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

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

You're in luck. I just read a good one this morning: The Magic Lamp in which Luke finds a holocron and lets a Jinn out of the lamp. If you haven't read enough to know what a holocron is, I'd be happy to explain.

I don't read much SW fanfic, and the above is the only original series fanfic I've ever read. I've read more of the Jedi Apprentice type - my favorite Jude Watson books have spawned a ton of fanfic. Most of what I have runs to the h/c side, but since this was some of the first fanfic I ever read, it's not slash. I'd be happy to share.

As for the books - I've read every SW book that came out before Phantom Menace. The Zahn books are far and away the cream of the crop, and I hear he's writing another. Avoid anything written by Kevin J. Anderson. You'll be sorry if you don't. I could go through book by book and give you recs, but most of them are sort of middle of the road swill. Some more swill-y than others. The Tales from Jabba's Palace has my two favorite short stories - "A Barve Like That" about Boba Fett and the one immediately preceding it in which a skiff guard tells Boba about Luke's near miss with the pit of Carkoon. There's also a great Boba story in the bounty hunter's anthology, if you're willing to completely ignore the canon established in Ep II. Other ones to avoid at all costs: "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" (written pre-ESB; heavy Luke/Leia), The Han Solo trilogy (either one, they both suck), The Young Jedi Knights and the Junior Jedi Knights (more Kevin J. Anderson), "The Crystal Star" (Luke as a spineless cult follower). They all blur together for me after awhile, but I have synopses and reviews of all of these written in a journal at home, so I can elaborate on any of them.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

The Han Solo trilogy? That's not the Corellian something-something trio, is it? I read that one, can't remember it.

And thank god another fan understands the pain of fanfic in this genre. It's just smarter to not hurt yourself...

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

No, not the Correllian trilogy. There's one that's titled "Han Solo at Star's End," etc etc that is by far the worst writing I've ever encountered in any media tie-in book. And I quote, "Hits off the Galactic Deck aren't always Right, but Right doesn't fill an egg-timer on Tatooine."

The other one is just called the Han Solo trilogy, I think. It covers the time immediately preceding A New Hope and explains that Han had just watched the love of his life die and fell for Leia on the rebound. Gag me. Character assassination! It's not just for fanfic writers anymore.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about my fannishness for Star Wars and it's funny. The original trilogy were my first geeky obsession, but I've never wanted to write or read any fic in that universe. The prequels are awful movies that I try to avoid watching, but they inspire me to write and read fanfic. I guess this just means I'm only fannish about things I feel I need to fix.

My final analysis of Ep III is it had concepts and stories that I loved, but I still wasn't a fan of the presentation. It's not self-contained. Most of the things I liked were because I could see how that idea could and should be explored in fic. The original series never gave me that feeling. They are what they are, I don't feel the need to fix or change anything.

So what I'm saying is I need the bad stuff to feed my fannishness. I am a shameless masochist.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

And if you want to know what there truly is to be afraid of in this fandom, I can send you two (two! by different authors!) Obi-Wan meets Jesus Christ stories. Thank the Lord they weren't slash. Literally.

[viridian.livejournal.com]

I was suddenly mildly fannish last night after seeing Ep. 3, but I have only the smallest amount of tolerance for any of these movies, including the original trilogy. I just can't follow most of it - no, I don't really know who's at war with who or why. I can't follow that kind of shit in real life either.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

It's simple really - Palpatine orchestrated the war so he could seize power. The details only make things more confusing.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

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

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

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

[jlc.livejournal.com]

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

[jlc.livejournal.com]

You might want to also look at Micheal Stackpole's X-Wing books. I enjoyed them a lot, but I also knew Stackpole from writing stuff for FASA before I read those :P

They're not stellar, but they're fun reads.