to Zahn or not to Zahn how do you feel about his books.

So long as we are talking of the books rather than the man, I?d rate Zahn?s work as:

TTT: Very good, created my favourite SW villain after the Emperor and Vader. Unfortunately also inflicted Mara Jade on SW, but who I had some sympathy for in the last book. Successfully inserted notions of politics, economics and other forms of warfare beyond the military into SW. Others may have built upon that and done it better, but Zahn inserted the elements for use into SW.

HOT: Very good but a few troubling aspects: Focused on Mara Jade, her lecture to Luke and her apparent absolution. On the plus side, it resolved several mysteries of the Bantam arc but also seemed dismissive of other works such as BFC where Luke realised the flaw of trying to save everyone, which was ignored by VOTF. The best elements of the story are comments and the portrayal of the NR politics, as in a pre-TPM SW world, as was the case in 1997, it was possible to work out the rough outline of why and how the Old Republic fell to the Empire, as the same problems threatened to destroy the New Republic. The comments about the Empire having to expend resources on keeping local disputes under control and the Civil War being a limited affair made it possible to extrapolate the demise of the Old Republic.

Zahn?s work is second best in my EU ranking, XW 1-4 is 3rd with Dark Empire in first, as that was the story that got me into SW EU way back in 1992.

Like it or not though, the conduct of an author can have an effect on how people perceive their work; in Zahn?s case this is most definitely true. But that?s an issue for a thread talking about the man, as opposed to his work.

Jedi Ben

 

TIMOTHY ZAHN MAKES THE BEST SW CHARACTERS!

NO HE DOESN'T

 

How do I feel about Zimothy Zhan's books? I like 'em, I like 'em a lot! They get me all excited and I start jumping on the bed (makes it INCREDIBLY hard to read, though)then I start makeing funny faces in the mirror and call my older brother girly names! He usually laughs and then we roast smores over an open fire... boy is Zhan good!

 

TIMOTHY ZAHN MAKES THE BEST SW CHARACTERS!

No character, and I mean NO character can beat those delightful Barabel Jedi in Star by Star

 

I notice that Zahn-antagonists have been gaining ground on the boards for the past few months. I think it would be great if Mr. Zahn would appear on the boards personally and defend himself.

I would be there to cheer him on!

 

I notice that Zahn-antagonists have been gaining ground on the boards for the past few months. I think it would be great if Mr. Zahn would appear on the boards personally and defend himself.

However I would like to point out that the so-called 'Zahn antagonists' are a lot better mannered and do not send death threats to authors, like those sent to RASalvatore. Or people with an agenda to screw him on the boards directly. My only fear is that Troy Denning doesn't have to go through the same thing Salvatore did.

If Mr. Zahn were to put in an appearance and willing to answer questions, then you can bet that myself and a couple of others would have some questions for him. However, they would be cordial and respectful.

 

I tend to have little problems with most SW novels so I really can't be said to be pro or anti most of the authors. I am certainly anti-McDowell as I can't stand what he did to Star Wars in the first two BFC novels. And I hate the Queen Amidala Journal even worst than those two books, though I think the same author wrote the Darth Maul Journal which is entertaining.

But I don't think Zahn is the best Star Wars author. Decent, sure. But not the best.



Hey, anyone else want to ask Mr. Denning about some of those Barbel jokes. I'd really like to know why the Barbels find them so funny, maybe I would too. Definately thought the one early in DJ was cute.

 

thats a great idea Keir_Nimmion he should do that.

 

I'm new here but I just thought I'd chime in since I'm about 2/3 through Heir to the Empire right now...So far I likey, although as someone pointed out earlier in this thread, there's way too much plotting and counter-plotting and clever maneuvering and second guessing etc. etc. ad nauseum. Boo! We want adventure and excitement not boring tactical strategy discussions, but aside from that it's keeping me involved.

All the characterization seems good to me EXCEPT Luke and Admiral Ackbar (what's up with him in this book anyway?). Luke's just wierd and stupid.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Dark Force Rising.

 

Jedi Ben...
"Others may have built upon that and done it better, but Zahn inserted the elements for use into SW."

I have to respectfully disagree here. Marvel Comics inserted the elements for use into SW. The clear "father of SW politics" dates back much earlier than Zahn to Marvel's Star Wars #48, "The Third Law."

Princess Leia and Darth Vader combat via politics and diplomacy for the sake of major X-Wing funding. Nothing can beat the barbs traded back and forth by Leia and Vader - as good as gold. Marvel did it first and as good as the best long before Zahn.

 

I agree, Zahn is not some sort of SW writing god. It's truly impossible to please everyone of course. However, if I were to accept him as "bad" or "poor" that greatly reduces all other star wars authors in my view to talentless fops getting off over getting to say, "A long time ago...." at the start of their stories and then letting loose without checking themselves at all. I would also have to put Stackpole, Allston and Crispin into the "bad" or "poor" category if that's where Zahn goes.
But once again, that reduces everyone else that has written Star Wars to little more than a band of simpering monkeys who stumbled across a word processor.
To distill my statement down even further. You don't like Zahn? Fine. But you can't convince me that ANY other SW author is ANY better than him. And this collective NJO effort....HA!
hahahhaaa!
Don't get me started on that poor excuse for a sewage treatment facility.

 

And also, the comics bring with them their own problems. Some continuity was missed, like Mazzic, Noghri heights, etc. I particularly didn't like their version of what vornskyrs looked like. However, I have to give DHC credit in knowing what a Bothan looks like instead of missing it like the cover of SotP did.

It wasn't just the Noghri heights; they looked totally different from WEG's Noghri. And Bothans...where do I begin? Thanks to the comics, the llama Bothan has become the mainstay, while the ape-Bothan of the WEG days is slowly being erased from memory. Whole characters ( Mara, Karrde, as you mention, Mazzic ), planets and starship designs in the original sourcebooks were completely thrown out for the comic designs. Only a handful of things stayed the same, such as Lando's Lady Luck. ( Also, Mara and Karrde had minor changes. Hairstyles, length and clothing. )

Well, despite the danger of having large objects hurled in my general direction, I shall stand up tall (as tall as a 4'10" girl can possibly stand) and state my undying support for Zahn. I am a huge fan! He is not only my fave SW author, but my fave author in general.

Don't worry, Celina_Marniss. There's plenty of Zahn-ites here. I ran a poll last fall here in Lit, and roughly 70% of everyone thought his SW books were great. Genghis, Kier and others are completely validated in their thoughts, but it doesn't stop me from enjoying his books one bit.

One must also remember that many of us are biased. Usually, the first few stories you read after becoming a big Star Wars fan will be your favorites. This is likely why Genghis is such a huge fan of the Marvel comics and the early ( and later ) WEG books. Others of us started with the JAT, YJKs, or Shadows of the Empire. I've heard people proclaim all of these as their absolute favorites at one point or another, And then there's the ones have have come onboard just snce the start of the Prequel Trilogy, with their favorites being the Jedi Apprentice series, DM-SH or Cloak of Deception.

I myself started with the OT paperback, TTT and a handful of WEG books and Classic Star Wars. Out of those, Zahn's books remain my favorites. What do I not really care for? The writing styles of Ann Crispin and Stackpole. I'm one of the handful of fans who think that the X-wing novels and comics were a little overrated. And on the other side of the coin, I actually enjoyed ( to various degrees ) the BHWs and the BFC, quite a bit.

I can say that, overall, I have liked every SW story, game or comic I have read. Some more than others.

Actually, all that plot, counter-plot, counter-counter-plot stuff makes me want to jump up and down with joy. I guess I was brainwashed by Sun-Tzu's Art of War mantra that war is all about cunning traps.

I liked it as well. And I never really thought it was overdone or unrealistic. I mean, hey, it's the Star Wars universe.

 

Darkstryder was the one of the best in my mind. I just skimmed through iit again after I saw your comment... wow.

What is this "Dark Stryder" that you speak of? This wouldn't happen to be the story where Aragorn turns to the darkside would it? No, but really, what is it? I'm surprised I've never even heard of a story that is supposedly quitessential SW EU. Was it originally published in an SW-AJ?

 

DarkStryder is an original RPG campaign published by WEG. It starts as a box set, and has many supplying materials. That's all I know about it

 

Thank you ForceAlly. And might I add that the force is indeed strong with you. More to say have you? (Meaning all of the silent people out there who for some reason have cats dangling from their tongues)

 

You know, I think there was a Darkstryder thread from about 1 to 2 weeks ago where Kier copied all of the relevent parts from the Darkstryder summary at Timetales.

I looked for it, but didn't seem to find it. I could've sworn it was dated between 2/6 and 2/18.

You can simply go to Timetales and get a really good summary of the events.

 

Fair enough, thanks once again for enlightening a fellow GFFAer, Genghis.

 

Perhaps if you ask Kier nicely, he can track it down easier than we can, since he did it before recently. Unless I was just being delusional when I saw the thread - which is entirely possible.

 

Well, if it weren't for Zahn, you wouldn't be reading this entry. Heir to the Empire practically made me the fan I am today. I greatly enjoyed his SW books, possibly because his writing style is to my liking. When I grow up, I want to be as good a writer like him

(Of course, this can never happen, primarily because I already am grown up.)

"Jste koubrah- voják ze sveta Aventine a kdyby vás zabili, budete bojovat tak dlouho, dokud by vsichni na palube nebyli mrtví."

 

For those too lazy, the DarkStryder supplements are as follows :

The DarkStryder Campaign ( boxed set ) - WEG - 0-87431-254-X
The Kathol Outback - WEG - 0-87431-270-1
The Kathol Rift - WEG - 0-87431-273-6
Endgame - WEG - 0-87431-287-6

An intro short story to the character of Loh'khar the Finder can be found in Adventure Journal # 6.

 

I so wish that it was Zahn who scripted entirety of the NJO instead of LFL and DelRey.

But you can't have everything, so I would love to them extend the NJO three books and let Zahn finish the series in a triology tying some of the loose ends back together.

 

I so wish that it was Zahn who scripted entirety of the NJO instead of LFL and DelRey.

Please. I'd like Genghis to continually post here. His opinions and ideas are very valued. Let's not make him die of a heart attack, mmkay?

 

lol Sturm!

Hey, you like Genghis and I got to admit, the guy can make a good point. But when it comes to Zahn I stand my ground

 

GrandAdmPellaeon - we both know though, that TZ did TRY to completely script the NJO with Stackpole.... soooooo......

 

LOL Lancejade. I can picture the conversation. Imagine a dark night where Zahn and MAS have met on a balcony of Zahn's luxury suite, overlooking the city:

Zahn: My dark apprentice. I choose not to work with Del Rey. //rubs hands together Therefore, it is up to you to make sure our plans come to fruition. You have an entire Dark Tide trilogy to make sure Luke and the Force are remade in our image. But, be forewarned my apprentice. There are forces who would like to reduce this trilogy to a duology, giving you less room to work with.

MAS: I understand, master. It is time for us to reveal ourselves. It is time we had our revenge. //straps writing instruments to belt