Books Jedi Academy Trilogy

I'm not sure those ideas are particularly great in the first place.

That was a logical consequence following 4, 5 & 6 though, wasn't it? You can't seriously credit KJA with the idea that the last Jedi would seek to make more Jedi.

...Who got her job by ****ing Tarkin, who was an officious bureaucrat so uncreative, unimaginative and jobsworthy that she kept her flotilla moored for what, 5 years(?) with no contact from the outside world. A villain with such threatening and perilous strategies such as wiping out two thirds of her fleet on Kamikaze missions to minimal effect.

... Not exactly the most creative or imaginative or unique idea. Fairy/folk tales featuring evil spirits existed before the early 1990s. Wasn't Exar **** already established in KJA's awful comics beforehand? His stories featured Jedi being turned into Sith because they got pricked with evil splinters. That's worse than the second Ewok spinoff movie logic.

Take that back! KJA is not a real author.

Wasn't Kessel in the Marvel comics beforehand?

The concept of the Maw was actually pretty cool, I'll give you that. I'm not sure KJA invented it though... You could argue it was a Starwarsian version of the Straits of Bosphorus from Greek mythology.

The concept of career progression cannot be credited to KJA!

Other than those points I completely agree. The Maw is pretty much it in terms of positive contributions to SW lore, imo. But even then, he placed it in the outer rim of the galaxy which is not where black hole clusters should be.

 

Nope. His work on TOTJ: Dark Lords of the Sith and The Sith War came out following the Jedi Academy books. Those are the first comics I ever bought as they were released directly from a comic shop! And I still have them. I actually have a gushing letter printed in a Sith War issue :/

 

Jeez, somebody doesn't like KJA.

 

I think the books are sub-par, but I don't necessarily hate them. I mean... the Young Jedi Knights series is equally stupid, but I still enjoy it, in its way.

Nonetheless, in my last read-through of the Legends series, I skipped the JAT. I, Jedi's abridgment was sufficient in covering that time period.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the books are good, I just think some of the ideas and concepts are pretty good, just that they were really badly done. Like you say about Daala. A complete incompetent who remains ignorant for 8 years on the fate of the Galaxy is bad but the concept of a Female villain with something to prove was/is good.?

Though with Dark Saber I can't even think. Lol the 1 Armed Wampa from ESB leading an Army against Luke was so unintentionally hilarious.l chuckle even now.

 

I havent read it since I was just getting into the eu but looking back it is full of conveniences all over the place, the sun crusher is the most op gary stew weapon ever, the 3rd death star is so lazy and gets wrapped up to quickly, the exar khun stuff is great but then gets wrapped up to easily as well, and Kyp is such a gary stew. I like the series from what I can remember but I will likely not re read it cause I would rather have my fond memories of it.

 

V-2

While the general criticism of JAT is more than warranted fine, statements like "KJA is not a real author" go against our long-standing policy against author bashing. Focus solely on the work, please.

Cheers.

 

What does gary stew taste like?

 

Didn't know you had an author bashing policy, soz.

Didn't know it also applied to KJA. (Last one, I promise.)

 

I remember liking it when I was 13/14. But that was 15 years ago. I'd probably not enjoy it nearly as much today, but I'm just going to never reread it and keep the good memories.

 

I just finished up Darksaber today and rather enjoyed it. KJA may be silly but he does have a cinematic sense... if not possessing the best prose.

 

Three dozen posts and still no one has mentioned that masterful literary passage that blessed the universe with blob races?

 

To be fair to KJA, he was not the only one like that. I have recently re-read Zahn's Hand of Thrawn duology and it's giggle worthy how virtually every page, with every character (no exaggeration) is talking about Thrawn and how awesome he is. No joke Han Solo literally gives up in despair after meeting fake Thrawn, it's unintentionally hilarious

 

Definitely exaggeration. Karrde's subplot in particular has very little talking about Thrawn in it.

 

My memory of Darksaber is extremely hazy, but I do remember liking it. There were Royal Guards on the cover ... but did they play a role in the story?

 

Only for a moment or two - as Dale's bodyguards.

Those very Guardsmen (retconned as not being real but fake Guardsmen, thanks to, I think, the Crimson Empire series with its massacre of the Royal Guard by Carnor Jax) do play a role in the Shadow Academy arc of the Young Jedi Knights series (Shadow Academy trains Dark Jedi on behalf of the Second Imperium).

The Essential Guide To Warfare suggests that Daala was involved with the Second Imperium - the Endnotes:


http://jasonfry.tumblr.com/post/27417920547/eg-to-warfare-endnotes-pt-16

went so far as to say she was its military leader - though she's never mentioned by name in the series itself.

 

Actually there is, they are chatting with Car'das who says what an interesting guy Thrawn is

 

Yes - but that's all - Car'das doesn't say any more than that "there's far more to Thrawn's history than appears on the surface".

Most of the arc is spent dealing with other issues.

 

Are the YJK books worth a read? Feel like I should bang those out eventually.

 

Short version. There is several plots, all kind of ridiculous.

You have a Hutt trying make a Death Star lazer but with out the rest of a Death Star. Why you ask, well who knows, I doubt even KJA did.

You have Kyp and Dorsk 81 finding there place as Jedi (which really doesn't consist of doing much TBH) bug just hanging around Yavin.

You have Luke hanging with his (then) girlfriend Callista. Callista is depressed because she doesn't have Jedi Powers, so she and Luke travel to Hoth (because reasons) where they encounter an Army of Wampas led by the Wampa from ESB, looking for some payback for Luke slicing his arm off.

Daala using her high reputation with all the Warlords (where did she get that ??) murders them all and teams up with Pelleaon and attack The Jedi Academy to which the students defeat the Imp fleet with a giant force push, losing Dorsk 81 in the process.

Honestly KJA was expecting me to be sad about the death of character, that had barely any screen time and was flat and lifeless when he was on page. Think of when the Jedi die in the PT but worse.

Oh yeah Crix Madine the Red Shirt general from RTJ shows up and defeats the Hutt Death Star Lazer plans and dies doing it.
While Callista, still devastated about not having powers decides to take off for parts unknown
The end.

But yeah it really is a bad book. Like I said before, JAT at least had some good concepts if nothing else. This does not even have that.

 

I enjoyed them - but there's very few Star Wars novels I haven't enjoyed on some level.

I think the "Lets Read" series of essays on TOR.com seemed to go with "They're fun reads - and some of them are really good - Lightsabers in particular."

 

Zahn peaked with TTT, no doubt about that (at least in terms of franchise work). Outbound Flight is probably his highest point post-TTT, though a lot more can be said for the plot than the execution. The Hand of Thrawn stuff has fewer redeeming features, sadly. A bottom of the barrel plot, a lame tragedy theme with such a stupid ending, and oh my gosh the characterisations of Luke and Mara....

 

Do you like any Star Wars books? (JK I think every agrees TTT couldn't be topped, not even by the Flanneled One himself.)

I actually thought Dorsk 81's plot with Kyp was quite good. For me it redeemed the book. Luke and Callista were always flat to me, but I always felt bad for Dorsk 81 in JAT. Then to see him find his place only to go out with a bang like that was pretty sad to me, but also satisfying that he wasn't just pathetic for the rest of his life. I really liked the huge force push part, I thought that was awesome.

 

Truthfully, I hate most SW books - but I have enjoyed a fair few over the years. Darth Plagueis is arguably better written than TTT. Luceno somehow manages to include the mandatory cross promotional crap without me noticing, or at least without taking me out of the story.

 

Some of your views go with my own. Like you I liked TTT and OBF. I am curious about the tragedy theme as I can't remember anything tragic in the Hand of Thrawn ?
Though I agree that the plot was slightly ridiculous and the never on the dark side retcon/white wash for Mara while giving lectures to Luke