What to you makes a good SW story?

[ReaperFett]

?

[Marcus Telcontar]

It must have a lack of Callista

A lack of another SugerWeapon

No Vong

Not be written by Barabara Hambley

[Live Wire]

written by timothy zahn

must not feature leia and han's children

No callista

[ReaperFett]

written by timothy zahn

must not feature leia and han's children
Hand up who sees a problem :)



I meant for someone writing one. Saying that I have to be Zahn and not Hambley is pointless :)

[Live Wire]

oooh sorry I felt the need to vent against what I see wrong in the EU


oh...I'll get back to you on that one

[Shawn]

I think it needs to capture the mystery and magic of the SW Mythos. Too many authors make their story too much Sci-Fi... there needs to be less Star Trek and more Star Wars, if you see what I mean.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Shawn
I think it needs to capture the mystery and magic of the SW Mythos. Too many authors make their story too much Sci-Fi... there needs to be less Star Trek and more Star Wars, if you see what I mean.

Amen, Nup... exactly right.

I like Star Trek for the most part, and I of course like Star Wars... but they are dramaticially different, and I enjoy each of them for those differences... when authors try to make Star Wars more sci-fi oriented, or Star Trek more fantasy oriented, it just doesn't work... staying true to the original visions of each is preferable, IMO.

[Charley]

Must be written by George Lucas :)

[Live Wire]

Episode 1 disproved that

[Charley]

Did it?

I liked E1 plenty.

There's a reason why I can count the number of EU books I've read on one hand.

Cause they just can't capture that feeling for me.

Shadows of the Empire was close, and I did enjoy the Tales books...but the rest I've read is blah.

[ReaperFett]

SOTE was watched close by Lucas IIRC, due to the inbetweenity of it. Think I got that right.

[Darth Viscera]

Cause they just can't capture that feeling for me.

Shadows of the Empire was close, and I did enjoy the Tales books...but the rest I've read is blah.

I know what you mean. I'd rather give myself an enema with a pissed off hedgehog than wade through the nothingness that is Michael Stackpole's work, and the vong idiocy is only being sold by the star wars label, so it's free money to authors. Thank god for Timothy Zahn and Kevin Anderson and aaron allston, or star wars would be completely unreadable.

[Admiral Lebron]

I like Aaron Allston books. He's a funny and good writer. With Wraith Squad books, I just could not put them down. Although, some writers of SW should be shot(I.E Writers of: Children of the Jedi, Valley of the Twightlet, & Darksaber).

[ReaperFett]

Planet of Twilight :)

[Champion of the Force]

Didn't Kevin J. Anderson write Darksaber?

:: nudges Reaper ::

:p

[Darth Viscera]

He sure as hell did! Fine book, too.

[Lady Vader]

hey! I like Michael A. Stackpole. I found the X-Wing series to be quite fun and witty and quite technical, but not to the point where you were like "huh?" Timothy Zahn is by far the bestest of the bestest. And I rank Aaron Allston right after Stackpole for his work on the Wraith series. Kevin J. Anderson is ok. I don't hate his writing, but I'm not entirely in love with it either. And I do have to add into this list Kathy Tyres. While I did not like Callista much (too girly for my taste), I do like Tyres style of writing. It's simple and easily understandable.

Anyways, there it is. :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Yes, yes, listen to Shawn you must! Star wars is Fantasy, a Space Opera! Not Science Fiction!

No more of this Vong / Star Trek stuff! Even to book covers look too close to Star Trek!

[Lady Vader]

Oh, yes, meant to add that.

SW = sci-fantasy

ST = sci-fi

BIG difference.

Keep SW at sci-fantasy.

Ok, that's all.

:p

[ReaperFett]

Says Marcus, the man who lves the auther who created the Aing Ti Monks, they who could basically teleport :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Teleporting isnt exactly science fiction, is it? Sounds more like fantasy to me :p

[ReaperFett]

Sounds like something from Star Trek to me ;)

[Shawn]

As far the EU books go: The only ones I've really enjoyed is the Thrawn Trilogy. The Hand of Thrawn duology was written well, but I didn't really enjoy it... there were too many things Zahn apparently had to incorporate which didn't fit well, IMHO.

I started reading a few pages from the semi-new novel, Shadowhunter... it seemed OK to me. Wouldn't mind giving it a read-through.

Now some of the comics, like Star Wars Tales and Outlander, are really good!

[Lady Vader]

Yes, I agree, the comics ARE good! I'm about a dozen shy of having collected them all up to date (minus a few of the older Tales... those are hard to find).

But I do enjoy em. :)

[ReaperFett]

Im just starting comics. Noone told me tales of the Jedi was so old! Couldnt find TPB #2, and #5 is only available from the official website :)

[Loki Ahmrah]

It's hard for me to describe what is so appealing to me about Star Wars, except that which makes it so good is the trademark Star Wars Universe "feel" which it has - you gotta be able to read it, identify with it and say "Ah, this is Star Wars!"

[Lady Vader]

There's this COOL comic bookstore down in Holywood, on the Universal City Boardwalk, where they have this HUGE table of comics for sale at 50% to 75% off. And more times than not, it's always stalk full of SW comics, including the Tales of the Jedi series. That's how i got mine. :) (Though I think i might be missing one... one or two... have to look at my list at home. :p)

[ReaperFett]

I've got #1, read #2 and ordered #3 and #4. Got to get to Redemption, heard a lot of praise for that :)

[Lady Vader]

Here: http://www.darkhorse.com/products/pg_profile/sku_40242/sec_search/index.html

And the stored that they name, "Things From Another World", they also have that one at Universal City Boardwalk. :)

[imported_QuiGonJ]

To be good EU? No BioBorg, clone Emperors, or superweapons. No deaths and tragic loss for no readily apparent reason.

Give me strightforward action, take me places I've never seen and make sure the main characters don't run into each other like they were in a Simpsons episode.

I liked Zahn the best, cause Mara Jade had a definite growth arc, just as Luke did in the OT and Ani is doing in the Prequels.

I liked that black female agent in the Centerpont Trilogy for that exact reason, or Han in the young Han Solo trilogy, though they really screwed the end of that one, having the love of his life steal the plans for the Death Star and him hearing about it just before he met Luke and Obi-Wan.

[ReaperFett]

Qui, he didnt know she sent the plans, he just knew she died.

[imported_QuiGonJ]

Still, he didn't seem to broken up about it in the film A New Hope, did he? :)

[ReaperFett]

I always saw it that by then he realise he didnt like the Bria she became, it was the old Bria he liked.


But thats me :)

[imported_QuiGonJ]

:)

[Seth Darkserpent]

Personally, I like at least one thing from every single piece of EU, I've read. IMO, only a few books could ever come close to the movies. There are books like Darth Maul: Shadowhunter, Allston's X-wing novels, Zahn trilogy (didn't care much about the duology) and the Han Solo trilogy by A.C. Crispin.

I like the New Jedi Order, though I'm told the Yuuzhan Vong are kind of like Star Trek borgs. I don't really care much for the New Republic or Jedi at this point in the NJO. What I'm into is this whole Vong culture and society. The various authors that have written for the NJO have given the Vong a whole society. Not many people like the idea of uber foes, but as the series progresses we see they aren't invincible and like all Star Wars series, they will be defeated and everyone lives happily ever after....for a few more months.

What really bothers me about the NJO is that the novels before it that dealt with the creation of the New Republic seem to be a waste of time to read. They demonized the NR since the beginning of the series and made it into something that people despise. I can only hope this has relevence to the plot.

So to answer your question Fett, I'm most interested in the politics that go on in the Star Wars universe. I like the idea of the senate and how Palpatine worked his way up. What interests me second-most would have to be the space battles. I enjoy reading the battles and the decisions having to be made by the various fleet commanders or the squadron commanders.

Hope that helped :)

[Seth Darkserpent]

Oh and question for everyone and anyone.

Why is it okay for Thrawn to have a clone but when Palpatine (Most powerful and canniving man in the Galaxy) has a clone, people get really angry?

After all, it was Zahn that claimed Palpatine had cloning technology, with that Emperor's storehouse on Wayland stuff.

[ReaperFett]

Because its the only way they can cheapshot DE :)

[Admiral Lebron]

Storyline wise, it was probably better because thrawn was blue!

[Charley]

Okay, that reminds me...Dark Empire is damn cool :)

There's one pearl in the oyster pile :)

[Alec Lafeyette]

I've read SOTE, most of the X-Wing trilogy, the Thrawn Trilogy, two NJO books, and the Young Jedi Knights series(the thin ones, I was little when I read them all), and I've got to say that my favorite were Shadows of the Empire and the YJK series. They weren't too technical, didn't explain everything you ran into, and had that Star Wars feel to them.

[Seth Darkserpent]

I also thought the Dark Empire series was good. It would have probably served better as a series of novels though. Palpatine is not just some minor character, but the evil ruler of the Galaxy. I think he at least deserved a few novels for his final and absolute death.

But it was cool how he finally died.

[ReaperFett]

X-Wing trilogy? There was nine of the babies :)

[Charley]

And you can't forget about Triclops, and the GLOVE OF DARTH VADER :)

[ReaperFett]

I want that series :)

[imported_QuiGonJ]

Loungie, at the time I formed my dislike of the Clone Emperor, I had no idea Zahn would use such a device. Never really made the connection till you just did for me. :)

My main dislike for the device is that it turned the Emperor from Ian McDiarmid, who in my mind was an old man, and turned him in to a very tall Submariner look-alike with rippling muscles, six-pack abs and a physical prowess I found totally fiction breaking.

I tend to think of Jedi more being like Jackie Chan than Jet Li. Luke wasn't that imposing, nor was Obi-Wan or Yoda, and even later, the dreaded Darth Maul turned out to be a short little guy... even before he ended up half his starting height courtesy of Obi-Wan.

Except for that, I did enjoy Dark Empire. I thought the art was very nice, and I liked the setup leading to that point very well.

[JungleCat]

Besides, Jackie Chan is funnier and more down to earth than Jet Li. And Jackie has a cartoon after him now too. :)

Uh, what were we discussing again? :p

[Charley]

But Jet Li looks like a little boy.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Somewhere I have a passowrd for a Jackie Chan account.

You think I can remeber it right now???

[JungleCat]

But Jackie Chan makes me laugh. I like that.

[Gav Mortis]

Ooh ooh! Is that the topic a few miles away over there? :)

[Verse Dawnstrider]

I shall prove once more I am the most different one here. I love the NJO. I only wish they woudl focus more on different Jedi than the Solo kids. The hardly Focus on the other Jedi unless a Solo is near them. What about Ben Skywalker? He is Lukes son for god's sake. He may be just born, but talk a little more about him. I never got into the X-Wing and Thrawn stuff. I am a fan of the Jedi and not so much of the space battles.

[Sage Hazzard]

I just recently read Vector Prime, and liked it a lot. So I guess I can say I like what I've read of the NJO.

When you write for a Force User, try and be creative. I liked it in Shadows of the Empire when Vader was healing himself, but then was stopped when he felt love. That's what clinched the love I have for that book, the fact that it explored the Force and it's workings. Yes, keep it mystical, but give me insight. Just like monks, every force user should have his own insight on the Force, and it should be explored. Example: I liked the way Jacen and Anikin Solo fought over the principles of the Jedi.

When you write for non-force users, try and keep it clean. I don't like it when it dips into too much fluff that's meant to make you wonder in awe at the way it discribes the machine. I don't care how a weapon works! Just make it blow up stuff!

My favorite characters are Han Solo, Dash Rendar, Xixor, Thrawn, and Corran Horn(only book I've read with him is I, Jedi). I like PX because of his cunningness, he's just an awesome character. i also love Thrawn because of this. But I also love Dash and Han because of their human personality, their cockiness, luck in the face of disastor, etc.. I also like Lando because of this.

So in closing, you should keep your bad guys brillaint yet spooky. Your Jedi should bring something new to the table. And your non-force using good guys should be cool in a gritty, street smart way. Make sure that even with the lack of the Force, they don't tremble to it's power.

That's what I like in SW stories. Also, plenty of Wookiees. Can't haev enough Wookiees. And 'droids! I like 'droids.... yes.... I can see it now....

[Seth Darkserpent]

I've never really pictured Jedi like Jackie Chan or Jet Li, to tell you the truth. But I do know that some Jedi are like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. They are not just great at Lightsaber fights, but great at fighting too. Then there are some other Jedi that don't even carry Lightsabers and barely fight. IMO, the Jedi can't be categorized as one type of person. A Jedi could be a Dark Angel kick ass type, or could be the complete opposite. For example, Odan Urr disliked fighting even though his Master told him it was necessary to maintain peace. All he wanted to do was learn more about the Force and become a better scholar.

As for Palpatine in Dark Empire, he did look like a sub mariner. The art in one of the first panels made him look non-human, a bit like Shug Ninx. The fact that he was able to fight with a lightsaber and was good at it brings questions up. In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine referred to the Lightsaber as a Jedi's weapon and to me this says he has no love for the weapon. Perhaps whatever Master he did have taught him how to fight with a lightsaber.

Oh and little fact some of you may not have known. Palpatine transferred his life essence into his first clone body a few years before ANH. So during RotJ, he was in a clone body that was decaying at a fast rate.

[Hyphenated]

Yeah, Seth, I think that that gem of information was covered in "Darksaber" where we meet the guy who designed and built the Death Star. No wait...maybe not, it was the engineer who was the clone in that book. *shrugs*

Anyway. What makes a good SW story?

IMnsHO: A good SW story doesn't stray too far away from the mythological and fantasy background that the original trilogy of movies is mired in. We have the Scoundrel who is not so bad after all, the Reluctant Hero who is Bound For Great Things, and most importantly, a goos SW story should clearly paint the battle lines between good and evil.

None of the Sith that have good hearts, or Jedi who are rogues/murderers. What I liked about NJO is the arguing about Jedi philosophy between Jacen and Anakin, and the fact that Kyp Durron is shown to be slipping back towards the Dark side (and Jaina too) with his "taking the law into his own hands" strategies. <--may be a spoiler, I'm not sure.

So, yes, like people said, try not to get too technical, although its nice to know some technicalities about ships and weapons, lets not dedicate pages to it. Characters should be likeable, or hateable. And lets not forget the evil, conniving gansters (Hutts, Black Sun, etc.) Xizor is one of my favorite characters. I love SOTE. :D

Oh, this is rambling, but back to a point I made: I noticed when I first started RPing that a lot of Sith had their descent to the Dark Side begin when Jedi came through and murdered their families or something. BS. Never would have happened. So. *goes back to work*

[ReaperFett]

He isnt slipping! He is just more pro-active! :)

[Seth Darkserpent]

I noticed when I first started RPing that a lot of Sith had their descent to the Dark Side begin when Jedi came through and murdered their families or something. BS. Never would have happened.

Unless the Sith didn't know the difference between a Jedi and a Dark Jedi :p

[Saarrreeaa Meorrrei]

Unless they were looking for an excuse to be evil. :lol

He is definetely slipping. The boy is dangerous. They can all sense it, why can't you?

[ReaperFett]

Because I look into the cracaterisations WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY to much :)

[Seth Darkserpent]

They can't make him slip, he's already done it once before. *Keeps telling himself that* :)

[Hyphenated]

Because he's slipped before, makes him more suseptible. I know, I can't spell. So sue me. :p

:D:D And I hate the fact that at the end of..Star by Star that Borsk Fey'lya dies a martyr. Bastich!<--no I can't spell his name either. :( I suck!

[ReaperFett]

Borsk was alright really. Just because he didnt agree with Luke :)


And Kyp wont go, because he isnt doing anything wrong:)

[Nichos Marr]

Coaxing Jaina into destroying a Vong worldship and thousands of decidedly innocent Yuuzhan Vong isn't doing anything wrong?

Though I will admit that Kyp seems to be learning from his mistakes and might start out anew. Dark Journey and Rebel Dream showed that this change of attitude is taking place and it can only be for the better...I hope.

As for Borsk Fey'lya, I was surprised by his act of heroism. Who would've thought he had the courage to sacrifice himself in a kamikaze bombing.

[ReaperFett]

1- Whats an innocent in an invading party?

2- It was being constructed, hence would have few people onboard

3- Didnt stop anyone blowing up a Death Star, did it?

4- Getting Jaina on his side was the only way the Rogues, hence Wedge and hence the NR, would listen.

5- It WAS a tactically significant thing

[Shawn]

Wow... I guess I should just stop checking this thread, since it's all in gray spaces now. :p

[ReaperFett]

He cant read what we say. Eeeeeeeeexcellent :)

[Hyphenated]

Shawn is a doofus. :p MUAHAHAHAHA!

J/K, of course. :D :angel

[Shawn]

:|

[ReaperFett]

Better say something nice to him now. Refrence him to someone in the newer EU, so he hasnt a clue what it means :)

[Hyphenated]

Shawn is a hottie! WOOHOO! :D Come to CA in May! ;)