Perfect Timing: Showdown at Centerpoint
Oct. 21st, 2021 01:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ermingardenOkay, time to face the facts: I'm not finishing the book meme by the end of the month. Committed to finishing it eventually, though!
11. A book that came to you at exactly the right time
Star Wars: Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger MacBride Allen
Showdown at Centerpoint – and the Corellian trilogy generally, though I read Showdown at Centerpoint years before I managed to get my hands on the first two books – is among the best of the best when it comes to Star Wars novels, and is excellent science fiction generally. The worldbuilding is excellent: The Corellian Trilogy introduces the concept of the Celestials, a mysterious ancient species, and this thread gets picked up in later novels, all the way through the Fate of the Jedi series. I also love Allen's take on Jedi philosophy. There's a scene where Luke Skywalker uses some risky and unconventional tactics to disable enemy fighters without killing anyone, and it's followed by this passage: Luke breathed a sigh of relief. That one had been just a bit too close. There were times when the advantages of being a Jedi Master could turn around and bite you, no doubt about it. A regular fighter pilot without the power to use the Force wouldn’t have felt any moral obligation to risk his own life while using the Force to spare his enemies. Luke smiled faintly to himself. One of these old days, his moral obligations to spare life were going to get him killed.
I first read Showdown at Centerpoint when I was eight or nine, and the book came to me under some unusual circumstances. I was bullied pretty badly as a kid. The cousin of one of my tormentors evidently felt bad for me, because he gave me two Star Wars books out of the blue one day – Showdown and a choose-your-own-adventure book about Zam Wesell. I already liked Star Wars, but Showdown is what really made me fall in love. (Jonah, if by any chance you're reading this: Thanks!)
The remaining questions:
12. A book that came to you at the wrong time
13. A book with a premise you'd never seen before quite like that
14. A book balanced on a knife edge
15. A snuffed candle of a book
16. A book you'd take with you while you were being ferried on dark underground rivers
17. A book that taught you something about yourself
18. A book that went after its premise like an explosion
19. A book that started a pilgrimage
20. A frigid ice bath of a book
21. A warm blanket of a book
22. A book written into your psyche
23. A book that made you bleed
24. A book that asked a question you've never had an answer to
25. A book that answered a question you never asked
26. A book you recommend but cannot love
27. A book you love but cannot recommend
28. A book you adore that people are surprised by
29. A book you detest that people are surprised by
30. A book that led you home
11. A book that came to you at exactly the right time
Star Wars: Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger MacBride Allen
Showdown at Centerpoint – and the Corellian trilogy generally, though I read Showdown at Centerpoint years before I managed to get my hands on the first two books – is among the best of the best when it comes to Star Wars novels, and is excellent science fiction generally. The worldbuilding is excellent: The Corellian Trilogy introduces the concept of the Celestials, a mysterious ancient species, and this thread gets picked up in later novels, all the way through the Fate of the Jedi series. I also love Allen's take on Jedi philosophy. There's a scene where Luke Skywalker uses some risky and unconventional tactics to disable enemy fighters without killing anyone, and it's followed by this passage: Luke breathed a sigh of relief. That one had been just a bit too close. There were times when the advantages of being a Jedi Master could turn around and bite you, no doubt about it. A regular fighter pilot without the power to use the Force wouldn’t have felt any moral obligation to risk his own life while using the Force to spare his enemies. Luke smiled faintly to himself. One of these old days, his moral obligations to spare life were going to get him killed.
I first read Showdown at Centerpoint when I was eight or nine, and the book came to me under some unusual circumstances. I was bullied pretty badly as a kid. The cousin of one of my tormentors evidently felt bad for me, because he gave me two Star Wars books out of the blue one day – Showdown and a choose-your-own-adventure book about Zam Wesell. I already liked Star Wars, but Showdown is what really made me fall in love. (Jonah, if by any chance you're reading this: Thanks!)
The remaining questions:
12. A book that came to you at the wrong time
13. A book with a premise you'd never seen before quite like that
14. A book balanced on a knife edge
15. A snuffed candle of a book
16. A book you'd take with you while you were being ferried on dark underground rivers
17. A book that taught you something about yourself
18. A book that went after its premise like an explosion
19. A book that started a pilgrimage
20. A frigid ice bath of a book
21. A warm blanket of a book
22. A book written into your psyche
23. A book that made you bleed
24. A book that asked a question you've never had an answer to
25. A book that answered a question you never asked
26. A book you recommend but cannot love
27. A book you love but cannot recommend
28. A book you adore that people are surprised by
29. A book you detest that people are surprised by
30. A book that led you home
