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Choices in Hand

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/JediMara77/268676_228936513804235_208317562532797_773275_6177448_n.jpg]

 

Ugh, I was still hoping they'd come up with a new cover before they released it. Oh well, it's the pages inside that matter.

Less than a week!

 

Less than two days! Who is excited? I AM!!! I'm skipping Taco Tuesday and Writer's Group to read it.

Re: Conviction:

I thought Callista's "death" was very, very well done. It proves why Allston is a master; even though I dislike Callista is a character (I do not hate her, only because I feel she had the potential to be a very interesting character and wish she'd been brought back during NJO to delve into the whole Yuuzhan Vong can't be felt in the Force thing), I got emotional during that scene. You could feel Luke's regret for what had happened to Callista, his respect for her as a person and a Jedi, and his desire to "save" her, as much as he could. The parts when he was "reliving the past" really got to me. I could imagine Luke seeing that part of his life all over again, remembering how happy he'd been, and knowing that he would never feel a similar happiness again, now that Mara was gone.

And in the end Luke served the Light and helped Callista finally become one with the Force. When I first read the excerpt, even without knowing the context, I shed a little tear. For Callista, of all people. Allston, you are a genius. I wish you'd written Mara's death. Maybe then she wouldn't have run off like a crazy assassin and completely forgotten thirty-five years of character development.

 

Really?

Doesn't sound very Light to me.....

 

Okay, I'll agree. Luke was very in character for that scene. Allston usually does do an extremely good job with characterizations and this book was no different. If you add Mara to the context of that quote: reliving the past, it does become a even sadder scene. But I still hate Callista. I'm a passionate person, so I do use the word hate. However, Luke did love her. You can't read that scene and say he didn't. But it is nice to see a final end to her character, and I don't only mean that in a mean way. I just dont like when we never see or learn what happens to a character as big as her (*cough* Aurra Sing *cough*). AND YES! Allston or, even better, Zahn, should have handled Mara's death. We can only hope one of them will handle Luke's death in the FAR future.

Choices of One comes out in a two days!!! Unfortunately, I probably won't get to it for a few weeks.

Don't kick me out of the fan club!!!

 

If you read it at face value, it doesn't. But Luke was doing it to "save" Callista as much as he was to "hurt" Abeloth. At least, that's the way I interpreted it.

 

I'm actually not trying to be snarky here, this is a real question since I haven't read the book. (I lost my ability to suspend my disbelief about the time they killed Chewie...)

Why didn't he just kill Abeloth right there? Wouldn't that have freed Callista just as well? I know it would have been too easy a death for Abeloth and they were able to be way more dramatic by dragging it out, but is there an in-universe explanation I'm missing?

Also, for the record, I'm a Callista fan and I thought she was awful in this, if I had any respect for the series I would have lost all respect for Callista based on the way she is portrayed in FOTJ.

 

No problem! Just trying to answer your questions. (And for the record, I don't like what they've done with Callista either, which is why I was pleased with what happened in Conviction.

It's really hard to explain without reading the book, but Luke wasn't fighting Abeloth. He was fighting someone else that Abeloth had influenced. That person appeared as Callista to influence Luke.

Well, technically she isn't Callista. She's Abeloth appearing as Callista, because Abeloth absorbed her essence. I still think it's dumb, but that's why I was pleased by Aaron giving her an "end" in Conviction and letting her become one with the Light Side of the Force.

 

JediMara77 - I had the same experience as you of Callista's death scene. I found it very beautiful and respectful of the character.

As for Callista's portrayal in FOTJ, I don't think it ruins her character one bit - what looks as distortions is fully explained by the nature of Abeloth - and that also explains why Luke had to do how he did in the scene where Callista dies - and also why he couldn't 'just kill' Abeloth.


Actually, the very first words of FOTJ shows us the true Callista: "The darkness was eternal, all-powerful, unchangeable. She stared into it, unblinking and unafraid. She was determined that it would not claim her. She had resisted it these many years. She would resist it forever, never despairing."

 

I will never read the FOTJ since I've sworn off profic after Sacrifice. But as I read the descriptions here, it sounds like the world of Inception has taken over Star Wars! When does the top stop spinning and we can exit this dream world?








(Did I just start a new set of crossovers? )

 

This is off topic, but everything that ya'll post is in black. How can I fix that?

 

We do that to hide spoilers. Highlight it to read.

 

Lol. Kinda reminds me of my fic 'Dawning'. SACRIFICE AND ON WAS ALL A DREAM AND I STAND BY THAT STATEMENT.

I was going to give up profic after Sacrifice (somedays I wonder if I should have), then someone bought me Abyss so I had to read all the in-between stuff and I kinda fell in love with Ben.

 

I think you're right.

The Luke/Ben scenes are the ONLY reason I struggle with whether or not to read it. But I'm hanging on to my belief that if I don't read it, it didn't happen.

 

Luke and Ben are definitely the reason I picked up Fate of the Jedi, and they have been so worth it.

As for swearing of EU after Sacrifice - I once said the same thing, but thankfully I went back on that or else I wouldn't have read the wonderful Luke Skywalkr and the Shadows of Mindor, and I wouldn't be going out at lunch to get Choices of One!

I hope other people are getting CoO because I want to talk about it!

 

Briannakin - then someone bought me Abyss so I had to read all the in-between stuff and I kinda fell in love with Ben.
I completely understand you!


JediMara77 - Luke and Ben are definitely the reason I picked up Fate of the Jedi, and they have been so worth it.

As for swearing of EU after Sacrifice - I once said the same thing, but thankfully I went back on that or else I wouldn't have read the wonderful Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, and I wouldn't be going out at lunch to get Choices of One!
Luke is always my reason for picking up anything SW - though Mara and Ben can do too And I agree, FOTJ has its faults but Luke & son makes it all worthwhile!

I've sworn not to let any book spoil my joy about SW. I fully respect everyone's choises and sympathize with your disappointments, but in my perspective, the stuff Lucasart presents to us, be it good or bad, is the new inspiration we can get - unless we create it ourselves, of course. It's a possibility to new angles and ideas - and occasionally good experiences too.

I hope other people are getting CoO because I want to talk about it!
I want to talk about it. Ok, I was awfully disappointed with Luke in it (and at the moment it feel like an avalanche since I now see all the faults with Zahn's Luke characterization since HttE... ) - but first of all that doesn't mean I can't see Mara was good in the book and worth a good discussion and secondly, I'll get over it. I just need to mull over it for some time. *mull, gumble, mull grumble*

 

Tee-hee. I understand, kataja. We'll have a nice discussion about Luke once I finish reading.

Speaking of which, I picked it up at lunchtime. Sigh. I missed you, Mara! And Pelly, too.

I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow or Thursday. Stupid work, getting in the way of my reading.

 

Happy reading, Nanci! I truly hope you enjoy the book! And hey, you're job only prolongues the pleasure, right?

And of course I hope you can give me a new angle that salvages my terrible disappointment. If there was one thing I learned while I studied, it was how that can completely change you opinion on a book or character. Sometimes, actually, all you need is time. I remember a book I absolutely hated when reading it first time; I wrote the most murdeous review of it and decided never to even think of it again. But the dratted book wouldn't leave me - wordings kept chasing me with their beauty and quirkiness, and the lack of connection continued to pester me until I saw the points. It was a lovely process...

 

Guess what was waiting for me in my mailbox when i got home a little while ago:

[image=http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31895383/IMAG0109.jpg]


The amazing think about this is that I had to order it online from a bookstore in the UK and still it arrived on the exact day.

 

I did that with Vision of the Future. And now it's my favorite book. So I'm really good at doing that.

Basically I think I have a very different view of Luke in the OT era and New Republic and later eras. Once Luke goes to Dagobah, I really can't abide any incompetence from him. But beforehand, though, I usually just find it endearing. And it makse his character growth that much more impressive.

But I haven't read the book yet, so we'll see.

As for Mara, reading about her as the Emperor's Hand always leaves me conflicted. On the one hand, she's such a badass. On the other hand, I want to slap her and then give her a hug.

 

Happy reading to you too, Hazel! I hope you enjoy it!

 

Thanks!

I want to finish Allegiance before starting CoO, though.

 

No, it's not that.
I don't read about anything that happened after Sacrifice but events in Shadows of Mindor and CoO take place much, much earlier.

Right now, e-books are my only hope. *sighs*

 

I'm with Piper - I won't read anything NJO or later, but I'll read earlier stuff. Except now that I've been reminded about Conviction, I'm so annoyed at Del Rey I don't know if I want to shell out for the hardcover of Choices of One or wait for the paperback. It may depend on whether they kill HoJ. Speaking of which, I'm eager for spoilers if anyone wants to share!

JM77 - why did you hate VotF? I have a sort of love/hate relationship with VotF, but I don't think I've ever met another Mara fan that didn't just love it.

 

You know, Piper, I'm pretty sure CoO is available on e-book format on several online stores.