Star Wars novels - opinions please

Memnoch · 03-27-2005, 07:58 AM

Are they any good, or are they rubbish? I'm a big Star Wars fan (especially now that Episode III is coming out) but I'm usually wary of novels that are spinoffs of a movie series or a computer game (KOTOR). The adaptations I've read have usually been dire. Can anyone offer any insights on these novels? Are they worth getting into?

shamrock_uk · 03-27-2005, 08:27 AM

I've read maybe twenty of them in my youth and they were good fun. Highly variable of course, but generally if the blurb on the back looks good then the books seemed to be ok. They always seemed to be set in the future, Han and Leia living together etc, I'm sure I read a couple following the Jedi Academy etc. All good stuff. If you want books of the films themselves though, then I have no idea.

Morgeruat · 03-27-2005, 09:29 AM

The Timothy Zhan books are the only ones I can vouch for, but they are excellent, they take place IIRC 10 years after the battle of Yavin 4 the empire is in a shambles, and losing ground, and the republic is starting to lose itself to infighting, when a figure from the past(unmentioned in the movies) reappears to save the day for the Empire.

I don't know if you have access to the Star Wars d20 (or West End Games d6 Star Wars) but alot of their background information comes from the novels (and comics as well) and can summarize alot of the info in the books for you.

[ 03-27-2005, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

Memnoch · 03-27-2005, 10:06 AM

Can anyone suggest a chronological order to read these books?

Morgeruat · 03-27-2005, 03:42 PM

http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/st.../timeline.html

Dreamer128 · 03-27-2005, 05:13 PM

The Thrawn trilogy is excellent. Timothy Zahn once again demonstrates that he is one of the leading sci-fi writers. The others books were fine as well, but nothing quite beats these first three.

manikus · 03-27-2005, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dreamer128:
The Thrawn trilogy is excellent. Timothy Zahn once again demonstrates that he is one of the leading sci-fi writers. The others books were fine as well, but nothing quite beats these first three.

<font color="#ccccff" size=3>I definitely agree with this. In fact, TZ's books are good enough that you wish Lucas would make more films.

-manikus</font>

slimjimosu · 03-27-2005, 11:03 PM

Yeah I agree that you should start with the Thrawn Trilogy by Zaun even though it's not technically the first to come after the movies. Another series that I really enjoyed was the X-wing series by Michael Stackpole. I enjoy his writing style and characters, he uses Wedge and other tangent characters from the movies. I found these to be excellent as they don't deal directly with the movies' main characters (Luke, Han, Leia, etc.) so there are no personality quirks/differences between the on-screen versions and written versions. Wedge actually is my favorite character from the novels.

The big thing i've noticed is that the SW books are very hit-or-miss. I really enjoyed some of the books but others were god awful. It's very similar to the forgotten realms books. Some of those are very good/enjoyable and others are almost painful to read. Anyways good luck, hope this was moderately helpful.

Ilander · 03-28-2005, 02:36 AM

...For some reason, my favorite SW author is often demeaned in these threads, so I'm gonna stick up for him here.

Kevin J. Anderson wrote the Jedi Academy Trilogy and Darksaber, all four of which I greatly enjoy. Anderson can write fairly well, and the characters he creates are memorable and unique...but the other authors trample upon them.

That's my biggest problem with Star Wars novels---the authors all make asses out of each other's characters while raising their own on pedestals. Mike Stackpole honestly unbalances his books with Corran Horn, at times putting him ahead of Luke Skywalker AND Wedge Antilles....ick! Sacrilidgeous!

I honestly can't remember any that I thought were "god awful" that were set AFTER the original movies---though I didn't really enjoy Splinter of the Mind's Eye (too slow!).

Oh, and I'm biased...I've read 55 SW books, or so.

[ 03-28-2005, 02:37 AM: Message edited by: Ilander ]

Dreamer128 · 03-28-2005, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ilander:
...For some reason, my favorite SW author is often demeaned in these threads, so I'm gonna stick up for him here.

Jedi Academy was nicely done, I'm not impressed by his other work though. Saga of the Seven Suns features a bunch of over-cliched and uninteresting characters, and he completly butchered the Dune series in The Butlarian Jihad ( did enjoy his Prelude to Dune books). Having said that, I guess it mostly comes down to personal preference.

[ 03-28-2005, 05:20 AM: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]

03-27-2005, 07:58 AM	#1
Memnoch Ironworks Moderator Join Date: February 28, 2001 Location: Boston/Sydney Posts: 11,771	Are they any good, or are they rubbish? I'm a big Star Wars fan (especially now that Episode III is coming out) but I'm usually wary of novels that are spinoffs of a movie series or a computer game (KOTOR). The adaptations I've read have usually been dire. Can anyone offer any insights on these novels? Are they worth getting into? __________________

03-27-2005, 10:06 AM	#4
Memnoch Ironworks Moderator Join Date: February 28, 2001 Location: Boston/Sydney Posts: 11,771	Can anyone suggest a chronological order to read these books? __________________

03-27-2005, 03:42 PM	#5
Morgeruat Jack Burton Join Date: October 16, 2001 Location: PA Age: 45 Posts: 5,421	http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/st.../timeline.html __________________ "Any attempt to cheat, especially with my wife, who is a dirty, dirty, tramp, and I am just gonna snap." Knibb High Principal - Billy Madison

03-28-2005, 02:36 AM	#9
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	...For some reason, my favorite SW author is often demeaned in these threads, so I'm gonna stick up for him here. Kevin J. Anderson wrote the Jedi Academy Trilogy and Darksaber, all four of which I greatly enjoy. Anderson can write fairly well, and the characters he creates are memorable and unique...but the other authors trample upon them. That's my biggest problem with Star Wars novels---the authors all make asses out of each other's characters while raising their own on pedestals. Mike Stackpole honestly unbalances his books with Corran Horn, at times putting him ahead of Luke Skywalker AND Wedge Antilles....ick! Sacrilidgeous! I honestly can't remember any that I thought were "god awful" that were set AFTER the original movies---though I didn't really enjoy Splinter of the Mind's Eye (too slow!). Oh, and I'm biased...I've read 55 SW books, or so. [ 03-28-2005, 02:37 AM: Message edited by: Ilander ] __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

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03-27-2005, 08:27 AM	#2
shamrock_uk Dracolich Join Date: January 24, 2004 Location: UK Age: 42 Posts: 3,092	I've read maybe twenty of them in my youth and they were good fun. Highly variable of course, but generally if the blurb on the back looks good then the books seemed to be ok. They always seemed to be set in the future, Han and Leia living together etc, I'm sure I read a couple following the Jedi Academy etc. All good stuff. If you want books of the films themselves though, then I have no idea.

03-27-2005, 09:29 AM	#3
Morgeruat Jack Burton Join Date: October 16, 2001 Location: PA Age: 45 Posts: 5,421	The Timothy Zhan books are the only ones I can vouch for, but they are excellent, they take place IIRC 10 years after the battle of Yavin 4 the empire is in a shambles, and losing ground, and the republic is starting to lose itself to infighting, when a figure from the past(unmentioned in the movies) reappears to save the day for the Empire. I don't know if you have access to the Star Wars d20 (or West End Games d6 Star Wars) but alot of their background information comes from the novels (and comics as well) and can summarize alot of the info in the books for you. [ 03-27-2005, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

03-27-2005, 05:13 PM	#6
Dreamer128 Dracolisk Join Date: March 21, 2001 Location: Europe Age: 40 Posts: 6,136	The Thrawn trilogy is excellent. Timothy Zahn once again demonstrates that he is one of the leading sci-fi writers. The others books were fine as well, but nothing quite beats these first three.

03-27-2005, 11:03 PM	#8
slimjimosu Dungeon Master Join Date: March 8, 2003 Location: Ohio, USA Age: 47 Posts: 75	Yeah I agree that you should start with the Thrawn Trilogy by Zaun even though it's not technically the first to come after the movies. Another series that I really enjoyed was the X-wing series by Michael Stackpole. I enjoy his writing style and characters, he uses Wedge and other tangent characters from the movies. I found these to be excellent as they don't deal directly with the movies' main characters (Luke, Han, Leia, etc.) so there are no personality quirks/differences between the on-screen versions and written versions. Wedge actually is my favorite character from the novels. The big thing i've noticed is that the SW books are very hit-or-miss. I really enjoyed some of the books but others were god awful. It's very similar to the forgotten realms books. Some of those are very good/enjoyable and others are almost painful to read. Anyways good luck, hope this was moderately helpful.

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