Books The Last Jedi by Jason Fry

It's then dependent on those of us that want a better discourse on the boards to champion being better. I for one refuse to give up!

To quote ANOTHER franchise- "Never give up, never surrender!"

--Adm. Nick

 

Given the underhanded circumstances under which Twitter deletes posts and the things they generally allow on the site that blatantly breaks their ToS, it's unsurprising that this is the case. It's part of the reason I don't use it. Same goes for any other large social media network like Facebook.

 

By Grabthar's hammer, the depths we've sunk to.

More seriously, don't repeat your dark side trip of a few posts then!

 

I'm actually incredibly keen for the novelisation, and hope it heals some of the rifts I have with the movie.

 

I’ve been on the fence about TLJ for a while, and I’m interested in this novel mainly for the extra detail. It’s why I prefer books over film as a medium in a lot of ways.

 

I think elaborating details about a film could open up context and explain its place in the narrative far, far better than mere onscreen images sometimes can. I also know Fry is a continuity buff who care about both the art of writing a good story, as well as respects the history of this franchise better than most.

I think many people who didn't like TLJ as a movie will like the novelization, at least based on what tidbits are being told to me so far. It already teases at least partial resolution to many of the tidbits in the film which bothered me.

In short, I think a lot of critics should give this a chance. The extra info can do a lot to change one's perspective on a story, or soften the blow of narrative choices one didn't agree with. I trust Jason here.

 

If I may ask, why would you pre-order a book based on a movie you strongly disliked in the first place? Even if you felt like giving the book the benefit of the doubt, I would think you'd want to wait until you heard reassuring word of mouth, or were able to flip through it at the store yourself, before committing to buy it.

 

I love the movie novelizations because they tend to explain or expand on scenes that are briefly alluded to or seen in a movie. I have said this before, and I'll say it again. The PT movie novelizations were awesome compared to the movies. The depth of information is makes the story sense. In fact, with those books, you don't need any other expanded universe book on the clone wars, state of the galaxy, etc. Nor do you need TCW cartoon series, because the three books covers everything. TFA novelization was lacking a lot, and I am hoping that this one is in the same league as the PT ones.

 

The ROTS novel would have made one of the greatest SW films ever, as well as a very good film in its own right. That's why I find it so painful to read, because it’s light years better than the film (and I love ROTS).

 

It also makes the movie look a lot worse by comparison. And it sounds like TLJ might end up being the same way.

 

The ROTS novelization was so good that it fundamentally changed my view on Anakin/Vader as a character. Suddenly everything made sense!


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I can give you a few reasons:

• There is the general tendency of booksellers to discount preorders as a reward.
• Expectations can shift also depending on price paid - more might be expected for a £20 book versus £13.60.
• Finally, there is writer reputation - would I have grabbed the ROTS or Rogue One novelisations with different authors than what they had? Probably not.

 

I complain about "complainers," and the complainer mentality in general, a lot. And it's not because I begrudge anyone their opinions or demand that they like something. Here's why: ever spend much time around a complainer in RL? Is it fun? No, it's not. Complainers murder the energy of whatever room they're in, and they're oblivious to the fact that they're doing it (or, sometimes, straightforwardly don't care). You think the same thing doesn't happen on these boards?

Star Wars is one of my hobbies. I love it. It's fun. It's supposed to be fun. And I very much want to have fun interacting with the fandom. But jumping into a thread and seeing page after page of bitter sniping, angry rants, and people continually beating their long-dead horses make me want to jump back out of that thread and find somewhere more pleasant to spend my time.

I'm not saying we don't have a right to complain. Reasoned, thoughtful, and constructive criticism is the stuff great conversations are made of. But there's a difference between that and constantly offloading negativity. How does the latter make Star Wars better or more fun? How does that make the experience of being a fan better, for me or you? How does that help make these boards a more pleasant and welcoming place for people who may not want to vent, or react, or rehash all the old complaints again, but just want to talk about Star Wars with fans who love it as much as they do?

As Adm. Nick says (and thank you for it, Nick): we can do better.

 

I like RotS more because of the insight gained from reading the novelization. I already really enjoy TLJ, so if the novelization does the same thing I'm excited to be able to enjoy it even more.

 

While I understand the frustration - and it is a road I've taken on occasion, on both sides of the fence - it rarely ever works the way you want. At the time, it can feel great, but will it really work? Probably not. The latter option you describe really is your better solution.

But let's say you don't want to do that, what's left to do in a hot, blazing controversy thread?

Well, practice skim-reading, until you get a sense of whose posts you do and don't like.

Also - and this is one of those skills acquired by experience - learn to tell when a poster is truly looking for engagement - or not - and what kind. Some people just want to vent, stick their post out there and that's it, they want nothing more than that. Others like the idea of it being debate school, deeming it intellectual gladiatorial combat. Others truly are interested in seeing how others perceive stuff they like and dislike - you should be able to guess which one of these I go for. There will be other variations and combinations of these pieces out there.

The one big lesson that appears to have been wholly forgotten in the wake of TLJ, to me, is this: How to civilly disagree with someone. Get that right and a lot of the heat in any thread goes up in smoke because being able to politely disagree removes the sense of stakes, of people having to do this or that, of notions of 'win' or 'lose'. It takes that away, potentially increases the sense of engagement and reduces the sense of being dismissed or not listened to.

 

Yep! The only thing worse than people complaining about complainers is complainers complaining about people complaining about complainers.

 

Not sure if anyone else also feels this way but I'm looking forward to some more scenes on Canto Bight. It was my least favourite section of the film when I saw it (not that I hated it I just wanted to get back to Rey/Luke and the Resistance) but now I've read the CB book which was much better than I expected, I want to read more about it.

 

It's cool to see Rian Johnson involved cuz I remember him on a Kevin Smith podcast saying as a kid he couldn't go see Temple of Doom so he read the novelization a lot. So hopefully there's a bunch of stuff here he couldn't get into the movie.

Luke's third lesson could be interesting that if it's here in it's entirety but what if Abrams decides to do the 3rd lesson in Episode IX. Retcon no prize powers activate!

 

Spoiler

I wonder if Hux will find out the truth about the rise of the Empire in IX.

 

Will we get the backstory and more about Snoke in the Novelization, or will there be not much more about him than in the movie?

 

Been seeing a lot of this on some of the shipping threads (or what have become that) here. It's kinda sapping the positive feelings I had towards it coming out. (Yeah, I know, step out of the echo chamber.)

Simple, the novelization's version of that scene is non-canon and it just remains a glimpse behind the scenes of what could've been. No biggie.

 

Well there's your mistake right there.

 

Will that change anything?