Since this topic is only half about Star Wars, I figured it would fit in best in the Off Topic forum. As some of you who have read in the Star Trek '09 movie thread may know, I am currently in the process of watching every episode of all the Star Trek series in preparation for the new Trek movie coming out next year, which may (or may not) be a complete reboot of the franchise. A similar, but not quite as drastic, marker in the history of the SW EU is upon us, as well. Del Rey's contract with Lucasbooks will run out at the end of the year, and until Lucasbooks either renews the contract or finds a new publisher, there will be no more SW novels planned after the end of '08. As such, while I continue my journey through the wholly alien universe of Trek (I had never seen a complete episode before I started), I will be reading through all the adult-level EU novels in rough chronological order. To match my lack of Trek knowledge, I have never read a SW novel cover to cover. It'll be an interesting journey.

As far as a progress report goes, I have successfully completed Season 1 of the original Star Trek (along with a few Season 2 and animated episodes that happen to fall in between the S1 episodes chronologically). I must say, I find it incredibly entertaining. The effects are outdated and some of the science is absolutely laughable (Kirk's transporter mishap splits his personality, but transports two complete bodies?), but I have become attached to the characters (particularly Spock and McCoy, whose banter reminds me of C-3PO and R2-D2).

It was a rough start though. The first thing I watched was a B&W/Color spliced version of The Cage, which was relatively unimpressive (except for Vina as an Orion animal woman *purrs*). The next episode, an animated adventure called The Magicks of Megas-Tu, almost made me stop watching entirely. I found their portrayal of Satan as such a benevolent character highly offensive, but luckily, I decided to give it another chance. Glad to see them avoid religion for the most part, it was only uphill from their.

I've only recently decided to start the SW books, and I'm an incredibly slow reader, so I'm still going through Darth Bane: Path of Destruction. I'll reserve judgment until I finish the book.

The real pain as far as "chronological order" goes is trying to place the "Tales" series of books from the 90s. I'll need to consult a timeline when I get closer to ANH's vicinity, but that's a long way in the future. As for books that will come out later this year, I read at such a slow pace that, by the time I read the 20 books before "Order 66", it will already be out.