AUTHOR,
AUTHOR:
Three Regular Echo Station Readers
Compare Various Star Wars Novelists
Commentary by
Skylar, Lassa, and Dexter
Published 9/9/99
Commentary by Skylar
skylar@coruscant.net
My three favorite writers: Timothy Zahn (Heir to the Empire trilogy), Aaron Allston (Wraith Squadron), and Michael Stackpole (I, Jedi).
So let us talk about Tim Zahn, the savior of the Star Wars universe. He who single-handedly breathed new life into the then-faltering interest. His legendary [author’s note: that is one of the few times in my life I will ever use that word] trilogy explored the realm of Star Wars further than George Lucas ever could, especially since all Zahn had to worry about was plot -- no worry about a budget or anyone else, besides Lucasfilm, changing things around. He proved this with a climactic battle at the end of the trilogy that was actually dramatic. But even his imaginative style took a backseat to the characters. Who could ever forget Talon Kardde, modest and secretive king of smugglers, or Mara Jade, the force-trained former Imperial operative? And this list couldn’t be complete without Grand Admiral Thrawn, the coldest, most intelligent villain Star Wars has ever seen. These characters were unique and stuck out in your mind. So was it the perfect set of books? Hardly. While he captured the pace and flare of the original trilogy, Zahn fell flat on his face in one area: humor. Despite the occasional dry quip, the characters in the book were very serious and deep. Not a bad thing, mind you, but humor was what put The Empire Strikes Back over A New Hope. It was a shame to see Han and Leia together but not exchanging put-downs. The other area where Zahn falters is an overuse of clones. Other than that, his is a truly wonderful series and I highly recommend it. By the way, I know I’m skipping over his latest novels, but I don’t want to take up too much space on one writer.
So Zahn falters with the humor, as did most writers. One of
the few who didn’t, however, also didn’t have to worry about the established
characters in his series. Aaron Allston’s Wraith Squadron trilogy, while actually a
continuation of the X-wing series, is the most hilarious romp through the Star Wars galaxy
I’ve had the privilege to read. The fact that I actually didn’t mind the
presence of an Ewok, creatures I hate with a passion, should tell you just how good this
is. Since Allston focuses on secondary and original characters, he uses that freedom to
evolve some of them. Plus, all the characters have pretty much equal time in the trilogy,
which I like. Still, most of what this writer is about is characterization. Allston does
not write a good space battle. It comes out more like a bland unimportant event with no
real sense of urgency. Another thing that bugs me is that these books are set before the
events of The Courtship of Princess Leia, and yet I am totally confused when I pick up
that book after reading the Wraith series first. Again though, his characterization pulls
the books out. The death of a major character is handled in a unique way to Star Wars: A
slow, rather peaceful death on a planet with his best friend right there and not able to
do a thing. This is a very sad moment, a moment when your heart rides up into your throat.
Like
when Bambi’s mother or Old Yeller dies.
So, that leaves Mike Stackpole, or as I’m beginning to
call him (thank you for introducing me to this concept, Lord Kast), Saint Mike. What can I
say? Stackpole’s style is exquisite. He seamlessly blends huge, intense space battles
with hand-to-hand combat with awesome characterization and a great story. While Allston
perfected the art of using secondary characters in main roles, Saint Mike opened the door
for him. But yes, I did have a few problems with the Rogue Squadron series. The focus on
one character was good, but I wanted to learn a bit more about the others around Corran
Horn. And the anti-climactic endings of The Bacta War and Isaard’s Revenge.... Can we
say gypped, boys and girls? Still, the reason I call him Saint Mike needs only two words:
I, Jedi. This is the ultimate Star Wars novel, the standard by which I will measure all
other Star Wars novels, my inspiration for writing fan fiction (hey, I’m working on
it).
Commentary by Lassa
lassa@coruscant.net
Steve Perry -- author of Shadows of the Empire. The Testosterone Bob of the Bantam line. His style makes me want to scratch my chest and belch. Most of his male characters have the same favorite line -- "Oh, man." (He never actually has Vader or Xizor say it, but you can tell they'd like to.) Lots of talk of men going "toe-to-toe" as though this were a "Rocky" movie. Still, to his credit, Steve Perry does have some good insights into the complexities of the Vader/Luke relationship and fits his story well into the space between ESB and ROTJ without too much contrivance.
Michael Stackpole -- author of the X-wing:
Rogue Squadron books and I, Jedi. A man with a firm handle on his characters, a good grasp
of action and plot, and an appreciation of the SW universe that extends beyond Han, Luke
and Leia. His dialogue sounds fairly natural, and his male-female relationships ring true
-- unlike Perry, Wolverton, and even, alas, Zahn at times. I find little fault with him,
and those mostly fall under the category of personal taste. In the X-wing novels, I can
only get so excited with his blow-by-blow accounts of dogfights, and I find the physical
appearance of Ysanne Isard a little too comic-bookish -- but hey, the man does comic
books, and the X-wing books are based on a PC game. Stackpole suffers only in comparison
to Aaron Allston, who one-ups Stackpole by adding a lively humor to Stackpole's formula of
good ensemble cast, intense action and a little romance.
Aaron Allston -- author of X-wing: Wraith Squadron books. I was shocked
by how much I love his books. I begrudged anyone taking over for Stackpole. But Allston is
the only Star Wars author who made me laugh out loud and then cry in the same book. Even
though these books are on the periphery in terms of the Bantam continuity, even though the
Big Three are mostly absent (except the dead-on perfect characterization of Han Solo in
Solo Command) the Wraith Squadron books are neck-and-neck with Zahn's Thrawn trilogy as
the best books in the entire Bantam line. His characters have more emotional depth than
anybody else's, they have hearts as well as minds. If only Allston had been allowed to
handle Luke and Mara's relationship -- can you imagine?
Vonda McIntyre -- author of The Crystal Star. Primarily a writer of
dreamy fantasy novels, McIntyre was, I think, ill-chosen as a purveyor of the Star Wars
continuity. Having never read her Star Trek novels, I do not know if she perpetrated the
same crimes in that universe, but her style and characterizations reek of, well, dreamy
fantasy novel. I expected the Good Witch of the North to appear any moment and send the
heroes back to Kansas.
Timothy Zahn -- Author of Thrawn books. No question, nobody handles the
Big Three like Tim Zahn. In his first trilogy, Luke, Han and Leia are all believable,
likeable and excellent extrapolations of their on-screen personas. They suffer a bit in
the last two Zahn books, but I forgive a great deal of that, considering the continuity
Zahn had to work into his tale. (I can not, however quite forgive the flatness of the
Luke/Mara relationship in Vision of the Future. "Shall we marry? Or just take a nap?
Let's flip a coin") Zahn also gives us great villains like Grand Admiral Thrawn and
Joruus C'Boath and some other terrific characters that have become almost as integral a
part of the Star Wars universe as the Big Three themselves. Zahn's novels are so much
better written than any of the actual movie novelizations, I still go back to the Thrawn
trilogy for a really good dose of Star Wars literature. As mentioned, if Zahn has a
weakness, it is in the coolness of his characters. They are all so bloody rational. Even
when they are purported to be in great emotional turmoil they reason it all out.
Commentary by Dexter
MasterDex_GJM@bothanspy.com
Most of the Star Wars novels I have read, I read back
before I delurked on CompuServe -- and I read rapidly, mainly for informational purposes,
as preparation for joining in on the conversation. I was struck by Kevin J. Anderson's
wretched dialogue, and utter triteness, in the Jedi Academy Trilogy. Timothy Zahn's
repetitiveness and weak characters (especially) in The Hand of Thrawn likewise made an
impression -- but the rest is largely a blur, and I've not yet completed the Han Solo
Trilogy, or even sampled Stackpole and Allston.
My view, the only one I'm confident in expressing, is that the overriding problem with all
the novels has been that the authors have been cut off from the core of Star Wars, which
is mythological and mystical, dealing with good and evil, redemption and damnation. Forced
to drag archetypal characters down into stories about politics and commonplace warfare,
kidnappings and B.E.M. invasions, the authors were left with genre cliches and LFL
set-dressings -- with trivia, in short. It's made them all disappointing.
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