Omaha, NE Official NJO Discussion Thread

I suppose I'll start this thing off. The only ground rule should be to warn folks about spoilers. Give a few spaces so those who aren't up to date don't have surprises ruined for them. Other than that, I say everything else is fair game.

On with the show... I have about 100 pages left in Force Heretic I: Remnant. I've been dragging my feet with it since there won't be any new NJO books till May. It's not exactly the best book so far, but it's not bad. I can't really even say what I don't like about it, but I certainly don't dislike the book. As I've said before, my main gripe with the book is the lack of chapters. I won't give anything up for those who haven't read it yet. I must admit though, the more I read, the more I like the Vong. They make the Empire look like a bunch of Boy Scouts. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I'd like to see Lucasbooks put out an "Essential Guide to the NJO" detailing (and illustrating) all the new characters and the Vong bio-tech. No matter how they describe some of the Vong's technology, it's tough to get a good idea of what the stuff looks like. I know there were plenty of times while reading "Traitor" I found myself kinda stuck trying to figure out what some of the things looked like. Some of the things I'd like to see illustrated are Supreme Overlord Shimrra, the Embrace of Pain and Worldships.

 

I have to agree with Craig about the illustrations, but I have noticed in the past that illustrations of the Vong tend to make them look smaller, and more retarded than they do disfigured. They also seem to replace scars with tattoos. I just finished Remnant, and have to say that it's really not up to par with Traitor. It's a good book, but it's pretty much just a filler novel. I have to admit that the thing that initially pissed me off the most is how they went and started destroying planets. I almost stopped reading when Ithor went, then Coruscant pushed me back to the brink, but I find myself wanting to know what happens in the end. I do miss the days when it was a rebellion and an Empire, though. It would be nice to see a series come out that puts the Empire in the place of the Vong instead of constantly making the Empire look like a bunch of maniacle (sp?)incompetents. They used to be brutal, and believe it or not the rebellion didn't always win, and when they lost they didn't always come away with even a little victory. Those are the stories I'd like to read. But, back to the NJO. I like reading it, but I can't wait until it's over. And I would have preferred chapters as well. More to follow.

 

While I tend to agree with you, John, about the image given to the post Palpatine Imperial leaders, the lone exception being Thrawn (and Daala to a point), I have to also agree with Del Rey. Just how many times can the Empire dig up some "old fossil" of a Grand Admiral and come back with super weapon X?
NOW, before you go on the defensive, let me say I think I know what you want...a story line EXACTLY like the New Jedi Order, with one minor change...replace the Vong with a serious interpretation of the resurgent Empire.
But look at what Del Rey had to pick up. A mis-matched book series with a thousand Imperial stooges of the week. They felt they had to do something new and fresh with the novel line. I dont think there is ANYONE here that would argue with that. And I also think we would have thought it just more of the same had they used the Empire instead of the Vong. Now, if the Imps managed to kill off Chewie, too, that would have gotten our attention, and I think that 3 or 4 novels in, we would have realized that this was not your old Empire.
Alas though, Del Rey didnt go that direction, and I dont dislike what they have done, but I will admit that it has been slow reading at points, and was perhaps a tad too bleak. But all in all, its a great attempt at a managed, long term storyline. And tying it too a pre-AOTC novel is a stroke of genius I think, though Rogue Planet was a horrid book.
Personally I feel Traitor was the high point of the series and I hope the road back down towards the end isnt as steep as the climb up.

 

Personally, I like the direction they're taking with the Empire in the NJO series. It's cool they brought back Pellaeon. I always thought he was cool. The confrontaion with the Moff Council was great. More books with the Empire trying to reclaim their former glory would've gotten boring. That's why I'm glad Dark Horse didn't bring back the Emperor a third time. Even in "Dark Empire 2" I was thinking "How many times can they do this?" Like Mark said, how many military geniuses can be lurking in the SW galaxy? IMO, the superweapons should've ended with the Sun Crusher. I kinda liked the Death Star prototype though. I forget which book it was in (Jedi Academy series?).

I'll agree there've been some slow points in the NJO, but to me they've been few and far between. My only real problem with the NJO is with the Vong wiping out whole planets. The Coruscant transformation was pretty cool though. I can't remember how many planets they've wiped out so far, but does it make sense for a potential conquering race to engage in a scorched earth (soil) campaign? It'd make more sense if the New Republic did it as they retreated. Kind of a "If we can't have it, the Vong can't either" sort of mentallity. If you're trying to take over the galaxy and make a new home for your people does it make sense to destroy those resources? Maybe the end justifies the means for the Vong. Sure they wiped out a few planets along the way, but look how many they got compared to what was lost.

It'll be interesting to see how the NJO winds up. I'm kind of hoping the Vong aren't totally wiped out. The Jedi heresy makes for an interesting development. Maybe we'll see the Jedi figure out how to see the Vong in the Force. Vergere pointed out to Jacen that the Force is life and the Vong are alive, therefore somehow connected to the Force. A Yuuzhan Vong Jedi would be very cool. If I remember right, the NJO is supposed to conclude this fall. I can't wait to see what happens after that story line is finished.

 

I totally agree with you both about the superweapons and the grand admirals, but that's not what I'm suggesting. I don't know how you all felt about the X-Wing series of books, but I thought they were some of the best stories told. I think that that would be a cool series to do for the empire. It doesn't have to be about a superweapon, but what about a plot to stop a rebel incursion, or perhaps follow Baron Fel just like they followed the story arc of Wedge Antilles. Most people haven't read the comics about who Baron Fel is and why he's so important to the Star Wars Galaxy. I think it would be interesting to see his squadron in action during the height of the rebellion. This is what I'm talking about when I say I want to see stories about the Empire versus the rebellion. They could conclude it with Baron Fel going into the unknown regions. To get back on subject, I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't agree with the Vong "scorched earth" policy. It bothers me to no end. (SPOILER)

Blah blah spoiler to follow, so stop reading........ It didn't bother me that they destroyed the Barabel homeworld as much as the others, but I don't like the changes they're making. I agree that it doesn't make sense. There are numerous uninhabited worlds they could choose from. Why did they pick the ones they did. Also, what bothers me is that they say that the Vong have completely eliminiated all life from the sublevels of Coruscant. I don't see how this is possible. In the previous books it says that there are a billion beings on Coruscant that have been recorded by census, but millions more in the underlevels. Plus, as we saw in Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter there are numerous creatures in the depths that no one knows about. How can the Vong be so sure it's all clear. Also, why did they let the threat that Ithor posed die? The Ithorians still have several ships with their trees. Where are these? Why aren't they looking for a means of exploiting this advantage? The previous books clearly stated that dead Vonduun Crab armor was more vulnerable than the live stuff. I think they've left too many holes in this series. Your thoughts?...

 

In case anyone's interested or hasn't seen it yet, Force Heretic III: Reunion is out now. Now I just have to finish book II so I can get caught up.

 

Already? Man...I just got Shatterpoint and havent even had time to open it....sigh.

 

I didn't know book three was out already - that's good timing. I've been busy with Harry Potter the last two weeks, but now that that's finished I need something new.