Del Rey Contract Extended - More SW Books

[Evaders99]

More SW Books, now that Del Rey's contract has been extended.

 

http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/Del_Rey_Books_Contract_Extended_114559.asp

 

Del Rey and LucasBooks have largely been responsible for the Clone Wars novels, NJO, and Legacy of the Force. What are your thoughts? Are they doing a good job? Or do you want to see something different?

[Krytos]

Well, I'll put my hand up for them doing a good job. The NJO series was a great turning point for SW novels - I'm not saying all EU novels were bad, but the NJO really set a benchmark. The first book of the Legacy of the Force was brilliant. I really loved it, so much I stayed up multiple nights reading it to all hours of the morning (that being said the preview of the next novel in the series really felt poorly written) - but without reading more of the series I can only hope it was as good as its opening.

 

So, all in all, let them continue their good work

[Bill]

I think that's great. I've always enjoyed reading Star Wars books. I hope they renewed the agreement for a long time.

[DarthTofu]

What I planned to say: That's good news- I like the Del Rey novels for their darkness, for the sense that everything that happens happens for a reason of some sort. My only dissapointment is that they're going to use Troy Dennings again with their future books, and I'm going to get very pissed off when I have to read them in order to get to the next one. Not gonna lie- I'd like to see them reuse some of the NJO authors who did a good job. Stackpole is still a good SW writer, no matter what SOCL thinks, and if a book says "Matthew Stover" on the front cover I will gladly buy it and read it cover-to-cover in one night/morning/day (they sort of melt together when you're reading his works).

 

What I now must say: Holy crap-- Invincible is out and nobody told me?! I thought it wasn't out 'till June!

[SOCL]

I'll basically read any Star Wars novels that continue into the future. As long as Sue Rostoni and James Luceno are on the planning committees, then they're bound to be good. I would really like to see a return of Tim Zahn, Aaron Allston, and Stover, but at the same time I also really, really want new blood. And like you, Tofu, I don't necessarily want to see more work by Denning, but more so, I don't want to see more Traviss--none. I'm only going to read her Order 66, the last of the Republic Commando novels, only because I've read the rest of the series. It's not great and only went downhill from Hard Contact, the first novel in the series. Her obsession with Mandalorians and a constant need to include them, in some form or another, just drags her work. I think Tofu's dislike of Denning is about equal to my dislike of Traviss.

 

There's a new Karen coming on board who will be writing the second novel of Clone Wars novels based on the coming TV series, Traviss will be writing the first (uck!). Hopefully she'll be good, and it's a nice sign to see another female in the mix.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on the author of the Darth Bane novels? I've heard he's quite good.

[Evaders99]

Darth Bane - considering the writer, Drew Karpyshyn, wrote KOTOR... and quite enjoying Path of Destruction, I hope to get Rule of Two and read it. (Sorry reading time has been rather small this year)

[SOCL]

Darth Bane - considering the writer, Drew Karpyshyn, wrote KOTOR... and quite enjoying Path of Destruction, I hope to get Rule of Two and read it. (Sorry reading time has been rather small this year)

Well, I didn't realize he was the one who wrote KOTOR. That being the case, I suppose I'll read Path of Destruction after I finish Tim Zahn's Allegiance, which is not that great...

[Evaders99]

One review of Path of Destruction said that you know Dessel (ala pre-Darth Bane) was going to the evil Sith side, you still could sympathize and rout him on. That's powerful character... anti-hero which makes it even more interesting to read.

[DarthTofu]

I was still pushing for Jacen Solo after he went dark. It doesn't take much to make me loyal to the Sith after reading the novelization of episode three. Matthew Stover turned me to the Dark Side.

[Evaders99]

More novel news...

 

Clone Wars novels by Karen Traviss and a newcomer, Karen Miller

I know some of you have thoughts about Karen Traviss's writing.

 

New SW Encyclopedia

[SOCL]

Some good, if not at least interesting news for we Allston fans:

 

http://theforce.net/books/story/New_Aaron_Allston_Novel_On_The_Way_115774.asp

[DarthTofu]

And som news for Matthew Stover fans: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Luke_Skywalker_and_the_Shadows_of_Mindor

 

I'm not sure if I'm excited about this or not. Stover did great with the prequel trilogy, and he was awesome with Traitor.... but I don't know if he can work with Luke, Han, and Leia as much. All three are already very developed characters, and he has to jump back to when they were less developed to write this; I'm not sure whether or not this'll be one of his better works, just because of all the restrictions he'll face. I know I liked Aalston better when he got his own characters to play with instead of everyone else's. Hopefully this Sith Lord will be done well, though.

[SOCL]

Shadowspawn isn't really a Sith Lord, per se...

 

The cover art makes me drool. Shadowspawn looks awesome! I'm actually looking forward to something like this. We have yet to see a major surface engagement in Star Wars that doesn't result in a retreat. I mean, Luke is still dealing with very powerful Imperial forces, still only four years after Endor. These are essentially still High Empire forces at their prime, just before their total collapse--you might say the "last gasp/stand" of the Imperial Army.

[Evaders99]

I guess this is supposed to be our running novel thread

 

http://karentraviss.typepad.com/blog/2009/08/end-of-one-era-start-of-another.html

Seems Karen Traviss knows of some big changes coming up, enough that would either retcon what she's done. So she's stopped with further SW novels.

I wonder what's in store.. I have a feeling I don't like it already. If you have to retcon a major part of the SW EU, what would this entail? It seems like it would be worse than the whole Vader-built-C3PO thing

[SOCL]

I for one am happy to see Ms. Traviss go. Her Mandalorian fetish, not to mention inappropriate hate and degradation of Jedi epitomized in her tangents on "the virtues of being a Mandalorian (and not a Jedi)" in the Legacy series increasingly made her less and less attractive as an author. When she began openly insulting fans in school yard-style naming calling on the SW Forums, including her catchphrase "Talifan" for those fans who don't agree with her, I finally realized that in my mind she was both unwanted and a liability. I'll grant you, she has toned her rhetoric down considerably, likely because Star Wars was no longer consuming the entirety of her time as it had before (reference he new fetish, Warhammer, and these chainsaw-gun things... ), but that still does not make up for her blatantly unprofessional, sectional/factional behavior. It's one thing to take a side in one of these camps that divide the EU, it's another thing entirely to actively assist in creating and expanding those divisions - to me, that's the equivalent of sabotage, and it is something I did not see as favorable or at all welcome in the Star Wars franchise. I am happy to see Ms. Traviss, though I, in some ways, wish she had been dismissed rather than quit.

 

And just so you know I don't completely hate Ms. Traviss, I did enjoy her novel Republic Commando: Hard Contact and have even begun rereading it. It was only with her subsequent works that I stopped enjoying them for the reasons named above.

 

I'm not sure it's worth noting that Hard Contact was her first Star Wars novel...

[Evaders99]

Dude... what is Lucas doing???

 

http://karentraviss.typepad.com/blog/2009/12/sooty-and-a-clean-sweep.html

 

When I was finishing 501st in January this year, I was told about a significant continuity change coming up in the Clone Wars cartoon. (As was mentioned and shown in a couple of books that came out in the summer - this is not confidential information of any kind now.) I was told that the Mandalorians were being revamped as long-standing pacifists who'd given up fighting centuries ago and that Mandalore was now a post-apocalyptic wasteland devastated by war. I was told not to refer to (recent) Mandalorian history because of that, as it was obviously at odds with the old continuity in my novels. That's fairly common procedure for any franchise - but unfortunately it wasn't that simple in practice. The two Commando series - and quite a few older books and comics, come to that -were based entirely on that original history, and basic logic meant that the fundamental plot of the series could never have existed if this had been a pacifist society. Neither could any of the characters or their motives have existed, because they were wholly based on a global warrior culture living on a non-nuked Mandalore. I had some discussion in January with the editor about possible ways around the problem, but after that, I heard nothing to indicate that the position would change, so the plan went ahead to wind up my existing storyline in the two books that were already in the pipeline. It was too late for me to rewrite 501st even if the changes hadn't made that pretty well impossible.

[SOCL]

Dude... what is Lucas doing???

Pacifist Mandalorians... Retcons are all the rage, it would seem. Hate to see the Republic/Imperial Commando series not be finished, but, then, I have my own serious issues with Traviss, her style, and her writing, so...

[DarthTofu]

I agree... rather odd and idiotic course of action for the universe, especially considering the rather recent Mandalorian portrayal in the Empire at War: Forces of Corruption game, as well, as almost all source material on it.

[Evaders99]

Millennium Falcon - a novel review

 

What can I say... I've thought about it, and maybe because its so late in reading from when it was published, but I am disappointed.

It has all the classics of a Star Wars adventure, travelling on the ship to discover it's past. But ultimately, I found it too predictable and lacking in anything new. I'm glad I got it on paperback, it's not worth the hardback.

 

Likes:

- all the EU references, from the Antarian Rangers to the Firrerreons to the Zann Consortium

- connecting the EP3 Republic era up to the Fate of the Jedi era

- all the little side stories of the Falcon

- interactions of Han, Leia, Allana gang

 

Dislikes:

- Predicable; the two protagonist groups would meet up and come together at the end to defeat the hidden enemy watching them

- The ending... oh man, the treasure "to restore the honor of the Republic" is a freaking metal plaque? Could it not have been something more exciting? Jedi holocrons? Tapes of Palpatine as a Sith lord.. something?

- The ending 2... okay, so they just get up and leave. The only challenging bit is just getting off the planet, but that wasn't much. Seriously? The enemy just doesn't really do anything at the end

- No one dies? Okay.. so the co-pilot did. But we knew the Solos would survive. But Jadak? Or even the enemy get away?

- Oh the enemy has a second tracker... duh! It's almost as if Luceno couldn't find a less predictable way, the fact that he tells you this directly from the enemy POV is just insulting

- All the little side stories of the Falcon are, in fact, side stories. Besides the first part, the Falcon doesn't really get a character of its own. We're told the ship is unique and quirky, but don't actually see it do much of anything. It's like being told 5 different stories about your friend's "girlfriend in Canada" but having her never talk or act, it might as well be a stuffed animal.

- The whole ship-stealing, and then pretending to be the previous owner while secretly boarding the ship.... I was confused. The ship is happened to be programmed to return to its own launch place? You mean C-3PO isn't going to even point out immediately these guys were the enemy? Granted Han makes him shut up... but that was a little suspending disbelief.

- Something about the Collicoids and a lawsuit and a witness...? What? Is this an episode of Law and Order?

- Allana almost gets kidnapped... wait didn't we do that? Oh, it happens again in Fate of the Jedi

 

Maybe these are nitpicks, but I actually thought I cared about the characters in Death Star novel more than these characters.

I mean Allana just goes through more of the typical "my daddy's a Sith Lord and tried to take over the world"-syndrome and Solo is still the old-guy-looking-to-relive-old-adventure. Heck, I don't remember Leia doing much of anything except trying to convince Allana to call upon Jacen... wtf. Jadak I almost cared about, but he seemed the invincible super-agent anyway.

 

All and all, very disappointing novel

[Evaders99]

Maybe I've grown old and snooty... but these last books have been disappointing

 

Imperial Commando: 501st by Karen Traviss

A Review

 

 

This book goes nowhere. Seriously... it's a lot of talking. Things happen, but most of the action is irrelevant to the topic.

They're the whole irrational "I'm a Jedi-bigot, but my adopted son/brother and brother's wife were both Jedi" ... plus "can't kill the old Jedi nor the young Jedi" and "Zey saved by his clone trooper"

I just don't get it. Zey didn't seem like such a bad character, and they're all blaming the Jedi for Etain's death. Really?

 

There's the whole inoculate-the-world-against-the-latest-Imperial-bioweapon... oh btw, we have the creator of that virus in our camp.

That subplot really goes no where... so what, the Empire destroys a world, but we're not close enough to the character or plot to really care.

When Chewie got smashed on a dying planet... we cared. It was big. This planet-destroying bioweapon wasn't.

 

Darman's irrational "let's join the Empire to destroy all the Jedi to defend my son" thing is annoying, and apparently unresolved until the next book.

So that's pretty much it. A bunch of new characters, but we ultimately care little because they do nothing.

Is anyone under attack? Starting a fight? No, not really. The Empire hasn't found them, Mandalore isn't being taken over by force.

 

As far as I can tell, there is really no bad guy... thus no conflict. All the bad-guy-evil-stuff that the Empire and others are doing isn't affecting anyone we care about. There is more background introducing Death Watch and the Jaster Mereel/Jango Fett story... but not enough where I really cared about it. Give us some context please.

 

Since Traviss is no longer even writing the sequel, I wonder if this will really go anywhere.

I could see it just ending, and no one would really care because nothing happens in this book.

[Evaders99]

Star Wars: Crosscurrent - by Paul S. Kemp - A Review

 

Wow - this one really feels like Star Wars again.

This brings us back to the Sith vs Jedi in a good way, connecting both the Jedi/Sith from the KOTOR era with the Jedi Knight series (mainly, just Jaden Korr).

Despite the obvious cliche of timetravel, it doesn't try to explain every little detail.

 

The characters actually do something in this book, they feel more heroic and less whiny. Even Jaden and Relin, both struggling with their own issues, continue to do what's right despite the hardships. (Though I'm unsure how Relin's weakness fits in yet)

The side characters are all fairly interesting, from Marr the Cerean to the Anzati hunter.

 

It's a fairly short book, but action-packed and fun.

Maybe it doesn't introduce anything totally new, but I want to see where this goes. I'd love to see how this evolves, if Kemp gets another stab at a book using these characters.

[Evaders99]

25 Years of Spectra: Star Wars: Heir to the Empire

 

Wow, nearly 20 years since Heir to the Empire came out. It was a risk, Star Wars franchise was historical. Heir really rocked and started the Expanded Universe train

[Evaders99]

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/05/random-house-lucas-releasing-star-wars-e-books/1?loc=interstitialskip

Lucas releasing all SW novels as ebooks. About time!

(Not that I don't already have them all. But I'm definitely considering starting my ebook collection as it saves paper and space. Plus I've been playing with the Nook Color for the past two months...)

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

I'm glad to see that they're going to be releasing the books as ebooks. I got rid of all of my paperback and hard cover Star Wars books years ago to free up space on my book shelves (my interest in the novels waned severely towards the end of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion), so being able to have them all again in one, convenient location would be wonderful. With luck I won't be left out on my iPad.

[Evaders99]

Allston Talks New Wraith Squadron Book - all I can say is... WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!