Star Wars Books Thread
- Thread starter Mr Light
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My guess, although I could be wrong, would be that it'll be collected all in one TPB.
Yeah, most likely.
The moment where it cuts to him having just slaughtered a village of Tuskens was a great comic book scene. Made me gasp when I originally read it.
Troy Denning overstayed his welcome.
Denning has some actual writing chops so I don't blame him too much. The two post-NJO series were saddled with a writer who gradually went crazy, Karen Traviss (she started calling anyone who didn't like her work the equivalent of the Taliban and that the Jedi were Nazis etc), and one whose writing was godawful, Christie Golden. Aaron Allston was a decent writer but not really a writer for the type of series the two post-NJO were.
I still count Karen Traviss as the second best Star Wars writer, after Timothy Zahn. Her Republic Commando books are my favorite books of all time, not just of the SW franchise (Timothy Zahn still gets a bit of an advantage for just how important and amazing his Thrawn trilogy was, though). Troy Denning was more mixed (the Dark Nest Trilogy was stupid and the aftereffects of the series were hand waved away very quickly in the next major series), but he did some good stuff, too. Aaron Allston's X-Wing books were spectacular. Christie Golden did ok. I like Fate of the Jedi pretty well, and she did her parts decently.
One of many amazing scenes in that TPB, which is one of the best I have read in a long time. When Vader draws the connection between the Emperor's scheming and lying and the nature of the Sith - that was fantastic and it heralded the arrival of a true Sith Lord.
I also appreciated how his line "I have no feelings when it comes to Geonosis" was juxtaposed with memories of Padme.
I thought it was interesting how the Emperor was creating assassins and warriors that has the skills and abilities of the Jedi/Sith but were not connected to the Force. I wonder if that was a hint at the fact that somehow the Force was "broken" or suppressed by the actions of the Sith and that the Emperor was trying to work around that new reality.
I just finished reading the Legacy of the Force series. When it first came out I despised the final book for being horrifically anti-climactic. It sits a little better on the second reading, knowing the shape of it, but I still don't like the ending. The entire Corellian civil war angle doesn't even appear in the last two books, it just becomes about Jacen teaming up with the Empire. SMH. And I still think Jacen's defeat is WAY too easy and small and fast.
But on the whole, I still think that LOTF is an excellent book series that tells a wonderful story. Every book had something important in it, unlike the FOTJ or NJO series which had entire books where nothing much happened.
It was pretty amusing to see how the content and tone drastically shifted from book to book and author to author though. Characters and plots appear and disappear based on which author is writing the book in question. Everyone suddenly becomes a soldier using military terminology in the Traviss books, while everyone suddenly becomes a goof in the Allston books (which I personally preferred). And the Denning books would always be about Tenel Ka and Saba and having incredibly wordy drawn out battles.
But on the whole, I still think that LOTF is an excellent book series that tells a wonderful story. Every book had something important in it, unlike the FOTJ or NJO series which had entire books where nothing much happened.
It was pretty amusing to see how the content and tone drastically shifted from book to book and author to author though. Characters and plots appear and disappear based on which author is writing the book in question. Everyone suddenly becomes a soldier using military terminology in the Traviss books, while everyone suddenly becomes a goof in the Allston books (which I personally preferred). And the Denning books would always be about Tenel Ka and Saba and having incredibly wordy drawn out battles.
My first exposure to Star Wars was the Jedi Search audiobook at the age of six. It was abridged and I'm visually impaired, so I've always wanted to read the real deal. I finally did on Saturday. It's written very simplistically, without much real insight into the minds of characters. Lots of references to past events, but not much real digging into people's heads. Some other thoughts:
Leia does next to nothing in this book. Zahn admits he didn't give her enough to do in Heir to the Empire, but her roll in that book seems huge by comparison.
I love every bit involving Admiral Daala and the Suncrusher. I think the battle of the Maw Cluster and Kyp's rampage in the subsequent novels would make awesome movie material. The use of the "Battle of Yavin" music in the audiobook while Han and Chewie are fleeing from the Maw and Luke and Lando are fleeing from Kessel enhanced this feeling. The same is true of the use of the "Clash of Lightsabers" piece when Daala realizes the stars in the Cauldron Nebula are about to explode in the next book. I wonder if I would've found those scenes as powerful without the music.
In the audiobook, there was no mention of the prototype Death Star until it suddenly appeared in Champions of the Force. Good to see it properly introduced. Qwi Xux' naivete is stretched so far beyond belief that it's impossible to take her seriously, but that doesn't bother me.
I can't believe how quickly the book went by. I read it in a day. I'll be re-reading Dark Apprentice and Champions of the Force, but am not really in any rush to do so. I still haven't watched The Clone Wars or Rebels.
Leia does next to nothing in this book. Zahn admits he didn't give her enough to do in Heir to the Empire, but her roll in that book seems huge by comparison.
I love every bit involving Admiral Daala and the Suncrusher. I think the battle of the Maw Cluster and Kyp's rampage in the subsequent novels would make awesome movie material. The use of the "Battle of Yavin" music in the audiobook while Han and Chewie are fleeing from the Maw and Luke and Lando are fleeing from Kessel enhanced this feeling. The same is true of the use of the "Clash of Lightsabers" piece when Daala realizes the stars in the Cauldron Nebula are about to explode in the next book. I wonder if I would've found those scenes as powerful without the music.
In the audiobook, there was no mention of the prototype Death Star until it suddenly appeared in Champions of the Force. Good to see it properly introduced. Qwi Xux' naivete is stretched so far beyond belief that it's impossible to take her seriously, but that doesn't bother me.
I can't believe how quickly the book went by. I read it in a day. I'll be re-reading Dark Apprentice and Champions of the Force, but am not really in any rush to do so. I still haven't watched The Clone Wars or Rebels.
I've been gearing up for the new film in part by reading the Marvel Star Wars graphic novels. My take on them:
-Darth Vader: The first volume was good. Artwork was good. Vader's growing supporting cast, one in particular, has potential. However I liked the Dark Horse Vader-centric series (Darth Vader And the....) stories better.
-Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes-another good volume. The bickering between Han and Leia got old but for the most part didn't have a problem with the story. I preferred the Darth Vader graphic novel more. I'm not that big into Luke, Leia, and Han (particularly Leia and Han) or the original trilogy timeline for stories.
-Princess Leia: I thought this was a decent story, though I liked the Brian Woods Leia-centric Dark Horse Star Wars series better.
-Shattered Empire: The weakest Star Wars graphic novel of the bunch. The artwork was pretty good, but the story wasn't great and neither were the new characters introduced-I thought they were mostly bland. I wish the story had done more to really give us some clues about Force Awakens.
I might continue picking up Darth Vader trades. I'm fine with skipping the Star Wars book. Leia and Shattered Empire were limited runs.
Though I didn't read the trade I basically read most of the first arc of the Kanan: Last Padawan story. I was surprised how much I liked it. Kanan comes across better in the comics than what I've seen so far (only season 1) of Rebels.
Read the first issues of Lando and Chewbacca. I plan on picking up the Lando trade, but not Chewbacca's right now.
-Darth Vader: The first volume was good. Artwork was good. Vader's growing supporting cast, one in particular, has potential. However I liked the Dark Horse Vader-centric series (Darth Vader And the....) stories better.
-Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes-another good volume. The bickering between Han and Leia got old but for the most part didn't have a problem with the story. I preferred the Darth Vader graphic novel more. I'm not that big into Luke, Leia, and Han (particularly Leia and Han) or the original trilogy timeline for stories.
-Princess Leia: I thought this was a decent story, though I liked the Brian Woods Leia-centric Dark Horse Star Wars series better.
-Shattered Empire: The weakest Star Wars graphic novel of the bunch. The artwork was pretty good, but the story wasn't great and neither were the new characters introduced-I thought they were mostly bland. I wish the story had done more to really give us some clues about Force Awakens.
I might continue picking up Darth Vader trades. I'm fine with skipping the Star Wars book. Leia and Shattered Empire were limited runs.
Though I didn't read the trade I basically read most of the first arc of the Kanan: Last Padawan story. I was surprised how much I liked it. Kanan comes across better in the comics than what I've seen so far (only season 1) of Rebels.
Read the first issues of Lando and Chewbacca. I plan on picking up the Lando trade, but not Chewbacca's right now.
I started rereading Dark Apprentice the other day and after four chapters I don't know whether I want to bother with the rest. Han and Lando's feud over the Falcon was beyond stupid and Admiral Akbar's crash seems like yet another steal from the Thrawn trilogy. Oh look, let's put him out of commission for the second book in the trilogy again. The only things I like about the series are Kyp and to some degree Admiral Daala. Maybe Kevin J. Anderson really is a lame hack.
I finally, finally, finally got my hands on Aftermath today. I waited 2.5 damn months for the library to get it and they finally did... then my friend told me she bought it for me yesterday!!! I read the first 50 pages. I totally see what people are complaining about with the writing style. I don't think it's horrible, but it's not my taste. And it's also disappointing to see the book stars a bunch of randos. I want to see what Han, Luke, and Leia are doing after ROTJ.
For some reason, I find that scene to be an endless source of personal amusement.
I'm about 2/3 through Aftermath and I'm struggling to be interested. I was really hoping I was going to buck popular opinion on this one and tell everyone how awesome it was.
I got the Smuggler's Run YA Han Solo book from the library today. Christ these things are short, I read half of it in an hour
It's pretty good and reads like a normal book, it's not kiddie or anything.
I got the Smuggler's Run YA Han Solo book from the library today. Christ these things are short, I read half of it in an hour
It's pretty good and reads like a normal book, it's not kiddie or anything.Finished the Jedi Academy trilogy last Thursday. Kevin Anderson repeats himself ad infinitum. Why did we need a summary of everything that had happened to Daala whenever the point of view switched to her? I still like the idea of a teenager like Kip trying to use the Darkside for good, but that's about it. I can see why plenty of people hate this trilogy. Think I'll read I, Jedi next, as I've never read it but really enjoyed the X-Wing audiobooks when they came out.
I really enjoyed the Jedi Academy Trilogy, but I can count on one hand the number of Star Wars books I didn't like, and I've read A LOT of them. For what its worth, I enjoyed I, Jedi a lot too, it was an interesting style to do with a SW book, plus I like Corran Horn a lot. I don't know if you'll like it if you also didn't like the Jedi Academy trilogy, but it does cover its own story so its probably something that can be enjoyed without liking the Academy trilogy.
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