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

Vancouver Book Discussion #3 - "The New Rebellion"

Discussion in 'Canada Discussion Boards' started by Azeria_Jade, Nov 2, 2002.

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  1. Azeria_Jade

    Azeria_Jade Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 3, 2001
    To keep up discussions on the Expanded Universe of Star Wars, I have devised this little idea. Every week we'll have a discussion about a particular book. Then the next week we'd start a new thread for a new book. Sound good? Then let's begin.

    First off; what is everyone's opinion on this book?
     
  2. TIEPilot051999

    TIEPilot051999 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2002
    Well, as a pre-EU book, it was okay...although I'm glad that the Ssi-Ruuk haven't been featured since...although in Balance Point, it mentions them in a stuation that would be interesting:

    What if they took on the Vong?
     
  3. vaderdude_3

    vaderdude_3 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 29, 2002
    I thought it was alright, but it had a pretty slow start.
     
  4. Azeria_Jade

    Azeria_Jade Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 3, 2001
    I though that Kathy Tyers did a pretty fair job with characterization, and the little cameo by Obi-Wan was nice.
     
  5. DAKAI_SERAKI

    DAKAI_SERAKI Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 7, 2002
    yeah...... umm..................*dave runs to chapters to buy "the truce at bakura" so see what everyone's talkin about*
     
  6. MASTER_OBI-DAN

    MASTER_OBI-DAN Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2002
    I actually really didn?t mind Kathy Tyers? The Truce of Bakura. I liked the fact that it was set immediately after ROTJ; Luke?s struggle against the combined physical/emotional effects of Emperor Palpatine?s force-lightning and dealing with his father?s death was engrossing. ;) Also, the concept of having the remnants of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance working together against the new threat posed by the Ssi-Ruuk (in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor) was novel, if not gutsy, to say the least. :D
     
  7. wild_karrde

    wild_karrde Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 8, 1999
    KT's cool. For those of you who are newbies, she started posting here back in 2000 under the name Shmi52. She got a lot of input from us, and we actually affected a major part of the NJO: Ben Skywalker. The plan was for him to be born later on in the series, but KT got the impression from us that we wanted a Skycrawler sooner, took that idea to DR, and it got pushed up :D

    But she hasn't logged on since Jan 16 due to personal reasons :(
     
  8. TIEPilot051999

    TIEPilot051999 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2002
    She got a lot of input from us, and we actually affected a major part of the NJO: Ben Skywalker.

    OK...now we know who to blame... ;)
     
  9. Azeria_Jade

    Azeria_Jade Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 3, 2001
    Hey, I love Ben Skywalker! Even though he hasn't done anything yet, except get nearly kidnapped and poked Han in the face.
     
  10. _Derisa_Ollamhin_

    _Derisa_Ollamhin_ Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2000
    Okay, just so you guys all know, I am a serious critic of speculative fiction. I read everything with eyes to all aspects of the story, including character development and the ideas presented, as well as the crafting of the book itself. I have strong opinions about those stories I have read, and my opinions of their SW work should not reflect on their non-SW work. I have read an awful lot of the SW EU, although not all of it.

    Truce at Bakura was not a bad book, but there were a couple of problems with it, and in light of the NJO, they are kind of highlighted. I liked the continuation straight from Endor, and that Luke was dealing with physiological effects of the Force-lightning Palpatine had showered him with. However, having this hugely powerful alien threat appear immediately after the Emperor's death *before* word has spread to the Empire means the idea of a truce between Imp and Reb forces is pretty far-fetched. It also pushes against the reader's sense of realistic time passage.

    The existence of the Ssi-Ruuk are another issue. Very cool bad guys, easily hateable, but with clear and understandable motivations: the problem is that they are too powerful in the first encounters, and then too easily defeated in the end scheme of things. Even in the case of the unlikely alliance, the Imps and the Rebs should not have been able to defeat the Ssi-Ruuk so easily. ( I liked them and wanted to see them developed a little more...)

    Many authors since refer to Bakura, but somehow never manage to mention the Ssi-Ruuk. The antagonists themselves seem to be a draft version of the Yuuzhan Vong, as though the author caught a glimpse of some of Lucas's notes ("And then I was going to have the last three movies be about how the Alliance and the Empire have to unite to face this extra-galactic alien threat, with a kind of a 'united we stand' theme, and add some romance for Luke's character...")

    If that's the case, three movies would have been great to encounter and overcome the threat faced by the Ssi-Ruuk, but cramming it all into one novel was a bit of a stretch. (Of course, spreading it out into fifteen books is likewise a stretch, especially with all the NJO authors one-upping each other in efforts to paint the bleakest picture possible, but that's another rant...)

    Realism in spec fic is to be striven for, as even the most far-fetched premise can be carried if it is done with a strong sense of logic and realistic detail.

    Azeria, this thread is a great idea, but I have a suggestion: rather than start a new thread for a new book, just introduce a new book to this thread, and edit the title of the thread so those of us contributing know we're talking about a new novel. Saves bandwidth on the boards... :)

    Catch you on the flip!

    *Derisa*
     
  11. vaderdude_3

    vaderdude_3 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 29, 2002
    Whoa! Move over Siskel and Ebert.
     
  12. wild_karrde

    wild_karrde Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 8, 1999
    (Of course, spreading it out into fifteen books is likewise a stretch, especially with all the NJO authors one-upping each other in efforts to paint the bleakest picture possible, but that's another rant...)

    All of the authors are following the outline created by a roundtable of LFL reps, Del Rey editors, and various SW authors in 1998. They don't make up the story as they go, they write what they're told to (ie, Salvatore killed Chewie because he was told to).
     
  13. _Derisa_Ollamhin_

    _Derisa_Ollamhin_ Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2000
    vaderdude_3: Whoa! Move over Siskel and Ebert.

    Siskel's dead: I think he's already moved over for Roeper. :) Hey, I tried to warn at the beginning of my post that i am opinionated and verbose... you could always expand on your one line contribution, vaderdude_3.

    widl_karrde: All of the authors are following the outline created by a roundtable of LFL reps, Del Rey editors, and various SW authors in 1998.
    They don't make up the story as they go, they write what they're told to (ie, Salvatore killed Chewie because he was told to).


    Which means that the NJO was developed to sell books. It's succeeded. My concern is that the series has gotten so bleak that it seems very unlikely they shall be able to resolve it happily and *realistically* in less than another fifteen books.

    In '98, when they sat down to lay plans for the NJO, series were big (they still are): series sell better than stand-alone novels. Of the various SW novels, those written as trilogies read better than those stand-alones, because of author consistency, which is one of the problems with the NJO.

    But like I said, that's a different rant. We're discussing Truce at Bakura right now: did you have anything to say about that novel, wild_karrde?

    :)

    *Derisa*
     
  14. Azeria_Jade

    Azeria_Jade Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 3, 2001
    RE: Book Discussion #2 - "The Courtship of Princess Leia"

    ***

    I really enjoyed this book, and it was actually the first Star Wars book I ever read. I found it very entertaining and the characterization was close to how the Big Three are portrayed in the movies.

    I also know many people are disgusted by this book, and are constantly brandishing the cry, "That is not how Han and Leia got together!"

    What do you think?
     
  15. TIEPilot051999

    TIEPilot051999 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2002
    It was ok. I think that Wolverton had a good grasp of the idea of SW. The thing I didn't like about it (at the time) was how it conflicted with "Prophets Of The Dark Side"...


    ...but that's a completly different argument.
     
  16. Azeria_Jade

    Azeria_Jade Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 3, 2001
    I still don't know what to make of this book, it's definatly one of the darker ones of the Bantam years. The one thing that really bugged me was how Luke was written, he seemed very out of character. The scene with the twins, Anakin Winter and Threepio was cute though.
     
  17. TIEPilot051999

    TIEPilot051999 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2002
    The scene with the twins, Anakin Winter and Threepio was cute though.

    Um... I haven't read it in a while, but I'm pretty sure that never happened... ;)
     
  18. dexters

    dexters Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 26, 2001
    I haven't read the book in years.

    I'll say this though. I read it in 1994, when I was in Grade 8. A lot of the words Kathy Tyres used certainly were beyond my understanding, but I did read it, and recall at the time that I knew enough of what was going on to actually sit through and finish the entire book.

    Why am I saying this? Well, it was a good time for me. Life was so much simpler. And sometimes, I wish I could go back. So yes, the topic of this thread evoked emotions from that time, long ago.

     
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