Lit Thrawn Trilogy: Overrated?

All of them. I think I said it in my first post, they're like Batman. Highly, highly overrated, but still good. I definitely think that historical notability also plays a part. They were the first real steps in creating what is now the EU, and until the reboot that means something. From a continuity standpoint, some of the characters that appeared in it go on to play major roles down the line (Mara, Pellaeon, Noghiri, etc.), appearing in a variety of other novels and stories so it's good to read this trilogy for some reference, and if you're interested in character arcs to judge and see how they change and grow over time.

 

Whatever Disney makes to start EU 2.0 will not compare at all to the Thrawn trilogy.

 

Not with that attitude!

The sequel trilogy, if at all comparable to the OT, can surpass the Thrawn trilogy IMO. Of course, they're apples and oranges.

I actually have a long dissertation about the EU and how it could protect itself from future issues, but I imagine that would be off-topic. But some of the best EU takes advantage of the medium. Stover's novels, including the film novelization, are decidedly smaller scale character studies which don't "rock the boat" and take advantage of the novel format to explore the focal character in a way that a film cannot. If I were in charge of the EU, and the ST was to reboot things, I think I'd make it a point to focus on these types of stories. Obviously this wasn't possible when Zahn wrote the trilogy and it's expected that Han and Leia get married and have kids and so forth. Shadows of the Empire likely wouldn't have been as successful if it was published in 1991 compared to the success experienced by Heir to the Empire.

But it seems like it would be a no brainer for "EU 2.0" if such a thing were to pass to stick to exploring either the period between Episode III and Episode IV, or Episode VI and Episode VII -- provided that the non-episodic films are accounted for.

 

I was referring to the books bridging the OT and ST together. The ST should be able to blow the Thrawn trilogy of the water but what comes after that to bridge the gap won't. Yeah it depends on timing alright.

 

Liking both Thrawn Trilogy and Dark Empire is quite easy - see me!

Second, there are loads of great stories out there - more than anyone could perhaps read in a lifetime For space operas, both Asher's Polity and Hamilton's Confederation books are well worth a look.

 

Are you really trying to tell me that Anakin flying a good distance into a TF ship, crashing landing in such a way that his weapons are perfectly facing a reactor, regaining power just as the TF droids were about to reach his fighter, and getting out safe and sound is not coincidence?

 

I like both. I just don't think they're flawless -- and the impression that I get of the general sentiment treats them as such. I brought up Dark Empire because of the two stories that "launched" the Expanded Universe, Dark Empire is generally looked down upon in comparison to the Thrawn trilogy.

 

I think there's another angle you haven't factored in DM, that TTT and DE have been people's gateway stories into the EU and thus they do get perceived differently due to that.

As to how flawless or not they are, that depends on both what you expect and the standards you apply. It's fair to say I place SW EU on the same level as say Brooks and Feist fantasy - entertaining, but it's not going to be brilliant stuff but I don't need it to be.

 

Agreed. Star Wars isn't class A literature such as Tolkien, Mark Twain and others. I'd rate most of the stuff campy B grade books. I like it that way. Stover might be able to get A grade worthy though. Star Wars is its own thing and I would not like to compare to any regular action flick of today.

 

For me FS, it's also that I don't expect a franchise to be capable of the same latitude of movement and level of creative story-telling that a creator-owned story can do. People like John and Jan and Miller for instance go as far as they can, but they know there's limits to how far they can go because, technically, it isn't 'their' story.

Although, I'm wary of saying SW shouldn't be compared to other similar stories, such as Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape, Battlestar etc, because that blocks SW from learning from them to get better.

 

I think the fans get on authors for it more than LucasFilm...

 

I can see that point. Though I see the EU and the movies as equal and not just the movies being the dominant medium. Yeah Lucas is more important in the grand scheme of things but I find the other authors just as important.

Star Wars can be compared to Trek and the like to get ideas to do things better but I was referring to the other mainstream action/adventure stories of today that get hailed by the Award shows.

 

You mean stuff like Person of Interest? Not sure how that comparison could even work really.

 

But it will be forever compared to the Thrawn Trilogy.

 

Well the Thrawn trilogy will own it hands down.

 

Geonosis was not a coincidence.

 

It can certainly still be coincidental but you're right, a more accurate word would be convienent.

 

What's coincidental/convenient about Yoda knowing what planet they were on, going to gather the army and then rushing to save them from being fatally outnumbered by battle droids. What would have been "convenient" from a storytelling POV is Yoda coming before any of the Jedi died, but he didn't, and as we know dozens of Jedi died on Geonosis.

 

Yea something like 180 Jedi died there, right?

 

Out of frigging 212. So a 75% casualty rate. That's comparatively worse than the Somme.

I'm not a cunning strategist or anything, but maybe they shouldn't have clumped themselves together in the middle of a giant arena where they're exposed to fire from literally every single direction except below.

 

Bunch of Form VI scrubs.

 

Yea thats really sad. Their whole "element of surprise" thing did absolutely nothing to advance their attack.

 

They probably hopped to intimidate the Separatists to prevent fighting and they did not jet know that Dooku had gone sith so they possibly hopped that they could talk him to his senses

 

Dooku went "sith jet"?! What in the world is that? Sounds kinda bad***

 

Yoda knowing what planet they were on is not coincidental as we know he knows where they were. What is convenient is his timing. While you're right that Yoda is rushing to save them, it's convenient how easy his going to Kamino, inspecting the clones, outfitting/supplying/readying the clones for an invasion (which anyone whose served in the military will tell you takes time even if all the equipment is at hand), traveling to Geonosis, getting down to the planet, and showing up at just the right moment to save the key Jedi (Anakin, Mace, Ki Adi, etc.). I have no problem with the movie telling the story in that way, but to try and convince me that his timing isn't convenient is gonna be a hard sell.