So... the Jedi Prince series.

Hey, guys. I'm new, and tried to search this topic but my search wouldn't go through. I have a feeling this has been discussed to death, so I apologize in advance.

Anyway, I've started reading some of the Star Wars books and am enjoying them immensely. My first experience with the EU was Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel. My first proper novel, fittingly, Splinter of the Minds Eye, which I liked quite a bit. After that came Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. I'm not sure of its reputation, but I enjoyed it, although I was definitely biased since I like Darth Maul. Later, I read Republic Commando: Hard Contact, which wasn't bad at all, reminded me of some of the military novels I've read. Finally, I discovered The Thrawn Trilogy, which I would honestly consider downright good writing, with or without the Star Wars tag. The most recent one I've read is Truce of Bakura, which wasn't bad at all.

I've personally decided that I would like to go in publication date, rather than chronological date. I really enjoy seeing how big franchises and series develop. I'm thinking, rather than go for The Jedi Academy Trilogy and the Courtship of Princess Leia (which I read came out next), going back and checking out The Han Solo Adventures and Lando Calrissian Adventures. I rarely read more than an hour a day, so I don't see myself reading all of the books in the series... well, ever. That's why I'm considering cutting out the... "non-essentials". Namely, that little black sheep called The Jedi Prince series.

I've read a small bit about the series, and it definitely doesn't look like a pleasant or fun read. Environmental pretentiousness, plot inconsistencies, and from what I've read, awful writing. I've read about the Trioculus and some of his ridiculous quotes, and about Han Solo's apparent cooking... yeah.

So, my question is this. Is there any reason in the world why I should put myself towards reading these books? Are they at all important or ever referenced again? Really, I am considering reading them right now solely for comedy, as they do look very funny (in an unintentional way, of course). Oh, and I should note that I'm usually not a masochist

Anyway, thanks in advance.

 

Ken Palpatine is one of those youth-targeted dead ends of the eighties, like the Glove of Darth Vader. They predate the Young Jedi Knights, the generation of Han and Leia's offspring. They are canon, but not highly regarded, and can strike the reader as silly now and then.

I think they can be mined for tidbits, even if they are not as entertaining as fx the Lando Calrissian adventures. But then again, that is how I approach all the SW literature-- like a fanfic writing parasitic regurgitator.

 

Yeah, I never go into any book, even the most acclaimed classics, expecting gold. That way, my expectations are easy to meet. What I'm really getting at, though, is if it would just be a waste of time to read these books, and if they would make me vomit or not. Young Readers Books usually aren't my thing at all.

 

They are by no means essential, and the events of these books have only been mentioned a few times, mostly in reference works. But I'd say they're worth reading if only for their sheer ridiculousness. Jedi Prince is the epitome of so-bad-it's-good Star Wars literature. There are just so many things that are unintentionally hilarious about it, it's just pure comedy gold. If you've got a sense of humor and can stomach some degree of terrible writing, go ahead and check out the series. But the second you start taking it seriously is when you'll begin to hate it.

 

That's pretty much what I wanted to hear. I love watching terrible budget horror movies just for the comedy value, and I can imagine these being hilariously bad in that way too.

I've read some quotes from the book, and Trioculus just sounds like Thrawn without any of the charisma or subtlety. In other words, he sounds like a total douche bag . "You'll never be perfect because you don't have three eyes muahahahahaha!!!"

I am somewhat confused by what I've read about the series, though. So apparently the "Son of Palpatine" was an imposter? Did Palpatine even have a son? I heard most of it was retconned too.

 

I can't figure out how to work the Search directly above the forum, either. However, the Search right near the top of the screen works fine for me.

 

The Jedi Prince series DEFINES "so bad its good" for Star Wars. It's absolutely terrible, but for that, it's worth reading just once. The sheer ridiculousness is mindblowing, and its filled with Aesop Anvils with a "save the environment!" theme. Not to mention that the thought of Palpatine's hellspawn is truly revolting.

 

Just nitpicking here, but the series actually dates from the ninties, specifically the immediate post-HTTE years. It's worth mentioning because, from the point of view of seeing the Expanded Universe unfold, even at this early stage you can tell that an effort is being made at consistency between the new adventures in each medium. Dark Empire mentions both the Thrawn trilogy and the Prince series, while the Prince series makes reference to the Thrawn trilogy.

 

I'll mention that if you're looking for a fun way to read an extended summary of The Glove of Darth Vader as well as see how it fits in with some of the greater EU, I highly recommend the article Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the
Glove of Darth Vader, but Were Afraid to Ask, written by... the above poster, actually.

 

The "youth-targeted dead ends in the eighties" was called the "Ewoks".

 

In that above summary, I noticed that who I thought was the main character, "Ken" wasn't ever mentioned. Isn't he supposed to be the Jedi Prince? Ah, these books...

While I'm sure it's fairly irrelevant, I guess I forgot to mention in the original post that I've also read half of Tales of the Jedi

 

Ken doesn't actually appear until the second book in the series, The Lost City of the Jedi. I admit that my knowledge of this series is pretty spotty and mostly secondhand--even back in the day, I only read a couple of them--but I don't think Ken's the main character. As I remember it, our regular cast from the movies are still the main characters, but Ken's a new character who features prominently.

 

i hate to tell you guys and gals i consider this series non canon for a variety of reasons

1---there are no mountains on dagobah
2---it's strange that han had a house on cloud city and never seen again
3---how could palpatine produce a child he didn't have that thing between his legs
4---why would obi-wan leave tatooine to bring baby ken to yavin when he was in hiding.

 

It is S-canon, as far as we know. Which is practically the same, so you are not far off.

Not that any of those reasons justify that.

 

1. Why wouldn't there be?
2. Cloud City ends up conquered by Zorba the Hutt in the series. You know, the guy who wants Han Solo and Leia killed?
3. I'm pretty sure he did since he was lovers with Isard.
4. Last of the Jedi shows Obi Wan occasionally left hiding to help the galaxy as a whole. He was just very careful about it.

 

#1: What source says there are no mountains on Dagobah?
#2: Charlemagne provided a believable explanation for this, but few and far between are the series that don't leave loose ends dangling.
#3: It's been indicated in canon that Palpatine's child may have been conceived in a laboratory as part of an experiment, but I'm interested in your source for the idea that Palpatine did not in fact have said thing between his legs It's not stated in any source that I'm aware of. Dark Empire, perhaps?
#4: Although that theory was floated in the series, it was never stated that Obi-Wan was the master who brought Ken to the Lost City. In fact, given that Ken's other theories regarding Obi-Wan were proven false, there's no reason to assume Obi-Wan was involved except that he gave the Lost City codes to Luke. This means little; since he also told Luke to visit Dagobah even though he'd never been there in his life.

TC

 

3# Bizarre as 3# may be, it actually had some canonical support.

Palpatine's clone in Dark Empire was as anatomically correct as a Ken-doll.

Later, they said he had a short of "artificial womb" on him, covering his naughty bits.

Ewww.

 

Which makes it more likely to be canon when you realise his grandson was named after him.

 

The NEC implies that it was K'Kruhk that brought him to the Lost City, or at least that he brought someone there...

 

I, myself, had the idea that Triclops was actually a clone of Palpatine for awhile.

Which would make Ken his grandson.

From a certain point of view.

 

I think Ken and Cindel should have hooked up....hey maybe they did! (off camera of course)

 

The things I remember:

1) The almost-anvilicious obsession with the environment. Trioculus stops pursuing our heroes to go hunting. Yes, to go hunting. Personally, if I were a villain, I would make sure the heroes were dead first, but I'm genre-savvy like that. No James Bond deaths for my adversaries. (And worse yet, this wasn't even that.)
2) Palpatine "polluting her womb". Bad image, and unfortunate implications: So does this mean that someone on the light side can't produce kids with birth defects?
3) The obsession with the glove of Darth Vader. Not surprisingly, the term "crushgaunt" has entered the EU lexicon.
4) Ken's X-wing and TIE fighter models, as if anyone made X-wing toys. That's subversive.
5) The sky house. Weird dream for Han, to have a little sky house on Bespin. But what am I to say?

 

Wazzat? That's hinted at in the New Essential Chronology? What part is that in?

While I, too, believe the Jedi Prince series is pretty hilarious, I still defend its place in canon and would welcome a Return of Ken one day...

 

I maintain Kenth Hamner is a prenaturally aged Ken Palpatine, possibly due to whatever cellular damage he inherited from his Dad.

 

A new issue of Invasion:

*a strange Jedi unleashed a can of awsome on some Vong*

Finn: Who are you?!
Jedi: Palpatine. Ken Palpatine.

That would be 1,138 kinds of awsome!