Lit Crucible by Troy Denning

I understand what you're saying, but it's also perfectly in line with how older people act for Han to think back on his past, especially a certain cantina where his life changed forever. In that sense, i'd say this reference is pretty justified. Certainly not the worst we've had over the last few years.

 

That was one clumsy sentence. I was going to defend Crucible as it may be the last post ROTJ adventure in this timeline. That sentence, however, sounds like it's from one of those kids read along records from the 80's.

 

I don't remember where I ate ten nights ago.

 

Considering that 1) its the opening line of the book, so it's best to harken back to something ALL SW fans would know rather than SOME , and that 2) this most likely is supposed to be one of those "novel jumping in points" so it's a good idea as it might have a lot of brand new readers and 3) that this might be the re-start to the EU continuity, so it might not be a good idea to reference things that don't "exist" anymore...

 

Or it could just be Denning being a lazy author churning out the same recycled cliches as always.

 

Having read the excerpt, it looks like, having spent the last 21 (22 if you count Falcon) Denning and Denning lead books pretending that the hero’s don't age. Denning is now going out of his way to beat us repeatedly about the head with the fact that Han and Leia are, in fact, relatively old. Which I suppose is an improvement, but I was hoping for a tad more subtlety that somebody walking up to Han and Leia and saying (and this is paraphrasing just a bit, but not much) "Dang! You two are old!". The reuse of OT clichés is still annoying, as is Dennings obsession with making the mandos look as incompetent as humanly possible. Still it wasn't as bad as I feared and those robot lizard things are interesting, so I have moved my position from, completely unenthused to mostly unenthused.

 

My opinion of Denning was actually fairly high, but it is losing ground consistently and this does not help. I hope Disney forces a new publisher and that we get some new authors as well.I would even take some old ones like R.A Salvatore, Or Kathy Tyers, or Keyes.

 

You would if you met your soul mate or your best friend died at that moment and the details are burning into your memory.

 

The publisher doesn't matter - it's whoever at LFL who's approving the books/authors. (Was Crucible approved by Rostoni or is it a Heddle project?)

 

A theory of mine is that Crucible will tie-in into Episode VII.

Why else only wait until NOW to make a big three book? They could've had plenty of opportunities to do so before.

 

Except for the fact that Denning was most likely writing the book before he knew anything about Episode VII.

I think the reasoning was to (a) draw back OT fans who had grown disillusioned with the current post-RotJ storyline, and (b) get the Big 3 out of the way to let the younger generation shine in Sword of the Jedi.

 

The way I see it, its too little, too late. If they really wanted me to care, they would start from scratch with the post-NJO, and Denning wouldn't be writing this, because I am that infuriated by and disinterested with the depressing train wreck that he was the chief architect of.

 

Where has it been said he was chief architect of it?

 

IIRC there were a bunch of interviews reprinted in some of the Dark Nest and LotF books where he and LFL indicated that his ideas formed the basis for the post-NJO era, further confirmed by the ERC. Jacen's fall- which is the crux around which DN-LOTF-FOTJ revolve- has been confirmed as his idea in several sources.

 

No, you're absolutely right to point this out. Granted, I think this wasn't the best example, because I have no doubt that Han Solo recalls the Mos Eisley cantina quite well (though little chance he would remember the name).

But you're right overall, and this happens in many books, not just Denning's. Heck, I'd say it began with The Thrawn Trilogy and the numerous exact references and quotes from the Original Trilogy.

 

Every single post-OT novel mentions something from the OT directly, and only EU novels indirectly unless they affect the novel. Same with clone wars/PT era novels with the PT trilogy.

 

I am pretty sure that Crucible was a Heddle Project. Though I may be wrong, but I think the only remaining Rostoni project is Paul S. Kemp duology at this pont.

 

While my vote would go to Salvatore, my favorite author of all time (and Drizzt Do'urden being my favorite hero), the man is just too busy writing Forgotten Realms material, I think it's unlikely we'll see any new SW from him. Which is a shame.

 

Am reading "Vector Prime" for the first time and loving it so far. This is my first Salvatore book...

 

I used to consider Denning among my favorite EU writers. Emphasis on used to...

 

You can take a peak at the first chapter if you go to Amazon and look inside Scoundrels. It's of course at the bottom of a huge inside look at Scoundrels.

 

this

i love how SW fans can whinge about the most ridiculous things

Of course it's going to reference the movies more than random things that happen off screen. That's how tie-in literature works.

I actually quite enjoy that, as I feel it somewhat makes up for Karen Traviss' horrific writing during Legacy of the Force

 

amen

 

Totally whacky idea that isn't going to happen, but in the interest of Chewbacca resurrections, it occurred to me over the weekend that you could have Crucible be about that other Crucible and the Crucible have been going around capturing prisoners and slaves and so on throughout the past thirty years, having recovered this dying Wookiee during the Vong War, and the discovery and final destruction of said ancient slaving cartel be tied into the slave revolution plotline that they've been building up lately.

Obviously not going to happen, but a group with ties to the Sith Empire and possible artifacts that would make people still appear dead in the Force would actually appeal to me as a mass resurrection plot that wouldn't be a mass resurrection plot.

 

To be fair Dennings offerings during legacy weren’t much (if any) better, and oddly enough, FotJ, with the Jedi subverting the democratically elected government that they worked so hard to install via military coup, murdering their active grandmaster, appointing one of their own as head of government and then launching mafia stile hits on people seems to prove Traviss right in retrospect. I mean how hilarious is that? Troy Denning of all people validated the viewpoints Karen Traviss by having his Jedi run around like unmitigated, petulant, thugs.

It was rather amusing seeing them trying to one up each other every book, but Traviss has been out of star wars for how long? At this point it has just become rather sad imo.