X-wing

[Ikelae]

anyone else here read the X-wing series.. i know its probably a bit old but ive only read the first one and loved it.

[DarthTofu]

Oh yeah, I've read all of the X-wing books. The Rogue Squadron ones are very good in terms of plot and character development. The Wraith Squadron ones lack a bit in character development, but are far funnier. It actually hurts when one of the Wraiths dies, especially when- oh, wait, I won't ruin who dies for you.

 

But they're great books. Only one I don't own is Wedge's Gambit (Or gamble, forget which). Starfighters of Adumar is still my all-time favorite.

 

Hobby: Please tell me you're not putting us in women's clothing.

Wedge: All right. I'm not putting us in women's clothing.

*Five minutes later*

Hobby: You lied to me.

Wedge: Yeah, but it kind of should have been really obvious. Besides, the dress looks nice on you.

 

Alston and Stackpole both wrote NJO books later on. Stackpole did the Dark Tide duology, Alston did the Enemy Lines duology. Both are quite good, with some rather amazing parts toward their ends. I really wish I hadn't ruined them by reading the Wookiepedia articles on the Yuuzhan Vong war before I read them...

[SwordofDarkness]

stackpole is definitely up there among the better author's in the sw universe...both x-wing and njo were in good shape when he was doing the writing.

[Darth_Rob]

The X-Wing series was quite good. It was nice to get away from the same usual faces and focusing on new and rather behind-the-scenes characters.

[Krytos]

I've read a few, and owned at least one ... All of which were pretty good when I read them.

In retrospect, I have a feeling that the characters where too god like and capable of incredible feats of daring.

But, to some extent, that made the series.

[SwordofDarkness]

I've read a few, and owned at least one ... All of which were pretty good when I read them.

In retrospect, I have a feeling that the characters where too god like and capable of incredible feats of daring.

But, to some extent, that made the series.

 

In how many SW novels and series is this not the case?

[SOCL]

Oh yeah, I've read all of the X-wing books. The Rogue Squadron ones are very good in terms of plot and character development. The Wraith Squadron ones lack a bit in character development, but are far funnier. It actually hurts when one of the Wraiths dies, especially when- oh, wait, I won't ruin who dies for you.

I completely disagree with you, Tofu. The very fact one of the character's deaths actually hurts (and it did!) shows that Allston had better character development. In fact, I would say you have it backwards, Tofu: Stackpole, if anything, lacked character development compared with Allston's Wraith Squadron books. You look at characters like Corran Horn and Wedge Antilles and they literally do not change in any way from Rogue Squadron to whatever is the fourth novel. Perhaps Horn did discover his Jedi origin and such, but this in no way changes his behavior or attitude. Rather, the rogue just act the same. Damnit, read the last few pages of Bacta War: it's like some bad 1970s/1980s sitcom:

Wedge: I'm going back to the Republic! Who's with me?
Rogue: I am!
Rogue: I am!
Rogue: Count me in!
Rogue: You can bet on me!
[one of the rogues doesn't say anything--let's pretend his name is Josh)
All Rogues: Josh!...
Josh: Okay, okay. I'm in!
All: YAY!

Please! It's the worst writing in all of Star Wars! Granted Stackpole gets better and in I, Jedi his characters actually change and evolve, thus character development. But this isn't a part of the X-Wing series of novels...

 

As for Allston: just take "Face" Loran! You have him come in as a nobody who is really not interested in trying to advance his career, but then you have the death of his best friend, his attempt to keep humour up as his squad-mates are killed off--by the end of the series, though he may be the same joker concerning humour, he is far more serious when it comes to operations and combat-actions. Further, unlike most other Star Wars characters that somehow, over the period of what is nearly two decades, remain at the same rank in nearly the same posting, "Face" is actually promoted and gets responsibility of his own. What makes Allston's books better: they're not a sordid mess of characters trying to do too many things at once without a coherent plot and without enemies who are bumbling fools! Zsinj was nothing but formidable, especially compared to the antics of Ysanne Isard as depicted in the Stackpole novels.

[Mad78]

I believe my favorite Star Wars book of all time was the one where the Wraiths pretend to be pirates. Just Brilliant!!!

[Ikelae]

... sooo while we are on the topic of books

 

anyone mind to list there favorite star wars books i could pick up next time i got to barns and noble?

[SwordofDarkness]

... sooo while we are on the topic of books

 

anyone mind to list there favorite star wars books i could pick up next time i got to barns and noble?

 

nothing beats zahns original trilogy...and the end of Last Command has to be one of my favorite star wars moments.

[DarthTofu]

We'll agree to disagree, SOCL

 

Corran actually does change, in my opinion. He comes in with stereotypical views of good and evil, and wrestles with them quite a bit as he tries to figure out if someone who runs about breaking laws designed to protect people can still be a good person. He ultimately does come to his decision (I'm not going to say what it is, and you might want to take out the most memorable death in the EU ever (after Chewie's), SOCL ) Throw in Wedge's budding relationship with Iella which he ultimately leaves to Aalston to complete, as well as Tycho and Winter... I thought he did a better job at it, personally.

 

I also really liked how he set up for later books, like when he mentioned the Katana Fleet and brought in Karde. (Even though it's partially because he and Zahn are huge collaborators)

 

Only thing that annoyed me too much was the Aalderanian (sp?) assault cruiser... The stupidity kinda hurt. And I was pretty shocked when Bror Jace died!

 

Though I will still proclaim that I liked Alston's stuff better than Stackpole's in the X-wing series. NJO I'd say that the two tied with one another.

[SOCL]

Maybe we're just opposites at everything, Tofu. It's actually mention of the Katana fleet and Karrde which made me want to puke on my copies of the novels. Why? I don't think Stackpole captured the idea and character, especially concerning Karrde, how he had originally been envisioned. And I got tired of Stackpole's cliche line of "I'm not officially here" bit--it just got old. We get: smugglers don't always work with the Republic/Alliance, but when the do (and that's every time we see them in any bit of Star Wars), they sympathize, and yet don't want that known, only to turn around and join the Republic. Booster, Karrde, Han Solo, the Smuggler's Alliance, Mara Jade--we get it!

 

Maybe I'm just bitter at Star Wars novels in general, especially since how good Republic Commando: Hard Contact was and the vomit of an ending Triple Zero had.

 

anyone mind to list there favorite star wars books i could pick up next time i got to barns and noble?

Novels suggestions? First, I suggest shopping at Borders... Nothing noble about a barn.

 

-Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command
-Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy: Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, Champions of the Force
-Timothy Zahn's Hand of Thrawn duology: Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future
-Karen Traviss: Republic Commando: Hard Contact

[DarthTofu]

(II think part of it might be based on the order in which the books are read. I read through the X-wing books before the Zahn books and liked the former far over the latter. You read Zahn first I assume, and thus had the opposite reaction because the former clashed with the latter.

 

I propose an experiment: We conk twenty people over the head and stick them in locked rooms with copies of the X-wing books and copies of the Thrawn books. We make ten of them read X-wing first and ten read Thrawn first.

 

Then we kill them to avoid being identified to the police. Who's with me! (I'm joking, officer. Honestly, I'm joking!)

[Krytos]

I've read a few, and owned at least one ... All of which were pretty good when I read them.

In retrospect, I have a feeling that the characters where too god like and capable of incredible feats of daring.

But, to some extent, that made the series.

 

In how many SW novels and series is this not the case?

 

Haha, good point

 

I guess in that sense the NJO series is better and most characters have a sense of mortality.

 

I'd like to read some of the Wraith novels. The only had a small taste of them, through the Enemy Lines novels within the NJO series. I found them easy to like characters, and very humorous - Kell and Face are great characters

It would be great to read more about them.

[DarthTex]

... sooo while we are on the topic of books

 

anyone mind to list there favorite star wars books i could pick up next time i got to barns and noble?

Take a look here: The Worst SW Novel Awards!!! at what to avoid

[Mad78]

I remember that! We even had a prize for the worst book.

[Ikelae]

Thanks you for listing these books

 

... im really wanting to read the thrawn books I really think thrawn is an amazing EU character:)

 

btw.. has anyone heard of a starwars comic called the darktimes

 

I got it from a local store it anit bad