So I started reading the NJO

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-03-13 12:25am

IG-88E wrote:
DG_Cal_Wright wrote:
IG-88E wrote:
I borrowed that from the Library and am currently in the process of pointing out everything he did wrong. Yes, I know it'll take a long time.
Here's a time saving Clue IG, he wrote the fucking book. Error number ONE. heh. lol. Let's re write darksabre on the fanfic forum
Well yes, that is the first glaring weakness.

Dude, seriously, I will go up in my attic, brave the asbestos insulation, and get my Darksabre book out. We read it and go over everything. Start with everything wrong, find were the movies, novelisations, radio dramas, and other EU materials contradict it, and come up with a better plan. Get a short story together (we all know you can condense that bull shit easy) and post it as we do it on the fanfic forum. Anyone else agree?

Post by **Kuja** » 2003-03-13 01:29am

DG_Cal_Wright wrote:Dude, seriously, I will go up in my attic, brave the asbestos insulation, and get my Darksabre book out. We read it and go over everything. Start with everything wrong, find were the movies, novelisations, radio dramas, and other EU materials contradict it, and come up with a better plan. Get a short story together (we all know you can condense that bull shit easy) and post it as we do it on the fanfic forum. Anyone else agree?

Sounds good.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-03-13 02:00am

Folks, you heard it here first. Starting this weekend, I get to read Darksabre a second time, then IG and I will start scripting. Let's all hope that our suffering is not in vain, and we can actually turn this crap into something entertaining.

Dorsk 81 · Post by **Dorsk 81** » 2003-03-13 09:05am

Good luck dude.

Darth Balls · Post by **Darth Balls** » 2003-03-13 05:23pm

I threw my copy of Dark Journey in the trash. I need a few days to decide if I wanna continue reading the NJO. Right now I'm leaning towards quitting. Maybe I'll change my mind, maybe I won't.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-03-13 09:03pm

Darth Balls wrote:I threw my copy of Dark Journey in the trash. I need a few days to decide if I wanna continue reading the NJO. Right now I'm leaning towards quitting. Maybe I'll change my mind, maybe I won't.

That book was a piece of shit. Especially coming on the heels of SbS, arguably the greatest stand-alone SW novel ever.

Darth Balls · Post by **Darth Balls** » 2003-03-13 09:14pm

I really don't think I can go on with the NJO after the death of Anakin.

Is the Young Jedi Knights series worth reading?
And what about the Hand of Thrawn Duology? That came out after I quit the first time so I never got to read it.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-03-13 09:25pm

Darth Balls wrote:Is the Young Jedi Knights series worth reading?
And what about the Hand of Thrawn Duology? That came out after I quit the first time so I never got to read it.

I'm gonna break with the majority of the board when I say this, but I think that the YJK are worth reading for children. They're pretty good kiddie books, and they deal with some adult issues (albeit in somewhat silly, childish ways). The final trilogy of them are NOT worth reading. They don't go out with anything special, but pick up the first few and see what you think. They shouldn't set you back too much in a used book store.

As for the HoT, I didn't like them as much as some of the other people did, but I thought they were fair sequels to the original HttE trilogy, and thought that they were up to SW standards of excellence among their superior writing staff.

Kerneth · Post by **Kerneth** » 2003-03-13 11:06pm

I was pretty disappionted that they whacked Anakin, too.

But, really, it's almost good to see main characters die once in a while, even in Star Wars. Though I wonder what it would've been like if they'd whacked Luke Skywalker instead of Chewbacca in the first book...*mind boggles*

It was worth reading Star by Star just to see Borsk Fey'lya grow a spine and at least take a BUNCH of YV with him.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-03-13 11:34pm

Star By Star was really pretty damn good. I think it captured the Star Wars feel, regardless of the Yuzhan Vong. You had a plenty of action and fighting. Chaos and suspense and even surprises. I hate that they killed off Anakin. My peeve with that is Anakin by all accounts throughout the ENTIRE EU up to that point was that he was a chosen one. Then they offed him. It was one hell of a way to go. But still he's dead. Especially coupled with the fact of his lambient crystal lightsabre. He could 'feel' the Vong. Personally, they were wanting Dark Force users, they got nixed, and of course in true bull shit fashion, they couldn't come up with anything intelligent. I could go on and on, and have before, but I'll stop there. Star By Star is a great read. The taking of Coruscant and the events up to that are great. If I remember correctly they find a Vong fleet orbiting the star in the system. I always seem to have an image of like brain looking Mon Cal cruisers as analogs and vong frigates, but the image I recall having was black ship silouhettes against a blazing sun. woo.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-03-13 11:38pm

I think Ossus said something a while back about the military action in SbS being compared (favorably) to Black Hawk Down.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-03-14 12:03am

I could see were some aspects are like Black Hawk Down, but it's a stretch for anything more than remote. I think the Black Hawk Down part comes from the mission to myrkr. The 'soldiers' are infiltrating a complex and things go horriably wrong. Basically they are stranded in the midst of enemy territory. They are chased, hunted, and killed. Jacen is captured, then the survivors get away. It mirrors it a bit, but you dont have a drop ship going down and a group has to head out and rescue survivors. There's not an elite force that saves thier ass, and they escape with not only heavy losses but a mission failure. Here they go in, technically stranded, lose a few, one captured, but they head out with the mission successful. They killed the voxyn queen. It's pretty damned exhilirating. The only part I don't like is the part of them on the ship were it tells about thier captivity. Other than that, yeah, I'd have to say it's good. Like Ossus said, stand alone, hands down. With it's twists, surprises and events, I would have to say this ONE book rivals most others, including any trilogies.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-03-14 12:38am

Durran Korr wrote:I think Ossus said something a while back about the military action in SbS being compared (favorably) to Black Hawk Down.

I'm not saying that it's better than BHD, I'm saying that the stylistic comparison is obvious between the two books. The fights are described in much the same way, with similar details being stressed. Of course, BHD is a much different book because the purpose of that writing is to tell the story of a battle, whereas the purpose of SbS is to advance the plot of the NJO, but the style is similar in the two books, and that's pretty high praise.

I was NOT saying that the mission to Myrkr was based in any way on the events related by BHD (in fact, I would kind of be surprised if they were), but the writing style is similar in parts. SOME of the events are similar (though to be honest I wasn't thinking of that when I wrote that), and some of the characters are somewhat similar.

I liked SbS for the combat, but more for the characters. I really liked the way that Denning brought the old characters' personalities out, and I was very impressed with the new ones that he introduced--in particular, the Barabels and the YVH droids. Both of them were interesting.

I also concur with DG, in that the book compares favorably with trilogies even by itself. I would rate the HttE trilogy as slightly better on the whole, but I would go so far as to say that SbS is as good as any of those books by themselves.

Darth Balls · Post by **Darth Balls** » 2003-03-14 01:01am

Yeah Star By Star was a great book, but now that Anakin is dead, I have no main characters that I care for. I have no reason to read on. Anakin's death really devastated me as far as my interest in the NJO goes. I was absolutely loving it up until he died. Sure he went out in a blaze of glory....but now there's really nothing there for me. It's a really empty feeling. I bought Dark Journey before I knew Anakin would die so I tried to read it and I just can't. It's terrible. I have no desire to continue reading the series now. It's a real shame to have come this far and just stop...but there's really nothing that compells me to read further now.
Maybe I can go reread Conquest or something...

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2003-03-14 01:32pm

This is a topic called i STARTED READING NJO. Can you at least give us a warning about spoilers?

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-03-15 03:14am

I would have though that the title 'Started Reading the NJO' would have the meaning that discussions of the NJO would be included with this thread.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2003-03-15 07:43am

Discussions of the early books is what i expected and perhaps a warning about major spoilers like Anakin dying. I liked Anakin damn it. Now i see no need to read any of the books. I've got the key points of the books. The YV kick ass and take corruscant, some heros die, the Bothan cunt grows some balls and dies, then Lando invents super droids that can kill YV. The end.

Darth Balls · Post by **Darth Balls** » 2003-03-15 02:40pm

kinda funny, you seem to know some spoilers that nobody mentioned in this topic....

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-03-15 10:56pm

Good point. Heh.

Really though, read Star by Star, The Enemy Lines Duology, and Traitor.