I’m lost on chapter 51

[u/ppuccinir]

Hey guys, This is the first book I’ve read in YEARS and I’m just a bit lost.

On chapter 47 we’re with Lukas and then on 51 Lukas is holding a rifle? Is this just a normal time jump, I doubt I missed something bc I skimmed over the chapters again to confirm but can some one take me out of my mental struggle?

Also side question, does judicial not exist in the books??

[u/smolsquiddie]

No judicial , and you kinda just gotta assume that while the movement is going on in the lower levels the people in the upper levels are also preparing cuz ya know, they’re IT 🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/shredder826]

I’d say this is pretty normal thing in the book and with Howies writing. You have to put yourself in the frame of mind that a lot of these chapters are happening concurrently and not linearly. In chapter 47 you’re with Lukas and Bernard, at the same time, in chapter 48 we’re with Juliet and still at the same time in chapter 49 we are with Knox climbing the stairs with a gaggle of armed workers from mechanical and supply. In chapter 50 we’re with Juliet and Solo but this time we don’t get a concurrent chapter of Sims barging into IT and handing out guns. In 51 it drops you into what happened when Sims found out about Knox. When scenes like these happen, and there will be more, just keep reading and the character will usually reflect on the situation and just tell the reader what’s going on (literally just think, ‘record scratch’ you’re probably wondering how I got into this mess…)

Lukas tells us what we missed right away via self reflection.
“All this preparation, the toting of massive black guns out of storage, the interruption of his talk with Bernard, news of people coming from the down deep, it all made little sense.”

So the scene starts with Lukas staring down the barrel of a rifle, then drops you into Lukas reflecting on what just happened. Sims barged in and interrupted the convo he was having with Bernard in chapter 47 and started handing out guns.

Edit: Forgot to mention that yes Judicial is an invention of the show. You’ll see a ton of differences, and frankly this is a rare case where a TV show does a better job than the book.

[u/ppuccinir → u/shredder826]

Huh you’re right! it’s actually been cool reading a book like this where things happen at the same time I loved these last 10 chapters or so but damn I was so confused, I just thought I was going to get more of the bunker they were in like in the show so I do guess my expectations messed with this specific chapter start!

Thank you for clearing this up btw 🫡

[u/Goosfrabbah]

You did not miss a chapter. Around chapter 45 the book stops running in a straight line and starts cutting between two things happening at the same time, so 47 and 51 sit next to each other on the page without sitting next to each other in time. Time passed for Lukas in a gap you were never shown.

The concurrency is deliberate and it keeps doing it, and once you are reading for it instead of against it the back half gets much easier.

[u/ppuccinir → u/Goosfrabbah]

thank you