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Traitor, Destiny's Way, and Unifying Force are all fine Star Wars reads, in my book. Stackpole and Allston's books are also fun for basically being continuations of their X-wing books (even if Allston did invent Mr. Lightsaber Limbs) and along with what Drone said I do think that Vector Prime has some great atmospheric sections. Honestly, I think Luceno's duology is even improved if you consider it more an extension of Daley's Han Solo books than primarily Yuuzhan Vong-centered works. Balance Point was pretty boring for what was intended to be a major entry in the series, though. Whatever duology that focused on Anakin and Tahiri afterwards was the same, and Star by Star is really not that far above gems like The Crystal Star or Glove of Darth Vader for me. Not just for the senseless deaths but the plot makes no sense and it's really tediously written. I think the paperbacks in between Destiny's Way and Unifying Force were also kind of pointless as written, although I did enjoy the Empire vs. Vong and return to Bakura parts (Truce at Bakura is a pretty dull book, but it has a special place in my heart as one of the first Star Wars books I read as a youngster in the early 90s) and Final Prophecy is at least decently written even if the plot is a bit redundant.
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Jul 6, 2012 13:10
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As dumb as the Force Heretic trilogy is, it's a ton of fun to see Nom Anor scheming and backstabbing everybody. He and Vergere were the starts of the NJO; every time they appeared, they stole the scene.
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Jul 6, 2012 17:04
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Chairman Capone posted:Balance Point was pretty boring for what was intended to be a major entry in the series, though. Whatever duology that focused on Anakin and Tahiri afterwards was the same, and Star by Star is really not that far above gems like The Crystal Star or Glove of Darth Vader for me. Not just for the senseless deaths but the plot makes no sense and it's really tediously written. I think the paperbacks in between Destiny's Way and Unifying Force were also kind of pointless as written, although I did enjoy the Empire vs. Vong and return to Bakura parts (Truce at Bakura is a pretty dull book, but it has a special place in my heart as one of the first Star Wars books I read as a youngster in the early 90s) and Final Prophecy is at least decently written even if the plot is a bit redundant. Star By Star is the exact reason that I picked Traitor as the flip point. It was too long for one book and felt like they tried to hash together a trilogy, cut it into pieces to make it fit, and just hosed it up from beginning to end. I enjoyed the Force Heretic trilogy for the planet-hunting sections (once they get there it's less entertaining and more semicoherent philosophy-and-ethics-in-the-Force  that perpetually change from author to author). Nom Anor's sections were pretty entertaining though. Also, any section involving an entertaining Pellaeon gets a couple extra bonus points in my book.Balance Point wasn't terrible, for me, but again, it felt like they had like 5 disparate plotlines they felt they had to tie off in the post-Coruscant takeover and cauterized at least a couple of them with no warning. Since I actually cared about that one more than Star By Star, I feel like at the very least the Mara counterinsurgency/Lando & Talon Karrde/Chief of State politics should have been split off into it's own book. (Mara really needs more retroactive spy/insurgency stories  )Stackpole I'm not a huge fan of to begin with, but Allston's books were a high point. But Allston's got Wedge and Wraith Squadron down to a T so that's probably why. (Also why the lightsaber limb guy section was less than great.)
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Jul 6, 2012 23:26
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VaultAggie posted:As dumb as the Force Heretic trilogy is, it's a ton of fun to see Nom Anor scheming and backstabbing everybody. He and Vergere were the starts of the NJO; every time they appeared, they stole the scene. Nom Anor's anti-hero gently caress-up Prophet arc is one of the most amazing things written for Star Wars. There, I said it. Also, he's one of the few unabashed villains in Star Wars who gets to choose death on his own terms. None of the usual villain death tropes, no real redemption, just a flat out gently caress you said to every side. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 07:46 on Jul 7, 2012 |
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Jul 7, 2012 07:43
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gently caress you, Troy Denning. I'm not even halfway through Heir to the Empire and I'm enjoying it more than all of Fate of the Jedi combined.
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Jul 14, 2012 22:06
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I want to see inside Han Solo's closet. Endless white shirts and black vests.
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Jul 15, 2012 03:12
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This one's leather, though. Edgy!
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Jul 15, 2012 03:13
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Would it kill them to get someone to loving paint something? Not that it matters as this is just going to be another lovely outing from Denning. Because we didn't get enough Abeloth last time  
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Jul 15, 2012 05:18
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Big Mean Jerk posted:gently caress you, Troy Denning. You know that as soon as George Lucas is dead Luke and Han are going to have a
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Jul 15, 2012 05:33
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SirPhoebos posted:You know that as soon as George Lucas is dead Luke and Han are going to have a  Maybe R2, though 
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Jul 15, 2012 06:35
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Am I the only that doesn't wanna see the big three die? Instead you know just freaking retire maybe tell their grand kids about the time Luke took down a death star in a space garbage truck while drunk off of R2's concept of moonshine.
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Jul 15, 2012 21:59
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Darth Freddy posted:Am I the only that doesn't wanna see the big three die? Instead you know just freaking retire maybe tell their grand kids about the time Luke took down a death star in a space garbage truck while drunk off of R2's concept of moonshine. Whereabouts are we in the timeline now? Crucible is 45 years after the battle of Yavin - that means Luke and Leia are what, mid 60s now? With Han presumably a little older? gently caress it, let them retire.
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Jul 15, 2012 22:50
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That'd be really nice, but I can't see that happening in the EU 
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Jul 15, 2012 22:57
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R2 survives into the Legacy era. Cade has him onboard the Mynock. My bet on the next big death will be Threepio. He doesn't do poo poo in the books and it's controversial enough to stir up attention but not alienate fans.
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Jul 16, 2012 01:14
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Fil5000 posted:Whereabouts are we in the timeline now? Crucible is 45 years after the battle of Yavin - that means Luke and Leia are what, mid 60s now? With Han presumably a little older? gently caress it, let them retire. It doesn't help that in all the official art, Luke and Lei don't look a year over 30, while Han appears to be at most 40. I remember while doing the Let's Read of the Dark Nest comparing how Luke, Han and Leia are depicted in art with how their actors look in real life, and the differences are really jarring.
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Jul 16, 2012 01:45
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SirPhoebos posted:It doesn't help that in all the official art, Luke and Lei don't look a year over 30, while Han appears to be at most 40. I remember while doing the Let's Read of the Dark Nest comparing how Luke, Han and Leia are depicted in art with how their actors look in real life, and the differences are really jarring.
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Jul 16, 2012 02:12
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Big Mean Jerk posted:R2 survives into the Legacy era. Cade has him onboard the Mynock. My bet on the next big death will be Threepio. He doesn't do poo poo in the books and it's controversial enough to stir up attention but not alienate fans. Not to mention if people complain too much they can just reveal that Leia backed his files up on a holocron or something like that. Apparently they almost did that with Anakin Solo in FOTJ - not put him in a holocron, but physically bring him back to life using some Force magic stuff - but Denning decided against it.
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Jul 16, 2012 02:22
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As for the characters looking too young, I read an interview with a cover artist once, and part of the problem stems from the fact that they only have the rights to the actor's likenesses as they appeared while they were working with lucasfilm, so they can't just take the actors as they look today. All depictions of Luke have to start with a base image of Mark Hamill circa 1983
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Jul 16, 2012 02:30
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Folks don't age normally in SW either. I think one of the authors or somebody said that 65 in SW is real-world 45 or so.
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Jul 16, 2012 02:32
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I just watched Revenge of the Sith for the first time in years. Was the CGI always so bad? I remember it being pretty badass in the theatre, but that was 7 years ago and I could be wrong.
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Jul 16, 2012 02:49
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jetgrindeggy posted:I just watched Revenge of the Sith for the first time in years. Was the CGI always so bad? I remember it being pretty badass in the theatre, but that was 7 years ago and I could be wrong. It was always that bad.
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Jul 16, 2012 03:18
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I will not watch the prequels ever again. I did recently re-read the RotS novelization, though.
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Jul 16, 2012 03:33
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arioch posted:I will not watch the prequels ever again. I did recently re-read the RotS novelization, though. It probably works a lot better as a novel. It's just not a very coherent film. Too much happens that just gets glossed over.
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Jul 16, 2012 04:41
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Chairman Capone posted:This one's leather, though. The fact that his holster seems to be velcro undermines the edgy new vest. Also, did any Australian goons watch Randling on the ABC this week? They had a bit where you had to guess by name alone if they were naming a Star Wars background character or an Indian dish. Plo Koon Kos Kootu Momaw Nadon Meen Moli Jubnuk Depa Billaba You try and work out which ones are real Star Wars names. Don't cheat now. They ended the segment with 'other characters that sound yummy' from Star Wars (all these are real): Padme Amidala, Ponda Baba, Kadlah Cha and Bardan Jusik.
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Jul 16, 2012 04:43
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Carnaticum posted:The fact that his holster seems to be velcro undermines the edgy new vest. Gonna go ahead and guess that those are all Star Wars characters. Edit: Ah damnit, two of them are food.
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Jul 16, 2012 04:46
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jetgrindeggy posted:It probably works a lot better as a novel. It's just not a very coherent film. Too much happens that just gets glossed over.
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Jul 16, 2012 04:51
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arioch posted:I will not watch the prequels ever again. I did recently re-read the RotS novelization, though. jetgrindeggy posted:It probably works a lot better as a novel. It's just not a very coherent film. Too much happens that just gets glossed over. So do the prequel novelizations work better together then? Or does the novelization of RotS just happen to be that good?
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Jul 17, 2012 18:10
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I haven't read the other novelizations, but RotS is just that good, especially compared to most of the EU. Matthew Stover is regarded as one of the best for a reason.
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Jul 17, 2012 18:13
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The other prequel novelizations are complete poo poo.
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Jul 17, 2012 18:21
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Urdnot Fire posted:I haven't read the other novelizations, but RotS is just that good, especially compared to most of the EU. Matthew Stover is regarded as one of the best for a reason. I heard somewhere that the RotS novelization was written so as to make the film look like a (lovely) adaptation of the novel. I thought it worked.
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Jul 17, 2012 19:15
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General Battuta posted:The other prequel novelizations are complete poo poo. Seconded.
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Jul 17, 2012 20:49
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Fil5000 posted:Whereabouts are we in the timeline now? Crucible is 45 years after the battle of Yavin - that means Luke and Leia are what, mid 60s now? With Han presumably a little older? gently caress it, let them retire. Isn't Jaina Solo meant to be about forty years old by the end of FOTJ as well? I've not read the series but I did read LOTF and both Jaina and Jacen Solo kind of came across as though they were still being written as teenagers in that series.
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Jul 21, 2012 17:48
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Metal Loaf posted:Isn't Jaina Solo meant to be about forty years old by the end of FOTJ as well? I've not read the series but I did read LOTF and both Jaina and Jacen Solo kind of came across as though they were still being written as teenagers in that series.
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Jul 21, 2012 21:59
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Flagrant Abuse posted:And therein lies why I've largely given up on Star Wars books. I know a lot of people hated it, but I thought the NJO was great aside from a few filler books that really added nothing. It had real character development, actual emotional growth, etc... and then the very next series, we get Bug Orgies, and everyone, old and new generation alike, reverts to the mental age of 15 for the next two dozen books. Yeah, I'd agree with that. The Legacy Of the Force series in particular seems a trifle more inclined to pretend that the NJO (aside from developments such as the birth of Ben Skywalker, the deaths of Anakin Solo and Chewie, that sort of thing) never happened and they're picking up from the end of the YJK series or something.
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Jul 22, 2012 17:54
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Hence why I've gravitated toward Old Republic EU. Lucasfilm has pretty much given folks free reign to do what they want and it's such a huge stretch of time (36,000 BBY-1,000 BBY) that authors aren't constrained by more than a couple footnotes of previous history. You've got the KOTOR games, the KOTOR comics (the ones with Zayne & Co.), the old Tales of the Jedi comics, The Darth Bane novels, and the new Dawn of The Jedi series that are all pretty solid.
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Jul 22, 2012 18:13
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It's too bad they couldn't keep up the Tales Of the Jedi visual aesthetic in the KOTOR-related media. I mean, I appreciate that those comics are pretty obscure outside the Star Wars fandom but even so, the fact that the TOTJ comics looked like they were set four thousand years before the films was part of their appeal for me. Anyway, what I've become pretty interested in lately is actually stuff like Dark Times and Agent Of the Empire, which take place in a familiar setting but have their own identity. They remind me of the Republic comics, which was probably my all-time favourite Star Wars comic book series.
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Jul 22, 2012 18:42
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If they kept up with the original KOTOR backdrop of the comics they would shoot themselves in the foot with the whole 'no attachments with Jedi' from the prequals (so dumb to this day) seeing the main character of them is the wife of a Jedi who fucks up.
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Jul 22, 2012 19:03
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I remember reading one fan explanation for that in a thread on the starwars.com message board years and years ago (that is, when starwars.com still had a message board), which suggested that all of the prequel trilogy Jedi rules were sorted out in the convocation that appears at the start of the last TOTJ Redemption story arc. Of course, there's also the issue that the Jedi in Jedi vs. Sith (which is set about one thousand years before the movies and maybe three thousand years or so after KOTOR) are a lot more like the Jedi in Tales Of the Jedi than the ones that show up anywhere else.
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Jul 22, 2012 19:30
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Back in the day (early 90s) I dabbled in Star Wars comics with Dark Empire and the early TOTJ and X-wing series. I kind of drifted away for about a decade, and it was Republic's great Clone Wars run that dragged me back in. At its height, Republic was what I wish the Clone Wars TV show is. Agent of the Empire is great also, but I've completely lost interest in Dark Times. I read the issues as they come out rather than wait for trades, so by the time a new issue came out I had completely forgotten what happened in the last one, especially since each issue is divided between 3/4 plotlines and has a really ponderous, pretentious narration. The last few story arcs weren't really that interesting, either. What really finally drove me away, though, was at the end of the last story when Jennir decides to bone the chick who a few issues ago was trying to kill him and also had enslaved a bunch of other women to work as sex slaves in her whorehouse. I guess as long as she's hot and says she's sorry without actually showing any evidence of it then it's all right, eh, Jennir?
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Jul 23, 2012 00:50
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Chairman Capone posted:Back in the day (early 90s) I dabbled in Star Wars comics with Dark Empire and the early TOTJ and X-wing series. I kind of drifted away for about a decade, and it was Republic's great Clone Wars run that dragged me back in. At its height, Republic was what I wish the Clone Wars TV show is. I might have mentioned as much before, but I'm really keen on the Republic comics because they were pretty much all that the UK Star Wars comic series released to tie-in with Episode I reprinted after it finished the adaptation of that movie. I think that stuff like Outlander and Jedi Council: Acts Of War were probably the first EU stories I'd encountered before I even got into the novels or the games.
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Jul 23, 2012 01:53
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