Star Wars Expanded Universe

[J-Proof]

Hey guys,

it's been a while since I've touched on Expanded Universe material. Can someone fill me in on what I've missed out on???

In my New Republic timeline I have Luke and Mara Jade with a team of jedi heading out into deep space in an attempt to find a way to stop the Yuuzhan Vong.

Has anythign really been written to conclude this storyline??

[mrbasehart]

I know thay Wookies braid their hair now.  But that's it.   

[J-Proof]

Hehe -- Wookies are like the Nordic big feet =)

But seriously -- can anyone clue me in?

[Nunyerbiz]

I read those three Timothy Zahn books about 10-15 years ago... that's about the extent of my Expanded Universe experience. I remembered them as being solid reads, but I guess they aren't very well liked overall from some things I've read online.

[tgeorgic]

just looked over at starwars.com and read the bio they have on mara jade and it ends with them leaving for a mission to find a way to stop that guy so i would guess that it has not been resolved yet.  the extent of my knowledge of the expanded universe is limited to playing the dark forces games.  even tho the graphics and overall engine got better over time i liked the first one the best for story and missions.

[James of LinHood]

In my New Republic timeline I have Luke and Mara Jade with a team of jedi heading out into deep space in an attempt to find a way to stop the Yuuzhan Vong.

Has anythign really been written to conclude this storyline??

Yes.  The events of the Yuuzhan Vong take place in the 19 book New Jedi Order series.  Of course, these events are resolved in the 19th book titled Unifying Force.

Five years after that the Dark Nest trilogy takes place.  Five years after that the 9 book Legacy of the Force series takes place.  The fifth book of that series is scheduled to hit this May.

Let me know if you need any more Star Wars EU help.

[Pak-Man]

My interest in Star Wars EU kinda died out with The Crystal Star (I think it was called). I could never make it through that one and didn't want to read anything further without finishing it...

[Nunyerbiz]

It features an 18-year-old Mara Jade pulling James Bond-esque stunts while showing a mastery of the force after a few months that Luke didnt' attain for years. 

She must be taking performance enhancing midichlorians. The Jedi need to tighten up their testing policies.

[LadyKenobi]

Yeah, once Luke was married off and Chewbacca was killed by a planet, I made the executive decision to read only up to a certain point in the timeline.  Now I just pretend the other crap never happened.  Then again, if Lucas approved any of that nonsense, I shouldn't have been surprised that the prequels turned out the way they did.

As a Random House author, I was once invited to go play in the Star Wars book room at the New York office.  (Yes, there is such a thing,and yes, it was just as glorious as it sounds, although due to my self-imposed Jade Policy it was somewhat wasted on me.)  The books were arranged chronologically.  It was a true tribute to my geekdom that I knew straight where to go.

[James of LinHood]

I just got through reading Legacy of the Force - Sacrifice.  I thought I'd post a spoiler-free review that I posted on MySpace:


I love this novel.  Really, I do.  I burned through this 360+ page novel in four days.  I don't think I've ever read a book that fast.  I couldn't put it down.  It was that good.

The great thing about Karen Traviss is that she writes her characters so well.  Every character was spot on.

The events in this book are momentous.  What happens in this book will definitely change the course of the Star Wars galaxy.  I know that sounds melodramatic but it's absolutely true.  This book ties up a few subplots and will give a different feel to the rest of the books in this series.

The one complaint I have is that Traviss spends a little too much time on the Mandalorians.  The Mandalorian parts were still great and interesting but it's clear that Traviss' has an obsession with Mandalorians.  I'm hoping that one day Traviss will write a Star Wars book that's Mandalorian-free just so I can see if she can write an excellent book without them.

Besides that minor "complaint" I highly recommend this book.  9 out of 10.

End review.

If you want my detailed spoiler-filled review you can view that here:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=33178438&blogID=275716469&Mytoken=F0B97E02-7A68-49F5-B7091F4D21D74B615817734

[jedi2187]

When Del Rey took over, I stopped reading. After they killed off Chewbacca (the original plan was to kill off Luke, but that was nixed by GL himself!), that sealed the deal.

[James of LinHood]

When Del Rey took over, I stopped reading. After they killed off Chewbacca (the original plan was to kill off Luke, but that was nixed by GL himself!), that sealed the deal.

I actually liked that they killed off Chewie.  It made me realize that no one's "safe."  In all of the previous books I always knew that the main characters were going to live.  So, when they got into sticky situations I never even asked myself "Will they get out of this alive?"  Now I do.  It adds suspense that was dearly missing from the earlier books.

I also thought  that they handled Chewie's death very well.  He was loyal to the end.  The memorial service they have for him at the end of Unifying Force is moving.

[MSTJedi]

When Del Rey took over, I stopped reading. After they killed off Chewbacca (the original plan was to kill off Luke, but that was nixed by GL himself!), that sealed the deal.

I actually liked that they killed off Chewie.  It made me realize that no one's "safe."  In all of the previous books I always knew that the main characters were going to live.  So, when they got into sticky situations I never even asked myself "Will they get out of this alive?"  Now I do.  It adds suspense that was dearly missing from the earlier books.

I also thought  that they handled Chewie's death very well.  He was loyal to the end.  The memorial service they have for him at the end of Unifying Force is moving.

I'll admit that it took me a few books to get into the New Jedi Order series and I was really pissed that they killed off Chewie at first. But after I got used to the idea of an enemy that was so . . . alien and lethal, I really enjoyed the series. It showed a side of Star Wars and the Force that hadn't been shown before - vulnerability. Anakin's death still seems a bit out of left field, though. After all the build up in past books, he bites the big one fending off a pack of Jedi-hunting animals. Just doesn't seem right. But perhaps that makes it an even more "realistic" portrayal of war.

[James of LinHood]

I'll admit that it took me a few books to get into the New Jedi Order series and I was really pissed that they killed off Chewie at first. But after I got used to the idea of an enemy that was so . . . alien and lethal, I really enjoyed the series. It showed a side of Star Wars and the Force that hadn't been shown before - vulnerability. Anakin's death still seems a bit out of left field, though. After all the build up in past books, he bites the big one fending off a pack of Jedi-hunting animals. Just doesn't seem right. But perhaps that makes it an even more "realistic" portrayal of war.

After all the Solo family has been through I'm just wondering how much more Han and Leia can take, especially with what's happening with Jacen in the Legacy of the Force series.  Not that the Skywalker family has been doing much better lately.

I'd love for LucasFilm to make a CG animated series based on the EU.  I'm sure that the upcoming Clone Wars cartoon will be great but haven't we seen enough of that?  I think we get the picture.  Seeing a TV show about what happens beyond Episode VI would be much more fun.

[MSTJedi]

After all the Solo family has been through I'm just wondering how much more Han and Leia can take, especially with what's happening with Jacen in the Legacy of the Force series.  Not that the Skywalker family has been doing much better lately.

I'd love for LucasFilm to make a CG animated series based on the EU.  I'm sure that the upcoming Clone Wars cartoon will be great but haven't we seen enough of that?  I think we get the picture.  Seeing a TV show about what happens beyond Episode VI would be much more fun.

I guess the problem is that Lucas figures the story begins and ends with Anakin Skywalker. For us who have gotten so into the stories of the EU, That barely scratches the surface of the depth of what has become the Star Wars universe (or galaxy, if you will).