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Star Wars Books Thread

Using the essential reader's guide, ive just started a chronological read through, beginning with "Darth Plaguies" even though the author put that book right after Episode I. Then I plan to read all the novels, since i own them all. I have none of the young adult books, but i'm not really worried about those anyways.

If I remember correctly, Darth Plagueis is after Episode I because it weaves togetherthe books leading up to Episode I

The book covers a time period ranging from around 67 BBY all the way to during and just after the time frame of TPM.
 
I did read I, Jedi and I wasn't a huge fan of it. I did think the Stackpole books of the NJO series were very good though. I just think that non-Jedi space combat should only play a supporting role in a Star Wars story.

Honestly, the X-Wing books are some of my favorites. But, I also think there is a lot of great SW that has nothing to do with Jedi, or at most has them at a supporting role, so it just comes down to personal preference. :shrug:
 
Did you imagine any actors playing any of the roles?

I always imagined:

*) Hugh Jackman as Corran Horn
*) Ricardo Montalban as Tallon Karrde
*) Sean Connery as Bel Iblis

I cast Jeff Bridges as Bel Iblis. And Emma Watson has been my pick for Jaina Solo for years.
 
Tarkin was kind of a snoozer for me. Tough to get through. New Dawn was a bit better. Hoping the Luke book is decent.
 
I'm really looking forward to Heir to the Jedi. Kevin Hearne is a pretty entertaining writer, and it'll be cool to explore Luke's mindset in the days after ANH. That was a period the first incarnation of the EU never really did a great job of exploring, IMO.
 
There was three whole years' worth of time to cover, though. :p

Personally I was never a big fan of Splinter of the Mind's Eye and I didn't read much of Marvel's first crack at Star Wars. It started before I was born and I was only three years old when their run ended, and I was never much interested in going back to it.
 
Regarding material taking place between the films, I kind of liked the Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson newspaper strips that Dark Horse reprinted later as the first volume of Classic Star Wars. Although it's no longer canon it served as a bridge of sorts between ANH and ESB, dealing with the Rebels scouting for a new base (With Luke eventually discovering Hoth), their evacuation from Yavin, the development of Vader's Super Star Destroyer, and the Mon Calamari joining the rebels. The strip was published after ESB came out, and ended around the time ROTJ came out (Hence the ROTJ material) so it had a much tighter continuity than the Marvel series (Although Goodwin worked on both). It's a fun read although some of the storylines-such as when Vader hires an actor who is surgically altered to look like Obi-Wan in order to fool and lure Luke-are a bit silly.


It should be noted that the Dark Horse reprints add color and some revisions to the strip, so it's kind of a "Special Edition" of sorts.


Shadows Of The Empire-a much later project-was the bridge between ESB and ROTJ but that's probably not holding up anymore, although Black Sun and the Faleen did appear in Clone Wars.
 
Oh I just remembered, in a throwaway scene the TARKIN novel introduced a new character motivation for Sidious that I wasn't happy with. For the Emperor, subjugating the galaxy and wiping out the Jedi was just the first step in his big plan. Step two? Work with Vader to unlock the true powers of the Sith to ultimately become a dark god that twists all other life into a reflection of himself. Leaving him the only sentient free being in the universe.

That's just so... video game. While Sidious is certainly evil and all, I much preferred the EU which gave him a self-deluded nobility of saving the galaxy from corruption and weakness in the form of a strong and perfect leader. Not to mention Tim Zahn's OUTBOUND FLIGHT novel which established that Sidious foresaw the Vong Invasion and was creating a militarized galaxy to repel the extragalactic invaders.

Incidentally, does anyone here listen to The Force Cast podcasts? I absolutely love them. There's one guy on there, Justin, who hilariously defends the Empire and Palpatine as the heroes of the piece.
 
The idea of Palpatine trying to because something like a dark god of the Force would seem like his ideals from he Dark Horse comics Dark Empire series. Were you have the Emperor's force spirit jumping from clone to clone, but because his Dark Force powers are so strong and corrupting the clones just don't last very long (also explaining why he looked so decrepit in Return of the Jedi). His plan was to live forever with the Skywalker family being its line of main underling. If that failed, he's take over a Skywalker's body and figure the rest out later.
 
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I definitely prefer the "evil for evil's sake" motivation over either of those other two, particularly the one about him wanting to prepare the galaxy for the Yuuzhan Vong. It's vastly more in keeping with Sith ideals. His goal was to dominate all life while living forever. Star Wars is a black-and-white, good vs. evil world, and Palpatine is the truest embodiment of evil in it, so the motivation posited in Tarkin works a lot better for him, IMO.
 
The Emperor in Dark Empire didn't want to wipe out all life in the galaxy. He wanted immortality and to rule the galaxy. Big difference. :lol:

Of course any Sith is seeking immortality, that's a given. But did you read the Bane Trilogy? Bane was another "noble" Sith who dedicated himself to improving the galaxy. He set up a thousand year plan, knowing he would probably not live to actually earn the fruits of his labors, for the good of the galaxy.

Bane, Zannah, Plageuis, Old EU Sidious, Cadeus... all noble Sith who dedicated themselves to improving the galaxy.
 
The Emperor in Dark Empire didn't want to wipe out all life in the galaxy. He wanted immortality and to rule the galaxy.

Not just the galaxy:

The Dark Empire Sourcebook said:
He would journey across the universe spreading the shadow of his rule, blotting out the stars themselves, and taking his Dark Rule to other helpless galaxies.
.
.

for the good of the galaxy.

Not really. For the good of the Sith, more like.
 
^
Couldn't the same argument be made for the Rebels or the Jedi for that matter?

One Sith I want to add to the noble Sith list is Lumiya. She pretty much sacrificed herself in order for Caedus to be born.
 
^
Couldn't the same argument be made for the Rebels or the Jedi for that matter?

Well, sure, it could be made about anyone seeking a position of authority. But for Bane and Palpatine, it was always about bringing the Sith to dominance.

One Sith I want to add to the noble Sith list is Lumiya. She pretty much sacrificed herself in order for Caedus to be born.

After she corrupted the son of Han and Leia Solo and convinced him to kill his fellow Jedi, murder his aunt, corrupt his cousin and dead brother's girlfriend, decide the galaxy would be better off if Han and Leia were dead, and take over the galaxy in a coup d'etat. Not to mention the numerous times she personally tried to kill Luke. Not really all that noble, is she?
 
Oh yes, Lumiya-it was an interesting move I thought, to use a fairly obscure Marvel character, especially given those comic's goofiness and before then, questionable continuity/canon. (Such as the whole Wedge being stuck on Hoth issue which not only killed off Janson but got Wedge pretty much confused with Biggs)

It's kind of funny that Marvel's new SW comics (Which IMO are pretty good so far) are offically 'canon' at least according to Disney.
 
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