What's everyone (who reads this forum) 2 cents on best book? Best Author? Which is the worst? Hardest book/author to read?
Best Book: Heir to the Empire/Specter of the Past. (Tie)
Best Author: Timothy Zahn (Stackpole in a close second though)
Worst book: Crystal Star (Dark Empire just barely falters to remain above it)
Hardest book to read: Star Wars Novelizaion (Anything by Zahn is close second)
Hardest author to read: George Lucas.
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Paul Barnard
aka Bad Monkey
http://www.geocities.com/knight_watch_2000) (
http://www.geocities.com/knight_watch_2000/)
knight_watch_2000@yahoo.com
Best Books: Anything by Zahn of Stackpole
Worst: i really despised the tales of the bounty hunters books. just plain horrible
Zahn and Stackpole are not hard to read at all!
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"Have no fear, your local Grand Admiral is here!"
ThRaWn90,RAL_Thrawn
Rogue 6
Best Book: Hand of Thrawn
Best Author: Timothy Zahn, no compitition
Worst book: Crystal Star, i have not read R.A Salvadors so it MIGHT change
Hardest book to read: Children of the Jedi (I still havn't really figured that one out, where are the kiddies?)
Hardest author to read: C.H Cherry (oh wait, SW, um.....next)
Best Book: TIE between Vision of the Future, and any of the X-Wing Books.
Best Author: Stackpole, barely beating Zahn.
Worst Book: I'm gonna have to go with the whole NJO series. Not only for doing you-know-what to you-know-who, but for the characterization of Kyp Durron.
After being rescued from Kessel and befriending Han Solo, Kyp is the last person to be accused of coming down too hard on smugglers.
He'd be more likely to get in trouble (with the Republic) for being too lenient (maybe even helping the Smuggler's Alliance).
And the whole "Dozen-and-Two Avengers" idea was just stupid. An insult to a great character.
http://www.xwingalliance.com/forums/mad.gif)
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What doesn't kill me only makes me stranger.
Best: anything by Zahn
Worst: Children of the Jedi/Tales of [insert here]
Hardest: anything by Zahn
It wasn't just smugglers ya know.
Kyp just wants to prove himself a good guy after what he did. This makes him the first into combat without thinking. I never liked him. Maybe after his encounter with the Vong will he wise up.
Salvatore got NJO off on the wrong foot. Stackpole brought it back to an extent, as much as he possilby could, but the damage was already done.
=========Spoilers about NJO=============
I like many of the things that Stackpole did.
He brought back Wedge and Tycho, but I want Ackbar back!
Also, it would be cool to see Wraith squadron commissioned again as a fighter squadron.
Even tho Solo was in the books by Stackpole for 3 lines tops, you really got the impression of how much he's suffering from Chewie's Death.
I also loved seeing the Imperial Remnant help out the New Republic and seeing what happened to Wedge's Sister. There are a lot of questions answered in this series, hopefully Salvatore won't write another one.
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"Have no fear, your local Grand Admiral is here!"
ThRaWn90,RAL_Thrawn
Rogue 6
You guys talking trash about me?!?
j/k
http://www.xwingalliance.com/forums/smile.gif) . I haven't even read that series yet. Hmmm, maybe it's time for a new handle.
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He who laughs last thinks slowest.
Ackbar's retired- Let old fish swim. I don't like a lot of things about the NJO. Just doesn't have the Star Wars fell. Ruin was better due to the appearance of the Imperial Remnant, but that only helps a little. I'll take a good prequel story over them any day.
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"It's obvious they adore you. You could throw up all over yourself and they'd love it. By nightfall they'd all be doing it. They'd call it the 'Wedge Purge.' They'd be eating different-colored foods just to add variety."
The Outer Rim (
http://outer_rim.tripod.com)
Jedi Master Plo Koon (
http://masterkoon.tripod.com)
Worst auther and book: R.A. Salvotore and Vector Prime. Killing Chewie like that? I think George Lucas should sue him!
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The Rebel Alliance. They're the best. Enough said. The Empire sucks. Too much said.
http://go.to/rebelguardians)
hockeypro1@aol.com
Um... for all you people who haven't read Vector Prime... don't. The ones by Stackpole are better.
Don't rag on Vector Prime due to the Death of Chewie (no spoiler by this time).
For those of you who don't read press releases, higher ups at Lucas Film said a main character had to go. That was predetermined.
Vector Prime isn't the best, but it's not the worst either. It's middle to lower third of the books out there. It's definitely not Dark Empire II or Empire's End.
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Paul Barnard
aka Bad Monkey
Knight Watch Shipping Corporation (
http://members.xoom.com/paulbarnard/)
knight_watch_2000@yahoo.com
It wasn't just the death of Chewie, Vector Prime just didn't have a Star Wars feeling at all. The others have, and anyone new to the series should start with Dark Tide. I don't care for the prequel books that much. They don't have a SW feel to me.
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"Have no fear, your local Grand Admiral is here!"
ThRaWn90,RAL_Thrawn
Rogue 6
have you ever read the original novelization by george lucas? that doesn't have the feel of star wars either. But without that, there is no star wars.
and as to the advice with don't read vector prime, start with onslaught....that kinda breaks up 2 plot elements. The Death of Chewie (and the collapse of Han) and the whole Yuzzan Vong political entity to fail and the necessary vicousness that the Military must take out the Jedi.
I agree with it not being the best or even upper half. But it's not the worst. There are far worse out there. (in no particular order)Dark Empire comes to mind, the whole Boba Fett trilogy, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Anything by Kevin J Anderson post Jedi Academy Trilogy, Children of the Jedi/Planet of the Twilight, Crystal Star.
Haven't read the black fleet crisis trilogy or the han solo trilogy.
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Paul Barnard
aka Bad Monkey
Knight Watch Shipping Corporation (
http://members.xoom.com/paulbarnard/)
knight_watch_2000@yahoo.com
BFC and the han solo trilogy are pretty good, 'cept for the rushed ending on the Han solo trilogy. And i didn't like Liea being played as a wuss in BFC
I didn't really like anything about BFC.
K-Mac is a good author, and a good military author, but he forgets sometimes that warfare in Star Wars isn't fought like conventional warfare.
K-Wings, frex. They were designed for atmospheric bombing attacks, and thus don't work well in space (they need escorts). In the Star Wars Universe, spacecraft can operate in atmosphere much better than all but the most advanced airspeeders; they're faster, more powerful, and more agile. Atmospheric craft don't need to work in space because there's always a spacecraft that can do the job better.
Besides, proton torps and conc missiles are not connected via external hardpoints. Their launchers might be, but the ordnance itself usually stays inside an armoured hull.
Personally, I prefer the K-Wing opt for XWA; as tough as the B-Wing, but faster and manoeuvrable enough to hold her own in a dogfight.
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What doesn't kill me only makes me stranger.
Think about, the BEST book HAs to be the original Trilogy ! If not for them, this would not be in existance ! Plus, not ust that, but they are bloody good on their own anyway. IN at second comes Shadows of the Empire, which I regard as Episode 5.5 becasue of how good it is. It fits in so well, and yet adds new depth and characters, and ideas, such as the largest criminal organisation in the galaxy NOT being the rebel alliance, na dhow there may be IS no honour amongst theives.....
Splinter of Minds Eye has to be the........ most dissapointing star wars book. was alright, but the writer Alan Dean Foster (Alien Legacy bloke) could have come up with better.
LIke the compilations : Tales of the Empire and Tales of the Aliance especially.
I know that it sounds like I havent read a lot, but I have:
Visions of Future
Spectre of Past
Truce at Bakura
X-Wing series 1/2/3/4/6/8
Crystal Star
Tales from the Empire
Tales from the Alliance
Original Trilogy
Shadows of the Empire
Tyrant's Test
Hand of Thrawn
Courtship of Princess Leia
and more (my local library REALLY hates me !)
Plus : Flying Beastie, NOTHING will EVER replace the B-Wing Assault Bomber just for it's sheer versatility for such a bomber. It's small profile makes it great ship for capitol ship runs and they are fast enough to give turbo-laser crews a headache, AND they are such a small target. They are also well known for providing X-Wings and E-Wings with cover fire - X- and E-Wings.
It is my prefered ship so (far so taht i am making a personnalised B-Wing opt called the 'White Witch')
Anyway, Ackbar designed it, so it can NOT be bad !
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I know this post is a bit out of date but I had to get my word in.
Best Author: Timothy Zahn (by a long shot!)
Best Book: The Thrawn Trilogy (Hiers to the Force, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command)
Worst Book: I would have to agree with the OTHER Thrawn
http://www.xwingalliance.com/forums/smile.gif) and say Tales of the Bounty Hunters books
Hardest Book to read: The only one I thought was hard to read was the original
"A New Hope" this may sound strange but everything was soo detailed that you kinda lost track of what was ACTUALLY going on (even though the movie is almost identical)
Hardest Author to read: It would be whoever wrote that book I got sitting on top of my computer center collecting dust and probably even growing mold by this point. (I wouldnt be surprised if it DID grow mold!)
By the way.....since im not gonna read about the death of chewie, ahem, how, exactly does this author KILL one of the best characters in the trilogy?
money, it was all about money
Han and Anakin went to a planet on an errand for Lando only to find that the moon was going to crash into the planet and destroy it. As they tried to evacuate the planet, the moon inched closer and closer, Han and Chewie got onboard the Falcon with Anakin close behind, but he couldn't make it. Chewie jumped out and tossed anakin over to get to the falcon in time, only to be left in the swirls of wind and debris nocking him down repeatedly. Han tried to save him, but Anakin had to blast off, otherwise they all would have died. Chewie died screaming at the explosions, the unbeatable enemy that killed him.
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"Have no fear, your local Grand Admiral is here!"
ThRaWn90,RAL_Thrawn
Rogue 6
wow. when i posted this I had no idea that it'd get this response.
I would like to say all the to all the people who dislike Vector Prime for the sole fact Chewie dies, get over it. Something had to be done to shake up the series. Read half the reviews out there. Everyone is getting sick of either a unknown dark jedi or a imperial superweapon of some sort emerging (one or the other was happening in every Bantam book post Kevin J Anderson except for Stackpole and Zahn). Very few if any characters died. Dorsk 81, Crix Madine, Gariel Capitson, Ton Phanan, Grinder, Jesmin Ackbar, (forgetting some Rogues and Wraiths here) are the sole major "good guys" who died. They were at war. It was very unrealistic not know some casualties who were very very close to them. I hope the whole new jedi order has a ton of casualties. Let this little family who've we grown up with/gotten to know, be shaken to their foundations. Let them finally suffer. War is not pretty. The last chapter where Han is talking about level of comfort etc. should make that clear. The game is changed. Del Ray has made star wars fun and unpredictable. Bantam made it dull (kevin j anderson almost ruined the whole series). I like the new han that was emerging. he was always supposed to be a scoundrel with a heart. well break his heart. let's see how destructive he can get. how bad can he hurt his family.
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Paul Barnard
aka Bad Monkey
Knight Watch Shipping Corporation (
http://members.xoom.com/paulbarnard/)
knight_watch_2000@yahoo.com
http://members.xoom.com/paulbarnard/kwbanner.gif)
Best Book(s): All the X-Wing series and Dark Tide 1 and 2, Heir to the Empire and many others
Best Author(s): Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, Aaron Allston
Worst book: There was never a "Worst book" that I have ever read.
Hardest book to read: none, I can read just fine thankyou
Hardest Author to read: none
[This message has been edited by General Taskor (edited July 22, 2000).]
(WAS DF_Thrawn)
LOL, tha book up on top of my computer shelf is NOT a Star Wars book. Just an old computer manual! I guess thats why it was collecting dust.
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"So thats it" he said quietly. "Somewhere, the Empires found a set of Spaarti cloning cylinders. And has gotten them working"
"Which means that its not going to take them years to find and train crews for there new Dreadnaughts" Han said, his voice grim.
- Taken from
"DARK FORCE RISING" A great book!
Best Author: Micheal Stackpole, Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston.
Best Book: I,Jedi the X-wing Series, the Thrawn Trilogy anything by the three above.
Worst Book: Children of the Jedi, i never really understood what the hell was going on.