One of the nice things about this challenge community is that it invites us to work with characters we would ordinarily skip right over. I have to confess that I never really "got" Book, nor became emotionally invested in him the way I did with most of the other characters. One of the reasons I chose to do Book first, I have to admit, was that I wanted to get him out of the way. (Another major reason was that Book's mysterious background lent itself to the theme of anticipation.)

That said, I am proud of this ficlet and the parallels I'm able to draw between Book's life and the Christ story. Book's most obvious characteristic is of course his Christianity, and I chose to work with that. Understandably, his religion and his ministry provide him with the perspective through with he sees the world, and so it seemed fitting that his angst would manifest in this fashion. I do feel I understand Book at least a little bit more after writing this.

Thank you for your gracious feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed my humble ficlet.