It may be geeky, but I can’t agree more about the complete ignoring of distance and time in many sci-fi movies and franchises of late. It was annoying about the SW prequels, Firefly, and now this. It’s lazy writing and an example of ignoring common sense needlessly for sake of easly plot advancement. Thinking about lots of moments of the movie that way afterwards, really thinking about them, generates a lot of WTF retrospective…

I agree too that Carol Marcus was a major sour note overall for so many reasons, with “contrivance” written all over her character. That T&A scene was by far and away the movie’s worst, like they were checking some box on a list…

The other major sour note was all the Kronos stuff (from getting there, to how it looked, to what happened, to the whole WTF aspect of it). It felt like it was all from another movie.

Overall, though, as someone who did NOT enjoy the JJ Abrams reboot and who wasn’t a TOS guy (I’m a TNG fan myself who ignores the existence of the TNG movies and views the series ender AGT as the true TNG finale) I have to say that “Into Darkness” was the best sci-fi movie I’ve seen in many, many years, at least since District 9 and easily the best Trek movie of the entire franchise from beginning to now. Amazingly, it was true to the good Roddenberry core of Trek, an absolutely gorgeous film from beginning to end (save for Kronos), well acted, and actually mostly coherent. I even enjoyed the (greatly toned down) lens flares.

4.5/5 out of 5 indeed…

THAT is the moment that post-NJO EU lost me– when they utterly destroyed the character I loved most, and the part of the character I loved most. I didn’t blink at all the stupid Sith, what the Dark Nest did to Jag, Jacen taking Darth Stupid pills… but hell no was I ever gonna trust someone who destroyed Tahiri’s character like that, not after all the growth she had in NJO. I threw that book at the wall and gave the whole series to Goodwill.

Anyways i think the fights themself in legacy is awesome, very violent yes but they have to be when the skywalkers/solo fights. They are the most powerful jedi of all timesX2 so it’s bound to be that way.Also i do like what they did to Caedus, he really is talking in absolutes all the time making him very sith.

It’s a wonder to me how they still let Denning write anything after this, yet he’s now up there with having the most SW books ever with Allston or something, which is disturbing.

And people wonder why I wasn’t really into the post NJO EU books before the sequel trilogy hit me with all the crazy.

Yeah, there were a lot of things wrong with these books. The characterization had a lot of problems. Many (most) of the plots were strange or just way out there. And did I miss the memo that Leia had thrown away the red bladed saber Luke gave her and right away made a new (blue one)? Because that is what is basically written at the end of The Swarm War. (It made me angry; I loved the fact that Leia had a red bladed saber and not a traditional jedi color). Not to mention that whole leaving some of his students on Dagobah as punishment that Luke did… That was stupid and it’s not Luke.

I think I will read your reviews of Legacy just for the snark. I’m not likely to ever read them myself anyway.

You’re a really fast reader to be done with these already. You make me feel like a slow reader.
(And you were 15 when these came out? Then you must be a few years younger than me).

Also: No, I don’t feel like rereading the Dark Nest trilogy anytime soon. The first started off good, but the books went downhill from there and the final book wasn’t even really finished. I felt like I was missing entire chapters when I was done with that one, and it did put in the nail for me reading more from that era. (Because Denning was kept as an author for Legacy). I’m still debatting whether I should give Legacy a go or not, but I’m still leaning toward ‘not’.

Thanks for the review of NJO; I’d forgotten so much of these books. Maybe I should start my own rereading of EU. But for now I have other books to read.

I’m not worried at all. Disney’s other mega-property Marvel seems to do just fine with two films, multiple television shows, books, and hundreds of comics per year. Star Wars is a big universe with a lot of stories to tell. It’ll be fine.

If this first trio of novels does well I’m really hoping we’ll see more!

I’m imagining it. ^^

So yes, Jacen, Anakin, and Mara Jade don’t need to be mentioned… but by extension, Jaina and Ben *would* need to be mentioned. If the decision is made that a different set of Skywalker and Solo kids will be used (a very easy decision to make, for the writers… literally as simple as writing down some names which aren’t Jaina and Ben)… then it’s all gone.

Consider this: if the Solos don’t have twins, then EVERYTHING is wiped out… all the way back to Heir to the Empire. No retcons can fix that. So, if you like Star Wars for its continuity, your chosen interest is quite fragile at the moment.

The way I look at it, the Ultimate sort of branding of the current EU is just the most fair option to everyone. Certainly it would be nice if the Sequel Trilogy managed not to be at odds with the books and comics, but I think it’s just unrealistic to expect that. Short of that, allowing the EU as it exists now to continue on its own path is the most fair option.

Also, why is he stepping down? Is he being forced out? This article doesn’t really address that.

I came here after hearing about you on the ForceCast this week. If this is the typical quality of your output, I plan to stick around!

If I have any complaint whatsoever, it is that the creativity and open-mindedness of the EU that I love so much does not exist on all levels of the franchise. The Star Wars universe is huge, both on a literal and physical scale, but it seems as though some creators, be it George Lucas himself or an author or even a game developer, seem hell-bent on keeping the universe as small as it can possibly be. While I most certainly understand the centrality and importance of the Skywalker/Solo family, it seems as though they are made out to be the “essence of the universe.” No addition to the SW universe, be it the films or the EU, seems to make the cut these days unless that have at least one character who has three degrees of separation from the Skywalker/Solo lineage. This was not always an issue – between the release of Episodes VI and I, we saw the Star Wars universe expand at an exponential rate and introduced many characters that had little to no association with the Skywalker/Solo clans. But since the arrival of the prequel trilogy, there has been an effort, an enforcement perhaps, to tie EVERYTHING to the Star Wars saga (the films). This has stumped the creative process of Star Wars as a whole – maintaining that “loyalty” with the films is more important than telling a good story, providing vivid characters, etc.

I have always believed the Star Wars universe to be big enough to tell any kind of story about any number of characters. In part, this is why franchises like “Knights of the Old Republic” were so popular and successful – it took place in a different place, a different time and with a completely different lineage of characters. Had someone like Lucas been more involved in the creative process of the franchise, however, I guarantee that one character would be a distant forefather or descendant of Skywalker or Solo. This would have been a major detraction from the franchise.

All I ask is that the people at the top allow the entire Star Wars universe to be fully explored. You never know what you are going to find!

Specifically: Who said details need to be acknowledged? I don’t want that. There’s nothing to form a script around except the roster of surviving characters after FotJ, and not even all of them… pretty much just the descendants. Nobody has to mention Abeloth, the Yuuzhan Vong, the dead Solo kids, the current Jedi Council, or even the current galactic state of affairs (I mean, we can even assume VII takes place a year after FotJ and for whatever reason, the GA/Empire and the Jedi Council and all those set pieces have been restructured into whatever configuration the writers see fit… or they could even retcon FotJ and say that it happened a few years earlier than it actually did…)

To fit with continuity, the past doesn’t have to be discussed; I know it’s illogical that two big wars would have happened and not been mentioned, but it’s better than arbitrarily saying that they never happened by putting in some kind of 40-year filler to overwrite it all. As the other article states, the hardcore fans can know what went on, and the others don’t have to. The opening crawl never even has details about the past… just a setup for the events of the current movie. Point is, wiping it out would be unnecessary, and a good writer could, as I said, write *around* the details… NOT bring them in.

So, wanting to actually see the minor details of the EU in the movies? That’s ridiculous. But simply wishing that it wouldn’t be wiped out arbitrarily? That’s perfectly reasonable… but it’s still unlikely, and THAT is what I think people are bummed about.

I can’t imagine a worse idea than having to acknowledge wrap the sequel films around things like Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi, to be honest. Borrow characters and general ideas/themes, absolutely, but don’t stick to an already convoluted and messy timeline. That’s a disservice to Star Wars fans as a whole.

Star Wars has always had the most impressive “vastness/consistency” ratio of any franchise out there. Yes, there are crappy stories in the universe, but nothing so crappy that you couldn’t ignore it outside the context of that story itself, so in that way, every single story adds to the overall weight of the universe, if only by page count. Thanks to the work of Leeland Chee, only the most minute details are ever fully de-canonized. No other franchise this size has that, and Star Wars has pulled it all off (and without any in-universe alternate reality/time travel junk).

As it pertains to the fan frustration, the difference between Marvel and Star Wars is a very big one:

- Star Wars is a film franchise first, and the authors have worked hard to fit their stories around film canon. Marvel is a comic franchise first, so the film universe is simply a loose adaptation of printed material. In a way, I think many people are just grateful to see Marvel onscreen, regardless of whether it fits a comic continuity or not. As Star Wars fans, we’ve been spoiled by the fact that the films came first, and will always live or die based on the precedent set by the films… whereas, if a Marvel film happens to flop or mess up a character’s story, Marvel fans can keep reading the comics as usual without any real disruption.

- A comment was made above that the prequels were more EU-shattering than the sequels ever could be, but I don’t think that’s true. No stories were truly overwritten by the prequels, because nobody ever even attempted to write about young Obi-Wan or Anakin. Yes, certain principles about the Jedi Order introduced some problems, but those could all be retconned; as Luke rebuilt the Jedi Order, it was as if he learned their principles right alongside us through the course of the post-ROTJ books that came out parallel to the prequels (Whoops, Jedi couldn’t marry? Well, simple enough… Luke didn’t know that yet, and he doesn’t agree with it, because that rule played a part in Anakin’s fall).

- In this case, however, the actual characters themselves will be shifted around. If Chewie’s alive, that CANNOT be retconned; if the Solos have kids who aren’t Jacen/Jaina/Anakin*, there’s simply no way to explain that. If we had known all along that we were looking at something which would be completely wiped out in the future, I guess it might be easier to stomach, but now all that time we invested might feel wasted. Since Star Wars is a film franchise first, I just can’t see any angle where the overwritten books retain their validity. Multiple canons dilute the impact of one another; in fact, that’s WHY I have no interest in Marvel or DC. They don’t satisfy my OCD-borne craving for detail and consistency.

*Note: it won’t be Anakin, because Lucas himself ordered Anakin to be killed off due to the name being confusing. I wish that was done in preparation for the sequel trilogy, indicating but it’s hardly a guarantee.

The EU has always written around the films, and frankly, a good screenwriter could do the same in return. It wouldn’t hinder creativity, and in fact, many wise writers have posited the idea that restrictions actually *stimulate* creativity. I know you’re optimistic that they’ll use elements from the EU, but I’m just… not. I can’t really say why. But if they only knew how tidy everything was for the main characters at the end of FotJ… a patented JJ Abrams female protagonist? Jaina’s ready to go. If they don’t use her, that’ll be a real crushing blow for me.

Again, a lot of the melodramatic worry and anger at Disney is very misguided, and I hate that that’s a part of our reputation as Star Wars fans… but I also think some amount of grief is appropriate. If you like things a certain way, it’s just a bummer that they have to change in order to create room for more. You can say “You need to accept that,” but this is just a hobby, really, so, heh… we don’t really *need* to accept much of anything at all.

(This comment is unrelated to the post at hand, I just love that the Internet is occasionally a small world)

You know damn well that you wouldn’t want your daughter/sister/mother/friend/whatever treated like that, so why would you treat someone else’s like that.

For fuck’s sake, it’s not that hard people.

As the father of two young girls (ages 1 and 3) , I’ve thought with pride of how they’re entering a world where full professional, cultural, religious, sexual, political, and other freedoms and equalities are now routinely assumed, “post-feminist” style, but as has been said, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

We can’t get complacent. Thanks for your important editorial!

When you see someone violating the rule that Cosplay=/=Consent and if the cosplayer looks uncomfortable, it ISN’T white knighting if you step in and tell the violator to take a hike. If you do this, don’t expect the cosplayer to shower you with gratitude either. Just be a decent person and diffuse a bad situation when it’s called for and go about your business again.

I agree with this sentiment. Jacen mysteriously changed character almost completely between YJK and NJO. It was very weird following his development (or lack thereof) throughout this series when I read it. What the hell happened? My theory is that they just wanted someone to be on the flipside of things and decided Jacen was it, regardless of whether that fitted with his previously established character or not.

I remember liking some parts of NJO very much, some fairly much, and some not at all. Those tied in with Jacen are among my least favorites, because of what they do to his character; they simple destroyed him. I also hate what happened to Anakin and Tahiri, but that’s for later.

I’d honestly forgotten about Kre’fey, but now that you mention him I vaguely remember liking him. Maybe I should reread these books some day. (Maybe I should reread all my sw books some day).

Now, I am not a big EU fan. I liked some of the books and comics, others not so much, but I have never really considered the events of the EU to be THE ONLY POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. It’s like… L.Frank Baum’s Oz and Wicked. It’s like Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera and Susan Kay’s Phantom. Margaret Mitchell’s Scarlett O’Hara, and whoever wrote THAT sequel…. you can read those sequels and prequels and enjoy them, and still consider them to be no more than ONE PERSON’S take on what else may have happened to those characters. And just because someone else comes along and has a DIFFERENT take on the same classic characters, that doesn’t make one right and one wrong… they’re both fiction, both entertaining, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The worst thing for me would be if the new movies expect too much (any, really) EU knowledge on the part of the viewer. ROTS was a bit guilty of that… I felt that I was supposed to know who General Greivous was going into the film, and I didn’t. I think you have to assume that the average movie-goer is not a full-time Star Wars fan… assume that they’ve seen the six live-action movies, maybe refresh their memory if you need to reference something that’s not a really major plot point. Other than that, anything taken from books, comics, games, etc needs to be treated as new material for the purposes of the casual audience. People will go to see this film who have not seen a SW film since ROTS was in theaters. Some people will be experiencing this universe for the first time. This will be an international film, marketed as well to countries that don’t have TCW or most of the EU. This film needs, more than anything else, to be approachable and entertaining to ALL of those people… as they far outnumber the hardcore fans.

The Expanded Universe isn’t going anywhere and I’m going to stand by that. It’s going to evolve, there’s going to be new content. Will it be a multiverse? I don’t know, but there’s going to be new material.

Frankly, I see no reason why the sequels won’t be like the prequels (and the Clone Wars, for that matter). That is, totally separate material that somewhat syncs with but doesn’t slavishly adhere to the EU or anything that’s come before, for that matter. I mean, not even Lucas has respected his own history and material (several times over). And, let’s face it, part of the fun of the EU is all the retconning. All of “Darth Plaqueis” can be seen as one giant retcon, and I loved that book…

I’m not sure what the controversy is since, frankly, I think the prequels were far more continuity and expectation shattering than anything the sequels have the potential to do…

So My Conclusion: More of the same, that our future looks a lot like our past. This isn’t as controversial, but its more likely true, and the fun will continue to be in retconning it all…

My other predictions:
- The “Old” EU actually does go away:
I actually DO think that, fundamentally, Disney is going to walk away from “our” EU. Not out of spite. No so much in respecting or disrespecting it story-wise, but from a pure business standpoint. I think all the Disney moves to date (including the Clone Wars cancellation) are an absolutely clear indication that all of the $$’s and resources are going 100% to future efforts and not to prior eras given that Disney has given every indication of carpet bombing us with SW’s films and spinoffs for, oh, the next 20 years or so.

I don’t think ANY fan site has looked at the practical impact of this. While, as you put it, they can’t rip our books off our shelves or tear the comics off my Android pad, they CAN never really publish anything substantial ever again in “our” EU. No more Old Old Republic, no more Sith Empire era, no more Lost Tribe, no more Prequel era, and (as we just found) no more Clone wars.

As I’m reading Scoundrels right now, I’m somewhat sad that I believe Zahn’s pen will likely never again touch this era or these characters. I think what we have of pre-ABY time is probably all we will ever see (short of a reference work or a movie spinoff). No new Satele Shan, no new Darth Cognus, no new Tenel Ka, no more Jax Pavan (OK, I really don’t want more Jax, but you get the idea). Don’t get me wrong. There will continue to be an extended universe that will absolutely continue and grow across many media platforms, but it will all be Disney movie era and after. And I’m totally looking forward to that, don’t get me wrong, but I feel sad “our” quirky, flawed, fun, occasionally brilliant (“Shatterpoint”!) EU is drawing to a close.

I think anything EU we get pre-Sequel should be celebrated as the last of an era. I’m drinking in every word of Scoundrels right now for just this reason. In fact, I think you guys should do an “EU appreciation countdown” pod-cast before it all goes away for good…

- No Multiverse:
I think this works for comics, but in the world of geekdom, comics are more hardcore geek than the generally older and more mainstream “lesser” geekdom of SW’s. Comics fan can take this kind of rebranding in stride. I don’t think multiverse will work for the SW crowd. Too hardcore…

- “… more Star Wars.”
Totally agree with you that we are going to see more SW’s (*Disney’s SW*) than ever. It’ll be everywhere. Every indication so far is that Disney is going to go absolutely bonkers. We’re going to be SW saturated, actually, by Disney. I think this will be totally awesome. So say we all…

And I agree in the plead – please, Dinsay – show us Mara on full screen or at least have Luke be widowed from her!!!

BTW – there should be statements too that Lucas DID intend Luke to be married

Goofy as these books are, these being a large part of why I’m sad when I think of what happens to these kids later. They were so ADORABLE.

I’m kind of tempted to go back and reread the books; I’m worried I wouldn’t like him as much, but let’s face it, I still find dumb puns funny so I’d probably still like him.

Oh, and I think I had a crush on Tenel Ka, which may be where my love of red hair came from (that or Mary Jane Watson).

There are things I find rather silly in them, but overall I liked them when I read them. The first four were the first SW books I ever read, so they do have a special place in my heart, too.

I have to admit I haven’t read Legacy and Fate (and currently don’t have any plans to do so; they are much easier to ignore when you haven’t read them). I hate that they killed off my favorite character in those books. And I think Luke’s change from ‘redeem’ to ‘just kill the bad guys’ could be connected to that death. It would certainly be the best explanation I can come up with.

Great list, guys.

I loved Starfighters of Adumar for myself, but the most fun I had was reading it to my brother (he’s blind and in a wheelchair). He laughed so much at this book, and I think he wanted to be Wes Janson.

I reread it just for that, but I also agree that MacBride Allen gets the tone, the characters and the relationships right – although I hadn’t thought Leia and Mara ever really had those trust issues with each other but then they haven’t seen one another in awhile, I guess.

SoA FTW! There’s SO many things I love about that book! I won’t go into them here, because it would take too long and I would forget something and then regret not mentioning it. Just love SoA.

Btw. why are you skipping The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy? (And The New Rebellion?) I wanted to read your take on those, especially Luke’s continued case of ‘teh dumb’ and Akanah. There’s just so many things you could snark about in those books. At least Luke gets better after this; his low point is definitely Crystal Star and Black Fleet Crisis.

And the idea of the Corellian System being man made has always fascinated me.

I’m not going to rehash every out-of-character moment in Dark Nest, Legacy of the Force, and Fate of the Jedi. TV Tropes has done a fabulous job of that for me, so head there for details. Suffice to say, the inhuman, cruel, and stubborn Luke Skywalker that appeared int hose books was very much at odds with the Luke seen in the films. And the Expanded Universe leading up to it.

Yeah, Jacen going dark was a retelling of the PT, but I loved the way that his fall dealt with the Force and further hammered home the idiocy of the Jedi in general. As an anti-Jedi guy I loved all of that stuff. I also enjoyed the mirroring aspect of the story to the PT, doomed to repeat the past and all that.

I never thought Dark Nest was out of character in any way. If anything it was a trio of novels that were willing to take Star Wars to interesting places and to progress its characters to darker places. Places that the universe usually veered clear of, and I appreciated the hardness of the science fiction in Dark Nest as well as the way the Hive mentality played out. Dark Nest still remains a favorite of mine.

When you have a major character (Dhur) openly lament, as he did *several* times in the Coruscant Nights series, that he had little to do and was bored, how sad is that? I mean, this represents a total surrender by the author. I mean, it’s the equivalent of the author, through the character, admitting to the reader that the plot and characterization have failed and that the author is bored to tears. How else can you view it? I won’t even go into stupidities like the Inquisitors (where did this dark force intel squad come from so fast? I know it was invented first in the comics, but they chose to use it), the Grey Paladins, and bringing in a Zeltron character, by far and away the EU’s most insulting species.

The double tragedy is that this series is one of the few to cover the space between Episode III and IV, and what a waste it was…

I’ll read the Last Jedi out of a sense of obligation, but how sad it seems to not rise above what came before…

That’s why I doubt he’ll agree to a film novelization deal.

I think the way I reconciled The Crystal Star to the rest of the storyline was to basically declare that the whole arc chronicled Luke’s 10 year bout with depression and confusion and that the Crystal Star is where he hit rock bottom. Even then, that only explains Luke behaving strangely though.

I also loved Starfighters of Adumar. It was the first X-Wing book I bought and I spent so much of it laughing out loud and reading bits to people. I seem to recall laughing to the point of tears over the reference to the Cartann Minister of Crawling into Very Small Spaces – and that’s not the funniest part of the book.

International fan just have to bear with the fee, or turn away.

Starfighters of Adumar, on the other hand, is one of my absolute favorites of the entire SWEU. It has everything I could want (except Jedi) and it’s fun, and funny, and SO GOOD!

Also: “Remember everything has the ability to change drastically, as Star Wars right now apart from the twin trilogies is a huge blank canvas.” Um, no? Ever heard of the Expanded Universe? I guess this could mean they are going to pretend it doesn’t exist and make their own future, relegating the EU to AU status. :/ *sigh* That is kinda expected, but disappointing nonetheless if it happens.

I think I’m the luckiest EU fan out there, because my very first EU book is Heir to the Empire.

At that point, I’ve only watch a little bit of ESB, and have brought the trilogy adaptation, read it once (My english is not good enough back then, so I’m mostly just picking up character’s names and dialogues, and completely missed the rest of the scene). Anyhow, I was hungry for more Star Wars, and I happened upon a second-hand book-store at the local supermarket, guess which two books I saw there? Heir to the Empire, and Splinter of the Minds Eye. They just happened to be the prefect starting point for EU, and the rest is history.

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/some-heir-to-the-empire-fan-music.31844434/

It’s not John Williams, but it’s fairly good!

I managed to read DFR first (via the audiobook) so it will always have a special place in my heart. I love Leia’s adventures with Chewie and the Noghri.

I kid. This is good news! It means that everyone can focus on one thing at a time to produce the best movie they can!

And I passed the book on to my brother so he could also enjoy it. I know he will buy it if he likes it enough.

I love the Rogue Squadron books. I really love the Wraith Squadron books. And I LOVE Starfighters of Adumar. Just love it. *sigh* I need more books of this kind. They’re just great.

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to give them your money if you don’t want to.

I really think Lucasfilm has taken a turn for the better!

So far, I haven’t seen any evidence that Abrams is as much a student of the human condition as Lucas was. Star Trek and Super 8 were both rich in special effects and characters, but poor in themes. I believe Abrams only directed the pilot of Lost, so I don’t really know how much it reflects Abrams (I haven’t watched Alias, so I can’t comment).

I hope that, with Lucas writing the story treatment, Lucas will have enough opportunity to push the story into more interesting directions. However, I would be interested in learning more about Abrams’ background though so if anybody knows anything please let me know!

Star Trek was never about making money and I still feel like that was the only point to that movie (and the looming sequel *enter The Simpson’s Star Trek XII clip here*) being made.

When it comes to Star Wars though there is a lot more leeway for money making being part of the deal without necessarily changing the movie itself. Being a fan who isn’t inherently a follower of the extra-universe (don’t even know the term) versions of the franchise I can’t comment on how a new set of movies will change the landscape of things in that regard however, after reading your points, I feel less concerned now that J.J. Abrams is a bad choice.

Only time will tell though whether the Force is with him (kinda felt obligated to say that).

Your article touches me. I have created this character whom name I use as having been born at the time of the Clone Wars as could be Luke Skywalker’s elder brother, since Padme’ Amidala for a time of 4yrs considered breaking up with Anakin Skywalker; telling him to perhaps find another woman to have a relationship with. However later both Anakin and Padme’ Amidala fell in love again and Amidala got pregnant between the Clone Wars Movie and Revenge Of The Sith Movie, I tried writing a story in the Star Wars Fan Writing Website and was nearly systematically booted out of there and it made me a little scared of what some Star Wars Fans hated what George Lucas did in handing over Star Wars to others. The eldest sister Maline Organa in my characterization of what could have happened, had got pregnant with Anakin Skywalkers first child and she was exiled to Wild Space, having the child there because of complications with Alderaan Law as well as a younger sister Risannie Organa her younger sister. I think for you and me it takes great courage to stand out as Star Wars Fans that would like to see all parts of Star Wars both the Expanded Universe as well as the newest movies and novels be all part of the Star Wars Canon, there should be new ideas and the hate dropped in Star Wars Fandom.

It’ll take time and getting into American stores is, I suspect, part of the plan to increase their financial power to expand into those international markets.

They really aren’t ignoring you, I promise. I know for a fact that Ashley wants to get her products into the hands of fans who aren’t in the US but it’s an expensive proposition for a still-small company. I have no doubt that once they’re in a position financially to hit a larger market, they will.

And yes, I’m a bit bitter about this. They have been online for a couple of years now, and we have been begging them to expand to sell internationally. Instead they have focused on getting out in the american stores. Priority fail, IMO. /rant

As for the design, I don’t think it’s my taste. But I’d love some X-wing/Rogue Squadron clothing.

I would throw half of my money at ABC to get a TV show about Talon Karrde’s smuggler operation. (The other half is going towards a Rogue Squadron one.)

But SotE is pretty entertaining and I too love the descriptions of Leia’s clothes. Must be a costumer thing.

Perhaps in a future Toshe Station podcast a comics converter (Bria) or convertee (Brian) could discuss the appeal of the medium.

Also, perhaps you can touch upon Brian’s mention of the prior administrative changes imposed on the whole Yuuzhan Vong arc. While I was aware it was controversial, I was unaware that major content changes happened as a result of high ups meddling…

My liver makes the sacrifice for the entertainment of our Tosche Station readers. I think it should be okay for awhile though. I’ve got a fair number of books until the Crystal Star.

I needed to share the joy.

Also, stop reading books as bad as Splinter. That CAN’T be good for your liver.

Cant say im an expert in the genre but Ive enjoyed those.

I stopped reading Jordans Wheel of Time around book 6 when it appeared like the narrative wasn’t moving forward. It always struck me as being a series written for young kids so starting it in my late 20′s may be the reason why I missed the boat.

Honestly if it’s not another TOR novel by Drew Karpyshyn I’ll be shocked.

…shut up and let me dream.

Granted, my ridiculous reading speed means I love having longer novels to read because I can lose myself in them for that much longer but that’s a personal problem.

Sheesh. I like Damon Lindelof’s work, but he needs to learn a little something of the history of the franchise he’s writing now.

One of the reasons I’ve always liked science fiction is that it can be the only place to find female characters doing something interesting. (Of course it can fail epically on that score too!)

And even though I may mostly read semi-long to long published stories, what I read on the net are often short stories and I love them too. Just write them well.

Now, I am a fast reader – if the book grabs me. I’ve read those Martin books in a matter of days (granted, last time I reread the series it was during a convenient power outage.) And sure, there are a few strands there I’m Not That Into (Shut UP, Jon Snow) but I’m still interested in the whole.

But when it comes to stuff like Star Wars, that’s where my patience can fade. Star Wars books are, for the most part, not books I pick up because I love the author. A lot of them are read out of duty, or rather to get from point A to point B. They are chock full of filler – characters/plotlines I don’t care about – particularly when you look to stuff like FotJ or the NJO.

And dear lord, the fans that go one and on about page length like stories are measured by the pound. You’re right: Stories are exactly as long as they need to be. Some are big, some aren’t. I certainly don’t feel cheated when a Star Wars novel isn’t the size of Star by Star. Hell, not even Star by Star needed to be the size of Star by Star.

Seriously though, I think that’s the biggest, most basic concept every entertainment industry needs to understand to engage more women. Or, heck, replace “women” with any group what so ever and so many issues will be well on their ways to solutions. Thank you for this article. These things need to be addressed more often.

Also: Yay, Mageworlds!

That’s something I understand.

Specifically I’m curious about “Men with boobs,” though. (If this article does address that issue and I just didn’t see it, I’ll give it a closer look when I’m off work. But I didn’t want to wait a few hours only to find out this didn’t answer my question).

Thanks for your help in this matter!

http://www.overthinkingit.com/2008/08/18/why-strong-female-characters-are-bad-for-women/

I link to this so much I might as well put it on the sidebar.

Obviously this is a bit of an oversimplification, but are “Men with Boobs” as you’ve defined it a common problem? Would you mind citing some examples to help me understand this better?

Men with boobs?

***

I’d like to do is point out why I wrote the satire piece the way I did. It was a deliberate and intentional setup meant to lead into the essay posted today and if you don’t feel inclined to read the essay (I don’t blame you), here are the three key paragraphs that explain the purpose of yesterday’s post:

“For many who aren’t exposed to the Expanded Universe, Wednesday’s post made them angry, and justifiably so. In that piece, I took some of the most commonly used (and infuriating) arguments, rhetoric, and tone that gatekeepers use to exclude and discourage those who are invested in the Expanded Universe and turned them against the sequel trilogy. Obviously the sequel trilogy is real and counts even though George Lucas has sold his stake in Lucasfilm and isn’t down in the trenches anymore. You would have to be deluded to think it doesn’t count and isn’t real. But why, then, is it wrong to use those arguments against the sequel trilogy but okay to use the same ones against the Expanded Universe or any other element of the fandom?
…
Think back to how you felt while reading the last post. If you didn’t catch on to what I was doing, you were probably upset with me. Rightfully so, I might add. It was patently unfair that I was calling your fandom into question and telling you that you were wasting your time. Now turn it around. Replace the words “sequel trilogy” with Expanded Universe, video games, prequel trilogy, original trilogy or any other element of this fandom. When you start using exclusionary arguments against other fans, they’re liable to feel the same anger and sadness you did while reading that post.

Don’t play gatekeeper. You don’t have to like everything that someone else does, but respect their right to enjoy any element of this fandom. We all have different lenses which we view the world through, and that means different things within Star Wars will speak to us more than others. Don’t try and regulate how others experience and enjoy this universe, because any arbitrary set of rules and standards can’t and shouldn’t fit everyone. As always, the litmus test for being a Star Wars fan is simple. If you can answer affirmatively when asked “do you love Star Wars,” you’re a Star Wars fan.”

I know that satire, sarcasm, and snark doesn’t always translate well and is often poorly received. My limitations as a writer (I’m an IT professional by trade with exactly one college writing course) don’t help matters, but it was important to elicit an emotional reaction from the first piece to make the essay posted today work. I aimed to use that emotion in order to force a bit of perspective on readers and allow them to see some hurtful behavior in a different lens that’s perhaps easier to understand.

The ability to understand where other people are coming from is critical to civil discourse in all walks of life, fandom included. Sometimes, looking at things from a different viewpoint can aid in developing that ability. These two pieces of writing were intended go hand-in-hand to give the reader that lens.

I do apologize sincerely and profusely to anyone who was offended, but if even one person read both of those pieces and used it as a catalyst to change their behavior for the better, it was worth it.

Jedi Trial I remember not liking much, but I’m rereading ti soon for my own retrospective blog, so we’ll see how it fares this time.

The Medstar duology is an interesting set of novels. The first one is good, but ultimately flawed in ways that stopped me from completely engaging with the story. Jedi Healer is a great novel though one that fully develops its characters in a way that is immensely engaging. Barriss Offee quickly vaulted to near the top of my favorite characters list. Her thoughts on the Force filled me with happiness, and I’ll take her way of looking at the Force every day of the week over the dogmatic view of characters like Yoda.

Keep up the great work.

Oh, I thought it was pretty clear by book 3 that Vader’s interest in Jax was mostly due to I-5, whom Vader presumed had the bota, which was his real objective, a he probably had access to the same files as Rhinnan sliced…

Of course, if Marvel does land this IP – which I do think is the likely outcome – who knows who they might bring on to write and illustrate for it a five or six years down the road.

I guess as far as the future of Star Wars comics go, I believe the ceiling is much higher with Marvel than it is Dark Horse.

I honestly don’t remember the ROTS book well. I think I found it okay, but nowhere near the top. Then again, I’m not all that fond of Stover’s writing style.

I actually found the last of the three the most engaging, but I think it helped that I liked the new group of jedi that are introduced in that one.

And no comments on the Imperial Commando book; I still haven’t been able to read it. The last Republic Commando book was really hard to finish emotionally. So sad.

And with Rocket Punches.

I’m a bit ahead of you (suffering and grunting my way through The Force Unleashed right now) but at your torrid pace, you’re going to pull ahead of me soon. Some thoughts:

Shatterpoint:
Easily the highpoint of the entire decades-long EU experience. An amazing book by every standard, sci-fi geek or otherwise. Whenever anyone insults sci-fi mainstream as throw-away, supermarket checkout quality, marshmellow fluff, I give them this book. I doubt it’s an accident that some of the best EU books (this, Medstar) were obviously inspired by more famous established works (Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now, MASH). Couldn’t agree more regarding Nick Rostu, who I felt was unfortunately not well written in the subsequent and uneven “Coruscant Nights” series…

Cestus:
I was conflicted on this one… While a big comedown from Shatterpoint, I enjoyed it overall for what it was, and greatly enjoyed the depiction of the world and its culture. The Nate thread was predictable. I was intrigued by the force-sensitive native cave dwelling things whose name I can’t recall. This book, though, falls into the trap of introducing too powerful tech (hello force sensitive droid troopers) that just have to be forgotten by continuity as they’re too strong to allow for the creation of drama in future tales. I didn’t mind Asajj so much since I’d by then gotten used to each depiction of her seeming like a completely different character… There seemed to be little consensus on this woman by EU authors… My favorite Asajj depiction was easily Dark Rendevous…

Medstar: Easily one of my favorite EU series. It’s the rare EU tale that is heavy on character and, frankly, a bit light on story (Was there a story? Oh, yeah, a spy of some nature). This is one of those series I was sorry to see end since I really felt, on an emotional level, I was going to miss spending time with the ensemble of characters. Like feeling sad when friends move away. The Corellian culture part WAS strange (I explained this away in my own mind by remembering how many separate cultures and sub-cultures there are on a place like Earth) and I loved getting into Kaird the Nedij’s mind, another character I felt was poorly represented in “Coruscant Nights.”

Again, thank you for the reviews!

I feel like a comparison to the Hunger Games is appropriate.The Hunger Games novel is told from Katniss’s point of view, and the movie makes several changes to pass information to the viewer, but still is just telling her story. In the Hobbit, the book is Bilbo telling the story from his point of view, albeit strangely in third person. For the film, you’re being shown the story from a third-person omniscient perspective. One of the results is that there are more plot threads, none of which are resolved in this film. The other is that many of the action scenes which are just briefly described in the book are greatly expanded in the film. For instance, in the escape from the goblins, I expected that after Gandalf appeared, the goblin king would be killed pretty quickly. Instead it was several minutes (or seemed like it) later.

There’s a great deal of time to be covered in the next film during which not much happens. It will be interesting to see how that transfers to the screen.

I’d like to add that these rules also apply to live concerts – orchestras, choirs, bands, instrumentalists, etc. The added rule is that if one leaves one’s seat, one should only return between pieces, not in the middle of the music. (Perhaps this also applies to live theatre? I don’t attend enough to know for sure.)

One area I would disagree with you is the character of Etain. As the series progresses I find myself liking her less and less. She reminds me too much of Bella from the Twilight movies (never read the books). She’s not quite that bad as she does want to fight and live and isn’t so terribly weak. But she consistently makes bad decisions and ultimately lets others make every important decision for her at a certain point. I find myself yelling at Etain more often than not and in the end I’m always frustrated by the path she decides to take. I don’t know if it’s bad writing or simply a character that is pretty stupid, but through True Colors Etain has become a character whose actions I can’t really get behind.

Great work, really enjoyed reading your article.

With Episode VII coming and a lot of the EU potentially becoming the AU (alternate universe), I sincerely hope that Traviss comes back to finish this series. I heard that she left for creative differences, but since her books aren’t canon anyways, what’s the harm in making more? Especially since being non-canon means she can do whatever she wants with less input!

That’s my rant!

Also, I need to share this metal cover of a certain popular anime theme: http://vimeo.com/41828272 (no, not Pokemon, though that would be amazing)

I definitely second Fables, and Atomic Robo and Girl Genius mentioned above. To that I would add Usagi Yojimbo from Dark Horse Comics. Set in the Edo period in Japan (roughly 17th century) Usagi is a ronin – a masterless samurai – who wanders the country, at times a bodyguard, at times a detective, always a fierce warrior and loyal friend. And he’s a rabbit. Don’t let the anthropomorphized characters fool you, these are fantastic stories of adventure, intrigue, triumph, tragedy, humor and beauty. And you’ll learn a thing or two about the history and folklore of feudal Japan!

I also agree with Ryorin: Girl Genius is brilliant; I follow the webcomic, and when I have money to spare I buy the paper versions. I really love the Jägers. (And yes, while it’s good from the beginning, it really picks up speed in volume two.)

I would also like to recommend Looking For Group, also a webcomic, which can be bought in paper form as well. If you’re a gamer or just a geek you’ll love it. Heck, even my less-geeky-than-me siblings love it.

Now I need to write down whose recommendations, so I don’t forget them…

I would add Atomic Robo for light-hearted pulp adventurey fun starring an atomic-powered robot created by Tesla. He punches Nazis, goes to Mars, and faces eldritch horrors in multiple time periods. All ages and appealing to all ages. Basically pure fun.

Also: Girl Genius. A story of adventure, romance, and MAD SCIENCE! Basically, in a steampunk-ish world run by mad scientists, a girl discovers that she’s the heir to the maddest family of scientists of all and the most amazing of pulp adventurers. Super fantastic, has won three Hugos, and is available to read as a webcomic. It’s good from the start, but it REALLY picks up once they get to Castle Wulfenbach. Again, appeals to all ages, but the creators give it more of a PG-13 rating themselves.

And there’s Fullmetal Alchemist, the dark fantasy adventure series which Faith Erin Hicks sums up here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/10/fullmetal-alchemist-is-the-best (Speaking of whom, there are all of Hicks’ comics as well.)

Also, I really like recommending comics.