I think that the New Jedi Order series is the best EU books I've ever read. What do you guys think of them?

I went between loving them and loathing...I wanted Nom Anor to bite it every single book.

I agree, Palpy. He needed a zapping from an irate Emperor, if anyone ever did. I mean, why on earth did it take nearly twenty books to figure out he was the main player for the Yuuzhan Vong? I mean COME ON. Talk about drawing out something way too long! They beat that horse until not only was it dead, the remains were unrecognizable!

Yeah that was a bit bad.

Same, I vascilated between enjoying and hating them. I'm honestly surprised I got into them at all. When they killed off Chewie, I almost stopped then and there and didn't finish that book.

Though the series did have some pretty good quote material in it. Not as much as the Rogue Suadron series, but I laughed at this one:

"Anakin! Supplies! We were just supposed to get supplies! Not mount a search-and-rescue-recon mission! Now I understand those pitying looks Solusar was giving me before we left." - Corran Horn to Anakin Solo

The one in which Chewie died is bascially one of the only ones I havn't got around to reading.

I think killing off Chewie was a really bad idea. How it was done was really stupid. I have always found, imo, that killing off a main character "just to show that everyone is vulnerable" comes off as forced, and pandering to the idea of realism. It's not realistic; it's just annoying.

Yeah I was disappointed Chewie died but I think overall it's ok for the series, it makes it more interesting, seeing how Han takes his death.

yeah but that idea died when they gave han an alien partner 2 books later

Did they? What book is that?

might have been Hero's Trial - not sure, though, its been a few years since I read it

OK then.

I didn't really like the NJO in the end. I thought the pace of the series was awful, like it had no overall direction. And the Yuuzhan Vong were poorly detailed. What about them was supposed to be alien, that they were religious zealots who abused themselves? That's the Aztecs, not the YV!

The main thing I didn't like, though, was when they killed Anakin Solo. It seemed a waste, particularly as he was one of the more interesting characters. It made Leia lose it, Han be cowed by guilt, and Jaina go to the Dark Side... that just didn't feel right. Obviously they (the writers) wanted to show the impact, but they had a chance to show a different side of the Solos, to show real loss; instead they used melodrama. It was like they killed Anakin purely to make Jaina go to the Dark Side and that's an awful motivation.

Then there was that business with the Unifying Force... I could not get the idea of the Unifying Force, that there is no Light or Dark Side, only what your actions make of it. It seemed like a way of escaping accountability in war - no matter what we do, we're doing it for the right reasons. Did they miss the Star Wars movies and Anakin turning to the Dark Side? They reinvented the SW universe because they thought Lucas's idea was too limited; they changed the canon, and I hated that. And now, with the Legacy series, the Unifying Force has created a new Sith, which is exactly what I'm saying; they're playing it both ways!

Anyway, sorry if I seem harsh... I know a lot of people enjoyed the NJO. I actually liked the idea of the NJO, at the beginning, and I didn't mind Chewbacca's death - they needed a death, to show they were vulnerable (problem was they played the same trick again and again, lol). And the NJO has two of the best EU books: Kathy Tyres' Balance Point and Stover's Traitor. I just wish they had thought out the series more carefully, or cut it in half or something so it wasn't so long...

Yeah, it was. Droma the Ryn was in Hero's Trial and Jedi Eclipse, and a few others.

I thought that the NJO series did make the Yuuzhan Vong detailed, they seemed so alien.

I liked the idea that the force had no dark side as such, it shows that the dark side s just the evil person using the force for their own ends.

I really enjoyed all of the NJO and I thought that it was hte best Star Wars series ever.

Strange how people find that an ok thing to do - look at the Zahn lovers for example. He can do no wrong, it must be George Lucas's fault

Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn is a really good book

I haven't read it yet.

It's got an excellant story and it's really interesting, they encounter Thrawn in it

Ah, good enough reason to avoid it then !

Don't you like Thrawn?

I'm not much a fan of some of the EU...far too many books, not enough time to read them.

I don't rate Zahn much, I prefer some of the other authors.

This will come as a shock to you - every book Zahn has written is about/or mentions them encountering Thrawn. Talk about flogging a dead horse.

Really?
He is quite an interesting character though - still, that would be too much.

Zahn always mentions Thrawn, it can become tiresome.

Personal opinion - he's the most boring character in the EU. Also pretty unbelieveable

I suppose...

In the end, to each their own. There's so much to get out of Star Wars that one mans meat is another mans poison.

The early EU is my poison.

coruscant, you've waded into the anti-Thrawn territory. I don't like Thrawn either. What I hate even more than Thrawn is cloned Jedi. There was a reason they didn't clone Jedi in the PT. 1. No competition for Palpatine; 2. Perhaps Jedi cannot really be cloned. What would the cloning process do to the midichlorians? But then again, they didn't come along until after all the cloned Jedi & Thrawn. And Zahn has continued to write book after book to explain away the inconsistencies, something that, IMO, is hardly necessary. I mean, let the stories stand on their own; don't try to remake the SW universe so that it makes Zahn-sense.

Well, we ain't exactly anti-thrawn territory. I don't have a problem with people liking his work, I'm just one of a few here who don't particularly like Zahn when it comes to the EU.

Well I've never actually read anything (apart from Outbound Flight) that he's in so I really can't comment, but from what I heard, he was a cool character.

We, anti-zahners are in the minority!

heheh
I like that, Patricia. His stories are a bunch of Zahn-sense.

I'm surprised PS hasn't weighed in on this one

oh ok - Zahn sucks

Now we have to outline the reasons Zahn sucks.

I believe I've already mentioned the notion of cloned Jedi. Just ain't gonna work. It doesn't work. It's like, we can't think of any other Force users out there. hey! We'll clone Jedi. I hated Joruus C'Boath a LOT more than I ever hated Thrawn. Though I am not fond of Thrawn either. I DO like Pellaeon. He's COOL; a true Imperial.

I realize that The Maker came up with Midichlorians later in the game. However, that does nothing to change the fact that, IMO, the cloning process would destroy the midichlorians. They are a microscopic life form, and are delicate enough to be messed up pretty bad.

Just got Zahn's new book today - and here is a classic example of Zahn totally ignoring the movies.

Previuosly he may have had the lame excuse of the prequels not being made, but now we have all 6 films and this is from the inside of the dust cover -
"For Imperial Stormtrooper Daric LaRone, his faith in the Empire is shaken by the wanton destruction of Alderaan, will commit a sudden and violent act of defiance and take four other enforces with him, in a desperate bid to elude their masters' wrath"

Anyone see the demented Zahn-ism yet??

Pellaon is cool, I agree, and I also agree that the idea of cloned jedi is stupid.

Don't let them turn you into an EU Hater, resist !!!

I am resisting, but I'm also open to other people's opinions