I really like the Darth Bane trilogy. Except for the ending, but I have yet to find an EU book whose ending is both completely satisfying and unshocking/unsettling.
I guess that's the way it should be.
Is there ever any indication of who actually won the final battle in Dynasty of Evil? I'm guessing it was Bane, but can't help but hold out hope that Zannah managed to throw him out at the last second.
Not yet. The new batch is Revan and a bunch of the Tales books. Tales of the Empire, New Republic, and both Jabba's Palace volumes. I forget the last one, if there is another.
And is it just me, or has Dark Empire (I think that's the name) been rendered non-canon? I don't see it in the novel timeline in the front of Darth Plagueis.
ETA: Nevermind. I just read up on it.
It's a comic series.
edited 11th Aug '13 4:16:42 PM by Journeyman
The EU has already been left behind, Lucas proclaimed it an Alternate Universe. And to that I say "Good riddance. George, we love ya, but we love it better that you've let the writers separate from you."
The AU already clearly establishes the existence of alternate universes, even if you just pay attention to the books. Overall, you have the universe on the other side of Hyperspace, and you have the universe that Waru thing came from in the Crystal Star.
While both of those are really weird, they do set a precedent.
Exactly, and an acceptance of the EU as an AU reboot of the movie franchise allows them to explore the Galaxy at will, while the movies can continue doing what they originally did.
Personally, I think we should call the whole thing the Lucasverse rather than Star Wars. Cause sticking with Star Wars for the titles just demands wars between the stars and limits what world building we can really see.
Or maybe the Forciverse!
edited 13th Aug '13 6:17:09 PM by Journeyman
SW (inclusive EU) had what amounted to the equivalent of 4 World Wars in the span of about 60 years.
- Clone Wars
- Galactic Civil War (Which lasted for a bit over 20 of these years)
- Yuuzhan Vong War
- SECOND Galactic Civil War (Which could reasonably well named Star Wars: Idiot Ball)
And thats not counting such funny things like: The Stark Hyperspace War (which would also create chaos on a galactic scale) or the Swarm War (Localized, but still pretty messy)
At some point its just Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy.
The 90's had "Every new book trilogy gets a new superweapon", the Zeros got "New Great Wars/Galactic Crisis!"
edited 14th Aug '13 5:08:06 PM by 3of4
"You can reply to this Message!"We had two World Wars over the course of forty years, then about 40 more years of a Cold War whose effects we're still feeling 20 years later. Which led to the War on Terror and the mess that's caused, not to mention the Arab Spring and all sorts of localized wars with globalized interference throughout the Middle East and Africa.
Real Life also has Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy, that's why people tell you not to watch the News. It's not an Idiot Plot, it's just not one you want too much sustained interest in.
All those stories you're talking about, the Super Weapons and government screwups? Those were the big things of their day even in Real Life. It's WHY they got into the books in the first place. Hell, Star Wars itself has always been a product of its time. The original trilogy came out during the Cold War, people were nostalgic for old stuff from before that mess. The Prequels developed during the GWB era and the messes of that. Which gave a perfect background to Palpatine's rise to power.
Real Life has Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy, so can it please stay away from my Science Fiction? Also, as its noted on the trope page meaningful conflict is the soul of drama. Idiot Ball or Conflict Ball induced conflict? Not so much.
Just because we're in real life that stupid doesn't make it good writing if it happens in literature.
And have you read Legacy of the Force?
edited 15th Aug '13 3:13:14 AM by 3of4
"You can reply to this Message!"I've only read the Thrawn Trilogy, the Bane trilogy, and Darth Plageuis so far. And most of my incoming books right now will be the Tales anthologies, with Revan as a bonus.
Part of Literature's purpose is to point out the flaws in humanity and make us see them. If we really are as stupid in Real Life as the people in those books, then it's right to point that out.
Yeah, Legacy Of The Force has a laundry list of issues attached to it. <Derisive Laughter>
- Jacen Solo turns to the Dark Side because if he doesn't, then he'll kill Luke Skywalker over Lumiya's death. At least, that's what a vision claims. But the thing is, Jacen really should know better than to trust unreliable visions. For that matter, he should realize that there's no logic between turning Lumiya in and killing Luke Skywalker over that.
- Boba Fett and the Mandalorians end up taking over a good amount of the story, and we can thank Karen Traviss for that. By the way, that's sarcasm.
- The series keeps showing Jacen/Darth Caedus killing off female characters personally. I get the impression that the writers were using Would Hit a Girl to make him seem heinous, except we're living in a time that is supposed to be more equal in terms of gender. So exploiting a Double Standard just to make one character look like a bad guy falls into Unfortunate Implications, doesn't it? <Disturbed>
- We all know about the Galactic Civil War and how big it was. Logically, Galactic Civil War II should have been just as big. Instead, the story treats it as Great Offscreen War, glosses it over and we're treated to descriptions like "And the war raged on, blah blah blah, and the war raged on." That's pretty disrespectful, if you ask me. <Peeved>
- There was that whole thing with Tahiri going to the Dark Side over issues with Anakin Solo, which should have been settled by that time. Not to mention she engages in ephebophilia with Ben Skywalker as part of a torture session. It's not treated as a big deal in the story and it seems nobody wants to touch that with a barge pole. <Disgusted>
- The story starts off as Galactic Alliance Versus Corellia. Then it turns into The Protagonists Versus Jacen Solo, and Corellia pretty much fades into the background without a whimper.
- By the end of the series, there is so much Left Hanging, Aborted Arc, and What Happened to the Mouse? that you'll wonder if the three writers put any planning behind their writing or if they all just wrote by the seat of their pants and ended up with a mess.
The thing is Star Wars deserves better than Legacy of the Force. So if they chuck LOTF down a black hole, it'll be the happiest day of my life.
edited 15th Aug '13 1:15:26 PM by TiggersAreGreat
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!-Coughs- George W. Bush. -Coughs- The first election might have been a technical fault, but he DID win the second term too. I know, I know, y'all say that just because shit happens in the real world doesn't mean it's good writing to do it in a novel, but . . . Until we fix the real world, do we really deserve to have better things happen in our novels?

Ultimate control doesn't mean control for its own sake. The Force probably has its own agenda. It IS, after all, the Star Wars verse's version of God.