Clemme w/Stick Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 Yay, hooray for me. I just finished readig The Thrawn Trology. The first books I've ever started reading and finished as well. I was very pleased with them, and the way they were written. I only have one big complaint, and thats about the way Thrawn died. I mean whats up with that? I was so looking forward to a well written space battle, like the one in the end of the first book, and when I read this one, I was so dissapointed. You probably know what I'm talking about. Apart from that I was very pleased with them, and the way they turned out. They also give the SW card game by Decipher more meaning, since all the important EU characters are in it. I'm talking Mara Jade (Before she met Karrde), Karrde him self, Capt. Pallaeon and Thrawn. Also Corran Horn, Dash Rendar and Prince Xizor, but thats some other stories though, and I would like to read those as well. So heres what this thread is all about. What did you think about this Trilogy? If you play the card game as well, how do you think the characters got presented, are they as you expected them to be? -Clemme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeo Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 Yeah, I'm hearing that complaint a lot. I was really hoping for some epic battle but ... geez. "But... why? It was such a beautiful piece of art." Or some gibberish he says. Bastard. You were so bad ass, so why can't you die in such a way?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemme w/Stick Posted May 5, 2004 Author Share Posted May 5, 2004 My point exactly. Timothy Zahn, could've done a better ending if you ask me. C'Boath[sp?], went out with more dignity for crying out loud. I mean, all I wanted was a big epic battle at the end, and the last 2 or 3 chapters really put up your hopes for a battle. Sigh, I guess we never get things as we want them. -Clemme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swphreak Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 "But... it was so artistically done." - Grand Admiral Thrawn The ending was awesome. He died during a big space battle... that's close enough... Now you gotta read the Hand of Thrawn Duology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemme w/Stick Posted May 5, 2004 Author Share Posted May 5, 2004 Ok, are you going to send them 2 me? -Clemme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeo Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 Whoa, whoa, whoa... there's new Thrawn books by Timothy Zahn?!?!?! Where did it come out?! When did it come out?! Why did it come out?! How did it come out?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinkie Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 Spector of the Past Vision of the Future They came out about 5-6 years ago, right before the New Jedi Order started, they wrap up alot of loose plotlines, some left over from the original Thrawn trilogy. Get them, read them. But first read the X-Wing sereies, trust me, pure brilliance there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeo Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 I actually have the 7th book in the X-Wing series I think. The Starfighters of Adumar. Yeah, it is pretty well written and rather fun. Mainly due to how great Wedge, Tycho, Wes, and Hobbie all react to each other. Great chemistry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemme w/Stick Posted May 6, 2004 Author Share Posted May 6, 2004 I need to get a hold on most of those books then. -Clemme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master_Keralys Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 But it fits how Thrawn was. Besides, the stuff with Rogue Squadron there is awesome. Oh, and the whole X-wing series is up there. BTW, the Hand of Thrawn is just as brilliant - but here's the thing, I honestly don't think you can call Zahn the master of the space battles. He writes fantastic ground-side action and his mastery of intrigue is phenomenal, perhaps unmatched. But in terms of pure action content in space, Mike Stackpole and Troy Denning are the best, with Walter Jon Williams close behind. Further, Matt Stover's writing of ground-side combat may be even better than Zahn's. But Zahn has something no one else does: the way he writes the original characters has, in essence, defined the SWEU since the publication of the Thrawn trilogy (which I too am rereading). I can't wait to read Survivor's Quest, which ties into Thrawn as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Im really tiring of TTT, and of Thrawn himself. Zahns comic book style characterisations arent a shade on anything by James Luceno or Matt Stover... need I say the word "Traitor" again.... TTT has these gems in it : "YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER" hmm, capital letters, way to depict Jades mental anguish Timbo.... "Luuke" and "Joruus" great, another crappy EU clone story, these two clowns sit right up there with Trioculus, the emperors son, as far as ridiculous characters go and maybe, one day we might get an explanation as to why, in his infinite wisdom, did the emperor send his most gifted military leader to the unknown regions, when they were facing the threat of the alliance....... pfft to zahn pffft to TTT if zahn ever manages to write anything interesting not related to Thrawn, Jade or Outbound Flight, pm me.... mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Talliusc Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 uggh. TTT kicked all manner of arse. luceno's books are decent but NOTHING on the masterpieces that are Zahns work. and stover? im sorry but no. i cant stand stovers style. and as for "and maybe, one day we might get an explanation as to why, in his infinite wisdom, did the emperor send his most gifted military leader to the unknown regions, when they were facing the threat of the alliance....... " ummm, you mean you want them to answer it again? cuz they already did once. over and over we've read (from allston/stackpole) how the emperor never viewed the rebels as much of a threat. how he underestimated them soo much. and lets be honest, he did. in ep6 luke said as much for us "your overconfidence is your weakness" ring a bell? we know that the emperor didnt care much for nonhumans or women. so sending Thrawn away makes sense. ALSO Thrawn himself WANTED to go back to the unknown regions to handle the unnamed threats that he had known about *cough*VONG*cough* how else would the chiss have known about the threats to come (the thrawn duology where parck says as much for us and fel too). and also why else would the vong have been scared of Thrawns name when elegos mentions it in the onslaught section of NJO? Mara i can live without, ditto c'baoth and outbound flight. but Mittthrawnuruodo is and shall forever be the coolest character from any storyline in any book/movie/comic/song etc. and i defy anybody to say that Zahns tactics for Thrawn werent cool. like how he used the moleminers, how he deduced the trip to kashyyk, how he sieged coruscant and took ukio etc etc etc. BRILLIANCE! the only books in all of starwars that i've read (well over a hundred now i dont mind sharing) and enjoyed as much as TTT were Zahns other stories and those by allston/stackpole (x-wing series, some stories in the tales from blah blah, Thrawn duology, survivors quest, and the stackpole sections of NJO) fyi starfighters of adumar was book 9 in that series, rogue squadron, wedges gamble, krytos trap bacta war, wraith squadron, iron fist, solo command, isaards revenge and finally adumar is how that series goes. and TTT takes place in between solo command and isaards revenge. and even the haters of Thrawn should agree that Pellaeon was a damn cool character to introduce and even cooler as time went on after the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master_Keralys Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 Sorry, Astro, but this time I'm definitely going to disagree with you... Im really tiring of TTT, and of Thrawn himself. Zahns comic book style characterisations arent a shade on anything by James Luceno or Matt Stover... need I say the word "Traitor" again.... No one's going to argue that Stover has established himself as the master of characterization, but Zahn's characters have defined the universe, from Thrawn himself to Mara Jade to Talon Karrde. More, while James Luceno has established a great presence in the NJO and prequel era stories, and I'll admit he has become excellent at characterization, his action sequences left much to be desired until TUF. Zahn's always been pretty good with getting the characters to be the same as in the movies, even as they developed into maturity."Luuke" and "Joruus" great, another crappy EU clone story, these two clowns sit right up there with Trioculus, the emperors son, as far as ridiculous characters go Eh... Astro? Do you not recall that TTT was one of the first EU clone stories? I'll admit, parts of it were a little corny - so were the movies, in many ways, and that was what Zahn was aiming for, the feel of the movies. And that doesn't even come close to the pathetic crap in Barbara Hambly's novels, much less Vonda Mcintire's... Zahn had a fantastic grasp on tactics and conflict, though it may pale in comparison to what today's SW authors are accomplishing. and maybe, one day we might get an explanation as to why, in his infinite wisdom, did the emperor send his most gifted military leader to the unknown regions, when they were facing the threat of the alliance....... Well, as has already been pointed out, the Emperor radically underestimated the Rebellion from the time it started, he underestimated Luke Skywalker himself, and the power of love between father and son. However, after reading the Hand of Thrawn, it also becomes clear that the Emperor was planning ahead: Thrawn had opened massive territory and created massive manufacturing bases in the Unknown Regions. Had the Emperor held out even a few more years to keep the Rebellion in check instead of building another idiotic Death Star, Thrawn's contribution would likely have smashed the Rebels just in terms of materiel contributions... "YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER" hmm, capital letters, way to depict Jades mental anguish Timbo.... So it's not Stover. But for the SW material of its time, it was rather deep... and Zahn's writing as of HoT had distinctly gained depth of emotion and whatnot. While I now count him only one of the "co-masters" of the saga, his originality and the manners in which he has influenced the entire saga (eg Luke + Mara that he set up from the beginning, thus the flurry of other failed relationships that all the authors snickered at the readers' dismay for) puts him in that group, if nothing else does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 Talliusc, Keralys, all your points are well made, but as fun as TTT seemed in the 90s, after reading njo, and work like Stovers and Lucenos, I just cant understand why so many ppl want more of the same when it comes to Zahns subject matter and style of writing. I think the 7 books he is contributing about the subject are enough. I really would like to see him have a go at writing about something post njo and totally unrelated to Thrawn, of OFP or clones.... and still, at the end of the day, his characterisations are poor compared to his peers, action writer sure, but for any longevity in the lit EU, you cant rely on that alone.... *points back to Stover* mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master_Keralys Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 I agree with you that after these 7, Zahn needs to move along. But I don't slam the originals just because the universe has deepened and gotten better since then. I personally hope that he does move on and play with some new ideas and characters (preferably, as you said, in the post-NJO era) and put to work his ability to create very believable, intricate stories in the SW universe. Actually, while I don't think that his characterizations match Stover or Luceno, he has gained considerable depth even as of the HoT duology, and I still have a lot of respect for him. *points back to Zahn and says, "Sure, he might need a new direction - but we still love him"* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.