Jedi Council Forums - Author Analysis: James Luceno

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Author	Topic: Author Analysis: James Luceno
Havac Title: Lit Mod of War Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 10/11/06 9:17pm Subject: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	Analyze and discuss Luceno's strengths and weaknesses as an author, what unique role he may play in the EU, whether you would prefer to see him write more books, etc. No bashing or gushing. Previous Author Analyses: Daniel Keys Moran Elaine Cunningham R. A. Salvatore Sean Williams and Shane Dix Greg Bear Kathy Tyers Darko Macan Vonda McIntyre Walter Jon Williams Kristine Kathryn Rusch Roger MacBride Allen John Ostrander Steve Perry Brian Daley Barbara Hambly Dave Wolverton Troy Denning 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! -----signature----- "Is there a captain's hat involved in this?" "I . . . don't know what department I want. I need . . . pants."
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Kyptastic Title: Manager Emeritus SWD Co-Commish Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 10/11/06 10:34pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	Except for the first Agents of Chaos book I've really enjoyed his work. His attention to detail is usually superb and I can follow most of the action quite easily. Cloak of Deception is terribly underrated. Labyrinth of Evil is an excellent lead up to ROTS and Dark Lord follows on and really gets into Vaders head quite nicely. Despite a slow start, The Unifying Force is breathtaking. On a whole, I'd give him 9.5/10 -----signature----- "It is your choice," Saba said ."This one does not think it will interfere with our peace deal. We have plenty of Moffz. Blast two." Valar Morghulis
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Jedi_Knight88 Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 10/12/06 3:55am Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	Well, he taught me the word 'crepuscular'... I find his writing is very...correct. He's pretty good with continuity and as Kyptastic said, attention to detail. His characterisation of Luke and Mara in his NJO duology was a bit strange, but he writes Han and Leia very well (especially in the opening scenes of TuF). -----signature----- http://www.mysticapple.blogspot.com My Gaming Blog: http://www.technobabblement.blogspot.com
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Havac Title: Lit Mod of War Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 10/12/06 1:24pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	Yeah, he's got quite the vocabulary. -----signature----- "Is there a captain's hat involved in this?" "I . . . don't know what department I want. I need . . . pants."
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Whizkid Registered: Sep '03	Date Posted: 10/12/06 1:54pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	Cloak of Deception: This was freakin awesome. It actually made TPM more enjoyable for me. Lots of suspense and a great plot twist. Good use of cameos and nice action scenes. Labyrinth of Evil: A great lead up to RotS. Luceno took a minute movie detail (the mechno-chair) and made a whole plot around it. Slightly less awesome than CoD, only because the plot wasn't as complex. Dark Lord: Took a while to get started, but once it did, it never let up. The insights of Vader and Sidious were great and we saw how the Empire gradually morphed into the evil it was in the OT. The only flaw was other than Shryne and Starstone, none of the other jedi had any personality. AoC duology: Probably my least favorite Luceno work. Hero's Trial was decent, but it slowed the pace of the series after 3 lightning fast novels. Jedi Eclipse was all around better, probably because it returned to showing the macro view of the Vong War instead of the localized story in HT. The Unifying Force: Awesome conclusion to a great series. There were so many epic scenes and so many characters were used. The ending felt a little too neat, but thats a minor point. All in all, I think Luceno is among the best EU authors. He's not as good as Stover, but i'd put him on the same level as Zahn and Denning, and Stackpole. I have high hopes for the Plagueis novel. -----signature----- "Only a Sith deals in Absolutes" "Do, or do not. There is no try"
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DurronFan Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 10/12/06 1:55pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	That's something I respect about Luceno. At least his language challenges you to some extent, unlike Anderson whose vocabulary even a second grader could understand. I've read Cloak Of Deception, the Agents of Chaos Duology, The Unifying Force and Dark Lord. All were good, an 8.5 on average, except for Agents of Chaos. Those books didn't click for me. Which is surprising considering that TUF, which was also in the NJO, was really good. He has a really good grasp of Han IMO. -----signature----- Luke Skywalker: I'm not afraid! Yoda: Good... You will be. You will be.
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ThrawnRocks Registered: Apr '04	Date Posted: 10/12/06 2:21pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	While I've only read AoC and TUF I must say that while he has a wonderful grasp of continuity, he has a very bland style of writing. AoC was downright terrible, and writing wise, TUF wasn;t anything special, although I did like the plot. I truly wish that instead of writing Star Wars books, he would be some sort of continuity editor employed at LFL, so while everyone else is completely ignoring continuity, he actually knows what he is talking about, and can catch things choughartoobeingbuiltbytheempirecough -----signature----- My Icons: http://www.powow.com/thrawnrocks/icons.html Roan Fel's badassery knows no bounds. "The next Allston book should be all Syal and Myri, all the time." - Jello
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Sinrebirth Title: Sith Emperor of the SWC Registered: Nov '04	Date Posted: 10/12/06 2:36pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	whichwaslaterfixedasImperialpropagandainthesameseries None too difficult a plot detail. One of the better authors, up there with Denning and Stover. Good writing, good plotting, and excellent wrapping up. He's good at the macroview and the microview, and I love him for it. -----signature----- Darth Insipid Proud Fan of the Tragedy of Jacen Solo Missing Chapters of Invincible; Teaser of Chapter 9.5 is up! Wes vs Tarfang, Gavin and the Coup, Luke and Jacen, and much more! http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28933751/p3/?70
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sidious618 Registered: Apr '03	Date Posted: 10/12/06 5:06pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	He's my favorite Star Wars author. Something about his writing always works for me. -----signature----- But in purple, I'm stunning!- Londo Mollari, Babylon 5
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Katana_Geldar Title: Former CR Tasmania, AU' Registered: Mar '03	Date Posted: 10/12/06 6:28pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	LOE is my fave SW book after Shatterpoint, someone described it as a guilty pleasure and it is. Reading LOE for me is like devouring a large box of rich chocolates. Things I loved about LOE: Obi-Wan and Anakin's pub crawl Padme's scenes The attack on Cato Neimoidia His characterisations of Dooku and Grevious The attack on Coruscant The ending The Sifo-Dyas scene The hunt for Sidious Luceno has proven that he is adaptable, he can write a very good poltical thriller (CoD) as well as an explosion-packed fanboy fest (LOE). Dark Lord was a mixture of both as well as a very difficult bike to get onto given it's the first of it's era yet he did it well. Luceno also does his research well, like Stover he references across the EU and brings in various threads. He is a new author, but IMHO he is up there with Zahn and Stackpole as one of the best. Will we get more from him? -----signature----- Jacen and the two Vergeres http://gmgeldar.wordpress.com/vergere-essay/ Now, if you don't mind, I am somewhat preoccoupied telling the laws of physics to shut up and sit down.
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ThrawnRocks Registered: Apr '04	Date Posted: 10/12/06 6:46pm Subject: Someone get me a coughdrop - Date Edited: 10/12/06 6:47pm (1 edits total) Edited By: ThrawnRocks
	Sinrebirth posted: whichwaslaterfixedasImperialpropagandainthesameseries None too difficult a plot detail. coughiknowthatbutthatwasjustanexamplehecouldbeveryhelpfulpointingoutcontinuityerrorsthatpeopleherelovetocomplainaboutcough -----signature----- My Icons: http://www.powow.com/thrawnrocks/icons.html Roan Fel's badassery knows no bounds. "The next Allston book should be all Syal and Myri, all the time." - Jello
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s65horsey Title: EUC and Arena Moddess SW RSA Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 10/12/06 7:41pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	Wow...I can't believe I just read the previous posts. I like his work. I like authors that use different words to describe things and use the $5 word to challenge our vocabularies. -----signature----- Corran Horn is mine. Get used to it. One of Hammer's Angels Has reverted to being a 14 yr old. YAY JOBROS and TWILIGHT! Just laugh at it.
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Katana_Geldar Title: Former CR Tasmania, AU' Registered: Mar '03	Date Posted: 10/12/06 9:03pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	I am hoping that Luceno will do a Han/Luke/Leia novel in the Classic Era, perhaps between Yavin and Hoth. For some reason I still can’t work out LOE reminded me of the Classic Era, I think it was when Anakin and Obi-Wan went to the prison, and I’m convinced we need to have a novel from him during this time. -----signature----- Jacen and the two Vergeres http://gmgeldar.wordpress.com/vergere-essay/ Now, if you don't mind, I am somewhat preoccoupied telling the laws of physics to shut up and sit down.
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Koroshiya_keefu Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 10/12/06 9:18pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno - Date Edited: 10/12/06 9:19pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Koroshiya_keefu
	I have a good deal of confidence in Luceno's abilities to form a coherent novel, and he does seem to have a good grasp on the tiniest details in the Star Wars Universe... As many others are, I'm hoping he pulls out all the stops and gives us a nice meaty and dark read with the upcoming Plagueis story... -----signature----- In a land of boat explosions...
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Katana_Geldar Title: Former CR Tasmania, AU' Registered: Mar '03	Date Posted: 10/12/06 9:48pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	He was dropping a few hints for us in Dark Lord about Plagueis, as well as about Bane. -----signature----- Jacen and the two Vergeres http://gmgeldar.wordpress.com/vergere-essay/ Now, if you don't mind, I am somewhat preoccoupied telling the laws of physics to shut up and sit down.
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Koroshiya_keefu Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 10/12/06 9:58pm Subject: RE: Author Analysis: James Luceno
	Cool. I own Dark Lord, but haven't been able to read it yet, just plowing through other titles first... Looking forward to it though! -----signature----- In a land of boat explosions...
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