Neuromancer by William Gibson and Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson stick with me because of how they describe things.

Gibson has a flash fiction feel to his stuff, and Stephenson is really great with detail.

I really like this.

Read a Sitch/Person can only be used once unless the situation changes. I could see reading the situation before instigating the showdown (is that a Go Aggro or are you thinking make a custom move for Showdown?) and then maybe you read it again (under fire, of course) to help you tactically?

I think whether you get to acting under fire might be impacted on the showdown rolls - if you do 1 harm to the NPC, odds are showdown is over.