Star Wars Discussion Thread contains spoilers (and may contain nuts)

[celedhring]

Paging Syt. For a Christmas present I was thinking on buying some of the new-canon Star Wars novels, since i know Syt's read some would love to know which ones don't suck. The recipient is a 30-something who is a huge Star Wars geek.

[Barrister]

Paging Syt. For a Christmas present I was thinking on buying some of the new-canon Star Wars novels, since i know Syt's read some would love to know which ones don't suck. The recipient is a 30-something who is a huge Star Wars geek.

Trouble with this is a huge 30-something Star Wars geek may have already read the new novels.

[Syt]

Haven't read the latest, but of new canon I've read:

- Aftermath trilogy
Liked it a lot, but the style is highly divisive - present tense, short sentences, more how you would narrate the plot to someone. Also features gay characters (though it's not a central defining trait or paraded around - this person is living with a same sex partner, or person A comes on to person B who refuses because they prefer their own gender - they later have a partner).
Covers the aftermath of Endor, the liberation of Kashyyk and the Battle of Jakku. Lots of background backstory. Also adds little vignettes/scenes showing what's happening in other parts of the galaxy. Adds some really cool characters like Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, or the murderous, childlike, dancing droid Mr Bones.

- Catalyst
Prequel novel to Rogue One, stretching from the Clone Wars to when the Ersos move to their little exile. Great backstory, doing a good job of fleshing out Krennic and Galen Erso, and making the movie better for it.

- Thrawn
About how Thrawn joined the Empire. It's all right. Also covers the rise of Governor Pryce. I don't like Zahn's style of writing; it feels amateurish, but the yarn is ok. The weakest of the books I've read.

- Twilight Company
A tie in with the first EA Battlefront game that ended up very good. Follows a Rebel infantry squad through a series of missions. It's kind of Band of Brothers in Star Wars.

- Tarkin
Early days of the Empire, with Tarkin and Vader dealing with conspiracy and sedition.

- Lost Stars
Young adult novel. Two kids from an Imperial backwater join the Imperial Academy. Alderaan becomes a turning point. She stays with the Empire, he ends up with smugglers and later Rebels. They intersect during key points of the original trilogy, and fall in love. They're reunited at the battle of Jakku in a dramatic moment. Slightly sappy at times, but I thought it was interesting to see an inside view of how Imperials dealt with the destruction of Alderaan and the Death Star, and the rationalizations they make to keep following the regime.

A link to all current canon adult novels is here (it's not many): http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Canon_adult_novels

[viper37]

- Thrawn
About how Thrawn joined the Empire. It's all right. Also covers the rise of Governor Pryce. I don't like Zahn's style of writing; it feels amateurish, but the yarn is ok. The weakest of the books I've read.

I liked it a lot, and I'm a fan of Zhan's style of writing

To each their own tastes.

[celedhring]

Thanks Syt!

He loved Rogue One, might buy him the prequel one then.

[celedhring]

Paging Syt. For a Christmas present I was thinking on buying some of the new-canon Star Wars novels, since i know Syt's read some would love to know which ones don't suck. The recipient is a 30-something who is a huge Star Wars geek.

Trouble with this is a huge 30-something Star Wars geek may have already read the new novels.

Checked with his wife, and he hasn't yet.

[Syt]

Here's a special something. A Chinese bootleg comic of original Star Wars from 1980. It seems the artist hasn't seen the movie, but probably has seen pictures of Empire, because designs from that movie keep showing up (including Mandalorians as Stormtroopers), but nothing from the original movie.

It's rather fascinating. How to tell a story you've only had narrated to you/read about?

The links come with translations of the Chinese texts.

http://www.nickstember.com/chinese-star-wars-comic-part-1-6/
http://www.nickstember.com/chinese-star-wars-comic-part-2-6-jedi/
http://www.nickstember.com/chinese-star-wars-comic-part-3-6-hyper-speed/
http://www.nickstember.com/chinese-star-wars-comic-part-4-of-6-thx-1138/
http://www.nickstember.com/chinese-star-wars-comic-part-5-6-find-weak-point-death-star-destroy/
http://www.nickstember.com/chinese-star-wars-comic-part-6-6/

Over 140 amazing pictures. A few here:

Capturing the princess:




Luke, Owen, and Beru having dinner:




Sandpeople:




Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi:




Tarkin, Vader, and the Princess:




Ben digs out the lightsaber for Luke:




Vader on board the Death Star:




Vader addresses a Stormtrooper squad:




In the Death Star. Or at Starfleet HQ in San Francisco, take your pick.




Rebels get ready, Solo gets his reward:




Luke Waves at the Millennium Falcon:





Just a small selection from a rather trippy comic.

[The Larch]

Rather blatant product placement at Obi Wan's. 

[celedhring]

Rather blatant product placement at Obi Wan's. 

Even bootlegs have ads 

[Malthus]

Love the "Kennedy Space Center" being "The Target". 

[Oexmelin]

It's rather fascinating. How to tell a story you've only had narrated to you/read about?

It's a crucial part of Dai Sije's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, which is partly autobiographical. In it, the narrator, sent to reeducation in a distant village during the Cultural Revolution, is periodically freed from his agricultural labor to go see movies in town, and narrate them back to the village.

[mongers]

It's rather fascinating. How to tell a story you've only had narrated to you/read about?

It's a crucial part of Dai Sije's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, which is partly autobiographical. In it, the narrator, sent to reeducation in a distant village during the Cultural Revolution, is periodically freed from his agricultural labor to go see movies in town, and narrate them back to the village.

Interesting story.

[celedhring]

Love the "Kennedy Space Center" being "The Target". 

Perfectly coherent with the Rebel Alliance being the NASA. There's a method to the madness indeed 

[Syt]

So looks like the old fan theory is now canon:

[Sophie Scholl]

So goofy.  Why couldn't they have just made that whole exchange from Episode I non-canon?  The whole midi-chlorians thing has been awful since it was brought up.  This is the (hopefully) final cherry on top.