Catching Fire

I finished another good book, which is relatively rare for me in that I don’t finish many books because most books aren't good. I was reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. It’s the second book in her Hunger Games trilogy, and it’s right up my alley. It’s a young adult book about a strong teenage character with no taste for crap. If you haven’t read it you should. Collins is a very good writer. It’s set in a dystopian future that, unfortunately, isn’t quite implausible. Blah, blah, blah, REVOLUCIÓN! It’s sci-fi 101, but it’s done very well. I haven’t thought of any other stories while I’ve been reading it. It’s easy enough to come up with comparisons when I’m asked or when I think about it, but the comparisons all start with “it’s sort of like”. “It’s sort of like” is a huge compliment, especially in sci-fi. The Capitol is the bad guy in the book, sort of like Big Brother. The only downside to the story, if it’s even a downside, is that if the Capitol had gone in the exact opposite direction, it could have staved off rebellion. Doesn’t anyone watch Star Wars anymore? Princess Leia explained it perfectly to Grand Moff Tarkin in her half Boston half English accent that sounded different depending on how much cocaine Carrie Fisher had snorted, “The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers”. She was right. People will only be pushed so far until they push back. At the same time, fat people don’t revolt. If people are fed they will not only put up with just about anything; they will do it eagerly and whole heartedly (see Religion). Collins hasn’t even given the third book a title yet, so now it’s a waiting game, and just like Harry Potter, I’m really hoping the main character makes it to the end and lives happily ever after, but as I sit here thinking about it that’s going to be really tough to do without being Pollyanna about it. Martyring the main character is a lot easier. There’s no chance of me not reading the last chapter of the third book first.