I got beef with Splinter of the Mind's Eye (SotME)

Don't flame me too much please, but I'm just now reading all the books POST Episode IV A New Hope. I just finished Splinter of the Mind's Eye and the fight scene at the end totally confused me.

In Episode II, they mentioned that Anakin's skills with the light saber were already showing signs of being near the same calibur of Master Yoda. Yet in this scene in SotME, he totally blows. Did he all of the sudden stop training when he turns to the dark side? Now I can understand how Luke could be so good so quickly, because he mentions how he feels Ben Kenobi is with him..."I am Ben Kenobi" is what he says to Vader at one point in the fight. But what about all of the other crap you can do with the force. Vader doesn't "shove" anyone to keep them away with that "push" move that throws people without touching them. He doesn't use that blue lightning crap. He's a Sith Lord for pete's sake, he should know how to do some of the basics. There is this one point that really bothers me the most. He has whooped Leia's arse in a saber fight and about to finish her off, when Luke is freed by Hin from the stone that was pinning him down. So Leia deactivates the saber and "tosses" it to Luke so he can finish the fight. It says that Vader "missed it by a finger's length". Bull Crap!!! He should be able to pluck it right out of the air and make it come to his hand. It says the throw was weak anyhow. Also, there is another part where both sabers are on the ground away from Luke and Vader, but they both "crawl" over to retreive them. How obsurd. If I was a "master" of the force, I'd be damned if I ever bent over to pick anything up. He should have just "willed" the saber back to his hand.

Alan Dean Foster really dropped the ball with Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Unless there is something I'm missing. I thought Lucas would have better control on crap like this. I've lost a lot of passion for these books if they are going to continue to be inaccurate.

If anyone can sort all of this out and explain some of this to me, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

The story was written over 20 years ago, with George Lucas help, as it was going to be a star wars movie, if he couldn't get ESB made.

Also if you read carefully you'll see that Obi-wan was in control of luke during the fight in the story, You'll notice that obi-wan was able to hold off vader in ANH as well, until he decided to let himself go as well.

 

You have to remember that Vader knows that luke is his son and no matter how bad he is, he is not going to kill his son or else he wouldnt have turned back to the light at the end of ROTJ. He could have killed Luke in ESB very easily, but didnt.

 

The Essential Chronology expanded on this. It said that the spirit of Kenobi possessed Luke.

However, according to the Power of the Jedi sourcebook, a Jedi spirit loses the ability to manipulate things in the material world as time passes. This is because the spirit is slowly "crossing over".
That's why Obi Wan in ANH can't help Luke.

Five years after RotJ, Obi Wan can't even appear to Luke in spirit form.

 

Plus I always felt that Vader was just sort of toying with them and got more than he bargained for.

Of course, it has been years since I read it.

 

I understand that Luke was helped by Kenobi, but that doesn't change the fact that Vader was a hoser. Why didn't he use the Force to retreive the saber that was thrown to Luke from Leia? Why didn't he use it to retrieve his own? That blue lightning doesn't kill right away...he could have used it to defeat Leia and Luke, not kill them.

It also said that he was overconfident, but you can only take that so far.

I don't mean to sound like I'm arguing with you guys, I'm just confused. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I really do appreciate all of the replies. Thanks for the guidance.

 

Eh. Luke hada great Jedi warrior possessing him. The same Jedi that defeated Vader 22 years ago. Is it any wonder that Vader was a hoser?

 

Strictly speaking, if one were to proceed from the assumption that there is indeed an error of fact in the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, the fault lay not with that novel, but with the later sources -- inclusive of the film The Phantom Menace and the film Attack of the Clones -- for having contradicted the it, as it enjoys priority of fact.

The novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye was published in 1978, one year after the film Star Wars (as it was then entitled) was released. The author, one Alan Dean Foster, who also ghost-wrote the novelisation of the film, entitled Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, published by Ballantine Books in 1976.

To wit, the author was as well informed of the Star Wars mythology as any person could be at the time it was written. It was, in fact, written as a sequel to Star Wars, to be made into a low-budget film in the event that Lucas were unable to secure adequate funding to produce the more elaborate film The Empire Strikes Back.

The novel was far more deeply immersed in the "universe of the films" (to paraphrase Lucas's comments from Rolling Stone) than any of the other works constituting the Expanded Universe.

Indeed, note that at no point in the completed film A New Hope is Force psychokinesis displayed. From simply watching the film itself, there was no indication that Lord Vader should have been able to psychokinetically draw his lightsabre to himself in the scene in Splinter of the Mind's Eye.

Of course, the first display of psychokinesis in the Star Wars mythology is a minor display by Lord Vader in the Death Star war room, wherein he levitated a glass of water to himself. This scene was, of course, written by Foster himself.

Of course, dear sir, your argument (namely, that the novel is flawed because Lord Vader did not use all the powers at his command) would also by default make the films themselves equally flawed.

For example, why did the Emperor not use the Force to lift himself out of Lord Vader's grasp at the climax of the film Return of the Jedi? Why did the Emperor not simply shatter Skywalker's vertebrae when he refused to profess the dark side of the Force?

Why did Lord Vader not use the Force to smash Skywalker's T-65 into the Death Star's surface in the battle in the film A New Hope? Why did Lord Vader not use the Force to lift Skywalker out of the chasm at the climax of the film The Empire Strikes Back?

Why did Lord Maul not use the Force to break Kenobi's grip and drop him into the shaft in the film The Phantom Menace? Why did Serenno not use the Force to pulverise Yoda's skull in the film Attack of the Clones?

Are these errors in the films? Undoubtedly not. But by the same logic with which you decry Splinter of the Mind's Eye, you must inevitably conclude that the films themselves are deeply flawed and inaccurate.

 

Mast-, er,...Chauvelin, you once again bring a tear to my eye with your eloquent words of wisdom. I salute you, good Sir.

 

It is impossible to ask if Foster dropped the ball with SotME since there really was no ball as we know it today to be dropped when SotME came out. The only thing we really saw Vader do in ANH with the Force other than senseing Obi-Wan, dueling, and sensing that Luke was strong in the Force was to Force choke someone. The stuff we'd later see happen during duels weren't yet known.

 

I loathe this novel. I realize it was written right after A New Hope but it still sucks. At least I can say I've read it.

 

You know, if memory serves, Vader does kinda of use a telekinetic attack but its not like the Force Push we usually see now. He makes this telekinetic ball of energy and hurls it at Luke.

Also, in addition to Obi-wan, Luke may have unconsciously been using the K-crystal to increase his powers where as Vader may not have been able to do the same (or they may even have dampened his powers somewhat). It's been a while since i read the TimeTales on this, but does Vader realize Luke is his son during Splinter?

 

Vader uses what's termed 'kinetite', a restrained energy sphere, produced by the power of the Dark Side, yeah.

Oh, and btw; it's one of my personal favourites, is SotME!

 

Well said, Citizen Chauvelin. While it is flawed, SotME is the masterpiece of the EU.