A&A The Official Barbara Hambly Discussion Thread

I only read the German translation of Ms. Hambly's books so I can't really judge her style (I can't remember anything offensive in the translation, though).

I think the main reason for people disliking Ms. Hambly's books is that she is a woman and therefore her favorite character is Leia. Women just have a different writing style than men, but most SW Fans are male so the don't get along with these books.
Same thing with Crystal Star.
How liked or disliked is Truce at Bakura? Surprisingly, Courtship of Princess Leia isn't written by a woman.
Well, that's my theory.
My brother made up a conspiracy among the SW authors...it seems reaaaaally obvious:
Barbara Hambly and K.J. Anderson are locked in a death struggle:
Anderson messed around with Hambly's character Callista in Darksaber so one book later, Hambly messed around with Anderson's character Admiral Daala (btw, does that woman have a first name?) making her being in love with a strange guy (who was in love with Leia throughout the book...didn't quite get that).
It is obvious, isn't it?
POT was the weirdest SW book I ever read. After finishing it, I was really confused. But I don't dislike it. I can't, because its main person is Leia, so it has to be one of my favorite books.
I really have to thank Ms. Hambly for concentrating the plot on Leia on the one hand and on politics on the other hand. Right up my street.

@Shelley:
I love your being so radical about Mara. I just have to grin whenever I read these posts of yours when you're slamming Mara. By now I recognize your posts without seeing your name...

 

I don't know why some many people slag Hambly's books. I like her writing style, I agree with whoever said it was like poetry. I wasn't that keen on the whole ghost/body-switching thing, though. And the drochs were eeewww!
But Han/Leia...white rug

 

I was thoroughly disgusted by Hambly's work in the SW universe. Every ink droplet of every page was excruciating. I read on in the hopes that somehow, if the impossible was possible she might turn things around. But alas, all of her books have left me dreading the very mention of her name. Topato was an awful word. And whatever she changed kitten to. Notice how similar Nichos Marr and Nam Chorios are in letters? Just take off an R from Nichos Marr and change the positioning, and you get Nam Chorios. How very unoriginal.

Anything associated with Callista was tainted. The whole vacation in the Ice Comet place with Luke and Callista in Darksaber was destroying my love for SW.

I've come to notice that primarily women authors focus too much on the love relationship of the story and the plot and other elements are forgotten and ill-developed. Some escape this, such as A.C. Crispin and many of the short story writers. Michael Stackpole (The King, with Keyes and Zahn as vassals) flawlessly flows love intersts into the rest of the stry, without losing any of the essential elements.

Elaine Cunningham turned Dark Journey into a romance novel, and nothing got accomplished. Balance Point was a similar situatuion, except for the loss of Duro and Kalarba. POT, CS, and COTJ were despicable and a disgrace to SW.

The only positive thing that I can take from reading them is that I might be able to warn people away from them so that they dont lose hope in the EU.

 

At the risk of opening a can of worms, I'd like to point out that all the posters who say they love Hambly's work are blatantly female (as in, your screen name is female). This would fit with my assessment of Hambly's work as cheap, low-rent romance novel writing.

It's as if Hambly aspires to be Anne Rice, or at least Poppy Z. Brite, and ends up more like the Jackie Collins of the Star Wars set.

Now, I'm not saying Star Wars is a man's thing. (I mean, I'm not one, so...) I'd like to point out, though, that the romance elements of Star Wars movies are kept to a minimum. It's there as a subplot, but the movies aren't WRITTEN as romance.

I really think Hambly's work is more appropriate for characters like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, or some romantic fantasy vampire story... But science fiction?!?!

The guys have a point. The romance and flowery, verbose writing just doesn't make for good Star Wars storytelling. I'm glad all you straight gals liked a Star Wars book that was tailored to the hopeless romantic in you, but for someone who doesn't dream of unicorns in Star Wars or draw hearts over Han Solo's face, Hambly's books are a chore to read.

We like Star Wars for ACTION! Not for angsty will-they-won't-they tripe.

I'd recommend to the fans of Hambly to dig into a good Laurel K. Hamilton book, and kindly let the guys win this one by leaving Hambly safely out of the Star Wars universe for good.

`Just my opinion. Feel free to complain now.

 

I'm a chick and I don't like Barbara Hambly's Star Wars novels. I found them tedious to read and rather boring, and felt like I was walking through knee-high mud when I was reading them. I like a little romance in the SW world as well, but not the overly-sappy stuff found in her books. Heck, she even described the curtains on the wall in one scene.

 

Indeed. Nightlily from Tales of the Mos Eisley Cantina was a rather good story, but it was very blatantly about a guy planning to use a girl alien for sex and dump her. I liked the ending, certainly, and it would be a nice story on its own, but when you put it together with all her other stories, she can't stay away from a central love/sex theme. Her tale from Jabba's Palace concerns the palace cook, who happens to fall in love with Leia once he sees her and feels bad for her. Children of the Jedi has Luke fall in love with a spirit soon after he meets her and dreams about her. She has Cray, whose main trait is having a problem with keeping her fiancee possbly alive. She even attempts to make Mara suddenly have a sexual relationship with Lando (fortunately that was dealt with). Enough already! Sure, we want to know that our heroes can fall in love, but this was stretched too far for this particular genre.

I haven't read her other books, and I honestly was unable to finish Planet of Twilight. But my guess is that she'd do best with adult-themed/romantic fantasy, and probably is indeed a very successful writer in that area. But not space opera.

 

Ack, the whole Jabba's Palace anthology book was largely immature and written as if for a young audience. Bounty Hunters and Mos Eisley was better done and more interesting.

I thought the Gammorrean story was funny, lugging two decomp bodies around, and the way his own peers couldn't understand his speech. And while Nightlily's ending was a surprise, it was also quite predictable in a way. I guessed right about midway!

 

I actually liked Barbara Hambly's SW books. Children of the Jedi was good, and I enjoyed most of Planet of Twilight, save for the really bizare plot involving Dzym and the drochs. I enjoyed the Leia/Callista interaction in PoT, and wished there could have been more of that. I think Hambly wrote Han and Leia really well. Her characterization of Luke, though, was kinda off.

As for her contributions to the Tales books...eh. They weren't great, but they weren't terrible, either. I think the better of the two stories was the one about Jabba's cook.

And BTW, I am a guy, Jawa_Monkey_Droid.

 

Anything associated with Callista was tainted. The whole vacation in the Ice Comet place with Luke and Callista in Darksaber was destroying my love for SW.

I agree, totally. And her writing style wasn't all that fantastic either. I did not enjoy her books at all.

 

I enjoyed Children of the Jedi. It had some semi-hard diction, the mushy-romantic description at the beginning, the Leia-Irek ending fight lacked enough surounding description to picture what the environment was like . . . and there was no explanation as to how Luke could eventually hear Callista's voice from just reading her comp words.

But it had some good humour, like Chewbacca congratulating Solo on the excellence of his escape arrangements, in their subterrean sojourn; as well as the Affytechan scenes. And lets face it, who doesn't like a genuine Gamorrean stormtrooper. Ugbuz and the boys were worth a laugh. Good Tusken fight scenes.

Planet of Twilight is far from my favourite, and if I've read it twice in all those years it says something.

I think with all the SW "adult" books these days aimed at teen level reading, her works are viewed as "too hard". Compare the Han Solo Trilogy books to the maturity of Cloak of Deception and there's a notable difference; nay, a commendable difference.

 

Unlocking this to post that Barbara Hambly will be this year's recipient of the Forry Award for lifetime achievement in the SF field. You can see the full blurb here on the Locus Magazine website.

 

Interesting to skim over a thread and see my comment from seventeen years ago on Page 1.

In 2016, I revisited Children of the Jedi for the first time since 1997 and, while a slow read (it took me about a month), I was actually very pulled into Hambly's romantic and detailed descriptions of Belsavis and other environments, as well as the various cultures, factions, aliens, and the Eye of Palpatine. Maybe I am more forgiving of my Star Wars reading these days, but that kind of detail and worldbuilding really goes far with me, whereas when I originally read it at the age of 17, I wanted action, vehicles, combat, and lightsaber action. I'll likely be revisiting Planet of Twilight before year's end, which I last read in 1998. We'll see how that one holds up with a 2019 reassessment.