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

Lit Eleven-ThirtyEight and stuff

Discussion in 'Literature' started by CooperTFN, Jul 8, 2013.

?

Well?

  1. I don't care

    20 vote(s)
    17.7%
  2. Hm, neat

    49 vote(s)
    43.4%
  3. OMG COOPER IS MY HERO

    44 vote(s)
    38.9%
  1. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004
    Iron_lord likes this.
  2. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    Essentially a prequel trilogy to the Thrawn trilogy, fleshing out the state of the Empire in the years before ANH. I personally really like the Zahniverse and Thrawn, and like the idea of Zahn writing about the Empire at its height. It would also supposedly involve Mara and Vader having to work together, which has the potential to be disastrous given his track record, but if he could restrain himself it could potentially be interesting.
     
    Iron_lord likes this.
  3. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    That's easy, what happened is that they put him in charge. SbS worked because it was part of a larger story outlined mostly by somebody else. It's easily Denning's best book, but most of his hallmarks are clearly on display: graphic violence, gruesome descriptions of torture and mutilation, convoluted and confusing action scenes, established characters killed off like they're no one and mean nothing, Luke being a terrible hero.

    The story is a lot more balanced between Jedi and non-Jedi than his later books, and I don't remember any weird Han-and-Leia sex stuff, but that's probably because there was so much going on there wasn't time for it, and the general NJO's balanced cast required multiple Forceless plotlines. But despite its shortcomings (including just not being that well-written in general imo), SbS succeeds for two reasons. The first is the strength of the story it was required to tell: it's the darkest point in the NJO, where everything changes and nothing can ever go back to how it was before. The second is how Denning, despite not being a great writer, really knocked it out of the park at almost all the right moments. Anakin's death, Borsk's sacrifice, Jacen's capture, the fall of Coruscant--I haven't read the book almost since it came out, and these scenes still stick with me. I don't know how, but Denning really acquitted himself well when he had to with this one.

    Tatooine Ghost, which I personally don't like at all but whatever, is an isolated, low-key story with a limited setting and cast of characters, set in a time frame already littered with continuity, so realistically there's only so much damage Denning could have done. It wasn't until the editing staff basically handed him the keys to the kingdom and let him largely determine the direction of the post-NJO that his authorial tendencies became a problem. As much as I feel Denning is a mediocre writer, I'd have no objection to letting him continue to write standalone books or plugging pre-formed pieces into a larger narrative; mediocre writing goes with the territory, after all. Just keep him out of the driver's seat when it comes to plotting extended storylines and trailblazing new eras.
     
  4. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    SbS remains the best summary of the good, the bad and the ugly in NJO.

    Best book of NJO remains TUF.
     
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  5. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    Or is it...?
     
  6. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Quit being cryptic and get to the point, come on, I haven't got all night.....
     
  7. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    I'm talking about the novel in which a Solo struggles with the dark side following the death of Anakin Solo and slowly comes back to the path of the light with the help of a dubious Sith.
    [​IMG]
     
    Iron_lord likes this.
  8. Cynical_Ben

    Cynical_Ben Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2013
  9. Darth_Henning

    Darth_Henning Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2007
    This I definitely had not heard.When did they say this? Before or after LOTF was released? If it was after, I can definitely understand the reluctance given how the post-NJO was bungled up, but if it was pre-LOTF, even after the questionable Dark Nest, I would personally love to know what their reasons were for it.

    Anyone know?
     
  10. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    They both said it after Legacy of the Force was released:

    "When I wrote The Unifying Force, I was sort of writing the end of an era for myself. I didn’t want to write about Han and Luke and Leia anymore after that novel – although I did in Millennium Falcon, but there was a request that I set that book at a certain time. I just don’t find as much interest out there beyond The New Jedi Order, so I like the Prequel era now." source

    "I haven’t read Legacy; it’s not my era. I suppose I’ll have to, if LFL ever gives me a chance at my fondest Star Wars dream: to write the final adventure of the Big Three. Since that job appears unlikely to be forthcoming, I’ll very likely restrict myself to the Clone Wars-through-Dark Times eras—the post-RotJ era is entirely too crowded for comfort." source
     
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  11. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    :_|
     
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  12. Darth_Henning

    Darth_Henning Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2007
    Well that those are both post-LOTF explains a LOT IMHO. Given how things turned out post-NJO. (Yet another reason to reboot the ST post-TUF)

    Luceno's quote does imply a criticism of the Big-3 focus in that era, deliberate or not. I wonder how he would have reacted if it had instead focused on the new generation.

    Stover seems to have more definite ideas of the specific books he wants to write, though I'' surprised he wouldn't want to do Jacen's Journey...
     
  13. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    Well, for what it's worth, Stover did say this:

    Would you be interested in writing, if you were approached with the idea, Jacen’s 5 year sojourn between NJO and DN?

    MWS: Not so much. I’ve already done my Jacen novel. I’m not sure I’d have anything fresh to add.

    link

    Of course, that's also framed within the context of LOTF, as the interview took place after it concluded and Jacen was dead. Had Jacen a bright future ahead of him, perhaps Stover would have given a different answer, but despite being a Jacen fan I really don't care to see such a novel myself (unless it revealed everything that took place after NJO was a vision Jacen had during the course of said novel).

    Belated reply!
    [​IMG]
     
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  14. Darth_Henning

    Darth_Henning Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2007
    Still surprised to be honest. But I'm not him, so perhaps we just have different interests.

    I personally suspect that the results of LOTF may have tainted a lot of writers from wanting to work in that era given what an about-face that series was from NJO.

    Personally I'd love for LOTF, FOTJ and Legacy (even though that's actually good) to be written off as a force vision of Luke or Jacen and have someone write a trilogy of novels leading from the end of TUF into the Sequel Trilogy. I think that would be an excellent way to appease many. But that's my personal pipe dream.
     
  15. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    Eh, the NJO is forever tarnished. Del Rey soared too close to the sun.
     
  16. patchworkz7

    patchworkz7 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2004

    Sorry, my fault for reading through this thread for the first time and playing catch-up, won't happen again!
     
    Ulicus likes this.
  17. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    DM, now you're just blatantly in wind-up mode!
     
  18. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    RC-1991 likes this.
  19. Gamiel

    Gamiel Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2012
    RC-1991, Gorefiend and CooperTFN like this.
  20. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    spicer and Iron_lord like this.
  21. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Crowdsourcing time--can anyone find an animated gif of this shot? Preferably largish?
     
  22. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    [​IMG]

    I'll see if I can find it without text.
     
    CooperTFN likes this.
  23. Grey1

    Grey1 Host: 181st Imperial Discussion Group star 4 VIP

    Registered:
    Nov 21, 2000
    Well, neither sounds as if they'd say no if a paycheck came along, especially Luceno who did write for the era after all. Turning them into poster boy heroes for the "LOLTIFF suxx" movement is taking them a bit out of context, isn't it.

    By the way - how if the post-ROTJ era crowded in comparison to the Clone Wars? o_O
     
  24. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    Something someone said made me realize that Millennium Falcon seems like it was originally written to be set in the prequel era, and the Legacy stuff was added because they told him that he had to set it there. But it very much seems like Luceno was trying to write a prequel era novel.

    Edit: It wouldn't surprise me if it was meant to be a new Republic era novel either.
     
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  25. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    Clone Wars is, at least for Vader and Obi-Wan, the PT era is essentially blank though.