Paul S. Kemp Q&A Thread (Crosscurrent spoilers)

Oh man, I have yet to receive this book from amazon!!!! After reading all of this, it gets harder and harder to wait...

 

No problem. Sorry for that, I only noticed that you had already replied when I posted.

Thanks, anyway.

 

Loved the book; it was the best Star Wars story idea that I've read in a long time!

I realize you can't say who the other research station survivors are, but I was wondering if you know all their identities yet, or have you yet to determine any/all of them?

 

Ohhh! Intriguing.

If he didn't die the I would dearly love to know how he survived his head exploding

 

Being in Seoul didn't stop me from ordering it through a local English bookstore, and powering through it in about three days when it arrived.

Thanks for the insight on the collaborative efforts! That's interesting that it was your idea to initially have a ship from the past show up in the future. Are you able to tell us what your thoughts behind that plot point were? As in... what was most important to you about characters showing up from the past? Did you want Marr's initial Force training to be from an old tradition? Or was it more to do with the fact that a Jedi can be plagued with uncertainty and/or darkness, no matter what era he's from?

 

Paul -- the novel was just my style. The prose was everything I could have wanted and more (I really wish you'd been included in FOTJ, now, come to the think of it), and while I'll admit that it took me almost a week to finish the entire book, I felt your EU debut was exceptionally strong... and, of course, your dark side characters were some of the best I've read, which is a subject I always tend to gravitate toward in every SW novel I read.

One question, however, that continues to baffle me even though I see that no one else has asked it yet. What is "there be dragons"? What does it mean? Where did it come from? I've said in a couple other threads already that every time I came across this phrase, I felt as if I was being excluded in some sort of inside joke I couldn't quite grasp. I profess to not having read any of your previous novels, nor have I played any of the video games that involve Jaden Korr, so I wasn't sure if this phrase was ever mentioned there or if you coined it for this book in particular. It seemed to play a crucial role in Jaden's quest for self-discovery, namely in regards to how he dealt with his doubt. It pops up a couple times throughout different stages of the novel, and I believe it was even the last thing Jaden in the final scene?

 

I'm delighted that the novel worked for you, S1thari.

"There be dragons" is a very old phrase that used to appear on ancient maps to denote the edge of the then-known world (that is, unknown/unmapped areas, after which "be dragons"). I use it in a similar sense in the novel, to allude not to the end of the known world, but to the limits/edges of knowledge.

 

Jeff,


Once I had conceptualized the novel as the crossing/intersection of two Jedis' lives, meeting at a moment when one is on a descent to the Dark Side, and one is on an ascent to deeper understanding of his relationship to the Light Side (and where the latter really feeds off/is triggered by the former), the past/present connection just seemed to fit, further emphasizing, as I thought it did, the transformative intersection of the lines of their lives.

 

I have not determined all of their identities yet.

 

The caf consumption was deliberate, since I had conceived of it being this little thing with Khedryn and Marr, where they drink it by the jug and consider essentially all of their problems while sitting across from one another drinking caf(sometimes spiced with a little pulkay)in Junker's galley.

The vomiting -- well, it's funny the things you can get a blind spot about. It's appropriate in several of the scenes where it occurs (or at least I think so), but I probably could have lost a mention or two and done no harm to the book.

 

Paul, I really like the way you treat the dark side in this book. I don't think there's ever been much of an effort in Star Wars publishing to depict the dark side as something... well, metaphysically vile. I loved that it hit people like a gut punch and made them puke. It reminds me, as I say in the review thread, of how Jim Butcher describes the effects of dark magic on people who in the vicinity of its use. I'm sure others use it, but as a reader of the Dresden Files(one of the few series I read outside Star Wars) I've been hoping the dark side would be written like that more.

What influenced your decision to go that route?

 

Ahh, I might love you for saying that.

Ok, I'm going to track down this book now if there is a vampire character.

 

I'm confused. I thought the book had a Katarn quote that referred to Light/Dark as an "distinction of insignificant difference". The distinction outlined above seems significant.

 

Hi Paul, I've just finished Crosscurrent and I have to say it is the best Star Wars book I've read since Stover's Shadows of Mindor. I'd like to know, in reference to the sequel, if we will get to know more of Jaden's backstory like his story prior to becoming a jedi, how he ended up under Kyle's tutelage, and such. This is the only thing I've missed from the book.

Can't wait to read your future books!! ; - D

 

Yeah, there is such a Katarn quote. The whole book, however, is Jaden's struggle with this teaching of Kyle's and one which he doesn't seem to share ultimately. In an interview Mr Kemp says he likes playing with those ideas.

 

It was excellent to finally read a SW Eu book about someone other than the Skywalkers or Solos. Its great to read about the past and present of the Jedi and Sith order. Congrats on a great book, I am looking forward to reading the sequel. Hope to read more about Marr becoming a Jedi.

 

are the Harbinger and Omen supposed to be the same type as the Sith Battleship Naga Sadow has in the comics? And the Blade-class fighters, are these the same as the Sith fighters used in those comics or your own invention?

 

Your interview in the Star Wars Insider says you've taken on a third Star Wars project which "has been occupying most of my time at the moment"

Of course don't spill the beans if you can't, but that did peak my curiousity.

Thanks,
Rob

 

X,

Hard to say what time will bring. I know there's a sequel to Crosscurrent, and that it will focus more on the Jaden's present than his past (though there will be some references to his past). Is there room after that for a more detailed explanation of how he got to where he is as of Crosscurrent? I hope so, but we'll see.

And I'm pleased as can be that you enjoyed the novel.

Paul

 

Thanks, MT. Much obliged.

Paul

 

My own invention.

Paul

 

Robimus,

That was a reference to the Old Republic novel, which has since been announced. So, Crosscurrent, the Crosscurrent sequel, and the Old Republic hardcover are the three projects I was referencing.

Paul

 

I'm glad to say between university work and various other distractions I finally got around to starting the book (currently up to page 216). I'm also pleased to say I'm very much enjoying it.

I've noticed that several of the things that Khedryn Faal says such as referring to space as 'my sky' or 'the black' are very similar to Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. Was this deliberate referencing or just an effect of watching Firefly? Similarly, was giving the Junker no weapons a throwback to Serenity having no weapons?

I have also noticed that, at times, your writing style is similar to Timothy Zahn (absolutely not a bad thing by the way). Would you say that his writing style was an influence when you were writing Crosscurrent? And were there any other authors (SW or non-SW) that you were influenced by?

Lastly, and I'm not sure if you'll know the answer to this, on the UK edition of Crosscurrent your name is not printed on the spine of the book and there's no "about the author" in the back. Was this a design decision or possibly an oversight?

Thanks in advance. I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the book, just as soon as I get my java programming out of the way.

 

As I mentioned above, we had just finished a run through Firefly and BSG, so I have no doubt that some of Captain Mal crept into Khedryn. The lack of weapons on Junker was not connected to Serenity, though (in fact, I didn't realize Serenity had no weapons until you mentioned it). It simply fit my conception of Khedryn as a guy habituated to running. Not in a cowardly way, but in a "haven't found anything worth fighting for" kind of way.

You know, I've never read anything by Zahn, so no influence there.

I don't know if the lack of an "about the author" was intentional or an oversight. I'd guess it was intentional and had something to do with page count and the UK publisher, but that's just a guess.

I'm glad you're enjoying the novel so far. I hope it holds up for you all the way through.

Paul