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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lou, KY 2011 GALACTIC ALLIANCE BOOK CLUB DATES AND READS

Discussion in 'MidWest Regional Discussion' started by LordZannah, Jan 6, 2011.

  1. LordZannah

    LordZannah Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2010
    Well, they "were" powered by Sith Magik. And after all, Sith "are" all powerful ya know. :mad: As the legendary comedian Jim Carey would say...... " [face_laugh] Eh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh". followed by a deep sigh...... and possibly a ... "Mmmmmm-yea".
     
  2. Yoda_Jammies

    Yoda_Jammies Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2003
    I heart you Zannah. Will you be my valentine@};- ?
     
  3. mindtwister_138

    mindtwister_138 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 2002

    The meeting was fun. It was really good to see everyone who came again. I haven't seen you guys since the xmas party.


    Zannah, watch out for being Jammies Valentine. He'll set you on fire, then hug it out and set you on fire again...then laugh!


    That was one of the greatest stories I have ever heard. Thanks for sharing it Jammies (You my nerfherder!)


     
  4. Yoda_Jammies

    Yoda_Jammies Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2003
    That's what happens when you don't return 11's vedio games on time.
     
  5. Yoda_Jammies

    Yoda_Jammies Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2003
    Yeah. You my Nerfherder (and he is one year older). Yeah.

    Jammies

    Dude! I'm just glad you are still sticking around bro! Luv yah bud!
     
  6. mindtwister_138

    mindtwister_138 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 2002

    Not one year older...one year wiser...lol.

    I am officially on the mend now...so watch out world...I'm back!


    You guys know I love you all, and we all make the best Star Wars group EVER!
     
  7. LordZannah

    LordZannah Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2010
    I heart you too Jammies! But before I consent to being your Valentine, just how hot am I going to get? Spontaneous combustion is it? Hmmmmmmmmmm. Messah be tinken I might wanta run. Meesah be muey muey scared now! :eek:
     
  8. Yoda_Jammies

    Yoda_Jammies Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2003
    Not as scared as I am now.
     
  9. LordZannah

    LordZannah Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2010
  10. jedimika

    jedimika FanForce Chapter Rep star 4

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    Apr 2, 2008
    Was at Half-Priced Books today and picked up a nice stack of Star Wars Insider from as far back as 1995 for 0.50 each. Really neat. Some good articles and interviews. And the big news was updates on the new "Shadows of the Empire" media crossover. Also in the pre-internet days half of each magazine is basically a mail-order catalogue for your Star Wars swag needs. Really makes you appreciate how nice we have it today.

     
  11. 11-11

    11-11 Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 17, 2007
    It seems like a Barnes and Noble employee has been giving our book club a little extra promotion.[face_dancing]
    When I went to pick up Knight Errant a while back the guy behind the counter was very excited when he saw what I was buying. He told me all about our SW book club and how he's been wanting to attend, but is always working when we meet up.:(
     
  12. LordZannah

    LordZannah Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Aug 18, 2010
    Yea, I think I know who your talking about eleven, I've spoken with him before. He keeps telling me he wants to attend a meeting, but he's always working.

    Well everyone, here we go. Party time! Well, more of an intimate social gathering of great friends rather than a party.


    Gathering For: Clone Wars Finally/Book Club Meeting
    When: Friday April 1st.
    Time:7:pm.
    BYOB and finger foods.

    See ya here!

    [face_dancing]
     
  13. 11-11

    11-11 Jedi Master star 2

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    Jul 17, 2007
    I'm a bit over halfway through right now, and I know I shouldn't say this so soon, but I'm just so jazzed... I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!! (and not just for the obvious reasons of female protagonist, etc.)
     
  14. LordZannah

    LordZannah Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Aug 18, 2010
    I'm with you kitten! Totally jazzed muh-self! [face_dancing]
     
  15. Yoda_Jammies

    Yoda_Jammies Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2003
    I just hit the half way mark on this book too-- and i love it so much I don't want it to end (of course, we have the comic to look forward to)!
     
  16. Yoda_Jammies

    Yoda_Jammies Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2003
    One of the topics I wanted to take about during the book club meeting was Miller?s auteurship in regards to his Star Wars fiction. It was also a topic that I got to (very briefly) talk to him about at C5.

    Rather than waste time and other folk?s opinions right before Wookiee time?I?ll share it here. (being in the middle of the book this has no spoilers).

    Auteurship is a French word used by Truffant to describe a film director who retains complete creative control over his work. Obviously, George Lucas is the very definition of an auteur?but Miller, to me, is the first EU author to let his creativity go wild and yet maintain the reigns of his creations (even though Lucasfilm owns them all).

    Miller has written a book in a time period all his own. Furthermore?he has an on-going comic and has published an on-line appendix to the Star Wars atlas (a must read for Knight Errant fans on the star wars main page). His previous Star Wars work: Knights of the Old Republic, did draw on events from the game, but with unique characters and plot points introduced in the first issue that paid off in the last issue (after reading issue 50 I immediately went back and started to re-read the comic series and started to connect the dots that I never saw before).

    Has anyone ever done this in Star Wars EU? Stackpole had a book and comic series at the same time (X-Wing Rogue Squadron): but the two never really referenced each other much?and he shared writing credit with others (including Tim Zahn). Zahn can be credited with creating the modern EU?but his characters like Thrawn, Mara, and Kardde, have lived a life of their own (also, he just can?t seem to write about anyone other than Thrawn, Mara, or Kardde). Stackpole and Zahn have also co-written a number of short stories.

    But then there is Miller.

    I can?t remember an author pen a book, a comic, and a reference work all on the same story arc. Moreover, he seems to be inventing his own universe. By picking a little known era of Star Wars, he is free to do what he pleases (all we really know about the era is that it is the GFFA equivalent of the Dark Ages, and that at some point Darth Bane will come up with the rule of Two). Miller?s Old Republic is a scary place. The Jedi and the Republic have bottled up the Core and left the rest of the galaxy to the self proclaimed sith lords (reminding me of Stargate SG1, where the death of one Ga?ould would lead to another to take its place).

    In this corner of Uncle George?s sandbox, Miller is creating his own castles (he even is designing the ships portrayed in the comic?one is based off a star wars lego his son was playing with). Events in one piece of prose resonates in another. When the story of Kerra Holt is finished, I do not doubt that we will go back to Knight Errant issue 1, and see dots none of us had noticed before. I also do not doubt that Miller will write a Knight Errant audiodrama, an essential guide, and also sculpt knight errant action figures.

    Anyone else feel the same way? Or does anyone else think I left a Star Wars author out?


     
  17. jedimika

    jedimika FanForce Chapter Rep star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2008
    Thanks for the vocabulary lesson Jammies, my brain feels bigger already :)

    I had to ponder this quite a bit...closest other example I could think of is Joe Schreiber and his Death Troopers and Red Harvest. If he would have left certain face characters out of Death Troopers (and I don't think it would have hurt the story at all) it would have been all his original stuff.

     
  18. Kepare

    Kepare Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Nov 6, 2010
    You more or less nailed. it. I've been reading this one, too and I really wish I could make it out there next week. The only addendum I'd make is that while Zahn did a lot, he was leaning on the WEG stuff. Everthing he created was rooted in the old D6 Star Wars source material.
     
  19. 11-11

    11-11 Jedi Master star 2

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    Jul 17, 2007
    I have been thinking about this very same thing actually.

    As much as I have been enjoying FOTJ, sometimes an author's vision is better when it's not been meddled with by the minds of many. Passing the story around usually causes characters to suffer from personality transplants and plot points to be dropped. As you've said, his universe within our universe benefits from its purity and his control. And it will be exciting to connect all those "dots" because of Miller's willingness/ability to participate in the various outlets-- this just makes it that much more fulfilling to the fans.
    It's what the EU has been needing.

    Another thing I'd just like to applaud Miller on is how fan friendly he has been-- blogging answers to questions about the story and posting several times here on our theforce.net boards in the Kerra Holt fan club thread. It just makes him that much more awesome in my book.

    p.s. I really hope there is a video game (as long as it's not for the PC, ewwwwww)
     
  20. Yoda_Jammies

    Yoda_Jammies Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2003
    Thanks for the responses all!

    I do so love the Book Club, and as you all know I put a lot of thought into questions and little tid bits that may be relevant to the book-- BUT this month I wanted to post my thoughts here so as to hear what you all have to say before we all shut up and watch the wookie hour.

    11, I figured you would like this book, and not just for the girl power feel (which, Champion of Equality that I am, I like too)

    Kep, oh Kilted One-- you are so right! I can't believe I didn't think of that. Zahn's background (ships, planets, etc) was first detailed by West End Games. And, I am super glad he did: as that helped to start the EU continuity. It was also super cool for me to read fiction featuring ships I read about in the WEG books when I was in 5th grade-- HTTE came out when I was in the 6th grade). BUT, you are right-- he didn't create the Interdictor cruiser or the Crystal Field Gravity Trap. Bill Slavic and the4 WEG team did.

    Miller, though, is completely creating his own universe within the Star Wars universe. All of his stuff is uniquely his. It is all from his huge Death Star sized imagination. I think that is what sets him apart from the rest. If he wanted to; he could take the Star Wars name off of his works, and it would still hold up. Thank the Maker he hasn't. (I bet his bank account is thankful too!)

    MTFBWY-Always

    Jammies
     
  21. Kepare

    Kepare Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2010
    Believe it or not, Zahn has actually said that when he was contracted to write for SW, they sent him a box of the WEG supplements as his research materials. If you look at the earliest of his SW stuff, you can really feel the design aesthetics of WEG. He grew as an author and made it his own, but the feel of his stuff is still very heavily influenced by it.

    Stackpole, on the other hand, has always felt more grounded in the Marvel universe. Granted, Stackpole is also a much better military fiction writer than Zahn, and the Marvel comics were more militarily oriented, so that one may just be a coincidence.
     
  22. Cungr_Vanck

    Cungr_Vanck Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2008
    After reading your post Jammies, I went back into the dungeon and sorted through my troves of Star Wars lore. For a second or two, I thought I have found a contender in comparison to Miller. But, a quick trip through Wookieepedia disqualified him. But, for honorable mention:

    Kevin J. Anderson

    His strongest claim starts with the Jedi Academy Trilogy back in 1994. At this time, only the Thrawn Trilogy books and The Truce at Bakura were in print that described the post Return of the Jedi galaxy. He was the only author to tell the tale of Luke Skywalker building the Jedi Academy on Yavin. He introduced Kyp Durron, Natasi Daala, The Maw, the first class of students that Luke would train, and a whole lot more. For those reading the FOTJ series, a lot of Kevin's work keeps coming up to say the least!

    Also, from 1995 to 1998, he worked with his wife, Rebecca Moesta, to create the Young Jedi Knights series for young readers. It tells the tales of Jaina and Jacen Solo growing into their teens years while they train at the Yavin Academy. This series gave us the first look at Tenal Ka Djo, Lowbacca, Raynar Thul, Zekk, and much more. These characters would play significant roles in The New Jedi Order series and beyond.

    Then in 1998 he wrote the comic for Jedi Academy: Leviathan. Several of his characters from the Jedi Academy Trilogy would reappear here on a new world fighting a new threat. One specific creation would get a nice tip of the hat in the Legacy comic series.

    In addition (yes, there's more!) he was the editor of the Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, and Tales from Jabba's Palace collections of short stories. He also contributed a story of his own to each collection. I still fondly remember the Tale of the Rancor Keeper.

    So Novels, young readers books, comics, short stories (though really not in the same timeline as above) and some editing work. A fantastic contribution that paved the way for everything that followed him.

    But, wait there is even more!

    Back in 1996 and 1997, he wrote The Golden Age of the Sith and Fall of the Sith Empire in the Tales of the Jedi comic series. It gave us the Great Hyperspace War, The Hundred Years Darkness, Sith Mediation Spheres and more. This era of the Star Wars timeline was unexplored at the time and he did pretty much what he wanted. All the main characters were original creations and thousands of years removed from the movies. The images in these stories would be used hence forth for species, ships, and more for all reference materials. However, there were no novels or reference books written specifically about this time that were penned by Kevin J. Anderson or anyone for that matter. He almost gets credit for creating Exar Kun (appears on the Jedi Academy series mentioned above), but he shares that with another author, Thomas Veitch who actually started the Tales of the Jedi series before working together with Kevin J. Anderson. However, Kevin did have complete control of the series from the mid point on when Thomas Veitch left.

    Using Anderson as a guide, Miller's work may be paving the way for the next 15 to 20 years of Star Wars material! Good times my friends :)

     
  23. jedimika

    jedimika FanForce Chapter Rep star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2008
    Some book related news...the Star Wars X-Wing books are now out of print. I only caught on to these last year and loved them but if anyone else was waiting you should probably buy up some copies while they're still available on the shelves.

    http://www.michaelastackpole.com/?p=2327&cpage=1#comment-7975


     
  24. LordZannah

    LordZannah Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2010
    Thanks Mika, I'll cross post to the Empire.
     
  25. LordZannah

    LordZannah Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Aug 18, 2010
    Bumping the thread for those who didn't make our party. The new read for this period is: Han Solo At Stars End by Brian Daily [face_dancing]