Books The Last Jedi by Jason Fry

Lol. Definitely true. For instance those who didn't like the movie because they hated the way Luke was portrayed think of how upset they will get when they can now read Luke's thoughts.

 

Redaction of the Jedi.

 

Guess I won't like it then. Cancelling my preorder.

 

Guess I won't like it then. Cancelling my preorder.

 

Judging a book before it is released and you have read is, without a doubt, one of the stupidest decisions. Period.

Jason’s a talented author, give the book a chance. You may end up being pleasantly surprised!

—Adm. Nick

 

It’s especially silly to judge a book before it’s released based on leaks that may or may not be correct and/or taken out of context.

Anyways, I’ll most probably enjoy this book.

 

I'll add- some of my favorite Star Wars books ended up being ones I initially didn't think I'd enjoy. If people was to disagree or dislike a book AFTER reading it, I respect that (provided it's done in a professional manner). Hey, I didn't care for Crystal Star, but I sure as hell don't walk around bashing the book. I also gave it a fair chance.

I'll die on this hill, so I'm gonna make the following prediction- Jason's novelization of TLJ will end up being one of the top three SW novelizations ever.

You doubt it? Come fight me, bro.

--Adm. Nick

 

Are the other two books in your top 3 also Jason Fry books?

 

He's only written one novelization, I was referring to my top three movie adaptations.

Of course, I proudly own all of his other SW books and consider them some of the best ever. His reference guides and cross sections in particular are stunning. The Essential Atlas (co-written with Dan Wallace) and the Essential Guide to Warfare (with Thrawn McEwok) are two of the best Star Wars guides ever written. As good (if not better) than the old WEG sourcebooks.

--Adm. Nick

 

It never ceases to amuse me about how getting excited for a book based on pre-release information is fine, but getting unexcited for a book based on pre-release information is somehow some kind of anathema counter to the laws of nature that always sends the same posters into apoplexy.

 

I don't disagree in principle, but sadly message boards have slowly devolved into sites where people seem more inclined to complain, moan, or pre-judge before reading an actual work. If someone chooses up front not to read something, I respect that. Simply not reading something because of secondhand or thirdhand information or opinions is asinine to me.

--Adm. Nick

 

Many people that still post on message boards these days have begun using it the same way they use twitter and facebook. An avenue to react instead of to discuss.

 

Hearing about a book is hearing about a book. If a book sounds like something a person doesn't want to read, whether they get the info from second or thirdhand sources, that's actually completely fine. Nobody has a duty to read or watch any piece of fiction.

I'm waiting to see the description of this book after it's actually released. If some of the leaked passages hold up, it's not something I would want to read because I happen to know what kind of fiction I enjoy versus what kind of fiction I don't enjoy.

People that complain about "complainers" really seem to just take the position that people have to either like something, or shut up about it. That's not how opinion or discussion works.

 

You're correct, it's not a duty. I also won't disagree that complaining about complainers is part of a cycle that can go both ways. I just wish folks would be open and have thoughtful discussions. I've been around these boards long enough to remember when that was more part of our norm. As others have said, message boards (like Twitter or FB) are used less for honest & open discussions and more for simply bashing something for the sake of bashing.

I've seen fans and authors have great discussions over the past decade and a half here, even in instances where their viewpoints were differing. Ditto between fans. I'm just wishing for that kind of discourse on the boards.

I'll add- part of my personal sensitivity to this is based on a growing segment of fan culture that actively tries to hurt movies/books/comics etc before they are released. I see more and more of it online these days, it is abhorrent to me.

--Adm. Nick

 

Do you mean like trying to hurt sales? I would agree with that absolutely. If it crosses the line into a campaign to hurt someone's livelihood, that is totally wrong.

 

That's the downside of our current age where everyone has the ability to have a voice. Though it may be wrong to say that some people don't deserve to have a voice but at times it sure feels that way. For instance some of those people who post on Rian Johnson's twitter account should probably be banned from twitter for some of the stuff they say to him. The way people have been treating him on twitter is a clear indication why a lot of celebrities don't use the medium.

 

Yeah, there are sadly active attempts to do this. I'd like to this this is just a minority of fans, but its more and more common these days.

--Adm. Nick

 

How are they logging into his Twitter account? Isn't that the bigger issue?

 

Unless you're referring to someone else, I believe the issue isn't people logging into another person's account, but rather using mediums like it to wage a personal war to hurt sales. It's not exclusive to Star Wars either, there are similar attempts on Marvel products (films & comics) as well as other franchises.

Sadly, that's when someone's dislike of a product goes well beyond what is appropriate. It's one thing to voice an opinion, it's entirely another to make it a mission to destroy a product because it doesn't fit an individuals "vision" of what said franchise should be.

--Adm. Nick

 

Were this not a novelisation, I'd be more sympathetic to the idea of giving it a chance, but if someone really didn't like TLJ, how is the novelisation supposed to do for them what the film could not? Is that not an unfair demand to place upon the book?

For myself, I've enjoyed a good amount of Jason's work, but I think this one is too big an ask for him. Nor do I think anyone else could do it better.

And that was certainly my position as of 24-48 hours ago, so what changed?

It would be fair to say ROTS is one of the more controversial SW films, with some real clunkers of scenes. Some of which the infamy remains with to this very day. And yet the novelisation remains one of the most lauded. This in turn gave rise to the question of whether TLJ may be the same, albeit in reverse order? Then the novelisatio preceded the film, this one, in a break with the prior pattern, follows it months later.

I suppose I should add, on a purely mercenary basis, if this doesn't work for me, I wait for the hardback to go out of print and then cash in.

Au contraire, my old friend - as a certain, other series put it: All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again. What's depressing is the lessons of the past have been forgotten by the present, but then it is nearly 20 years on from the great Lit conflagration that was the Vector Prime wars. In that time generations of posters have come - and gone - yet we remain.

It's interesting to note that just about everything TLJ has brought to SW fandom in just over two months, so too did VP. The polarisation, the fervoured sense that if people didn't like the new direction SW would be dead! Well, the latter idea has hopefully died - whatever anyone thinks off TLJ, SW isn't disappearing any time soon, but the polarisation and a great sense of insecurity does appear to have been unleashed. Whatever someone thinks of TLJ, does it really matter greatly that views differ? Is validation of one's own opinion by getting others to agree with it really required to any degree? To both I would say nay.

 

You’re right, Ben. This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen this type of discourse among the Star Wars fandom. However, that doesn’t absolve is from trying to be better and do better this time around.

We. Can. Do. Better.

—Adm. Nick

 

That's kind of my point Nick - 'better' isn't here yet. I haven't seen the boards this polarised in years, it's not a good look.

Could it have been avoided? That's far harder to say as TLJ is the most divisive blockbuster in a generation - these films come and go without anywhere near the response TLJ got.

Given the moves it made it probably couldn't have been any other way, but despite all of that, I'd agree that the only solution is for people to post more considerately. I'm probably one of the few in-the-middle fans where it comes to TLJ - I can see some merit to arguments on both the pro and anti viewpoints - some I like a great deal, others not so much.

 

This. Aside from a few good scenes I just didn't like The Last Jedi. I don't think even Jason Fry's writing will redeem it for me. I might pick up the audiobook if Marc Thompson is reading it though. He made even The Force Awakens novelization palatable for me. It's just something about how he reads and the way he can do so many different voices. Really brings the content to life.