Anchorhead

My favorite(s) are The Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley. They're well written, very interesting, have that depth of character & atmosphere, that attention to scene detail that Daley was so good at - and - they're free of the burden of all the stuff that is just so fucking tired to me about Star Wars, i.e. The Empire, The Sith, Vader, R2, 3PO, etc.  There is just so much more that can be done with the vast, dark, unknown universe we were introduced to in 1977.  Brian Daley did it with these three novels.

The only other book I've read is Splinter Of The Mind's Eye.  I enjoyed it also.  Since it was commissioned by Lucas as the sequel to Star Wars, it has some familiar characters and themes, but it's also not bogged down by Lucas' tampering or universe shrinking.

captainsolo said:

I guess this place is Dantooine.

Love it!  ;-)

We are the remains of a rebel base.

^

Baseball is a funny game that way. My Rays possibility took a bath almost as soon as I typed it out.

Elsewhere;

Damn! - Lincecum. What an awesome game.  At the start of the game my wife (big baseball fan) commented on how he seemed a touch amped-up.  Suffice to say - he settled down.  ;-)

Great stuff.

Warb,

If you'll look back a few posts - I'm not. 

Sure, Warb. 

I live in Texas and occasionally drive to Arlington to watch the Rangers.  I'm also a wine drinker\collector so I travel to Napa\San Francisco a couple of times a year and always take in a Giants game or two.  In fact, the trips are scheduled to coincide with Giants home stands. Because I follow those two teams more closely than others (after my own, of course), I would like to see them both make it to the series.

I'll forgo a prediction because I think we have some fantastic match-ups this year, much stronger than in the past few years.  That said; While I can certainly see a Yankees-Phillies World Series, I think it could almost as easily be Rays-Phillies.  Speaking strictly as a fan,  my preference would be Rangers-Giants.

Crap - I might as well be running for office with an answer like that.  ;-)

xhonzi said:

If he went to Cloud City and it happened to have Lando in it... that would be one thing.  But he didn't.  He went to Cloud City because it had Lando in it.  The Falcon bit is a little convenient, but it doesn't hurt my feelings at all.

I don't dislike that part of the story, per se - and it works well enough. Lando is a good character, albeit just a new Solo since Solo had been rewritten.  However; To me, Lando being the previous owner of the Falcon is the start of the - all things are connected in this small universe bedtime story because I have writers block - direction the franchise took after Star Wars.

Lucas had no story after 1977.  It starts to become apparent in Empire, and it hits it's stride in Return.  With the one prequel I saw, the characters and story are so far diluted - why not just make everyone a former owner\builder\brother\sister\mom\sibling\neighbor\liar\friend\clone\etc\etc? 

The integrity and depth of Star Wars was lost in 1983. The only thing that matters anymore is that Lucas gets his blathering lies straight so the TFNers defend his revised history, drink the Kool Aid, and continue to buy his regularly-updated movies.

*edit*

Sorry for the ranting, but I just finished my third listen of NPR Star Wars this year, as well as currently reading one of the Brian Daley Han Solo Adventures. It always reinforces my thoughts about what a truly terrible writer Lucas really is. Daley was so much better at atmosphere and depth of story & character.

They're coming for you , Warbler.

captainsolo said:

Glad Lucas doesn't care about the books and non-film EU. Although that's when we get into the confusing stuff-like the Corporate Sector Authority.

That won't ever be an issue for me because The Han Solo Adventures and Splinter Of The Mind's Eye are the only EU I have any interest in.

I can see where other people might get lost in the Star Wars EU world though.  I've seen the Star Wars section at the book store and the number of EU novels is shocking.

;-)

xhonzi said:

  There's a difference between correlation and coincidence.

Damn, that sounds so much better than my dopey explanation.  Well put, sir.

TV's Frink said:

If she thinks that's me, she is under a complete misapprehension.

fishmanlee said:

 and Obi-Wan just happens to know Luke, Leia, The Rebels (Bail and Co.) and Luke's Father?

im just saying that "shrinkage" happens all the time, even within single movies

Ben lives near Luke because he knew his father.  Leia is on her way to visit Ben when the movie starts.  Because he knows her father,  it's hardly a stretch that he knows her also. 

Huge difference between the story of Star Wars77 and the laughably embarrassing amount of connections Lucas invented on the fly, as he developed writers block the story through the years.

If you get the chance to ask, I'd be interested in knowing how involved Lucas was. 

I've read interviews with Brian Daley (NPR Star Wars, Han Solo Adventures), Rob MacGregor (6 Indiana Jones novels), & Max McCoy (4 Indiana Jones novels).  Each has said Lucas was very hands-off, with just a few rules ahead of time for the books and no involvement with the NPR work.

MacGregor & McCoy mention he told them no Marion and no time-travel, and gave them an era they were to place the stories in (pre-Raiders).  Other than that they were on their own.  Daley said Lucas told him for the Solo adventures - no Force, no Vader, no TIE fighters. Daley said Lucas was for all intents & purposes completely uninvolved with the NPR radio version of Star Wars.

I find it interesting that, considering how overbearing Lucas is on the Star Wars films, he gives such free reign to people with regards to writing stories containing characters he's created.  There are literally hours of non-film story in the NPR Star Wars, and the Indiana Jones novels are completely outside of the four films.

I suspect that the making-off books are much more closely monitored because it's personal image vs fiction.

skyjedi2005 said:

You know what i find totally ridiculous about this and, how insane it is....he tells the media he can't afford to restore the original theatrical star wars trilogy...

Come on, Sky - you've been a fan long enough. It's nothing more than PR and damage control.  As I mentioned here;

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/3D-STAR-WARS-for-the-masses-anytime-soon/post/444775/#TopicPost444775

... he just doesn't want to give the fans what they want.  As has always been his mental make-up, he wants to do only what he wants.  The sooner you make peace with that and stop listening to his reasons, the sooner your blood pressure will go down.  Truthfully, it's laughable that he actually thinks people will believe all the lost forever, ruined, Original Vision, expense, technology, no demand, etc bullshit stories. They've all been proven as lies countless times over by articles (too many to link to), web sites (Save Star Wars), screenings (The Senator), and even now by his own actions (all films converted to 3D).

He's a pathological liar.

Do yourself a favor and let it go, man.

Warbler said:

its going to surpass the original on every level?????    Its not going to surpass John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn.

I disagree.

http://www.youtube.com/v/YfTSvFSdyRg?fs=1&hl=en_US

skyjedi2005 said:

...that guy who saw the special edition in 1997 said "this is like watching your childhood being raped for 2 hours."

The guy was a trekkie...But did not give JJ Trek the same treatment, when the other trek nerds cried JJ raped our childhoods.

Abrams made a Star Trek film.  A new film you either like (I do) or don't like.  A film you can either watch (I do) or not watch. It has absolutely no bearing on anything that came before.

A new film, telling a new story, by a new director is entirely different than a director going back to an old film and editing in new scenes and changing established, original characters - and then lying about it.

fishmanlee said:

and Indy's father just so happens to be captured by the nazi's,

Weak and safe.

indy just happens to crash in "India".

To me, that's where Temple is a better idea than Crusade.  It's a completely separate story from Raiders.  One that Indy just gets thrown into by accident.  No falling back on familiar and established- Nazi's, Marcus, Sallah.  No shrinking - scar, fear of snakes, jacket, hat, whip. 

besides Lando was a new character, its not like they established Lando in ANH and changed his character in ESB, besides its not here that the shrinkage hurts, its from ROTJ on

Correct.  My real problem isn't the convenience of his placement - it's that he's the previous owner of the Falcon. Lucas can't write depth, so he falls back on familiar - to the detriment of all, prior & future.

For the record;  I like all the Indiana Jones films a lot, but a little bit of Lucas' inability to write does make it way into all the sequels.  Fortunately, Lucas is only one third of the decision making team.

Sure, there was a connection in 1977 - and it worked well.  However, other than something that took place many years earlier (see my signature), Vader & Luke were strangers, living different existences, Far Far Away from each other.  I thought that Long Time Ago connection made for great motivation and tension when Luke decides to go to Alderaan after his family is killed.

Unfortunately, George doesn't know when to stop because he's not a talented writer.  That coupled with his disturbing level of control issues makes for a tough task when trying to make a sequel to an already finished story. 

He took a great, vast, dark, mysterious story (Star Wars 1977) and reduced it into a weak, weirdly incestuous, convoluted, Escher painting, that could have taken place in a solar system.

He told the story of Star Wars in 1977. For me, the problem became his deciding to tell it again in 1980, 1983, 1999, 2003, and 2005.  Lucas insisted on taking an interesting character connection from 1977 and turning it into a 6-film franchise, spanning 28 years. 

Weak.

That behind the scenes bit has a sort of Chad Vader feel to it.

^  

;-)

How come the wookies' feet are transparent? 

Fellas,

I enjoyed the hell out of it.  As a life-long baseball nerd, everyone I know has mentioned that fantasy baseball would be right up my alley. Not sure why I never jumped in before now. 

I'm either attending local or watching televised road games every night of the week during the season, as well as attending games to cities I visit regularly even planning my trips around the home team's schedule.   Some trips are made specifically to see baseball. You'd think I have enough to hold me.  Truth is, fantasy ball fit into my baseball world nicely. Great way to keep up with more teams and players.  Great stuff. I learned a lot about how it works and look forward to learning more.

Frink, if you go again next season and have enough to make a league, I'm in.  If not, I'll land somewhere.  There's no going back now. Thanks again, man.

LexX said:

What is it in Empire that shrinks the universe? I know you don't like Vader being Luke's father but besides that. I agree with you on ROTJ, though.

Vader being switched to Luke's father was a major story shrink.  I suppose Lucas thought it was a huge enhancement\plot twist to make that change, but to me it was just an easy out when he didn't have any more story to tell. He already had two stories by the two people he had asked to write sequels, yet he chose to discard them.

He could have made a series of films where the main characters are presented with new challenges and adventures, e.g. James Bond, Indiana Jones, Star Trek.  Instead, he chose to continue by trying to tell the same story over and over again. 

The Lando just happening to be nearby angle - oh and also coincidentally being  the previous owner of the Falcon - is textbook Lucas back-story shrinking. When he gets stuck without any story, he turns to shrinkage as an out.  Everything and everybody are somehow related.  No strangers, no vastness of space, no luck, no chance, no skill  - just convenience and smallness.  It's weak.

Imrahil said:

... really love Daley's Star Wars.  He is the only person besides Harrison Ford to get Han Solo right.

I just started reading his Han Solo novels again after a long hiatus.  I agree. 

I also prefer the Daley\NPR Solo.  He's even more selfish and untrustworthy than he is in the film.