Lit Half way through The Thrawn Trilogy.

I am right now, because I just read the news that Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future are both coming to us unabridged later this year!

I am so glad Random House Audio has embraced the idea of going back and issuing unabridged recordings of great Star Wars books.

 

This is great, don't get me wrong, but when are we supposed to get those anniversary editions of DFR and TLC? Come on, Del Rey, you said!

 

I'm reluctant to read Choices of One and Allegiance because I heard that Thrawn and Mara get too Gary Stu and Mary Sue, respectively.

Are they any good? I've read all of the other Thrawn and Mara-related books that Zahn's written.

 

Actually Zahn announced that sales for HttE weren't good enough to publish DFR and TLC.

 

I think they're good, Choices of One especially, but if you don't like those characters you're probably not going to like the books.

 

I like both of those characters a lot, but I'm also wary about what certain authors do with their brainchildren. I think good characters are too easily ruined by authors who are so in love with their creations they make them completely unrealistic and perfect.

 

@LordThrawnStark

Almost all of Zahn's Del Rey novels are forgettable. When people criticise Del Rey for having too many event novels Zahn hits the utter opposite by trying so hard to be listless and banal he might actually have succeded at drilling through the wall of boredom into territories previously unseen and unheard of.

Outbound Flight is an interesting dichotomy of a novel since it contains the best elements of Zahn's fiction stapled to his neuroses run loose. The Car'das/Thrawn half is excellent. Great interplay between the characters, the Trade Federation made even more incompetent by Thrawn blowing them away while half asleep, and the destruction of Outbound Flight is a great scene.

Almost everything involving C'Baoth is awful. The main weakness of Zahn's first trilogy, C'Baoth Prime possesses the coked out frat boy subtlety of the more famous vat grown incarnation. C'Baoth's constant petulant screaming up and down the halls of Outbound Flight really makes the reader wonder how C'Baoth's self-promotion to jedi master was allowed let alone how C'Baoth passed his trials. The self-promotion aspect of C'Baoth's characterization is not applicable to the prequel incarnation of the Jedi Order, and should have been abandoned. Also, the excursion to the planet taking up almost a quarter of the novel could have condensed into a twenty page prologue.

The Obi-Wan/Anakin inclusion is an interesting bit of theatre. On the whole, Outbound Flight is one of the few EU novels to completely exist as an in-EU story. Outbound Flight is an extrapolation/retcon of a backstory from an EU novel that is never mentioned by one of the films, original or prequel. Yes, I strongly suspect Obi-Wan and Anakin were added because of the Del Rey brain trust, but Zahn creates the best exploration of the Obi-Wan and Anakin relationship, beating out Lucas. Zahn penning a purely Obi-Wan and Anakin novel would be a good read.

Outside of Outbound Flight I suggest you not waste your time on the Zahn Del Rey line unless you really want to see the characters again in the original trilogy setting. I barely remember Allegiance, and I have been unable to finish Choices of One and Scoundrels. Nothing is truly added to the character's histories during this timeframe which warrants three hardcover novels. Just rewatch the original trilogy or read Shadows of the Empire if you are truly wanting an adventure from the old days.

Re Survivor's Quest, the Mara/Luke bond is beyond the pale of dull I cannot bring myself to write about it. How anyone who has been in a relationship and keep a straight face, I commend you.

There you go boss, you have an alternate viewpoint. Enjoy The Last Command. The annotations of Heir to the Empire are fun to read.

 

Sniper_Wolf Who would you recommend as a very good Star Wars author? What are your favorite books?

 

Thing is, pretty much all Del Rey books are, the NJO only breaking the mould because it was planned so well and interconnected (in contrast with LOTF and FOTJ which you will force yourself to forget). Even Stover novels are essentially forgettable (though insanely fun to read), whilst Lucenos novels seem to just be there to explain away the storytelling failures of the PT and Millennium Falcon being essentially a well disguises short story collection.

He was indeed actually forced to add those and you can tell as they really have no true place in the story.

 

See, I disagree with everything in SniperWolf's post. I absolutely loved Outbound Flight, and Survivor's Quest (obviously - it's a Luke and Mara book). Allegiance, Choices of One, and Scoundrels are just plain fun and remind me of what Star Wars is supposed to be. If you want another Thrawn Trilogy of Hand of Thrawn, you will be disappointed. If you want more of Zahn writing Star Wars, you'll be satisfied. (And his "pet characters" are nowhere near Scoundrels, just FYI.) IMO, he's a breath of fresh air after some of the more prolific EU authors nowadays.

To each their own.

(Also, if you like his prose, try some of his original fiction, especially The Icarus Hunt.)

 

Oh I also like those book don't get me wrong and especially Scoundrels is great fun, though I also have to agree they are "forgettable" as they indeed add very little, especially in contrast with HOT/ TTT and do all suffer a little from having to many characters.

Have it sitting here, along with the Quadrail books

 

Yes! Has for me.

 

Agreed. I remember reading the Hand of Thrawn and literally crying when Thrawn was found alive and well. Then it tuned out it was a scam and I cried again.

 

I just saw that too...more woots are in order!

 

I think the sales didn't justify anniversary additions for for the rest of the trilogy.

But all three were released as unabridged audiobooks.

 

@JediMara77

I've already read the first Quadrail novel. I hope to catch up soon once I start my new job. I've been meaning to pickup The Icarus Hunt though until recently I lacked the time.

@Grand Admiral Crumb
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...ink-is-the-best.50009947/page-4#post-50679911
I posted my favorites over yonder. If you want additional information PM me. I'd rather keep the thread on target.

@Gorefiend

I am not an admire of Luceno so you will not see me contradicting your position. I do contend Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi are not as forgettable as you are proposing since they illustrate character growth between the protagonists, yet again I do not want to turn the thread off topic. To post a proper rebuttle, let us examine the three classic era Zahn novels. Mild irritation, my mind must be stuck in the mindset that a hardcover release connotates an event novel. I can purchase a substantial amount of ramen noodles to feed me during the week for the price of a hardcover. I know the readers have observed the breaking of this unwritten agreement between reader and publisher many times, but I imagine my brain fossilized during university.

What are we, the readers, learning about the backstories of the characters from reading Alliegance, Choices of One, and Scoundrels? Do we need every hour of every day expanded upon? This might seem to run contrary to the conceptiual thesis of the Expanded Universe, but the reader does not need every single point spelled out. There is strength from a few areas left opened so we can elicit the responses ourselves. As a emperor's hand, Mara eliminated a considerable amount of white and black hats. We do not need every adventure placed into a neon sign. Granted, Zahn's ability to white wash Mara's background, the neither dark or light digression, makes the story material a lot less interesting.

 

i liked outbound flight and scoundrels. did not like choices of one so much

 

Sniper_Wolf, no wonder you don't care for Del Rey Zahn novels, you like Troy Denning. As far as Denning goes, I've only read Star by Star and have no interest in reading the depressing post-NJO, and he is definitely a major reason for that. The only Zahn novels I haven't read are Choices of One and Scoundrels.

 

They are glorified fan fiction and bad fan fic at that while at the same time hammering the reader over the head how useless Vader and Luke are compared to the great Mara (who is sanitised to the 8th degree) and Thrawn.

 

Thrawn doesn't even make any appearances in Allegiance.

 

He does in Choices of one and I was talking about both books as you know perfectly well

 

When talking about both books, it's best to distinguish the complaints. Allegiance complaints only cover portrayal of Mara, Luke and Vader, Choices of One complaints cover Thrawn.

And personally I feel that it doesn't "hammer their uselessness/awesomeness in" much more than The Thrawn Trilogy did. That emphasised how badly Vader was regarded too. And that Thrawn would probably have won the Battle of Endor if he'd been there, and that Mara was very important to the Emperor.

 

Which one's the one where I've read people complain about that one part where Mara's shutting her lightsaber on and off to do something and Luke's standing on in awe? I've seen people quote that exchange and complain about how silly it is. Whichever one that is, I don't want to read it.

 

That was Choices of One. I think the scene's been quoted at some point- either in this thread or the Choices of One review thread.

 

Can we (fandom as a whole) please stop comparing the EU to fan fiction? Please? It's incorrect and irrelevant.