The Source Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Expanded Universe :: Where we are now. (Novels & Games) A few moments ago, I was curious about the next wave of Star wars novels. I was looking at my book shelf, and realized that Del Ray (Random House) has not filled the gaps. Before Del Ray obtained their contract with Lucas, the Star Wars universe was filled with stories that inspired hope. Once Del Ray got their hands on the Star Wars Franchise, they managed to kill off very loved characters. Chewy, Mara, etc... While looking for more information on gossip about Star wars Novels, I found an interesting article on TheForce.net. It tuens out that Del Ray's contract is about to expire. I may have overlooked a followup article, but the essay that was written hit home. "Knights of the Old Republic II" is not alone. Even though it is a game for the personal computer, the game still has a storyline that is a new fad. Doom and gloom seems to be plaguing everything in the expanded universe of Star Wars. This maybe contributed by "Revenge of the Sith", or this may be a run away pandemic that will devour everything Star Wars. Just an example: If you were to compaire the "Original Trilogy" to "Prequel Trilogy", you will notice the change in tones. After Del Ray got their hands on Star Wars novels, they brought to us stories that are unreconizable. You see, Star Wars is about the battle between good and evil, and the rise of hope in the universe. When you kill off main and belived characters, you walk a risky line between failure and success. Personally, I think Del Ray made some serious bad choices, which has caused me to look at other franchises. If I could make a list of the many things they did wrong, according to my perspective, I would need the room of several forums. So, what has happend? Why did Del Ray cross over to the darkside, and why have they not returned to the stories of hope, love, and triumph? Why has "Knights of the Old Republic II"'s story been designed in the same manner? Has Star Wars been so comsumed by doom and gloom that it has lost its connection with the main Star Wars fanbase? If you are interested in reading the article I found, you can find the page online here: "Looking Back and Thinking Forward". "My ultimate hope is that Star Wars once more rediscovers its mythological roots, taking up the mantle of space opera once again, becoming a hopeful story again, and leaving behind this insistence on realism, fatalism and an almost dystopic vision of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Given, all the options for the upcoming contract, I can't help but hope that it will get delivered to TOR. Of course, being a realist, I have to believe that the status quo will be upheld, giving us another decade of the same types of stories, lacking as they are in the hope which I always associated with Star Wars both in the Original Trilogy and the books written during the Bantam era." I personally think that the quote above is a concern for several novel fans, and it is not just the opinion of a sole writter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDJOHNNYMIKE Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Emo Star Wars is Emo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentScope001 Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 So, what has happend? Why did Del Ray cross over to the darkside, and why have they not returned to the stories of hope, love, and triumph? Why has "Knights of the Old Republic II"'s story been designed in the same manner? Because we're just so bored of the following storyline: Luke Skywalker: "Oh no, Leia! Our Jedi Computer has tells us that Sector Prime is in trouble! We must save Sector Prime!" Leia Skywalker: "Alright, Luke, let's go!" Luke Skywalker, Leia Skywalker, and a huge aramada of Jedi flies over to Sector Prime. There is one lone Semi-Sith Lord trying to take a nap on a bus and, failing to do so, the Semi-Sith Lord has screamed to nearby people to be quiet. This has distressed people very much so, hence the Jedi Order being sent there. Luke Skywalker: "You will never disrupt normal passangers from enjoying their day to day life and making their clamour!" Semi-Sith Lord: "Listen, I just wanna sleep! But if you insit, I will futiely fight a battle with my lightsaber to try and kill you and hopelessly fail!" Luke Skywalker and Semi-Sith Lord battle. Semi-Sith Lord loses and dies. Luke Skywalker: "We did it Jedi Order! We did it! We saved the planet, nay, the entire galaxy, from one Semi-Sith Lord who is trying to sleep! Now, will you excuse me, I need to make out with Mara Jade." THE END! Trust me, when we reached this low a point, we have to resort to desperate measures. Honestly, if good wins all the time, it loses meaning. And I personally saw "Dark Empire" and "Diversty Alliance" chapters as one of the second-lowest points in Star Wars history. "YV" is the lowest point, but at least they tried to make the story interesting. Seeing Jedi slaughter the bad guys over and over and over just makes you scream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negative Sun Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Honestly, if good wins all the time, it loses meaning. And I personally saw "Dark Empire" and "Diversty Alliance" chapters as one of the second-lowest points in Star Wars history. Dark Empire is the worst SW storyline ever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Ive dropped out of the EU loop for about a year...I physically avoid going to the EU forum, which was the for a long time the only reason I was here at LFN.... I dunno. Theres just something about the Legacy series that has hit me as stale.. ie. good guy goes bad.... seen that in SW before I miss the days of the NJO because it was just sooo different to "ZOMG..h3 iZ 5i7h l0Rd..." scenario that seems to permeate the series again. Still, I wont comment on it anymore harshly(or "do a Prime" as I say ) because in truth I havent read the whole Legacy Series properly, but just 'know what happens' which is hardly the same, is it... I'm hoping I can get back into EU.....one day... maybe the TV series will spur me on I hope Prime is taking care of the EU forum in the meantime... But can you really trust a man who can turn into a truck and back ? mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Ive dropped out of the EU loop for about a year...I physically avoid going to the EU forum, which was the for a long time the only reason I was here at LFN.... And me, of course. I dunno. Theres just something about the Legacy series that has hit me as stale.. ie. good guy goes bad.... seen that in SW before Actually, he pretty much started out bad. To many of us, it is the most refreshing thing to happen to Star Wars in a long time. I compare it to KOTOR where most of the elements are familiar, but they are used in different ways. Pretty much everything is not a cookie-cutter version of its old self. In addition, there are concepts that are new to Star Wars, like the Imperial Knights. I like it a lot more than I expected to, as it seems most people do. Judging from the comments at TheForce.net and other places, Dark Horse's comics are now more or less considered the best of the EU currently. Certainly Legacy has been very well received, as have their other series. On the other hand, people seem to have grown a bit tired of the Big 3. Plus, the comics for the most part seem to be given the new eras to explore first, such as with Legacy, Dark Times, and to a lesser extent, KOTOR. I miss the days of the NJO because it was just sooo different to "ZOMG..h3 iZ 5i7h l0Rd..." scenario that seems to permeate the series again. I would argue that Legacy is as different as anything that has come out relating to Star Wars. Still, I wont comment on it anymore harshly(or "do a Prime" as I say ) because in truth I havent read the whole Legacy Series properly, but just 'know what happens' which is hardly the same, is it...Remember, no opinions allowed until you finish the last page!! I'm hoping I can get back into EU.....one day... maybe the TV series will spur me on Things are looking good so far. I hope Prime is taking care of the EU forum in the meantime... But can you really trust a man who can turn into a truck and back ? I need wheels on my ass because it is so big! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamqd Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 I was pleasantly surprised with legacy, at first I was strictly KOTOR and Legacy was just for the sake of having something to read, but 14 books in, Legacy is far better at the moment. Dark times is a bit stop/start and not that interesting as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reclaimer Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I dislike the direction EU has gone towards. I mean killing Chewie? Mara? Come one! And now we have the whole druggy ex - Jedi thing going on. It's just horrible, and I wish that Lucas would be like "No, it's not cannon." Then we could possibly get a good storyline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I dislike the direction EU has gone towards. I mean killing Chewie? Mara? Come one! And now we have the whole druggy ex - Jedi thing going on. It's just horrible, and I wish that Lucas would be like "No, it's not cannon." Then we could possibly get a good storyline. ouch... as it was a recent occurrence in EU... it would have been nice to insert spoiler tags - for the MJ thing !! @Prime, which Legacy series are we talking about I was referring to the books only.. I think you were referring to both ?? Having them both called Legacy is confusing... I wonder if it was done on purpose ?? I think the comics would be interesting. But I would like to read them in actual graphic novel/comic form as opposed to the other nefarious form you can get them in mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamqd Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 ^^ The comics are called Legacy, the Books are called legacy of the force. The abbreviation was bound to cause confusion. As you say it's better to read them in Graphic novel, so theres more than 2 minutes reading a month, I'd wait as well if I had an ounce of Patience lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoiuyWired Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Well, For comics/graphic novels I am currently reading both Legacy and KotOR. Legacy is nice, and it feels more "Free" in the sense that there is few to no strings attached, as oppose to stories set in the Rebellion era and such. It feels like adventures all over again. The new KotOR series(as oppose to the older ones, from Jedi Knights to Redemption) is a plesent surprise though. Well, at first I am reading it to see how they are going to screw it up, pretty much. But I find myself enjoying it, and yes, the Female cast is interesting to say the least... Have not read any Darktimes books yet, is it any good?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamqd Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 ^^^ Dark times, I can't say I'm that impressed yet, the Art is good, chars.. so so, but it's just not as good as KOTOR or Legacy. It's only had 4 releases though, so I'm giving it a bit more time before I bin it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swphreak Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I'm still interested in the EU. I'm highly anticipating the rest of the Legacy of the Force novels. Mandalore ftw. I'm also waiting for more KotoR and Legacy TPBs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I'm still interested in the EU. I'm highly anticipating the rest of the Legacy of the Force novels. Mandalore ftw.Actually, I've found those parts to feel kind of "tacked on". They don't seem to really advance the plot very much. Especially since Traviss is the only one what writes about them, so you know they will only pop up every three novels or so. And reading about a geriatric Boba Fett hasn't been very fun for me. But then again, most of the characters are that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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