hatred empowers us

[elizabeth_hoot]

...to quote Darth Vaarsuvius.

This isn't fic -- I'm going to try and post Lucy in a few chunks, starting tomorrow, and then move on to First Impressions. No, this is just me complaining about a trope I hate, with respect to one of the Star Wars expanded universe's novels and Pride and Prejudice. (Doesn't everyone think of these things together?)

Comments

[darth_eldritch]

While there was some good points in it, Tatooine Ghost annoyed me in several ways. The one I remembered the most was the constant action-action-action. I like writing a lot of action myself to have something happening, Denning's was excessive.
Another was a lot of time spent on rather minor characters. Sure the Jawa was cute, but she seemed to be more of a prop.

The problem with Denning, in addition being of the like who mentors Christie Golden, is that he comes from writing Dungeons and Dragons literature, where a lot of excessive action is the norm, as well as the details of minor characters. R.A. Salvatore is another one from that background. They do great stuff over there that is meaningful to role players of that genre, but they sort of miss the greater literary quality that Luceno, Stover, and others do so well.
Sometimes they do great, as in addressing technical detail, like Denning did about the water conservation needed on Tatooine, and the effect of twin suns on the weather.

But when it comes to protraying female characters, they tend to fall short.
I wanted Leia to at least somewhere remind Han what she had told the ghost of Anakin Skywalker in Truce at Bakhura(sp), "I can forgive you for what you've done to me, but I can't forgive you for what you did to Han."

And as for Leia's fears about any of her children becoming like Vader, going dark side with the gift of the Force, they rather bore out to be true anyways.

[elizabeth_hoot]

I didn't care for the action either -- even SW itself wasn't, but TG is so obviously an excuse plot for character/relationship issues that the BAM BAM BAM seemed even more out of place. I mostly skimmed the action scenes for character stuff.

Honestly, I have difficulty seeing Leia being unforgiving for Han's sake more than her own. I guess it's a popular romantic trope, but -- it's not how I see Leia. I think, if Leia refused to forgive him (which, given how much gentler ROTJ!Leia seems, I'm not sure she would), it would be caught up in what he did to her and Han and Luke and Padmé and most of all the entire galaxy.

Well, Leia's fears did end up coming true, but that was ridiculous something that could have happened to any Force-user. I'm pretty sure Jacen didn't inherit it (and of course, Jaina and Anakin didn't end up turning).

[darth_eldritch]

I skimmed all the action parts, too.

Regardless it's a lot to forgive and she had to do it at her own pace.

LOL! When I heard about Caedus, I was like, You guys really had to do this...

[elizabeth_hoot]

I definitely agree it's a lot to forgive and she'd have a long road to walk in that regard -- it's making it about Han rather than Leia herself that I tend to side-eye.

Caedus was almost the first thing I discovered in the EU, and just a total wtf thing for me. I guess someone didn't get the memo about hope, happy endings, and Anakin's sacrifice having some meaning? Gah. It did make Leia's paranoia completely lolarious, though.

[darth_eldritch]

Very true, it's like it's impossible for some male writers to effective write a strong female.

Oh, God, I so agree! I was like, what is with this? The Sith should have ended with Palpatine and Vader, really.

[elizabeth_hoot]

They should have! And honestly, I am in general the last person to cite the prequels, but as far as I'm concerned the WAR WAR WAR SITH SITH SITH completely contradicts the 'bringing balance to the Force' thing. So even if the EU were canon, it wouldn't fit. And it's not like there aren't a gazillion potential dilemmas facing the characters after ROTJ, but instead it becomes all this superfluous stuff that doesn't even make sense and action instead of character arcs and whatnot. (I think that's why I like Splinter, horrible as it is at times -- it's about characters, not lightsabers.)

[darth_eldritch]

As much as I find the Sith interesting, and I do find Caedus, Krayt, Talon fascinating, I think they are really overdoing the Sith. It would have been better if they did observe the end of the Sith and the balancing of the Force.
Instead they gotta have the "One Sith," the "Lost Tribe," and that fail Christie Golden wrote with Vestara and Ben. If Vestara was really truly "Sith" she wouldn't have anything to do with Ben!

What's worse they are now overdoing the Sith in the early Republic side, too, going against established "EU canon," just for the sake of having more Sith. "True blood" Sith which is destroying the effect of the long dead Sith species and their creepy ghosts.

I agree on character over action for action's sake, and "shiny lightsabers." That's what they are doing with the TOR MMO, overwriting KOTOR, also.