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Casimir Radon posted:I'm a few chapters into Darth Maul: Lockdown and it's alright so far. Death Troopers sucked and I heard Red Harvest was about the same so that's fortunate. No, no. Red Harvest wasn't the same as Death Troopers. It was far, far, far x 1000, worse. Remember Liam Neeson's iconic speech from "Taken"? Yeah, a Jedi gives the same speech, via the Force, to the bad guys. And no, it wasn't even Qui-Gonn, so it could be a "cute" callback.
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Feb 8, 2014 15:13
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drat I want to hear january jones do some star wars voice acting now.
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Feb 8, 2014 16:27
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Davros1 posted:No, no. Red Harvest wasn't the same as Death Troopers. According to someone on TFN, Lockdown does the same thing with both Miller's Crossing and Usual Suspects lines.
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Feb 8, 2014 19:14
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So I've been reading stuff. After my X-Wing binge, I've read John Jackson Miller's Kenobi, Timothy Zahn's Outbound Flight and Survivor's Quest (in that order by accident) as well as Michael Reaves's and Steve Perry's MedStar duology. Out of the five, Kenobi was the best. I enjoyed Miller's Knights of the Old Republic immensely, so I imagined Kenobi would have a bit of the same action and derring-do as Zayne Carrick's misadventures. Instead it turned out to be a book about Obi-Wan chilling at a general store trying to not get into trouble. Miller's pretty good at characters, and after a few pages I was easily imagining Ewan McGregor's goofy grin every time Obi-Wan spoke. Kind of a shame he's not the main viewpoint character, since I could've done with more of crazy middle-aged Ben. Outbound Flight and Survivor's Quest were something of a disappointment. I accidentally picked up Outbound Flight first, and was a hundred pages in when I realized my goof. I think I might've enjoyed Survivor's Quest more had I not spoiled myself on the sequel beforehand. As it was, Luke and Mara spent a lot of time goofing about figuring out stuff I'd already had spelled out for me earlier, and that was tedious as all heck. The plots also suffered from elements inserted for no reason but to get used in the other book: For instance, why did Obi-Wan and Anakin visit the Outbound Flight? So they could leave their two-seat fighter behind so Luke and Mara could chase the bad guys with it. The cast of Quest wasn't as strong as Flight's, either - Luke and Mara are pretty plain next to the improbably capable and charming Sherlock Thrawn and Jorj Watson. Jorus C'Baoth was pretty cool a villain too, but I liked his clone better. The MedStar books were painfully okay. The style was alright, there were funny quips, the characters were interesting enough, I enjoyed the  about the space-M*A*S*H setting. But on the other hand, the spy plot was dull, the Black Sun subplot didn't go anywhere and the climax of the book was kinda flat. It read like a 400-page setup to some other series. After all that Republic Era stuff, I'm feeling like skipping back to the New Republic. Maybe I'll pick up Vector Prime, how bad can NJO be? 
Siivola fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Feb 10, 2014 |
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Feb 9, 2014 18:09
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Yeah, you really would've benefited from reading Survivor's Quest first and then Outbound Flight. Not saying it would've solved the problems and flaws you pointed out, but maybe have gained a better appreciation for them; Quest wouldn't have been a slog at least. I dunno, I read them in the order they came out and enjoyed them very much. Then again, I like everything Zahn has done. As I've said before, I enjoyed the MedStar books as well, though you are correct about the ending in that nothing much happens. I'd recommend reading the Coruscant Nights Tetralogy, seeing as it has most of the MedStar cast.
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Feb 9, 2014 21:35
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One thing that really bugged me about the two Zahn books was how both of them were about some guy stringing the heroes along. It was alright in Outbound Flight, because Thrawn's just that cool and Car'das was pretty much on the ball throughout, but Luke and Mara cluelessly bumbling along towards the big reveal in the end was not terribly exciting. It's been a while since I read the Hand of Thrawn books, but I vaguely recall having the same issue with them as well. I'm kinda hesitant to pick up the rest of his work, as a result.  ...So instead, I gave in and started Vector Prime. Two thirds of the way in and it's grim as poo poo, holy hell. And although I think Salvatore absolutely nails many of the characters, Han in particular, he is utter crap at writing the teenagers. Jacen and Anakin both talk like a goddamn philosophy essay. It also feels like I'm picking up the story halfway in, what with Mara's condition and the kids — am I supposed to have read the Young Jedi Knights series or something?
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Feb 10, 2014 00:21
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I don't know that I'd recommend reading the NJO these days. It's 20 books long, kind of schizophrenic because of all the different authors, and really depressing. Then it doesn't really end up going anywhere because the next three series try really hard to pretend it never happened.
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Feb 10, 2014 01:02
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The solo kids were around in a few other EU novels before NJO, but reading a couple YJK books wouldn't hurt just to see them during relative peace-time. Mara's illness is first brought up in NJO, so you're not missing anything there.
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Feb 10, 2014 01:42
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And that's Vector Prime done. It was competent, I guess. Chewie's death was pretty powerful, and I sort of want to find out what happens next, but... Eh, maybe some other time. Ysard's Revenge was dumb enough that I don't really feel like reading another Stackpole novel. I guess I could also skip forward to Allston's Rebel Dream since I'm a huge fan of his, but considering my last attempt at reading stuff out of order, I think I'll pass on that as well. Legacy of the Force opens with an Allston novel, though...
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Feb 10, 2014 18:39
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You can probably skip the first few books of NJO, nothing especially happens. Balance Point (iirc) has a plot point that's probably worth reading for (Mara becomes pregnant). You can start at Edge of Victory and go from there and not miss out on too much.
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Feb 10, 2014 19:12
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The basic structural idea for the NJO was that there would be five hardcovers (Vector Prime, Balance Point, Star By Star, Destiny's Way and The Unifying Force) which would tell the main story while the duologies and trilogies in between would fill out the backstory. To be honest, if their intent was that you could read those five hardcovers and get the whole story (which is one argument I remember reading on TFN a while back), it didn't really work out. If you leave out the in-between books, you miss out on Anakin's character arc leading up to his moronic death Star By Star, the birth of Ben Skywalker, Nom Anor's character arc in the second half leading up to his admittedly less moronic death in The Unifying Force, not to mention the single best novel in the series (Traitor).Siivola posted:Legacy of the Force opens with an Allston novel, though... The first LOTF book is actually really promising. Shame about the next eight, though.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:00
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If you're a masochist, I advocate reading the entire NJO just so that you can enjoy Rebel Dream and Rebel Stand that much more for depicting the most zany and badass poo poo to ever be in a Star Wars novel.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:53
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Siivola posted:And that's Vector Prime done. It was competent, I guess. Chewie's death was pretty powerful, and I sort of want to find out what happens next, but... Eh, maybe some other time. Ysard's Revenge was dumb enough that I don't really feel like reading another Stackpole novel. I guess I could also skip forward to Allston's Rebel Dream since I'm a huge fan of his, but considering my last attempt at reading stuff out of order, I think I'll pass on that as well. NJO's not worth it. I say this knowing one day I'll read them again but it's literally millions of words that are not, on the whole, very good. The writing quality is uneven and the plot ultimately unsatisfying.
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Feb 10, 2014 23:26
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On the other hand, Rebel Stand is where Allston comes up with Lightsaber Limbs. Really I think Allston is hit or miss. A lot of his Wraith stuff is good and I liked his NJO novels, but after Betrayal all his LOTF/FOTJ entries are "good" only by comparison to just how terrible all the other books in those series are. I also think NJO has at least some really solid entries. Traitor, Destiny's Way, and Unifying Force are all top-tier Star Wars books, IMO. Stackpole, Allston, and Luceno's duologies (even if that one doesn't seem to be highly regarded) I also enjoyed.
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Feb 10, 2014 23:29
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I just want to reiterate that I love Luceno's Wookieepedia page.
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Feb 11, 2014 00:17
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Star by star to destiny way is the good set of books, except the Jaina book. Even the force heretic trilogy is decent, just for wiping out a lot of stupid poo poo and nom anor. 
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Feb 11, 2014 03:49
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Chairman Capone posted:On the other hand, Rebel Stand is where Allston comes up with Lightsaber Limbs. Allston seems good when he's allowed to do his own thing. Ask him to cooperate with other people or work under some externally defined framework and he seems to turn into jello
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Feb 11, 2014 19:49
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Star by Star is probably Troy Denning's best contribution to the EU. Take that however you will. And yeah, The Unifying Force is a really, really satisfying way to end the series. My personal SW canon ends there and then picks up again with the Legacy comics (except for Crosscurrent, which I really enjoyed.)
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Feb 11, 2014 19:51
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WhyteRyce posted:Allston seems good when he's allowed to do his own thing. Ask him to cooperate with other people or work under some externally defined framework and he seems to turn into jello
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Feb 11, 2014 20:00
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Flagrant Abuse posted:I'm sure he'd work fine if he were allowed to write with, say, Luceno, or some other good writer. But ask him to work with Karen Traviss... Yeah, even Stover would choke. I think part of the problem is that Allston had to work with Traviss and Denning, who openly hated each other and were blatantly trying to undo each other's work. Allston tried to be too diplomatic instead of being the third side of the blade
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Feb 11, 2014 20:20
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Y'all are really bad at this whole discouragement thing. I guess I'm going to keep at NJO after all and try reading Balance Point next. And hey, after that, it's only thirteen books left.  Edit: Two chapters in. These are not very good words. 
Siivola fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 20:34
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Siivola posted:Y'all are really bad at this whole discouragement thing. I guess I'm going to keep at NJO after all and try reading Balance Point next. And hey, after that, it's only thirteen books left. I can't count how many times I read the Jedi Academy trilogy. I still never made it through Balance Point.
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Feb 12, 2014 04:51
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Two thirds of the way in. This is a bad loving book. And the sad thing is, it's not even mockably bad like a KJA book, Tyers just writes like a highschooler.
Siivola fucked around with this message at 12:58 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 11:52
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Here's a thing: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Unidentified_planet_%28Yoda%27s_chaingun%29
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Feb 12, 2014 13:13
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Siivola posted:Two thirds of the way in. This is a bad loving book. And the sad thing is, it's not even mockably bad like a KJA book, Tyers just writes like a highschooler. Balance Point is probably the worst book in the whole NJO.
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Feb 12, 2014 16:50
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Carnaticum posted:Here's a thing: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Unidentified_planet_%28Yoda%27s_chaingun%29 Exploring that link led me to this amazing(ly ridiculous) image: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:YodasBattle.jpg
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Feb 12, 2014 16:51
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Like the cartoon they were based on, the Clone Wars Adventures comics owned basically. Chris Avellone (co-founder of Obsidian Entertainment and writer of KOTOR II) even wrote a few of them.
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Feb 12, 2014 17:05
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Chairman Capone posted:Exploring that link led me to this amazing(ly ridiculous) image: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:YodasBattle.jpg I donno why but I just see that photo and imagine Yoda's just kinda puttering around and not realizing he's actually fighting. Everyone else just kinda seems to be going "HOLY poo poo WHY IS HE SHOOTING! WHY IS HE SHOOTING!?"
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Feb 12, 2014 20:18
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It's not as good as that one episode from the Tartakovsky cartoon where Mace Windu lost his lightsabre and punched out an entire droid army.
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Feb 12, 2014 23:10
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astr0man posted:Balance Point is probably the worst book in the whole NJO. When Mercy Kill came out, the only EU books I had read were the X-Wing series. Upon finding out that Mercy Kill was set after pretty much all of the EU I decided that before I read it, I would read through ALL of the post-RotJ EU novels so I didn't miss anything (also my roommate owns all of them so they were available). I also like torturing myself, and aforementioned roommate made the EU sound entertaining enough (badness included) that I just had to read all of it. I'm currently on Rebirth, but what you said of Balance Point is entirely accurate, at least so far. Holy crap I had to resist the urge to skip that one so bad. Not as badly as the urge to skip Crystal Star, but pretty badly.
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Feb 13, 2014 13:33
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Crystal Star is a rite of passage E: I haven't read Balance Point since it came out, but strangely I kinda want to again now. Tom Brady fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Feb 13, 2014 |
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Feb 13, 2014 14:25
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Metal Loaf posted:It's not as good as that one episode from the Tartakovsky cartoon where Mace Windu lost his lightsabre and punched out an entire droid army. Very little post-RotJ has been as good as the Tartakovsky Clone Wars. Before we got the prequels that's what I always expected the old republic Jedi to be like; caring, compassionate, willing to lend a hand no matter what, but not afraid to kick the entire galaxy's rear end six different ways if that's what the job called for.
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Feb 13, 2014 14:40
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So The Clone Wars is going to go up on Netflix Instant on March 7, and this will include the 13 episode final season and extended versions of some season 1-5 episodes.
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Feb 13, 2014 17:24
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Chairman Capone posted:So The Clone Wars is going to go up on Netflix Instant on March 7, and this will include the 13 episode final season and extended versions of some season 1-5 episodes. Sweet! I work for a captioning company and one of my coworkers actually did the episode where Yoda goes to Moribund. I remember she called me over to ask what the hell Moribund was because only Korriban was showing up in her research. I was just as confused. Of course we ended up having to go with what we phonetically heard, so Moribund it was. Then like 6 months later I'm reading this thread, and the leaked German episode descriptions come up, and I'm like "Huh, guess that was actually a real thing" Sorry I didn't let you guys get in the know earlier. NDAs and all that.  Also you should see LucasFilms' glossary and style guide they provided to us. Most complex set of documents I think we've ever had from a client.
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Feb 13, 2014 19:23
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Jedi Knight Luigi posted:Sweet! I work for a captioning company and one of my coworkers actually did the episode where Yoda goes to Moribund. I remember she called me over to ask what the hell Moribund was because only Korriban was showing up in her research. I was just as confused. Of course we ended up having to go with what we phonetically heard, so Moribund it was. Moribund?
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Feb 13, 2014 20:07
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http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3514675&pagenumber=118&perpage=40#post425101233 Mixed up my Star Wars threads (and my spelling apparently)
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Feb 13, 2014 20:50
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Farecoal posted:Moribund? For reasons unknown, the Clone Wars "Lost Missions" are featuring the homeworld of the Sith, but they renamed it from Korriban to Morribund.
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Feb 13, 2014 20:57
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Conquistador posted:Crystal Star is a rite of passage I remember literally nothing about Crystal Star except that I didn't like reading it.
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Feb 13, 2014 22:08
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Patrick Spens posted:I remember literally nothing about Crystal Star except that I didn't like reading it. I remember something about walkers going up a sheer cliff-face and a literal crystal star and Luke getting all woozy and Han may or may not have been gambling and jesus it was stupid.
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Feb 13, 2014 22:56
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jivjov posted:For reasons unknown, the Clone Wars "Lost Missions" are featuring the homeworld of the Sith, but they renamed it from Korriban to Morribund. For once, I can actually understand the reason for the neckbeard tears. It really is an unnecessary change. Plus Korriban sounds cooler. Moribund sounds really generic.
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Feb 13, 2014 23:13
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