Splinter of the Mind's Eye

Just got it.
Ironically the first EU novel is one of the best in my opinion. Keeps is simple. Doesn't introduce so much stuff that it doesn't make sense.
I wouldn't have known it was SW unless I'd seen it before in TFN reviews...
But for $2.50AU its one helluva good deal.

 

Exactly...
In fact all of the "old" Del Rey novels are rock solid. I've found them to be much more entertaining and interesting than anything published by Bantam.

They're all pure Star Wars entertainment.

I enjoyed the Han Solo adventures more, but Splinter of the Mind's Eye is an excellent piece of work.

 

It was my first EU read after the trilogy novelizations.

Just like ANH, I love it. Kin and Hee were cool characters, and Luke and Leia definetly could hold a novel without Han or Chewie.

Alan Dean Foster is a great author.

 

Good thing I was incredibly desperate for SW novels or I'd never have found it. Top shelf somewhere in the deepest depths of the maze that is my local 2nd hand bookshop.
I'll go write a review for JAT (which I just finished) now...to show that I, unlike alot of people, DON'T hate it.

 

I don't hate the JAT myself. I don't actively hate any SW books. There's only 2 that I "dislike"...

The Crystal Star and The New Rebellion.

I liked the Callista trilogy, and I actually loved the BFC, even if I haven't gotten around to reading Tyrant's Test after all this time.

 

I can't see why people don't like The New Rebellion. Sure, it's not great, but it's not terrible either.

 

It's the writing style that got to me. And the fact that the villains weren't very original, and the story didn't change anything in the overall arc...Luke faced another former student/Dark Jedi, Han and Lando roughed it up with old debtors and pals turned bad, and Leia faced down meanie senators as the New Republic crumbled from civil war.

You can read other books and get the same thing. Also, Cole Fardreamer could have been more interesting, as well as other original characters in the book. ( I did like Nandreeson though. )

I did like some of it, but it's kinda like a cheap microwave pizza compared to a Roundtable pizza. It ain't as good.

 

Oh, don't start up the food metaphors, they always end up ending in food fights, as each person throws there rotten tomatoes at some book they don't like, .

 

I thought that Leia was too whiney, and that "not being able to swim" thing was annoying, but otherwise it was very enjoyable.

 

Alsta la vista, HTTE.
*gets tomato machine gun and fills the nearest copy of HTTE with tomato-lead*

 

I had trouble with SotME because, well, in written SW I'm used to a Jedi LUke and a Diplomat Leia... It was odd to read them during the Trilogy. And the Vader confrontation somehow felt like it didn't fit in...

Despite these faults, it was EXTREMELY well written, unlike some other books I could mention...

Ara
(Odd little thing with sniffles AND cough...)

 

I am glad to hear so many great things about Splinter of the Mind's Eye. I just picked it up at my local B&N, desperately needing soemthing to tide me over till SxS. SotME was literally the only SW novel I had yet to read, and even though it dosent have a place in EU canon(for the most part)I am still greatly looking forward to it. Just like the Han Solo Adventures, it sounds like a fun, solid read. Can't wait to start it.

 

Actually it's fully part of continuity. See the Essential Chronology for the explanation. If you didn't know lumiya's light whip was made from a small piece of the mind's eye.

 

In fact, it could be argued that Splinter is more official than most. In fact, it was Lucas's contingency in case ANH didn't do so well at the box office: Splinter, instead of Empire, would have been the sequel. That's why the world is forest shrouded in fog, and that's why the space battle supposed to be at the beginning was cut: So that if it were in fact made into the film it would be cheap to shoot. That's also why Han's not in it. So yeah, I'd say that considering it was opted as a Star Wars film, it should probably be canonized at the level of the film instead of the EU level.

 

I dislike Splinter of the Minds Eye, for two main reasons.

First of all, I don?t like the duel at the end. It doesn?t fit in well with the duel in the Empire Strikes Back, but for continuities sake I?m willing to accept the explanation that it was Obi Wan Kenobi doing the real fighting.

But for me, the big reason I don?t like it is that I can?t stand ADF?s writing style. There?s just something about his style that I find annoying in some way I can?t even place. I can?t name a single feature of his style that I dislike, but I?d prefer reading almost any other author in the world to reading ADF. It may not make much sense, but there it is: I simply don?t like his writing style, and it ruins my enjoyment of the book.

 

Beleive it or not I have owned a copy of SOTMI since it came out over 20 years ago and have never read it. It's just stored in a trunk with the rest of my collection.
(I know I'm a loser)

Actually what I would like to see, and I'm not trying to deviate from the thread, but I think after the NJO series is done I'd like them to do something on Leia finally becoming a Jedi. The diplomat thing is old and stale and Leia is becoming an old fossil.

 

It's been a while since I read Splinter. About the "Leia can't swim" thing: (and I apologize if it's explained in the book, but) the world of Alderaan is a very wet planet, right? You'd think Leia of all people would be able to swim...

 

Leia, like her mother before her, didn't have much time to be a kid. She was real young joining the Senate, she was being groomed towards that from even younger. Swimming was not a priority. Luke, coming from a desert planet, probably made it one of his first priorities to learn to swim when he got a chance.

But just to make the puzzle more complicated, at the beginning of the Marvel series it's established that Leia can swim and Luke can't....

 

Which is fixed by later marvel comics no-prize letter.

Luke learned how to swim, after his encounter on drezel. that's why he could swim in splinter.

As for leia, she was dog patteling and generally trying to keep up the air that she could swim, so as to not lose face to the people she was with. But she is not a very good swimmer, and it shows in SOTE, where she finally admits the fact.

 

I've got a copy of the original print of Splinter; it's older than I am. I had the new paperback, and then two years ago I found that my horribly inadequate high school library had...a copy of the original Splinter...and the librarian knew me well enough and trusted me, and even for some reason seemed to like me, and so she let me trade my paperback for the original Hardcover. It took hours to get rid of the library card slot and all the tape without damaging the book itself.

 

Splinter of the Mind's Eye is my favorite piece of EU, followed by Brian Daley's three Han Solo Adventures.

I wish that SotME had indeed been the sequel to SW rather than ESB. Of course, the novel would need lots of editing before it reached the big screen; but there is a pure Star Wars tale in there underneath its flaws. In fact, I think the ideal Episode V would be SotME (edited) with the Hoth battle tacked on front.

Another good read is the graphic novel adaptation of SotME. It also contains a fascinating introduction by Alan Dean Foster.

 

Actually my copy is an original. I think I am gonna read it. Can I buy a copy at the store like a reprint or something to that effect? I really don't want to risk ripping the original.

Also, has anyone read Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and Cloak of Deception? I've been thinking about picking them up while I wait of the next NJO book.

BTW, where did the "Leia can't swim," topic come from? Also, would anyone like to see a new novel or trilogy involving Leia becoming a full-fledged Jedi?

 

Cloak of Deception was great, and takes place first. Lots of Jedi action, lots of Palpatine/Valorum. It's a great intro to TPM and made me appreciate that film much, much more, and it's solidly written. Some fans found it boring though.

Shadow Hunter got more mixed reviews. Full of action and not centering on familiar characters, there are a few continuity issues, and people complained about a lack of suspense. It's a very fun cat-and-mouse novel with a few flaws, the most notable of which is that it doesn't really explore Maul's character at all, it just shows him in action. If you haven't read it, wait a couple months for the paperback to get the Saboteur story with it.

 

Thanks Mastadge.

 

And yes, there is a reprint of SotME. Its what I have. Its a mass-market paperback, with the original painting cover, but different text. It says Classic Star Wars, like the Han Solo and Lando Adventures and the reprints of the Marvel comics. Still, it may be hard to find. I'm sure its still in printing, but many bookstores might not have it. If not, I'm sure all the online ones do.

And you really should read the prequel novels. Very nice. I'm looking forward to TAS very much.