Is President Snow really the best protagonist for the Hunger Games prequel?

The first excerpt of The Hunger Games prequel reveals that fans will be following a shocking protagonist in Suzanne Collins’ new book: a young President Snow.

Fans of The Hunger Games were elated by the announcement last June that Suzanne Collins would be returning to the world of Panem after years of not writing anything at all. With the current political climate, it seemed like the perfect time for a new story about the corruption and cruelty surrounding the Hunger Games — but it looks like the prequel will be told from a very different perspective than Katniss’.

Entertainment Weekly released the first excerpt of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes yesterday, along with a new description of the book’s protagonist. And many were shocked to discover that it won’t be Mags or one of the other tributes we’re following, but instead, a younger President Snow.

Yes, that’s right — we’re getting Coriolanus Snow’s villain origin story. It’s an interesting choice, and it’s one that’s gotten some negative feedback from fans, particularly since the synopsis and excerpt alone seem to paint the villain as some sort of misunderstood hero when we enter the book. In fact, EW even calls him as much, writing that he’s “a teenager born to privilege but searching for something more, a far cry from the man we know he will become. Here, he’s friendly. He’s charming. And, for now anyway, he’s a hero.”

Given what we know about President Snow — you know, that he’s a tyrant who’s successfully managed to murder hundreds of children under the guise of the Hunger Games — one has to wonder whether he’s really the best choice as a protagonist for the new prequel novel. Fans have taken to Twitter to point out the problems with humanizing such a character, and they’ve made some fair points.

Of course, his charming nature and the desire to relate to the character could be spun in a way that makes it clear just how compelling dictators can be. We’ve seen Netflix show us how easy it is to root for a character like You‘s Joe, so it’s possible we’ll come to see why President Snow became a political figure in the first place — as much as we still hate him for it.

Villain origin stories can be interesting if done correctly, but the shock of following the man who tormented Katniss and Peeta — along with so many others — will definitely be difficult to get over. Still, you know we’ll be heading to bookstores and picking up the prequel in May, as much as we wish it were about a character we actually want to cheer on.

What do you think of the revelation that Coriolanus Snow will be the main character of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes? Sound off in the comments below.