Monday, August 10, 2009

Weekly Journal - Update!

August 10th, 2009
2 years BBY

Last week was a bit of everything. On one hand, it brings a joyful tear to my eye when stories that have been written over a span of 30 years come together so well. On the other, its saddening when continuity problems hit a disrespectful tone.

The week before last, I finished up Han Solo At Stars' End and, this week, The Force Unleashed. You can check out my reviews on my previous posts. However, what really made my day was a single chapter of Rebel Dawn, which brought all three stories together. Remember me saying Rebel Dawn is going to end up being my favorite Han Solo adventure? Well this is why.

I last left Rebel Dawn with Han and Chewie deciding to check out the Corporate Sector, a region of space still autonomous from the Empire. I then cracked into Stars' End, the first book of the Han Solo Adventures trilogy, which chronicles Han's exploits in that region. Once I finished Star's End, I finished The Force Unleashed, another exciting read. For those of you who recall, the Rebel Alliance is officially declared on Corellia (thus, the "Corellian Treaty") during TFU by the Senators Mon Mothma, Garm Bel Iblis, and both Bail and Leia Organa. Then, moving back to the next chapter of Rebel Dawn, there is a specific mention to the signing of the Corellia Treaty, Mothma "uniting three forces" (Chandrila, Corellia, and Alderaan) and the beginning of the Alliance. Finally, at the end of that chapter, there is an interlude that places Solo right where he left off after Stars' End- having a bit of a love affair with Jessa Vandangante, getting special upgrades done to the Falcon, and considering making tracks.

So what makes this all mind-blowing? This does: Han Solo at Stars' End was written in 1979. Rebel Dawn was written in 1998. And The Force Unleashed was written in 2008. That is an almost 30 year time-span. That kind of detailing, my friends, blows me away.

On a side note, I read the first two installments of Lost Tribe of the Sith, a free e-book by John Jackson Miller. While this story takes place 5,000 BBY, during the Great Hyperspace War, it can be expected to have some kind of tie in to Miller's Fate of the Jedi book, Omen. MIller is also the story-writer behind the Knights of the Old Republic comic-series. Even stand-alone, these short little novellas are a kick to read. Not only do they go way back, but they delve deeper into the Old Sith Empire culture deeper than I've ever seen. Fascinating, quick read! You can download PDF versions of these free e-books at:


However, I said this week was a little bit of both. I read recently that Karen Traviss, one of my favorite Star Wars authors, has decided to cease writing Star Wars once she finishes her Imperial Commando duology. The reason being, according to her blog post, was the 3-D animated Clone Wars. According to Traviss, the way that the Clone Wars team has planned out the story of their series directly interferes with the direction she was going. I can only assume that this may have something to do with the fate of the clones themselves, as well as the inclusion of Boba Fett in Season 2. I say this because Traviss is well known for her work with the clone-centered Republic Commando quadrilogy and that she was planning a new Boba Fett novel for the future.

Like I said before, its frustrating when new stories are disrespectful of the work done by those before them (those before being Del Rey authors). While I don't want to set the blame completely on any one person or group, I think we can surmise where some of the fingers are pointing. Traviss, her work, and what could have been will be sorely missed. May the Force Be With You, Karen Traviss.

See the article here:



2 comments:

  1. I imagine authors have to work very hard to weave so many storylines together continuously! Unfortunately then George Lucas comes along again and everything gets mixed up!

    examples: as much as I prefer Amidala as a mother to the twins storyline, I do believe a couple of books had Luke following signs of his mother, on a totally different path! (don't remember which ones anymore, they were very poorly written)

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  2. Yea, Dark Horse storywriters and Del Rey authors work their butts off to make sure everything is within continuity. I know that every time they plan to write a book, they get an updated version of Leland Chee's "Holocron" database, which has all the info they need. I really appreciate these hard efforts, and I think they need to be respected.

    But, as you alluded too, this is George Lucas' creation, so he can do what he will with it. I won't, however, accept "George said to do this" as an excuse when it comes to stuff that doesn't have to mess with continuity (i.e. the way the clones look in Clone Wars).

    Are my politics showing? ;)

    Anyway, I haven't read those stories about Luke. I will most definitely run in to them if they exist. I'll let you know my thoughts when I do.

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