Think Timothy Zahn will ever return to SW?

GAW...
"Do you think you can sheath your fangs? Just because he didn't pay attention to your precious comics. Give it a rest."

Just as long as we're all in agreement the guy didn't pay attention to continuity. After reading a lot of the misplaced NJO criticism, it seems that continuity weighs rather high on people's Star Wars concerns. That is, why weren't certain characters there (Cighal, etc.), why didn't they act like they did before, etc.

P_O_T...
I have no idea where you get off making claims that people have problems about the guy's personal hygiene or whatever. Criticism of his work has been done on the basis of what they are, not what clothes the author may wear. How about you cool down. The reasons why Zahn shouldn't write SW novels are legion and substantial. Just because you may not be able to comprehend them doesn't mean you should ignore them or view them as petty.

 

P-o-T,

Ghengis has done frequently what you can't see him doing, FYI.

"BUT that does not change the fact, that he is to Star Wars Literature and the Expanded Universe in general, what George Lucas was to the Original Star Wars movies. "

That's an opinion, not a fact. Zahn was no where near the first EU writer, he was just the first to write for Bantam in the 90s run of Star Wars stuff, and if an author did today what Zahn did then, not in terms of writing a good story but in terms of ignoring material that had already be created, he'd have the hell bashed out of him by all of us.

 

From: Rich Handley Actually, it is. It's been mentioned in several West End Games books, which are part of the current continuity. Lucasfilm's stance on Marvel, as I've learned in the time I've spent writing for WEG, Topps, and (soon) Dark Horse (more on that at a later date), is that they don't have a problem with fitting the Marvel tales into current continuity, so long as it's not done "in your face." In other words, you can reference the events of the Marvel run, but you can't (thank God!) do a "Return of Jaxxon" story. We were allowed to reference Marvel in the Adventure Journal, and Ann Crispin was allowed to work several Marvel references into her Han Solo books. Also, Crimson Empire and Boba Fett: Twin Engines of Destruction utilize or refer to worlds and characters from the Marvel run. In other words, writers are allowed to consider the Marvel series as part of the continuity... but more of a background continuity than a foreground continuity. I know that sounds a little screwy... and I can foresee some eyebrows raising over this post... but that's how the Marvel series currently stands.

If LF decides to change the continuity you can hardly blame T.Zahn (for example the problem with the Clone-Wars some fifty years ago in the TTT and now still to come in the official timeline after TPM).

And i have no problems with some minor Continuty-Errors as long as the story is good and is as close to the original charakters as possible (something where Zahn is superior to Anderson, Hambley, McIntire and most of the other authors during the Bantam-Era).

 

Genghis,

My whole bone of contention re: Zahn and continuity is that, in the case of the Marvel comics, they were out of print for years, therefore they were not readily accessible to the public. If these comics were still readily available, then I would say that Zahn had no excuse if they weren't incorporated. Also, while the first EU novel from Baantam, HttE takes place five years after Endor; therefore it would make little sense to weigh the books down with irrelevent references to out-of-print comic books. Lastly, since the comics ceased publication several years before HttE was published, LFL certainly could have provided some comics to Zahn and require him to incorporate certain elements. Did they? Not as far as I know.

If you agree RAS nor the editors who he indicated would be making sure everything flowed didn't pay attention to continuity regarding the entire Bantam EU, I will agree with your prespective on Zahn.

 

To answer the question at hand, Yes, Tim Zahn will probably return to SW. Just not as the author of another novel. Im sure we are going to see a short story or 2 in the Star Wars gamer.

I obviously disagree with Geghis on this issue. The reasons why Zahn shouldn't write SW novels are legion and substantial. Just because you may not be able to comprehend them doesn't mean you should ignore them or view them as petty...

I have read all the reasons why his isn't liked and frankly most of them are pathetic. I perfectly well comprehend the arguments but just do not agree with them. They are mostly petty and do not reflect the ability or the quality of Tim Zahn.

Needless to say, we should be able to "agree to disagree" at the least. If not, it shows how mature we really aren't. Every author has points in a book they do not like or could care less for. This isn't always their fault. Sometimes its the editor's, sometimes its because someone has changed information on you. It also could be a lack of information given to the author. Authors are human, ok? Aren't we all?

Star Wars fans are canabalistic (and cant spell normally either) and this proves the point that Bob Salvator has brought up previously.

Let's all grow up. . . .

 

I've read a few of these threads about which authors are liked and not liked and can see that almost every SW author has fans that like and dis-like their SW books. It's a fact. Why do you people have to argue about it? If you don't like an author, then don't read their books. Plain and simple. But don't come in here and belittle them because you happen to dislike their book(s).

Do I like every SW book I've read? No. Do I care if an author of a book that I didn't really particularly like gets to write another one? No. Is it really going to affect my liking SW because I don't like this and that book? Of course not! Oh, and what if one of my favorite characters gets offed in a book? Should I make death threats to the author that happened to write about it? Come on people!!!! Oh, wait...the answer to that last question may not be as obvious to some here as you'd think. The answer is a huge NO!

I'm an original SW fan (meaning I was old enough to see the ANH in the theater on it's first run). I went through those long dry years when we all thought that there would only be 3 movies ever made. And then when the Marvel comics ended that was the last we had seen of SW. But then wait! What light through yonder window breaks?! It came! New SW comics and books! And then, like water through a damn, news of 3 more movies! Yeah, we're feasting now, but when the famine times hit again you'll be crying for any author to write another book or comic just so you can get some more SW! Think about that the next time you feel the need to criticize an author that continues the story we all (well, most of us anyway) love.

 

Skywalker2B...
"Think about that the next time you feel the need to criticize an author that continues the story we all (well, most of us anyway) love."

Exaclty, it is completely insane to argue about subjective "quality" of an author - whether you liked or disliked his work, etc. However, there are objective, quantifiable items regarding the quality of a story as a Star Wars story.

I think too many people like to argue subjectivity instead of objectivity. That's funny, because really, the only viable things we can argue about are the objective ones - did an author make an "error, act unprofessional, act ignorantly or negligently in his writings, etc." instead "I don't like the way he wrote..."

 

I'd like to see Zahn come back, perhaps for one of the late-end NJO books, or perhaps the first book AFTER the NJO series concludes.

I find I have an odd opinion when it comes to Corran Horn -- when Stackpole writes of Corran, he's supposed to be a god we all should worship. When anyone else writes of Corran, he's a decent character. I got a kick out of Corran in 'Rebirth' ("Starboard! Right! Your right hand!" or "Should I have left you two unchaperoned?") and that was only because Stackpole didn't write it.

 

Syntax...
"I find I have an odd opinion when it comes to Corran Horn..."

It's not that odd, I believe. Well, at least it's similar to the same opinion I have of him.

 

Genghis:
Really? Most people I talk to hate Corran as the character he is -- I simply hate how he's portrayed by Stackpole exclusively. I really have no problem with Corran as a character, except for when it's Stackpole writing. I'm glad I'm not alone.

 

You're not alone.

Anyway, Wolverton was also wrong to ignore the Davids' H&L wedding scene.

 

That's funny, because really, the only viable things we can argue about are the objective ones - did an author make an "error, act unprofessional, act ignorantly or negligently in his writings, etc."

Objective: expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations

Unfortunately, the questions that are posed are still subjective.

Subjective: characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of mind

This discussion is based solely on subjective thought. Opinions from different readers. Its my opinion that Tim Zahn is a great author. I wont say that he is the god of the EU - he said he just revived the fan base, not created it. There is no real point to arguing successfully or not to if Tim was professional or not. To do that, he has to be judged by his peers. Other authors.

Yes, we all are entitled to our opinions... but we should agree that other people can feel differently. Im tired of this fight. (Im not saying that Im innocent at all btw...)

But to return to the question at hand. Tim is an author who has made his mark on the EU (good or bad, thats subjective) If the powers that be feel that he can do more, Im sure they will ask. There are though, plenty of excellent authors who deserve the opportunity to do Star Wars. Greg Keyes work is amazing. I would never have found any of his other books if I hadn't read Star Wars. The same goes for Stover, and Cunningham. Those three are excellent and now have me as a fan of their non SW works. Same as Tim Zahn.

 

Lancejade...
"To do that, he has to be judged by his peers. Other authors."

Untrue. In fact, even non-professionals can judge what is or isn't professional conduct. If the question was "what do _____'s peers think of him" then only his peers could logically answer the question. However, professionalism is not an arcane ideal known only to one's peers.

 

Genghis12 is partially correct- Zahn does not have to be judged by other professionals. As long as we're paying for his books, we can complain about or praise his writing. I don't know how to run a nuclear power plant, but if I help pay the safety technician's salary, I expect him to be able to do so.

 

True, Genghis. But outside of that, professionalism become purely subjective. Something that I may find acceptable, you may not.

Dev - as Genghis already said, we aren't judging the quality of his work, we are apparently now judging his professionalism, and his supposed negligence in his writings. Two subjects that I have already discussed in the Why has Zahn fallen out of favore?!

So if we want to continue this, go there. I think all that has been said is in there instead of rehashing old arguments.

 

LanceJade...
"Dev - as Genghis already said, we aren't judging the quality of his work, we are apparently now judging his professionalism, and his supposed negligence in his writings."

Actually, I don't think anyone has been judging anything of the sort. I pointed to examples of objective quality as opposed to subjective quality. We can judge the quality of an author's work (Zahn or other), but for it to be meaningful to anyone, it needs to be objective quality.

To use an example which PoT threw out, someone can say that "Heir to the Empire is crap because Zahn likes yellow shirts and smells funny." However, besides knowing whether or not such accusations are even true (whether he likes yellow shirts, whether he smells funny, or whether HttE is crap because of those), more importantly, it's highly subjective (it sucks because the author likes a certain color shirt or lacks personal hygiene). However, if general standards exist in the writing (professionalism, literary construction, literary effects/tools, etc.) as well as the material (characters, names, places, technology, mystical abstractions, concepts, etc.), then these are things which can be objectively judged. An example, a writer writes that Darth Vader is Talon Karrde's father and R2-D2 is Luke Skywalker's son. These are things that people can qualitatively judge as "being Star Wars or not."

 

...general standards exist in the writing (professionalism, literary construction, literary effects/tools, etc.) as well as the material (characters, names, places, technology, mystical abstractions, concepts, etc.), then these are things which can be objectively judged.

True. But most of those standards are opinion based when it comes to Star Wars. There were few standards formed for Star Wars before Tim Zahn.

• The previous stories (sources) had not clearly defined the GFFA.
• The comic books which came before Heir to the Empire had been largely ignored by the Star Wars community as continuity
• There was no presidence established by the editors that would have guided Zahn to believe that the other works, beyond the RPG and movies, were to be utilized
• Continuity at the time was agree with the movies and agree with what the editors at Bantam and LFL said were doable or not
• And lastly, Zahn himself said that he did not know about the extent the EU had grown since the movies

But once again, that is how my friends and I perceive the situation. Some of its opinion based on the facts that we know. Most of the rest is based off of direct conversation with the author (authors).

An example, a writer writes that Darth Vader is Talon Karrde's father and R2-D2 is Luke Skywalker's son. These are things that people can qualitatively judge as "being Star Wars or not."

I dont think there has been any author of Star Wars that has fallen into this catigory... All of the books, comics, games, coloring book, children's cartoons, ect.. have shined with an influence of Star Wars. Each author has tried to add their vision into the galaxy. The results are not always greatly admirable, but the norm has been a good representation of the fanatasy which Star Wars embodies. Tim Zahn, MAS, Allston, KJA, ect, have all done their best to put Star Wars into a fun enviroment.

 

<<<Anyway, Wolverton was also wrong to ignore the Davids' H&L wedding scene.>>>

I'd have to disagree. I fully respect the GoDV series as that's what truly got me into Star Wars but the series has no place in the continuity. It only causes problems. The Lost City of the Jedi is simply ridiculous. The idea of the rebels returning to Yavin makes very little sense. There's base on Dagobah; Luke has told very few people about Dagobah let alone has he told people where it is. Yavin 4's forests are burned to the ground yet by Jedi Search it's all better. I'm sorry but GoDV has no place in the overall continuity and should be labeled as Infinities. It'd be the first good usage of that label too.

 

Ok, can someone just explain to me why most everyone seems to hate Tim Zahn's Starwars books? Was there stuff drastically wrong with them? Why does it seem that so many people dis-liked his books - enlighten me please Oh, and I never read I, Jedi. Is that where Corran becomes an ass? Because all the other Corran books Iv read, Iv liked and I dont really see him as an ass.

 

On the Zahn thing, go to the link I provided above.

As for the Corran Horn thing, I loved I, Jedi... I thought it did a great job as a first person book. Anyways, I know other people hate it... what ever.

 

Kinda sidetracking here... but what is "GFFA"? I feel pretty stupid asking it, and I'll probably feel even dumber when I find out what it is (probably something obvious, which will spawn comments like "...and you call yourself a Star Wars fan? Bah!").
Thanks.

 

Syntax, I was going to ask the same thing. I have no idea what it means. Don't you hate how so many people use abbrev's? I read some post a wile back where it was like

"AB went to GHJ and killed him with the help of HNB then the HBN came and DJGD'ed the whole thing. Thats when EP and DE and JF came. Remember in DHHHJ when DH stopped by the cantina and made a JSFJ with DAS?"

HUH?!

 

Galaxy Far Far Away

 

I doubt it, even thoguh I'd love to see it happen.

 

GAW, lol, thanks for the info...its so simple yet I had no idea =)