Star Wars novels = subpar

Okay, that was just an attention grabber title...but seriously. I just don't get into SW novels like I used to...and definitely not like I do in other sci-fi/fantasy novels like Wheel of Time or Ender's Game and stuff like that. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it seems like I can get really excited about wanting to read SW one week, then I'll pick one up and start losing interest about halfway through.

I only psoted this b/c there's been so much NJO discussion lately. I just hope someone can tell me that the NJO series (which I haven't read yet) is better than the older EU stuff. The only EU book I think that really captured me was I, Jedi...b/c although Corran has been in the X-Wing novels, he was a new character to bring into the Jedi think...which was refreshing.

Anybody else have more trouble getting into SW books than other major sci-fi, or is it just me?

 

Yeah, I've had trouble reading them... I read all the x-wing novels, and loved those, and I Jedi was awsome. But I've also read the little kid sw books, and those are much easier to read, and you are done before you lose intrest in them.

And since NJO books have comeout, I haven't read a SW book in ages... I even tried to read Vector Prime again, I lost intrest in the first page!

I think the EU universe is getting old. There are no new major plot twists.... so yeah, what if the galaxy has found another enemy to be against. That happens every 20 years in that universe... yadda yadda yadda...

What would be cool is if the Force just totally stopped communicating with the Jedi and they were left on their own. What would happen then?

 

Some NJO is better than others, but for the most part, I like it.

BTW, has anybody read K. Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. I thought it was about the best realistic sci-fi that I've read.

 

I've had the same problem in the past. Where I've just had to wait until I was in the right place to start reading again. Obviously that is right now, since I've read, in order, from Dark Tide I & II through Star by Star since May (7 books so far).

 

I missed the novel between star by star and the rebel duology, but other than that I have read all the books

 

I think the quality of the books, especially before NJO, has simply varied a lot. Some of them I've found to be quite good, and very engrossing, while others have been... um, a bit subpar and disappointing, to me at least. It's not that suprising - there are a whole slew of different writers who have played in the SW universe, and different people have different approaches. In contrast, when you find a great sci-fi/fantasy author you like, it's that one person writing all the books in a particular series and so I think the quality is more likely to be consistant.

Alison

 

I really enjoy the NJO... two weeks ago, i decided to read through my old jedi academy trilogy because i really enjoyed those books when they first came out... then people started talking about the NJO, and i got curious, so a week ago i went back and read Vector Prime, then picked up Balance Point, the Edge of Victory books and Star by Star, and i still need to finish Star by Star but i've really enjoyed the books... the Jedi have to face enemies that dont even seem to be aware of the force, and this creates a whole new problem for them... this time the balance of the force isnt in jeopardy, its the galaxy that is... of course, i want to see what it would have been like if the Vong would have tried to invade during Palpatine's rule... that would have been a good fight...

 

I picked up my first SW novel in about 17 years, last Dedember. I bought Darth Maul, Shadowhunter to read while waiting in line for Fellowship of the Ring. That book reeled me back into the SW universe after quite a layoff. I dove into Zahn's first Thrawn trilogy the next week, and haven't looked back (forward?) since. I've made it a point to read all of the books in order, for the sake of character development and consistency. This journey has taken me on an interesting ride as guided by the varied styles of the different authors. Some spoke to me (Zahn, Stackpole, Anderson), others repulsed me (McIntyre), whereas the others left me feeling rather indifferent.

I would have to say that overall, I have been somewhat disappointed by the characterizations within the novels. Only occasionally, do the authors truly seem to tap into the core of the characters. And even more seldom do they really define their potential.

Maybe its just my jaded perspective, having had 25 years to grow up with and digest the characters as they were first presented to us in technicolor celluloid, that I cannot reconcile the authors' interpretations. But I still feel that George gave them so much more to work with than the sometimes feeble tripe that they retail to us at $6.99 a pop.

All that being said, the supporting characters seem to have really blossomed in the EU, perhaps for the very reason that they did not receive much direct treatment at George's hands. The strictly EU characters ie. Corran Horn, Mara Jade, Thrawn seem to be so much more roundly and soundly developed than the OT characters that we've all grown to love/hate. Maybe the authors are afraid to step on George's toes, or perhaps licensing arrangements with LFL prevent them from too much. I don't really see that as too strong of an argument though, given certain EU developments (Han & Leia, Luke & Mara, Chewbacca & the moon of Sernpidal, etc.)

All of these criticisms notwithstanding, I look forward to NJO and the potential of the Yuuzhan Vong (Sp?). I just hope that the authors don't fall into the formulaic pitfalls of creating another "Empire" to battle against.

Oh, and the books are lightyears beyond the quality of the trade paperbacks (graphic novels). Union has to be the worst piece of garbage I've read since Howard the Duck. Dark Empire didn't leave much to be desired either.

 

the worst thing about Union was---
Starring!!!!: Bruce Willis as--Kam Salousar
& Tommy Lee Jones as--....i cant remember.

if you own Union, go look at it. the pictures look soo much like those actors. how lame. is it *that* difficult to draw an original character? if youre an artist- it shouldnt be.
i liked the idea of the bachelor party, but the way they did it was poor.
How strange that Union was a Stackpole product. I love his stuff.......usually.

Overall, I enjoy SW books. There have been some bad ones for sure. Different authors, different styles, etc...-its bound to happen. (hey, a pun!)
The NJO has really got me hooked. does that speak poorly of the other books? maybe some of them, but I'm such a freak for the SW universe- I'd read the Salacious Crumb story.

 

Ditto. Leia looks dreadful in most of the frames, and Mara didn't strike me as such hot stuff during most of the book either. The male characters were horrificly rendered. Luke looks constipated and bloated for most of the story. Bachelor party - good idea, poor execution. Nice try at the girls' sauna scene though. Didn't Heavy Metal do one of those once?

 

This is what I miss by giving up on the comics. I'm going to have to borrow Union from one of you guys (since it doesn't sound like anything I want to invest in).

BTW-Dark Empire was much better as a Radio Drama, which I will be happy to loan out.