Well? Are you?

For me, I pretty much gave up somewhere around Jacen and birdbrain....

I tried to get through the Chewie-killing book, but the writing was so bad, I couldn't even get to the money scene. And so i just gave up on the whole thing. And by what people have told me, that's a good thing. I have picked up the various Zahn books since VotF was published, but that's it. Otherwise, nothing since the fall of 1999!

(that is not to say that I haven't endlessly re-read some of what i do have!)

let me amend this: I forgot that Isard's Revenge and Starfighters of Adumar came out after VotF. I most certainly have those!

I want to read the new Allston stuff, but that's all I'm interested in anymore. I made myself finish the freaking awful long arc with the most disappointing end possible (besides the utter destruction of the galaxy, anyway... although that might have been more humane).

Yes. Slowly. Often while pretending it's just bad fanfic.

I flick through the new Allston books, but nothing else.

I keep telling myself I'll read Allston's stuff but I never do.

The only books from NJO I own are Rebel Stand or Rebel Dream, or both... I don't remember. Oh, and I think I have Star by Star but that's only because I got stuck with it when my ex & I split

The only stuff I'm still reading and buying comes from the PT-timeframe and a little beyond. I bought the "Last of the Jedi" books (currently waiting for No 9, even though they're scholastic), the Republic Commando books and I'm going to get the "Coruscant Nights" Trilogy.

After the utter disappointments of DNT and LotF - I've never been so enraged by lousy plotlines and impossibly stupid characters before - I simply declared NJO and everything after it as major AU and banned them from my horizont.

I had a feeling you'd have something to say here, too.

I'm not interested in PT-era stuff. And since most of what I write is AU anyway, I'm just as well to ignore the post-hand of thrawn books

Am I really that predictable? :confused:


:whistling:

Actually - as I said in the other thread - I do have an idea for a really epic fic set around the time of LotF but without the "other nonsense" around. A few select pieces do come off the so-called canon (Ben, Allana) but that's about it. I don't know why but I guess after reading "Cloak of Deception" I thought a political thriller in the GFFA would be a good idea. :jenn:

Not predictable... just legendary in your dislike of the NJO :P

Would this epic fic involve... pilots?

It might ... might even involve some of the original Wraiths (just like them best :x ). I'm still in the "nebulae starting to collect in the foggy night between my ears" phase, but I'll try to make a concept for, say, something like a trilogy as TTT. Still thinking things through ...

But then I do have another epic on the workbench. And I'm kind reluctant to interrupt that one and start something new. :worried:

if they wanted to do political thriller, they should have just asked Zahn. His Night Train to Rigel was quite the interesting departure for SF. Plus, he's the man who gave us Everyone's Favorite Bothan. He's got this political intrugue thing down.

Come to think about it, it would have saved us all a lot of headaches if that's the route they would have taken....

Actually "everyone's favourite Bothan" is in the plans, too. Sort of ... :jenn:

Whatever happened with the fic you'd PMd me about ?

And does Everyone's Favorite Bothan happen to get his just desserts? :P

Was HoT the last book Zahn wrote? I haven't kept track at all...

Not quite sure which fic I PMed to you. But I guess it's the "other Epic" I was talking about. It's on hold for the moment - as is everything about StarWars. I'm in one of my SW breaks when I do something else because I can stand SW anymore. This one lasted around four months now ... and I needed that break badly.

Zahn's written at least a couple more - Outbound Flight and Survivor's Quest.

Both deal with the Outbound Flight project first mentioned in the Thrawn books - it's the Jedi project to explore beyond the galaxy that Jorus C'boath was part of. Outbound Flight is set a couple of years after 'The Phantom Menace', and tells of what happened to the project, and introduces a young Thrawn, setting up a lot of the story we see later.
Survivor's Quest is set about the time of 'Union', and is about Luke and Mara investigating what happened, meeting the Chiss and one of Wedge's Fel nephews.

Both are worth reading, but Survivor's Quest is probably my favourite, with lots of classic Zahn action.

Quest might be the one I'd choose, if I were going to

And thor, I go on breaks like that myself.

Actually, I enjoyed Outbound Flight more than Survivor's Quest, but they work very well together. It's worth reading both.

I happen to like the NJO and LoTF stuff.
I also happen to dislike a good chunk of pre-NJO Novels (Glares at Jedi Academy Trilogy, Damn that one is awful) Strike that, Anything in that particular arc is awful. (Jedi Academy Trilogy, Darksaber, Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight).

You just managed to name every book that fans can unite over and agree are awful :P

how now, don't forget The Crystal Star! That might be the worst of the bunch.

Dark Fleet sucked, too.

Yep. I still read. George Lucas still owns my soul (although it's a joint ownership with Joss Whedon). I'd like to erase Callista, the Crystal Star, and the Dark Nest and Black Fleet books from the story, but alas that is not possible.

I'd rather like to erase the NJO because maybe then I'd have read the later books. I can't decide if I should or not but now I'm thinking of reading Fury

I'm reading the Republic Commandos. I read one of Karen Traviss' LotF books, then gave up on the series. I'm going to keep living in denial except when it comes to the Commandos.

Well, I'm reading Betrayal and then Fury because I just couldn't resist the opportunity to read Rogue angst. And they're by Allston so how bad can they be?

And Sel, glad to see you back! Love your icon, btw

Thanks! Glad to be back. Er...which icon? The Wraith Vixen or Gavin? LOL

I tried to read Allston's latest, but UGH, they're about Jedi!

I'm giving serious thought to skimming anything unrelated to the pilots and only reading pilot scenes in detail. But yeah... Jedi I'm pretty much over which is the other reason I stopped reading EU. They just don't really interest me.

The Wraith Vixen. Tres cool.

Now that I have Gavin there, I'm not liking it. Fine on my LJ not here. Though the blue clashes with the background. Oh well, at least then it's BRIGHT! LOL

I like the Republic Commando books. I think Traviss is doing good things with the characters and with the Prequel verse despite my dislike of anything related to that era.

I have a serious problem with LotF, even when Traviss is writing it. It just...ARGH!

I've really lost interest in any non-pilot-related characters. Don't know why but it was a big reason I got sick of the books. I just didn't care about the characters anymore. I liked Anakin and then he died and it was like, okay, everyone they're writing about now bores the crap out of me.

I friended you on LJ, btw. Jaded_Reality

Edit: And you already added me, lol

I have a problem with the characterization of the older characters in the EU, including the pilots. I think some of the things the characters have done are very OOC. It's like they got older so they had to be softened or something.

Well, I haven't read much so I can't say yet. I can see softening to an extent - they have families now (in Wedge's case) so things aren't the same. But if NJO taught me anything it was that no character was safe.

I feel like the commandos are like the pilots of the PT era in a way. I mean, they end up mixing with some of the Jedi etc but they're soldiers and they're down there fighting in the middle of the battle. And I'm not making too much sense here.

But I seriously think everyone should give the Republic Commando books a try.

I think that age would mellow the characters, but there are certain circumstances that would make the old war heroes roar back to life. There's one scene in Bloodlines that had me howling.

Yes! Republic Commandos are the Rogues/Wraiths of PT. They hang out with Jedi but aren't. They get the lousy death defying missions and they're expected to do the impossible!

It's so bizarre to think of the pilots hitting 60. To me at least.

Yeah, I've gotten that impression of the Commandos but... I'm sure I'd like it if I got into it but I always resist for some reason new things.

I just wish I could have more pilot books.

I'm terrified of what they'd do to the boys and girls in orange if they started writing more books. :worried:

Hmm. Well, what if they went back to cover an earlier timeframe, and Allston & Stackpole wrote? Do you think they could be something worth reading ?

Heck ya.

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor due out in Oct. is supposed to have Rogue Squadron in it. It's placed just before the X-Wing books but after the comics. Hopefully it'll fit nice and there'll actually be some pilot page time, but we'll see.

And the RC books are good. But I haven't read True Colors yet.

It was painfully obvious in Betrayal that Allston doesn't know how to deal with Jedi. The characters looked like the 'ole famous ones' and had their names, but that's about it - the characterization was soo off that it wasn't funny anymore.

I thought Aaron could do no wrong - he invented Wraith Squadron after all - but after that book I felt as if I'd swallowed a canister of cooling fluid. :sick:

I'm reading Betrayal now.

I haven't really followed the NJO so I don't know the characterizations for some of the characters. I'm really seriously struggling, though, with this assault on Corellia. It doesn't feel at all to me like something Luke would do.

I kind of had Han's reaction to the whole thing.

All in all the Jedi just irritate me. Allston's Han is fabulous though

And as I just met Syal...holy crap!!

Actually I found the whole plot kinda "clumsy". And the Jedi ... :blink: ... are they an order of self-appointed do-gooders or highly trained special forces of the army with just one extra skill? Allston writes them as the latter and that doesn't work at all. In addition ot the obvious mischaracterizations of several major SW characters (Luke and Mara in the forefront here). :shameonyou: