Star Wars query

[trinityvixen]

I'm absorbed by new fannish-ness, though not with the obsessive-compulsive fanficcing bug that I usually get. Mostly, it's my utter familiarity with the Star Wars franchise and the all-possessing fear I have of trying to read any fanfic in the genre. Like with Harry Potter, fanficcing Star Wars fans tend to be a little heavy on the slash and are generally terrifying. Please, recommend stories for me if you know of any.

But what I really want to ask is what of the published books are good? ivy03's favorite series sounds intriguing, especailly as her pathos attachment mirrors my own after Episode III. So, geektacular friends, what of the SW canon do we recommend? I've already blitzed the library for the Timothy Zahn books (I've read them before, but they're good and I don't remember them well enough). I have Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina at home somewhere, probably covered with paper if I remember correctly because there was a time when people made fun of me for that kind of reading...

Comments

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I am mildly interested in the Zahn books David was lauding as "Chapters VII, VIII, and IX." Is that just all of his continuity in general, or are there very specific books that continue the story in a satisfying and mostly canonical way? I'm not interesting in reading a whole run of books, but three or four to get an idea of where those characters go after the events of the original trilogy would be nice. After gorging on far too many Star Trek tie-ins in my younger days, I have very little patience for glorified fanfiction unless it is truly exceptional. So, any suggestions keeping for me, keeping my stringent restrictions?

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I just poked around on Amazon... is this the Thrawn Trilogy? I could read that, if you recommend it. But then I see he has another series called the Hand of Thrawn. These just keep going, don't they?

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

You should read The Thrawn Trilogy: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command. These were Zahn's first SW books. They came out in the early 90's and their popularity spurred the surfeit of other SW books and comic books. Before him there really hadn't been anything since the execrable "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" in the 70's. The Thrawn Trilogy really is a remarkable set of books. In addition to good characterization, he paints a believable portrait of the galaxy post-RotJ, fills in a few blanks from the films and, most importantly, creates an absolutely fantastic villain. Thrawn is the classic example of the principle that you need a brilliant villain to show how brilliant your heroes are, and Thrawn is a genius.

The Hand of Thrawn trilogy will probably not make as much sense unless you've read a lot of the other tie-in books. SW is different than Trek in that every book, comic book, TV special, etc., is canon. Trek books are very much on the principle that you put all the toys back in the box at the end of the story - you're not allowed to make lasting changes to continuity. Not the case for SW. There have been cases of one author having to rewrite large sections of their book to accomodate developments in someone else's book. These means that a ton of mediocre authors have come in and crapped all over the universe. The Hand of Thrawn books are noteworthy because Zahn comes in with a little whisk broom and cleans up all the other authors' mistakes, straightening out the universe once again. I'm sure they're not as satisfying if you haven't slapped your forehead a few times while reading other SW books.

I have the Thrawn books, by the way, if you want to borrow. I also might have the books on tape. They're abridged, but they're read by Anthony Daniels and Denis Lawson. And if you don't know who those people are, you're not a fan.

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

little whisk broom and cleans up all the other authors' mistakes
When you said this, I had a vision of the Grand Admiral himself, bustling about with a broom and dustpan in the corners of a SSD bridge.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha! That's a great image. Well, Vader's cape always was long enough to double as a duster.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Cool. I think I will read the Thrawn books...but maybe not right away. Yeah, I've got a lot to get through right now. I may borrow them at some point, though, unless I find them really cheap somewhere.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yes, the ones that are basically 7-9 are the Thrawn Trilogy, though I never knew that was the name. I oonly remember the weird book covers. The second trilogy is supposed to be terrible, though.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

And it's actually only two books - Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future.

[jlc.livejournal.com]

It's not terrible, but it is of lower quality than Zahn's other books--SF or otherwise.