Suzanne Collins is crafting herself quite an intriguing sci-fi series.

Collins’ Catching Fire, the second book from The Hunger Games trilogy, was released yesterday by Scholastic Press.

Although I like to humor myself by pretending to have intellectually outgrown the young adult genre years ago, and although I’m not into sci-fi/romance type novels at all, I had to admit that the trilogy’s debut, Hunger Games, was one of the best novels I’ve ever read . . . and definitely my favorite.

Collins — a children’s writer whose resume includes penning episodes for Noggin TV kids shows such as Oswald and Little Bear — masterfully crafted in Hunger Games a futuristic America (now known as Panem), where democracy has fallen and been replaced by an oppressive government.

To briefly recap, Hunger Games sets the stage of Panem: A nation whose oppressed, starving citizens are divided into 12 districts, with a Capitol separate from the common people. A 13th district was obliterated in an earlier revolt, and as punishment for that revolt, a male and female child are chosen from each district each year for a made-for-TV death battle to amuse the Capitol and its people and to show the rest of Panem that uprisings against the Capitol will not be tolerated. The series’ heroine is Katniss Everdeen, who hails from District 12 — the district that was once Appalachia.

If you’re new to the series, you should definitely start with Hunger Games. Catching Fire devotes some time to recapping the events of Hunger Games, but you’re going to need the background of Hunger Games to fully appreciate what is happening. And if you haven’t read Hunger Games, stop reading here, because this will spoil the ending of Hunger Games.

In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta find themselves back in District 12, enjoying the luxury that is bestowed upon the winners of the annual Hunger Games. But it can’t last. Katniss’ defiance of the Capitol has stirred a desire to revolt within some of the districts. The people of Panem now see her as the symbol of the uprising, which means the Capitol cannot allow her to live. What was supposed to be a life of luxury turns into another fierce battle for survival as Catching Fire’s plot develops. Katniss and Peeta will once again find themselves thrust into the Capitol’s evil plot, where survival will depend on each other, and loyalty will be called into question.

There was simply no way Catching Fire could match Hunger Games, and it didn’t. It’s less compelling. There’s less detail. And perhaps its biggest transgression is that it — to steal from a review on Amazon.Com — “piggybacks” on Hunger Games. But those short-comings won’t matter by this point, because readers will be so engrossed in the plight of the characters that they will be up until well into the night, anxiously waiting to see what the next page holds in store. And if the climax and ending leave anything to be desired (they do . . . a lot), readers will still be anxiously awaiting the third installment in this series to see how things are going to turn out.

As in Hunger Games, Collins succeeds in drawing readers in, making them fans of the characters . . . which is to say that she does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. Perhaps the biggest drawback (aside from the above-mentioned) for someone who is leary of sci-fi storylines to start with, is that Collins ventures much further down the path towards fantasy and make-believe in book 2, and that seems detrimental to the overall plot. But she manages to find her way back to the beaten path each time she strays, and even though the ending was disappointing (unlike book 1’s thrilling and inspiring finish), there’s no doubt that the release of book 3 will be anxiously awaited.

Catching Fire wasn’t a 5-star like Hunger Games, but it’s a very solid 4-star, and definitely a recommended read.