NJO vs. LOTF

[JME2]

Well, with this week's release of Invincible, the two year storyline of the Legacy of the Force series is finally at an end. There's been a lot of discussion since the spoilers were posted a few weeks ago and going even further back. The recent discussion on whether or not the TUF and the NJO by extent should have been the end of the post-ROTJ EU has had me thinking about the novel quality of the last few years. Which of these two series, NJO or the LOTF, did you feel was worse?

In my case, for all of its flaws, I will gladly take the New Jedi Order and the Vong over the Mando fanwank and flow walking crap that we've been subjected to for the last two years.

[Darth Hoth]

In this person's humble opinion, Legacy of the Force is, excepting some kiddie comics, the single worst addition ever to the Star Wars continuity. Worse, in a way, even than crap such as Ewoks or Jedi Prince, as it is apparently intended to be taken seriously (at which it predictably fails miserably). That the Yuuzhan Vong books are better than that is not in the slightest anything speaking in their favour, as anything but the most retarded of fanfics can aspire to such levels of quality.

[Darth Yoshi]

I managed to make it through the entire NJO. Just reading the snippets from YodaKenobi's review made me gag. LOTF, hands down.

[CaptJodan]

I managed to make it through the entire NJO. Just reading the snippets from YodaKenobi's review made me gag. LOTF, hands down.

I survived the Vong.

Coughing and hacking, I got through the Dark Nest Trilogy.

But I couldn't make it through Legacy. Didn't even make it to Mara's death.

Legacy, easily.

[Bob the Gunslinger]

One of my friends is reading LOTF (don't worry, he isn't paying for it) and continually stresses that the best part is when the next author in the series has to spend half his book undoing everything Traviss wrote.

When the highlight of a series is the between-the-lines catfight between writers, you know the story sucks ass.

[Crown]

I stopped reading the EU (with the exception of prequel/movie/Zhan books) after the NJO. And I only finished that abortion of a series because I'm a completest and can't stand missing out on how things end. With that in mind there was no way I would pick up any more shite that didn't automatically use the reset button on the NJO.

[Havok]

One of my friends is reading LOTF (don't worry, he isn't paying for it) and continually stresses that the best part is when the next author in the series has to spend half his book undoing everything Traviss wrote.

When the highlight of a series is the between-the-lines catfight between writers, you know the story sucks ass.

One can hope that something like this will encourage LFL to stop using her. Other writers either complaining about her or just refusing to work with her.

LOTF as well for me. When mediocre comic books stories are more compelling then what is supposed to be the current cream of the crop, you know you suck.
NJO at least had some compelling events and gems here and there. Plus I actually bought and read some of those. I've had LOTF novels in my hands and at the register and I just couldn't bring myself to buy any of them.

[Guardsman Bass]

At least the NJO had some very good books, and aside from the biowank of the Vong, wasn't out-and-out stupid like some of the Traviss books (nor was it as repetitive). I've tried and failed to get through the LOTF series.

It's just singularly . . .appalling. Something about the combination of Jacen= Anakin Mk.II, plus the whole sequence of events (including the Corellia rebellion) just come off as incredibly stupid.

[Darth Nostril]

I've had LOTF novels in my hands and at the register and I just couldn't bring myself to buy any of them.

I expand that to include anything following the BFC
After Darksaber, The Crystal Star and the Black Fleet Trilogy I simply stopped buying any more EU novels, let alone reading them, I just couldn't bring myself to do so after literally forcing myself to read the BF books simply on the grounds that I'd already paid good money for them

I realise that this makes me singularily unqualified to vote in this poll, and so I do not, and after reading all the feedback and reviews and opinions baldly stated here ...... I am so glad I did not read any further

In spite of the damage done by the EU & the prequels .... they have not destroyed my memory of being five years old and seeing that fricken Star Destroyer roar overhead for the first time way back in '78

[FA Xerrik]

It's hardly even close. The NJO had actual good writing going for it, say what you will about the subject matter. LotF just read like garbage from the very start.

[Chris OFarrell]

I made it through the NJO, some things were bad, some things were great, a lot was sort of average.

I read the first Dark Nest book and only kept going through sheer inertia, by the end of it I just couldn't keep going.

When I read about what LOTF was about, I just said screw it. And I am very, very glad I did.

[Mlenk]

The NJO had moments of pure awesomeness, some good things, some average things, and some utter shit. Basically, it had the good, the bad, and the ugly all wrapped into it. The EU for me ended at the Unifying Force. I tried to get through the Dark Nest Trilogy and utterly failed. So I guess I'm not qualified to take this poll seeing as I haven't even touched the LOTF series. But after reading numerous posts and comments about it here, I'm really glad I never started it.

[Darth Hoth]

I actually fail to see why people consider the Dark Nest trilogy that much worse than the NJO. The technological stupidity of it all about averages, as do the wank and poor plot points.

[Guardsman Bass]

Yeah, but at least the entire NJO wasn't crap in spite of the biowank stupidity. Unifying Force had a whole large segment of pure awesome-ness, in my mind at least - the Dark Nest trilogy only had the high point of seeing Luke find out about how nasty his father had gotten in the last days before he became Darth Vader. It also more or less didn't completely steal prior plots, like the "Separatist division manipulated by evil Sith Lord".

[Thanas]

The NJO actually managed to keep me entertained. Cringeworthy at times, yes, but some books are surprisingly good and employ proper scale.

Now, LOTF - I stopped reading after the first book by Traviss, which was the second one I believe.

What a piece of complete and utter drivel. Heck, even mediocre Star Trek novels are better than this abomination to literature.

[TC Pilot]

The New Jedi Order wasn't good, but it was readable, and even enjoyable at times, and at least had characters you might become attached to and be interested in (Anakin for the first half, Jacen in the second half). It also had a plot large enough in scope to justify writing 19 books. Plus, they were at least taking risks and doing something different, given the amount of devastation and character deaths that occurred.

Legacy of the Force doesn't have the plot to justify 9 books. Three was enough. There's also blatant rehashing of the prequels involved, and the glaring failure in Traviss's third of the series, making me wonder whether DR or LFL bothered to take the time to edit the damn books or if she even sat down to organize a coherent plotline with Denning and Allston (I think this is epitomized by some video interview StarWars.com did with the authors, Traviss being noticeably absent).

The plot revolves around such a weak premise and thoroughly unenjoyable character that it's barely worth reading. Not only that, but it's infuriating how they dragged it out so long. It was obvious as early as The Unifying Force that Jacen was going to fall to the Dark Side, and hinted at repeatedly throughout DNT. It was inevitable (and should have happened) in Betrayal. By Sacrifice, it was utterly pointless.

[Coiler]

Plus, they were at least taking risks and doing something different, given the amount of devastation and character deaths that occurred.

In the interview with several authors and Lucasfilm staff at the end of my copy of TUF, there's these choice bits:

But the fact is that the Bantam books had taken these same characters through so many betrayals, kidnappings, and David-versus-Goliath strikes against superweapons that we had nowhere else to go.

Sales for the Bantam Star Wars books were significantly down, the books weren't hitting the bestseller lists the way they once had: clearly, readers were losing interest. One complaint that arose consistently was that it was nothing more than the same-old, same-old: someone gets kidnapped or a situation is saved by the superweapon of the month. Nothing is ever unpredictable.

I'm not the biggest fan of the NJO, but the authors were at least trying to revitalize a stagnant EU with a new turn, to take more risks and have more of an edge. LoTF just smacks of milking the franchise for all it's worth.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I think it's time to put down the old diseased dog.

Thumbs down.