The NJO Critics Club

I'm okay with Jaina/Jag, but in no way, shape, or form will I ever ship it over J/Z. Zekk first.

 

I'm a hardcore J/Zer, myself. Jag's okay, but Zekk's the one for Jaina.

 

Jag really grew on me over the course of the NJO-- how weird is that? But YJK trumps NJO any day of the week. So I still think Jaina/Zekk is the way things should be.

 

Yeah...they were always my favorite EU couple, period. Plus, if you liked YJK or JJK, they're now the last hope for a happily-ever-after. A/T's gone since he died, and J/TK is not going to end well. Go J/Z.

 

Another Tempest crit/question:

Does anyone else here find it out of character for TK to trust Hapan nobles over Jaina and teh Solos when it came to Allana?

 

Perhaps she didn't want to run the risk of the Solos figuring out Allana's paternity?

 

Yeah, the Solos are angry at Jacen enough already.

 

Still, it's very out of character for her to 1. not figure out that Jacen is a kriffing Sith
and 2. not trust old friends.

I mean what's worse, Hapan assassination plots or family who might be angry for a little while?

 

She's been very out-of-character for some time when it comes to Jacen. She seems to be suffering from Padme syndrome, which is not cool. She used to be a really strong character, but I'm not sure she'll stay that way.

 

There is no characterization at all in any Del Rey book. The characters are simply silly putty. They morph around to whatever Del Rey needs. Why did Omas go from a person who manipulates and spies on his enemies in Dark Nest to Neville Chamberlain in those overpriced first drafts known as LOTF? Because the writers don't care, or they are simply that incompotent. The Big Three, Wedge, Pellaeon, etc. have all abandoned the principals and ideals that defined their lives.

 

Hey folks!

Founder here. Just thought I'd pop in for my obligatory 2007 post.

Also, I saw Zahn had another single shot SW book, right after the events of ANH no less, so I got it. Still working my way through it. Not one of Zahn's best.

BTW, did anyone notice that the "geniuses" at DR put this book in the prequel timeline? WTH? I guess they just forgot to change the logo on the book jacket photoshop template from the last hardcover.

 

Hey, Jades Fire. Welcome back. And... in the prequel era? Oh, wow...

*Sigh* You know something? I had a talk with other people in the social thread in the fic resource. And you know what they're missing out on? Sales for EU figures. I don't need 10 billion Luke variants. Just gimme one freakin' Tenel Ka figure. I missed out on the TTT limited edition figures back in 1995 or so. So come on!

 

We need to write more fanfics where she kicks Jacen's butt. It's been too long since I drew that quick fancomic and since Mage wrote the fic to go with it.

BTW, Kettch is the one who wrote those hilarious letters of complaint to the NJO authors, right? Because it's time for the characters to write a few more letters and I'd be more than willing to mail TK's.

 

For me it was Zahn's weakest book. Nice to see you've dropped in though Jades.

JB

 

Stover's got a New Republic era novel coming out if it interests you.

 

I agree. I'd add more but would rather not run up against the rules. Allegiance being neither NJO/DN/LOTF, I wouldn't want to get in trouble for off-topic posting. Besides, I don't know what the statute of "spoiler" limitations are anymore. It's been about a month, but I've been away so long those rules may have changed. Maybe later.

JF

 

To help boost some discussion, I've thought of "how you would do LOTF." You'd have to keep the basic plot (Confederation against GA, Jacen falls, etc.) but changes it to make it more logical. Here's my take (took me about fifteen minutes to come up with it).

Dark Nest should have focused on the deteration between the Alliance and the individual systems due to the handeling of the Killik conflict. The third novel should have been akin to the last episode of Angel's fourth season- the major conflict ended in the previous episode (the second Dark Nest novel in this case) with the drive on setting up the next series and the loose ends wrapped up. Someone like Garm should have been the Five Worlds Prime Ministe because he's an established Corellian character with an independence streak who wouldn't push Corellia into a war, and have Omas step down due to the actions of the Swarm War to be replaced with a more moderate Chief of State who'd be willing to avoid war. At the same time establish the extremist elements such as Gejjen for the Corellians and Niathal for the Alliance.

Then have the several year skip to Betrayal. The situation should have been showned to have deterorated greatly since Dark Nest. Have Pellaeon ousted from power in the Remnant and replaced by hardliners that aren't as friendly to the Alliance to show how the galaxy is losing faith with Coruscant along with setting up the Remnant for it's return to power in Legacy. Corran should be the most divided character due to him spending far more time on Corellia than Han and with his time in CorSec in constrast to his service in Rogue Squadron and as a Jedi. If Del Rey is so intent on having Wedge go Corellian then have something more severe happen to him than just simple detainment such as actual torture against Wedge or serious injury harmed to one of his family members. Han and Leia's role would work better as more of an intermediator between Coruscant and Corellia instead of outright defection. Have the rest of Betrayal happen similar to what happened-with tighter editing- but have the person Jacen kills enter the novel a lot earlier. I myself would bring someone like Danni back to replace Nelani since an established character's death would work better.

Book two would combine the important elements of Bloodlines, Tempest, and Exile. Garm dying in Betrayal would lead to the extremist Gejjen to seize power much as he did after Thrackan died. The Battle of Tralus would lead to the Confederation's formation first followed by the assassination attempt against Tenel Ka and other worlds in the Alliance to gain more members. That would make the Galactic Alliance Guard's formation a much more logical extension. Jacen, as part of his Sith training, would leave the Jedi to join the Guard instead of the idiotic move of putting him as the head. Filler parts such as the Mandalorian plot would be cut with having the overall arc move at a better pace than what has been going on. Then the novel would go into Sacrifice, which I'd need to read.

 

To the following people: SilSolo, NaboosPrincess, Emerald_Lady, and of course RK_Striker_JK_5, I just have to say that for your support of Zekk and the J/Z ship, you guys may very well have become my new best friends. If any of you are ever in my home town of Sydney, Australia, let me know, and I'll show you around, OK?

Anyway, that being said, Jag is still kind of OK, but he needs to find a new girl who appreciates him for who and what he is. And at the very least, he should become friends with both Jaina and Zekk. In fact, I'd like to see him act as best man at their wedding. Although someone did point out that this might be too good to be true .

By the way, what does anyone think of the term "Confederation"? I think it's OK, but do you think they could have either come up with something better, or maybe added on to it? Like for instance "Confederation of Free Worlds" or something?

 

Yeah...they were always my favorite EU couple, period. Plus, if you liked YJK or JJK, they're now the last hope for a happily-ever-after. A/T's gone since he died, and J/TK is not going to end well. Go J/Z.

Exactly. I never read the JJK (could never find them, otherwise I would have), but I LOVED the YJK so much! And yes, A/T can't happen since he's dead, and although Jacen does love Tenel Ka, and they had little Allana, the fact that Jacen is now a Sith Lord kind of casts doubt on the future of that relationship.

Funny, isn't it? J/Z seemed like the least likely ship in NJO, but now it seems like the only one that will survive. And as a bonus, since Zekk does not appear to have a last name, he could take Jaina's, thus giving the Solo name a chance to live on.

("Help me, Jaina and Zekk! You're my only hope!")

Besides, like I said before, Jag needs a girl that will appreciate him for who and what he is, and Jaina doesn't seem like that girl. Tahiri, perhaps?

 

Now that all the spoilers are over, I was just wondering if anyone here actually read Sacrifice? I miss seeing all the old reviews you guys used to do.

 

Yeah, I read Sacrifice. It was quite a good book, with a decent overall storyline. There were two major downsides though.

First of all, I like the Mandalorians, and they seem like a culture I would not mind being a part of, but the main problem is that Karen Traviss focuses on them WAY too much! In a lot of cases, they are the main part of the story, and anything else takes second fiddle. When I was reading Triple Zero, it felt to me like about 90% of it was a tribute to the Mando culture, and only 10% actual storyline. Sacrifice was not quite as bad as that, but still...

And of course the second, more notable, negative point was the death of one of the most popular EU characters ever: the beautiful and deadly Mara Jade Skywalker. I think no words need to be said about this.

Other than that, it was a good story.

 

Oh I do not even know where to start on this one. I'll just say D. All of the Above

 

Furyan, I like the way you think. J/Z forever. Screw LOTF. Screw it screw it screw it send to the ninth Corellian hell fo rall I care

 

Hey, thanks for the invite. I'll keep it in mind since Australia's one of three locales outside the USA I wanna visit before I die. I'm warming to Jag, but still vastly prefer Zekk.

I leafed through it at the Walmart I work at and hated it, although the only part I really read was the last bit.

 

Hey, thanks for the invite. I'll keep it in mind since Australia's one of three locales outside the USA I wanna visit before I die.
You're welcome. I've been to the USA myself. It's not a bad place. They love Aussies there. Just curious, where do you live, and what are the other two locales, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm warming to Jag, but still vastly prefer Zekk.
Same here. I hate how a number of people are saying that Zekk is going to die by the end of LOTF, and that J/J will get back together. To me, that just seems way too shallow. I think Zekk's chances of surviving and getting the girl are better that what some people give him credit for. And I think Jag should find someone better for him.

Maybe that's why the brought Tahiri back? Nah, probably not. But still, he needs a new girl.