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Reading meme
Mar. 22nd, 2013 05:32 pmWhat I've just read:
Blank101's Empire's Son, available at the author's website, a Star Wars AU in which Leia is raised on Tattoine and Luke is given to the Organas. Unfortunately, when Bail and Breha Organa attend an Imperial function on Coruscant, the Emperor recognises Luke's Force-sensing abilities, kills his foster parents and takes Luke, breaking him and raising him as a Sith apprentice. When Kenobi realises the Emperor has Luke, he begins training Leia as a Jedi.
The story proper begins when Luke and Leia are sixteen, and Han Solo - working for the Empire as a pilot - defends Luke (who actually needs no help) in a bar fight, thus managing to get himself involved with very high level politics - and, when Leia shows up, the Rebellion. Some of the set pieces are drawn from the film, but the twist gives them a very different feel - the attack on the first Death Star, for example, reads very differently when Luke is on the Death Star, sent there by the Emperor to make a point about his unwillingness to take command, and Leia is about to make the final run on the exposed engine shaft. I also (this was a re-read) really enjoy how effectively Palpatine manipulates those around him - Luke, especially (who is quite definitely broken, but still struggling), but also Vader. One of his first moves after taking Luke is to tell both Vader and Luke that Luke is actually Kenobi's bastard, thus ensuring Vader's deep enmity, and setting them both up as rivals from the beginning. Vader spends a significant amount of time trying to kill Luke in this story, and this plot thread is very nicely developed. And, really, I like Luke a lot in this - he was always my favourite in the original Star Wars, and he is still recognisable here despite very different circumstances.
Unlike 98% of the fanfic I read, this isn't slash. Or, indeed, any pairing, although there's a spark between Han and Leia. The first time I read this, there was a bonus chapter from the sequel, but that's gone now - I do hope it's still planned.
What I'm reading now:
Takanaga Hinako's The Tyrant Falls in Love, volume 7.. Total wallowing. I can feel my brain sinking into a warm bath on just the opening spread. Morinaga and Souichi have moved in together, but Morinaga, who never manages to leave well alone, would like Souichi to actually talk about his feelings rather than just having sex and appearing to enjoy it (for Souichi, this is massive progress). Meanwhile, Morinaga is offered an industry job away from the university, and his first boyfriend, Masaki, (who tried to kill himself when the two of them were caught together, and let Morinaga take all the blame) decides to show up. I can sympathise with Masaki but hate his storyline with Morinaga's brother, and will pretty much just tolerate him for his effects on the central relationship.
What I expect to read next:
The rest of the box of manga that The Tyrant Falls in Love came in, which includes a volume of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, some Real, and Twenty-first Century Boys.
Blank101's Empire's Son, available at the author's website, a Star Wars AU in which Leia is raised on Tattoine and Luke is given to the Organas. Unfortunately, when Bail and Breha Organa attend an Imperial function on Coruscant, the Emperor recognises Luke's Force-sensing abilities, kills his foster parents and takes Luke, breaking him and raising him as a Sith apprentice. When Kenobi realises the Emperor has Luke, he begins training Leia as a Jedi.
The story proper begins when Luke and Leia are sixteen, and Han Solo - working for the Empire as a pilot - defends Luke (who actually needs no help) in a bar fight, thus managing to get himself involved with very high level politics - and, when Leia shows up, the Rebellion. Some of the set pieces are drawn from the film, but the twist gives them a very different feel - the attack on the first Death Star, for example, reads very differently when Luke is on the Death Star, sent there by the Emperor to make a point about his unwillingness to take command, and Leia is about to make the final run on the exposed engine shaft. I also (this was a re-read) really enjoy how effectively Palpatine manipulates those around him - Luke, especially (who is quite definitely broken, but still struggling), but also Vader. One of his first moves after taking Luke is to tell both Vader and Luke that Luke is actually Kenobi's bastard, thus ensuring Vader's deep enmity, and setting them both up as rivals from the beginning. Vader spends a significant amount of time trying to kill Luke in this story, and this plot thread is very nicely developed. And, really, I like Luke a lot in this - he was always my favourite in the original Star Wars, and he is still recognisable here despite very different circumstances.
Unlike 98% of the fanfic I read, this isn't slash. Or, indeed, any pairing, although there's a spark between Han and Leia. The first time I read this, there was a bonus chapter from the sequel, but that's gone now - I do hope it's still planned.
What I'm reading now:
Takanaga Hinako's The Tyrant Falls in Love, volume 7.. Total wallowing. I can feel my brain sinking into a warm bath on just the opening spread. Morinaga and Souichi have moved in together, but Morinaga, who never manages to leave well alone, would like Souichi to actually talk about his feelings rather than just having sex and appearing to enjoy it (for Souichi, this is massive progress). Meanwhile, Morinaga is offered an industry job away from the university, and his first boyfriend, Masaki, (who tried to kill himself when the two of them were caught together, and let Morinaga take all the blame) decides to show up. I can sympathise with Masaki but hate his storyline with Morinaga's brother, and will pretty much just tolerate him for his effects on the central relationship.
What I expect to read next:
The rest of the box of manga that The Tyrant Falls in Love came in, which includes a volume of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, some Real, and Twenty-first Century Boys.
