Books STAR WARS: A NEW DAWN (September 2014)

Well, JJM has a big following, and Star Wars fans are forgiving. Different SW novels and authors appeal to different people. I don't blame JJM for shooting down Shatterpoint, that was most likely a Story Group decision. In my opinion, a bad decision but it's done. Blaming JJM would be like blaming R. A. Salvatore for killing Chewbacca which many people did and made his experience of writing a Star Wars novel the worst in his life. The poor guy actually go death threats.
canon and continuity are different things. All EU, now Legends, is part of the Star Wars continuity until something that is "canon" conflicts with it. Star Wars Legends is series of stories that might have been unless we find out that they definitely didn't because of new material. It's not that different from the multiple layers of canon. The Clone Wars Madalorian episodes wiped out the all the wonderful work that Karen Traviss did with the Mando's in her novels. It's why she stopped writing Star Wars novels.

We can assume that most of the post RotJ material from the EU will be overwritten by the new movies and other media but most of what takes place prior to RotJ could be left intact unless the Story Group deliberately contradicts it. Big questions for the future - Will the major players of the post RotJ EU show up in some form as a nod to the fans and work of previous creators? Will we see Mara Jade or Thrawn in some form? Will the Yuuzhan Vong exist in the Disney galaxy or are they gone forever?

Disney has left the door open for elements of the EU to enter the new canon depending on the decisions/whims of the Story Group and the writers they work with.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the new Galaxy looks like.

 

http://eleven-thirtyeight.com/2014/09/john-jackson-miller-on-a-new-dawn-elevators-and-being-awesome/

 

I guess that if you start reading a book with a preconception of it being bad because <insert any reason>, then it will suck, no matter how good or bad it actually is. You will never enjoy it. I was a bit reluctant to pick it up, but I eventually started reading it with an open mind.

I've just finished reading it this Sunday, and I must say that I am impressed by the depth of the characters involved. All the main characters have their motivations explained, even the bad guy isn't just some Imperial maniac overlord who does bad things because he's bad. He has a personal motivation and a backstory that makes sense in the context of his actions. Without getting into spoilers, I enjoyed all characters. I like the fact that not every hero of this story is a cliche idealist freedom fighter and that not every villain just likes to see the world/galaxy burn. If anything, this book shows that you can do the right thing for the wrong reason and vice versa.

I admit that I can count the number of novels I've (fully) read in the old EU on one hand. But if A New Dawn is any indication of things to come, then I'm looking forward to Tarkin, Lords of the Sith, Heir to the Jedi and whatever other books come out after that in the new continuity.

 

That's nicely put.

 

Yet I noticed they all still drink caf. Gotta wonder why it's not just coffee. Coffee was definitely used before in universe, and I don't really see why turbolift is such a big deal. This is kind of odd to me.

 

Funny thing is, both coffee and caf have been used in the new canon as well--so they both still exist.

 

Ok well that makes even less sense.

Get the terminology straight, Story Group.

Damn.

 

There, there.

 

Has hot chocolate shown up, yet?

 

Maybe because Star Trek used it first? Though I don't think the term was copyrighted or anything.

 

No gonna lie: I mainly liked turbolift because I'm British.

 

They have one job Coop.

 

Well caf could be very different from coffee that we know. Maybe it's blue?

 

As long as it's not pumpkin-spice-flavored.

 

Caf, twice the speed and ten times the yield of caffeine.

You want to be a tough guy? Tough guys drink caf and bounce off the walls 50 times a day.

 

Definitely sounds better than 'turboelevator'. But I suppose 'elevator' sounds suitably space-y to me anyway

 

I think I've seen "turbovator" once or twice.

 

So have I, and I always just thought it sounded silly. Star Wars is slightly more justified than most because it's set in a galaxy far, far away instead of the future, but in general replacing modern words with "space-y" equivalents has always driven me up the wall. WE GET IT, THEY'RE IN SPACE, YOU DON'T NEED TO MAKE UP WORDS TO TELL US.

 

I may be wrong about this but I was under the impression that a turbolift is slightly different from an elevator because it can move sideways, not only up and down. Or is that something I made up?

 

That's a Wonka-vator!

 

While we're being pedantic, I really hope the new canon dials back on animals with "cat" and "rat" and so on at the end of their normal name. Veermoks are baboon-like; I don't need my hand held to figure that out any more than I have to say "tiger cat" or "coyote dog".

 

I just checked. Dark Force Rising, chapter 22: "The turbolift car shifted direction several times along the way, alternating before horizontal and vertical movement." I win

Edit: did Cooper just call me "pedantic"? I may actually like the sound of that

 

Ah, but that's not canon anymore, is it?

Yes, I went there.

 

Trust me, that's the highest compliment around here.

 

As for coffee and caf, maybe they're two different things? Maybe in-universe, "coffee" is decaf and caf is–well, caffeinated?

I must confess that now I'll likely read all your posts in a British accent, because up until now I was unaware of this fact.