Star Wars Catch-all

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Somehow I doubt I'm the only Star Wars geek that frequents these boards so I figured I'd create a thread where we could all wallow in our Star Warsy geekness. Talk about the movies, books, cartoons, toys, comics, whatever. All I ask if that if you discuss the books try to avoid spoilers. While we can assume everybody and their brother has seen the 6 main movies we certainly can't assume everyone's read every book (especially since I'm working my way through them myself.)

And just to get some of the standard stuff out of the way:

1. Yes, the movies have plot holes big enough to walk an AT-AT through.
2. Yes, midichlorians were a dumb idea.
3. Yes, Han shot first.

I really liked the Timothy Zahn trilogy of books set 5 years after Jedi, but haven't really found any of the others to be worthwhile. Any suggestions that don't involve reading bad books to get caught up?

My nine year old has been enjoying the books targeted at 8-12 year olds, but could probably happily read books aimed at older kids (he can spend hours poring over Wookiepedia) -- are there any that lean toward the R-rated end of the spectrum that I'd be better off steering him away from?

I really enjoyed the Han Solo Trilogy written by A.C. Crispin awhile back. I thought it was very well written and Crispin did such a great job bringing young Han Solo to life and showing the development into the smuggler we would get to know in the films. Great read, I highly recommend it.

Book 1, The Paradise Snare on Amazon

Zhan had the best series of books I've read. That being said, the first 2 or 3 of the Rogue Squadron books were pretty entertaining. Wedge was awesome.

spider_j wrote:

I really liked the Timothy Zahn trilogy of books set 5 years after Jedi, but haven't really found any of the others to be worthwhile. Any suggestions that don't involve reading bad books to get caught up?

The Aaron Allston and Michael Stackpole X-Wing saga look like they're aimed at teenagers, but they're actually quite fun. Allston, especially, has the Whedon gift of producing proper funny lines and pieces of genuine pathos in the same book. I had most of the Star Wars EU books at one point, but I've sold them all apart from the Zahns and X-Wing books (and I, Jedi, which is a continuation of the others). There are a lot of average or worse ones out there. I didn't find the longer Yuuzhan Vong series very good, and I didn't bother with the one after that. I'm not sure about catching up, they're off in la-la land now as far as I can tell.

Stackpole has video game cred too, having worked on the original X-Wing game, and the evil Korolev/Warspite mission is in the books as a training scenario.

Oddly enough, the prequel trilogy has had the biggest effect in turning me off the mythos, and they've even spoilt the original trilogy for me to a certain extent.

guitarlicks4 wrote:

I really enjoyed the Han Solo Trilogy written by A.C. Crispin awhile back. I thought it was very well written and Crispin did such a great job bringing young Han Solo to life and showing the development into the smuggler we would get to know in the films. Great read, I highly recommend it.

Book 1, The Paradise Snare on Amazon

Oh, and again for the Han Solo fans, the Corellian Trilogy by Roger Mcbride Allen is very good read.

New episode of the clone wars is on tonight

I used to be really into Star Wars... then TPM came out. :p Thus started my descent into meh-ness.

Back before TPM I had read pretty much all of the EU books, they were easy to keep track of. I loved the Zahn trilogy and the X-wing series. Fans may recognize my nickname.

I wrote fanfic for a while, but that's cooled down as well... one day I'll finish the Crespin Saga.

Nowadays, I really don't have any interest in the EU post-Vector Prime. I've read up to the second or third from the end book of the NJO, but that's it. There's just been so many books I've lost interest. Especially with what's happened to all my favorite characters. My "golden era" starts sometime before ANH and ends at VP. Love me my remnant Empire...

The Tie Fighter and X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter games (Collector's CD-Rom versions) were ridiculously fun.

Leia came first.

Karenn Traviss's series on the clone war started out really interesting and fresh, and slowly descended into over the top Jedi-hating Mandalorian-humping ridiculousness.

Her books that take place later on in the timeline are much worse.

Makes me sad because I really liked the start of the series and that time period has so much more potential.

I'll pretend this was a double post instead of a really crass joke.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Leia came first.

So wrong. And yet so right.

Anyone else hate the New Jedi Order? Its like they asked how to kill off 90% of the characters they created. Including several from the kids and teens books.

spider_j wrote:

I really liked the Timothy Zahn trilogy of books set 5 years after Jedi, but haven't really found any of the others to be worthwhile. Any suggestions that don't involve reading bad books to get caught up?

There are none better than Zahn's books; it might be better for you if you continue reading knowing that that's the case. Other books (I'm a fan of Michael Stackpole and Kevin J Anderson) are almost as good and certainly worth reading.

I would recommend reading these just so you have a "floor;" I haven't found anything to be as bad as:

The Crystal Star

Whatever book has the Ssi-Ruuk in them (Truce at Bakura?). These two were awful.

Grenn wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

Leia came first.

So wrong. And yet so right.

Katy wrote:

My nine year old has been enjoying the books targeted at 8-12 year olds, but could probably happily read books aimed at older kids (he can spend hours poring over Wookiepedia) -- are there any that lean toward the R-rated end of the spectrum that I'd be better off steering him away from?

The closest I've seen the books come to being R-rated would be in instances where good ol' lightsaber loss of limbs is involved. As far as sex and language go they're virtually non-existent. Every once in a while you'll get a hell or damn tossed in for good measure and the even rarer implication that a couple have had sex. Overall it's pretty tame space opera.

spider_j wrote:

I really liked the Timothy Zahn trilogy of books set 5 years after Jedi, but haven't really found any of the others to be worthwhile. Any suggestions that don't involve reading bad books to get caught up?

I've found that generally you don't have to do a ton of catching up as long as you start at the beginning of a series. Generally they'll give you a quick background on any relevant prior plot points. I actually enjoyed the most recent New Jedi Order run of books, the ones post Yuzhan Vong. Admittedly there are a ton of developments that have lead to the beginning of that series but again, they try to catch you up as much as possible. The middle portion of the series dragged a bit and I had some issues with the development of a primary character but otherwise I had fun.

For a shorter series I really enjoyed the clone trooper novels. The first book in the series was a bit flat but once the chracters were established I think they did a good job with the remainder of the series. It also tended to stay away from the "Jedi are super kung-fu wizards" vibe that many of the pre-episode IV books tend to go for.

[quote=Grenn]

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Anyone else hate the New Jedi Order? Its like they asked how to kill off 90% of the characters they created. Including several from the kids and teens books.

I read an interview with R.A. Salvatore once and he basically explained the approach as this: people had begun to simply accept that the main characters were invulnerable and that they could never die so there was never any suspense. In these books they wanted to show that anything could happen. Anyone could die. It was never going to be guaranteed that a character would always triumph.

They've definitely taken this theme and run with it.

Hey Star Wars geeks. I recently won a Woot! Bag of Random Crap and in it is 6 Star Wars bobbleheads from Funko.

Tie Fighter Pilot
Luke Skywalker
Han Solo
Yoda
Bossk
4-LOM

$25 bucks plus shipping gets the lot or I'll trade you for a PS3 game I don't already own.

IMAGE(http://s.fatwallet.com/static/attachments/11732_funko_6_pack_star_wars_bobble_heads.png)

I am incredibly disappointed that they avoided the "Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?" line by not including one of them.

Han Solo in Carbonite desk, anyone? http://www.tomspinadesigns.com/Furni...

I, Jedi is an awesome book, probably my favorite standalone SW read.

As others have mentioned, the X-Wing series of books is also a great read.

I have read everything in the EU up until the NJO series started. Even ones that were released after NJO started but still pre-NJO story. I think one of those was also by Zahn... Survivor's Quest or something like that.

The only things out of that huge stack of books I will recommend to people are Zahn, X-Wing, and I, Jedi. Maybe the Jedi Academy Trilogy as well, only because that ties in with I, Jedi, and both stories seem like they are missing a few pieces without each other. But that trilogy is still pretty mediocre, more on the level with other EU books.

The rest of the bunch pre-NJO is pretty mediocre stuff, and you'd honestly be better off playing the video games to get some entertaining stories. Better writing and more fun. X-Wing series, Dark Forces series (yes that includes JK games, even though they seemed to drop the DF title), and the Rogue Squadron games (except 3).

From everything I've been told by friends that agree with me on the first round of EU stuff, NJO just gets even worse. I obviously can't say for certain, but I've heard enough bad things that I'm content with leaving my SW experience just before all that mess starts.

Thanks for the book recommendations guys, I used to be absolutely obsessed with these books as a kid - useful info.

w00t: I've got a signed 1st edition copy of Foster's 'Splinter of the Mind's Eye', the first original full-length Star Wars novel.

boo: It's a paperback edition.

I remember reading David Brin's two articles for Salon on Star Wars ("Star Wars" despots vs. "Star Trek" populists" and What's wrong (and right) with "The Phantom Menace"), and the follow-up post on his blog. They sucked the joy out of the films for me, as all good cynicism criticism will, but accordingly gave me a much better understanding of them. I can't excise the huge part SW played in my childhood and wouldn't want to, but Brin made me look at the trilogy again as a adult, and I'm really glad I did. Anyway, I'll always love the art of SW (especially in LEGO form), and that I can thankfully chalk up to Ralph McQuarrie and not Lucas.

If you don't have time to read all the above, I'd at least recommend this tangent:

David Brin wrote:

Remember when I kept mentioning "Clue Number One" and so on? It all points to a clever possibility. The one possibility that might make sense out of the whole saga!

All evidence points to Yoda as co-villain with the emperor all along -- one lightside of the force lying-pompous-schmuck and one darkside heavybreathing-sadist-schmuck. QuiGon was dimly aware of this problem, which is why he tried bypassing Yoda -- twice! -- and yearned for balance. So did Obiwan. And their student? How esthetic it would be for QuiGon and Obiwan to turn out to have been right and Yoda wrong!

How about this? Annakin self-hypnotized an inner core of himself to hide behid a mask while pretending to be the emperor's lackey, getting ready for a day of reckoning with BOTH of those sanctimonious bastards, Yoda and Palpatine! It works!

Here's part of the SALON article that never got included:

Oh, wait. I get it. Annakin was actually a secret agent spy all along! Here's the secret facts:

Vader's the one who sent the secret plans to Leia's ship! He arranged for the droids to get away, and coincidentally land just a few miles from his hidden son! (It explains why Obiwan "hid" Luke on the one planet Darth (I mean Anniken) was most familiar with in the whole universe. The same PART of that planet. It only makes sense if the two were really in cahoots!)

Remember how, a little later, Vader talks Tarkin into "letting them go so we can trace them"? Likewise, he's the only close-up witness to Obiwan disappearing, when he supposedly "killed" his master in that sword fight! (Maybe he actually helped Obiwan pull a vanishing act.) Note that the "fight" with Obiwan distracted the guards & helped let Luke get away!

But there's more! Remember how Vader "chased" Luke in that Tie fighter... which had the chief effect of turning off all the antiaircraft guns and giving the boy a clear shot to blow up the first Death Star! (From which event, Vader is conveniently the only Imperial survivor.)

Recall how in The Empire Strikes Back Vader offered to make Luke co-ruler? (Presumably it would thus be a nicer dynasty than the emperor's). Then in Jedi recall how Vader brought Luke aboard the second Death Star? Could it be because he knew the kid would irritate the emperor and get him upset enough to finally let Darth get a crack at him from behind?

I knew there had to be some reason why Vader didn't seem to detect his own daughter -- all filled with that magic force sh*t -- when he grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes in Episode... um... IV is it? Then he drug-interrogated her, without detecting any Force? Can there be any explanation except that he already knew?

Pah! He let them both get away deliberately! And whenever they needed guidance, there were the droids... his own special droids, assigned to help and guide his children to their destiny.

Now THERE is an explanation that could get Vader into Jedi Heaven! Maybe Obiwan, too.

But it CANNOT be the same place as Yoda!

Oh, but I forgot about the billions of people Vader helped kill. So never mind. (Too bad. It was starting to look like I could make the Star Wars Universe actually make sense. Alas, it cannot be done. Some miracles are beyond authorial skill. Sigh.)

Kehama wrote:

The closest I've seen the books come to being R-rated would be in instances where good ol' lightsaber loss of limbs is involved. As far as sex and language go they're virtually non-existent. Every once in a while you'll get a hell or damn tossed in for good measure and the even rarer implication that a couple have had sex. Overall it's pretty tame space opera.

Thanks! I'll get him to wander over to the YA section and look for Star Wars books there as well as the children's room.

I made him a light saber scarf for Christmas, and he wants a blanket after I finish one I'm making for his sister. I'm thinking a large-than-life size R2D2, maybe. He probably wouldn't find a Han Solo in Carbonite blanket nearly as amusing as I would. (Just think how cool it would look on the bed.)
IMAGE(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/5319/saberscarf1.jpg)

Also amusing -- the Darths & Droids screencap comic, re-imagining the Star Wars saga as if it had been a role playing game. It's ongoing, currently just past the arena fight in episode two. The first comic is here.

FSeven wrote:

Hey Star Wars geeks. I recently won a Woot! Bag of Random Crap and in it is 6 Star Wars bobbleheads from Funko.

Tie Fighter Pilot
Luke Skywalker
Han Solo
Yoda
Bossk
4-LOM

$25 bucks plus shipping gets the lot or I'll trade you for a PS3 game I don't already own.

IMAGE(http://s.fatwallet.com/static/attachments/11732_funko_6_pack_star_wars_bobble_heads.png)

Done, and Done, PM me your contact info. (Do you take PayPal?)

Am I the only one who doesn't really care about the Jedi at all (well hardly at all)?

I am still an uber Star Wars nerd... original trilogy, not so much the prequels.

Some fun short story distractions can be found in Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina. They give back stories to all of the bar patrons. There a bunch of other "Tales" collections as well. Star Wars books are a guilty pleasure of mine. They are all pretty bad, but I listen to the audio book versions while doing housework. Your local library may have a fair amount of them like mine does.

Also if you have chance, try to find of copy of Star Wars: Revisited. It's a fan edit of Star Wars and is everything the special edition should have been. The main purpose of the edit was to fix the horrible "color correction" from the released dvds, remove the stupid stuff (greedo shooting, Jabba) and then add/fix some of the fx work. There a couple additions I didn't agree with, but for the most part it works very well. (I changed his edit a little for my own personal version.. yes I know I'm a dork) Currently he's working on Empire and his skills are getting much better.

The books end with Zahn's two book series. Seriously, when you introduce a force immune species, kill a beloved character and proceed to destroy the galaxy because you're literally out of ideas on how to proceed, you shouldn't be writing anymore. Aghhhhh the whole Yuzzan Vong crap really marked the end of me buying EVERY new Star Wars book. I can't believe the hay day of the EU was well over 10 years ago.

And I Jedi, best single read ever. Darksaber wasn't bad, again, killing a character, while acceptable and encouraged in almost every other genre, not cool in the Star Wars galaxy.

Darksaber was so dumb. Kevin J. Anderson novels should be found nowhere outside of middle school libraries (which is where I found them all).

Oh god, don't even get me started on what that guy did to Dune.

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