A&A The Official Karen Miller Discussion Thread

Just finished Chapter 2. Usually I stay away from Clone Wars era books because, well, farnkly I'm sick of the time period. I prefer the NJO and Legacy time period. I only picked up this book because I saw an overwhelmingly good reception to it. That being said, this book is fantastic. I know it's early, but I'm really enjoying all. I especially loved the one bit where Anakin's in the battle and mutters something along the lines of "I wouldn't mind meeting that guy in a dark Coruscant alley." I love good humor in a book. Anyway, good work! I'll stop by again when I'm done.

By the way, I fully intend to check out that interview afterwards.

 

Karen, I enjoyed the EU interview, and would be first in line the day it came out if you ever wrote a pre Phantom Menace novel with Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Dooku.

I have always wanted an adult novel written in that era, since I found the character dynamic between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon just as fascinating and complex as the one between Obi-Wan and Anakin. It was also one that I felt must have impacted the Kenobi/Skywalker dynamic in a lot of ways, for many different reasons.

LOL. If only I could ring up LFL and tell them to make that book happen.

I'm patient. I'd be willing to wait a few years until you had time to write it, since you're the author I'd most like to see tackle that story.

 

Glad you enjoyed the i/v,Opal! I had a lot of fun talking SW. The guys were lovely, and asked great questions.

As for the notion of that novel, well, who knows? Like I said, it would be great fun to write.

 

Thanks, Treborani! I'm so pleased you're enjoying it. I had a blast writing it, and now I"m just hoping that Siege lives up to it.

 

Finished the book today. Very enjoyable. You did a great job at painting the reality of war, which a lot of authors fail to do, or stay away from. The one part that stood out was when Anakin realizes that they're lying on top of bodies and are forced to stay there until night. It was chilling. I also think you did a great job at portraying Anakin and Obi-Wan. Anakin in principle is doing the right thing, but he's too trusting, too willing to make promises he can't keep. All in all a deep book, very well done. The best Clone Wars book I've read by far.

 

Thank you very much! Sorry it's taken so long to reply, but I've only just gpt back home after a month away. I really do try to keep things realistic, especially when it comes to war. It's not a game, people suffer and die, and I think it's important to remember that. Siege is out in a month or so, so I hope you enjoy that as much.

 

I'm truly interested to see what you do with some of the more minor characters in this last installment. I'm thinking mostly of Taria or even Coric, but then I enjoy some of the harshness/doom and gloom type stuff which is why I think I've taken to your serious approach to the subject of war.

 

Thanks, Robimus! As for Taria, well, I hope you like the conclusion of her journey. I had a lot of fun writing her, because she's not quite your typical Jedi.

I'm starting to get nervous now, because Siege is out in just a handful of days! I really hope everyone enjoys it.

 

I just found out Siege comes out on Tuesday! The only problem is I thought it came out at the end of the month and I'm in the middle of reading Heir to the Empire.

Oh, well. I have a long bus ride tomorrow so I'll hopefully be able to get HTTE out of the way and start reading Siege the day it comes out!

Oh, and Karen, any thoughts about returning to the Star Wars universe?

 

Well, whenever you get a chance to read it, I hope you have a good time. *g* As for writing for SW, well, not for the time being, I'm afraid. I've got a big 5 book original series to complete first, which will take several years. But who knows what might happen after that?

 

I truly enjoyed your works in the GFFA and think of them all as one big book, in that the interactions between the canon characters needed exploration in this era, and the OCs hit a truly high note with me. Taria and Bant'ena came through as thoroughly developed people, dealing with goshawful circumstances. The villagers, as well, got little lives of their own and I enjoyed them. So, good luck to you and your endeavors. There is the live-action series coming up, and maybe there'll be a tie-in series of books which you can sink your teeth into? Just speculatin' ... That's fantastic news about the 5 book deal --- happy writing! Sincerely, pronker

 

I'm to the part where Obi-Wan is working in the power plant. I am really enjoying the looks at Sidious. His reaction to the events was a welcome look behind the scenes. Ahsoka's relation with Taria is growing, as well, which is good because I like them as a team. And I loved the Mon Mothma appearance.

The village scenes slowed down the story a bit, but now that part of the story seems to be picking up pace. Also, the extent to which Lok Durd tortures Bant'ena is chilling! I really hope that he gets equally punished by the story ends!

So far, it isn't quite as gripping as Wild Space or Stealth, but then I'm not even halfway into it. It seems to be setting itself up as a great conclusion to the series!

 

Hey,

I just found this thread because I wanted to express my love for Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth and Clone Wars Gambit: Siege. I'm also a fan of The Clone Wars: Wild Space. All three books rank very highly in my list of favorite Star Wars books and I wanted to share that love with the world.

I very much enjoyed The Clone Wars: Wild Space because it really did put Obi-Wan Kenobi through the ringer. I also enjoyed Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi developing an intimate friendship based around their shared experiences. People have used the Lord of the Rings comparisons as a criticism with Obi Wan in the role of Frodo and Bail Organa in the role of Samwise, but I actually think it's what makes it more Star Wars than many other works. A major theme of Star Wars is the frequent film homages George Lucas makes as part of his works, only "IN SPACE!"

There's a strong difference between invoking the imagery of a journey, which I think was present (but I could be wrong!) and ripping it off. This falls squarely on the former and is just as original as Shatterpoint's take on Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. I confess, it's a bit strange that a Sith Holocron is used as essentially such a nimbus of evil. Previous EU has treated them as effectively interactive spell books.

The danger they represent is inside the dark side knowledge they possess as opposed to the planet-destroying evil this one seems to possess. I had to wonder what exactly about this one was so dangerous. Of course, given this was all a trap to kill Obi Wan Kenobi by future Emperor Palpatine, it's possible the holocron was actually turbo-charged with the Dark Side or some other kind of Sith artifact entirely. In any case, it's easy to see why Bail Organa would trust the Jedi Knights with his life after this episode. I hope we can see some more Bail Organa heroism in the future, even if his role as a Senator makes that unlikely.

It's been awhile since I read the book but I really felt strongly about it after I read it.

I just finished reading Stealth and Siege back to back, which is how I recommend Star Wars fans read them. They're remarkably low key, in some respects, for a Star Wars tale. Almost all of the action revolves around a single planet and a single town within the planet. The "devastating superweapon" of Count Dooku also only manages to kill 10,000 people. A bit of a drop in the bucket to Clone Wars causalties that included entire worlds. However, Karen Miller is able to make it FEEL like a tremendous tragedy and that's what works here. The fact it is done to Mon Mothma's homeworld of Chandrilla is handled brilliantly.

One of the things that Karen Miller does tremendously well is take the Kid-friendly Clone Wars series and play it absolutely straight. Lok Durd is one of the best expansions as a one-note villain from the cartoon becomes a hardcore psychopath who is exceptionally dangerous in how utterly monstrous he is. It's strange, before he became part of our childhood, I think the only other Star Wars villain who matches Durd in sheer pointless sadism was Jabba the Hutt. I hope Karen Miller gets the opportunity to write this guy's well deserved end. What a revolting character he was, and he actually ranks up with the Yuuzhan Vong for pure evil.

I've overstated my love of her handling of Jedi and I regret some of the ways I chose to phrase it over in the Star Wars Lit forums (which I hope Karen Miller will forgive), but I really did like it. The Jedi Knights are portrayed as deeply compassionate servants of the people. I really liked their interaction with "Joe Average" citizen of the galaxy. The distrust over the Jedi Mind Trick and so on are so unfounded but obvious prevalent attitudes about the Space Samurai was nicely handled. Obi Wan and Anakin Skywalker shows themselves to be true heroes here.

I'm interested in the character of Taria Damsin. Sadly, we didn't get much insight into her aside from the fact she's dyin

 

Hey guys -- sorry again for the silence but I've been sick and battling a new deadline. Ah, the fun never ends! Thanks so much for the feedback on the books. The most I can ever ask for is that the story gets read. And if it's enjoyed, well, that's a bonus! Sadly there won't be any more SW from me for a while, since I'm now looking at a huge mainstream project that will take years to complete. After that, who knows? If they want me and I can swing it, I'd love to.

In the meantime, I just did an interview with Star Wars action news that you might be interested in. You can find the podcast here: http://www.swactionnews.com/Podcasts/SWAN256.MP3

Seriously? My life has been enriched beyond the telling by this adventure. I will always be grateful to Del Rey, LFL and you guys for letting me play.

 

Feel better...and good luck on your new project!

 

They brought an enthralling dimension to the saga and I enjoyed them hugely. Also, I am in the middle of Jeff Gurner's reading of Siege, just to say here that the production of the audiobook is outstanding. So, when the live-action Star Wars TV show starts, I'm hoping that some spin-off books will happen and that you may come back to write Star Wars once more. Until then, toodles!

 

I just finished Clone Wars: Wild Space and I'm now reading Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth. I've had so much fun reading these books that I'm having to make sure that I budget my time for my graduate school work as well. Really, they are that good, and I rarely read EU novels at all.

I love the characterization of Anakin, and the depiction of the Anakin and Padme romance. I like the characterization of Obi-Wan as well, and I really enjoyed (what I felt was) the explanation of how the Obi-Wan and Anakin friendship changed between AOTC and ROTS; the fact that Obi-Wan knew Anakin well enough to know that he had just lost his mother, nearly been killed by Dooku, lost his arm, and (Obi-Wan thought that) he was about to lose Padme as well, so in spite of what Yoda thought, Anakin needed a friend, not a strict Jedi Master.

I also liked the depiction of the Dark Side on Zigoola, and Obi-Wan's comment that if the Sith took over, the entire galaxy would be that way, would be "unbearable". (Oh, Obi-Wan... ) I also like the fact that the Dark Side seemed to dissipate every time Bail thought about Breha. I love the theme that love conquers darkness.

And Palpatine was so well done, so creepy and evil, that I felt like I needed a shower after I read a scene with him.

Fantastic job.

My favorite part of Siege so far is Anakin rallying his troops before battle. "Blast those kriffing Separatist ships right out of my sky!" The description of that battle is a good demonstration of Anakin's skill. I'm only up to the part where Ahsoka actually notices her broken ribs and faints, so I'm not that far into it. I like the dynamic between Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka so far. And Anakin thinking of Padme and deciding that he's not going to die today.

 

I'm only halfway through Siege, but it finally managed to grab me. I loved Wild Space, it is one of my very favourite Star Wars novels, right up there with Shatterpoint. Stealth was a bit of a disappointment to me, because of those high expectations. It wasn't bad, no, it was very good. It just didn't speak to me the same way Wild Space did. Now, it seemed that Stealth started similarly, very good, very reminiscent in feeling of the Jedi Apprentice series (which I totally love), but not 'more'. And then the political tap dancing started on Coruscant and I was completely hooked. My reservations disappeared. It's great so far (I'm just after the theta-storm) and I can't WAIT to see how it ends.

Except, since there won't be any more Karen Miller novels, and no more Clone Wars/prequel era novels, I have to force myself to savour it. And read slowly. ^^

 

I finished Wild Space and Stealth (the quote in my signature is from Wild Space) and I'm finishing Siege. I'd love to savor it slowly but I can't put it down. Poor, brave Anakin and Obi-Wan trapped on that awful planet.

Sad that there won't be any more Karen Miller novels on the Clone Wars, but good luck on your next project.