Are you in it for the Star Wars, or the Literature?

I like the literature better than the movies, but like them both. I am one of the few people who actually know where Resolute it. Always wanted to visit there, talk about getting away from it all.

 

Because of the "Star Wars" on the cover.

Don't get me wrong, some of them I would have still enjoyed even if they weren't set in our favorite universe. On the other hand, I wouldn't have touched many others with a 10 foot pole if it weren't for those 2 words on the cover.

 

I can't divorce the two. I read a Star Wars book because I:

Like to read

Like Star Wars

I am disappointed when a Star Wars book is neither good nor Star Wars. Some Star Wars books may be good, but not actually be Star Wars at all (I'll call them "Star Wars" in name only). Some Star Wars books may not be good, but are Star Wars to the core.

I am pleased when I read a good Star Wars book - when something gets both aspects equally well.

I guess some examples of what I mean may be in order:

Zahn's TTT would go a long way to solving some of its problems if it simply weren't a Star Wars series, but was instead one of Bantam's non-franchise-specific general sci-fi book series. In contrast, Zahn's HoT doesn't have that luxury - it simply just wasn't any good.

I didn't get much enjoyment out of The Bounty Hunter Wars as literature, but I recognize that it had a pretty firm grasp of what IMO the Bounty Hunter aspects of Star Wars are all about.

The Black Fleet Crisis was decent as literature, but IMO didn't necessarily get it's Star Wars house in order.

Which is more important? I don't think one is more important than the other. If something is going to have the Star Wars name on it, it had better be Star Wars. Likewise, if something has the Star Wars name on it, it had better live up to some pretty high expectations. A failure of one aspect is a failure of the whole, IMO.

 

I concur, Genghis. I read SW books because I love reading and I love SW. As far as it concerns these two things I dont value one aspect over the other.

 

Well-said, Ghenghis. Although I disagree somewhat with some of your specific assessments, your breakdown of the two elements was good.