Zahn and the NJO

The thing about the chiss though is their Zahns project per say. I think since little info was given he may want to finish what he started in VoTF.

 

Mira...
"Zahn is the only other, aside from stackpole, who's writing flows with what the flanaled one has deemed to be. zahn doesn't slaughter the continuity, everyone else does."

Both points are very wrong factually.

1. Zahn all but admitted his idea of Star Wars was wrong once TPM was released. He staked his entire belief of the Force on the idea that Jedi wouldn't have super-powers like running fast or super-jumping long distances. Of course both items were seen in TPM. Zahn was proven his views on Star Wars are about as far from the flanneled one as they can possibly be. Even the Davids have a closer concept of what Star Wars is about than Zahn does.

2. Zahn began the continuity hack ups. He in fact refused to work within the existing Star Wars continuity. And his tirades about Mara Jade created kriffed up continuity for her character between TLC and HoT. He was also a hypocrite with respect to continuity, calling it important to follow yet refusing to follow it.

He still recently berated a whole bunch of quality Star Wars authors with respect to the whole "Emperor's Hand / Emperor Hands" issue.

His return would be highly destructive to the EU.

 

no, i haven't read star by star, so that's why my perspective is different, but still, i think your judging Zahn too harshly.

 

Genghis only likes Marvel.

 

where can i get interviews and these critisms that Zahn is said to have made?

 

chissdude...what're you talking about?

 

Zahn contradicted himself on mara jade sying he never intended her to be with Luke, only friends, and then saying e always intended her to be with Luke but that other authors messed that up.

 

where and when, that's all i'm asking. i've read maybe two interviews with Zahn and the one in Star Wars Insider didn't make him seem so hypocritical.

 

One of the interviews with zahn ridiculed other's ideas and not wanting to touch them was in Adventure Journal #1.

That same article talked about zahn's previous ideas. Clone of obi wan, and noghri being aliens known as sith.

 

Well Mastage, mainly I tried to say no other author of a novel has hit on the chiss like Zahn. In my opinion he owns them and has a job for them.

 

Reaper, I just gotta point out that it ain't fair to judge original ideas like that. Unless you wanna start with all of Lucas's original plans that didn't go into the SW movies. Deak Starkiller.....etc......

No first draft is going to be stellar. You have to think of bad things in order to think of better things. So Zahn isn't flawless and can create stupid ideas, too....everyone does that. No biggie.

 

no other author of a novel has hit on the chiss like Zahn

I guessed he liked CHiss, didn't know he liked them that much

 

Zahn hitting the CHiss right?

the only CHiss Zahn really ever wrote about was Thrawn, and he was an anomoly.

 

Thrawn wasn't half the man that spiker was, .

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... I'm back. And what better way to make a comeback than by defending the man who saved Star Wars ... yes, that's right; Timothy Zahn Saved Star Wars!!! Who wrote the novel trilogy that rekindled interest in Star Wars? Timothy Zahn! Who took a vague background and wrote a story that seemed consistent with available "official" Lucas story? Timothy Zahn! Who ran his ideas by the Flanneled One before the book went to print (because that is what is required of all authors, specifically the first guy to write a book about Star Wars since ROTJ), and had his ideas ok-ed to go? Timothy Zahn!

Yes, Mr. Zahn, the winner of the prestigous Hugo Award for science fiction (because he's just that good), did everything he could to make sure that his story would not conflict with Mr. Lucas' set vision. The background info on clones, the fall of the Old Republic, and the rise of the Empire, was all based on information Lucas gave him, with the necessary writer's personal touch. There is no way to write a novel without that kind of information, and if Lucas actually DID have a story set, he could have given Zahn more specific areas not to mention, or better information with which to write his story. Oh yeah, and I don't buy into the whole "George was just waiting for the right technology to do the prequels" BS ... if he was planning on doing the prequels after ROTJ, he had 15 years to write a good script - we got THE PHANTOM MENACE!!!!! We got JAR-JAR BINKS!!!!! Tell me that he didn't write that story in FIVE MINUTES!!!!! BS, it's total BS!!!! Zahn is an amazing writer and a wonderfully creative mind - Lucas is a profiteer ... and I wanna be just like him when I take over the movie industry! Except for the whole "profiteer" part ... if I were him, I wouldn't sacrifice story for SFX ... which is just what he's doing. It's about time he stopped trying to impress himself, and started appealing to people who have to watch the film. At some point, I don't wanna feel like I'm caught in a cartoon - I want to watch a seriously good story about a hero who falls from grace and becomes a man of unspeakable evil.

At least, in that respect, Zahn left Lucas' story alone ... he didn't touch Vader's evil beginnings. He also only handled the technical aspect of cloning, solving a problem that I'm sure the Flanneled One will create some stupid background for anyway (i.e., "We found the DNA in a mysquito caught in amber and it turned out they were amazingly inaccurate soldiers. They were perfect cannon fodder, and therefore we made millions of them. Somehow, none of them can hit a single person despite overwhelming numbers in support of the white-clad goons.")

 

the first guy to write a book about Star Wars since ROTJ),

L. Neil Smith anyone? I'll read and respond to the rest of your post now.

 

those Lando novels are awesome too.

 

werent Brian Daley and Troy Denning before too?

 

Oh, and let's not forget the WEG rpg which was keeping star wars populer before zahn stepped in.

 

Children's books ... they don't count. No, first true novel (no-picture book), was Zahn's "Heir to the Empire."

 

saved Star Wars ... yes, that's right; Timothy Zahn Saved Star Wars!!! Who wrote the novel trilogy that rekindled interest in Star Wars? Timothy Zahn!

He rekindled interest in many ways; he didn't "save" Star Wars. He was the first to write EU novels for a long time (unless you count Troy Denning).

Who took a vague background and wrote a story that seemed consistent with available "official" Lucas story?

And ripped off many elements of existing EU while ignoring others?

Who ran his ideas by the Flanneled One before the book went to print (because that is what is required of all authors, specifically the first guy to write a book about Star Wars since ROTJ), and had his ideas ok-ed to go?

Yes, all authors' ideas are in some measure run before Lucas or something, Zahn's nothing special in that regard. But many of his idead weren't okayed, you may recall.

Yes, Mr. Zahn, the winner of the prestigous Hugo Award for science fiction (because he's just that good),

Yes, he is a good author.

did everything he could to make sure that his story would not conflict with Mr. Lucas' set vision. The background info on clones, the fall of the Old Republic, and the rise of the Empire, was all based on information Lucas gave him, with the necessary writer's personal touch.

Okay, so he didn't contradict the films. Big whoop.

Oh yeah, and I don't buy into the whole "George was just waiting for the right technology to do the prequels"

He had the general idea for the story the whole time, but he didn't write the script until he was doing the film. It would've been horribly dated, otherwise. And how could he have predicted where technology would've gone 15 years ago? In any event, this argument has nothing to do with Zahn and the clone wars dating.

Tell me that he didn't write that story in FIVE MINUTES!!!!!

Very well, he didn't write that story in FIVE MINUTES.

Zahn is an amazing writer and a wonderfully creative mind

Zahn is a very good writer. His old sci-fi and his Conqueror's trilogy were wonderful, even if Icarus Hunt sucked. He's just not a good team player, which is a required element when you've got to share the board with a bunch of other creators.

Lucas is a profiteer ... and I wanna be just like him when I take over the movie industry!

Moving on...

if I were him, I wouldn't sacrifice story for SFX ... which is just what he's doing.

You digress.

It's about time he stopped trying to impress himself, and started appealing to people who have to watch the film. At some point, I don't wanna feel like I'm caught in a cartoon - I want to watch a seriously good story about a hero who falls from grace and becomes a man of unspeakable evil.

Good thing Attack of the Clones is coming. No one's forcing you to watch it.

At least, in that respect, Zahn left Lucas' story alone ... he didn't touch Vader's evil beginnings. He also only handled the technical aspect of cloning, solving a problem that I'm sure the Flanneled One will create some stupid background for anyway (i.e., "We found the DNA in a mysquito caught in amber and it turned out they were amazingly inaccurate soldiers. They were perfect cannon fodder, and therefore we made millions of them. Somehow, none of them can hit a single person despite overwhelming numbers in support of the white-clad goons.")

OK, so you can see the future, right. Lucas isn't going to provide a treatise on how to clone soldiers and how its possible -- SW is at least as much a fantasy as sci-fi, and the movies, although set against the background of huge and terrible wars, focus on the action of small groups of heroes. And if you're so against the films, what possessed you to read the books, anyway?

 

All the del rey novels that came before zahn, or the weg books are not children's novels. I don't even know where you got that idea.

 

_Tenel_

As far as Zahn interviews go, go check out the thread, "Why Has Zahn Fallen Out of Favour!?!" which just got upped. Deep in the bowels of that thing are Zahn interviews galore - and unfortunately, the vast majority don't paint a pretty picture of him with respect to Star Wars outside of his own beliefs.

When I can, I'll try and dig there too and reproduce some relevent comments by him here (since that other thread is a 437 post monster).

 

Well, even though Mr. Zah nhas his flaws, he is still my second-favorite author.

Micheal A. Stackpole, beginner of the X-Wing series and writer of my favorite NJO books, is still #1 to me.

 

Zahn, no matter how much you dislike him, writes the best intertwined plots in the EU. Plotwise - he is the best SW author ever. I agree that his characters get a bit stale, but he's good at coming up with new ones as well.

All in all, I think Zahn would make a great NJO author, especially because he would have to work within the guidelines that have been established. His style is sorely missed in the NJO.