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Author	Topic: Journey Through the EU: Disc. Jedi Quest 6: The Shadow Trap
Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 6/2/05 6:37pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	4,000 Years Before ANH: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon – Tom Veitch (printed in Knights of the Old Republic) Okay, we’re making time now . . . 999 years elapse between our last official entry and this story. That puts us at around 2,030 BC in our time. That’s, again Biblically speaking, around the time of the birth of Abraham. The book is Knights of the Old Republic. This is the first and far inferior story in the volume. The characters we’ll be following for a while now: Cay and Ulic Qel-Droma, brothers and Jedi. Jedi Master Arca. Twi’lek Jedi Tott Doneeta. They are dispatched to settle the trumpet fanfare* Beast Wars of Onderon. It’s stupid, so I’m not going into it. If you’ve read anything about two feuding cultures, you’ve got the basics. Blah blah, daughter of one culture kidnapped by raiders from the other culture. Admittedly, the action sequence wherein the Beast Riders attack is excellently done. Feels very fluid. If you guessed that the kidnapping was a fake, arranged so that the daughter could marry the man she truly loved, a member of the opposite culture of her, give yourself a gold star. It’s like Romeo and Juliet. If it had been written by an idiot. The planet has been secretly under the sway of a Dark Jedi named Freedon Nadd (most unlikely name since . . . well, since Pussy Galore) and his followers, which includes the planet’s queen, for millenia. Of course, the more rustic culture is aware of this and has been rebelling against the city dwellers for just this reason. This is the basic literary trope wherein the rustics are more enlightened than the more modern individuals. Basically, in light of Star Wars, the entire Jedi phenomenon can be read in this light. They adhere to ancient customs, use old weapons and are in touch with something modern science cannot touch. Okay, the queen is overthrown in perhaps the most anti-climactic showdown ever. One down . . . one to go . . . All in all, a spectacularly disappointing effort. out of **** stars. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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7-7-7 Registered: Dec '02	Date Posted: 6/2/05 6:46pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project - Date Edited: 6/2/05 6:46pm (1 edits total) Edited By: 7-7-7
	Good job so far and good luck with some of the nightmares you've got ahead of you. Which reminds me, what ever happened to your James Bond review project? Did that end at Goldeneye? (not that I blame you if it did)
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 6/2/05 6:58pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	I do intend to complete the series, but the library loan system is taking forever to get the next film to me. As soon as it gets to me and I can watch it fresh, I'll post a review. Thanks for asking. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 6/4/05 9:30pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	The Saga of Nomi Sunrider – Tom Veitch So at this point, Jedi could be openly married? Well, it’s not too much to except a shift in tradition or even straight rules over, literally, millennia. So, Nomi’s Jedi husband is killed and she picks up his lightsaber and kills his killers. She then decides to follow in his footsteps and become a Jedi. This is perfectly credible and is, matter of fact, a great way to get a character to decide to become a Jedi while also giving them their brush with the Dark Side. Okay, going to a planet you’ve never been too, to find a Jedi Master you know nothing about, with no supplies and a young child is perhaps not the most illustrious opening to a Jedi’s career. What is it with going to desolate planets to train with Jedi Masters you know nothing about anyway? Okay, that Jedi is weird looking, even by the standards of this universe. It’s like his head is made up of Ramen noodles. And the Jedi Master is in fact the apparent pack beast that the weird haired Jedi (Oss Willum) was using to haul things around. Wow . . . a Jedi Master who doesn’t look like you’d expect him too . . . where do they get their ideas? And, by the way, the idea of a big Triceratops as a Jedi Master may have sounded cool in the table reading, but in execution it fails to truly inspire. In a truly interesting bit, Nomi wants to be a Jedi, but refuses to learn to use a lightsaber after using it in anger to kill her husband’s murderer. And of course, Thon, the Triceratops, can hardly argue with her since he, having only hoofs, can hardly use one. The two stories merge when Tott Doneeta shows up to borrow Oss Willum to help with an uprising on Onderon, where the other story took place. Some bad guys show up, and, of course, the same bad guys who killed Nomi’s husband (the ones she didn’t kill). Anyway, she finally overcomes her demons and utilizes her husband’s lightsaber to protect her Jedi Master who appears about to sacrifice himself to the villains. Why she would have to save a Jedi Master who immediately after she picks up the lightsaber starts tossing bad guys around telekinetically is not gone into. Guess he was just jerkin’ her around. This one’s a lot quieter than the others, mostly taken up with Nomi’s slow progress toward becoming a true Jedi. It, however, works better than the galaxy spanning stories seen thus far, which were, for the most part, rather emotionally stunted. This still isn’t great stuff, but it does resonate to a certain degree. * out of **** stars. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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GrandAdmiralJello Title: Emperor • EUC • JCC Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 6/4/05 9:38pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	I never did like Master Thon. He's just too implausible to me: sentience outside humanoids is great, but there are limits. -----signature----- SPQR Vates Jυλιαδις Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque - Ennius Tu regere imperio populos, Romanæ, memento; hæ tibi erunt artes; pascisque imponere morem, parcere subjectis et debellare superbos - Virgil
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The2ndQuest Title: Manager: -Literature -LACWAC -Games Registered: Jan '00	Date Posted: 6/4/05 9:46pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	I actually liked the idea of Thon- a Jedi Master unable to use a lightsaber in the traditional sense, one that looks like a beast of burden at that. "Your eyes can decieve you- don't trust them." -----signature----- "When your future self tells you to do something, YOU DO IT." K'Kruhk, 140 ABY:"Why haven't I come forth earlier to share my Jedi knowledge with Skywalker? Well, it's kinda a long story, see, I had this freaking sweet hat..."
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GrandAdmiralJello Title: Emperor • EUC • JCC Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 6/4/05 9:48pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	As admiral what's his face would say from RAII, I'm an "Imperial buckethead." I don't think outside the box. -----signature----- SPQR Vates Jυλιαδις Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque - Ennius Tu regere imperio populos, Romanæ, memento; hæ tibi erunt artes; pascisque imponere morem, parcere subjectis et debellare superbos - Virgil
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The2ndQuest Title: Manager: -Literature -LACWAC -Games Registered: Jan '00	Date Posted: 6/4/05 9:56pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	Hmm, I still say it's debatable that he said buckethead... -----signature----- "When your future self tells you to do something, YOU DO IT." K'Kruhk, 140 ABY:"Why haven't I come forth earlier to share my Jedi knowledge with Skywalker? Well, it's kinda a long story, see, I had this freaking sweet hat..."
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mrslush50 Registered: Feb '03	Date Posted: 6/4/05 10:16pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	Keep these coming Rogue. I actually did what you are undertaking a couple of years ago, though to a lesser degree. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on some of the more recent stuff that I have yet to read. btw, do you plan on playing all the video games as well? -----signature----- Master of Ideas... Forgetter of Details Adoptee of Jedi_Sha Delta 6 (Lieutenant) EUDF Want to get added to my WUL? It's easy! See my bio for details. --> http://boards.theforce.net/user.asp?usr=787041
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Sturm Antilles Title: Former Manager Registered: Jun '00	Date Posted: 6/5/05 2:00am Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project - Date Edited: 6/5/05 2:16am (1 edits total) Edited By: Sturm Antilles
	For the record, I'm reading all of the EU that I currently have/will buy this year, beginning with some pre-ANH stuff within the last few days. ( I already read the Han/Lando books in the last year. ) I finished Empire - Betrayal yesterday evening. T2Q : Hmm, I still say it's debatable that he said buckethead... It always sounded rather offensive to me, whatever he's saying. -----signature----- "You're the most compliant rebel I've ever met." - jaya02 Currently reading : About seven different novels at once.
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burrie Registered: May '00	Date Posted: 6/5/05 3:11am Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	*So Jori shows up just as Gav is bending over the dead Hutt covered in his blood. She assumes he’s killed Aarba and attacks him. Gav flees, rather than simply gaining a little distance and telling her he’s innocent. And I mean there is a war going on . . . couldn’t you give your brother the shadow of a doubt? This is one part that never jived well for me in the TPB. At first, we have Jori throwing herself at Gav's guards with a lightsaber, shouting how she'll fight evil, including her own brother and all. Suitably heroic, dramatic and the usual jazz. However, in the next scene where they're together(and I take it that Jori's attacking the guards was the finale of one of the issues), she's suddenly all heart-broken over the Hutt's body, pleading with her brother to ask what is going on. I mean, it seemed as if the Hutt's death was a setup for a neat duel-between-family where Jori might also slowly start to slip into the Dark Side(it kinda seemed that way to me), but realise her own mistakes, yadda-yadda, and then there would be a scene where they're talking as it is now... I dunno, it just seems as if they cut out a duel. First she's shouting that she's going to fight her brother, then she's suddenly pleading with him to ask what, pray-tell, is going on. -----signature----- "The console to unlock the door is probably hidden in some room twelve floors up, or something. How does that make sense?" - K. Katarn "Ace stole the shuttle from Wedge. An embarrassing tactical mishap quietly forgotten." - Best explanation for Tydirium
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Kwenn Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 6/5/05 2:30pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	Firstly, a great idea, Rogue, and one I hope you will continue with. I'm looking forward to future reviews. I hadn't bothered with the TotJ era until recently (KotOR, the game, sparked my interest in the ancient era) and I've now got Dark Lords of the Sith, Knights of the Old Republic and Redemption (and have read the others at various points). I enjoyed rereading DLOTS and KotOR, and I thought Redemption was great, a fitting end to the Ulic saga. And these books don't even have many continuity issues with the prequels, either. Well, except the whole Force ghosts thing, but even that may not be much of a problem. Only Jedi who have been taught the secret of eternal life can retain their identity, right? Well, we'll discount Sith spirits because they seem to reside in some sort of eternal death, not eternal life. They are trapped in whatever place they died, and, as Palpatine finds upon his final death, find only the eternal madness of the dark side when they die. Jedi, however, can retain their identities through love and compassion, but Qui-Gon is apparently the first Jedi to do so. What about Andur? Well, IIRC, we only see his spirit once, right after he dies. I dunno if anyone is familiar with them, but in the Discworld series, Death appears to sever a spirit's ghostly link to their physical self before they can enter whatever afterlife they believe awaits. Perhaps Jedi can linger in their ghostly image for a brief time after their death - a sort of residual image, as their spirit slowly merges with the Force. Even Obi-Wan succumbs to this fate, as evidenced in HTTE. So, Jedi who haven't been taught Qui-Gon's secret can perhaps reside for a time, possibly to impart some words of wisdom to their loved ones, before becoming one with the Force. Except...Vodo Siosk Baas returns after 4,000 years to help defeat Exar Kun's shade. Hmm. Well, Qui-Gon is said to have learned the secret of immortality from the Ancient Order of the Whills - and being ancient, this order may have been around during the TotJ era. Perhaps certain ancient Jedi learned the secrets of the Whills, but this knowledge was lost over time? Thus, elder Jedi like Vodo can reappear, perhaps, as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan do, at times of great importance for their apprentices. Well, that was a little long-winded, but anyway. Keep up the good work, Rogue! -----signature----- "A true Knight, Qui-Gon is. Forever on his own quest." - Yoda, Cloak of Deception
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EmpressOfTheChiss Registered: Mar '05	Date Posted: 6/5/05 5:47pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	Wow, Rogue, this is awesome! I'll be watching this thread... -----signature----- Not all those who wander are lost. Which is really nice to know, considering how much I wander.
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Charlemagne19 Registered: Jul '00	Date Posted: 6/5/05 6:21pm Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	Jori is an idiot. There's no real problem I have with the scene. She's an idiot in the rest of the book and it doesn't change at any point so why should this scene be different? I totally disagree with you on the two stories... Tales of the Jedi 1 is decidedly DIFFERENT from normal stories as it INVERTS the usual fairy tale story. The fact remains that the Jedi actually were killing innocent people and the rescued princess wasn't attracted to her 'saviors' plus it was her family she needed rescuing from. Also, the tying in the family to the Dark Side was great. The fact that they used the same note to not trust your judgements is a timeless lesson.
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Sturm Antilles Title: Former Manager Registered: Jun '00	Date Posted: 6/6/05 3:08am Subject: RE: Journey Through the EU: A Retrospective Project
	Agreed, Charlemagne. I loved those aspects of it as well. -----signature----- "You're the most compliant rebel I've ever met." - jaya02 Currently reading : About seven different novels at once.
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