Author Analysis: Aaron Allston

Ah, but who laughed last?

Certain, the Viper's fangs caused intolerable agony to the Mountain, did they not?

E_S

 

Is the Red Viper in The Art Of A Song Of Ice And Fire? Once I confirm no paperback edition is coming out, I'm have to get this, hardcover or not.

 

An ASoIaF fan I know once called the Red Viper "our Boba Fett"- a character who evinces such coolness in such short screentime that he gains fan popularity far out of proportion to his status in the story. And you should really read AFFC before you make any judgements on which of the two had the last laugh.

 

I was going to make a new topic, but posting it here seems relevant.

Allston got a special thanks in the KOTOR:Sith Lords credits at the end of the game, anyone know why? Did he write some of the story?

As for in general, I have nothing to add to what's been said bar we need more Allston!

 

I remember seeing that. It's possible there is more than one Aaron Allston out there, but I'm maybe smelling a LOTF tie-in.

 

Am I the only one who never thought Allston was that funny?

Don't get me wrong, I love his work, but when he includes scenes which most people view as comical, I see as a serious example of how soldiers deal with the stress of war. I am the only one who doesn't see Allston as a comic, but rahter the most serious author in Star Wars?

 

I could understand that... except Wes Janson. He's always acting like a goof, despite war.

 

And there in lies his brilliance. You can look at it on the surface and see the humouress side, yet look deeper and you see greater things, like the building comradeships and the pain of death on the others around (see Wraith Squadron when Wedge has to write the death note about Jesmin to Admiral Ackbar, Iron fist when Ton dies in Face's arms, or when Myn finds out about Gara/Lara in Solo Command)

 

I don't see any Aaron Allston in The Sith Lords' credits. Haden Blackman and Ryan Kaufman is there. Someone called Sgt Angry? You do realise I just looked at a game's credit page for what could be the very first time. So is a Kolto, which is bacta's grandmother. Neither was AA in KOTOR's booklet's special thanks.

 

He's in the "Special thanks" section in the middle of the list.

 

There are 3 Star Wars authors that I rush out to by their books. Timothy Zahn, Micheal Stackpole and Aaron Allston. As for Aaron...I love his humour. In the Enemy Lines books he reminded me that their was humour in star wars. I had pretty much given up on NJO until I saw his books. then after reading them, I had to go back and catch up. He also did a great job of integrating the old and new characters. I have to agree that he builds the universe around you and it's like your standing in it. Starfighters of Adumar is one of my all time favorites.I am eagerly anticipating his next book. Then again I would prefer to read only the Zahn, Stackpole, Allston, Denning and Anderson books. Unfortuneately in Star Wars it doesn't work that way.

 

Absolutely correct to the person who said he was one of the most serious authors.

What Allston is brilliant at is fleshing out his characters. He uses humor to do this, but it is for precisely this reason that we're devestated when his characters die.

I remember the deaths in Wraith Squadron as being beyond devestating.

That's the mastery of Allston: to have you rolling in the aisles one minute and literally weeping the next.

And his characters are incredibly real . . . the change, the growth is, for my money, more sharply defined than just about any other author's character.

 

I repeat, neither KOTOR game booklets have AA in their special thanks list.

 

Aaron Allston definitely is the most humorous of the EU writers and surprisingly even manages a few laugh out loud moments such as the naming competition of the wraith squadron with suggestions like dinner squadron and the like is classic and the second time i laughed at an EU novel the first being in Darksaber.

The problem he has is that Aaron Allston lacks the subtlety of the Zahn or Stover type author but then Aaron Allston doesn't try to stretch the bounds of SW like the aforementioned authors. This is noticeable in the fact that his bad guys manicial schemes aren't really that devious or elegant his is the style of a rent-a-thug baddie rather then a Thrawn style with the cloaked asteroids being EU pinnacle in elegance of tactics and strategy He is as already mentioned the perfect small scale story writer and therefore perfectly suited as being the interlinking type author for the Legacy era as he tries to mesh his work in feel as well as content a lot more then others who have written EU.

All being said AA is definitely a sound author although not the best author writing EU but perhaps one of the most SW in feel and prose.

 

Ex: Page 34 of the Sith Lords booklet, seventh name on the Special Thanks list.

Also, Allston did flesh out Wes, he's not just the class clown. He encouraged Myn Donos to stop trying to maintain his dignity and try to have fun because you never know when you're going to die...

 

Apparently that's different from booklets published in different places... It's on page 30 of mine, two entries above the entry for Ryan Kaufman. Take that, Ex.

- Keralys

 

I was looking at the special thanks on p37. Hmmmm.

 

Might I just add, Allston wrote my favorite Imperial baddie. Warlord Zsinj. Cliche' mustachio twirling bad guy, but IMO, heads above tails more fun than the bumbling Daala and the unrealistically omnipresent Thrawn. Seeing Zsinj featured in such a small role in CoPL was probably just one of MANY reasons I don't like that book. (I know that CoPL was written first, but it still was upsetting.)

 

Right on. He was fat and sweated. How cool was that?

No, seriously. He and Corellian Trilogy's Sal-Solo were Bantam's best. One an allrounder, the other the most realistic villian SW has seen todate.

 

I'm reading the Corellian Trilogy for the first time right now... Han just got beaten by Selonian in Book 2. I'm really digging Thrackan so far.

 

The credits at the end of the game, not the booklet, show his name in the special thanks.

 

Actually, as we've pointed out, the book credits do, as well - it's just that it's in the Obsidian section, not the LA section.

- Keralys

 

I actually agree with Excellence about Zsinj and Thracken. Zsinj was just fun, at least the Allston version.

 

Who reads a game's credits?

Yesterday, after 3yrs of Starcraft, I discovered "no pixels were harmed in the making of the game."

 

Ahem I thought I said that I found him unfunny?

E_S