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Topic:
Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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Havac
Title: Lit Mod of War
Registered:
Sep '05
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 9:07am
Subject:
Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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Analyze and discuss Troy Denning as an author. Remember, no bashing or gushing, but simple discussion of his strengths and weaknesses as an author, what would you like to see from him in the future, etc.
Previous Author Analyses:
Ann C. Crispin
K. W. Jeter
Sean Stewart
Haden Blackman
Greg Keyes
Michael Stackpole
Kevin J. Anderson
Matthew Stover
Michael Reaves
Aaron Allston
Go at it! 
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1_4_Jedi
Registered:
Apr '06
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 10:52am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
- Date Edited:
6/2/06 12:21pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
1_4_Jedi
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Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about Mr. Denning.
On the one hand, I thought that SbS alone was an excellent novel (by any measure, SW or otherwise). I found it both epic and totally engrossing. For whatever intangible reason, the writing style utilized in that particular book provided me with a fairly clear visualization of events throughout the story, as well as an excellent sense of dramatic suspense. This is in spite of the fact that I really wasn't thrilled by the end result & consequences of story itself. Even though I was spoiled silly, that fact did not take away from the overall experience of a book which I found fascination and entertaining, in stark contrast to the rather morbid tone. I can't say as I found the writing to be especially enjoyable, but the method was very...effective...I think is the right word, in expressing characterizations and maintaining credibility with the storyline of the series. Of course, given the subject matter of SbS, I was probably more enthralled with the actual chain of events than I was concerned with nitpicking the delivery. Especially since there were few faults to be found, IMHO.
OTOH, I find it difficult to reconcile this assessment of Denning's work when I consider the DN trilogy. I just did not care for the overall style of those books at all. Unfortunately, the way in which the events and characters were presented throughout the series felt artificial and stagnant to me . Instead of moving in a fresh new direction, the plot made me feel as if I had been drawn right back into the thick of the exhaustive NJO series, with fairly predictable and equally unhappy results. It was almost as if you could substitute the Vong for the Killiks and barely affect the net product. Technically speaking however, I can really find little latitude to complain. Perhaps my lingering dislike for the the NJO series in general was a factor in this impression, or the fact that I was hoping for a series which would attempt to move back into a more upbeat and positive direction is the cause of my attitude towards the DN series.
What it really comes down to though is the fact that I just simply did not enjoy reading the DN books. This is supposed to be fun, afterall, and if that is not the case then I cannot help but to express that appraisal of the situation.
In synopsis, while I accept Mr. Denning as a technically proficient writter, his work just does not seem to connect with me or my preferred concept of style in the SW universe.
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J_K_DART
Registered:
Dec '01
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 11:25am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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Agreed re: DN. To me, they just weren't fun. I confess that I seriously disliked SbS, but, quite frankly, the events kind of meant I would even if Zahn had written it. That being said, I felt that TG was brilliantly realised.
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Master_Veila
Registered:
Apr '06
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 11:25am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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When I first read SBS I thought Denning was my favorite star wars author. But looking back now I think a huge portion of the reason I liked the book so much was because the story was so great, not necessarily the story telling.
I have very mixed feelings about DN. I have never laughed harder from a book than when I read the part about Luke accidentally attracting the aliens in the cantina while trying to just get information out of them at the beginning of the Joiner King. I also thoroughly enjoyed Tarfang.In other parts I was not as entertained. I thought some parts were just way too pointless (like when Han and Leia were abducted and interrogated by the Chiss), and others unnecessarily slow. I thought the characterizations of Corran and Kyp were especially lousy and immature. Also for such long books the action was too few and far between.
The one thing that keeps Denning on my Top Three Star Wars Authors list is his perfect characterizations of Jedi powers. I think he makes Jedi just as powerful as they should be. I love that Leia was able to grab a chiss fighter with the force and crash it into others in the middle of battle. I didn't think it was over the top when Jacen somehow just put his hand up in a barrage of blaster fire and deflected most of it, I thought it was awesome. I think a lot of other Star Wars authors make Jedi extremely too weak.
Another positive of Denning is that for some reason when Leia and Han are bickering/flirting/fighting/etc I don't get bored like I do with most Star Wars authors when they attempt to do the Leia/Han charm. He also does Han justice instead of just having him be a background character that flashes a lopsided grin every once and awhile.
Also Denning gave the best description of force lightning in SBS when Jaina goes dark side. It's exactly how I imagine it happenning, it was perfect.
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Favorite SW Book: Star by Star/runner up: COPL
Favorite SW Game: KOTOR2/runner up: KOTOR /Jedi Outcast/SOTE
Favorite SW Movie: ROTJ/runner up: ROTS
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cant wait for: Shadows of Mindor
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000
Registered:
Oct '05
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 4:35pm
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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As I've said before, he's a solid author-- not exceptional, but always capable of delivering middling-to good stories. Sure, characters in Dark Nest made some odd decisions-- but when you think about it, hasn't Leia always been a selfish bordeline-compulsive traitor?
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Yodas-evil-twin
Registered:
Jun '05
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 4:53pm
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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I find Denning to be a terrific author, and have enjoyed all of his Star Wars novels. He got me involved in the EU.
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ezekiel22x
Registered:
Aug '02
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 5:01pm
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
- Date Edited:
6/2/06 5:02pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
ezekiel22x
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I really like Denning. Star by Star showed he’s extremely adept at telling a very cinematic tale that doesn’t hinge on needless riffs from the actual films, while with Dark Nest he succeeded at taking the overall narrative into new organic territory. For the first time in a long while, with DN I actually felt like the characters were substantially developed from their embodiments of the previous series.
That said, Denning does tend to lose me with his action sequences, which can seem a little vapid, plodding, or poorly plotted. But ultimately, I’m willing to overlook this as he has such a firm grasp on delivering deft characterization and a genuine sense of creative naturalness that’s often lacking in the sometimes dreaded world of Media Tie-In.
At this point, I'd say Denning's at the top of the list along with fellow elites Stover and Traviss.
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Thrawn McEwok
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
May '00
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 5:49pm
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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On one level, I don't know what I think about Denning, because his work can provoke different reactions every time I read it: a key scene like Anakin's "going" in SbS is never the same on any two readings - that, I think, is one of his great strengths, I think.
He's a master of ambiguity - of uncertainty and human flexibility. That makes his work very interesting, and keeps it fresh. But it also makes it hard to be sure about some stuff...
I don't know whether the logical flaws in the Myrkr mission are deliberate, or just work well in context; I don't know whether Tatooine Ghost is serious drama disguised as frivolity, or genuinely meant to be light-hearted fun.
Regardless: I do know that I've enjoyed all of Denning's SW novels. Few authors have such a good grasp of the intricacies of the Galaxy far, far away....
- The Imperial Ewok
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dlh1970
Registered:
Jun '05
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 9:09pm
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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He is one of the few writers that actually does a good job with the Han/Leia relationship. I've enjoyed all of his SW books so far.
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master_organa
Registered:
Jun '04
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 9:11pm
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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SBS was a book that never felt tiresome, even with its length. And TG is one of my favorite SW books, it is one of the few books that blend the prequels and the originals. But the Dark Nest books were dissapointing. While they didn't really have any problem, I didn't find them engrossing.
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Havac
Title: Lit Mod of War
Registered:
Sep '05
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Date Posted:
6/2/06 9:16pm
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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With SBS, Denning produced a fantastic, epic book with fleets and Jedi missions and politics and planet-hopping and death and massive war and everything. Then he went to TG and made an intimate story about Han, Leia, and Chewie on a small mission that was important, but not galaxy-shaking, on one planet, exploring realtionships, and it was great. Then he goes and writes a trilogy with a scale somewhere in-between, that starts out as the most innovative, fresh, and exciting thing to hit SW in years and years, but makes some small but significant mistakes, upsets a large segment of the fandom with the plot, and concludes with a rushed ending.
What to make of him? I'd say he's a solid and versatile author with a weakness in describing complex action scenes, but a superb grasp of the movie characters. He has a strange mixture of innovation in plot, situation, and more, and unwillingness to write any non-Star Destroyer capships or introduce new major characters beyond the Barabels and the Squibs. He loves ambiguity and mystery.
Overall, I'd say he's a great author, with some slipups that keep him from being an absolutely top-flight, Stover- or Zahn-level author, but still top five. i certainly look forward to Tempest and the rest. I'm interested in seeing how he works as a large part of the team like that.
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Recipient of Thrawn McEwok's Sexually Ambiguous Tusken Raider™ and a Special Golden Ewok™
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Drew_Atreides
Registered:
Apr '02
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Date Posted:
6/3/06 12:46am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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Ick, i know i'm in the minority but... Denning's awful.
Course, the majority of Star Wars authour's works fall under "awful", but....Star by Star is highly overrated (Denning can't describe an action sequence to save his LIFE) and as for Dark Nest: I have two words for you....Jaina/Zekk.
Reading about those two rubbing elbows and getting all buggy was......horrible.
I mean, the bugs in and of themselves were tough to read, but Jaina and Zekk doing the hive mind thing was just excrutiatingly painful.
I hate Denning's work. Hate it.
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Excellence
Registered:
Jul '02
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Date Posted:
6/3/06 2:11am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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Contributing some of the best written and best storylined novels to the Star Wars series in almost a decade, there's really little more I need say on the matter.
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Mike-Sunrider
Registered:
Oct '03
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Date Posted:
6/3/06 4:01am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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Many that hate his work tend not to like the story he's writing. But I see that as a thing of taste.
I think he is a great writer, definately one of my favourites for StarWars. Having a dislike for Dark Nest I could still appreciate his style and his characterizations, but the bugs did annoy me.
SBS was my first ever Starwars novel, and I still consider it the best EU novel of Starwars for me.
Yes his weakness is writing action scenes, I tend to get lost in them. But the only fight scenes I haven't got lost in so far are those of Salvatore and his Drizzt Novels.
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Excellence
Registered:
Jul '02
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Date Posted:
6/3/06 4:21am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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Lost? Is that because Joiner King's action scenes kept you guessing page by page, unable to work out the ending in advance? Almost a first for SW, really. 
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My utilisation of complex locution to ask what's more pathetic, fans who worship their
movie actors, or the actors who couldn't give a damn, is more a reflection of my own
superincumbent mental actuity than any circumscribed lexicon. Don't you agree?
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jedimasterkipdurron
Registered:
Aug '03
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Date Posted:
6/3/06 5:19am
Subject:
RE: Author Analysis: Troy Denning
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SBS and Tatoone Ghost really disappointed me. They had so much promise with the storyling but Denning wasn't able to write it too well. What really changed me on him though was Dark Nest, those books were some of the best in SW that I have ever read. Very adult and very will written, some of my favorites.
I'd write him about a 7-8/10. Maybe it'll go up to a solid 8 after LOTF.
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