A&A The Official Jason Fry Discussion Thread

I agree with Chris Stuckman that the whole "Journey To" thing has been a mistake.

 

Well, not that many of the "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens" actually felt like they lead to the movie. Most of them seemed more focused on the original era, with a few token Easter eggs. The two books that actually set up the movie in a meaningful way -- Before the Awakening and Rey's Survival Guide -- weren't even included in the project. The "Phantom Limb" comic that was supposed to be a part of the series got delayed so long that it was released without the series header.

On top of that, and this's purely subjective, I don't think that they original "Journey to..." series had that many great installments. Lost Stars was the big standout.

The YouTube reviewer guy? Where'd he say that?

Now, I like the idea of it in concept, and, while I may be a little hard on the original "Journey to..." series, it was still fun. I'd like to see Last Jedi do it again, but have more stuff that actually bridges the movies together and introduces stuff, like how Catalyst set the stage for Rogue One.

 

It is not -- brand-new book written by someone else.

I don't have a book in the "Journey to Ep 8" series. But am really excited about a number of the titles. Claudia Gray writing Young Leia? Delilah Dawson writing Phasma? Sign me up! And that's just the beginning.....

 

Howdy! I'm going to a Star Wars party this Friday at Short Stories in Madison, N.J. -- and you're invited. Come say hi! Details here.

 

People wanted it to give away all the big surprises of the movie instead of beginning the journey from VI to VII by seeding and setting the stage with characters (The Bey-Damerons, Snap Wexley, Jess Pava, Emmatt)/concepts (Luke's fascination with seeking Jedi knowledge and artifacts, the mystery and mythic status of Luke, cults fascinated with relics of Darth Vader, the New Republic, mysterious Dark Side stuff from the Unknown Regions, The Resistence, General Organa)/locations(Jakku, D'Qar)/aliens (Abednedo, etc) and other themes.

In short, those who were disappointed in the branding didn't really want to begin the Journey To The Force Awakens, they wanted to be told what the story would be IN The Force Awakens.

 

Its kind of hard to give away the surprises of a film that is that bad. All of these characters are just replacements for characters that actually mean something to me. Not a new idea, though it is a new idea for Luke to do nothing with the knowledge or to apparently not find anything. What mystery and myth of Luke, I saw a broken man who failed miserably. What New Republic, I saw a bunch of naïve idealists who didn't deserve the name. If the New Republic was actually worthy of the name, then there should be no need for the Resistance or General Organa. There is nothing special in a Tatooine remake and a Yavin 4 remake.

 

Perhaps this isn't the best thread for this well-worn discussion?

 

My kids love their Star Wars. That's damn special and meaningful enough for me.

And that's all I'll say on that in this thread.

 

So everybody must have the same opinion as your kids?

 

As Jason said, this is not the thread for this. So cut it.

 

EDIT: Not worth it.

 

Yub nub, freedom fighters! Will be at the East Brunswick, N.J., library this Saturday the 13th with two Star Wars talks -- one for kids and one for adults -- and books to sell/get signed. If you're in the area, come say hi! Details here.

 

You need to come to the UK Jason to do a book signing session at our bookshops!! albeit I would come with an armful of books for signature!

 

Jason was in the UK for Celebration last year - I met him there. What bookshop do you work for?

 

I was gutted I couldn't go to Celebration - the timing was all wrong for me. I don't work for a bookshop! I used the term "our" in a national way as opposed to any actual affiliation!

 

Ah - I thought maybe you worked for Smiths or Waterstones. My mistake!

 

Would love to get back to the UK -- so much I want to see and do over there.

Hey, maybe some nice con organizers will make it happen one day....

 

Mr. Fry,

I noticed on this official article of upcoming Star Wars books, you're writing a Last Jedi tie-in book besides the Rebel Files gift pack, but the place holder cover image doesn't list the exact title or what the book is (it's the last one on the list, after Michael Kogge's junior novelization of the film). Are you at liberty to say what this second book is and when we should be looking for it in stores?

 

TLJ novel and bomber command book?! Another busy time for you.

Obviously you are right lipped on the novel, but can you give us an info on bomber command? Is it in the same guise as Rey's survival guide or a mini cross section book?

 

Atlas question, Jason. The book mentions and describes a species called the "Nartians," for, I believe, the first time in the franchise. My question is, are these supposed to be the little four-armed, stalk-eyed guys that pop up in WEG illustrations a lot? The description sounds very similar to me.

 

Jason, good luck for this special project, TLJ novel? The force is strong here!

 

The Nartians first appeared in Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina.

 

I really liked Rey's Survival Guide.

 

Yeah to reiterate this, this little book was a real surprise. There was a lot more worldbuilding and plot lures opened up in this journal than many kids' books. I think this is what really made me want a Rey video game on Jakku -- there are a lot of crazy mysteries and folks there to explore.