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I read about 2/3 of the books. I don't remember which book I stopped at, but I do know it was before ** spoiler omitted **
The thing that got to me was they were just too powerful. Nobody could win against them. There were never any victories, only defeats or stalemates. It got depressing.
I hate to say it, but I have not read any Star Wars books since. That includes the prequals.
Same for me. I read a couple books further into the series than you, but I got tired of it. It dragged on too long, was too monotonous, too grim-dark for no reason other than to be grim-dark, and just overall very depressing and unfun. I haven't picked up a star wars book since.
Edit: A clear casualty of the Vong war was my desire to read any more books about the Vong war.
The Dark Nest Triology (penned by Troy Denning) was the series of books that nearly pushed me over the edge, but the goodness that was everything Karen Traviss put out managed to keep me coming back. I think her, Allston, and Zahn are my top three authors, with Stackpole and Elaine Cunningham not far behind. Traviss' 3 books in the Legacy of the Force series were all high-points. If you're looking for something that's not in the midst of the Yuuzhan Vong crises, that might be a series worth checking out.
On the tangential topic of Troy Denning, he was responsible for Anakin becoming the most awesome of awesome jedi in Star by Star, which, in my view, is probably the best book of his that I've ever read. He is, however, also responsible for 1/3 of the Legacy of the Force series I mentioned above and, where Traviss' books are all high-points, Denning's are the worst of the series. Fortunately, his only contribution to the Yuuzhan Vong saga was the aforementioned Star by Star, so if you get that far in that particular series you're in for a real treat!
I'm serious when I say that book makes the entire YV saga worth reading. It also supplies some TREMENDOUS weight to the events in Legacy of the Force.
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Ah, yes. Star by Star. The only book I ever burned. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaate it. Gah, flashbacks.
And the less said about the mess Travis made, the better.
Aside from Borsk Fey'lya going out like a boss, I hated that book. To me, it represented everything that was wrong with the entire YV storyline.
Oh, so true. SO TRUE.
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Borsk should have gone out a looong time before that. Man I hated that prick.Me too, but I thought he sorta redeemed himself for a lifetime of political douchebaggery in that one moment.
You can't really redeem yourself for decades of douchebaggery, but it was nice of him to try.
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Fey'lya's poltical career was essentially built on him saying to anyone who argued with him, "Many Bothan spies died so I could sit my backside here, and I'm not budging".
Not the best bit of the series (that was Ganner Rhysode in TRAITOR) but still a reasonable end to a character who'd been really annoying for about a decade by that point.
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Fey'lya's poltical career was essentially built on him saying to anyone who argued with him, "Many Bothan spies died so I could sit my backside here, and I'm not budging".
Not the best bit of the series (that was Ganner Rhysode in TRAITOR) but still a reasonable end to a character who'd been really annoying for about a decade by that point.
On a positive note, Ganner is/was one of my favorite EU characters.
Yeah, I agree, Ganner was awesome. Dude was a boss during his you-shall-not-pass moment on Yuuzhan'tar!
You could skip the entire series and go straight to Dark Nest or Legacy and not really miss anything. Actually, the Legacy series talks enough about the YV invasion that you get the overview of the important things that happened and why.
Chief Technical Officer
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As many others have pointed out, it's an uneven series, with the highlights being Stackpole, Allston, and Stover... but for me, the biggest flaw was that it was just far too long. The story would have had better effect if it had been half as many books, or maybe a quarter as many.
Imho, Dark Nest was pretty bad and Legacy was even worse.
I agree 100% with Vic, the series was way too long.
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Why not? you probably gave Vader a pass, despite the fact that he most likely committed crimes of far far deeper evil, including the personal slaughter of children.You can't really redeem yourself for decades of douchebaggery, but it was nice of him to try.Borsk should have gone out a looong time before that. Man I hated that prick.Me too, but I thought he sorta redeemed himself for a lifetime of political douchebaggery in that one moment.
Nope. He did save the galaxy by chucking that evil monster inside the core, but that was not nearly good enough to make up for decades of unrepentant evil that he committed. A good deed it is, though.
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Nope. He did save the galaxy by chucking that evil monster inside the core, but that was not nearly good enough to make up for decades of unrepentant evil that he committed. A good deed it is, though.Why not? you probably gave Vader a pass, despite the fact that he most likely committed crimes of far far deeper evil, including the personal slaughter of children.You can't really redeem yourself for decades of douchebaggery, but it was nice of him to try.Borsk should have gone out a looong time before that. Man I hated that prick.Me too, but I thought he sorta redeemed himself for a lifetime of political douchebaggery in that one moment.
Actually, he merely saved Luke, not the galaxy. By the point he practiced his one-arm emperor tossing, the death star was minutes from exploding, the rebels victorious and the empire fleet disbanded. His last second redemption was a very personal matter, and had nothing to do with the galaxy at large.
Then they go and ruin it with "oh look, evil Force-users were behind it all along"
Quoted for truth....Then the entire Legacy series was "Look here is the Evilest Force User EVAR!" of course until they needed another....
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I just find it funny that Aboleth Abeloth is the most evil force user possible.
INSTA-EDIT (sort of): tag-fixing
Yeah by the time of Legacy I was ready for the EU to be finished. I'm glad that's over...
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As many others have pointed out, it's an uneven series, with the highlights being Stackpole, Allston, and Stover... but for me, the biggest flaw was that it was just far too long. The story would have had better effect if it had been half as many books, or maybe a quarter as many.
I heard it was supposed to be longer, but they cut it short because the fans were tired of the whole storyline.
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As many others have pointed out, it's an uneven series, with the highlights being Stackpole, Allston, and Stover... but for me, the biggest flaw was that it was just far too long. The story would have had better effect if it had been half as many books, or maybe a quarter as many.I heard it was supposed to be longer, but they cut it short because the fans were tired of the whole storyline.
With the exception of the Rogue/Wraith Squadron books, I was always fatigued with a Star Wars story arc by the 3rd book.
ROGUE SQUADRON/WRAITH SQUADRON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A Y-WING SQUADRON BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I remember seeing these at the bookstore as a child, reading part of one book in the store (don't remember which, but the names ring bells), and then putting them back and never touching any Star Wars book again. I'm pretty sure I didn't like it.
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I read about 2/3 of the books. I don't remember which book I stopped at, but I do know it was before ** spoiler omitted **
The thing that got to me was they were just too powerful. Nobody could win against them. There were never any victories, only defeats or stalemates. It got depressing.
I hate to say it, but I have not read any Star Wars books since. That includes the prequals.
Same for me. I read a couple books further into the series than you, but I got tired of it. It dragged on too long, was too monotonous, too grim-dark for no reason other than to be grim-dark, and just overall very depressing and unfun. I haven't picked up a star wars book since.
Edit: A clear casualty of the Vong war was my desire to read any more books about the Vong war.
Both of these define my position and experience precisely.
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Weird. My experience is totally different. I had no interest in reading the EU stuff as the little I took a look at seemed rehashed, seen this already, and some of it was poorly written. Then the YV stuff came out.
I don't think there's a YV book I didn't enjoy to some degree. Tahiri easily became my favorite SW Universe character. And this from a guy who's favorite character prior was Chewy, so I dunno. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
The more I hear about how much people dislike the series, the more I want to read it.
That said, I'm also very unusual for a Star Wars fan, I've been told. My favorite of the original three films is Jedi, whereas almost very fan I've spoken to says it's the worst of the three and Empire - my least favorite - is the best. And the more I read about them just summary-wise on the Wiki, the more awesome the plotline seems to me.
I'm definitely going to give it a look one of these days, it's just a matter of knowing where to start.
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Vector Prime, by R.A. Salvatore starts the whole NJO series off, Orthos.
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I've always loved 'Jedi. I don't think 'Empire is the worst - it's definitively better than 'Hope - but 'Jedi is by far more enjoyable to me.
The plot is definitively cool for the books. The events... not-so-much. (I'm not on board with killing off so many of my favorite characters, for example).
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I like the Vong novels, in a galaxy filled with dozens of races in all shapes and sizes, the Vong are the first truly alien race. The evoke races like the Cybermen and the Borg in other venues in the way they consume races. And the bioships are especially cool.
That and one of the classic characters finally gets the sendoff that's been implicit in his destiny from day one.
...I don't even KNOW you anymore!!!!!!
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Chief Technical Officer
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There was a prequel of sorts, Rogue Planet, set in between Episodes I and II.Rogue Planet was a prequal, but it came out after the YV storyline had started. It sorta explains how the Yuuzhan Vong learned about the Jedi galaxy.
Yep—if it hadn't come out later, it wouldn't be a prequel, it'd just be, uh... er... "in the right order"?
Yep—if it hadn't come out later, it wouldn't be a prequel, it'd just be, uh... er... "in the right order"?There was a prequel of sorts, Rogue Planet, set in between Episodes I and II.Rogue Planet was a prequal, but it came out after the YV storyline had started. It sorta explains how the Yuuzhan Vong learned about the Jedi galaxy.
Yub, yub commander! And Vector Prime would just be a... sequel ;-)
But seriously, if anybody wants to start reading TNJO, he/she should not start with Rogue Planet. It is one of the most boring books I have ever read. It should have been a short story, not a novel.