Any good pre-Star Wars novels/comics with droids, space bars, etc?

[Commander Kielbasa]

Are there any good novels or comic books in the space fantasy genre, which came out before Star Wars, that feature droids similar to those in SW (iIE as characters with personality) or that feature sleazy space bars full of aliens like seen in the 1977 SW. Basically I'm looking for really really good space fantasy/space opera stories, not hard sci-fi, featuring those elements. Something that came as close to being SW 1977 without being affiliated with that universe.

Novels and comics that describe vistas like this:

or scenes like this:

 

[The Old Mixer]

Well, the guy at the bottom is Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet.

 

[Christopher]

Well, there must be tons of it, because there was nothing particularly original about Star Wars -- it was a pastiche of the pulp adventure novels and movie serials that George Lucas enjoyed as a kid. Things like Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Carter of Mars series or the classic Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers comic strips are among the main stylistic and conceptual influences on Star Wars -- indeed, the reason Lucas created it was because he couldn't get the film rights to Flash Gordon.

I don't know about seedy space bars in particular, but there is a subgenre of sci-fi and fantasy stories set at taverns and bars, such as Callahan's Crosstime Saloon or Larry Niven's Draco's Tavern. And there's certainly plenty of classic SF about robots -- Isaac Asimov's robot series is probably the pinnacle -- but the term "droid" is one thing that did originate with Star Wars, as a shorthand for "android," albeit applied to all robots instead of just human-appearing ones.

 

[Steve Roby]

Might want to check out some of Leigh Brackett's space opera. Her last shot at the genre did pretty well -- The Empire Strikes Back. But she wrote a number of space opera novels and short stories over the years, too, as well as crime fiction and fantasy.

 

[Greg Cox]

Check out the "Northwest Smith" stories by C. L. Moore, plus just about anything that was published by PLANET STORIES magazine back in pulp era.

Oh, you might also like the THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT by Harry Harrison, and its many sequels.

 

[BeatleJWOL]

yooooooo found the fellow SH Forums member.

:wave:

 

[Christopher]

How about Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry stories? The early ones were very much in the classic pulp-space-hero vein, although more James Bond in Space than Star Wars-ish. But there are a lot of exotic alien species and cultures and interstellar intrigue. Maybe also his Nicholas van Rijn stories from an earlier era in the same universe, if you like scoundrel heroes.

Really, though, basically anything in the classic "space opera" genre, things like the works of E.E. "Doc" Smith or Edmond Hamilton, would be the most Star Wars-y stuff in prose.

 

[Solid Snack]

Brackett's contributins to ESB are somewhat exaggerated. Although the basic outline of the story is there, certain things like Vader being Luke's father, Han being frozen etc. were written in later on by Lucas and Kasdan. Lando also had a kind of weird backstory about him being a clone. There's also a bit about Han having a stepfather who could turn the tide in the war against the Empire. Given that some ESB concepts made their way into Rogue One (Vader's castle), maybe that Han bit might still be integrated a bit...

 

[Greg Cox]

Check out the "Northwest Smith" stories by C. L. Moore, plus just about anything that was published by PLANET STORIES magazine back in pulp era.

Oh, you might also like the THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT by Harry Harrison, and its many sequels.

FYI: The Stainless Steel Rat books have been optioned endlessly by Hollywood over the years, but have yet to make it to the screen. One of these days, although it's a shame Harrison won't live to see it.

 

[publiusr]

I don't know about seedy space bars in particular, but there is a subgenre of sci-fi and fantasy stories set at taverns and bars, such as Callahan's Crosstime Saloon or Larry Niven's Draco's Tavern.

The DC character Lobo seems to live out of them

Don't forget the Mare Inebrium
http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/series/mare/marelist.html

 

[Nerys Myk]

Scenes where the Blues Brothers wander into a bar filled with aliens?