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DorianGravy posted:Now I'm interested in the Rogue Squadron books as well. Outside of the Thrawn trilogy, I think I've heard they're probably the best books in the EU, right? Are the nine books in the series somewhat standalone? Are they all fun? Wraith Squadron Wraith Squadron Wraith Squadron Wraith Squadron Wraith Squadron Wraith Squadron I remember each book being pretty standalone since the characters weren't developed deeply enough (except maybe for the mary sue corran horn) since it was about the squadron as a whole. I can't say if they're all fun but they're pretty quick reads. Also I just looked at the Wraith Squadron wiki page and it has got to be the longest page in there. 
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Jan 26, 2011 17:18
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DorianGravy posted:Now I'm interested in the Rogue Squadron books as well. Outside of the Thrawn trilogy, I think I've heard they're probably the best books in the EU, right? Are the nine books in the series somewhat standalone? Are they all fun? They are standalone, both compared to the rest of the EU, and also (sometimes) comparing them to themselves. Here's the breakdown: Books 1-4: Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole. Good books that rarely meet up with the main characters of Star Wars. It relies on new characters (and Wedge). Books 5-7: Wraith Squadron by Aaron Allston. Fantastic stuff, not related to the first 4 books. (Well, we still get Wedge, but mostly new characters.) Once again, they rarely meet up with the main Star Wars characters. Han is in one of them a bit more, but it's still mainly about new characters. It's a bit different than Stackpole's stuff, but may in fact be better. (It's at least as good.) Book 8: Stackpole is back for another Rogue Squadron book. Book 9: Aaron Allston returns for a wonderful desert for the entree that was the rest of the series. Seriously, this book is just fun as hell, but also mostly unrelated to all the books before. Wedge and a few buddies are the main characters. It's a treat. In short, read them. They're great.
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Jan 26, 2011 17:25
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Fox of Stone posted:(except maybe for the mary sue corran horn) Gary Stu!  But yeah, the X-Wing series is awesome. As a kid, I started off with the X-Wing books as my first ever Star Wars book. Then I played through Rogue Squadron, TIE Fighter, X-Wing, X-Wing vs. TIE, etc. So awesome. IMHO, I think 8 is one of the weaker entries in the series, but even the "weakest" X-Wing book is still miles ahead of some of the poo poo the EU has put out. It's a good book, I just think it pales slightly in comparison to the other titles in the series. Also, the Wraith books (5-7) + Starfighter of Adumar (9) are the closest thing you'll get to good SW comedy. The Wedge Purge!
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Jan 26, 2011 17:35
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Star Wars needs to be about the average dude or alien again making a name for himself or herself in this big old frontier of space wars. Not flippy smug or angry psychic dudes with swords. They've had their time as far as I am concerned.
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Jan 26, 2011 17:40
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The X-wing series were pretty much the only EU books I read when I was a kid. When I moved from the Rogue to Wraith books I wasn't too keen, mostly because I was very young and I missed the old Rogue characters. With a little more hindsight, though, Allston's books are leagues ahead of Stackpoles; Allston's character interaction is great, whereas Stackpole seems to rely on overly clunky internal monologues and dialogue to resolve things. Even if you don't like the rest of the NJO, the Enemy Lines duology were really fun to read. Allston, along with Matt Stover and Greg Keyes (who, I feel, is sadly forgotten despite putting out three very good stories) were the best authors in the NJO.
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Jan 26, 2011 17:45
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Captain Splendid posted:The X-wing series were pretty much the only EU books I read when I was a kid. When I moved from the Rogue to Wraith books I wasn't too keen, mostly because I was very young and I missed the old Rogue characters. With a little more hindsight, though, Allston's books are leagues ahead of Stackpoles; Allston's character interaction is great, whereas Stackpole seems to rely on overly clunky internal monologues and dialogue to resolve things. As a kid, I read some pretty terrible EU books. The New Rebellion, Shadows of the Empire, Truce at Bakura, the Jedi Academy Trilogy by none other than Kevin J. Anderson, and worst of all, the Glove of Darth Vader series. To my kid sensibilities most of these were all right, but even the Glove of Darth Vader series was too drat bad for kid-me.
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Jan 26, 2011 19:13
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Mr.Graves posted:Also, thanks to whoever bought me this kick rear end avatar. I will dedicate my next Wedge Fic to you. I'm glad you like it! I'm very behind on reading through this thread and just got to your rant on page 92 but it made me laugh pretty hard and the rest is history I guess.
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Jan 26, 2011 20:00
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Mr. Graves posted:Also, thanks to whoever bought me this kick rear end avatar. I will dedicate my next Wedge Fic to you. So jelly right now. Someone should put the rant about Wedge in the OP. MIDWIFE CRISIS fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Jan 26, 2011 |
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Jan 26, 2011 20:17
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movax posted:Also, the Wraith books (5-7) + Starfighter of Adumar (9) are the closest thing you'll get to good SW comedy. The Wedge Purge! Ahem! No Tag & Bink?!
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Jan 27, 2011 01:45
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SeanBeansShako posted:Star Wars needs to be about the average dude or alien again making a name for himself or herself in this big old frontier of space wars. Like what, a trader or something? It needs to be exciting and if they're not in a position to do exciting things its being boring for its own sake. And the EU can do that fine on its own.
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Jan 27, 2011 02:30
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RagnarokAngel posted:Like what, a trader or something? It needs to be exciting and if they're not in a position to do exciting things its being boring for its own sake. And the EU can do that fine on its own.
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Jan 27, 2011 02:50
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Kart Barfunkel posted:Ahem! No Tag & Bink?! poo poo, you're right, forgot all about Tag & Bink 
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Jan 27, 2011 02:53
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Captain Splendid posted:Even if you don't like the rest of the NJO, the Enemy Lines duology were really fun to read. Allston, along with Matt Stover and Greg Keyes (who, I feel, is sadly forgotten despite putting out three very good stories) were the best authors in the NJO. "We're going to hit them with the Empire. They're not going to like the Empire."
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Jan 27, 2011 03:03
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The part where Kell Tainer tried to get Luke to test his new ejection seat inside a hanger with a 30 foot ceiling was really good too.
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Jan 27, 2011 03:13
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Casimir Radon posted:Would you rather read about Lando being Lando, or more stupid Jedi/Sith bullshit? He said no flippy smug though. That's pretty much Lando. I thought he was saying he wanted more "normal dudes" as in not criminals/smugglers/bounty hunters etc., not just "not force sensitive".
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Jan 27, 2011 03:59
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RagnarokAngel posted:He said no flippy smug though. That's pretty much Lando. I thought he was saying he wanted more "normal dudes" as in not criminals/smugglers/bounty hunters etc., not just "not force sensitive". How about a gun-slinging, hard-as-nails sheriff in a frontier town, where the only thing tougher than the Tuskan Raiding parties is finding some decent booze?
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Jan 27, 2011 05:03
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RagnarokAngel posted:Like what, a trader or something? It needs to be exciting and if they're not in a position to do exciting things its being boring for its own sake. And the EU can do that fine on its own. Considering the amount of Smugglers, Bounty Hunters and rear end in a top hat Pirates I'm pretty sure even Traders have to kick some rear end from time to time.
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Jan 27, 2011 06:04
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I would unironically enjoy reading a story about just some regular dude who does everyday stuff. Maybe reads the newspaper once in a while and has a son who dreams of adventure in the rebellion, but he gets scolded and told he's going to grow up to be an imperial pilot just like he was. The story would just chronicle his everyday life as he goes to space-work, relaxes with coworkers in space-cantina, and then goes back to space-home. He does it again the next day. Then he dies in the Alderaan holocaust.
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Jan 27, 2011 06:14
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Fox of Stone posted:I would unironically enjoy reading a story about just some regular dude who does everyday stuff. Maybe reads the newspaper once in a while and has a son who dreams of adventure in the rebellion, but he gets scolded and told he's going to grow up to be an imperial pilot just like he was. The story would just chronicle his everyday life as he goes to space-work, relaxes with coworkers in space-cantina, and then goes back to space-home. He does it again the next day. Sorta kinda what happened to poor Karsk. Forget his name, but he was just this random Alliance pilot who happened to get caught on the ground when the Death Star showed up. (cue fanfic)
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Jan 27, 2011 06:30
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Having a story of just being an average guy living in the Star Wars universe was what made Star Wars Galaxies so awesome years ago.
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Jan 27, 2011 07:20
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Shimrra Jamaane posted:Having a story of just being an average guy living in the Star Wars universe was what made Star Wars Galaxies so awesome years ago. Ah, yes, a slice of life from an average guy, who just happens to take orders directly from Darth Vader and kills Robot-General-Grevious-Clones.
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Jan 27, 2011 07:25
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Slantedfloors posted:Ah, yes, a slice of life from an average guy, who just happens to take orders directly from Darth Vader and kills Robot-General-Grevious-Clones. Whenever anyone ever praises SWG it goes without saying that they are referring to Pre-CU before all of that stuff.  Besides, that was just end game stuff for just one avenue for playing.
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Jan 27, 2011 07:34
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The best part was always somehow finding a brooding sith on a corner of Dantooine and drag it all the way to the spaceport to watch the chaos ensue until eventually a Jedi would appear and take care of him...until the bounty hunters killed it. 
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Jan 27, 2011 07:39
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Yeah Star Wars Galaxies was amazing for making you feel like an absolute nobody just living out a normal life. Then the updates came and all of a sudden HAN SOLO™ is helping you pilot the MILLENNIUM FALCON™ while DARTH VADER™ chases you.Suenteus Po posted:And it got worse: When Dagobah came out, the best deck involved playing a deck with nothing but random droids and background aliens (no main characters) and cards that you shuffled into your opponent's deck, and then when they drew them they lost most of their cards. Those decks usually didn't battle or force drain ever and won absurdly quickly. Man I can't believe no one made the most obvious joke about the new decks being like the new movies with tons of random poo poo that no one cares about cluttering up everything.
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Jan 27, 2011 09:26
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I too have a multiple boxes of the old CCG including most of the much sought-after Vaders, Lukes, etc. I take it they wouldn't fetch much cash now? (Secretly hoping the answer is now so I am justified in keeping them to mess around with with my friends some lazy weekend.) Admiral Goodenough posted:Someone should put the rant about Wedge in the OP. Huh, rant... did I miss it? Somebody link me?
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Jan 27, 2011 10:02
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^^^ Mr. Graves's post on page 92. Slantedfloors posted:Yeah, Enemy Lines was probably the best chunk of the NJO (excepting the Lord Nyax/"That one goddamn picture" plotline), since it was just Wedge and the rest of the norms ladling out asskickings to the Vong left and right. Is it possible at all to read these and not read the rest of NJO?
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Jan 27, 2011 11:23
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Mr.Graves posted:I don't know what the hell you kids are talking about with your Atari video game comic book whatsists and your universe extensions but it needs to be made clear that Wedge Antilles is the real loving hero of the entire series and everyone else is a pussy that exists only to contrast the fact that the Death Star blueprints were fashioned after an analysis of just one of his balls. That's right. His testicles could destroy planets, motherfuckers. This is a masterpiece.
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Jan 27, 2011 14:02
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Admiral Goodenough posted:Is it possible at all to read these and not read the rest of NJO? It kind of is, yeah. You'll wonder who a few characters are and where they came from but its not too bad.
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Jan 27, 2011 14:08
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randombattle posted:Yeah Star Wars Galaxies was amazing for making you feel like an absolute nobody just living out a normal life. Then the updates came and all of a sudden HAN SOLO™ is helping you pilot the MILLENNIUM FALCON™ while DARTH VADER™ chases you. Don't forget you can be a JEDI MASTER™!
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Jan 27, 2011 16:19
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I thought Galaxies was killed off, yet my holiday purchase of the Star Wars pack included it?  And yet it did not include TIE Fighter! 
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Jan 27, 2011 16:32
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Torael_7 posted:It kind of is, yeah. You'll wonder who a few characters are and where they came from but its not too bad. Why would you care about any character not named Wedge or Face?
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Jan 27, 2011 16:42
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WhyteRyce posted:Why would you care about any character not named Wedge or Face? Oh god, Face.
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Jan 27, 2011 16:45
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Biplane posted:Oh god, Face. Wasn't he the guy with the scar or something that was used in Imperial propaganda campaigns?
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Jan 27, 2011 18:31
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NeonTurtle posted:How about a gun-slinging, hard-as-nails sheriff in a frontier town, where the only thing tougher than the Tuskan Raiding parties is finding some decent booze? They needed a thousand lawmen. They got one. He was enough.
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Jan 27, 2011 19:01
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I have in the last few months really began to immerse myself in the wondrous Star Wars cosmos. I also work at a bar and am organizing a Star Wars extended version marathon day/night (we're having a LOTR one this saturday, my bar rules) Any suggestions for drinking games? I am thinking of doing some things like drink whenever ________ happens: -"I've got a bad feeling about this" - Vader puts his fists on his hips - Vader kills an imperial officer - disembodied voice inspires Luke - someone says The Force (we're also going to watch the prequels but I haven't thought of any for those) etc But also some other Star Wars themed drinking games, possibly more interactive, would be fun! I am not feeling very creative right now, ignoring my prof talk about how German Jews have a custom of celebrating when their child is toilet trained (guess I'm not ignoring too bad after all!) so any suggestions would be appreciated! Have at 'er goons. This could be good, real good.
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Jan 27, 2011 19:32
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domi the great posted:I have in the last few months really began to immerse myself in the wondrous Star Wars cosmos. I also work at a bar and am organizing a Star Wars extended version marathon day/night (we're having a LOTR one this saturday, my bar rules) -Any time you see good guys wear white, or bad guys where black. -Twice any time you see good guys wear black, or bad guys wear white. (for uniforms, only the first person on screen counts) -Three times if someone hovering in between wears gray. -Someone's hand gets cut off (prequels could make this deadly). -A woman other than Leia is on screen. -A Rebel pilot is of a race other than white (I think this happens only once?). -Something doesn't work on the Falcon. -A gigantic technological marvel explodes in a single blast. (These are stolen from a list I read years ago)
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Jan 27, 2011 19:42
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thrawn527 posted:-A Rebel pilot is of a race other than white (I think this happens only once?). Yeah, black X-Wing pilot in ROTJ. Pretty sure he gets blown up too, go figure, right? Black dude never makes it to the end  Depending on what version of the films you're watching (and the  of the crown), could drink everytime a Lucas "improvement" rears its ugly head.
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Jan 27, 2011 19:48
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Ensign   movax posted:Yeah, black X-Wing pilot in ROTJ. Pretty sure he gets blown up too, go figure, right? Black dude never makes it to the end http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Grizz_Frix 'Due to the fact that he was raised in a prejudiced society, Grizz Frix believed from an early age that the Galactic Empire needed to be overthrown. He found solitude in the hours he spent flying his old airspeeder high above the mountains of Devaron. Up there, racial divides were nonexistent, allowing him a brief moment of escape.' There are quite a few fat rebel pilots. Muppetjedi fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Jan 27, 2011 |
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Jan 27, 2011 19:51
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Don't forget the Asian Y-Wing Pilot from ROTJ too.
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Jan 27, 2011 20:08
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I don't know why I never before realized that minorities are represented by racist caricature aliens in the prequels.
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Jan 27, 2011 20:44
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