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Post by boot on Sept 7, 2019 19:52:19 GMT -6
SHADOWS OF THE EMPIREI've been thinking of reading the novel. I read it back when it came out, and I'll admit, I didn't really like it. I'm wondering if I would have a different opinion today. It was long ago, and I was irked that Lucas Film had said that, in order to get the entire Shadows story, then you'd need to read the book, play the PC game, play console game, and read the comic. Each element added to the story--they didn't really duplicate each other. I barely remember what happened in the book, except the starship climactic battle above Coruscan at the end. And, I ended playing the PC game too (which I quite enjoyed back then--the ship is damn cool looking). Anybody remember this book?
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Post by Starbeard on Sept 7, 2019 22:09:30 GMT -6
I still have to reach that point on my reading list, but I'm excited for it. I played the PC game up and down for several years when it came out.
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Post by boot on Sept 8, 2019 16:12:31 GMT -6
That SW MoodIt's striking me again. It comes and goes. Sometimes, it an itch I need to scratch, a jones I need to feed, a hole I need to fill. I stopped over at the closest Half Price book (which ain't that close), and I picked up Shadows of the Empire. I also picked up Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, which is a collection of short stories featuring various characters from the Cantina scene. I've never been interested in that book, or its brothers, but like Finarvyn says, on a dime and a snap, I can change my mind and all of a sudden desire it. I like short stories, anyway. No, I couldn't go home the. No. Nope. No. I left Half Price for the Barnes & Nobel. There, I picked up a hard copy omnibus with the A.C. Crispin Han Solo stories. I've never read them, and I understand that they're pretty good. They must have sold well because it's not every book that gets the hard cover treatment from B&N. Only the original novelizations have been treated that way, to my knowledged. I didn't even know this particular collection existed. I saw these three paperbacks at the used book store, and I almost bought them. But, I put them back, thinking I had plenty to read with Shadows and Tales. When I saw this faux leather bound hard back, I figured it was the Force telling me to get it. It's a cool looking collection, so I did. I also picked up Tales of the Bounty Hunters.Do you think I went home then? Nope. Not on your life. I went to a second B&N on the way home. There, I found Tales From Jabba's Palace. I didn't look for the fourth and last book in the series, Tales From The Empire, as these are stories taken from WEG's Adventure Journals, and I already own an entire set of those.
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Post by Starbeard on Sept 8, 2019 16:38:19 GMT -6
I was just at B&N yesterday and saw that edition of the Han Solo trilogy. I have to say, it's looks stunning on the shelf, and I almost bought it. In the end I caved, figuring that it might be priced down by the time I get to those books on my Star Wars reading list, and went home with the Battletech Beginner's Box instead (I mean, how long has it been since you could buy Battletech at a mass market bookstore?!)
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Post by boot on Sept 8, 2019 16:49:52 GMT -6
I was just at B&N yesterday and saw that edition of the Han Solo trilogy. I have to say, it's looks stunning on the shelf, and I almost bought it. In the end I caved, figuring that it might be priced down by the time I get to those books on my Star Wars reading list, and went home with the Battletech Beginner's Box instead (I mean, how long has it been since you could buy Battletech at a mass market bookstore?!) I almost didn't buy it. But, it was $25 bucks. That's not bad for a bad-assed looking book like that. Don't wait too long to get it. I know some of those B&N hardbacks are out of print. The black Vader cover I have for the original trilogy novelizations is starting to become rare, though I see that they have the same book, now, in white, with Leia on the cover. Of course, if that particular edition is not important to you, then definitely wait. You can find the used paperbacks all over the place for cheap, and there were other omnibuses for that series.
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Post by Falconer on Sept 9, 2019 9:58:16 GMT -6
I’ve never gotten into the Han Solo Trilogy (Crispin), because the Daley novels just nailed what a Han Solo story should be IMO — standalone adventures with Chewie, the Falcon, and his blaster — without being at all Prequeley (VERY little foreshadowing of any great destiny or whatever). But the Crispin novels do have a high reputation, so, you guys let me know how you like them.
Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina has a story I like called Hammertong by Timothy Zahn, but actually it was released quite a bit before the Tales collection as a standalone, as an audiobook that accompanied the Thrawn Trilogy audiobooks.
I agree Tales from the Empire is redundant if you have the SWAJ set (lucky you!!), especially because SWAJ also had illustrations and gaming appendices for all the stories. However, there is a fifth Tales collection, Tales from the New Republic, which is SWAJ stuff which never published (stuff commissioned for or submitted to SWAJ, but SWAJ was cancelled).
Have you guys ever head of the Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy? I’ve heard it’s really great.
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Post by boot on Sept 9, 2019 16:50:40 GMT -6
If you are talking about the trilogy by Jeter that starts with The Mandalorian Armor, I have the set, but I haven't read it.
That's interesting about Tales from the New Republic. I just assumed they were stories that I already had. I'll need to get that one, I guess.
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Post by boot on Sept 9, 2019 17:29:16 GMT -6
I started Shadows, read the first chapter. I remember not liking Guri, the replicant droid (a droid that looks like a human) when I read it the first time, decades ago.
I'll give her a fair shake and see if I like her better this time.
I do like all the references to the movies and how Perry, the author, is establishing the time and setting. This happened with This happened in the movies. That's cool.
I like Xizor, too. He's a different, yet suitable bad guy. Not only his connection to Black Sun but the Faleen race as a whole. They're nifty and very suitable to a novel (the pheromone thing probably wouldn't play as well in a movie).
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Post by boot on Sept 10, 2019 17:24:10 GMT -6
Gotta admit, I'm really liking this book. It's pretty cool, so far. I think I had a problem with it the first time around, when it came out, because I didn't know the Star Wars universe well at that time. I didn't know what a Weequay was, or a Barabel. I knew some of the originals. I knew a Hutt, and a Rodian, and a Mon Calamarian. A Wookiee, of course. But, there were a lot of aliens I just didn't know, and that detracted from the reading. When I read, I like to "hear" the voices. It helps with my visualization of the story, which I do, too. I have a picture in my head. I try to pick voices I know that fit the character, and for Xizor, I selected Hugo Weaving.
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Post by Falconer on Sept 10, 2019 22:08:29 GMT -6
I think I had a problem with it the first time around, when it came out, because I didn't know the Star Wars universe well at that time. I didn't know what a Weequay was, or a Barabel. Yeah, it’s great that first WEG and then Zahn began to develop the universe, because it ultimately led to more storytelling possibilities, but I admit on some level no matter how much I learn about Star Wars, I still do find it a bit distasteful when authors presume you know even basic WEG lore, specifically a lot of alien species names. It feels antithetical to the SW+ESB storytelling style.
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Post by boot on Sept 11, 2019 7:14:46 GMT -6
I think I had a problem with it the first time around, when it came out, because I didn't know the Star Wars universe well at that time. I didn't know what a Weequay was, or a Barabel. Yeah, it’s great that first WEG and then Zahn began to develop the universe, because it ultimately led to more storytelling possibilities, but I admit on some level no matter how much I learn about Star Wars, I still do find it a bit distasteful when authors presume you know even basic WEG lore, specifically a lot of alien species names. It feels antithetical to the SW+ESB storytelling style. Unlike decades ago, we have the internet, and I find that a great tool. I've used it reading all sorts of books. I was reading a Tom Clancy novel one time, and although I know of a decent amount of military equipment and vehicles from the 80's, I certainly don't know it all--or know specific models. So, I'd look 'em up. Same for Star Wars.
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Post by boot on Oct 2, 2019 21:58:03 GMT -6
Chewie and Leia in disguise. This book details where Leia got the bounty hunter outfit that she wears in Return of the Jedi.
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Post by boot on Oct 6, 2019 0:11:27 GMT -6
I finished it. This is the finest, best single Star Wars book that I've ever read. I loved it from page one, and every single page thereafter. This is a GREAT Star Wars book that perfectly captures the feel of the original trilogy. In fact, if they were being made back then, this should be the fourth film of the original trilogy. It could be called: Shadows of the Empire - A Star Wars Story. Excellent book. I put it up there with my favorites, the original Thrawn trilogy. Highly recommended.
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Post by boot on Oct 13, 2019 16:39:30 GMT -6
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