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Post by rafael on Jul 4, 2018 10:42:31 GMT -6
Hey,
Lately, I've been thinking of "Outbound Flight", Zahn's Thrawn origin novel. It's virtually the only prequel era novel that I wouldn't classify as a crime against humanity. Now, I would hope that there'd be others... But are they?
Yours,
Rafe
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Yora
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Posts: 51
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Post by Yora on Jul 4, 2018 12:02:09 GMT -6
Aren't we here to pretend those never happened?  |
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Post by finarvyn on Jul 4, 2018 14:50:54 GMT -6
I think that Rafe is thinking of "prequel era" as being some time before ANH, and not trying to look at the I-II-III movie prequels. (An unfortunate word choice?) I may be misinterpreting his intent, however.
"Outbound Flight" is one of the few pre-ANH novels that I can recall reading, other than the early Han Solo trilogy and Lando Calrissian trilogy. I think both the Han and Lando series were pre-ANH. There were also a few graphic novels in the EU which were supposed to be hundreds (thousands?) of years ago, and WEG even made a sourcebook about those, but I didn't like them much because they didn't have any familiar characters.
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Post by rafael on Jul 4, 2018 21:41:31 GMT -6
Actually, I find it difficult to differentiate when it comes to the novels and the comics; after all, many of the pre-Del Rey EU writers continued their respective stories and series under the new banner, and the transition wasn't particularly signaled or explained to the reader. It was just "Star Wars".  And mostly, with the broader takes on the setting, the rebooted elements from the prequels didn't hurt, at all. For example, Zahn's "Outbound Flight" is simply really, really good, and serves as a prequel to the Thrawn trilogy that doesn't feel forced. The same for the Crispin Solo trilogy, just to name another example. Or, the classic "Tales of the Jedi"; how they later intersect with "Knights of the Old Republic", which character was introduced when, and so on, I simply don't remember. So, I don't particularly care about when a book was written - as long as it was done before the Disney reboot. - Sorry if this is contradicting Falconer's general idea, here, but maybe we can discuss the EU whenever references to the prequel movies are not too explicitly mentioned? Otherwise, we're potentially creating some sort of pseudo-canonical mess. ...For example, what should we do with media that was released BEFORE the prequels, but already contained references to them? Not trying to be contrarian, just saying - maybe let's discuss this early. |
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Post by Falconer on Jul 4, 2018 22:02:00 GMT -6
Set well in the Prequel era proper, there’s an old (1995) short story about Thrawn called “Mist Encounter” which is really good, and an even older (1978) comic book about Obi-Wan called “Silent Drifting,” which is a neat look into a 70s vision of the Old Republic.
Other than that, the Daley Han Solo pulps.
There are a few stories I really like which lead right into Star Wars, which I can elaborate on if there is interest. Somehow I don’t think that was the point of this thread, though.
I try avoid post-90s stuff, because the Clone Wars and the Darth Vader backstory are so much better in my imagination than how they turned out. There’s a novel called Rise of Darth Vader which is supposed to be good, but, I just so don’t get that same excitement when I think about picking it up that I get from a book with Luke and the gang.
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Post by Falconer on Jul 4, 2018 22:17:42 GMT -6
maybe we can discuss the EU whenever references to the prequel movies are not too explicitly mentioned? Otherwise, we're potentially creating some sort of pseudo-canonical mess. ...For example, what should we do with media that was released BEFORE the prequels, but already contained references to them? Not trying to be contrarian, just saying - maybe let's discuss this early. Absolutely, let’s. I guess I feel if we can “soak” ourselves in 90s (and earlier) Star Wars, the occasional odd reference to — or even thread about — later stuff won’t bug me. As for canon, well, I think at the end of the day we all have our own headcanon and we’re not here to necessarily get everyone to agree on one headcanon, as long as we’re agreed on what’s on-topic here. But will it be annoying if every poster in every thread has to clarify his preferences and assumptions? And a part of me does think it would be cool if we all accepted the 90s timeline which had the Clone Wars ending 35 years before Yavin and riffed on that. So could certain things be accepted common ground in order to facilitate productive conversation? Is it safest and simplest just to state up front that the PT and NJO are considered non-canon, for the purposes of this board? I welcome all input. What sort of PT references were there in the 90s? Are you talking about the timeline changes between the 1994 Guide 2nd Ed. and the 1998 Encyclopedia? |
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Post by rafael on Jul 5, 2018 2:59:47 GMT -6
Maybe it would even make sense to divide the timeline between Bantam's run, and then later on, Del Rey? - The problem with in-universe sources is that SW was never quite coherent, to begin with. For example, talking about comic books, the Marvel SW comics had their own, slightly varying timeline, as had the pre-RotJ supplements, and so on. As to the SW RPGs, I have no real idea, lamentably; never came to play them. However, cases like, for example, "Dark Empire", or the aforementioned "Tales of the Jedi", they are chronologically releases of the "Zahnverse" period - but they don't use the Zahnverse timeline. So, how would you treat those? That said, we're both obviously on the same side when it comes to common sense, or, rather, in this case, suspension of disbelief: The 90s timelines were far more thought through than the, ugh, later ones. Mind you, between the end of "Revenge of the Sith", and the start of the Organa/Skywalker rebellion, per cannon that leaves, what, TEN years of Palpatine's empire. ******** ***** ***** ***************. <- That is my friendly opinion on that.  |
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Post by Falconer on Jul 5, 2018 11:08:24 GMT -6
Well, the end of the Bantam run is precisely as far as I intend the focus of this board to be. Del Rey’s run began with The Phantom Menace and Vector Prime. No “whoopee” Anakin, no weird Yuuzhan Vong invasion, no Chewie death, just the relatively unobjectionable stuff which revolves around the OT.
The early Marvel comics, the early Del Rey novels, the WEG RPG, the Bantam Novels, and the Dark Horse comics (through 1999) are all a-ok here. Some were considered more canonical and some less, but that doesn’t really matter to me. I like some of the noncanonical stuff more than some of the canonical stuff. For example, Dark Empirep officially integrated with the Bantam timeline, but to me it’s pretty incongruous and I prefer to think of it separately.
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Yora
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Post by Yora on Jul 5, 2018 13:08:34 GMT -6
I've never read Dark Empire. But over the years, most of the times I read about something that felt really out of place, it turned out to come from Dark Empire.
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Post by rafael on Jul 5, 2018 23:32:14 GMT -6
Well, the end of the Bantam run is precisely as far as I intend the focus of this board to be. Del Rey’s run began with The Phantom Menace and Vector Prime. No “whoopee” Anakin, no weird Yuuzhan Vong invasion, no Chewie death, just the relatively unobjectionable stuff which revolves around the OT. That is alright for me, as you know. The devil's in the details, though, and in creating a frame for future discussions that works for everyone. The early Marvel comics, the early Del Rey novels, the WEG RPG, the Bantam Novels, and the Dark Horse comics (through 1999) are all a-ok here. Some were considered more canonical and some less, but that doesn’t really matter to me. I like some of the noncanonical stuff more than some of the canonical stuff. For example, Dark Empirep officially integrated with the Bantam timeline, but to me it’s pretty incongruous and I prefer to think of it separately. How do we handle this as a community, though? - Your personal view on the canon will probably be shared by most users, but at the same time, it's impossible for people to anticipate them; or to intuitively share them, for that matter - what about the one fan who wants to talk Dark Empire, or Tales of the Jedi? Or, any part of the "frame" canon that you personally dislike? "There is nothing about the Zahnverse canon that is not to like." - Dash Rendar |
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Post by rafael on Jul 5, 2018 23:37:51 GMT -6
To be a bit more constructive in my criticism, what about a separate section for Zahnverse canon, and THEN a separate section for other Bantam-era canon? What we like is the Zahnverse stories, after all; the rest is just bonus, or indirectly related. The X-Wing novels, while making for a great in-between, are largely disregarded by the Zahnverse, as well. |
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Post by Falconer on Jul 6, 2018 7:59:41 GMT -6
Dark Empire discussion is absolutely admitted here. Maybe I should be more private about my favorites and not-so-favorites at this stage, so people aren’t confused about whether it’s okay to discuss things that Falconer doesn’t particularly like!
I have some ideas about how to group the Bantam novels, but that will have to wait for another post.
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