logo Sign In

My first step into a larger world.... Splinter Of The Mind's Eye

Author
Date
Author
Time
 (Edited)
Post link

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f20/stonetriple/SOTME.jpg

Intriqued by a couple of current topics, I decided to get a copy. It arrived yesterday. I’ve never read a single EU piece, so this is new territory for sure. I’ve decided to wait until I’m on vacation in a couple of weeks to read it. It’s tempting to start now, but I’m going to wait until I’m sitting on a secluded beach, under a beach umbrella, sunglasses on, and a margarita by my side. It’s summer again - and 30 years later, I’m going on another Star Wars adventure.

Forum Moderator
Author
Time
Post link
Yeah, seeing these new topics and reading zombie's book has made me kinda want to read that book as well. Keep us posted and let us know how it is, and I might see if I can find it myself.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

Author
Time
Post link
Will do. Looking forward to checking out some early EU.

Man, check out ebay. I got an original copy, in good shape considering it's a 30 year old paperback, for $2.50 + $2.00 shipping.
Forum Moderator
Author
Time
Post link
Some EU stuff if pretty good, and some is real crap, but I suggest reading "Shadows of the Empire" cause that deals with events between ESB & ROTJ. The reason there is no resentment from fans like me towards the EU the same way I have towards the PT is that Lucas never changed the OT to fit those stories, so you can take em or leave em.
Author
Time
Post link
You might also want to check out the Dark Horse comics adaptation after you read the book.
Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

Author
Time
Post link
Go Anchorhead! Splinter is one of the very few that I read every couple of years or so. Foster is a great writer. And it is fun to see the SW universe before George started playing with everybody's paternity.
Author
Time
Post link
Dammit you guys!!

I'm trying to wait two weeks!

Forum Moderator
Author
Time
Post link
as a huge EU fan with nearly every piece of literature ever published I can honestly say you couldn't have chosen a worse book to start on sorry

FINISHED:
The Sith Revealed - A Scrapbook
Episode III The Video Game - The Movie
24: The Missing Day
Star Wars - The Interactive Board Game DVD
Battlefront - Journal of the 501st
The Clones Revealed

email me for details daveytod AT btinternet DOT com

 

Author
Time
Post link
Originally posted by: daveytod
as a huge EU fan with nearly every piece of literature ever published I can honestly say you couldn't have chosen a worse book to start on sorry


Could you expound on exactly why you don't like the book? It'd contribute to the conversation, and give others insight into your viewpoint.
Why hello there
Author
Time
Post link
I thought it was a pretty good book. If you consider that only Star Wars was made when this was published. The story seems a little weird now but... It's interesting and well written. I commend it. It may not be the best EU book out there but I think it's a good book to begin with.

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

Author
Time
Post link
Originally posted by: daveytod
as a huge EU fan with nearly every piece of literature ever published I can honestly say you couldn't have chosen a worse book to start on sorry


I'm reading it for a different reason than you probably read EU books. I have absolutely no interest in becoming an EU follower. I'm more interested in the historical aspect of this particular book. It was commissioned by Lucas as the sequel to Star Wars. Since it was written while Star Wars was still happening, it's from the Star Wars point of view - no one is related, Vader is just a bad person in the hierarchy of the empire - not some special Sith entity, etc.

On the grand scale of all that the EU has become, this book isn't even a blip on the radar. Which is exactly why I'm interested in it.

Forum Moderator
Author
Time
Post link
Yeah, my copy of Splinter of the Mind's Eye (with the exact same cover as Anchorhead's) and my copy of the original Star Wars novelization by the same publisher sit on the shelf together as their own little two book series. Anchorhead, notice how there is no "Star Wars" written on the cover? Isn't that great? Just "From the further adventures of Luke Skywalker". Another bit of "EU" I like is the NPR radio drama of A New Hope. Even though it has the name A New Hope, it is really done in a way to make it feel old fasion. And it has quite a bit more back story in it. It feels so far removed from the "Tradgedy of Anakin Skywalker Saga" we know today.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

Author
Time
Post link
Originally posted by: C3PX
Anchorhead, notice how there is no "Star Wars" written on the cover? Isn't that great? Just "From the further adventures of Luke Skywalker".


Yes, very cool. It's just a story from the Luke Skywalker universe - not part of a marketing uber-franchise.

Forum Moderator
Author
Time
Post link
Originally posted by: COThe reason there is no resentment from fans like me towards the EU the same way I have towards the PT is that Lucas never changed the OT to fit those stories.


Well...there is the CGI Outrider leaving Mos Eisley in the Special Edition.
Author
Time
Post link
Originally posted by: C3PX
Another bit of "EU" I like is the NPR radio drama of A New Hope. Even though it has the name A New Hope, it is really done in a way to make it feel old fasion. And it has quite a bit more back story in it. It feels so far removed from the "Tradgedy of Anakin Skywalker Saga" we know today.


Is that something that can be purchased? Sounds interesting.

I rip the audio from films and put it on CDs so that I can listen to them on long motorcycle or driving trips. That radio show sounds like it would be great for that also.
Forum Moderator
Author
Time
Post link
Yeah, it is very widely available. Try searching amazon. National Public Radio has done the whole trilogy as well as a bunch of EU. They even have one episode (which is available for free on the net because it is nolonger commercially available) called Mission to Ord Mantell, which takes place between Star Wars and ESB. It also contains a Luke flirting with Leia scene. It is pretty poorly done though, all the characters have to reuse lines from the trilogy. One notable part is where Luke says "Come on Han ol' buddy, don't let me down" which is very annoying because he is using a Lando line that chronologically hasn't even been spoken yet. It is still an interesting episode though, but if you listen to it first don't judge the other NPR productions on its standards, they are far superior. Also the NPR trilogy feature Mark Hamill, Billy D, and Anthony Daniels repraising their roles.

I checked amazon,

here is the adaption of Star Wars on seven CDs:

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Original-Radio-Drama/dp/1565110056/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-4286046-5276053?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175993052&sr=8-2

And here is the whole trilogy on 15 CDs:

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Star-Wars-Trilogy-Episodes/dp/1565111648/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4286046-5276053?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175993284&sr=8-1


I high recommend them, but as you can see, they are pretty expensive. Probably they can be found a lot cheaper on ebay. If you live in the US, I have found that they are very common in Public Libraries, and even if they are not in your local library chances are a nearby library has then and can obtain them through interlibrary loan for you quite quickly. There are 29 Episodes in all, the first 13 of which are all based off the first film, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi both being considerably shorter.

The Mp3 for mission to Ord Mantell can be downloaded from theforce.net here.
But again, this is considerably lower quality than the others, so don't listen to it and decide not to bother with them. The others are considerably better done.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

Author
Time
Post link
Shadows of the empire was my first ever EU read. Good stuff. I'd love to see it made into a cartoon or whatever. That's why I'm even looking forward to the star wars tv series, despite lucas writing it. EU's can and have lead to interesting new stories set in the infinitely imaginative star wars universe. EU's responsible for the creation of Boba fett too, from what I've read on the official site.

And I have to say CO's hit it on the head. What's great also about the EU is that it's all up to you. You can choose to believe it's in continuity or not. heh, and I choose to view the PT that way whether lucas says different.

Actually! I view many of the SE changes that way...

HOLY CRAP, ALL OF STARWARS IS EU NOW!
He big in nothing important in good elephant.

"Miss you, I will, Original Trilogy..."

"Your midichlorians are weak, Old man." -Darth Vader 2007 super deluxe extra special dipped in chocolate sauce edition.

http://prequelsstink.ytmnd.com/
Author
Time
Post link
I don't think you are going to be disappointed. They are really enjoyable. Especially if you are the kind of guy who rips the sound out of movies and listens to it on road trips.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

Author
Time
Post link
My feeling about EU - if it has Zahn written on it, it's worth a read. Aside from that...
I was partial to 'Courtship of Princess Leia' and I used to have a good chuckle at certain parts of 'Darksaber'; but that's usually because it had startling similarities to a story I wrote as a little kid - a whole year before reading Darksaber!!

Most other Star Wars novels I've read have been pretty poor. Maybe I'm just unlucky.
VADER: Let me look on you with my own eyes...

LUKE: Dad, where are your eyebrows?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WO_S6UgkQk0
Author
Time
Post link
I haven't read Splinter since the early 80s. Maybe I should check it out again.

I remember my dad bought this book for himself, read it, then gave it to me. I was mesmerized by the cover. It really was weird that it had Darth Vader on the cover but didn't say "Star Wars". Before I took the plunge and read it (I was maybe 9 or 10), I continually asked my dad, "Is it REALLY a Star Wars book?"

Back in the mid 90s I tracked down a copy of Mission to Ord Mantell. I personally thought it was pretty lame.

You know of the rebellion against the Empire?

Author
Time
Post link
"Back in the mid 90s I tracked down a copy of Mission to Ord Mantell. I personally thought it was pretty lame."

Oh, it is extremely lame. I think just about every line of dialogue is recycled dialogue from the films. I guess Brian Daley wanted it to sound authentically Star Wars, still hard to believe this same guy adapted the Trilogy radio dramas when they seem quite well done and Mission to Ord Mantell sounds like it was written by a ten year old.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

Author
Time
Post link
Still have not read Splinter of the Mind's Eye. I want to eventually, just have not got around to it.


Author
Time
Post link
Not thinking this is worthy enough to have a thread of its own,

I found this old book at a used book store during my travels some years ago. It was a collection of science fiction stories for children, most of or all of the stories were small exerps from larger works. One of the stories was "Escape from the Death Star" which was a chapter or two taken from Star Wars, the adventures of Luke Skywalker. The bit is still credited to George Lucas, but the really curious part of it are the pictures. It has little black and white pictures, typically of a childrens book, but these pictures are nothing like any Star Wars concept art or anything I have ever seen. If fact, show me the picture out of the context they were in and I would not even take them to be Star Wars at all. The picture were quite literally as if somebody who had never seen the film sat down with the book, read the descriptions of the characters and drew them based on that. With works of literature like Lord of the Rings we get to see a million different renditions by numerous artists for every character, but with something like Star Wars, our ideas for the characters are locked, they always were and always will be just how the first appeared on screen. So this book was extremely interesting just for the sake of the pictures. Chewie and the droids looked 100% different. If I remember right, R2 was pretty much a box with wheels.

Anybody else ever see anything like this? Unfortunately I don't have the book handy now, but I am pretty certian it was produced outside of America, perhaps even illeagally.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

Author
Time
Post link
Hope you can find it and scan the drawings. It would be interesting to see Star Wars from a non-film perspective.
Forum Moderator