No.26441
Does anyone have a list of every novel that's ever been written about Star Wars? I read a bunch of the Dark Horse Comics, and played a bunch of the video games, but I never read any of the books. Were any of them any good?
____________________________
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26462
>>26441
There's quite a few of them, and a lot of them are good. Start with the Thrawn Trilogy, then go for the X-Wing series (yes I'm aware that's out of chronological order, but it is publication order). After that, feel free to shop around a bit depending on your favorite eras. We had a reading guide floating around the board a while back, not sure if anyone has the latest version.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26470
>>26462
Was the Thrawn trilogy the series ever written?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26474
>>26470
There were a couple titles released before it, but none of them fleshed out the universe in the major way that Zahn's books did. I can't speak to their quality, either, whereas Zahn is one of the best writers in the EU. It's probably best to start with a proven author, so that you're not left with a bad first impression. Truce at Bakura is another possibility to look at right after the Thrawn books, it starts out almost as immediately after RotJ.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26502
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26610
I just read the first three stories in Tales from the Most Eisley Cantina for the first time, and the one written by Timmothy Zahn was the absolute worst. It was fucking attrocious and would fit right in with Wendig's work or anything else from Disney. It's called Hammertong and it's about these two girls. In the story they're stronk mercenaries who kill 100s of Stormtroopers and steal part of the death star lazer with ease. What kind of moron looks at these girls that look like prostitutes at best and decides to make them badass gun slingers? I'm not exaggerating either, they wipe out 100s of Stormtroopers like it's nothing and the whole time they try to sound cool when talking.
This reminded me that the only other Zahn thing I had ever read was a Tales comic about Mara Jade and it all started coming together in my head. Zahn was a proto-cuck. That's why he has no problem working for Disney, their view of Star Wars is totally in line with his own.
With that being said, why do some of you still shill Zahn?
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26613
>>26610
Because the Thrawn trilogy is good shit, that's why. And I don't know about how he portrayed wahmen in his other works, but in the Thrawn trilogy Mara Jade is actually fairly grounded. She tries to do the whole stronk independent womyn thing, but it's really just an act that she puts up to try and cover up just how completely out of her depth she is. Eventually she's forced to realize she's in no position to be stronk independent womyn, and gets JEDI'D by Luke.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26617
>>26613
Or maybe Timothy Zahn is just a shitty writer who sustains himself off of memes. After all, he did enlist with the mouse and is totally fine with the rape of Thrawn by Rebels. Aside from creating Thrawn what has done that's good? Mara Jade is not a good character, her being your waifu will not change that fact.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26620
>>26617
>Or maybe Timothy Zahn is just a shitty writer who sustains himself off of memes
Then it wouldn't be hard for you to explain how his writing is deficient in Heir to the Empire, rather than only declaring it to be so. I've got a few quibbles with it here and there, but not enough for me to dismiss it as "shitty writing."
>After all, he did enlist with the mouse
Well, he's an author. A man has to eat, and I don't think Zahn is at the point where he can just coast on residual royalties from his old work. Besides, he did do the best he could with dogshit source material, and we don't know what kind of contractual obligations he has to the mouse, he might have been roped in the way Hammil was.
>is totally fine with the rape of Thrawn by Rebels
I don't pay close enough attention to what happens in rat canon to confirm or deny this, but I'm skeptical to say the least. If nothing else, the complete discontinuity between Thrawn in Zahn's books and the retard Thrawn in Rebels should indicate that he doesn't like what they've done with the character, because he doesn't write Thrawn anything like how he's written in Rebels.
>Aside from creating Thrawn what has done that's good?
How about jump-starting the entirety of EU novels? Prior to Zahn's trilogy there was next to nothing in the EU besides the WEG RPG sourcebooks. The success of his books opened up the floodgates for other EU content, and is what allowed other authors to score publishing deals for their respective series. There wouldn't be an EU if it wasn't for Zahn, even if you don't like his books you can't deny that fact.
>Mara Jade is not a good character
I'll agree partway with you here. In a lot of media, she starts veering towards Mary Sue territory something awful. In her debut, however, she was written just fine, and served as a refreshing break from shit-tier badass Mary Sues. ade started out the Thrawn trilogy as somewhat bitchy, standoffish, and very determined to assert her independence (s-so what if you saved my life, I'm still going to kill you, BAKA). Once she realized how far out of her depth she was, however, and once Thrawn shattered her image of being the Emperor's one and only Hand, her personality softened. Instead of being stubborn to an absurd degree and pushing everyone away, she had the maturity to realize there's nothing wrong with depending on someone you trust from time to time, and that "muh stronk and independent" mentality is apt to backfire modern femishits could learn a lot from her. Her personality and its development is top-tier. Other authors may have mangled her to a degree, but I can't find serious fault in the way Zahn introduced her.
>your waifu
>implying
Afraid that spot's been taken.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26622
>>26620
The EU really came into its best form during the Prequel trilogy. The Clone Wars content that all tied together was way better than anything the pre-EU authors did.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26623
>>26620
As for Hier to the Empire, I haven't read it yet. I'm slowly making my way through the EU.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26624
>>26622
The CW Multimedia Project was a yuge deal, yeah. I won't go as far as to say it's "better" than anything that came before it, but I won't deny that it was a very ambitious and fruitful project.
>>26623
>As for Hier to the Empire, I haven't read it yet.
With respect, why are you shittalking Zahn and Jade if you haven't actually read the books? Nothing wrong with disagreement, but that's just a bit disingenuous.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26628
>>26624
I talk about Zahn from what I know of Zahn, I've read some of his minor works, and they have a commonality between from what I can tell. Maybe Heir to the Empire is different, I don't know, I haven't read it yet. I judge based on what I do know, not what I don't know. Even if Heir to the Empire is great, it wont make his comics and short stories any better.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26637
>>26628
Then stop being a lazy faggot and elaborate on what offends you so. You might make yourself look like less of a faggot if you put some effort into that. Otherwise, it just sounds like you're spouting off bland bile at something /sw/ generally likes. At that point, you're clueless as well as obnoxious. So come on, up you get.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26639
>>26637
Nothing offends me, I find the short stories I've read from Zahn to be bland and boring, and full of women that act like men. It's not that complicated, I don't need to write paragraphs to explain it.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26641
>>26639
>Women that act like men
I'm really curious what you mean by this, anon.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26646
>>26641
Women are fundamentally different than men. I'm not saying that because I hate women, I actually don't, but it's just reality. Women can be good people, and they can be evil people, and everything in between, just like men, but they don't act the same way that men do. If a woman wants to destroy someone, they don't do it the same way a man does.
There's a reason why if you study serial killers, you will find that female serial killers almost always use poison or will focus on children or the elderly. Women aren't the type to typically physically attack people (there are exceptions of course, black women can be quite violent) but typically a woman will use cunning and deception, she will act like a woman, even when she is plotting to murder someone.
The same thing can be said with heroic women. A heroic woman usually inspires men to do the right thing, but she isn't out there physically doing the right thing herself. For example, look at the character of Jyn Erso in Rogue One. That is a woman that acts like a man. If you could take a story, and change a female character into a male character without the plot changing at all, you have written a bad character.
The same can also be said for women in wars. In wars women almost always are spies, or in very rare cases, snipers, but they're not infantry, they're not on the front lines, in the trenches, it simply doesn't work like that, and it never will.
Mata Hari is a good example of how women fight wars.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26648
>>26646
See, I didn't assume that you hated women, I was just very intrigued because I've earnestly never heard that as a critique.
Still, whilst your observations are absolutely based in reality, I have to humbly disagree that Zahn writes women like men. Even with regards to Mara Jade, she's deliberately portrayed in a very careful fashion in The Thrawn Trilogy and Hand of Thrawn Duology. Granted, I so haven't read all of Zahn's works, but I was just interested in exactly what you meant before I was going to respond.
Even Shada, whom I can't stand as a character and this just one of the most boring fucking characters in the canon, still reads like a woman to me. I suppose I've never seen those kinds of actions or professions as unwomanly. I just have a different perspective, I suppose.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26652
>>26648
>Shada is in more than just the Mos Eisley story
Oh fuck, for real? I'm sorry, I just simply can not buy a woman driving around in a speeder bike, blowing up hundreds of stormtroopers, acting like a hardass and swinging a blaster around. It takes me right of the narrative, it's one of the major reasons why Disney has failed in my opinion, the characters no longer feel real, they aren't genuine archetypes, they're attempting to subvert storytelling tropes without realizing that those tropes exist for a reason, those tropes come from reality.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26657
>>26652
I see what you're saying. For me, it's not her sex that makes her boring for me, there's just nothing interesting about her. It's not that she's a woman blasting stormtroopers, but the situations and her reactions to them feel as bland as a schlocky action hero. It's one of the reasons I really like Mara Jade. Yeah, the argument can be made that she's a stronk womyn, but in my eyes she's just a person who's written like one. She's capable of many of the same situations, but how she gets into those events, her perspective and motivations all are enjoyable to me. I've always viewed it as a result of an overall underwhelming character, because if Talon Karrde was written like Shada, I'd probably feel the same way.
Take comfort in the fact that the Thrawn Trilogy is Shada-free.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26749
>>26646
>women are not the same as men
The fact you felt the need to say that you don't hate women for stating a self evident truth is disturbing.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.26750
>>26749
Agreed. I feel bad if that was the implication I gave off, I just really wanted to know what he meant by women written like men, especially in regards to Zahn.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.27018
Tales from Mos Eisley is pretty great, and made me realize that Filloni Wars fucked up Talz lore. In the Muftak and Kabe story, Muftak has memories of a lush and beautiful homeworld full of giant flowers and delicious necter, not a snowy hellscape.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.27022
>>27018
Going by the wiki, it seems the Talz had somehow established a colony on Orto Plutonia despite not having hyperdrives. I suppose you could blame that on the Rakata, but it makes little sense that such a primitive species managed to travel that far. Their actual homeworld was untouched by TCW, so in nuCanon that's different now.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.27023
>>27022
>>27018
It seems like Filloni wars just messed with the EU for the sake of it.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.27027
>>27018
tales from jabbas palace and tales of the bounty hunters are great too
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.27028
>>27022
How would Talz even survive on a snow planet? They can't eat meat, they have butterfly mouths, they can just drink.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.29766
>>26470
I cant remember all that got written before the Thrawn trilogy, but I know Splinter of the Mind's eye came out before any others since it was a back up plan for a cheap sequel in cans IV failed at the box office
The han solo adventures also came out in this same period between IV and V
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.29769
>>29766
There were also the WEG RPG sourcebooks, which fleshed out what we already knew of the universe, and were the origin for many species names and quite a few other things.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
No.29796
>>27018
>>27027
the tales books are, for the most part, good stuff. the fact that they were edited by Kevin J Anderson shouldn't dissuade you from reading.
I liked Greedo's backstory with the clan wars and Navik the Red, I thought that was great. however, I hated that Greedo was written as a noob who didn't know what he was doing. that's not consistent with the OT, and it undermines Han Solo to an extent.
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.