I've been re-reading the X-Wing books and they hold up pretty well. They're a quick and easy read and I appreciate some of the slower moments more than when I was younger. I had forgotten some of the twists in the books which was great to experience again. Some of the details I don't remember were interesting - the imperial propaganda about what happened at Endor was really amusing to read, and the stuff about the Krytos virus was a bit too real at times thanks to Covid.
My only gripes were excessive plot armor on some characters, the need to constantly reference things from the movies, and the insistence to end each chapter on some line of intense gravitas but coming across as cheesy due to how forced it always is. I'm only on book 4 but hopefully that goes away when the author changes for Wraith Squadron.
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I just finished the Legacy of the Force series where Jacen Solo becomes a Sith Lord. Its far better then I remember. Probably one of the best series in my mind. I mean the Thrawn series was good though badly dated. The Kilik nest was weird. And the whole Vong war series was at times a confusing slog to get through.
But even with this series being 9 books, they really did do a good job of keeping the story lines straight. The characters were the most part really well written, especially Lumiya and Alema Rar (Her death was really actually sad) The fall of Jacen Solo started with the noblest of intentions, ending war and bringing peace to the Galaxy. Swearing he'd never fall into the trap of the Dark Side. But in the end, he fell into every trap and became far worse then his Grandfather.
There was some plot armor, but every character really did experience crushing tragedy and heart break, and they weren't afraid to kill off Mara Jade, and there was no redemption for Jaden (Darth Caedus).
I would encourage anyone that was disappointed in the sequel trilogy but still in love with the idea of Star Wars. these books were just a far better sequel trilogy.
Oh and its the first series where there were no real overwhelming force powers, and in fact because of Caedus power, the Jedi didn't really rely on the Force and retreated from it a bit.
As well the final battle between Caedus and his twin Jaina was incredibly well written. Short and Brutal.
In my quest to read through the Legends EU one more time, I'm moving onto the book Millenium Falcon, then the Fate of the Jedi series, though I wasn't as fond of them the first time around. Then I'll finish off with the final legacy cartoons and the excellent and tragic Darth Krayt and the One Sith.
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Marcia Lucas, editor of the first three films, voices her displeasure of the final three films. Old school reporting in book form. I would guess that this is pretty close to George's real feeling on the matter, as far as I can tell they are on good terms even after divorcing post-Jedi.
Now that she’s running Lucasfilm and making movies, it seems to me that Kathy Kennedy and J.J. Abrams don’t have a clue about ‘Star Wars.’ They don’t get it. And JJ Abrams is writing these stories — when I saw that movie where they kill Han Solo, I was furious. I was furious when they killed Han Solo. Absolutely, positively there was no rhyme or reason to it. I thought, You don’t get the Jedi story. You don’t get the magic of ‘Star Wars.’
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Marcia Lucas, editor of the first three films, voices her displeasure of the final three films. Old school reporting in book form. I would guess that this is pretty close to George's real feeling on the matter, as far as I can tell they are on good terms even after divorcing post-Jedi.
I agree with her, except Han dying was one of the "bright" spots of the trilogy, in terms of emotional weight. Plus I'm sure that's the only reason Harrison Ford agreed to come back, so it was kind of necessary
Yea, I don't get the gripe with Han dying. I thought it was a terrific scene, and very well acted by Ford and Driver. And I agree it definitely added some emotional weight to the story.
I agree with her, except Han dying was one of the "bright" spots of the trilogy, in terms of emotional weight. Plus I'm sure that's the only reason Harrison Ford agreed to come back, so it was kind of necessary
Yeah, I'm with you, that was the best part of that first movie. It did add gravity to it, though the problem is they didn't capatilize on it as Kylo making this choice to serve his darker nature and become a true villain. Instead he as it went on became a weaker villain.
But the in terms of the filming of it, where the star is drained and the scene goes darker and then Kylo murders his father was a really nice piece of a combination of setting, lighting, mood and it was decisive.
Kylo Ren could have been so much more then he was and the next movie pretty much wrecked him. Also I had hope because when Ray and Kylo fought, Ray fought with anger and Fury, and they smartly used some Palpatine and Vader light sabre techniques in the fight which made me think she was a secret child of Vader or a clone of Palpatine. Instead later we found out that she was the child of a clone of Palpatine who was pretty much working as a waiter at Chucky Cheese.
I actually liked the first movie, did it beat the OT, not really, Did it give me hope for the next two, absolutely.
Killing a character like Han Solo does take some story telling guts though.
I mean look at Star Wars fans when they dropped a moon on Chewie in the novels. People were crushed. It was a great plot development piece for Han and made him a better character that finally lost.
Instead Han was basically forgotten about by the time he hit the bottom of the pit, and he didn't even get consoled by Leia, which was a weird choice.
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Excited to see what they do with him in the Ahsoka series. We definitely need more Ahsoka/Anakin/Vader scenes.
I had read a rumour that Anakin will show up in the Obi-Wan series for flash backs of the Clone Wars, which in live action I thought would be pretty damn cool. But then they dropped that bomb that it would be some sort of fight between the two of them.. or a rematch. Which made me a bit apprehensive.
I can't see his role in Ahsoka being anymore than a flashback though given the timeline... unless the show isn't taking place when I think it is taking place..
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Last edited by GreenLantern; 10-23-2021 at 10:51 AM.
I'm super torn on this because between Clone Wars with her and Anakin and the last scene between the two, and her and Vader in Rebels, it was so incredibly well done and voice acted. I almost am scared that this won't be as good.
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It's interesting to note that Rosario and Hayden are actually good friends in real life. They attended acting classes together in the late 90s and were both in the film Shattered Glass in 2003.
My guess is, since Ahsoka takes place at least 5 years after ROTJ, he'll appear to her as a Force ghost.
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Could be flashbacks, though like I said, I'd prefer they leave the Clone Wars and Rebels era alone, those were both as perfect as it gets, and to me a really good way to lay Vader/Anakin to rest.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
It's interesting to note that Rosario and Hayden are actually good friends in real life. They attended acting classes together in the late 90s and were both in the film Shattered Glass in 2003.
My guess is, since Ahsoka takes place at least 5 years after ROTJ, he'll appear to her as a Force ghost.
I have a hard time believing that Hayden Christensen ever attended acting classes.
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I feel like Hayden gets a bad rep for his acting based on prequel movies, which by most accounts, had some pretty cringe writing. Especially the love scenes etc. He's not so bad in other films, at least in my somewhat unreliable/foggy memory.
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I had read a rumour that Anakin will show up in the Obi-Wan series for flash backs of the Clone Wars, which in live action I thought would be pretty damn cool. But then they dropped that bomb that it would be some sort of fight between the two of them.. or a rematch. Which made me a bit apprehensive.
I am still waiting for the Obi-Wan trying to save Anakin, feeling there was still good in him storyline they talked about in the OT. When Luke was trying to save Vader, Vader said Obi-Wan once thought that too. I was hoping the PT would have had Anakin fall earlier and then the failed redemption ark being the last movie with him ending up in the lava, but alas, they didn't go that way and instead wasted a movie on him being a kid.
