Catching Fire, Chapter 25
May. 27th, 2011 11:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
farlaLast time on Johanna is awesome, Johanna was awesome and there were some birds but Johanna didn't care because she's awesome.
So Katniss wakes up and is feeling weirdly happy because she's been thinking about Peeta, even though she's pretty doomed.
They're sent more rolls again. Katniss worries, for once quite reasonably, about her allies. They're now the majority of the surviving tributes, so it's a good time to turn on each other. Of course, she choses to think about this in the most insane manner possible.
What if I am wrong about the others protecting Peeta? If things were simply coincidental, or it's all been a strategy to win our trust to make us easy prey
You know what easy prey is? A guy with a stopped heart. All Duke Devlin had to do was say "Quick, Katniss, take over CPR for a minute!" and he could've stabbed them both in one go. Even for paranoia this is pretty unreasonable.
Katniss decides that she has no idea what's going on, so they should probably split. Again, reasonable. I'm actually pretty glad to see her finally making decisions based on fear and uncertainty, rather than just her love of shooting people in the face.
Katniss gets her precious millstone into the water under the pretense of teaching him to swim and then says it's time to go.
“Tell you what,” he says. “Let's stick around until Brutus and Enobaria are dead. I think Beetee's trying to put together some kind of trap for them now. Then, I promise, we'll go.”
That's dumb and you're dumb for thinking it. If their allies are going to turn on them, it'll be right after (if not at the same time as) setting off that trap. Better to run now and hope both groups kill each other off.
Katniss is dubious, but then for some reason thinks if we leave now, we'll have two sets of adversaries after us. which no, there's no reason for everyone to assume both groups will make killing her their first priority.
And then there's Beetee to think of. Johanna only brought him for me, and if we leave she'll surely kill him. Then I remember. I can't protect Beetee, too. There can only be one victor and it has to be Peeta. I must accept this. I must make decisions based on his survival only.
So close and yet so terribly far. Katniss does admit that yes, keeping Peeta alive means someone else dies in his place, but she never considers if this is actually right.
“All right,” I say. “We'll stay until the Careers are dead.
At last, confirmation: the book has officially retconned away that Duke Devlin is also from a district that trains their kids.
They go back and Beetee says he has a plan for killing the careers that aren't Duke Devlin.
“Wait, let me get Johanna up,” says Finnick. “She'll be rabid if she thinks she missed something this important.”
“Or not,” I mutter, since she's always pretty much rabid
Once again, Katniss, no, that'd be you.
Beetee is probably about a million times smarter than the rest of us.
Unlike Wiress. She was just "intuitive". Beetee is capable of actually planning complex things. Wiress' highest calling was to die for them.
Beetee's plan is nonsense. He says that the other group is probably hanging out near the beach, because the jungle is deadly and the beach offers food.
So what I'm suggesting is that after the bolt hits at noon, but before it hits at midnight, we run my wire from that tree all the way down into the saltwater, which is, of course, highly conductive. When the bolt strikes, the electricity will travel down the wire and into not only the water but also the surrounding beach, which will still be damp from the ten o'clock wave. Anyone in contact with those surfaces at that moment will be electrocuted,” says Beetee.
Or they could just kill them because they outnumber and outclass them in every way.
Katniss thinks this seems like a weird plan too, but figures Beetee knows what he's doing. She doesn't really know electronics, after all.
Peeta takes a stab at it. “Will that wire really be able to conduct that much power, Beetee? It looks so fragile, like it would just burn up.”
“Oh, it will. But not until the current has passed through it. It will act something like a fuse, in fact. Except the electricity will travel along it,” says Beetee
What. How does that help anything? Why would you do that? If anything, it sounds like the wire would be a fuse only in the sense of blowing a fuse. But hey. I don't really know much about electricity either...though given the book's track record on everything I do know, I can still assume this is probably nonsense.
Johanna wants to know how he knows this, and it turns out Beetee invented the failwire.
not actually wire in the usual sense. Nor is the lightning natural lightning nor the tree a real tree. You know trees better than any of us, Johanna. It would be destroyed by now, wouldn't it?”
“Yes,” she says glumly.
“Don't worry about the wire — it will do just what I say,” Beetee assures us.
::::( why doesn't Johanna like the plan? I don't like a plan Johanna doesn't like.
Beetee also says this will probably kill all the seafood, but there are still animals to eat in the jungle so they'll be okay. Also they keep getting sent bread so they could probably live off sponsor gifts for a while.
Katniss says that no one can really raise any objections.
Finnick looks at Johanna and raises his eyebrows. He will not go forward without her. “All right,” she says finally. “It's better than hunting them down in the jungle, anyway. And I doubt they'll figure out our plan, since we can barely understand it ourselves.”
The book is lampshade hanging! And as usual, failing at it. The plan really isn't particularly complex, it's just bizarre. It relies on the idea that the other group will be hanging out near the most visually distinctive of the various traps right when it's going off and that the area will be wet enough to carry a charge.
I wish Haymitch would stop sending us that District 3 bread and get us some more of that District 4 stuff, because I've sweated out buckets in the last two days, and even though I've had the fish, I'm craving salt. A piece of ice would be another good idea. Or a cold drink of water. I'm grateful for the fluid from the trees, but it's the same temperature as the seawater
Katniss is really, really stupid. There's just no other way to describe this.
Beetee is still messing around the tree, doing I don't know what, taking measurements and such. At one point he snaps off a sliver of bark, joins us, and throws it against the force field. It bounces back and lands on the ground, glowing. In a few moments it returns to its original color. “Well, that explains a lot,” says Beetee. I look at Peeta and can't help biting my lip to keep from laughing since it explains absolutely nothing to anyone but Beetee.
...it explains why the "tree" is still standing, because it's not flammable. You don't need a fancy education to work that out. But I grudgingly admit this is in character for someone bitching about lack of salt and saltwater in the same breath.
The square next to them is clicking insects, and they decide to take off because they don't want to find out what those are like. They decide to retreat and eat food before going back. Katniss helps gather oysters.
it's lovely, deep down under the water, like being in a different world. The water's very clear, and schools of bright-hued fish and strange sea flowers decorate the sand floor.
This is a nice little description. It's weird, though - Katniss makes no reference to the fact they're planning to electrocute this lovely underwater world. That's not really surprising, since that's how this book has dealt with every other issue, but it continues to disappoint.
Peeta finds a pearl in one.
“You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls,” he says earnestly to Finnick.
“No, it doesn't,” says Finnick dismissively. But I crack up, remembering that's how a clueless Effie Trinket presented us to the people of the Capitol last year,
Haaaaaaaate.
Peeta gives it to Katniss and Katniss starts internal monologuing about how he's her enemy in the sense that he's trying to die for her and that gets in the way of her plan to die for him. Apparently she monologues so hard Peeta notices.
The laughter drains from those eyes, and they are staring so intensely into mine, it's like they can read my thoughts. “The locket didn't work, did it?” Peeta says, even though Finnick is right there. Even though everyone can hear him. “Katniss?”
“It worked,” I say.
“But not the way I wanted it to,” he says, averting his glance. After that he will look at nothing but oysters.
Way to fail, Katniss.
They're sent more bread and they all eat.
We gorge ourselves until no one can hold another bite, and even then there are leftovers. They won't keep, though, so we toss all the remaining food back into the water so the Careers won't get it when we leave.
...but you're setting a trap. Why not leave it out near where you're planning to electrocute them? That's a hell of a lot better of a plan than hoping they're in range.
Our dramatic ending line this time is underwhelming and overly angsty. Katniss wraps up the pearl and ties it to her waist so it'll be retrieved with her body.
Surely my mother and Prim will know to return it to Peeta before they bury my body.
Yeah I'm sure he'll love having the gift he gave you returned after he failed to save you what the fuck Katniss. It's like you want him to have a breakdown.
But honestly, still not that bad in terms of interest-keeping The actual games chapters are so much better than the dull nothingness of the rest. Shame they're only a third of the book.
Speaking of which, we're almost done! Finally. Two more chapters and the book ends.
So Katniss wakes up and is feeling weirdly happy because she's been thinking about Peeta, even though she's pretty doomed.
They're sent more rolls again. Katniss worries, for once quite reasonably, about her allies. They're now the majority of the surviving tributes, so it's a good time to turn on each other. Of course, she choses to think about this in the most insane manner possible.
What if I am wrong about the others protecting Peeta? If things were simply coincidental, or it's all been a strategy to win our trust to make us easy prey
You know what easy prey is? A guy with a stopped heart. All Duke Devlin had to do was say "Quick, Katniss, take over CPR for a minute!" and he could've stabbed them both in one go. Even for paranoia this is pretty unreasonable.
Katniss decides that she has no idea what's going on, so they should probably split. Again, reasonable. I'm actually pretty glad to see her finally making decisions based on fear and uncertainty, rather than just her love of shooting people in the face.
Katniss gets her precious millstone into the water under the pretense of teaching him to swim and then says it's time to go.
“Tell you what,” he says. “Let's stick around until Brutus and Enobaria are dead. I think Beetee's trying to put together some kind of trap for them now. Then, I promise, we'll go.”
That's dumb and you're dumb for thinking it. If their allies are going to turn on them, it'll be right after (if not at the same time as) setting off that trap. Better to run now and hope both groups kill each other off.
Katniss is dubious, but then for some reason thinks if we leave now, we'll have two sets of adversaries after us. which no, there's no reason for everyone to assume both groups will make killing her their first priority.
And then there's Beetee to think of. Johanna only brought him for me, and if we leave she'll surely kill him. Then I remember. I can't protect Beetee, too. There can only be one victor and it has to be Peeta. I must accept this. I must make decisions based on his survival only.
So close and yet so terribly far. Katniss does admit that yes, keeping Peeta alive means someone else dies in his place, but she never considers if this is actually right.
“All right,” I say. “We'll stay until the Careers are dead.
At last, confirmation: the book has officially retconned away that Duke Devlin is also from a district that trains their kids.
They go back and Beetee says he has a plan for killing the careers that aren't Duke Devlin.
“Wait, let me get Johanna up,” says Finnick. “She'll be rabid if she thinks she missed something this important.”
“Or not,” I mutter, since she's always pretty much rabid
Once again, Katniss, no, that'd be you.
Beetee is probably about a million times smarter than the rest of us.
Unlike Wiress. She was just "intuitive". Beetee is capable of actually planning complex things. Wiress' highest calling was to die for them.
Beetee's plan is nonsense. He says that the other group is probably hanging out near the beach, because the jungle is deadly and the beach offers food.
So what I'm suggesting is that after the bolt hits at noon, but before it hits at midnight, we run my wire from that tree all the way down into the saltwater, which is, of course, highly conductive. When the bolt strikes, the electricity will travel down the wire and into not only the water but also the surrounding beach, which will still be damp from the ten o'clock wave. Anyone in contact with those surfaces at that moment will be electrocuted,” says Beetee.
Or they could just kill them because they outnumber and outclass them in every way.
Katniss thinks this seems like a weird plan too, but figures Beetee knows what he's doing. She doesn't really know electronics, after all.
Peeta takes a stab at it. “Will that wire really be able to conduct that much power, Beetee? It looks so fragile, like it would just burn up.”
“Oh, it will. But not until the current has passed through it. It will act something like a fuse, in fact. Except the electricity will travel along it,” says Beetee
What. How does that help anything? Why would you do that? If anything, it sounds like the wire would be a fuse only in the sense of blowing a fuse. But hey. I don't really know much about electricity either...though given the book's track record on everything I do know, I can still assume this is probably nonsense.
Johanna wants to know how he knows this, and it turns out Beetee invented the failwire.
not actually wire in the usual sense. Nor is the lightning natural lightning nor the tree a real tree. You know trees better than any of us, Johanna. It would be destroyed by now, wouldn't it?”
“Yes,” she says glumly.
“Don't worry about the wire — it will do just what I say,” Beetee assures us.
::::( why doesn't Johanna like the plan? I don't like a plan Johanna doesn't like.
Beetee also says this will probably kill all the seafood, but there are still animals to eat in the jungle so they'll be okay. Also they keep getting sent bread so they could probably live off sponsor gifts for a while.
Katniss says that no one can really raise any objections.
Finnick looks at Johanna and raises his eyebrows. He will not go forward without her. “All right,” she says finally. “It's better than hunting them down in the jungle, anyway. And I doubt they'll figure out our plan, since we can barely understand it ourselves.”
The book is lampshade hanging! And as usual, failing at it. The plan really isn't particularly complex, it's just bizarre. It relies on the idea that the other group will be hanging out near the most visually distinctive of the various traps right when it's going off and that the area will be wet enough to carry a charge.
I wish Haymitch would stop sending us that District 3 bread and get us some more of that District 4 stuff, because I've sweated out buckets in the last two days, and even though I've had the fish, I'm craving salt. A piece of ice would be another good idea. Or a cold drink of water. I'm grateful for the fluid from the trees, but it's the same temperature as the seawater
Katniss is really, really stupid. There's just no other way to describe this.
Beetee is still messing around the tree, doing I don't know what, taking measurements and such. At one point he snaps off a sliver of bark, joins us, and throws it against the force field. It bounces back and lands on the ground, glowing. In a few moments it returns to its original color. “Well, that explains a lot,” says Beetee. I look at Peeta and can't help biting my lip to keep from laughing since it explains absolutely nothing to anyone but Beetee.
...it explains why the "tree" is still standing, because it's not flammable. You don't need a fancy education to work that out. But I grudgingly admit this is in character for someone bitching about lack of salt and saltwater in the same breath.
The square next to them is clicking insects, and they decide to take off because they don't want to find out what those are like. They decide to retreat and eat food before going back. Katniss helps gather oysters.
it's lovely, deep down under the water, like being in a different world. The water's very clear, and schools of bright-hued fish and strange sea flowers decorate the sand floor.
This is a nice little description. It's weird, though - Katniss makes no reference to the fact they're planning to electrocute this lovely underwater world. That's not really surprising, since that's how this book has dealt with every other issue, but it continues to disappoint.
Peeta finds a pearl in one.
“You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls,” he says earnestly to Finnick.
“No, it doesn't,” says Finnick dismissively. But I crack up, remembering that's how a clueless Effie Trinket presented us to the people of the Capitol last year,
Haaaaaaaate.
Peeta gives it to Katniss and Katniss starts internal monologuing about how he's her enemy in the sense that he's trying to die for her and that gets in the way of her plan to die for him. Apparently she monologues so hard Peeta notices.
The laughter drains from those eyes, and they are staring so intensely into mine, it's like they can read my thoughts. “The locket didn't work, did it?” Peeta says, even though Finnick is right there. Even though everyone can hear him. “Katniss?”
“It worked,” I say.
“But not the way I wanted it to,” he says, averting his glance. After that he will look at nothing but oysters.
Way to fail, Katniss.
They're sent more bread and they all eat.
We gorge ourselves until no one can hold another bite, and even then there are leftovers. They won't keep, though, so we toss all the remaining food back into the water so the Careers won't get it when we leave.
...but you're setting a trap. Why not leave it out near where you're planning to electrocute them? That's a hell of a lot better of a plan than hoping they're in range.
Our dramatic ending line this time is underwhelming and overly angsty. Katniss wraps up the pearl and ties it to her waist so it'll be retrieved with her body.
Surely my mother and Prim will know to return it to Peeta before they bury my body.
Yeah I'm sure he'll love having the gift he gave you returned after he failed to save you what the fuck Katniss. It's like you want him to have a breakdown.
But honestly, still not that bad in terms of interest-keeping The actual games chapters are so much better than the dull nothingness of the rest. Shame they're only a third of the book.
Speaking of which, we're almost done! Finally. Two more chapters and the book ends.
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-28 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-28 05:32 pm (UTC)I saw some fans on LJ reacting to a magazine spread about the movie in which a picture of Katniss is captioned "The Chosen One" by basically laughing their asses off. "More like 'The One Who Volunteered To Save Her Sister.'" And, yeah, obviously, whoever came up with that doesn't Get It, but then... neither does the author, half the time.
chap 25
Date: 2011-05-29 11:18 am (UTC)they seem to be following the trope Beauty equals Goodness virtually religiously here... I'd bet my lifesavings that the careers (e.g. 'foxface') all look terrible (well for hollywood standards anyway).
Re: chap 25
Date: 2011-05-29 05:03 pm (UTC)And Glimmer is supposed to be beautiful, so I'm sure fans would be pissed off if they took that path.