Books KENOBI by John Jackson Miller: The Official Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Fair enough. All of the above is merely my opinion, and we are all entitled to hold our own opinions. And I also liked Traitor, though I don't consider it to be the best SW book ever written. That honour belongs to James Luceno's Darth Plagueis. In my opinion.

 

I think some folks would argue that the benefit to the Expanded Universe is that the stories don't need to emulate the films and can explore the universe with different genres or scopes.

Darth Plagueis is definitely on my short list.

 

yo you realize "star wars" is a setting and not a genre right?

 

Darth Plagueis is a book without a hero.

I don't recall any of the films not having a hero.

I think this goes to show how different people are looking for different things.

 

Finished the novel. It was a good read but hardly as great as people made it sound

 

I loved it. Well worth the hardcover...and this from someone who still has a hard time buying paperbacks I haven't read first, especially from authors I haven't read yet.

I like that it isn't exactly like every other book out there. It's clearly a Western in the Star Wars Universe, in the best sense of the genre. And it felt good to read something where the events don't have to escalate to ridiculous levels of galaxy-saving action or Sith/giant superweapons/ impossible armies/etc. that only an overpowered Jedi can stop. We actually get to spend time on a planet, and get to see a bit of daily life for the people there...and invest in them, for once. Kenobi has well-developed characters and a good story. Nicely realistic balance of gender and ages among the characters, too. The women are written like actual people. The Sand People are not faceless bad guys (I'm dressing up as A'Yark if I ever need a Sand Person costume!). The briefly mentioned scantily clad Twi'lek slaves include males (which I don't think I've ever seen) and only exist in the proper context (the main characters pass some while visiting Mos Eisley). The villains are scaled to the events - Jabba is mentioned, but the main characters are not even up to Jabba's level of importance, so realistically, they rate a visit from some of his lackeys.
(All of these things are issues I've had with other EU books recently, and this book passes with flying colors on all accounts).

John Jackson Miller, I loved your book, and I'll gladly hunt down your other works. Please write more.

 

Yeah, I'm not feeling that list, either. I mean, it all sounds good, but some of my favorite books in the entire EU are the X-wing series, Rogue and Wraith squadrons both, and those lack lightsaber fighting of any sort. So do any of the novels revolving around Han or Lando, and some of those lack multiple planets, or space conflict (so it isn't just recent authors violating your list, either). Pretty much all of the Tales From... stories in all of those books lack at least one or more of those things, and yet they feel like Star Wars to me (IG-88 being a Borg aside).

DM and Trip are right. Star Wars is a setting, not a genre. There's a whole universe that the EU has helped create that isn't defined by things like galaxy-wide conflict or Jedi. The EU doesn't emulate the films and, In My Opinion, they shouldn't. LotF tried to mime the films, and look how that turned out. Constricting the authors to a set of rules might weed out some of the bad books, but it would also get rid of a lot of the good ones.

Part of this goes back to the immersion thread in that the "Star Wars feel" is a subjective thing. Vialco, I appreciate that you're willing to let it fall into the realm of opinion. Because, in the end, what makes something feel like Star Wars to you might not to everyone else. Some people need it to be closer (like the mooks who made TOR ) and some are okay with it being much further away. The problem is, the universe has moved past having to mime the films to feel like they belong. Tie-in works like Plagueis get away with it because they take place around the time of the films, so they're able to use the some of the same characters, settings, technology, etc, without it seeming forced. TOR and FotJ have no excuse. They hit every item on the list in some form or fashion, and yet they both fail.

Saying a work has to conform to a list of Star Wars traits to be a quality work is opinion, nothing more. And again, thanks for realizing that. It's a commendable quality, being able to accept the opinions and thoughts of others.

 

Finished this a bit earlier today. I enjoyed it a lot and the resolution for one certain character was quite fitting. (Those who have read it will know who). Normally I grumble about buying hardcovers that don't live up to expectations but that's certainly not the case here.

 

Hmmm this book.... is a collection of McGregorisms.

Man Who Stares at Eopies.

 

The eopie was one of the best characters!

 

Yes! And the bantha.

In my head canon, the baby eopie eventually wanders off and is adopted by Luke.

 

I was thinking the other day about the Zayne and Kerra references that JJM put in and while I find them, admittedly, self indulgent....they also have awesome implications. TOR already had Carrick Station but it's good to know that, some how, the tale of Zayne Carrick lasts through the Dark Age and into the Dark Times. Similarly for Kerra. Knight Errant basically ended without ending but it's good to know that no matter what happened to Kerra, she made enough of a difference that people remember her years later.

Suddenly, the references become a lot more endearing. It's like how A'Yark's reverence of Sharad Hett helps explain A'Sharad's rise to prominence among the Sand People later on. The references always have a deeper significance to them that just the surface meanings.

 

Also it makes sense that Qui-Gon would actually talk about them, as he is much more down the "my way or no way" path then most PT Jedi.

 

Fixed.

 

And he follows that meal with the obligatory glass of blue milk.

 

Sad to think of the fate of Annie and her kids, if they ended up staying you know where......

 

That happens some 19 years later I think chances are good they moved on since then.

 

Yeah, I was thinking that when I finished it. Hopefully they were elsewhere.

 

You are terrible.


Re: you-know-where, the university program was "off-world." So.

 

Pet animal + farm + no animal in ANH = just sayin'.

 

My Little Eopie by JJM - sequel to Kenobi..

 

That would actually make a really good children's book...

 

The Little Lost Bantha Cub.

 

It's a moisture farm, and eopies are used for travel, not eating.

The eopie had wandered off by ANH. Or mean old Uncle Owen made Luke give it away.

 

Depends on the life span of eopies. It might have become one with the Force by ANH-time.