Lit Who is (subjectively) the worst EU author and why?

Ah...the EU. A land filled with expanded tales, mythos and unexplored possibilities. Where characters grow, develop or have continuing adventures...

...if the author doesn't mess up. There have been tons of EU authors over the years, and people have varying opinions on them. Even the most beloved are disliked, and even the most reviled have an appeal to some people. The point is that whether or not Person A is worse than Person B is a matter of opinion. Heck some might say that the author isn't entirely at fault; editorial mandates could come into play too.

So for you, who is the worst EU author and why? Is it the writing style? The inability to utilize characters? The story itself? Etc? And while on the subject, maybe the subjective "best" author of the EU could be discussed as well.

Very belated lock. We don't allow "least favourite" threads in Lit.

Eventually.

 

Probably going to get beat up for this but Timothy Zahn. It is not because he the worst (I like all author equally) but more because do not like the feel of his books. To me most of them do not give me the feel that it is Star Wars but more of something related to it. Also too many pet characters.

 

A mix between Karen Traviss (Yes I went there) and Drew Karpyshyn, not because of the quality or lack thereof in their works, but the fact they decided to trample all over other authors' works.

 

Vonda N. MIntryre and Karen Miller. Though Miller is still decent.

 

Actually, I did like Crystal Star.
It introduces Hethrir as well as Waru.
How can anyone not like Waru?

 

Well those people that it kills.

 

I'm sorry, but I'd say Karen Traviss.

Let's start with Republic Commandos:
- Hard Contact was good even though some of the subplot background of the commandos, in the way it was presented, was a little confusing and distracting from the main plot. But all in all it was good.
- When I read Triple Zero, everything shot down the tubes.....fast. The plot was not exciting, suspenseful, or interesting at all. There was too much "playing house" going on with the characters, and it turned from an epic series of sci fi SF troops on a critical mission in a vast war - to focusing mainly on poorly expressed Mandalorian culture and politics of cloning. I'm all for another book in another series talking about the politics of cloning, the politics of the Clone War, or Mandalorian life. But this was not one of them. I'm fine with background of Mando training for commandos, but that's it. I went into this series expecting Tom Clancy-genre Special Ops books talking about the suspenseful lives and missions of a soldier in a major galactic war, not politics and Mandalorian defection. The RC video game itself was more exciting and engaging than this book and all the others after it, which is saying alot. Flat out, Triple Zero was boring, irritating, and even a little repulsive. All the remaining books, with the exception of part of Imperial Commando 501st, just got worse as each one was written.

Legacy of the Force/Clone Wars/etc:
- Need I say more. Although, like I said before that I don't like the Jedi that much and I like Mandalore, in all of these remaining novels she wrote, her damning of the Jedi/Republic/Alliance and her glorifying Mandalore was just plain obnoxious. The only reason I read her LOTF books was because it was critical to know what was going on in the Rise of Darth Caedus. I read Clone Wars because I was preparing myself for the movie (which didn't turn out great either). Although I understood her frustration about the Pacifist Mandos and continuity issues later in the series, I'm actually glad that she left the franchise.

In a nutshell:
- I regret reading every SW book I have read by Traviss, with the sole exception of "Sacrifice" and "Hard Contact". Her certain personal moral, cultural, and political obsessions that were obviously shown throughout....just plain gave me a headache.

 

Barbara Hambly--Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight. They were slow reads. She describes things in way too much detail to the point that I get bored and have to put the book down. I also don't like her portrayal of Luke Skywalker. He goes from being a pretty good Jedi in The Thrawn Trilogy to super powerful in Dark Empire to losing most of his powers due to a head injury in Children of the Jedi. I can't even remember the plot of Planet of Twilight...it was that memorable. I also didn't like Vonda McIntyre's Crystal Star...but I sort of liked Waru.

 

If you read this book, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

 

I agree that Barbara Hambly is the worse because it drags on. Her plot and characterization is great*. But her writing style is extremely dull. I have a lot of the EU to get through so I really don't like being slowed down. Not looking forward to Planet of Twilight.

*Aside from the fact that her villain thinks the power to 'control droids against their will' is menacing in any way.

 

Because I haven't read them in a while, I can't really say yea or nay for Hambly or McIntyre...though whenever I want to reread books, those are ones I steer away from. My subconscious remembers.

Recently, I can't stand Christine Golden. I feel like she doesn't understand the characters at all. There are maybe 2 or 3 she writes well (like Jaina and maybe Jag) but I remember that even the big 3 were a bit OOC at times.

 

They all have different strengths and weaknesses, its always hard for me to narrow this down based upon the differing criterias.

Matt Stover is clearly a gifted writer, but what characters has he created that have really taken on a life of their own? Nick Rostu got picked up by Reaves for a story but past that I don't know that any other author has touched his characters.

KJA is not so gifted of a writer when compared to Stover, yet he is a tremendous idea guy and many of the characters he created had amazing staying power and relevence in the Star Wars Universe. I mean Kyp Durron is still beloved by many and Daala, though gone for a while, certainly has been front and center of late.

Karen Traviss has a lot of themes in her books that run kinda counter to the commonly accepted truths of the Star Wars universe. But then thats what I liked about them.

Zahn has created several of the most iconic characters Star Wars has seen, including Lucas's own creations. That said, a little like Karen Traviss, he didn't play well in a shared universe.

I've never liked Aaron Allston's writing in general, but he does humor very well. Troy Denning I do like but he gets carried away with the darker descriptions and graphic violence far too often.

 

This. Though I enjoyed the first two books of Republic Commando series before it all went down the tubes. And my all-time most hated thing that she did was try to turn the most hard-bitten, ruthless, and angry bounty hunter in the world into a sappy old man that just wants to be accepted by his people. She killed Boba Fett as we know him.

 

Ignoring the one-hit wonders.

The only ones that I haven't liked are:
- Kevin J Anderson (ridiculously childish, not my cup of tea)
- Christie Golden (lots of errors, simplistic plot, bad writing in genreal)
- Karen Miller (like Christie Golden but not as bad)
- Karen Traviss (excellent writing, but ridiculous political "opinions" and nonsensical logic, and boring books with little-to-no action and just mandalorians marrying whatever women happen to be hanging around)

I would say Kevin J but the reason I don't like him is just because I'm not a child, so I think I'll go with Christie Golden as the worst adult Star Wars Author for me.

why is that?
Personally I don't mind it at all. If anything I like it.

 

Heh, whoops. I actually was going to originally put it in Lit, but I wasn't too sure at first.
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I haven't read enough of the EU to fully comment on authors, but while I don't think Zhan is bad, I do think he's a little overblown. I personally tried reading Heir to the Empire...really couldn't get into it. As for the subject of "pet characters", I'm inclined to agree that they often are a point of confusion, especially if it's in a series where multiple authors need to pass the baton around.

 

That's true. Zahn definitely makes his characters Mara/Thrawn/Kardde out to be way too good. Mara in Allegiance/Choices was unbearable.

But I don't mind it with Allston (Wedge, Horns, Seha etc) and Denning (Saba, Alema) because they just use the characters a lot rather than making them overpowered.

 

Zahn didn't write those books, so I don't understand why you're blaming him for that?

Anyway, the answer to this question is and always will be Troy Denning, because he destroys things instead of creating them.