Do Star Wars books suck?

A lot of people have expressed the view that the E.U. is inherently flawed, compared to Star Wars 'canon.' Much as I love them, this isn't an EU debate, but rather films vs. books, including "canon" novelisations.

Firstly, I would like to address the one value I see of Star Wars books. I can understand that children who would rather play Playstation than read a book may well be introduced to the world of literature through Star Wars, and I think this is a good thing. The fact that the books have (albeit, incredibly minor) details not in the film undoubtedly adds to this appeal. Obviously, this is a good thing.

However, I'm 24. I don't need to be "hooked" into the world of literature- I can barely get through a week without reading something. But when I read, I read something good. And so far, I don't think Star Wars books are any good, but I would honestly like to believe otherwise. So if someone out there can convince me, I might change my tune and read the TPM novelisation. But until then, this is my argument;

1) Star Wars is full of cool sounds- lightsabers, TIE fighters, the John Williams soundtrack and so on. All a fundamental part of the Star Wars I know and love, and all inevitably absent from the books.
2) Star Wars is full of cool, moving images; from spaceships to alien landscapes, to beautiful princesses/queens. A picture paints a thousand words. And I don't want my books to be interrupted by a thousand words about what the Coruscant skyline looks like, when I don't even get to see it!
3) Lucas has said that Star Wars is supposed to be a visual story- like a silent film. A book is not a visual story (unless it's a comic.) Therefore, it's not Star Wars.
4) Lucas made Star Wars, but has yet to write a book. The books are all based on other people's interpretations of Star Wars. if I want Star Wars, I'll go straight to the source.
5) Films of books are never as good as the original book. Same goes for books of films.


So, can anyone convince me otherwise, or will I still be reading P.G. Wodehouse for the forseeable future?

 

Out of all the criteria you have listed, there is only one that can be met: the John Williams soundtrack. Just pop some CDs into your CD player and put on the track you want to listen to while reading a particular chapter or passage.

Other than that, your criteria are impossible to meet. Books don't have moving images. Books aren't visual, unless you want to pick up one of those Dark Horse abominations. Lucas has not written an SW novel and he most likely never will.

 

Scott...
"A lot of people have expressed the view that the E.U. is inherently flawed, compared to Star Wars 'canon.' Much as I love them, this isn't an EU debate, but rather films vs. books, including "canon" novelisations."

Just as an aside, the EU is canon. However, I recognize that that's not your main point. You shouldn't even have included a misrepresentation of canon for it to become an issue. But, moving on...

1) Star Wars is full of cool sounds- lightsabers, TIE fighters, the John Williams soundtrack and so on. All a fundamental part of the Star Wars I know and love, and all inevitably absent from the books.
2) Star Wars is full of cool, moving images; from spaceships to alien landscapes, to beautiful princesses/queens. A picture paints a thousand words. And I don't want my books to be interrupted by a thousand words about what the Coruscant skyline looks like, when I don't even get to see it!
3) Lucas has said that Star Wars is supposed to be a visual story- like a silent film. A book is not a visual story (unless it's a comic.) Therefore, it's not Star Wars.
4) Lucas made Star Wars, but has yet to write a book. The books are all based on other people's interpretations of Star Wars. if I want Star Wars, I'll go straight to the source.
5) Films of books are never as good as the original book. Same goes for books of films."

The movies are a combination of various sensory input. One can recreate a similar feeling, using a similar combination of sensory input:

1. You can listen to your favorite sounds, sountracks, music while reading a book. Some good ones - listen to the Star Wars soundtracks while reading Star Wars novels. ANH, ESB, ROTJ, TPM, SotE - all can go a long way to recreating a "movie feel" while reading a book. At least, it removes this as a problem for literature.

2. Imagine it. Don't just see the words you are reading, but view the words in your mind's eye. If you are unable to accomplish this, there are a number of ways to recreate the visual input while reading. Invest in some of the card sets - the CCG, or the artistic collector's cards have pretty much all of the main charatcers, places, things in all their visual glory. There are several "Art of..." Star Wars books. Keep one handy and go to the pictures when you come across something you want to actually see. Or better yet, keep a sketch pad with you while reading. Whenever you come across something you'd like to visualize, quickly rough out what you want to see.

3. Books can be extremely visual. Are you suggesting that a blind person cannot view anything? They may not be able to see, but visualizing something actually has very little to do with having light reflected on your rods and cones. It's mostly mental. You should be able to view all of the images in robust detail even though your eyes don't see them.

4. This is an incorrect sweeping generaliztion. Many books are based off of Lucas' ideas on Star Wars even though another author wrote them. While a lot (no reason to name names) are based on the author's own interpretation, many are also solidly founded on Lucas' own views.

5. This doesn't apply to any EU books (unless you consider the novellizations to be EU). There are neither any EU books made off of EU films, nor EU films made off of any EU books.

"So, can anyone convince me otherwise, or will I still be reading P.G. Wodehouse for the forseeable future?"

We'll do our darndest.

 

I agreed with many of the things you said 3eyez and I refused to read a Star Wars book for years out of some notion that the films were the "pure" representation of SW. I also thought that Sci-Fi in general is a genre which holds up better on screen than on paper due to the huge flights of imagination it constantly asks the reader to take. I do read the EU books now just because they allow me to switch off. I spend most of my life reading fairly heavy going academic works and when you do that all day its just good to be able to pick up a book which you can get through in two sittings. I'll not pretend the SW books are particularly well written, but they're a bit of fun nothing more, and the stories are usually pretty good - better than most films and TV shows which are produced.

 

Let us also not forget that Star Wars movies are the product of hundreds of people, not just Lucas. A novel is written by one person, with some input from a wife/husband, maybe a few friends.

Anyway, yes, some of the novels have been less than perfect, and sometimes books go places I wish they hadn't, but on the whole they are still better than most of the mass market paperback books out there. Could they be better, sure they could. I mean, most everyone here could publish a higher quality book than the actual authors could, right?

 

read the X-Wing series and than tell me what u think!

 

Films of books are never as good as the original book. Same goes for books of films.

This is not always true. In the 70s and 80s there were some good ones. Jaws 2 novel was far superior to the film, as was Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. I'd argue that the Princess Bride book and film are about equally good. Godfather film I think surpasses its novel, as well, and so does Braveheart.

 

I'd reply, but I don't like the title

wk

 

Well, all I can say is read one of the books. Just go to the library, and get one. What I or any other person on this forum my like, you might not. Although, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of people on the EU discussion board, so I'm sure one or two of the books have to be good for that many people to be hooked. And in answer to your question, Star Wars books do not suck.

 

Do Star Wars books suck?

Yes.


~Cowboy

 

so why come in here Cowboy? You reek of troll

 

Not all of them suck. Very few books are good, some comics are good, games are cool.

EDIT: He asked a question and I gave him an honest answer. If he wanted to hear everyone say no then he wouldn't have asked.


~Cowboy

 

Scott3eyez, I think Splinter of the Mind's Eye is superior to any of the movies, with the exception of the original 1977 SW film.

That said, I partially agree with you. I think that comic books/graphic novels/whatever-you-want-to-call-them are a better medium for SW stories than are novels. For example, I have read Zahn's Thrawn trilogy in both the novel and the comic format. I much prefer the comic version. Things move along at a much faster pace. There's little or no time wasted on introspection. In other words, the comics are more like the movies.

Another thing to consider are the Dark Empire stories on tape. These aren't just recordings of some guy reading a book out loud. No. Rather, they are fully dramatized, complete with all the music and sound effects we know and love. So, with these, you are getting everything except the visuals. And even that is easily solved: Buy the Dark Empire graphic novels and follow along. That way you get cool visuals as well.

My two cents.

 

You could have been more tactful and say :

IMO, yes.

Because what you think is not an absolute truth.

 

The Princess Bride was a far better movie than book. I loved the movie; I was sorely disapointed with the book.

 

All of the Star Wars books are good except for anything by Jeter, Hambly or McIntyre.

 

One bit of advice, don't start reading with the Zahn books. IMHO they will just wast space on your bookcase.

 

Um, the Zahn books are among the best of the EU. It's what most of us started on, after all.

 

"Splinter of the minds eye is vastly superior to the movies except for A new hope.."

Er.... I don't know what to say to that.

 

Wait- you don't hear sound effects, music, and theatrical voices for characters in your head when you read a book? I thought everyone did that. It's just part of any book-reading experience for me.

 

Bib,
"Um, the Zahn books are among the best of the EU. It's what most of us started on, after all."

Please let's not even go there. The Zahn books are the worst of the EU and it's not what most of us started on.

 

Ghengis, we know how you feel. It'll be all right. Have you talked to anyone else about how you feel about Zahn?

 

RogueJaina,
Hmmm, no, not really. I think I will start expressing myself a bit more on that matter, I don't do it enough.

 

LOL! Well, perhaps it would help you to get it out of your system...

 

Not all of them suck. Very few books are good, some comics are good, games are cool.

EDIT: He asked a question and I gave him an honest answer. If he wanted to hear everyone say no then he wouldn't have asked.

If not all suck, why did you say "Yes" to "Do they suck?"

At least give some reasoning behind your opinion. People that answer with "EU sucks" and "EU rules" get no points in my book. Most often, they're ignored as the little trolls they are.

Please let's not even go there. The Zahn books are the worst of the EU and it's not what most of us started on.

Now now Genghis. Whether the Zahn books are good or not is just an opinion, not a fact. But I'd venture a guess and say that 60% of us here in Lit, started with this trilogy. Certainly, the post-ROTJ "video" generation such as myself did. The older SW fans had their Splinter, Han and Lando novels, and the Marvel comics.

After taking my poll on how much people liked, and still like, the Thrawn trilogy, I think it's a safe bet to start there. So, that's my suggestion to Scott.

I would start this way, with a mixture of these books...

ANH, ESB ROTJ novelizations
Splinter of the Mind's Eye
Thrawn trilogy
Han Solo Adventures
Han Solo Trilogy
Jedi Academy Trilogy
X-wing novels
Shadows of the Empire
Cloak of Deception

This will give you a good taste of each SW era, and publishing era.