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The infamous Jedi Prince books for kids is quite lambasted in the community. However, I'm wondering- are all of the ideas from the series really so terrible? If the series had been written as actual novels, would they be considered as terrible? I doubt so. I think most people reject the entire series out of hand because they were written poorly and had some stupid ideas, but not all of the plot was dumb.

I think there would be two possible ways of salvaging the series-

1. Maturing them. That is, turning them into novels written for people older than 6-12. So basically you do the reverse of a junior novelization. You preserve most of the plot, plot elements, and characters, but you also excise a lot of kiddie stuff, or fix it. So while the series still centers around Ken the random Jedi, he's turned into less of a Gary Stu and more of a... well, whatever kind of character a kid character would be like if an adult wrote it for an older-than-kid audience. Trioculus is also made to be less cheesy and idiotic. And Leia doesn't giggle like a bubblehead. And no more of that laughable environmental hogwash hidden messages. And the droid-run lost city of the Jedi either gets edited out or altered suitably (it was from a civilization that worshiped their Force users... yeah). And you also make it more gritty and adult. For example, the Empire is not evil for having space cows because they pollute the environment, but because they are sentient beings being brutally enslaved and butchered for food. And Moff Hissa's legs are not eaten away by acid, but he is instead thrown into a meat grinder and has flesh-consuming bugs thrown upon him while the heroic Rebels laugh and point at him. And change the freakin Leia-Han relationship already instead of have them run away to space Disneyland. Though apparently the actual courtship isn't much better, either- Leia is wooed by the prince of the space-Amazons and Han kidnaps her to a planet he won in a card game, a planet that just happens to have Sith offshoots living there? I'd actually prefer the Jedi Prince version where she's being aggressively pursued by a three-eyed Imperial figurehead, though in the fixed version he'd get killed by her droid replica not in the middle of the wedding, but during the consummation.

2. Taking the main ideas and disposing of the rest. I still think that there are some good concepts that you can take out of the series and place in the hands of better authors. If I was to distill the series to their basic components (and keep in mind I haven't actually read them in, oh say 8 years), I would say the main ideas are:

* There is a combined effort by a deformed mutant claiming to be Palpatine's son, mystics claiming to be Dark Side Prophets, and the Central Committee of Moffs against Ysenne Isard's rule.
* During this time, there is the discovery of a mysterious Force-sensitive boy named Ken, who you find out is the grandson of Palpatine.
* (Optional): There is a side-story about how Jabba's father is out to get revenge against Leia for the murder of his son.

Other than that, you can change everything and just about anything. Trioculus can be a mutant with three dongs who in the end you find out was a droid all along. Kadann could be a giant of a man and clean-shaven. Ken could be a baby, and the entire series is about finding/rescuing him from the Imperials so he can be made into a constitutional prince by the Rebellion in an effort to make a deal with moderate Imperials to support a revamped Republic. Ken could be nearly Luke's age, and is already a Dark Lord-in-training. Triclops could turn out to be a test tube experiment, a Darth Plagueis-type experiment, or the most special of clone sons in a weird Warhammer 40K kind of way. Ken could turn out be the clone of that clone, because if the first clone is crappy the clone you make from that turns out to be a super-Jedi. The entire affair could have been a plot by Isard designed to remove her opposition, and in the end she's all laughing manically but then Thrawn comes out of nowhere and kills her and then you find out it was a plot by the Reborn Emperor all along. Ken's mother could have been Padme. I don't know. My point is, you take the minimal most important plot points from the Jedi Prince series, and you turn it into a novel that's centered around those points, but can be completely different.

That all said, could there be a way to make the Jedi Prince series more palatable to read?

It's been a couple years for me too, but from what I remember it was pretty bad. It would require getting rid of even more plot points than what you suggested, but it could be done.

I'd suggest getting rid of the Dark Side Prophets entirely and having some authority that's more... believable.

I don't know why, but for me the worst part was Han Solo building some sort of sky house on Bespin to retire in.

I'd have the entire series referred to in the EU as in-universe children's storybooks.

"Remember that time when we fought all those cloned Palpatines? That was a dark time wasn't it?"

"Sure. But at least there were no Triclops or Ken or whatever the hell that appeared in those children's books about us we read."

"Touche."

CaptainChewbacca wrote:I don't know why, but for me the worst part was Han Solo building some sort of sky house on Bespin to retire in.

I know why, because the absolute WORST thing you could with a clever ex-smuggler who saved the galaxy is give him a Jetsons style sky home to retire in. I kept wondering if I was going to see a repulsorlift picket fence. Oh look Leia dear, the neighbors brought cookies! I think we'll fit right in around here. As long as Lando doesn't intend on ballooning the taxes anytime soon.

That, plus the "vitamin syrup" thing.

I don't think you can save Jedi Prince in any manner. To do so would require the removal ofcore plot points. Trioculus' sheer idiocy for instance. Considering that many of the character's REPEATED escapes from capture are a result of his chronic retardation, among other things. "Lookie i've got cool lightning hands but argh I am blind now. I feel like a chain smoker on his deathbed!"

Ah, but you could still vote for option 2 in that event. Trioculus could always be an incompetent figurehead in a believable fashion. Did you not read my section about taking the main ideas only? Any infinite number of crazy stories could be formed from just those few plot points.

Battlehymn Republic wrote:Ah, but you could still vote for option 2 in that event. Trioculus could always be an incompetent figurehead in a believable fashion.

I suppose so. But the first 5 books pretty much revolve around him as villian. And keeping him an incompetent figurehead still makes him a blithering idiot. Not so good to have the stories revolve around. Unless you push him to the side and put someone who is BETTER in his place as "main bad dude". But then why even have him at all? Because you can claim he is the son of the Emperor? Why not choose someone who is genuinly intelligent? Surely their must be some relatively competant Impieral Governor left in the galaxy who could just as easily pass off as the Emperor's son.

Did you not read my section about taking the main ideas only? Any infinite number of crazy stories could be formed from just those few plot points.

The thing is that we are changing the core plot. Trioculus was just one example. You did say they needed to ditch the bad character writing and "save the enviornment" message. Trioculus, "zoe noes imps drive SUVs", and the cast just acting really weird are subplots extending from the conflicting goals of the book. Does it want to be Star Wars, or Captain Planet? Maybe you could modify it, but in the end, I don't think it would resemble what Jedi Prince was. The confusion of the plot is ultimately what the books end up relying on. Unfortunantly.

Color me skeptical. The EU has been so poisoned by rampant idiocy and wank that I find it difficult to believe it could even be resuscitated.

CaptHawkeye wrote:But then why even have him at all? Because you can claim he is the son of the Emperor? Why not choose someone who is genuinly intelligent? Surely their must be some relatively competant Impieral Governor left in the galaxy who could just as easily pass off as the Emperor's son.

Eh, well, I'm not sure how to go about fixing Trioculus to either become intelligent, or to keep him as a weak puppet, but I'd still keep a villain pretender son who's mutated, and at one point tries to go after Leia. (Stupid idea? Maybe, but she is the daughter of Darth Vader. A marriage like that could both lead to legitimacy, as well as the possibility of Force-sensitive kids). Another interesting point from the guy who wrote this very entertaining summary is that Trioculus defers to Moff Hissa (who's the real one calling the shots), while Hissa entertains his notions when possible. It's one of the few Imperial relationships that are based on friendship, rather than fear. I can't find the exact quote he wrote, but it was on the Jedi Council Boards on the Force.net.

CaptHawkeye wrote:Maybe you could modify it, but in the end, I don't think it would resemble what Jedi Prince was.

Ah, true. But the second option is to ditch Jedi Prince except for the main premise (moffs, fake prophets, and pretender son vy for Palpatine's throne) and the revelations (Palpatine did have a mutated son, and the mystery kid in question is his grandson). But that's it. You can totally twist the series however you'd like.

Color me skeptical. The EU has been so poisoned by rampant idiocy and wank that I find it difficult to believe it could even be resuscitated.

True, but this is a pure hypothetical. LFL books (or whomever) will never clean up Jedi Prince. But we can always dream of a better version. We live in an age where often internet fandom people can write better stories and plots than authorized authors. So it's possible, I'd say.