What is your opinion on the EU?

Personally, I like the EU after the OT better. I have 45+ Novels, and maybe one that is PT Era. But, now that the Clones are here, my interest in the books during PT Era is rising, seeing as how Jango is my second favorite character and he is the source for the Clones. I just don't like Pre Episode I and Pre Episode II.

 

i personaly like EU

all you have to do is remember that its just ment for fun! books involving star wars characters are great because they give you more of what you love. just look at them as fun and not as contridictions to the movies we love so much!!!

 

EU = My literay Escape/Bliss.

The new Prequel EU that's coming out is extremely good. The best so far being Shadow Hunter (PURE escapist) and Cloak of Deception, which I've read three times.

Also, I think the idea of the Empire just falling over and dying is extremely unrealistic.

 

I liked Brian Daley's Han Solo trilogy and the ANH and ROTJ novelizations. Other than that, I can't say I've found much in the EU I liked.

I generally turn to fanfic to deal with between-movie Star Wars cravings. Admittedly the quality is extremely variable, and you need to be willing to "dig" to find good stuff. However, most fanfic is shorter than the pro novels, so even in a worst case scenario there's less dreck to wade through. Fanfic is also free, and authors can explore and develop characters without running into Lucasfilm taboos or shared-universe turf wars.

::shrugs:: YMMV

 

well im a class 3 fan (movies + EU)
tho i seperate them ( EU = Paralel Universe)

and imo they r not bad , except NJO (new Jedi Order) series

at the moment im reading "Cloak of Deception"
and it is actually 1 of the best EU books to me.

 

EU leads to the darkside it does....


Seriously the UE is trash, the movies are way better. After the first novels my Zahn the books just got way out of hand. I found myself not really caring about han and leighs kids, etc etc.

Watch the movies and if you absolutely need to read the novelisations of the movies. They are somewhat cannon.

 

I'm with you Groovy... to a point.

EU was great to fill in the holes during the wait for the Prequels, but I'm still not happy with the stories. There are CONCEPTS or characters in the EU I really like, but the stories do lack in some respects, and this is not the fault of the writers. It's Lucas and his limitation of the character's development.

I like Grand Admiral Thrawn, but not the story. His brilliance is something which made it challenging for the characters.

I like the 'darkness' of Dark Empire, but again, the story was over the top, trying to out-do the Holy Trilogy. This is verbotten!

I like Mara Jade, but I did not care how Zahn tried to wrap her into the story. It diminishes Luke and the characters. They were the exceptional people in this little universe, not her.

Boba Fett should've lived. How much better would've ROTJ been if he had crawled his way out of the Sarlacc and continue hunting the characters down! This would've added so much more tension to ROTJ. And, his character is summarily thrown away, especially since it has been expanded in the Prequels. Oh well. 20/20 hindsight, right?

So, Can I be #1 with a dash of #3?

 

I agree that some EU is over the top but a lot of it (for me) has added new levels the the universe since the OT wasn't totally wrapped up. Like how a galaxy full of Imperials you be instantly gone just because an other Death Star blew up. The war was hardly over...

 

I like the movies,
I like the books,
I like the toys,
I like Star Wars,

The EU is cool. It would be a shame to have Star Wars end at Episode Six. Such a big galaxy, so many stories, so many possibilities.

 

Why bother when I have everything I could want in the movies and (select) fanfiction?

The EU just never has sat well with me. I can't see any of it happening in the movie universe, so it automatically nullifies its relativity in my mind. Fanfiction is a different case, since some writers are very talented in being able to capture perfectly the feel of the films.

 

My view on this issue is that I'd rather have the good and the bad (and there really are some stinkers ) Star Wars novels, games, comics, etc. than to not have them at all.

I also enjoy reading good (though I have met some really bad) Star Wars fanfiction.

 

I think the EU is an interesting speculation on what might have happened after ROTJ, before TPM, and in between the various movies, but it is not, nor will it ever be, the real story. Lucas called it a "parallel universe," and said it existed outside his own. That's pretty much how I feel toward the EU.

I've read a few EU stories I like. But most of the rest of it is crap, written by arrogant authors looking to put their stamp on SW (without really understanding what SW is about -- to them it's just another sci fi series, when it is so much more than that) or else to feed their own egos by re-writing the movies and warping the characters.

I personally prefer fanfic. I don't consider it the real story, of course, but the best fanfic is written by people who have a genuine love for the saga, and aren't just trying to get a paycheck or get published.

 

And if you must hate it, be nice and don't bash it. Some of us happen to love it.

And some of us happen to love the Prequel Trilogy, but that doesn't stop people from coming in and viciously bashing it.

I fail to see how someone who doesn't buy the EU after Episode III is not a true fan, because they don't want to see what happens after the movies. Maybe those people do want to see what happens after the movies; they just don't care for the version the EU presents. So they stick to fanfic, written either by themselves or by others. Or they just watch the movies and speculate online.

 

Shelley- How can you know what an author's motive is when they are writing a Star Wars book? ?

 

arrogant authors looking to put their stamp on SW

i have always known you to be opinionated but do you really have to bash someone you dont know? i mean its real easy to slander someone when they are not around.

But i enjoy reading, and most EU i know is worth reading, wheather you think its continuality or not they are still good stories. but then there are some that are crap, and many people would argee with me that the Crystal Star is pry one of the worst ones out there.

keep bashing plz, and let someone lock this

 

My opinion on the EU is as followed:

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I think it's great.

Though I would think that EU-bashing and even Prequel bashing would be a given on an Internet message board (which is a shame). It really sucks because I love the prequels so far and I don't like to see people bash them. But after seeing so many people bash the Expanded Universe, you sort of get used to it.

I think anyone who likes Star Wars in any of its mediums should be categorized as a fan. None of this "true" fan/"quasi" fan crap.

 

I happen to know that the authors that write the EU are selected. They have to be established writers and be accredited/published with Del Rey (NOW) or Bantam (in the years past). I don't think ANY of the authors are arrogant.


Some of the EU wasn't tasteful, but I enjoy having something to read. I can't haul a television and VCR on vacation! So, I grab a star wars book to read.


I love the EU.

 

Shelley, if your so opinionated on PT bashing, why not do something about it and make a PTDF? Actually do something besides complain.

Prequel Trilogy Defense Force.

Have it be the EUDF exept with a PT focus.

My take on the EU: I read it before I knew it was considered EU, so to me it is and alway has been part of the story. A simple continuation of the movies to form one grand tale. I don't even call it the EU to be frank, it's all just Star Wars

 

The EU is fun. A lot of what I have bought (games, comics, novels) has been very cool. I've bought a few stinkers as well, but ya get that with SW.

Personally I find the siege mentalities adopted by some fans, dividing themselves up into pro-EU and anti-EU groups, to be quite juvenile. When did SW become so serious to people? At least with this fan it's still fun.

R.

Edit: I don't even call it the EU to be frank, it's all just Star Wars

Good call.

 

Exactly. Star Wars is Star Wars.

I think some fans can be quite arrogant at times, as to what is "true Star Wars." It's called the "No True Scotsman" fallacy.

 

without really understanding what SW is about

But what is SW all about? Forgiveness? We see that in how Kyp was forgiven. Compassion? Happens all the time. Redemption? Again, the EU is full of this.

but the best fanfic is written by people who have a genuine love for the saga, and aren't just trying to get a paycheck or get published.

But people like Matt Stover, Aaron Allston, etc. have all said that they are huge SW fans, and genuinely love it.

And some of us happen to love the Prequel Trilogy, but that doesn't stop people from coming in and viciously bashing it.

But why take what some people do out on us? I haven't trashed the PT, and I never will.

My take on the EU: I read it before I knew it was considered EU, so to me it is and alway has been part of the story. A simple continuation of the movies to form one grand tale. I don't even call it the EU to be frank, it's all just Star Wars

I concur. The SW books are what turned me on to the movies. The first time I ever heard of any division is when I came here.

 

I admit I was actually into the EU for ahwile, I loved SW so why not, the Thrawn Trilogy was pretty cool, anyways sometime later I heard they were shaking things up and starting a ongoing series called the New Jedi Order and I also heard they were killing off Chewbacca. Well that was pretty much my wake up call, I love SW and SW to me is GL only, the EU is not SW.

 

i have always known you to be opinionated but do you really have to bash someone you dont know? i mean its real easy to slander someone when they are not around.

I am basing my opinion on interviews with EU authors and what they write in their books.

 

don't even call it the EU to be frank, it's all just Star Wars

It isn't to me. The EU just has the SW logo on it; it isn't SW.

But what is SW all about? Forgiveness? We see that in how Kyp was forgiven. Compassion? Happens all the time. Redemption? Again, the EU is full of this.

SW is about forgiveness, not instant and undeserved exaltation. And SW is about compassion, which is why a character such as Mara Jade will never be part of SW.

But people like Matt Stover, Aaron Allston, etc. have all said that they are huge SW fans, and genuinely love it.

So why did Stover disrespect the very important theme of the Dark Side of the Force?

I think Allston genuinely loves SW; his books number among the EU stories I actually like.

But why take what some people do out on us? I haven't trashed the PT, and I never will.

I am not taking it out on anyone. This thread asks for opinions about the EU. I am giving my opinion.

I concur. The SW books are what turned me on to the movies. The first time I ever heard of any division is when I came here.

When Zahn's books first came out, I was overjoyed; I had been dying to see what happened to my favorite SW characters. I found his books enormously unsatisfying, but still, it was better than nothing.

Now I see how Zahn started a whole bunch of trends, none of them good, with his books. I believe that at the time they first came out, there was a disclaimer on the dust jacket that it was speculative fiction, not a genuine continuation of SW. That is how I regard the EU.

 

I started out reading Timothy Zahn's series out of curiosity, and really enjoyed it. He seemed to stay true to the characters, and I thought Thrawn was really cool. Then I read Jedi Search, which was mediocre at best. Since then everything else has been pretty much garbage I thought. They killed of Chewie, brought the Emperor back twice, the Solo kids saving the galaxy, and Luke marrying his Force-using asassin. Not to mention a Death Star prototype that no one except Tarkin knew of, Super Star Destroyers with superlasers, and a festering third rate Empire that refuses to go away. The EU has taken Star Wars to very odd and unoriginal places.