I posted a topic on Vader's lightsaber and a question popped into my mind after Leiafan wrote back. I like reading the EU, it's a continuation of what happened to our favorite characters. I think they're fun to read and I just enjoy them.

But some people here don't like reading the EU. So I was wondering are you follower of the EU or not? And why or why not do/don't you like reading them?

Thanks.

I like reading Eu books especially ones that are set around the clone wars period. They are a continuation or expansion on the star wars saga. I think they are great. You get more of a feel for the characters and their thoughts in the books as well. Some people say GL doesn't endorse the books so they are not a proper part of Star Wars but in Shatter point, a clone wars novel about Mace windu, Gl writes the prologue in the book about the clone wars. So he must endorse the books to do this. I love star wars comic books as well. I think the Eu is great

Same QV (you don't mind that I shortened your name do you?), they're great books to read. I don't read that many books from the Clone War era, are they really worth buying?

I would think GL has a say in something. I know they had to go to him when Vector Prmie came out to have Chewie die. I thought every "thanks to" part said Lucasfilm (or people from there), so doesn't that mean they have a say in something?

I just got into the comic book part of it. Which would you recommend are good ones to start off with?

Thanks.

Anyone else?

Qv is fine Rebel_A96 I love the clone wars era of Star wars which is why I read so many books set in that period. I think it is one of the most intersting times in the star wars saga in my opinion. I get a lot of books from my local libary to ckeck them out before I buy them Lucas film has a say in all the books as far as I know because they own the characters and rights to star wars.

If you want to read star wars comics start at the beginning with the tales of the jedi comic series. These are set in the old republic era ( 25,000 to 1,000 before the battle of Yavin.) The jedi and the sith are in their prime in these stories and they are brilliant stories. Let me know if you read any of them

I've liked some of the EU books, disliked some, and stayed away from others. (Specific and helpful, eh? ) I think it just depends on the taste of the reader--which characters you like best, how many times you can read about the development of a superweapon, etc. Of the OT character books, I've preferred the ones set closer to the timeline of the films, inc. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy, the Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the Empire, etc.), Tatooine Ghost, Truce at Bakura, and The Courtship of Princess Leia. I don't care for the NJO. I've liked several of the Prequel era books, too, such as Cestus Deception, although I found Cloak of Deception and The Approaching Storm fairly boring.

i havent given the prequel eu books a try, just the ones set after rotj and like Callista- i loved some, disliked some and stayed away from some...but all in all they arent bad...i also read almost all of the books in the NJO and now im reading Legacy...

Qv--instead of writing out my full screen name, you can either say Rebel or call me Kate. As anyone can. You're lucky, our library and SW don't go hand-in-hand (or was that a bad saying right there?) as we don't any SW books there except for those "Galaxy of Fear" ones and I'm not into them. Okay I will check our B&N for the Jedi comic series. Usually our B&N doesn't do many comics, but I will check there and in our Borders/whatever mall the book shop has. And I'll let you know.

Callista--which books did you dislike? I know I hated a few books, but maybe I shouldn't say them because that's where you got your screen name from. I've never read the Han Solo trilogy, is it worth getting and reading? And what don't you like about the NJO?

MJ--same here. I have a few PT books, but most of them are set near the OT or after. I can't wait till your Inferno book comes in cause then we can discuss it.

Thanks guys. Anyone else?

hehehe me too, i cant wait to discuss it with you. i have a feeling by the time i get it Fury will be out too

Lol-boy I hope you get Inferno before Fury comes out!

and then ill have to wait another month for Fury lol!

A lot of people hate Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight--the Callista books. That's cool. A lot of people never thought Callista was good for Luke, and I guess others just thought the stories in those were weird. I happen to like those books, and the character, but it's not as if I'm obsessed or anything. Other than the prequel books I listed, I didn't like Darksaber (not another &^$#@! Death Star!)...I don't much care for Kevin J Anderson's writing style overall. I read one of his Jedi Academy books and thought it was lame.
I'm a serious Han Solo fan, so I'd always recommend Crispin's Han Solo books (starting with Paradise Snare). I liked Daley's first Han Solo trilogy (inc HS at Star's End) when I read it years ago, too.
I haven't read any of the NJO books because of what people I know who've read them have told me. It was bad enough they killed off Chewie...then Anakin Solo...the rest of it just sounds one part dark nastiness and one part dragging things out just to keep selling more books. Sometimes enough is enough IMO.

Well I never thought Callista wasn't good for Luke; I could just never get into the books. I didn't like the way Barbara Hamble (is it?) wrote them. They just bored me, now on the other hand the Jedi Academy Trilogy was okay in my opinion. I think I would really have to be in a mood to read them again though.

What was it that you liked about Barbara Hambly writing?

Lol-I thought Darksaber was good, but you're right! The author could've made another super weapon and not the Death Star. There's been two of them already, let it go. I think he and his wife wrote some of the YJK or JJK books. I thought some of them were okay, did you read them or no since you're not a fan of his writings?

I'm the type of person where I have to read the books with Han/Luke/Lando/Leia/etc all in them. So is the Han Solo trilogy's like the X-wing books where they still have main characters but it's a good book?

I get you with the NJO. I'm trying to find other books and I just think it's fun to read the SW books; I'm the one that's hoping they'll never run out, lol.

I enjoy the EU stuff books, games etc And to a certian degree Lucas films Not necessarly GL has to approve anything that gets a SW stamp put on it to the best of my knowledge.

Just remember that in order of Hieracy the Movies come first. And as such the prequels contridited a few things that where written into the EU.

We're all entitled to our own likes and dislikes.

I liked Hambly's use of detail and the way she depicted the characters.

No, I haven't read any of the other KJA YJA etc. books.

The HS trilogies don't have any major SW characters in them but Han, and eventually, Chewie--except for a couple of little cameos. The last part of Crispin's 3rd book takes place the day Han meets Luke and Obi-Wan. Everything else is what his life was like before he got tangled up with the Rebellion.

Oh I know we each have our own opinions I was just asking a question.
Some of the YJK and JJK are okay; I only have a few of them. If I were to read the HS trilogy where would I start because there are two of them aren't there

Zahn's original three novels had a disclaimer on the dustjacket of the hardcover that said they were not intended to be a genuine continuation of the movies, they were speculation on what might have happened after ROTJ.

All the EU is basically fanfic, written by professional authors rather than fans. Yes, Lucas took a few items from the EU and put them in the movies, like the name "Coruscant" and the characters of Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura, as is his right.

Some of the EU is interesting, and some of it I could even see happening before/after/between the movies. But it is still, in the end, fanfic written by professional authors.

The PT contradicted just about everything that the EU established for that era. And I'm glad of it. I wish some EU authors, like Zahn, were a tad more accepting of the contradictions. Then again, Zahn seems to have little use for the movie characters; he focuses primarily on characters he's created, nearly always at the expense of the movie ones.

Differences of opinion make life interesting.

Start with The Paradise Snare. Then there's The Hutt Gambit and Rebel Dawn. Technically, to get everything in the proper order, you should read Brian Daley's Han Solo Adventures when you're part way through Rebel Dawn. The stories overlap. Darth Nuliaj's very helpful timeline topic pinned at the top of this area will help you see where everything fits in.
Happy reading!

Yeah, the misnamed Han Solo Trilogy offers a good lesson on how to invent a fanfic Mary Sue and insert her into every important event that occurs in the story off of which the fanfic is spun.

Myself, I tend to like the SW comics more than the novels -- they're usually truer to the spirit of SW. The novels are better-suited to "Star Trek" than to SW.

IMO there are only a few good sw comics. But here is also alot of crappy ones. Especially the ones published in connection to the movie releases.

Yeah, the comic adaptations of the movies are lame.

I think the "Empire" and "Republic" series are pretty good.

Leiafan--so the authors of the SW books don't have to be fans of the movies? Boy was I stupid then.

The PT contradicted just about everything that the EU established for that era.
^Don't you think they should've gone hand in hand with it all though to make better sense for the readers? I mean I get GL does it his way because it's his universe, but it would've been better to co-inside? (sp)

Callista Min--thanks. I'll see if I can pick one up when I get Fury.
And I have to check out those PT books that QV suggested. Three in all, very fun!

fugitive--which comic books do you find good/bad? I read some of the Rogue Squadron ones and they were okay.

Katie, if you like the PT era, the clone commando books are a must-read! They're fine written and depict the life of the clone army very good.

Btw, did you read Outbound Flight? It's great! Thrawn has a role in it, too.

@Lefian: I read a some issiues of empire, liked some of them, others not all. Not to odd considering they had diffrent authors.

What I really liked about the empire comics was the way they tied in with my favourit time period in the sw universe. And had alot of nice short stories about otherwise anonymous stormtroopers, imperial officers and such.

@Rebel A96: I haven't read rougsqaud. Are they based on the books?

hmm... sw comics I dont like. Well Crimson empire is one that comes to mind. The quigon and obiwan comics. The comics marvel produced while they had the starwars licens. (although I can't say I read all of them). The jedi quest comics. I did like Dark empier at first, but the longer I read the more I lost interest.

The only comic I thought was realy good was hire to the empire, but thats because they are based on really good books. Im not trying to say that sw comics cant be good unless they are based on books. I'm sure there are plenty of good sw comics out there. I just have'nt had the luck to read them. I might try roughsquad, I really like the whole fighterpilot part of starwars.

Reply to Rebel_A6

No, the EU authors don't have to be fans of the SW movies. They just have to be established writers of sci fi or fantasy. Some of the EU authors had written for other sci-fi book series: Crispin wrote for "Star Trek," and Kevin J. Anderson had written for multiple series.

(Anderson once referred to writing for series as "burger-flipping in the literature world.")

Some are SW fans, but seem intent on rewriting the movies to suit their own beliefs, or fixing what they consider a "mistake" of Lucas's. Kathy Tyers, for instance, never forgave Lucas for not pairing Leia with Luke (her favorite character), and for slamming the door on the very possibility in ROTJ by making them siblings. But since she couldn't take it out on Lucas himself, she took it out on Leia, particularly in the book "Balance Point."

Crispin wanted to live out her romantic/sexual fantasies regarding Han Solo, so she created a Mary Sue, tailored to her specific desires.

Matthew Stover felt that the idea of there being a Dark Side and a Light Side to the Force, as the movies established, was deep or complex enough, so he wrote a novel ("Traitor") centered around the idea that there is no Dark Side or Light Side to the Force.

Timothy Zahn apparently hates Darth Vader, so he insults him every chance he gets, claiming he's a bad tactician (actually, Vader's just about the only good tactician in the Empire), inventing a whole slew of characters who are equal, if not superior to, Vader in terms of importance to the Emperor.

Re: the PT contradicting what the EU established

Lucas was under no obligation to follow what the EU set down. It's his story, not the EU authors'. If his story contradicted what they wrote, well, too bad -- they went into it knowing he could and probably would do so.

And, frankly, no, I don't think it would've been better if Lucas had written the PT according to what the EU laid down.

Reply to fugitive:

You make a good point about the Empire comics having different authors...in fact, I think that's a problem with the EU in general: too many cooks in the kitchen. One author writes this, the next author doesn't like it and contradicts it, and so on.

Arca--I'm trying to get into the PT, but I will never be in it as much as I am with the OT. I'll check out the clone trooper books, thanks. And yes, I did read Outbound Flight and it was good.

fugitive--No, the comics aren't based on the books, but the books do mention briefly a thing to two from the comics. I'm not sure if I'll be getting more of them, but we'll see. Our book store doesn't really carry a lot. Does yours?

Leiafan--that's interesting thank you. I didn't know that the authors did that in their own small way. I say small because I never caught it. I do remember Zahn saying stuff about Vader and it did get annoying after awhile. Do you know how Lucas or the others pick their authors?

The whole "there is no dark/light side" is bogus. That was so stupid. It's like they're going against what GL said and that shouldn't be allowed. I mean there's probably nothing one can do about it, but it is wrong.

For the PT (or OT) do you think the authors should've asked GL what he was doing or should they put this part in their book, etc? Cause it does leave a lot of questions opened.

I thought all the books, etc., had to be approved by LucasFilm, if not by GL himself, then by someone who presumably knows all the rules and what GL thinks about things. But I think there are things that vary from the established philosophy that GL just doesn't care about and lets slide.

Wheter or not lucas endorse the books/commics or not dont really matter to me. If I like the books I read, then I ad it to what I consider the true starwars storyline. If I dont like it then I just ignore it. It dosent have to be harder then that, religons does it all the time.

Rebel_A96 -- There is one store here in stockholm called the scifi bookshop. I know they used to carry alot of starwars comics. But I have'nt been there in a while.

LeiaFan makes some good points.. Never realy caught on about Zhan hateing Vader but when looking at his SW writtings again I can see where you could pick up on that.

The EU can be good entertainment and it does help feed the need for more SW. Just alwasy keep in mind the Movies are #1 in the chain. The EU stuff is there just for fun. Maybe its true maybe its not.
But aside from the Movies id have to say the Games from Lucas Arts probably hold more weight than any other EU material since GL himself signs off on alot of that material. Especially the stuff that is comming out in the in Game Force Unleased.

The light/dark side thing I can see both views on that. I actually found it interesting to see an Aurthor touch on that a bit in the NJO series with Jacen solo and whats her name. The bird like alien /jedi.

Personaly I've always thought the light side / dark side was more an internal struggle rather than the Force itself actually having two sides. After all the Force is energy created by life. Energy to the best of my knoweldge can not be dark. But anyway I dont want this to turn into a debate over light side dark side.. Maybe a new topic .. anyway
Over all I like the EU stuff. But there is definatly some bad out there.

Now I see some merit to Stover's novel if you take master_palin's comments into account:



It could be another topic entirely. In fact I might just create a topic to discuss it because it has profound philosophical implications regarding the Force.

I can accept the perspective that there is truly no Dark or Light side, only interpretations of the power that is available to the practitioner. Even Palpatine while tempting Anakin suggests that the Force in it's entirety is more than what the Jedi teach. This leads me to believe, just as many things regarding power in general, it's the individual's interpretation and actions that lead to one path or another....light or dark in nature.

So Stover's novel might have some merit based upon what I've read about it, and what I know in general. I have yet to read Traitor, but now I just might have to pick it up because this sounds very interesting.

Lucas does get directly involved in some of the EU, like the Clone Wars cartoons, and the ROTS novelization.

For the most part, though, management of the EU is left to whoever's in charge of the Literature department at LFL.


You mean when he's tempting him to the Dark Side?

Oh yes, exactly Leiafan.

And is he truly tempting? Isn't Palpatine offering a different choice? It really depends upon the perspective you take.

I still have yet to see anyone in the films that says the Darkside of the the Force is anything other than a perversion of the true power of the practitioner, and not the Force itself. I have the belief that the Force is neither good nor evil, it's just a means in which to commune to nature at large. Choose what path, it still depends on the choice of the individual.

The healthy choice is with the Jedi, while the malignant choice is with the Sith.

View it as you may, but even Lucas has pointed out that the true nature of the Force lies with the Jedi, and that "balance of the Force" is inherently with their interpretation. Yet it's the interpretation of the power that lies before the practitioner that eventually defines them.

Madison_rogue--But there is that dark side that lingers there waiting for the Jedi to fall into that trap if they use their anger, fear, aggression, selfishness, etc. So I don't get you there with the whole there is no dark side.
I get you with that it's their choice, yeah, they chose to be that way, but if they're angry enough to take that path you have to call it something cause they're not good anymore.

Of course Palps is temping Anakin over. He says that the Jedi cannot save Padme, who can? The Sith he's implying. He may not be saying it in a way where it's obvious, but he's still telling him if you go over then wondrous things could happen and not only to Padme.

In my opinion, Traitor is okay. I had to read it twice before I finally liked it, but I didn't like who died in it. If you don't mind reading a book that is mostly description, then you'll like Traitor.

I hope I'm making sense. I'm not good at giving out points or trying to get something across.

Leiafan--wouldn't LFL make sure everything is where it's supposed to be and not to confuse the readers?

master_palin--oh I know the movies are always #1, but don't they say the EU is a continuation of the movies? So it would make what happened true. And the bird Jedi that taught Jacen is named Verege. I think that's how it's spelt.

I think what I was trying to say (after a few glasses of wine mind you ), is that the Force is just there. It isn't good, it isn't bad. It exists as a tool.

The people who use the Force define it as light or dark. Detachment and peace nurture the the Force in a different way than anger or fear.

I can see this belief has some validity.

I guess I'm just saying that Light side or Dark side...it's a conscious choice. This leads me to believe that the differences between the two are in the mind of the user and how he/she employs the power, and not within the Force itself.

It's purely a philosophical POV.

Love it. I agree--I just ignore the stuff I don't like...pretend it never happened.

I go with the disclaimer that appeared on the dustjackets of the hardcover editions of Zahn's Thrawn trilogy...that the books tell what MIGHT have happened after ROTJ.

I don't care for how the books substitute death, misery and violence for depth, nor how the authors seem intent on glorifying their original characters at the expense of the movie characters. Nor how the authors have systematically inverted all of the movies' themes -- most glaringly, in the attempts to make the Empire "not so bad," and even try to make Luke "as bad as any Imperial" because when he blew up the Death Star, there were innocents aboard.

I just wanted to say that I also love (and obsess over) the eu books, I even sometimes like them more than the movies ( Shh don't tell anyone I said that.)

This guy (whose family lives with my family) Loves Star Wars, but he says that the books aren't real Star Wars cuz it's not Lucas. But I've tried to tell him that he is totally part of the books too just because Lucas doesn't write them doesn't mean they're not starwars, heck he even had help writng some of the movie scripts from Lawrence Kasdan, so the way I see it the book authors are just helping Lucas keep Star Wars alive.

Force = Dark/Light

Gun = Weapon/Sport

User = Choose