Last call on novel meme plus fandom news

[eldritchhobbit]

Last call on guesses for my Novel First Line Meme (three lines are still unaccounted for). I'll identify any remaining unknown quotes tomorrow morning. Thanks to those who participated!

For Star Wars fans, there's an interesting new essay entitled "Goodbye, Jedi, And Good Riddance" that's worth a look, as it suggests that the Jedi deserve their fate in Return of the Sith. Thanks to wiccanotwicked for alerting me to this piece.

For fans of Lost, I highly recommend the article "Boone: Why We Care" at Revolution Science Fiction. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll never look at Lost quite the same way again.

And last but certainly not least, heartfelt thanks to some Star Trek writers whose works I greatly admire and enjoy, namely seemag, rocky_t, kellychambliss, and alex_voy, for their kind comments during the ASC Awards for stories by Morgan Stuart. Special thanks to seemag for her terrific leadership with the awards.

A quote for the day:

"If the truth doesn't save us, what does that say about us?"
Lois McMaster Bujold, Diplomatic Immunity

Comments

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Very interesting Jedi/Sith essay. Though it seems to have been written to provoke, and a lot of the points are a stretch, I think there's a lot to it.

Getting back into SW fandom as an adult, I find my feelings toward the Jedi have changed. As a child, I had nothing but admiration for them -- cool powers, opposition to a tyrannical enemy. As an adult (particularly, I suppose, because of the presentation of the Jedi in I and II) they seem much more like guardians of an established order that is not necessarily a great order, much more political, somewhat self-satisfied, and even arrogant. Of course, in I & II, there's no Evil Empire to destroy so the there's no beneficial contrast. In the prequel presentations, I can't help getting the feeling that the Jedi are something like the UN - well intentioned but bureaucratic and mostly ineffectual.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful icon! LOL!

As an adult (particularly, I suppose, because of the presentation of the Jedi in I and II) they seem much more like guardians of an established order that is not necessarily a great order, much more political, somewhat self-satisfied, and even arrogant. Of course, in I & II, there's no Evil Empire to destroy so the there's no beneficial contrast. In the prequel presentations, I can't help getting the feeling that the Jedi are something like the UN - well intentioned but bureaucratic and mostly ineffectual.

Well, my feelings have been very convoluted, but your description goes miles towards helping me understand my own thoughts. Thank you indeed! The UN parallel is particularly effective. I do get, in Episodes I and II, a sense of a once-challenged organization now going through the motions, comfortable in the rhythm of galatic politics, satisfied in its own bureacracy and, yes, power. It is hard for me to see how Qui-Gon would have fit on the Council, and if in fact he would even have remained in the Order as things progressed, or perhaps gone another way -- not Dooku's, although the fascinating thing about Dooku in II is that some of his criticisms were right on the mark -- and tried to find another, more effective path. He was chafing at standard policy even in Episode I. And he, of all of them, seemed most to recapture what I loved about the Jedi as a child, though I won't say he's without his own bundle of issues and contradictions.

At any rate, I agree 100%; the article was meant to provoke, but there is a bit of truth behind some of the points. Thanks for a terrific post!