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BlazinLow305 posted:Also which book/series was the one where Chewbacca died?
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Oct 21, 2012 01:42
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If you don't like the NJO I'd say don't even bother with the rest of the post-NJO novels. All they do is take the worst elements from the NJO books and meld them with a lovely rehash of the prequels and/or incredibly stupid plot points and characterization. Seriously, I think there are 25 post-NJO books and of them only three are worth reading (and all of which are only tangentially related to the main post-NJO storyline): X-Wing Mercy Kill, and Crosscurrent/Riptide.
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Oct 21, 2012 04:08
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Chairman Capone posted:If you don't like the NJO I'd say don't even bother with the rest of the post-NJO novels. All they do is take the worst elements from the NJO books and meld them with a lovely rehash of the prequels and/or incredibly stupid plot points and characterization. I thought Death Star was decent, although I don't know if you mean "post-NJO" as date published or chronologically. If the latter, then disregard 
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Oct 21, 2012 18:15
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Ursine Asylum posted:I thought Death Star was decent, although I don't know if you mean "post-NJO" as date published or chronologically. If the latter, then disregard Yeah, I meant chronologically, sorry. In terms of post-NJO publication I think there have been a number of decent books, but ironically a lot of them cluster around the prequel timeframe (which I guess isn't surprising given how the prequel area has been getting the most focus since 1999). Some post-NJO publication books I particularly liked are Labyrinth of Evil, the ROTS novelization, Shatterpoint (well, I guess I can just say any Stover book), Darth Plagueis, Outbound Flight...and honestly, the first (and only the first) Republic Commando novel.
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Oct 21, 2012 20:30
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If I recall correctly, most of the Clone Wars books were released concurrently with the publication of the NJO; some of them were fairly good. I actually think that the comics have been the most consistently entertaining part of the EU since Episode I came out.
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Oct 22, 2012 11:21
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Metal Loaf posted:If I recall correctly, most of the Clone Wars books were released concurrently with the publication of the NJO; some of them were fairly good. I think the prequel stuff really started hitting it's stride around that time. NJO is up and down depending on the writer, but in general you'll find it more south than north. With a lot of things getting handwaved away so that the "Slick new enemy" becoming "renamed everything old enemy!"
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Oct 23, 2012 06:35
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Metal Loaf posted:If I recall correctly, most of the Clone Wars books were released concurrently with the publication of the NJO; some of them were fairly good. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is severely underrated in my opinion. Well written glimpse at Yoda being the Grand Master / wise teacher guy and really enjoyable interaction between him and Dooku. Shatterpoint was excellent (Stover, Apocalypse Now in Clone Wars), Cestus Deception was enjoyable, Jedi Trial was crap. Labrynth of Evil was great if you can call it a CW novel, Republic Commando series started excellent and quickly went psycho and poo poo. Also Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Luceno) is a good epilogue to ROTS. And yes, Ostrander's comics are definitely one of the better EU creations.
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Oct 23, 2012 22:25
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DougieFFC posted:Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is severely underrated in my opinion. Well written glimpse at Yoda being the Grand Master / wise teacher guy and really enjoyable interaction between him and Dooku. It also has the best Yoda/padawan interaction ever. Dark Rendezvous posted:Scout stared. All her life, it seemed, she had been trying not to let Master Yoda down. Clearly they all expected her to bubble with joy, but instead her eyes grew hot and filled with tears.
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Oct 24, 2012 08:11
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What happened to the Let's Read Terrible Star Wars Books thread? I was having a grand old time, but the last page ended on a request. I just want to read more Star Wars newspaper comics  Is there another thread somewhere, and I just missed it?
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Oct 24, 2012 09:36
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DougieFFC posted:Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is severely underrated in my opinion. Well written glimpse at Yoda being the Grand Master / wise teacher guy and really enjoyable interaction between him and Dooku. It's not underrated because I hype it up whenever I can 
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Oct 24, 2012 17:13
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CommissarMega posted:What happened to the Let's Read Terrible Star Wars Books thread? I was having a grand old time, but the last page ended on a request. I just want to read more Star Wars newspaper comics The volunteers and submissions dried out. The truly terrible stuff was well covered and all that was left was a handful of terrible NJO and post NJO era books that nobody wanted to see covered. It has been Goldmined though rest assured.
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Oct 24, 2012 20:41
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SeanBeansShako posted:The volunteers and submissions dried out. The truly terrible stuff was well covered and all that was left was a handful of terrible NJO and post NJO era books that nobody wanted to see covered. There were a few books that I wish were covered but never were. Most notably was Traviss' work post-Hard Contact. There were a couple of attempts to start, but it seemed that no one could take the idiocy. I might have taken up the banner and done a blind read, but after doing Dark Nest and Red Harvest (both blind reads as well  ), I felt that I had paid my dues.The other big one that looked promising but stalled out was the Tales of Lando Calrisian. And I guess you could put LotF and FotJ in there as well. Also, a few LRs got pretty far without finishing (such as New Rebellion and the books where Luke falls in love with a ghost or something). What I'm saying is that there can definitely be a second thread. It wouldn't be as long as the first, but there is material to be sure.
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Oct 26, 2012 17:54
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I would love a 2nd Thread, but the people behind it have to plan out and get the stuff worked out first because a lot of real life schedule conflicts kept happening too. Those old Star Wars newspaper comics were entertaining as well .
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Oct 26, 2012 18:20
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SirPhoebos posted:The other big one that looked promising but stalled out was the Tales of Lando Calrisian. Really? The ones with Vuffi Ra? I didn't think they were that bad, to be honest-- in the context of the actual EU, they don't make a whole ton of sense, but I'm willing to give that and the Han Solo Adventures more leeway just because of when they were published. Anything that was published before Heir to the Empire doesn't really "count" as EU, imo. It's like trying to fit the Jimmy Olsen: Turtle Boy comics in with modern Superman canon.
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Oct 26, 2012 18:57
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Ursine Asylum posted:Really? The ones with Vuffi Ra? I didn't think they were that bad, to be honest-- in the context of the actual EU, they don't make a whole ton of sense, but I'm willing to give that and the Han Solo Adventures more leeway just because of when they were published. Anything that was published before Heir to the Empire doesn't really "count" as EU, imo. It's like trying to fit the Jimmy Olsen: Turtle Boy comics in with modern Superman canon. First of all, just because it was published early doesn't mean we can't make fun of it  (I mean the first series covered is Jedi Prince, which I'm almost positive predates HttE). Second, what's notable about the Lando series is that they were written by L. Niel Smith a batshit crazy libertarian (by which I mean more batshit crazy than is normal for a libertarian.) Here's what one of the thread participants had to say:How are u posted:God, I remember reading the Lando adventure books when I was 14 or 15. I'm looking forward to revisiting them. If I remember correctly the 3rd book is especially ridiculous. Also, I had no idea that L. Niel Smith was the author! I saw his awful, awful, awful parallel history libertarian wankfest graphic novel linked in LF a couple years back and must have read 50 or 60 pages worth before I got bored. The picture of the talking monkey-man from Slantedfloors post? Yeah, that's from it. If you want to experience a madman's vision of a world in which free-market solutions are applied to literally everything, experienced through the eyes of an overweight, alcoholic detective then you should take a loving look. SirPhoebos fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Oct 26, 2012 |
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Oct 26, 2012 20:52
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SirPhoebos posted:First of all, just because it was published early doesn't mean we can't make fun of it
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Oct 26, 2012 20:54
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Flagrant Abuse posted:Isn't that also the guy who had Lando basically poison a planet's water supply because they had the gall to impose import tariffs? Proably, but that read-through never made it very far. I'd be willing to do the Let's Read for the post-Hard Contact Commando books. That seems to be the best hook for a second thread. If a few folks were willing to volunteer, I can get reading and post the thread. For the recent two mega series, it probably would be a smart idea to split the load between two or three goons. Aside from LotF and FotJ, the TOR books can probably provide a lot of fresh material for mocking. Here's a link to the old thread http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3296954. Note that a lot of the entries listed are incomplete, so feel free to claim them for yourselves.
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Oct 26, 2012 21:05
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SirPhoebos posted:First of all, just because it was published early doesn't mean we can't make fun of it Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "give them a pass entirely", I'm just coming at it from the perspective of "if you pretend this has nothing to do with Star Wars, is it still a good sci-fi book". I thought Splinter of the Minds Eye was pretty poo poo, for example (dat incestual squickiness ). And likewise, I'm totally cool with making fun of authors regardless of the quality of their books (Orson Scott Card comes to mind). I'm just honestly curious if the Lando books were that poorly received, since I didn't think they were bad per se. Some aspects of the "magic" come off as more fantasy than sci-fi, and don't make a whole lot of sense in the context of the EU, but... oh no my opinion of books is different than someone else's on SA, my life is ruined 
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Oct 26, 2012 21:25
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Ursine Asylum posted:Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "give them a pass entirely", I'm just coming at it from the perspective of "if you pretend this has nothing to do with Star Wars, is it still a good sci-fi book". I thought Splinter of the Minds Eye was pretty poo poo, for example (dat incestual squickiness Nothing wrong with having a differing opinion-there was definitely disagreement on a few entries in the LR trhead as to whether they were actually 'bad'. But it's helpful to keep in mind that you were a lot younger when these books came out. I remember at least once one of the responses on the old thread was "how the gently caress did I think this was any good when I first read it?  "
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Oct 26, 2012 21:37
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Would splinter in Minds eye count? Not necessairly because its retarded from a writing side (I barely remember it) but more that it's completely off in la la land from the universe. Where the Force is magic and a stone is exactly like magical stones in any fantasy book. Making Luke into a godlike entity that heals Leia from going kersplat.
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Oct 26, 2012 23:44
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One observation I've often seen made about very early EU material (and even later books like The Crystal Star) is that they have more in common with Star Trek than Star Wars. Not sure if that's a fair assessment or not, though. I think the most out of place story aesthetically is probably Jedi vs. Sith, which looked like it borrowed from fantasy stories. Conversely, the look they went for with Tales Of the Jedi worked because it was meant to take place four thousand years before the movies (KOTOR notwithstanding). Wheat Loaf fucked around with this message at 01:58 on Oct 27, 2012 |
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Oct 27, 2012 00:06
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Calax posted:Would splinter in Minds eye count? Not necessairly because its retarded from a writing side (I barely remember it) but more that it's completely off in la la land from the universe. I would say it's a good example. There's no one reason why a Star Wars book is 'bad'.
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Oct 27, 2012 01:00
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SirPhoebos posted:I would say it's a good example. There's no one reason why a Star Wars book is 'bad'.
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Oct 27, 2012 01:09
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Okay, since this is going to take some organizing, let's get a list of what's available, what was already done, who would be interested, and who should read what book/series. First, here is the list of what has already been completed in the original thread. These books and comics can be pretty much left alone, unless you have a novel way of writing a readthrough. One possibility is doing an Audio Log (which a few people in the original thread started after finishing the write-up). Or maybe acting out scenes with action figures.
Next are the books/series/comics that Let's Reads were started and significant progress was made, but were not completed for whatever reason. In this case, the readthrough should be started from scratch, with the exception of books or comics that are compilations of stories. In which case you should probably pick up where the first writer left off. The same applies for book series-move on to what comes after the last book that was completed in the original thread and go from there (posting a 'last time' before doing your own contribution would be a plus).
That covers everything that was wholly or substantially written on. As for what's left, here's a rough list of what is left. This is based on my frequent reading of the thread and seeing what tends to elicit the most groans.
Finally, there are a few books or comics that might be decent or even good that I think should be included in a Let's Read. Sometimes because it still happens to have a lot of bizzaarness to it that can be laughed at. Sometimes because it takes a familiar, disliked story and presents it a lot more competently. And sometimes it's just to lend context to why another story or series is reviled.
Here's the sign up sheet, including what form of self-flagellation the LRer signed up for. For now, volunteer for just one book or short series. for long-running series like NJO, either pick a particular story or split the work between a few goons. Once enough volunteers have signed up, and any other issues have been worked out, I will make a new thread. Volunteers: -SirPhoebos (Republic Commando: Triple Zero) -Silver Brushes (Splinter of the Mind's Eye) -Carnaticum (Revan) SirPhoebos fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Oct 30, 2012 |
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Oct 27, 2012 02:39
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If I had my three boxes (I never toss out books and collected a HUGE pile of em) I'd offer to do at least a review of each... but probably couldn't hold down a blow by blow.
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Oct 27, 2012 05:35
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I was the one doing Splinter in the original thread. Started too late though when interest was waning. I wouldn't mind picking it back up though if a new thread gets off the ground.
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Oct 27, 2012 19:21
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Silver Brushes posted:I was the one doing Splinter in the original thread. Started too late though when interest was waning. I wouldn't mind picking it back up though if a new thread gets off the ground. Yeah, feel free to pick up your old readthrough if you're still interested
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Oct 28, 2012 00:18
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I'm up to do Revan. I'm also recovering from an infected tibial canal, so I have the time to get the whole thing done.
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Oct 29, 2012 23:45
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Carnaticum posted:I'm up to do Revan. I'm also recovering from an infected tibial canal, so I have the time to get the whole thing done. Please. Tear that loving book a new one.
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Oct 30, 2012 00:24
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Carnaticum posted:I'm up to do Revan. I'm also recovering from an infected tibial canal, so I have the time to get the whole thing done.  Welcome aboard!I went ahead and bought Triple Zero off of Kindle. Once I've made enough progress I'll make a new thread.
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Oct 30, 2012 01:26
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Are the Star Wars: Legacy comics bad enough for the thread? I like them personally, but they do have problems here and there.
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Oct 30, 2012 06:15
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CommissarMega posted:Are the Star Wars: Legacy comics bad enough for the thread? I like them personally, but they do have problems here and there. Legacy is utterly fantastic. I would love to see a Let's Read, but not in the context of "Hey look at this lovely thing." Star Wars: Legacy is most certainly NOT a lovely thing.
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Oct 30, 2012 06:32
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Yeah, Legacy is one of those few post-NJO things that is actually good.
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Oct 30, 2012 06:34
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Fair enough; I just got the impression that people thought it was bad from other Star Wars threads, and I kind of thought that talking about its bad and good points would help people see things otherwise.
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Oct 30, 2012 06:57
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CommissarMega posted:Fair enough; I just got the impression that people thought it was bad from other Star Wars threads, and I kind of thought that talking about its bad and good points would help people see things otherwise. Hey, if you want to do a Let's Read of it, I'd follow along gladly. (Hell, if my comics weren't all in a storage unit right now, I'd do it myself) I just don't want the mentality (from you or the readers) to be "This is an awful comic, let's all make fun of how horrible it is"
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Oct 30, 2012 07:00
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jivjov posted:Hey, if you want to do a Let's Read of it, I'd follow along gladly. (Hell, if my comics weren't all in a storage unit right now, I'd do it myself) I just don't want the mentality (from you or the readers) to be "This is an awful comic, let's all make fun of how horrible it is" The only couple of things I remember about it that weren't absolutely top quality were: * Cade can be a bit whiny and indecisive (then again, so could Luke). * That trooper / bounty hunter who kept changing sides and being great at everything but never seemed to have a point. * Ending was slightly rushed and the SUPRISE SUPER ARMY kind of came out of nowhere. But then again, at least they got the ending arc, so it was a lot better than it could have been, and still pretty satisfying. On the other hand, there was still so much possibility in there that the series really deserved to continue.
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Oct 30, 2012 09:30
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I haven't picked up a Star Wars book in like 3 years, stopped like a quarter of the way through the LotF series. Went on Wookieepedia one day and spoiled myself at Jacen dying. Welp. But so what's this Legacy thing now?
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Oct 30, 2012 09:41
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Jedi Knight Luigi posted:But so what's this Legacy thing now? It's a comic book set about a hundred years after Return of the Jedi, with the last Skywalker as a drug-addled bounty hunter who doesn't want to face the fact that he may be the usual last hope for the galaxy. It does have a lot of groanworthy moments (such as Cade Skywalker being a giant douche most of the time) but not more so than any other EU material. There's a lot of neat stuff in it, such as a group of Jedi now serving the new Emperor (not Palpatine), we get a few nice cameos of both movie and EU (and computer game) characters, and there's an even more flamboyant Hutt than Ziro. Which I count as a good thing. Flamboyant Hutts are awesome. The cameos can get a bit confusing if you've never picked up a Dark Horse SW comic before (especially the main villain, who was introduced as a minor character in the comics in the late 1990s), but it's all explained pretty well for those who don't know. For example, I know next to nothing about the Yuuzhan Vong, who also show up in the comic book, but I didn't feel I needed to read the novels to get what they were about. The comic has a pretty huge cast of recurring characters, and I agree with the people before me - it's definitely worth picking up.
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Oct 30, 2012 11:36
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Jedi Knight Luigi posted:I haven't picked up a Star Wars book in like 3 years, stopped like a quarter of the way through the LotF series. Went on Wookieepedia one day and spoiled myself at Jacen dying. Welp. It's the now-completed 57-issue comic series, set 140ABY. * New Sith Empire (relatively unique in philosophy, linked to contemporary crises), who aren't just ALL CHAOTIC EVIL ALL THE TIME and have understandable motivations. * LOTS of different political/military powers: Sith Empire, Galactic Alliance, Imperial Remnant (training its own benevolent force users), few Jedi. * Decent main team of bounty hunters who don't give a gently caress, featuring a Skywalker descendent who doesn't give a gently caress. * Many - but never too many - new characters, all of whom are well-explored and with plenty of opportunity to bounce off each other. In particular I enjoyed a female Imperial agent who's lived many guises. * Genuine threat without the use of over the top superweapons, including a great central plot about the 'death' of one planet and the political and media fallout. * Respect and use of the history of the SW universe, all done well, including Yuuzhan Vong tech, Skywalker descendants, Sith teachings. * Great art and style, including nice developments to Imperial ships and vehicles. It's just all-round good and fresh, and with barely a mis-step. EddieDean fucked around with this message at 11:42 on Oct 30, 2012 |
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Oct 30, 2012 11:39
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Why not make the new thread a more of a look in Star Wars books in general? Mock the bad stuff obviously but for things like Legacy do a show case on why it is awesome. I mean those Newspaper comics pulled it off before the thread was gold mined.
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Oct 30, 2012 14:17
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