Gregor the Overlander

Gregor the Overlander

The cover of the first edition.
Author	Suzanne Collins
Language	English
Series	The Underland Chronicles
Genre	Science Fiction, Epic
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	September 1, 2003
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	308
ISBN	0-439-43537-4
OCLC	66527121
Followed by	Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

Gregor the Overlander is a young adult science fiction/epic novel and the first book of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. It was published in 2003, and met with critical acclaim, including Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice and New York Public Library's 100 Books for Reading and Sharing selection. It was featured by National Public Radio in the USA in 2005. It was Nominated for a Nutmeg Children's Book Award in 2006 in the intermediate category and came in third place. As of April 2012, users on Amazon.com had given the book a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.

summary An 11-year-old boy is home one day while the rest of the kids are at a camp. Gregor is alone with his crazy old grandmother and his little sister, Boots. He goes to do the laundry one day, and follows his sister down a hole into an underground realm. The children are met by a giant, sentient cockroach, who takes them to a human castle, where Gregor is told he cannot return to the Overland. After trying to escape with Boots through the Waterway, Gregor is attacked by two massive, talking rats. They are rescued by four bats with human riders. Back at the castle, Vikus decides that Gregor truly is the warrior spoken of in a prophecy. Vikus then takes Gregor, Boots, Henry, and Luxa on a quest, but first they must find the other members. They set off to find the people/creatures needed. First they go to the crawlers. They take two crawlers, Temp and Tick. They then go to the spinners to get two spinners. The Queen of Spiders refuses and holds them prisoner. They break out eventually, thanks to Luxa, and escape to the Dead Land. There, Vikus can take them no further, so he brings a rat named Ripred to guide them to the rat's home. There, Henry reveals himself to be a spy and summons an army of rats and the rat king to kill Gregor. Gregor realizes that the rats will try to kill him, no matter the danger, so he jumps off the edge of a cliff, and sure enough, the rats follow him. As Gregor falls, Henrys' bat catches him instead of Henry, so Gregor is saved but Henry is not. The team goes back to Regalia, and Ripred gathers a political party of rats to help him ascend to the throne. Gregor, Boots, and their father return home to the Overland.

Gregor, Boots, and their father return home to the Overland.

Main characters

• Gregor: The protagonist of the story. He falls into the Underland with his sister.
• Luxa: An Underlander, and the soon to be queen of Regalia.
• Ripred: A trustworthy gnawer with deadly fighting skills and sharp intelligence, he fights alongside the humans.
• Ares: A flier, first Henry's bond, then Gregor's. He is described as jet black, and strong.
• Henry: An Underlander, and Luxa's cousin on the Royal side.
• Vikus: Luxa's grandfather and Solovet's husband
• Aurora: A flier, Luxa's bond. A golden color.
• Boots (Margaret): Named after her grandma, Boots is Gregor's cheerful, two-year-old sister who is afraid of very little

.never met her father.

Minor characters

• Nerissa: Luxa's cousin who foresees what either is going to happen or what already did. Ripred describes her flip flopping through time like a fish in the shallows.
• Solovet: Luxa's grandmother and Vikus's wife; head of the Regalian army.
• Dulcet: a servant in Regalia
• Perdita: an Underland soldier.
• Gregor's father
• Grace: Gregor, Lizzie and Boots' mother
• Grandma: Gregor, Lizzie and Boots' grandmother after whom Boots (Margaret) was named.
• Mrs. Cormaci: A family friend to Gregor's family
• King Gorger: The king of the gnawers (rats)
• Queen Wevox: a giant spider.
• Gox and Treflex: two spiders
• Lizzie: Gregor and Boots' sister, mentioned more than once.
• Mareth: One of Regalia's soldiers
• Temp & Tick: Cockroaches who call Boots the "Princess".

The Prophecy of Gray

Beware, Underlanders, time hangs by a thread.
The hunters are hunted, white water runs red.
The gnawers are sent to extinguish the rest.
The hope of the hopeless resides in a quest.

An Overlander Warrior, a son of the sun,
May bring us back light, he may bring us back none.
But gather your neighbors and follow his call
or rats will most surely devour us all.

Two over, two under, of royal descent,
Two fliers, two crawlers, two spinners assent.
One gnawer beside and one lost up ahead.
And eight will be left when we count up the dead.

The last who will die must decide where he stands.
The fate of the eight is contained in his hands.
So bid him take care, bid him look where he leaps,
As life may be death, and death life again reaps.

Mentioned characters

• Bartholomew of Sandwich, who led a group of humans down from the Overland into the Underland, saw into the future and carved prophecies – which called Gregor the "Warrior" – into stone walls in a room filled with Prophecies
• Luxa's parents, who are described as being killed by rats, which is why Luxa holds a grudge against all rats, good and bad.
• Ripred's mate and pups
• Henry and Nerissa's parents

Groups

The creatures in the series resemble their real-life counterparts in almost every way, aside from being very large (most of them being bigger than the humans) and able to speak in the novels.

• Humans: Sometimes referred to as the "Killers" by certain Underland species, Underland Humans live, mainly, in the city of Regalia.
• Crawlers (Cockroaches): They call Boots the "Princess".
• Spinners (Spiders): They provide several types of silk.
• Fliers (Bats): These creatures "bond" with their human counterparts in a ceremony.
• Gnawers (Rats): They are the penurious of the story. Most of the Gnawers are rude and unmannered.
• Shiners (Fireflies): Eat too much, are lazy and unreliable.
• Nibblers (Mice): Are allied to the humans.
• Stingers (Scorpions): Are allied by the humans by book 4.
• Diggers (Moles): Introduced in book 5. They are the true founders of the Underland.
• Twisters (Snakes): Introduced in book 4.
• Hissers (Lizards): Introduced in book 3.
• Cutters (Ants): Enemies of all warmbloods. Introduced in book 3.
• Slimers: (Snails): Are mentioned by Howard in book 4.
• Lobsters: They are briefly mentioned by Vikus in book 3; Ripred had tried to invade the Fount with an army of them.

who dies: 1. Tick 2. Gox 3. Treflex 4. Henry

Reception

Gregor the Overlander received positive reviews upon release, receiving good ratings on many book websites. The Underland Chronicles as a whole received positive reviews.