The High Republic

[Galvatron]

This sounds like Shadows of the Empire, but without the video game or the soundtrack.

[Batman]

Um-without the game and the soundtrack there 'is' no Shadows of the Empire?
Well there's the novel of course but that's rather firmly set in the OT era

[Galvatron]

How can Batman forget about the comics?

[Batman]

Batman doesn't 'need' to forget about stuff he never 'knew of'
In case you haven't noticed I'm not a big fan of a lot of the Legends novel EU and I never 'bothered' with the comics

[Galvatron]

Well, I can't say I blame you. SOTE was aggressively mediocre, even by the old EU standards.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

Well, I've gotten through Light of the Jedi, so I might as well throw my hat in the ring.
Spoiler

It's not half bad, for an opening novel. It lays out the broader situation, and gives a strong impression of what we're dealing with. We have the Republic and the Jedi, so powerful and self-confident. We also have the Nihil, who I have to admit are growing on me. A new kind of enemy was promised, and that's what we've got; a band of nihilistic pirates and bandits whose only desire is to live free, die well, and enjoy themselves as much as possible while they're doing it.

The character that stayed with me was Marchion Ro; which is a good sign, considering he's the main villain. He's showing promise, with what looks like some complexity, and the power to be dangerous in his own right. His complexity comes largely from his relationship with Mari San Tekka, his living navicomputer and the secret of his power over the Nihil. He regards her as the nearest thing he has to family, and indulges her love of hyperspace travel, but her human frailties - such as a need for rest - can awake terrible frustration and rage within him. The frustration derives not merely from her weakness, but from the knowledge that she is irreplaceable. Without her, he has nothing.

Marchion also has an unspecified grudge against the Republic and the Jedi. The only insight we get is when he confronts captured Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm; and denounces the Republic, "with all its rules and laws and particular brand of freedom that isn't free at all." We also learn that he has a limited ability to resist Jedi Mind Tricks; a useful skill when trying to keep a Jedi Master locked up. He reinforces this by surrounding Greatstorm with tortured prisoners; using their pain and anguish to mess with his concentration. That's the kind of person Marchion Ro is.

Overall I'm getting a 'Taming of the West' vibe for this story. Ro and the Nihil represent the Old West, the west of outlaws, prospectors, mountain men and cattle barons. The Republic and the Jedi represent the taming itself, the homesteaders with their schools and churches, the railways that brought them there, and the general spread of 'civilisation' and 'law and order.' It left me wondering if the Republic's self-confidence hasn't mutated into self-adoration, and an inability to question whether what it is doing is right.

All in all, not a bad start. If it doesn't get screwed up somehow, this could make for a good series.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Everything about this so far makes me cautiously optimistic it may not suck...
If... it were not for the fact that this is all supposed to take place just 200 years ago...

[Darth Yan]

One thing I liked about Tales of the Jedi was that it shows the Jedi at their prime when they were heroes of legend. This feels similar (though less pulp). I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm guessing if the Sith do appear its as shadowy puppet masters (I'm betting their sponsoring the Nihil).

[Cykeisme]

Everything about this so far makes me cautiously optimistic it may not suck...
If... it were not for the fact that this is all supposed to take place just 200 years ago...

Agreed.. ANH has Obi-Wan stating that "for over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic". I mean, no matter how you fudge "generations", that's going to be at least 20,000 years that the Jedi Knights and the Republic have existed in some form.

Aside from the fact that "homesteading" and "frontier" doesn't make sense just 200 years ago for a civilization that's a hundred years older than that, it also leaves them with other constraints. At just 200 years ago, they're still under the limitation that there are only two Sith at a time, who are working quietly and canonically will not reveal themselves.

They could easily have set High Republic 2000 years ago, or even 12000 or 20000, just to throw a few of numbers out there.. which also leaves them a lot more room to go crazy with the ancient Jedi and Sith.

That's pretty much what the "Knights of the Old Republic" setting did, by putting it at 5000 years before ANH. There's still plenty of room before/after that to use. Or hell, they could've just brought the Knights of the Old Republic era into the mainstream.. although the current crop of Disney story heads seem hellbent on doing something different from the old books/comics/games. I just wish these new stories were at least half the quality of the old materials (which weren't really even all that amazing).

[Darth Yan]

I always interpreted it as metaphorical....like a fairy tale opening. Obi Wan IS Speaking from nostalgia after all.

[Crossroads Inc.]

]Agreed.. ANH has Obi-Wan stating that "for over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic". I mean, no matter how you fudge "generations", that's going to be at least 20,000 years that the Jedi Knights and the Republic have existed in some form.
I just wish these new stories were at least half the quality of the old materials (which weren't really even all that amazing).

Its just another attempt by Disney to erase any sense of a "larger galaxy" outside of its shows and what is already produced in film and TV.

If I had to take a guess, by significantly shrinking the 'active' time period, it slashes the range of stories that you can have. Which basically means if Disney wants more stories, its less work they have to do because there is no only 200 years of history in stead of 20,000

It is just more dumb moves high lighting their lack of creativity and desire to make a quick buck.

[Gandalf]

How is that erasing anything?

[Crossroads Inc.]

Ok, technically not DIRECTLY erasing anything...
But by basically taking what on the surface is "KOTOR" and placing it at 200 years, it [strikes me] as a subtle "Any stories from "the old days are now happening on our time table, and not what others have done.