The End of the World

by FernWithy

Sixteen-year-old Haymitch Abernathy has plenty to worry about - a sick mother, a decrepit house, an empty larder. The last thing he's worried about is the Capitol's choice to double the number of Games tributes in a Quell year...

Genres: Fan Fiction, Dystopia

ebook

Published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Ffion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is genuinely the best fanfic I've ever read. A lot of people say they're desperate for a Haymitch novel, but honestly I'm not because I don't think it could ever top this series.

[Kelly Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not really one to read fanfiction, but I kept seeing this series get recommended and thought I would give it a try. I'm so glad I did! The writing is fantastic and believable, I often forgot I was reading a fanfiction and not something from Suzanne Collins. Kudos FernWithy, I may just have to check out your other works!

[Ellie Eddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the only fan fiction that I will 100% accept as cannon. The writing pretty accurately mimics the original trilogy’s style, and it feels like a continuation of the story.

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If we never get Haymitch’s game from Suzanne Collins, this will satisfy me. While I would obviously prefer to hear the story of Haymitch’s game how Collins imagined it, this was so good. It did such a great job piecing together the few facts we knew and adding their own spin on things. Like the mutt museum. I loved that idea and I would be disappointed if it wasn’t real.

I truly think that having Haymitch’s story adds so much to the Hunger Games universe. It’s one thing to know in theory that he had to face double the number of tributes. It’s one thing to have heard quickly in passing that he barely won the games thanks to the force field with his guts hanging out. And it’s one thing to also have heard in passing that the capital systematically killed everyone close to him after the games and continued to torture him in the way that they did.

It’s another thing altogether to meet those 48 tributes and realize just how many kids that is. It’s another thing altogether to hear in detail what it was like for Haymitch’s intestines to literally be falling out of a wound in his side as he tried in vain to hold them in as they started to fall out of him and trail on the ground. It’s another thing altogether to realize just how close he came to not winning- that if one thing has been different, Haymitch would be dead. It’s another thing altogether to fall in love with his mother, brother, and girl only to have them killed by the capital so shortly after the games in order to punish Haymitch. It makes you understand why he is who he is. Why he drinks. Why he is such a big player in the rebellion.

We NEED his story to truly appreciate the rebellion and what it was like for other victors after the games. It makes me want Joanna’s story in particular all the more since she too mentioned that she had no one left that she loved for the capital to hurt/threaten her with. And Finnick, having his body sold by Snow. And really all of them. They all deserve to have their stories told.

[Aimee Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so quintessentially Haymitch I wouldn’t doubt for a second that this was SC herself.

[Stevie Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that fucking destroyed me. I knew it was going to be brutal (hello, we have to justify Haymitch 1. succumbing entirely to addiction and 2. being entirely alone) but JESUS FUCK. I loved this.

rep: unclear honestly. there's an amputee side character but that’s about it

spice: none

tw: murder, death of a major character, death of an entire family, death of a spouse, brief sexual harassment

[Kristina Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If someone were to tell me that this was a new installment into the hunger games lot of novels I would thoroughly believe them! The writing was incredible, and felt exactly like I was reading a Suzanne Collins story.

If you ever asked yourself “what’s Haymitchs deal?” While diving in on the original trilogy, this paints a beautiful idea of what truly could be cannon to the World of the Hunger Games. The timing and pacing was perfect, constantly making me feel desperate to know what is coming next.

Seeing that Haymitch so amazingly parallels Katniss herself, which makes you see how it could be for Haymitch to get so easily frustrated with Katniss, it’s because he sees so much of himself in her!

Then of course the tragedies of the end of Haymitch’s stories are heart wrenching but so perfectly explain why this boy becomes the man we know him to be. It truly breaks your heart.

I would recommend this over and over again to any fan of the Hunger Game series that is hungry for more of that world! Especially if you are wanting to fall in love with characters from the original series more deeply!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was wonderful, and exactly what I expected from Haymitch’s games. The writing feels a lot like Suzanne Collins’s, and Haymitch’s narration feels both alike and completely different from Katniss Everdeen’s. This mostly feels like canon, even if the writing isn’t as good as Collins’s.

I feel this fic captured what teenage Haymitch’s voice would look like. He is a lot like adult Haymitch, sarcastic and grumpy, and you can feel him evolving into adult Haymitch as he gets more tragedies happening to him. Haymitch does read a lot, which I found a bit OOC, since that hobby is more like a fanfiction author than a poor District Twelve kid. I still love Haymitch’s portrayal, as well as the other characters, many of which are parents of Hunger Games characters.

This fanfiction was very good and I would gladly read more Hunger Games fics from this author. The characterization is on point, and even though the plot was a bit too strict with its three-act structure, it still delivered what I wanted from Haymitch’s games, and made me cry to boot. This certainly feels like it belongs in the Hunger Games universe.

[Annaka]

Fan fiction about Haymitch and his time in the arena. Interesting to see Haymitch pre-trauma and watch his choices and how he became who we met in the original trilogy but also incredibly sad and painful to read. In a way I wish we had gotten a post hunger games epilogue scene that he had found new family (not necessarily romantically, but even becoming a grandpa figure to Katniss and Peeta’s kids) in a post panem world now that his family could be safe. I’m seeing from other reviews that this story is part of a larger series so perhaps I’ll get that in future reads. It was good enough to re-read but probably too painful to want to.

[Saskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐ | This is exactly what I was looking for: a really good Haymitch fanfic about his games. It feels like canon and isn't this the biggest compliment you could give a fanfic writer? Personally, I think the beginning and ending dragged a bit and I got sometimes a bit lost with all the characters. The latter could be my own fault because I wasn't paying enough attention. I can highly recommend this story and am looking forward to the other stories from this series 😍

[sofide · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Haymitch, for a year and a half you've been telling me to leave, no matter what the odds say. Now it's my turn. You live. Do you hear me? You live. You come home. I need you to live."

el mejor fanfic que he tenido la suerte de leer hasta la fecha, casi mejor que la obra original. qué maravilla. y qué mal todo :(

[melsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

maybe i cried — a lot — while reading this.
i've already read reviews saying that it really was written as one of suzanne collins' books and i did felt that as well; halfway through i completely forgot that this was a fanfiction, which didn't help with the tears.
if sunrise on the reaping is half as good as this fanfiction i'll be satisfied tbh.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is GOOD!
loved OCs like gia and lacken or villa and ceasar is just perfect!!
i really look forward to his mentor days and his pov in the fist book!
only thing i didn’t really like is the last part when is back home. it’s an interesting character development but didn’t really care about it

[flybird_lux · Rating 5 out of 5]

objetivamente socorro

[Ashley Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS SO AMAZING AND SAD AND TRAGIC THE DETAILS AND THE CHARACTERS OH MY GOD IF YOU LIKE THE HUNGER GAMES YOU NEED TO READ THIS NOW

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way this was better than Sunrise on the Reaping...

[Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haymitch Abernathy's POV of the 50th Hunger Games

[RayKae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is cannon. This is what happened to Haymitch 100% and you can’t convince me otherwise.

I was slightly tempted to rate this four stars for the last couple chapters (not that they weren’t good, they were magnificent, but because they were reminding me of the Mochingjay depression I hated), but I can’t do that to this book. It’s just too good 😭😭

One thing I will say, some of the background character names were so ridiculous, like it didn’t take away from the story but some were so fantastic I wanted to share them here.

Moonstone Gill
Wakerobin Moore
Sigh Tomby
And my personal favorite,
Bridie McMann

Like, McMann? That’s what you came up with?? 😂😂😂

But I digress. The book was genius and the characters felt so real it hurt, but like a good hurt I think???? Idk, I’ll sleep on it, but I think it’s a good hurt

Either way, these five stars are well deserved and I would like to personally present the author with a homemade slice of carrot cake and some sarsaparilla candies in a little pink box that may or may not be stained with tear drops. Truly, a winner is you! Thank you for this wild ride and all the silver-lined holes you have pricked in my heart, I had fun.

In all seriousness tho, this book rocks. Not much more to be said :)

Since it is currently almost 3:30 a.m., I should probably stop sleepily rambling and actually rest. I might come back and edit this in the morning depending on how poorly I deem this to be written 😂

Good day, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Edit: welp, an official Haymitch’s games is being written…it might be ruined for me now because of how good this fic is 😂
But it’ll be interesting, I’ll get to compare the two

Edit 2: just back to say that the official version was certainly NOT better and I will fight anyone tooth and nail who says otherwise. I WILL HOLD ON TO MY FANFICTION AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME

[Britt Thiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressed with the quality of this fan fic, reads like cannon.

[Peyton McCain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can only hope sunrise on the reaping is as good as this. Breaks my heart every time I read it

[Kat Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than SOTR and I'm not afraid to say it.