Dear Del Rey:
Hello. I am one of the many disgruntled Star Wars fans. My love for the Fate of the Jedi series was killed with the release of “Allies.” I did not run out and buy the book. I waited almost a month for it to come in at the library. It took me two weeks to read. My desire to finish my review and not earn an overdue fine at the library forced me to finish it.
Nevertheless, the release of Vortex, restored my hope. Thank Troy Denning for that.
I have mixed feelings about Troy Denning. I find him to be a talented author. Star by Star is one of my favorite books. He captures emotions well. His personal feelings about characters tend to leak onto the page, however. He likes to mess with fan favorites. It affects the story negatively and is, frankly, distracting and annoying.
How did Troy Denning manage to do this, you ask? First off, his plot goes somewhere. To put it bluntly, stuff actually happens. I don’t want to give away any details, but the plot moves forward. Your editors know this. A stagnant story is boring. His characters act, for the most part, appropriately. He creates situations and events that keep the reader interested. For example, the long scene at the end involving Jaina, Han, Leia, Zekk, Taryn and the other was gripping and exciting. At no point was a bored and ready to move onto other things.
Vortex’s sales are down, as expected. When a company puts out a piece of crap, people are going to be hesitant about buying another product. It will be interesting to see how Conviction does. I intend to buy that book. I have faith in Aaron Allston’s ability to produce excellent content.
The damage has been done, though. Readers won’t forget what a mess Allies was. We won’t forget the bad writing, poor characterizations and lackluster plot. Regardless of the events of Ascension, I will not purchase that book. Christie Golden’s first two books were simply too awful. I hope Del Ray learned their lesson: simply slapping Star Wars on a book isn’t going to make fans love it. We won’t pay for crap.
Sincerly,
An avid Star Wars fan
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Vortex...eh
Del Rey moved the release date of Fate of the Jedi: Vortex by Troy Denning to November 30. No word as to why they changed it.
It doesn’t make much different to me when this book is released. With the debacle that was Allies and knowing what type of author Troy Denning is, it can only get worse. Yes, the writing will be better. Yes, some of the characters will be improved. Denning will keep species names straight and spell names correctly. The plot of the overall series, however, looks to be going nowhere.
The flap reads:
In a stunning turn of events, Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben, joined forces with members of the Sith armada sent to kill them—and turned their combined might against the monstrous being Abeloth, whose power was causing young Jedi Knights to go seemingly insane. But with Abeloth gone and the Knights sane again, the Sith reverted to form, making a treacherous attempt on Luke's life.
Luke and Ben have no time for retaliation. A new and even more insidious threat is rising, one that endangers not only the Jedi but the entire Galactic Alliance. Unless the Skywalkers survive to sound the alarm—and to pass along the secrets they have learned about Abeloth and the Sith—the galaxy will suffer as it has never suffered before. But the reinforcements they need remain grounded on Coruscant, where the political battle of wills between the Jedi Council and Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala has reached a boiling point.
Now Luke and Ben must go on the run, taking along the inscrutable—and dangerous—Sith apprentice Vestara Khai. With a host of Sith warriors in hot pursuit, the Skywalkers soon find themselves trapped on the moon Pydyr, caught between their former allies and a mob of angry Fallanassi. A new truce may be their only hope. But can a Sith ever be trusted?
With the Jedi's most famous father-and-son team outnumbered and outgunned, the countdown to galactic disaster has begun—and time is running out!
Now anyone who has seen Star Wars knows Sith are treacherous. Duh. If anyone is at all surprised by this move, stop reading Star Wars right now. Go rewatch the movies and learn what a Sith is. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Another threat is here. What this time? A crazy clone Jedi? Psycho Sith Lord? Aliens invisible to the Force? For a series that was supposed to be more light-hearted than Legacy of the Force, a new “insidious” threat is a bit much. How is the galaxy going to suffer more than it has before? We’ve had a race of intergalactic beings that destroyed planets, murdered billions and almost took over the galaxy. We’ve had crazy Sith Lords. How bad can it really be?
The summary tells us even more pointless information. Vestara is a dangerous Sith. Really? Duh. I’d like to meet a non-dangerous Sith. Darth Cuddles. He uses his anger to grow pretty flowers and band-aids. The worse thing he can do is give you a paper cut.
It doesn’t make much different to me when this book is released. With the debacle that was Allies and knowing what type of author Troy Denning is, it can only get worse. Yes, the writing will be better. Yes, some of the characters will be improved. Denning will keep species names straight and spell names correctly. The plot of the overall series, however, looks to be going nowhere.
The flap reads:
In a stunning turn of events, Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben, joined forces with members of the Sith armada sent to kill them—and turned their combined might against the monstrous being Abeloth, whose power was causing young Jedi Knights to go seemingly insane. But with Abeloth gone and the Knights sane again, the Sith reverted to form, making a treacherous attempt on Luke's life.
Luke and Ben have no time for retaliation. A new and even more insidious threat is rising, one that endangers not only the Jedi but the entire Galactic Alliance. Unless the Skywalkers survive to sound the alarm—and to pass along the secrets they have learned about Abeloth and the Sith—the galaxy will suffer as it has never suffered before. But the reinforcements they need remain grounded on Coruscant, where the political battle of wills between the Jedi Council and Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala has reached a boiling point.
Now Luke and Ben must go on the run, taking along the inscrutable—and dangerous—Sith apprentice Vestara Khai. With a host of Sith warriors in hot pursuit, the Skywalkers soon find themselves trapped on the moon Pydyr, caught between their former allies and a mob of angry Fallanassi. A new truce may be their only hope. But can a Sith ever be trusted?
With the Jedi's most famous father-and-son team outnumbered and outgunned, the countdown to galactic disaster has begun—and time is running out!
Now anyone who has seen Star Wars knows Sith are treacherous. Duh. If anyone is at all surprised by this move, stop reading Star Wars right now. Go rewatch the movies and learn what a Sith is. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Another threat is here. What this time? A crazy clone Jedi? Psycho Sith Lord? Aliens invisible to the Force? For a series that was supposed to be more light-hearted than Legacy of the Force, a new “insidious” threat is a bit much. How is the galaxy going to suffer more than it has before? We’ve had a race of intergalactic beings that destroyed planets, murdered billions and almost took over the galaxy. We’ve had crazy Sith Lords. How bad can it really be?
The summary tells us even more pointless information. Vestara is a dangerous Sith. Really? Duh. I’d like to meet a non-dangerous Sith. Darth Cuddles. He uses his anger to grow pretty flowers and band-aids. The worse thing he can do is give you a paper cut.
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