My "Wednesday Writing" posts were initially created as a writing exercise for me to try and keep myself motivated and on track by making sure that I spend at least 30-60 minutes each week (with the follow-up goal to turn it into a daily writing practice).

Over the past few weeks, I've been continuing the same story with a single post each week. To help you catch up with this serialized story, you can use the following table of contents:

1. Morning Machinations
2. Communication Between Friends
3. Daydreaming Decisions
4. Off to the Park
5. Driven
6. Coming Home
7. Revealing Photographs
8. Just a Dream?
9. At the Tower
10. Caught
11. Revelations
12. Lunchtime
13. The Watch
14. Visions
15. Escape
16. Evan (part 1)
17. Evan (part 2)
18. Evan (part 3)
19. Formulating a Plan
20. Testing the Boxes
21. Betrayal
22. Julie
23. Out of Time
24. A Problem of Paradoxes
25. Taking Charge

I'm still not sure I like this particular direction. This scene was fun to write. It's kind of a mess as far as editing goes (I found myself changing tense inadvertently, screwing up voice, tone, etc) but generally it was kind of fun.

The real question for me is....have I written myself into a messy corner? And if so, can I get back where I need to go and still keep this direction going or do I need to go back a scene or two and modify the direction.

Anyway, critiques, suggestions, comments, etc. always welcome.

Enjoy.

---

As the mist cleared Gabby shook her head and rubbed her eyes. The world came back into focus more quickly than on her previous trips into the box. In the driver's seat, Julie stared into her box with a blank stare. She wished there was some way to communicate with Julie while they were both Observing. She hadn't thought about the fact that they'd both be on their own with no way to coordinate with the other. She watched the waxy face of Julie for a moment longer and then decided to get to work.

She closed her eyes and imagined Evan as she had seen him earlier getting into Dalton's car. As she did, her hear filled with the emotions from that instant when she felt he had betrayed her. Her mind pulled her forward to the conversation in Dalton's library where he had apparently redeemed himself and proved that he had her best intentions at heart. As she conjured up images of him in the car with Dalton, she promised herself that she would find out the truth once and for all.

Silence gave way to garbled voices and in an instant Gabby was surrounded by conversation. She opened her eyes and found herself in Dalton's care. She was surprised to find herself sitting awkwardly on Evan's lap, squashed between him and the dashboard. She struggled to get comfortable, wedged between his legs and the glove compartment, her neck and shoulders strained at harsh angles and pressing against the windshield and passenger window.

"You'd better be right Evan. You know how much is riding on this."

Dalton's voice was harsh and intense.

"We'll get her back. Don't worry."

Evan spoke almost directly in Gabby's ear, his breath warm against the back of her neck. She craned her neck around to the backseat and saw two of Dalton's bodyguards placidly watching the conversation. She strained and twisted, trying to pull herself away from Evan and into the backseat where she could move more liberally. Regardless of how she twisted and turned, she couldn't free her lower legs enough to push away.

She screamed in frustration then came up with an idea. She looked intently at one of the men in the back seat. She concentrated on his face, his motionless mannerisms. She closed her eyes and kept his image before her. A moment later, she felt the pain and pressure ease from her legs. Opening her eyes, she was in the backseat, leaning against the bodyguard. She heard a subtle gasp from Evan and he quickly glanced around then held still once again.

Twinges of near pain sparked through her legs as the blood flowed freely. She scooted into the middle of the back seat and leaned forward to observe the men in front. Dalton's fingers wrung at the steering wheel and she heard his teeth grind in his clenched jaw. Evan looked calm and serene. He had one hand resting on the arm rest, his index finger tapping lightly. His eyes seemed intently focused on the road ahead, but Gabby noticed he was slowly shifting his gaze back and forth, up and down. At times, it seemed he was looking inside the car as much as outside.

Through the darkened windows, Gabby tried to determine her bearings. The car exited the highway and she recognized the twists and turns of the road as leading to Riverside Park. It seemed like ages since she'd gone there following the strange messages. Had it really only been one day since then?

She recognized the initial turns away from the park as the same route she'd taken last night as she followed the instructions to drive from the park to Carlisle's house. The car slowly wound through the dark neighborhood. Only one or two of the homes had any lights on at all. No streetlights lit the blackness around the car. Then, Dalton switched off the headlights and slowed the car to a crawl. Gabby's skin exploded into goosebumps and a cold shiver shot through her body.

No one spoke. The silence compounded the darkness, covering Gabby like a heavy, icy blanket. Her breathing quickened and she strained to look out the windows and find any evidence of life outside the car then looked anxiously at the grey silhouettes around her in the car. A moment later, the car stopped completely and Dalton pulled on the emergency brake. Staring outside, it takes a moment for Gabby to recognize Dalton's home still 50 yards or more up the street.

"Evan. You wait here. Samuel, David and I will go and fetch Mr. Carlisle and be back in a moment."

"What do you mean, wait here?"

"Just what I said Evan. After what happened with the girl, I'm still not sure I trust you. Gentlemen? Please make sure Evan remains here."

Evan spun to look into the backseat only to turn his face directly into a flying fist of the man to Gabby's left. While Evan's head recoiled, a second punch flew forward and caught him on the left temple. Meanwhile, the man on the right half-climbed over the front seat and with a series of metallic clicks Evan was handcuffed to the door. Everything happened so fast Gabby had a hard time following the action. Evan seemed similarly confused as he twisted and turned, pulling his right arm tight against the handcuffs.

"Come along gentlemen. Let's go invite Mr. Carlisle to join us."

Gabby felt the cold night air rush in around her as the three men pushed open the doors and stepped out into the darkness. Each of the doors was slowly closed so as to make no sound. Dalton had left the car running. Aside from the subtle idle of the engine, everything was silent once again.

Then Evan started to strain at the handcuffs again. He yanked his arm hard again and again, trying to force the door handle to break away from the frame. He twisted around and pressed his feet against the door and pulled at the handcuffs with the force of his body. With an exasperated groan, he leaned back into the seat and stared through the windshield at the ghostly silhouettes of Dalton and his mean slinking up towards Carlisle's darkened house.

Gabby climbed over the front seat and stared into his face. She was about to focus on Dalton and leave the car to watch the interaction between Dalton and Carlisle, when Evan's face took on a pained expression and he began speaking.

"Gabby? Is that you? What are you doing?"

He groaned again and flailed his arms, pulling hard against the door once again. He turned his head quickly from side to side, then focussed on a patch of air just to the side of Gabby's shoulder.

"I don't know what you hope to gain by watching me like this. We're in a world of trouble and we need to get out of it."

His eyes flashed bright and intense as he stared towards her. Gabby wished there was something she could do to help him. He started riffling through the glove compartment and digging through the other compartments and pockets lining the interior of the car, searching for something to help free him.

"Why didn't you just wait for me so we could do this together?"

His voice was harsh and accusing. Gabby met his eyes but had to look away when she saw the pain and anger mirrored there.

"I told you we would work through this together. You still don't trust me, do you? What do I have to do to…"

His rant was interrupted by a loud clanging on the hood of the car. All eyes whipped towards the darkness. Across the lawn, the three shadows had paused for a moment and were looking back to the car. Then they continued on, one of them maneuvering into the back yard and the other two heading for the front door. Gabby's heart beat fast as she waited to see if the sound would repeat itself. Then, she watched as Evan softly opened the door and stepped out of the car. He pushed the door open as far as it would go, wedged himself between the frame and leaned forward, stretching out onto the hood of the car.

Gabby followed his gaze and saw the slight metallic glint of something small sitting on the car. She slid out of the car behind Evan and moved around to the front of the car. There, sitting on the hood, was a pair of metal shears. Evan's fingers pulled eagerly at the rubber handles, just barely out of reach. Gabby tried to press them towards him but they may as well have been welded to the hood for as much good as Gabby could do. She watched and prayed in silence as the shears slid ever so slowly closer to Evan's grasp.

Muffled shouts came from the house and Gabby turned to see what was going on there. Light came from a single window on the upper floor. Shadows moved quickly through the light, but from where she was, she couldn't tell what was going on. She turned back to Evan and found him working with the shears to cut through the handcuffs. Gabby suddenly worries that the shears won't work since most handcuffs these days are specifically built to disallow such simplistic tampering efforts. To her relief, she hears a sharp metallic snip just as she rounds the door and she watches as Evan fiddles with the new handcuff styled bracelet around his right wrist.

More indistinct shouting pulls Gabby's eyes back to the house. Shadows bustle around in the lighted upstairs window and then move out of sight. A muffled thud comes from the ground behind her and she turns back to see Evan already squatting over something on the grass at the side of the road. She watches as he stares into the dark yards all around them. Then more sounds erupt from Carlisle's house and, looking back, three figures emerge from the front door. Evan picks something up from the grass and slides back into the front seat of the car and shuts the door. Gabby looks inside and sees him fiddling with something then turns to watch the house.

A single figure is in front, walking with a stumbling, ambling manner and occasionally being pushed by the figure immediately behind him. The last figure stands at the open doorway, calling into the house. After a few minutes, he tosses something inside and follows the other two. Gabby takes a step towards them when suddenly the world is filled with an enormous booming sound. A cloud of flame bursts through the front door and the side windows of the home. Even from two yards away, Gabby felt the rush of heat whip past her like a hot summer wind. In the flash of light, she finally catches a glimpse of the man in front, presumably Carlisle as he stumbles and fall to his knees. The bodyguard behind him kicked him in the stomach and then grabbed his shoulders to try and pull him up. Dalton trotted forward in a slow jog.

From the corner of her eyes another flash of motion catches her attention. Off in the darkness to the right, she sees something pushing through the bushes along the house. The figure then bolts out from behind the bushes at the edge of the driveway and sprints up the road in the opposite direction. As the person runs, Gabby feels a sense of familiarity but can't quite place it. She turns back to Dalton and sees him hopping beside his bodyguard, head tilted towards him to say something. The bodyguard gives Carlisle a shove to the ground and then starts sprinting along the road. His heavy footsteps pound past the car as he chases the one witness who can shed light on this event.

Gabby turned back to the house and watched in horror as yellow and orange flames lick along the outside of the house. She feels something slam against her from behind and turns to find the car door open and Evan standing behind it, hiding his hands below the window frame.

"What did you do?"

Gabby isn't sure Dalton heard anything above the rumbling sound of the fire, especially since he was so much closer than they were. Dalton caught up with his bodyguard and helped push Carlisle forward at a quicker pace. Evan shouted again.

"Walter! What did you do?"

At this, Dalton paused for a moment and looked back over his shoulder at the destruction behind him.

"Oh, just a little assurance to make sure Mr. Carlisle here doesn't try to back out on our agreement. If he does everything just as we ask, I'll gladly come back here and turn off the main gas main. In that case, the grenade will only cause minimal damage to the main entry."

Gabby shook her head. She tried to make sense of what Dalton was saying. He'd come here to grab Carlisle for some reason. But then rather than just kidnapping him like he'd done with Julie and Gabby, Dalton had decided to blow up the man's house? What was going through this man's head? Her mind clouded over and the world seemed to move in muffled slow motion.

Behind her the sound of squealing tires tore through the other sounds. Gabby spun and saw the silhouette of the bodyguard framed by a pair of shining headlights of a car racing up the road. Gabby watched as the bodyguard's shadowy form dove to the side of the road to barely avoid the car as it swerved towards him. The car swerved too tightly in its attempt to hit the man. It bounded over the sidewalk and smashed through a wooden fence of a home across the street.

Gabby heard shouts from the bodyguard accompanied by popping sounds, barely audible amid the commotion of the fire and the speeding car. Looking back, she saw the bodyguard running forward, gun in hand firing rapidly at the weaving vehicle. The car bounced back off the sidewalk into the center of the road. As it neared Gabby standing by Dalton's car, Gabby heard the clanging of bullets hitting the frame. Then another sound cracked through the air followed by more squealing of tires and violent swerving as the car struggled to drive down the road.

As the car passed Gabby, she realized the bodyguard had shot out one of the tires. But at the same moment, her body sunk as another realization came to her. She recognized the car. Her recognition turned to fear as she watched driver intently pulled at the steering wheel, wildly whipping her head around trying to make sense of the scene. Meanwhile, in the passenger seat, a girl sat nearly motionless staring into a small box pressed against the dashboard.

The car continued to swerve and headed for the sidewalk again, this time pointed directly at Dalton and Carlisle. Dalton gave Carlisle a shove to one side while diving to the other. The car careened towards Dalton who stood and tried to jump further away. From where she was, Gabby couldn't tell exactly what happened, but Dalton spun away from the front corner of the car and fell to the ground. Gabby rushed forward and watched in horror as the car continued speeding towards the burning house. She sprinted after it, screaming at Julie to stop the car.

Seconds later, the car slammed into the burning home. Embers shot out of the house like fireflies swarming around the car. The front wall of the home shuddered, then fell with a crunch and buried the vehicle from sight. Gabby paused for a moment and stared all around her, trying to convince herself of the reality of what was going on. Behind her, Evan ran forward with a gun in his hand. He slowed as he approached Dalton, then knelt over him and nudged him with the gun. Gabby saw the staggering form of Carlisle trying to get to his feet.

Then she turned back to the house and ran forward. The heat was intense. The car was buried up to the trunk in blackened, burning planks of wood and vinyl siding. Across the street, porch lights flickered on and the stunned terrified faces of nameless neighbors stared back at Gabby. She turned back to Evan and watched him shove Dalton into the back seat of the car before climbing into the driver's seat and speeding away. Gabby continued trying to inch towards the car embedded in the burning home, but the intense heat forced her back and the flames drowned her screams.

She fell to the ground and cried. As she reached up to wipe the tears from her face, she realized that she still clutched the box in her hands. With a feeling of relief, she reached down and pressed the Black Bailout button. She felt a surge of pressure wrap around her and she felt as though she was being pulled to her feet. The world spun and a moment later, the heat of the fire disappeared and she found herself staring through the windshield of the car at the side of the road. Smiling and fighting back tears, she turned to the driver's seat to hug Julie. But Julie wasn't there.

Well, it's been a while since I've looked at my blog on the actual page. I read my own posts via an aggregate Reader and so I miss the formatting. Imagine my surprise when I hit my page today and noticed a lot of the formatting/images were broken or missing.

I've been using a "free template" for the past year or so. I'm not sure if the free place has gone down altogether or not. So, for now, I just want to apologize for people who may read things on my actual blog site...I'll spend some time over the coming days/weeks getting the formatting right.

Although, this has brought up a question in my mind as far as how much of a priority this would be. So, I've added a little poll in my sidebar. Yes, I acknowledge that in order to actually view this poll you have to click through to the blog which seems almost counterproductive to the poll...but it was the quickest/easiest way to do this.

So, please click through and take the poll to fulfill my curiosity. Also, I'm curious if anybody has any recommendations on free blogger templates that are kind of cool. I could get ambitious and try to code my own...but I feel like I've got other higher priorities and so I haven't yet bothered to learn the syntax/requirements.

Thanks.

My "Wednesday Writing" posts were initially created as a writing exercise for me to try and keep myself motivated and on track by making sure that I spend at least 30-60 minutes each week (with the follow-up goal to turn it into a daily writing practice).

Over the past few weeks, I've been continuing the same story with a single post each week. To help you catch up with this serialized story, you can use the following table of contents:

1. Morning Machinations
2. Communication Between Friends
3. Daydreaming Decisions
4. Off to the Park
5. Driven
6. Coming Home
7. Revealing Photographs
8. Just a Dream?
9. At the Tower
10. Caught
11. Revelations
12. Lunchtime
13. The Watch
14. Visions
15. Escape
16. Evan (part 1)
17. Evan (part 2)
18. Evan (part 3)
19. Formulating a Plan
20. Testing the Boxes
21. Betrayal
22. Julie
23. Out of Time
24. A Problem of Paradoxes

Some more interlude, but moving forward.

Anyway, critiques, suggestions, comments, etc. always welcome.

Enjoy.

---

Gabby had no idea how long she cried on Julie's shoulder. She felt disoriented and strangely cold. Holding onto Julie just seemed like the right thing to do. And from the way Julie was tightly hugging her and silently shuddering, Gabby knew that this was helpful to her as well.

But after a few moments, she pushed her friend back and broke the embrace with a smile.

"It's good to see you Jules. I'm so glad you're alright."

Julie sniffled and then hopped to her feet, looked quickly at her watch and then pulled Gabby up.

"We have to go! We don't have much time!"

Gabby started walking to the closed door in front of her but Julie was walking in the other direction. She turned and realized that Julie hadn't come in through the door. The sliding glass door leading to the interior courtyard of the hotel had been shattered. A sprinkling of glass twinkled lightly along the dingy brown carpet. The heavy red drapes were pushed aside and the thin white curtain ruffled into the room. Julie looked back and saw Gabby's gaze.

"Sorry. I couldn't think of another way to get into your room. At least not quickly. They're probably going to charge you for that."

Julie laughed and hopped over to the fluttering curtains. She pulled the curtain aside, debated for a moment about climbing back through the shattered glass, then slid the door open.

"Come on. We need to hurry!"

In the parking lot, Gabby climbed into the passenger seat of the silver Mercedes. She still hadn't bothered to figure out where all the money came from. Evan said Dalton was a college professor. Gabby wasn't a finance wiz, but she was fairly certain most professor's didn't live on a huge estate with dozens of luxury cars. Nor did they have piles of their own personal cash lying around to fund sketchy scientific projects like a time machine. Just another shady skeleton in Dalton's oversized closet.

She anxiously looked forward to answers. She pictured Dalton sitting handcuffed in the dining room of his own mansion. She didn't know how Evan had captured him, but she looked forward to bringing down her own style of interrogation. He had threatened her. Kidnapped her friend. Potentially killed a number of people. And all of this with a smug satisfied grin.

She looked over at Julie and smiled. The past few days were a blur of emotion. She was glad to know at least that Julie was safe now. And Julie had saved her as well. Her mind flashed back over recent events. Doubt exploded into her mind as she remembered once again the conversation between Evan and Dalton in Evan's hotel room. Some greater plan had existed in which Evan was to turn both Gabby and the repaired boxes over to Dalton.

In Dalton's home, Evan claimed to have taken care of Dalton. Then Gabby had seen Dalton handcuffed in his own dining room, sitting across from Evan. Her head whirled as she tried to decide what to believe. Was this still part of an elaborate plan to capture her? Had Evan deceived them again in convincing Julie to bring her back to Dalton? The fear and concern in Evan's voice had seemed real enough. But was his real concern for saving Gabby? Or for trying to reassemble the shambled remains of this greater plan?

Gabby looked back at Julie. She remembered the instructions from Evan. Julie was to save Gabby and then return to Dalton's home and lock herself up again before Evan and Dalton returned. Gabby pictured Julie again lying on the bed in the small, dark, locked room at Dalton's home. Anger welled up, a bubbling sensation inside her like a pot of water teetering on the edge of a rolling boil. Heat rose to the surface of her skin and she felt her muscles tense. She didn't know who to trust. But she knew she wasn't willing to risk her friend's freedom on the outrageous story of a man she barely knew. A story that could just as easily be a lie as it could be the truth. Most likely, it was some form of half truth, like everything else she'd dealt with lately.

"Stop the car."

Julie glanced at Gabby, her face wrinkled up in confusion.

"Stop the car Julie!"

Julie slammed the brakes and skidded rapidly to the shoulder of the freeway, her eyes wide and frightened. She spoke quickly, but with a whispered fear in her voice.

"What is it Gabby? What's wrong?"

"I don't want you going back to Dalton's."

"But Evan said…"

"I know what Evan said!" Gabby took a deep breath to calm herself. She'd been yelling and it was evident from Julie's face that the volume was creating an emotional whirlpool.

"I know what Evan said. But I'm not sure I trust Evan."

Julie's fear subdued to compassion.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I want some reassurance. I need to know that we're not jumping from frying pan to fire."

"How? I'm skeptical about all this. I had a hard time not laughing at Evan's lectures on time travel and the dangers of paradoxes. But that was before I actually traveled through time. Gabby. I'm scared of what happens if he was telling the truth."

The fear reappeared on Julie's face. Her eyes grew shiny and Gabby could tell she was forcing herself not to cry.

"I know. I'm scared too. But I've had too many surprises lately. It's time we take control."

She put her hand on Julie's knee and looked intently into her eyes, trying to exude confidence and strength.

"I'm done running. And I'm done doing what everybody else tells us just because they have all the information. We're changing the rules Jules."

Julie smiled and put her hand on top of Gabby's hand and patted softly.

"Alright. What are you thinking Gabby?"

Gabby leaned around into the back seat and brought forth the two boxes. The one Julie had used to come back and the one Gabby had used to Observe. Opening the lid, she was relieved to see that the lights and dials looked fully functional in both boxes.

"First, we're going to do a little research and see if we can't shed a little truth on the relations between Dalton, Evan and Carlisle. We're going to go through and Observe them as they interact. As they drive from the hotel to Carlisle's and then to Dalton's."

"But then how will I get back to Dalton's and avoid the paradox?"

"We'll stick close to them. Once we know they're heading back. Once we see there are only a few minutes left, then we return here and go back in time to this very moment. We get the full benefit of spying on them for the next 30 minutes while also having plenty of time to drive back and prevent blowing up the universe."

Julie sat silently in thought for a moment. Gabby wasn't sure yet whether or not her plan would work as expected, but she presented it with enough confidence that Julie nodded.

"OK. Let's do it."

Gabby smiled and then handed a box to Julie. Both girls manipulated the dials and switches. Gabby looked over at Julie again.

"OK. So we go back and Observe. I don't think we'll be able to see each other, so we need to coordinate. Once you're Observing, just think hard about the person you want to watch and you'll be taken to them. Try to stick close to either Evan or Dalton. Once they're on the way back to Dalton's house, we need to bailout. Then we flip the switches and Transport ourselves right back here to buy ourselves more time and get a new plan in place."

Gabby sighed and looked out into the darkness, then back to Julie.

"You ready?"

Julie nodded. Gabby smiled, then looked back at her box.

"On three. One. Two. THREE."

With a press of a button, the car filled with mist and both girls were whisked away.

Thanks to Brian at Dad at the Chalkboard for finding and sharing this video.

Too much fun.

It's good fun for editors, writers, readers, teachers, English majors or those who just groan at typos and improper punctuation out in public.




And in a related bit of fun, go check out The Great Typo Hunt. Sadly, the tour skipped right over Utah (jumped from Colorado to Washington). They're on the West coast right now and will be working their way back East from Texas through Florida and then up the not-quite-East-coast.

Anyway, the basic idea of the book/tour is finding (and correcting) spelling errors in public. In other words...doing what many of us dream of doing when we see the horribly misspelled sign in a storefront or on a billboard.

This book is sometimes classified in self-help or inspirational. It's an interesting take on each of this. It brings some cool insights and ideas but does so in an intriguing way. Apparently, the idea for this book grew out of the pre-sleep practices of the author during bouts of insomnia (or at least, times of difficulties falling asleep). She imagined a long line of individuals winding up a mountain path to visit a Holy Man.

Exploring the idea of turning it into a story, she includes the expected anecdotes and Confucius-style quips of advice but goes beyond that. About half of the focus in the book is spent following specific individuals as they slowly traverse the long line up the mountain. The trek up the mountain usually takes a number of days and thus each would-be-visitor spends hours and days introspectively preparing for the visit, dealing with their own individual demons (alcohol withdrawal, impatience, sense of entitlement, etc) such that by the time they reach the home of the Holy Man, they have often come to their own solution to their problem and merely thank the Holy Man and go on their way.

The other half of the focus naturally focuses on the Holy Man himself. His own introspections. His interactions with the various individuals. Those who visit take three basic forms: 1) Those who don't even recognize him for who he is and move on quickly. 2) Those who have solved their problems on the way up the path. and 3) Those who he sits and talks to either to gain insight in how their problem was solved or how it could be solved.

The methods and advice of the Holy Man are simple and easy to understand, but (as sometimes indicated by the complaining visitors) are either too simple (and thus they don't think they'll work) or too hard to the extent that the visitor doesn't actually want to undertake the required effort.

The Holy Man refers occasionally to different tenets of various religions but his advice and comments are non-denominational. The most detail I noticed were some references to New Testament comments from Christ. But there were also references to other non-Christian religions and even some general comments that could almost be taken as atheistic. The Holy Man indicates that while religion can be helpful to an individual, it can only truly work if the individual has a true sense of self and understanding of why they need the religion and how it applies to them individually. Just accepting a religion won't help anybody if they don't also have an understanding of who they are, their own needs, their own strengths/weaknesses, and their own scope in life and the eternities.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a simple read. Many of the individual stories are compartmentalized such that a single chapter (or sometimes two or three chapters) can be used as exemplar for a specific topic.of advice and insight. Each chapter has a title that corresponds to its general theme. So the book can be used for quick nuggets of inspirational advice. Reading the story as a whole (or just the first and last chapters) provides a higher level story of the Holy Man and his trajectory.

One of the key pieces of advice that the Holy Man gives to everyone is that "we are all Holy. I am Holy and you are Holy. And we should treat everyone with this understanding in mind." As we apply this to ourselves, it not only gives a new perspective on life and the people around us, but it also allows the entire book and the story of the Holy Man to act as an allegory for our own life. If we are all Holy, then surely, the thoughts/path/advice/trajectory within his life apply to us just as well.

If you're interested in a quick, creative, fun, inspiration read, I can recommend this book. The style is simple and accessible while also being insightful. It's delightful and profound without being presumptuous or pretentious.


4.5 out of 5 stars

View all my reviews

This is sort of a compilation of my thoughts on the entire Hunger Games trilogy. For my reviews on the individual books, click the following links:

• The Hunger Games
• Catching Fire
• Mockingjay

This post is largely a lot of free flowing ideas trying to decide why this series became such a compelling force in the literary world recently.  Read as much or as little as you like, but definitely feel free to chime in with your own ideas as to what makes The Hunger Games unique and fresh...or feel free to take the contrary position and tell me why you didn't like the book/series.


(Note: Images contained within are not my creation and are linked back to the site on which I found them...click through the image for 'original' source.  If you are the artist/owner of any of these, and want me to remove them, just let me know)

---

After reading the first two Hunger Games novels, I anxiously waited with the rest of the fans for the arrival of Mockingjay. I pre-ordered a copy but then had the added luck of winning a copy from a local bookstore, so I just took that and used the pre-order refund for more books. :)

I'll keep my thoughts generally spoiler free, but if you're completely unfamiliar with the overall Hunger Games story arc, there will certainly be some things that are spoilers to you.

***Hunger Games Series Mini-Spoilers***


To try and cover all the possible spoilers at once, here's a very quick overview of the world of The Hunger Games.

In the Hunger Games saga, readers are presented a country many years in the future situated where the United States is now. After all sorts of political/social/environmental/etc unrest/upheaval, we have arrived in a situation where a strong, centralized government exists in The Capitol led by a "President" who rules as more of a dictator. Thirteen districts surround the Capitol and provide goods and services but live as little more than slaves. 

To "keep peace" (and remind citizens/slaves of the power of the Capitol over them), an annual "Hunger Games" is staged….much like the Roman Gladiator games of old, participants are put into an arena with various supplies and weapons and commanded to fight to the death while sadistic onlookers cheer/bet/swoon over their favorites. In Book 1, Katniss Everdeen enters the arena and fights for her survival. Since the saga continues, it's probably not a huge spoiler to tell you that she survives into books 2 and 3 and becomes something of a hero to the society which is disintegrating/revolting around her.

***End of Hunger Games Spoilers***

OK, so…what's with all the hype/fandom about the Hunger Games trilogy? To me, there were two things that really made this series for me. #1, the characters. #2, the social commentary.

Characters

By the time we arrive at Mockingjay, we've really gotten to know the main characters Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch. There's also a wide range of vivid secondary characters (Gale, Cinna, President Snow, Prim, etc) who take on a larger role in this final book. A number of tributes and other secondary characters from previous books also come to the forefront to help wrap up this trilogy.

I have a hard time saying this series is character driven because truly the environment and the action really drives the story. Truly much of the story is driven by vibrant world of Panem, the stark apathy of many citizens (especially in the Capitol), the strange technology, and the driving action of the Hunger Games and the desire for revolution.

However, all of those elements would only be vaguely interesting in a "summer movie blockbuster" sort of way if it weren't for the intriguing characters.

The three most interesting characters to me were Katniss (naturally), Haymitch and President Snow.

Katniss is a very interesting protagonist since she is often very conflicted, uninformed, reluctant and changing in her opinions (mainly because she's never quite sure what she wants). She's very passionate about saving her family and friends. She has a strong sense of revenge and hatred towards the Capitol in general and President Snow in particular. But her emotions are often tainted and confused by the emotions and logic of others. She doubts the many truths explained to her by others, especially as she sees contradictions from others. She has the strength and courage to question what is right and what is wrong, but has a hard time turning those questions into answers…until presented with a strong need to make a choice, in which case her choices are almost snap judgments she worries she may regret later. In the end, she's left unsure of many things. Which I think adds to her approachability…she's real…and can't always find the real answers to the hard questions.

Haymitch is a crotchety old tribute with a lot of cynical/bitter angst against the Capitol. The author did a great job of making it difficult to fully love Haymitch. He's gruff, rude, deceitful, usually drunk and unapproachable. And yet in spite of his off-putting nature and frequent drunkenness or hangovers, he seems to be the character with the clearest vision of what is true and what is needed. He's willing to make the hard decisions and doesn't often explain his reasons or motivations. But when we dig deeper into them and see him for what he is, it seems to me that Haymitch is Katniss's strongest ally and truest friend and that he's the one who best understands her.

President Snow makes somewhat token appearances in the first book but it's evident even then that he is just a creepy, vile character. Through the second book, he becomes even more repulsive. By the third book, I felt dark and ill whenever he was in a scene. The author created an amazing villain who could be attractive and compelling on one hand (when addressing the nation) but absolutely abhorrent and just plain gross when you pulled back the covers and looked at his true nature. And yet (***minor spoiler***) near the end of Mockingjay, there comes a question whether he is the absolute evil…whether he is the 'head of the dragon' so to speak…whether by 'cutting off the head' of the Capitol, you can truly eliminate the noxious evil he seems to lead.***End minor spoiler***

What about Gale, Peeta, and the romance???
Over the summer, there were a lot of posts about Team Peeta or Team Gale or whatever…focusing on the potential romantic elements of the book. During the first novel, the romantic element was a key question to the story but it didn't drive the story. This is definitely NOT a teen romance novel. However, the questions asked in Book 1 (and continued through the end of the trilogy) lend to questions about the nature of relationships….what compels relationships to form…how are people drawn together…why are some relationships successful and some doomed to fail? Katniss starts out the trilogy with no romantic inklings at all. In recent years, she's been drawn towards Gale but largely as a best friend and as a companion and protector for her and her family. She makes it perfectly clear she has no intention of ever falling in love, getting married, or bringing any children into this horrible world. Naturally, this leads to emotional inner conflict as she tries to reconcile her devotion, loyalty and even love for her friend with the growing possibility of romantic love. The romantic element became more pronounced in the final book and did eventually reach a conclusion. I felt like it was well played. I think both of the boys were well constructed characters. And I think the romantic side plot was effective not only just to add that element but also to let the readers think about relationships. It was refreshing to see the conflict rather than to see her arbitrarily "hook up" with either boy for the sake of a relationship (which is something far too common not only in books, but also in reality).

Social Commentary

So the conversation about the romance (above) leads me to the second point I really liked about the book and the one that I really felt made it stand out as more than a simple action-adventure.

Collins did a fabulous job of creating a terrifying world with so many different layers….from class, to age, to education, to technology/agriculture, and on and on. There are so many different groups presented at conflict with each other and in many cases, neither faction is any more right or wrong than the other. And yet, a stark inequality exists in each of these cases.

The most stark distinction is between the citizens in the Capitol and the "citizens" in the districts….the distinction continues to break down even further from one district to another and then gets even more granular within the individual districts. Collins creates an amazing hierarchy from President Snow and his most loyal/intimate cronies all the way down the most wretched slave in the poorest district. In most cases, a sort of continuum exists from the "top" (Snow) to the "bottom" (wretch), but as Katniss spends time in the Capitol and each of the districts, it becomes evident that there is plenty of grey area at each level.

As Mockingjay progresses, the lines get blurred. We're faced with the stark reality that you can never tell good or evil just by looking at where a person lives, what they wear, how they talk, etc…it's just as easy for the lowliest slave in District 12 to become a hateful person as it is for a celebrated citizen of the Capitol to be compassionate and honest.

We're meant to re-examine the stereotypes we often accept blindly.

Beyond the general commentary on not making snap judgments, it seems that Collins is also commenting on the nature of society as a whole…through the use of the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games are a horrific event…sending off young kids to fight to the death….yikes. And yet, it's based in reality (or at least history) with regards to the gladiators of Rome….and stories in ancient mythology of sacrifices sent to appease the kings/emperors/gods/whatever.

Bringing it into the modern day….I see parallels in Reality Television and in the parental pushing of their children to "become something."

The first one (reality TV) will be easier to explain, so let me first address the second.

Over the years, I've known people, and seen reports on the news of others, who push their kids to become something the parent wants the kid to become….a model, an actor, a sports star, a scientist, a doctor, a lawyer. Now, don't get me wrong, it's great for parents to encourage their kids and to push them to succeed. But there are cases where this can go too far and become a disaster…or worse, can destroy the child. Many times, children may actually want the same thing their parent is pushing for. Other times, the child is acting just to help appease the parent and feel some form of affection or love. In the extremes, we end up with situations where a child can become overly sensitive, depressed, even suicidal. The kids can also grow up far too fast without knowing what it's like to really be a kid….losing some of that sense of wonder, of adventure, of passion for life. The child lives only to fulfill the single goal…to appease the parent….to be perfect.

I don't want to go into a lot of depth on this one…and I know the discussion here can be sometimes controversial. But in terms of its relation to the Hunger Games, I see a couple of parallels. The main one is in terms of the "career tributes" who are trained up from birth to try and win the Games. To me, that's just sick…training up your kid to go fight to the death and (hopefully) win by killing a couple dozen other kids. The other parallels I see are more theoristic and I'm still working through them.



As to the Reality TV aspect, I think this commentary is more apparent. The Hunger Games are a nationwide event…filled with tours, processions, speeches, interviews and finally the Games themselves. The government actually forces citizens to view the broadcasts, but there are many who actually crave the Games…who thrive on the broadcasts. People place bets on who will live and die. They cast votes and collect money to send aids to the tributes. They cheer and jeer through the production. They become obsessed with certain tributes. They wait with anxiety for the next broadcast to see how their favorite tribute did and see who died…and how. It's like the Super Bowl…or the Olypics….or Survivor….or American Idol….taken to the deadly extreme.

Now, I'm not saying our Reality TV has gone to this extreme….nor do I think it could get to this point in the recent future (and hopefully never). But the sadistic apathy of the viewers is something that I think we risk. I personally don't like Reality TV….I'm not a big television person at all. The one show I watched more than a few times was The Amazing Race and even then, I had a hard time being attached to a single team but I watched it mainly to see where they'd travel and what cool stuff they'd do.

But I do know that I've heard (and sometimes been peripherally involved, usually just as a listener) some conversations with people chatting about a variety of Reality Shows. From Survivor, to American Idol, to The Bachelor, to Dancing With The Stars, to Biggest Loser to The Apprentice…and on and on. The conversation will sometimes be a matter of "that person is so great because of this and this" but more often it's a discussion about "that contestant is awful" or "that person needs to go" or something horribly critical and derogatory. They cheer at losses as much as victories…sometimes more. The competition becomes passionate and sometimes obsessive to the point of overcoming logical thought and feeding off emotions, often negative.

Now, I acknowledge that the various "Talent" shows have given us some cool talent. And the "biggest loser" promotes healthy living and gives people something to aspire to. But shows like The Bachelor and Big Brother just promote cattiness, anger, backbiting, and all sorts of negative emotions. Sure, in the various "Love" shows, romance triumphs…or something. How romantic is it to speed date on public television with multiple partners, crazy budget and staged experiences…how real is that…how lasting could it be….what can people learn from it?


Anyway, the whole Reality TV thing is a soap box for me…and one that I felt was explored in the Hunger Games trilogy. I don't think it was wholly condemned, but it was at least presented as something to look at critically and decide if we're risking extreme behavior.

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Conclusion

OK…so this ended up being more of a rant and exploration than I desired it to be…but what I want to say in conclusion is this.

The Hunger Games trilogy is a compelling and thoughtful experience that's well worth reading and wholly recommended. In terms of a series of books, the first book can be read alone and leave you with some closure and thought provoking ideas. The second and third books, while extremely different in scope, can't really be read as stand alone novels (perhaps the third one more than the second…but there's a lot you'd miss if you only read book 3).

The emotion, tension, and anxiety increase dramatically as the series goes on. You can catch the general feel and idea from the first book…but if you read book 1 and feel too overwhelmed by the stark and terrifying world, then I would NOT recommend you continue as your sensitivities will be pushed to the extreme by the time you conclude the series.

This series is an excellent example of what a dystopia story can be. There is so much to unpack and take away. Is it perfect writing?….no, but it is a very compelling and articulate read. Is it something that will become a classic?….maybe. I actually wouldn't be surprised to see this series (at least book 1) make its way into school curriculums.

My recommendation is to read the series….try to fight down your disgust at the people and society while at the same time keeping your mind open. It may just frighten you to see similarities in our own present day America.




The Hunger Games Trilogy


5 out of 5 stars

My "Wednesday Writing" posts were initially created as a writing exercise for me to try and keep myself motivated and on track by making sure that I spend at least 30-60 minutes each week (with the follow-up goal to turn it into a daily writing practice).

Over the past few weeks, I've been continuing the same story with a single post each week. To help you catch up with this serialized story, you can use the following table of contents:

1. Morning Machinations
2. Communication Between Friends
3. Daydreaming Decisions
4. Off to the Park
5. Driven
6. Coming Home
7. Revealing Photographs
8. Just a Dream?
9. At the Tower
10. Caught
11. Revelations
12. Lunchtime
13. The Watch
14. Visions
15. Escape
16. Evan (part 1)
17. Evan (part 2)
18. Evan (part 3)
19. Formulating a Plan
20. Testing the Boxes
21. Betrayal
22. Julie
23. Out of Time

There's a lot in this week (and in last week) that is somewhat expository. I debated a few times about removing a lot of it...but then decided I'd just leave it here for now and move it around when I revise later. Just so you know, a lot of the description about Paradoxes (and the experiments there) as well as some of the exposition from last week....I figure I will move to "earlier" in the story when I revise. I'll have a lot of it come in terms of Evan's narration to the girls at a less 'urgent' moment. Part of my worry is that it may make that segment feel way too explanatory and dry...while at the same time making some of the elements forgettable by the time they matter here (in these scenes).

I guess the other question is whether these interludes of description/history from Evan really help at all? Last week there was a comment that the history helps make Dalton more despicable. If that's the case, then is it better to do it little by little (as I've done week by week here) or to get most/all of it over with at once?

Also, I obviously haven't yet explained what happened to subdue Dalton or his exact relation to Evan...that "should" happen next week if all goes well.

Anyway, critiques, suggestions, comments, etc. always welcome.

Enjoy.

---

Both Gabby and Julie stared expectantly at Evan. Gabby began pacing the library, her mind reeling from the revelation that she could be trapped in this strange limbo. An observer of the world but no longer a participant.

"Well?"

Julie broke the silence. She didn't even try to hid the impatient frustration in her voice. Evan looked up at her and then scanned the otherwise empty room. After a long sigh, he spoke. His voice was stern and serious, as if to emphasis the importance of what he was saying.

"The plan is for you to go back in time, go to the hotel, and wake Gabby up by pressing the Bailout button long before the 20 minute mark."

Both Gabby and Julie continued to stare at Evan. The severe tone of his voice led them to expect something more extreme. More dangerous. More difficult. Julie wasn't sure yet she believed everything she was being told about time travel and the people she was dealing with. But even in its most unbelievable state, the proposed plan seemed simple enough.

"Okay. What's the catch?"

"Catch?"

"Yeah. You're telling me your plan with the kind of voice a mother might use on her son heading off to war. The kind of voice that says, 'This is what must be done, but I'm not happy about it.' From what I can tell, this isn't too complicated. So there must be a catch."

Evan sighed again.

"There is a sort of a catch. By sending you back, we will be altering time. We've altered time in the past, but always in a sort of generalized and peripheral manner. When you go back, you risk creating a paradox."

Gabby tried to think through the implications of the plan. As she looked at Julie, it was evident she was doing the same. When Evan failed to elaborate, Julie asked for an explanation.

"Okay, so we'll be creating a paradox. What does that mean for me? For Gabby?"

"When you go back in time, you will arrive in your own body at the moment to which we send you. You will find yourself locked in Dalton's storage room. There will be three men in the house with you. At that point, nothing will have changed. However, in order to save Gabby, you must escape your storage room and race to the hotel to awaken Gabby. Meanwhile, I will be with Dalton traveling to meet with Carlisle. Carlisle and I will, um, subdue Dalton. I will then come here, to Dalton's home, send the three guards off on other tasks and free you from the room where Dalton had you secured.

"Except, you won't be in that room for me to save. Which means, you won't be here for me to talk with. And I won't be able to give you these instructions to go back and save Gabby. Understand?"

Julie started to nod, but then her eyes tightened and she shook her head. Taking a step back, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"So, let me see if I get this. If I go back in time, escape from Dalton and go to save Gabby. Then when you show up to free me, I won't be here for you to tell me to go save Gabby?"

"Precisely. Not only will I be unable to help you and tell you about Gabby. But I will not have given you the time machine and instructions on how to use it. Which means that you will not have been able to escape from Dalton. Which then again means you were trapped in the room. But then I would have been able to tell you what to do and you could have escaped."

"Alright, alright!" Julie held her hands up in front of her.

"A paradox. I get it. But what does that mean exactly? What happens if we create a paradox?"

"For a paradox of this size, we do not know. However, early on, we conducted a few tests into the nature of paradox to see what would happen. We worked with intimate objects. We painted a picture then went back in time and destroyed the canvas before we painted it. We built a fire, then went back and doused the wood with water. In each of these cases, the result we expected was simple. That picture was gone and the wood was not burning. And that's exactly what happened.

"We did more elaborate tests using our knowledge of physics and chemistry. We mixed a pair of chemicals together to form a new chemical and then mixed the result with yet another chemical. Then we took the result back in time and swapped it for the first chemical. As we watched the new trajectory through time, we were startled to observe that the chemical reactions compounded differently than expected. Instead of mixing together based on either their old or new properties, the test apparatus flashed with a strange blue light upon the second mixing and disappeared completely. We came up with numerous theories, but couldn't explain exactly why it happened that way."

"Wait, you're saying I could disappear in a puff of light? I'm not going to be interacting with anything really. I'm just not going to be receiving the knowledge in the same way. But in order for that to happen, I will have already had the knowledge, right? I'll already have the machine and the instructions. So by the time the paradox happens, everything's good. I'll be safe, right?"

"Sadly, it's much worse than simply disappearing in a puff of light. After our chemical experiments, we set up certain rules to avoid paradoxes. We kept our interaction with the world to an absolutely minimum. But Dalton still wanted to push the limits. To see what could happen. One famous paradox of time travel is the question of what would happen if you went back in time and killed your own mother or father.

"Dalton wanted to know just how much interference was allowed. He wasn't willing to risk his own safety and neither Carlisle or I would allow him another human experiment. Not after what happened to Jake when Dalton pushed the limits with him. Dalton even proposed that we use the time machine to go back and wake Jake up early, but we agreed that the paradox potential was too great.

"And so, Dalton bred a family of carnivorous fish and trained them to be cannibalistic. Before long, he had a pair of fish who, when hungry enough, were willing to attack other fish of their own species. He took them back in time, introduced them into the tank of their parents. At first, nothing happened. The fish were definitely not affectionate, but no added anxiety emerged. We set up our video recorder and took turns observing.

"It took nearly four hours, but one of the fish attacked its parent. The battle started slow. A few nips back and forth between parent and child, but after a few minutes, it turned very violent. The child fish made another frantic dash at the parent, and just as its teeth touched the gills of the parent, the world exploded. Quite literally. The fish and the tank vaporized completely. The worktable on which they sat was reduced to a pile of rubble, burning with a strange green flame. The entire laboratory was coated with a thin layer of black ash. Smaller objects turned to dust. Larger objects shattered or collapsed. The cement floor of the lab cracked down the center. Carlisle had stepped away for a moment to go to the bathroom, or else he likely would not have survived. We only know what happened from the video which was fortunately streaming from the camera and being captured digitally in a computer in the next room."

Evan fell silent, staring at Julie, gauging how she was taking the information. Gabby had stopped pacing and now stood leaning against the desk, running her fingers through her hair and breathing rapidly. Julie just stared incredulously. Everything she'd heard recently had been so far fetched and difficult to believe. This new story seemed just as ridiculous. And yet, if it was even partially true, it meant that if she went to help her friend, they would both likely die.

"You're not giving me any confidence in your plan. You're suggesting that I save Gabby by going to her hotel to rescue her. But if I go to her hotel, I'll vaporize myself? And everything around me? Can't I just Bailout after I save Gabby? Come back to this time like nothing happened?"

"No. Once you've changed your own timeline significantly, the Bailout button no longer functions. If you were to attempt a Bailout, you would likely exacerbate the paradox and potentially cause a larger cataclysm."

"You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you? I can see why Gabby fell for you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Gabby stopped tugging at her hair and turned to Julie, forgetting for a moment that she was invisible to them. Evan responded without commenting on Julie's sarcastic criticism.

"There is a way to avoid the paradox, at least to an extent. After saving Gabby, you must return here and lock yourself in the room again so I can come and save you. You must return Before I get here. After saving you, I will outline the difficulties and we'll have this conversation, or at least one very similar to it. The timeline will be restored with minimal destruction."

"But Gabby won't be here watching us."

"True. I won't be able to observe evidence of Gabby's presence, but I will still suspect the worst and outline this plan."

"And if you don't?"

"If I don't, then we hope for the best."

"And try not to get vaporized."

"Right". Evan chuckled softly, though neither Julie nor Gabby saw much humor in the situation.

"Oh. And two more things. First, you must escape from and return to Dalton's home without being detected. If his guards discover you missing, they'll inform Dalton and the timeline will obviously change. Second, when you return, you will have the time machine that I gave you. You must hide it somewhere that only you can know about and where it will not be discovered. For a few brief minutes, two instances of the same machine will exist. They must not come in contact with one another, nor must anyone become aware of the duplication. Understand?"

Julie shook her head and spoke with exasperation.

"So I need to sneak out of my locked and guarded room without any of the three guards seeing me leave or realize I'm gone. I then somehow make my way to the hotel where Gabby's staring into her machine, press the Bailout button and bring her back to us. Then, I have to get back here before you do and sneak back into my locked room. Again, without the guards seeing me. Oh, and I have to hide the machine somewhere that it won't be found by anyone."

"Correct."

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Julie. It's the only way."

"OK. So why don't you do it then?"

"Because, if I go back, I will show up where my old body is. Either in the hotel room ready to be confronted by Dalton, in the car on the way to Carlisle's home, or on my way here. None of these options present me with opportunity to do anything to help her. It has to be you."

The room fell silent. No one moved. Finally, Julie stepped towards Evan.

"I'll do this. To help Gabby. I still don't trust you. And I definitely don't believe all this. But if there's even the possibility that you're telling the truth, I could never forgive myself if I had the chance to save Gabby and didn't do it."

Evan smiled and clapped Julie on the shoulder. He took out a pair of keys, one to her room and the other for a car in the garage. He proceeded to instruct her on where he found the guards when he came in. He told her how to get to the hotel and gave her the card key to his room. He then gave her the time machine and showed her how to use it, particularly what she should do once she found Gabby. Then he emphasized exactly what time he had arrived back at Dalton's.

"I arrived here at 10:07. It's nearly a ten minute drive from the hotel to here. Given that you need to stay out of sight, you'll need to leave the hotel by 9:45 at the latest. I called Dalton's cell phone at 8:58 and he showed up in my hotel room at about a quarter past nine. I'm not sure how much time he spent here first or what fiddling around he did. I think we should be safe to send you back to 8:58, but you should stay still in your room and listen for Dalton to leave before you make your escape. The garage is just down the hall from where he held you captive, so you should be able to hear him as he leaves."

He placed his hand on her shoulder and stared at her seriously again. His piercing eyes made Julie uncomfortable and she had a hard time holding his gaze, but she listened attentively.

"I know you don't believe this. But as soon as you press that button, you'll be forced to believe. The initial shock of traveling through time will disorient you. The realization that I'm telling the truth may shake your resolve and leave you stunned. But I need you to stay focused. I know you can do this. You may not trust me yet. But for Gabby's sake, I need you to try. At the very least, I need you to trust yourself."

Evan released her shoulder, stared around the library and then started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Julie stepped to follow.

"I'm going to check on Dalton. When you're done, come find me in the dining room. Good luck."

Gabby and Julie watched Evan disappear through the library door. Gabby then turned and watched Julie as she sat in the chair by the fire. She held the box gingerly, lightly fingering the subtle textures. Gabby watched as Julie looked at the empty doorway, wondering at Evan's story, and then looked into the box and pressed the button. Julie disappeared in a subtle whirling of colored mist that ended with a minuscule flash of light. Then, the library was empty.

Gabby wondered suddenly how long before she would know if Julie had succeeded. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine Julie. To picture her sitting in the dining room chatting with Evan about her successful mission. But when she opened her eyes again, the firelight was all she saw.

A log popped in the fire and the sudden sound made Gabby jump. She moved over to the fire and stared at the flickering flames. They danced excitedly between the three logs. She sat in the chair and stared at the hypnotic patterns as they flitted inside the fireplace. As she stared, the flames seemed to change size. They seemed to grow large and ominous, as though they were preparing to jump from the fireplace and consume the library. They also seemed to slow down. Their movements turned from a frenetic, whirlwind of a dance to a still, almost imperceptible motion like the subtle movement of a tall strong tree showing its resolve beneath a calm summer breeze.

Then, the flames stopped moving altogether. At first, Gabby didn't realize what had happened. They'd already slowed so much, that the lack of motion seemed natural. But when they failed to move after a few seconds, Gabby leaned forward in surprise. Unsure what was happening, she stood and walked around the room, listening intently for any other change. Everything was silent. Too silent, she realized and she raced over to the desk clock from where before the quiet, but still perceptible ticking had radiated. It too, was still. Looking at the clock face, the second hand was frozen in place, pointing at the large number 6 but looking like it had just fallen under the pull of gravity and hung limp at the bottom of the clock.

Suddenly worried, Gabby raced through the door and down the hall, craning her neck in all directions as though trying to force sounds to reach her ears. She pushed into the dining room and saw two men sitting at the table. Dalton was handcuffed to his chair. His nose was bloodied, but scabbing over. Across from him, Evan sat, holding a roll in one hand and pointing at Dalton with the other.

Neither man moved. They looked like some strangely staged scene out of a wax museum. Gabby run up to Evan. Pressed his hands, his shoulders, his cheeks. She put her face next to his mouth to listen for any breath.

Nothing.

She twirled in place, looking around the room. Taking everything in. The clock on the wall stared back at her quiet and motionless like the clock from the library. Through the small passage to the kitchen, she saw Carlisle holding a plate and facing the dining room, one leg slightly raised in mid step. He too stared through her like a a statue.

Gabby began to gasp. Her breath came in shallow, frantic bursts. She felt the tingling warmth of blood racing through her body. She felt herself on the verge of hyperventilating. Her fingers and toes felt cold while her chest and stomach felt hot. She closed her eyes. Tried to fight down the oncoming panic attack. She opened her eyes again and looked at Evan, frozen in time in front of her. She forced down a scream but couldn't hold back the sobs that came instead. She leaned against the wall of the dining room and slid down to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs. The tears came freely now. Her body shuddered in fear and confusion.

She tried to focus. Tried to force logical thought into her mind. To try and rationalize through what was happening. But she couldn't. Every time she tried, she found herself pulled back to the irrationality of the situation. She was trapped. Frozen in time.

She wiped her eyes and tried again to stop crying. Her breathing stabilized a little but still came in sporadic gasps and sobs. Then, her stomach began to ache. First a small twinge, then it felt like someone had punched her. She doubled over on the floor. The dull pain grew and it felt as though her body was being stretched outward from her stomach. She pressed her arms hard against her stomach and curled up into a ball.

Then the pain seemed to pull from the front of her stomach all the way through her back. It suddenly exploded up her spine and down her legs until she felt as though her body was being pulled inside out. She rolled on the floor, groaning and gritting her teeth. She closed her eyes and shouted, screamed for the pain to end.

"Stop! Stop!"

Then, she felt as though she was falling. The pain continued to grind through her body, but the world around her began to spin as well. She felt a hot breeze against her skin. A high pitched ringing filled the air, first quiet, then growing in sound until it was a loud, piercing sound that caused her ears to burn from the pain. She groaned again and attempted to pull her body into an even tighter shell. To dissolve into herself and leave the pain behind.

She felt more and more as though she were spinning. Falling faster and faster. Twisting out of control. Her body lurched and jolted. She tried to open her eyes. To focus on the world around her. To anchor herself to some point of vision. But the world around her was blurred. The edges of her vision were dim and obscure. She felt darkness encroaching from all sides and she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth to will them away.

"Just let me die!" She screamed through clenched teeth. She couldn't understand why she was still conscious. Why she was still alive. The world was collapsing around her. Ripping her to shreds. She swallowed hard, forcing down the nausea from the pain.

Then, suddenly, the pain vanished. The movement stopped. A cool breeze passed over her bare arms and sent a shiver through her body. Gabby kept her eyes closed, certain she was dead but not sure she wanted to know yet what that meant. Her breathing was still shallow, but with each breath, she felt more calm. More relaxed.

"Gabby? Gabby, are you alright."

Gabby's eyes shot open and she found herself staring at Julie. A gasp caught in her throat and her eyes filled with tears. Then she threw her arms around her friend and sobbed again.

I picked up Mockingjay on release day but it took me a few days to crack the cover. Once I did, I was annoyed with the times I had to set the book down. Picking up just after the cliffhanger from Catching Fire, this book just keeps ratcheting up the intensity and doesn't back down until the conclusion.

I could theoretically see this book as being a "stand-alone" experience, but you would likely miss many of the nuances and references if you just jumped to book 3 without reading #s 1 and 2. Still, I'll try to speak about this book individually and avoid spoilers either for Mockingjay or for the series as a whole.

Katniss's world is in absolute chaos as the book begins. She's gained a lot but lost a lot more. Worse, she has tons of new questions to try and answer but no sure fire way to find answers. From a high level, this explanation can be applied to each book in the series. And yet, book 3 is actually quite a different experience from the other two.

In Mockingjay we find Katniss given a bit more latitude to become her own character and to express her own desires, needs and personality. The problem is, she has a hard time figuring out what those may be.

Similar to the previous books, a number of strategic alliances are made, but on a much larger scale. Everything is much, much bigger in this book….the action, the conflict, the fears, the anxiety, the uncertainty. Another thing that seemed even more accentuated to me was the nature and presence of evil. President Snow (that vile, noxious dictator of a leader) is much more at the forefront of this book….and a variety of other similar characters are presented.

In fact, the concepts of "what is good", "what is right", "what is true", are almost always in question such that it often felt like most of the characters were living either in grey area or perhaps in some form of darkness…there were very few who were obviously "good". Because of this, I sometimes found my reading sessions to be emotionally draining. This novel is definitely not for the overly sensitive/empathic/faint-of-heart. Not that it was horrifically violent (there was a bit more violence, but it didn't feel over-the-top) but rather, there is just so much antagonism and opposition that the sense of hopelessness felt in the first two books has been multiplied exponentially in book 3.

After I finished reading, my wife (who is nervous about reading it) asked if "it ends well." All I can say (without spoiling the story) is that "it ends as well as can be expected considering how truly awful Panem is." That's actually probably a little harsh…I can certainly think of a number of "good" ways the book could have ended which would have been much "worse" in terms of "happy endings." What I will say is that if you're looking for a happy ending….you might find it, but you'll have to look real close and make sure you don't overthink things.

I really enjoyed the series. Mockingjay is a bit of a change from the previous two. I'm not sure if it's because of this (necessary) departure or if it was something else, but I did not enjoy book 3 as much as the previous 2. I'd have a hard time picking between Catching Fire and Hunger Games (book 1), but I can definitely say that I liked them both a little better than I liked Mockingjay.

That said, I can still definitely recommend Mockingjay as an engrossing, well-written, and enjoyable book that brings closure to the atrocities of Panem…as best it can.

Give it a read. It's well worth it.


4 out of 5 stars

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