Star Wars - Splinter of the Mind's Eye

[Steve Roby]

Not to mention the romantic tension between Luke and Leia.

I'm kind of surprised to see that angle get downplayed here; in other discussions I've read, it's been one of the main points and used as proof that Lucas was just making this stuff up as he went along. (I doubt he had as much control over SW back then as he later got, but I'd be surprised if there's anything significant in Splinter that he didn't sign off on.)

I just read the 3rd or 4th edition of RotJ, and even that was significantly different then the movie. I hear the subsequent editions had been modified to reflect the movie more closely.

But it was much darker too. Suggestions of Leia being raped by Jabba being the foremost. Issues around Ben and Luke. I liked it, but it certainly punctuates that Lucas's claims of having this whole space opera mapped out from the get-go, is pure BS.

Oh, yeah. There's simply no way the original trilogy was planned as the second half of Darth Vader's life story, and there was obviously a lot of second guessing going on between SW, TESB, and ROTJ.

It's hard to remember a time when the first movie, this book, and a handful of comics were the totality of Star Wars.

Not for me, but 50 isn't too far away and 40's way back in the distance in the rearview. Hell, I remember when Heir to the Empire showed up in bookstores with a special wraparound banner pointing out that it was on sale for a special introductory low price. Still have mine, though I never got around to the other books in the trilogy.

Just think... for a decade or so, the only original SW novels were Splinter, Brian Daley's Han Solo trilogy, and L. Neil Smith's Lando Calrissian trilogy.

 

[Kegg]

But yeah, the earlier treatments for Star Wars are almost nonsense.

They're fun reads, though (for the first film anyway). It's interesting how many elements from the very first draft made their way into The Phanton Menace.

 

[DWF]

Not to mention the romantic tension between Luke and Leia.

I'm kind of surprised to see that angle get downplayed here; in other discussions I've read, it's been one of the main points and used as proof that Lucas was just making this stuff up as he went along. (I doubt he had as much control over SW back then as he later got, but I'd be surprised if there's anything significant in Splinter that he didn't sign off on.)

Lucas had full control over the movies even back then anything beyond that was questionable. But it is interesting how parts of the original plotline was worked iinto Splinter, like the Kyber crystal and Luke cut off Vader arm as we would later see in ROTJ, which was also intersting to me.

 

[Klaus]

I recall seeing the Star Wars novelization in the bookstore before the movie came out, with this cool McQuarrie cover:



...and picked it up because of the lightsaber on the cover, not ever having heard of the upcoming movie and not even realizing it was a tie-in. I read the back cover, chortled derisively at the brave-farmboy-kidnapped-princess-Dark-Lord storyline, and then laughed out loud and said "Imperial stormtroopers???" in disbelief and tossed it back on the shelf.

 

[Silvercrest]

Nothing beats the covers of the first few issues of the Marvel adaptation. The first issue had Darth Vader's mask awkwardly drawn and miscolored so that he looked like a big green insect. It's a wonder it ever sold.

 

[JoeZhang]

Oh, yeah. There's simply no way the original trilogy was planned as the second half of Darth Vader's life story, and there was obviously a lot of second guessing going on between SW, TESB, and ROTJ.

Indeed, he's just a henchman of the week in the first one (with a first name of Darth rather than a title).

 

[Set Harth]

Obi-Wan did have a brief and sort of amusing reference to a little known planet called Earth, though.

I don't think that happened.

 

[Kegg]

Obi-Wan did have a brief and sort of amusing reference to a little known planet called Earth, though.

I don't think that happened.

Actually, it did. 'Twas about ducks, mostly.

 

[Silvercrest]

What's a duck?

 

[Capt_Pickirk]

- I was also surprised that Luke's light saber was described as blue. I know it was blue in Empire and Jedi, but in the first film it always looked white to me. Hell, it's white on the movie poster!

Luke's lightsaber was green in Jedi since he had to make a new after losing the blue one when e lost his hand on Bespin.

Actually Luke's lightsaber was changed to Green because a blue one wouldn't show up against the blue sky in the salaacc pit battle.





Oh and Grammar is now Fixed

 

[23skidoo]

For a supposed series for kids, this story is pretty child unfriendly.

What ever gave you the impression the Star Wars novels, certainly Splinter, were aimed at kids? I'm very puzzled there. It was published for adults. I knew that back in 1978 or whenever it came out.

I remember enjoying the book, though that mainly had to do with the fact it was a new story featuring Luke and Leia who, at the time, I enjoyed more than Han and Chewie. I think the first original novels were a pair of Han Solo novels featuring him working, er, solo and I never bothered buying them. I was just interested in Luke, Leia and Vader at the time.

I remember the sexual tension between Luke and Leia, especially a scene in which Luke watches her undress (again, this isn't a kid's novel, nor was it written as one). In retrospect, this gives the novel an unexpected edge because, well, we know what we find out in Return of the Jedi. Actually, if Lucas actually had anything to do with this novel, this, combined with the snog Luke and Leia share in Empire Strikes Back, in my opinion is evidence the whole "she's his sister" aspect was something Lucas added at the last minute. (I recall there were some similar moments in Marvel's comic book series, though it's unclear if Lucas had any input into what the comics did in the pre-Dark Horse days.)

I can't see Splinter ever being a serious film sequel to Star Wars as some have suggested it might have been. It's too claustrophobic, and it's basically a two-hander between Leia and Luke, with Vader coming in later. The absence of Han and Chewie (were the droids in Splinter? I forget) wouldn't have allowed this to work as a Star Wars film. But it was an interesting experiment and it's amazing to think something like 16 years or more would pass before another original novel would be published featuring the "twins."

Obi-Wan did have a brief and sort of amusing reference to a little known planet called Earth, though.

I don't think that happened.

Actually, it did. 'Twas about ducks, mostly.

I'm backing that up. I remember that clearly because it threw me bigtime. It's one of those little details that people try to forget, but this was in a novel that, whether he wrote it or not, is still credited to George Lucas, so is it canon that Obi-Wan would be aware of Earth and ducks? (Sure there could be other planets with ducks, but remember Lucas is the guy who specializes in making up names like bantha and gundark and so on for every type of creature, so why would he run out of new words when it came to ducks?)

Alex

 

[Set Harth]

Obi-Wan did have a brief and sort of amusing reference to a little known planet called Earth, though.

I don't think that happened.

Actually, it did. 'Twas about ducks, mostly.

You didn't say there was a reference to ducks.

You said there was a reference to "a little known planet called Earth", which did not happen.

Suddenly the boyish twinkle returned to those piercing eyes along with the old man's natural humor. "I understand you're quite a pilot yourself. Piloting and navigation aren't hereditary, but a number of the things that can combine to make a good small-ship pilot are. Those you may have inherited. Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim."

"What's a duck?" Luke asked curiously.

"Never mind. In many ways, you know, you are much like your father."

There was a reference to a duck, but a reference to a duck is not a reference to Earth. Naboo has ducks.

There is no reference to Earth in the book. ( A reference which wouldn't have made sense if it had occurred, because of the FFA part of GFFA. )

I'm backing that up.

Back it up with a quote from the book. I'll wait. And I'm not looking for references to ducks or dogs, because I know about those. I'm looking for a quote that contains the word Earth.

but this was in a novel that, whether he wrote it or not, is still credited to George Lucas, so is it canon that Obi-Wan would be aware of Earth and ducks? (Sure there could be other planets with ducks, but remember Lucas is the guy who specializes in making up names like bantha and gundark and so on for every type of creature, so why would he run out of new words when it came to ducks?)

The novel may be credited to George Lucas, but it was written by Alan Dean Foster.

 

[Kegg]

Splinter was supposed to be the sequel to Star Wars if Star Wars did not make a lot of money. Hence the claustrophobic part. Sequels usually got less money than the original film, since diminishing returns were expected - the contemporary Planet of the Apes franchise being a pretty excellent example here.

You said there was a reference to "a little known planet called Earth", which did not happen.

Yes it did. There's a line after the part you quoted where Obi-Wan decides not to bring up the little known location of those ducks. I haven't seen my copy of the novelization in something close to a decade, but that's the kind of peculiar detail you don't forget.

but this was in a novel that, whether he wrote it or not, is still credited to George Lucas, so is it canon that Obi-Wan would be aware of Earth and ducks?

There's a number of inconsistencies between the novelizations and the films, so I'm not sure how canon they should be reckoned. As already discussed, the rise of Palpatine is different in this novelization, and if memory serves so is Luke's callsign for the Battle of Yavin.

 

[J.T.B.]

Yes it did. There's a line after the part you quoted where Obi-Wan decides not to bring up the little known location of those ducks. I haven't seen my copy of the novelization in something close to a decade, but that's the kind of peculiar detail you don't forget.

That's not how I remember it, which is: Luke asks "What's a duck" and Ben says "Never mind" and that's the end of it. My impression was that Luke didn't know about ducks because waterfowl and such would be unknown on Tatooine. I didn't take it as a literal reference to Earth ducks.

Give me a while and I can dig out my paperback with the creased spine where all the photo inserts fell out. Including the one of the stormtrooper riding the dewback, which always bugged me since you never saw it in the movie.

There's a number of inconsistencies between the novelizations and the films, so I'm not sure how canon they should be reckoned. As already discussed, the rise of Palpatine is different in this novelization, and if memory serves so is Luke's callsign for the Battle of Yavin.

Yes, it was originally "Blue Five" and Blue Squadron, with blue markings on the X-wings This caused problems with bluescreen photography, so the squadron was changed to Red.

One canonical question that I learned about here was that some people think Biggs went to the Academy to become a member of the Imperial military, while in the novel (and radio play) it's made pretty clear he's gone into the merchant service.

--Justin

 

[Set Harth]

Yes it did. There's a line after the part you quoted where Obi-Wan decides not to bring up the little known location of those ducks. I haven't seen my copy of the novelization in something close to a decade, but that's the kind of peculiar detail you don't forget.

No, it did not happen. By any chance, did you also see Biggs on Tatooine in ANH? That's the kind of "peculiar detail" that would be quite likely to have been mentioned in the various Internet threads about the ANH novel, or specifically about Earthlike references in the novel, and yet it wasn't. There is nothing more about ducks after the passage I quoted, and there is no mention of Earth. Similarly, when dogs are mentioned elsewhere in the text, there is no mention of anyone trying to keep secret "the little known original location of those dogs".

 

[JoeZhang]

The full dialogue is as follows:

Suddenly the boyish twinkle returned to those piercing eyes along with the old man's natural humor. "I understand you're quite a pilot yourself. Piloting and navigation aren't hereditary, but a number of the things that can combine to make a good small-ship pilot are. Those you may have inherited. Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim."

"What's a duck?" Luke asked curiously.

"Never mind. In many ways, you know, you are much like your father."

"Now finish up your coke and Philly cheesesteak"

 

[Klaus]

 

[ATimson]

I have a plan to, at some point, read the original novelizations and the novels that slot between them in order:
- From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker
- Splinter of the Mind's Eye
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Shadows of the Empire
- Return of the Jedi
- The Truce at Bakura

I'm curious to see how they hold up as an expanded saga.

No Allegiance or Choices of One?

 

[TremblingBluStar]

For a supposed series for kids, this story is pretty child unfriendly.

What ever gave you the impression the Star Wars novels, certainly Splinter, were aimed at kids? I'm very puzzled there. It was published for adults. I knew that back in 1978 or whenever it came out.

People often defend the prequels under the pretense that the movies are "children" movie and thus are beyond adult criticism. You would have heard this argument countless times here when those films were new.

(were the droids in Splinter? I forget)

Yes, both were. They made very little contribution to the story, however.

In fact, Luke acted as translator instead of C3PO, claiming that he had nothing better to do as a child than learn alien languages.

so is it canon that Obi-Wan would be aware of Earth and ducks? (Sure there could be other planets with ducks, but remember Lucas is the guy who specializes in making up names like bantha and gundark and so on for every type of creature, so why would he run out of new words when it came to ducks?)

"If they can't get those shield generators fixed, we'll be sitting ducks" - from The Phantom Menace.

 

[Set Harth]

http://www.starwars.com/databank/creature/duck/