Chic, IL Errant Venture - book club discussion/info

Woot! It'll be good to see you there Jodo.

I can't wait for this weekend!

 

Our group is getting bigger which is awesome. I have already started reading the next book and like it so far. I wish we could see more development of Jaina's character, though. See you next month...

 

Jaina's always thinly drawn, even in Dark Journey.

 

As I sit now, on the edge of the bed, I am fifty pages from the end of Tempes, have no incoming relatives, and have a wide open Saturday. I'm ready for Book Club.

 

So I?m the only one that decided to go to Book Club today? That figures. I went to Borders, and waited but no one came. Honestly thought It could have totally been a flub on my part, but? whatever. So since I actually read the book and everything I?ve decided to post a review type thing here, feel free to read it, but it?s kinda spoiler-y so skip it if you haven?t read Tempest yet.



So far I?m really enjoying the Legacy series. The overall conflict is interesting, if a bit of a rehash, but I really like what?s going on with Jacen and Luke. As a bit of prolouge I got really backed up on reading these past few months. As a result I?ve read the three Legacy books in a sprint over a few weeks. Troy Denning is a good writer, and you can tell that he really cares about the universe when you read what he?s written. There?s an unfortunate side-effect of reading these books so close together though. Next to a Karen Traviss book (whose prose is exacting and realistic) Denning?s writing seems at times imprecise spiraling all the way down to cartoonish. I know this isn?t really the way his writing is, but it seems that way next to Karen.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, but I?m still giving it a thumbs-down. Like I said before, the deception going on between Luke and Jacen is riveting, even more so when Ben?s mortal soul is at stake. The end of Bloodlines really had me excited for the imminent confrontation between Jacen and Luke, and I?m really pissed that it didn?t come, but more on that later. Really the chess game between these two is very interesting, and was the main draw for me in this book, but it still had flaws. One of my largest gripes with it is how easily Luke and Mara are being deceived. Though Jacen?s undoubtedly a very powerful Jedi, he still can?t compare to Luke. I know, I know, he?s hiding himself in the force. That, I think, was one of this series master-strokes. Because by the time he?s got something to hide Luke and Mara are so used to not feeling anything from him they don?t even think about it. That is a character flaw. There?s no way Luke turns a blind eye to that. Hiding oneself in the force requires an expenditure of energy. There?s no chance Jacen is doing it as a matter of protocol, and I think Luke would see that easily. Another problem with this deception of Jedi Grand Masters is that it lessens Sidious? hiding from Yoda. Though I?m going to go out on a limb here and say Yoda had more mastery of the force during EIII than Luke does in Tempest, I think it?s safe to say that Jacen, (though admittedly not ?evil?) is much much less powerful than Sidious was. If it?s so easy for Jacen to hide his intentions, it would be a non-issue for Sidious, and I don?t like that.

This is the real reason I didn?t like the book though: I?m so ****ing sick of Hapes. Plus Denning writes it like an old sea lion on Quaaludes. I know I?m a writer, (of a sort) but I would think this rule would be pretty obvious to even lay-people; An author can only tell their audience that something is boring and tedious so many times before they begin to agree. Though Denning dealt with the Hapan ?intrigue? inelegantly, its not entirely his fault. The whole planet?s a crappy concept. It?s Dave Wolverton?s fault (he wrote Courtship of Princess Leia). Plus there wasn?t even any talk of sexy consorts so really whats the point?

One thing I am not okay with is the lack of droids in these books. I don?t know if anyone noticed but Artoo, clearly the best character in the whole fraking saga, was reduced to an alarm clock for Luke. AN ALARM CLOCK! Luke can wake himself from a Jedi Trance at a specific time, I?ve seen him do it. This is not okay. If you can?t write a droid who talks in nonsense into your plot you?ve got no business picking up a Star Wars job.

A few more little gripes: I don?t even know what the hell is going on with Han and Leia anymore. What side they?re on, what their intentions are, where they are, where they?re going. How is Luke letting Leia, a Jedi Kn

 

Sweetie, October 27 is next weekend!

 

HA! So I got a coffee, and bought Exile. Nobody read what I wrote yet then!



Well good thing I didn't miss it then.

 

Please be sure to come next week - I really want to discuss this with you now!

And, I'm sorry, I will not be staying for lunch.

 

Anybody interested in seeing Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas at River East 21 after lunch? It's showing in digital 3-D. I saw it last year in that format and it's pretty amazing. There's a 6:30 P.M. showing.

Phil

 

I asked this question at Book Club, since no one could give my solution a serious challenge there, I thought I'd ask it here. Who's Luke's #2? I think it's Cilghal. I don't know if anyone else watches the West Wing, but I think it would be similar to C.J. promotion to Chief of Staff. Cilghal is undoubtedly powerful Jedi, but she's stayed out of the limelight for the most part. This is why I think she makes such a good choice. Not having played an overtly visible part of the schism during the NJO, or the Coreillian Insurrection she'd come to the job with a clean political slate. As we learned from the NJO she's cautious, but not prone to becoming paralyzed by debate. As we know from the Dark Nest trilogy she's got the ability to skirt the boundary between light and dark when she needs too (by torturing the Jedi, and Anakin's pet Gorog). She's a Mon Calamari, which is a welcome, and trusted species in the G.A. and she was one of Luke's first Praxeum students. Luke knows her, and trusts her. Having spent most of her time at the academy working in the labs, so she'd probably be recognized, if not like by most of the Jedi who've been through it since she was there.

So that's my guess.

 

Home hunting takes me to Gurnee this Saturday so I hate to say this but I'm going to miss my second book club in a row.

Sorry.

 

We will miss you Dr. J

Although I have to question your priorities . . . just kidding

 

Well, this is the third Republic Commando book, so I think you should call him on priorities

Can't wait! See you guys tomorrow!

 

I was so impressed with our last discussion (a new book club record of 2 hours and 45 minutes . . . and we mostly stayed focused on the book), that a thought snuck in to my pea sized brain.

What do you guys think about recording our discussions and making them in to a podcast?

I have no idea about the technical issues involved, but if it isn't too hard, I think this would be cool. No one would probably ever listen to it, but I still think it would be neat.

Before I start asking around about the technical issues, what do you guys think?

 

Wow, just wow, that's a great idea.
Maybe impossible to do, but still, what a fun thing to do

 

I think it be cool to do.

I have to say it was a great book club discussion. So much to talk about and we most likely could have gone even longer.

 

Ferris is just going to use these podcasts for blackmail. This I have forseen.

 

I am sooo jealous I missed this!

 

If nothing else, we've got stamina. Good Job CF!

 

I love this idea - even if I suffer from stage fright and might not speak again.

I'm always looking for ways to encourage new people to come out, and others to start their own group. This might be a great way for people to see what it's like, and either spur them to show up, or jump start a new group somewhere else.

Let's give it a try, if technology permits.

 

I'm 60 pages into the new LotF book Fury and it's picked up right where the last novel left off and I don't just mean chronologically...

I really, really need to make sure to stop missing so many book clubs...

Dang life, always getting in the way...

 

I am telling and forcing myself to not pick up the new legacy book or the new essential guide book until the end of the semester.

 

I can't believe I'm saying this but I think the LotF series might be going too far in that it's almost getting too dark and too extreme. This isn't to say that they're not well written books, the definitely are, just that I'm truly surprised at some of the actions the characters are taking and how often extreme acts are occuring. I'm sure the series.....actually, at this rate I'm not sure the series will have a happy ending but they really need to make sure they're balancing all the truly horrible things that are happening with some good things because right now the balance is way out of wack.

And this has nothing to do with any "balance of the force."

If anything, this will provide for some good and spirited future discussion.

 

Yes it does seem very very dark, and the counters to the darkness are weak or just not good examples.

No more Josh, stop tempting me.

 

I haven't read the series yet but if its as dark as you guys say it is, I'm sure I will like it. I'm a big fan of the darker SW movies like RoS and ESB.