Det, MI What's new in the EU these days?

If anyone remembers me at all,they may recall that I was/am less than enamored with the Star Wars expanded universe.Truth is,it's not that I hate the EU so much as I usually felt disappointed that it never really seemed to reach its potential,although it did have its good moments.At any rate,having been away from this sort of thing for a while,I'm curious as to what's going on in the EU nowadays.Any good books or storylines out there now?

 

You seek Qonas.

The Republic Commando books by Karen Traviss are some of the most universally loved SW books recently. Too bad the Clone Wars cartoon caused her to stop writing for SW.

I highly recommend The Force Unleashed novel, especially if you haven't played the video game and don't know the MAJOR SPOILER involved.

Personally I didn't like the Swarm War trilogy. The Legacy of the Jedi books were good, as it seems LFL learned from the NJO series not to have so many authors working on the same storyline. I'm only halfway through the 2nd book in the Fate of the Jedi series and I'm enjoying it.

I'm sure Qonas will be happy to give you a more comprehensive list of his likes/dislikes from the EU.

 

For me, the expanded universe begins and ends with Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy and Anderson's three best titles (Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Tales from Jabba's Palace and Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina). As much as I like KJA, I never got into the Jedi Academy Trilogy, the Young Jedi Knights series or the Tales of the Jedi comic book series.

An interesting side note: Seth Green has been seeking KJA's permission to do a Robot Chicken for each of the 'Tales Of' books ? a fantastic idea if you ask me.

 

Any particular character you want to know about?....

A couple of them have passed on. If you want to know PM me. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who doesn't know.

 

Seth Green is so funny. After receiving a Challenge Coin as part of his Honorary Friend of the 501st induction, he challenges troopers everywhere he sees them, including red carpet events, telling them they owe him a drink.

 

Fixed that for you.

Well the obvious place to begin is the complete and utter disaster that has happened from yet another stupid move stemming from this <censored> cartoon series. After writing an incredible series of books based from the Republic Commando game, Karen Traviss has left the EU because the idiots behind the cartoon decided to turn Mandalorians into something they have never been. Fundamental changes in the friggin' cartoon about the Mandalorian warrior culture, the planet Mandalore, and the demographic make-up of the Mandalorians have completely contradicted everything ever established about Mandalorians to this point. Massive retcons throughout the entirety of the EU were necessitated, and Traviss' novels were ones hit the hardest. This is a travesty not only because of the damage to the Star Wars universe itself, but because of losing her services as an author. Her novels brought forth a perspective not usually considered by Star Wars fans; that of the simple soldiers and civilians who inhabit the galaxy far, far away. By ripping away the essence of the Mandalorians simply to sell a few kids some <censored> t-shirts and candy, the LucasArts "brain trust" have robbed their universe of depth and character. It is one of eighteen billion mistakes that have slowly poisoned the Star Wars franchise since the conception of Phantom Menace.

As for what else is going on with the EU now, I don't bother with the comics as they gave us the Palpatine Reborn/Luke to the Dark side nonsense. Video game-wise, instead of getting another fantastically written sequel in the Knights of the Old Republic universe, we're getting a MMO. So you can forget philosophical discussions about the nature of the Force, and instead worry about "n00b gank 4 da raid ZOMG WTF". The cartoon is piss-poor, aimed at "special" children, and utterly worthless as anything other than marketing and merchandising.

The books? Still doing ok, but they have gotten neutered by the drizzling <censored> pouring out of the cartoon. The current series right now is the Fate of the Jedi books, dealing with the fallout from the previous series which was a big Sith plot orchestrated by Lumiya, an old adversary of Luke's. I would recommend finding a synopsis of that series, Legacy of the Force, or picking up all of those books (except the penultimate one, Revelation, which was junk) before reading any of the Fate of the Jedi. There are specific things referenced in the Fate books, as well as the whole setting being based upon what happens in the end of Legacy, that you will only get by having read or gone through a summary of Legacy.

 

So what I'm hearing is:

"Guys, please get me the Clone Wars cartoons on Blu-Ray. I love the way it's improved the Star Wars universe and I just really want to cherish it for years to come"

Is that close?

 

I remember reading one of Travis' RC novels a few years ago,which I generally enjoyed.I also picked up the first book in that Darth Bane series once when I was on vacation.I liked it,but I did find it somewhat strange that the novel was supposed to be set some 4,000 years before Ep.4,yet the technology seemed to me to be about the same.I wasn't expecting Stone Age SW,but I did find that a bit odd.Otherwise it was a good read.