments?

I am ready for Ms. Collins to publish more books, either in this series or a new series. The Underland was a fascinating world and the interactions between Underland and Overland was fun to imagine.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Gregor is great.

Would you consider the audio edition of Gregor and the Marks of Secret to be better than the print version?

Not necessarily.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gregor

What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His ability to present each character so that the listener knew the difference.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Lots of Action

This book had lots of action and ended right at the beginning of the next book. This book was my favorite so far out of the first four books. Going to start the next one right now.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Narrator makes the book

Seriously this narrator is amazing! I love how he is able to make all the voices! I love that this novel didn't start with the prophecy but you discover it as you read! I just wish this was longer.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Awesome story, but not as good as the others

This is an awesome book, but the other books in the series are better. It gets brutal at times. It does get boring at parts, unlike other Underland Chronicles. Suzanne Collins does a great job of building up to the grand finale, Gregor and the Code of Claw.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great book!

It's a good book! Except that people die like talia
Its full of adventures but is you have not listened to the other books, your should if you like this! Except airise dies....

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

entertaining and fun

my kids an I loved the whole series of Gregor books. easy to read, fun sorry.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

GOOD book

I could not stop reading it. So good.So good I could not stop reading it.