A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Would Star Wars: The Last Jedi have been way better if Luke actually was there for the fight, instead of just a Force projection of him?  A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack. -  Yoda to Luke Skywalker,  Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Questions like this, quite frankly, leave me cold. They reflect only the barest understanding of  Star Wars,  its mythos, its themes, and its character arcs. They also reinforce my opinion that the Expanded Universe (now called Legends) has an unhealthy grip on many  Star Wars  fans’ minds that makes them unable to understand the dynamics of the saga. Contrary to the oft-seen complaint that Kathleen Kennedy, Rian Johnson, and J.J. Abrams ruined  Star Wars  and that Luke Skywalker’s character was not written in a way that fits the “lore,”  Star Wars: The Last Jedi  did a great job at depicting a very human Luke who, despite his failure to properly restore the Jedi Knights to their original roles as

Cover art by Larry Rostant (C) 2015 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) On March 3, 2015, Del Rey Books, the science fiction/fantasy imprint of Random House, published the hardcover edition of Kevin Hearne's Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi. Set shortly after the events of the 1977 movie Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope, Hearne's story focuses on the early adventures of a young Luke Skywalker in the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin and his decision to join the Rebel Alliance. Originally planned - in 2012 - as the third and final volume in an Expanded Universe (EU) trilogy titled Empire and Rebellion , it became a standalone canonical novel (one of four such works) after The Walt Disney Company-owned Lucasfilm and its Story Group declared that the EU was being relegated to "Legends" status and that all of the post-2014 novels would be part of the Star Wars canon. This means that Heir to the Jedi (the title is a tip of the hat to Timothy Zahn's Star Wars: Heir

Cover Art by: Drew Struzan. (C) 1996 Penguin Random House Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Steve Perry's Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire , first published in 1996, is the centerpiece of a Lucasfilm multi-media marketing campaign that could be summed up with the tag line "Everything but the movie."   Not only was Perry assigned to write the novel, but Kenner (now Hasbro) rolled out a line of action figures, Dark Horse Comics published a multi-issue series, Nintendo released a console-based game for its Nintendo 64 system, and Joel McNeeley ( The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ) composed an original score. In short, all that was missing was a feature film. And what a film (animated, of course) Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire would have been!   Although the novel is part of the Expanded Universe/Legends series that started with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, it's the first of the 1990s-era novels to explore the six-month or so time span betw

(C) 2004 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Luke Skywalker (Hoth Attack) Action Figure While patrolling on Hoth, Luke was savagely attacked by a Wampa and dragged by the ice creature to its cave, where he was suspended from the ceiling in anticipation of becoming the Wampa's next meal. Luke used the Force to retrieve his lightsaber from the floor of the cave and freed himself from the ice entrapping his leg. The Wampa attacked again, and Luke fought the vicious creature, escaping only after severing one of the Wampa's arms. – Product blurb: Luke Skywalker (Hoth Attack) Action Figure Luke Skywalker has had a very bad day on Hoth. While on a routine mounted patrol on the surface of the ice world Hoth, the young Rebel Commander had spotted what looked like a meteor falling from the sky. Before he could investigate, the huge clawed paw of a hungry Wampa Ice Creature slammed him off his tauntaun and knocked him out. When Luke regained consciousness some time

Cover art by John Van Fleet. (C) 2007 Del Rey/Lucas Books/Random House and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Pros:  Good writing, fine characterizations, and another masterful tale set in the Star Wars galaxy Cons:  None Although Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn has written over 90 short stories, novellas, short story collections and novels since 1978, he is best known for reinvigorating the Star Wars literary universe with his best-selling Thrawn Trilogy ( Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command ). Set five years after the events depicted in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi , this three-book cycle’s mix of interstellar conflict, political intrigue and a plausible extrapolation of the characters and situations created by George Lucas in the Classic Trilogy reignited fan interest in the Star Wars saga. In addition, the popularity of Zahn’s novels helped pave the way for other authors to add their own tales set “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far a

Cover art by Drew Struzan. (C) 1998 Bantam Spectra and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Pros:  Timothy Zahn's usual  reader-friendly style. Good characterizations.  Cons:  Ending is okay but not impressive It is a time of peril for the New Republic. Although 19 years have passed since Luke Skywalker left Tatooine and destroyed the Empire's first Death Star at Yavin, and even though the Galactic Empire now holds only a handful of star systems, political infighting, interspecies squabbles and other problems beset the former Rebel Alliance which has ostensibly defeated it. Nevertheless, the Imperial Supreme Commander, Admiral Gilead Pellaeon has convinced Imperial Remnant's Council of Moffs that if the vestiges of the once mighty Empire want to survive intact, it is time to negotiate an end to the war with the New Republic. Reluctantly, the Moffs agree and give Pellaeon the authority to send a peace feeler to Corellian Senator Garm Bel Iblis to see under what conditions

Cover art by Drew Struzan. (C) 1997 Bantam Spectra and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Pros:  Timothy Zahn's writing. Characterization. Detailing. Cons:  May be too political for casual Star Wars readers. Ends on a cliffhanger One of the hardest things to accomplish in pop literature is continiuing a popular movie or television series' storyline and striking a balance between staying true to the sensibilities of the on-screen source and telling original stories that don't seem like tired retreads. If you are a regular reader of Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any of the Young Indiana Jones books by Rob McGregor or others, you know what I'm talking about.  You often end up reading a veritable mix of superb novels amidst a hodge-podge of books which range from fantastic reads to tomes you wish you hadn't bought at all. Star Wars fans aren't immune from this particular dilemma; even as Lucasfilm licenses a select group of writers to continue telling a

"The walls are moving!" Photo Credit: www.toyark.com  (C) 2002 Hasbro Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Luke, Han, and Chewie infiltrate the Death Star to free Princess Leia. While making their escape, they dive down a garbage chute and become trapped in a trash compactor with a hungry dianoga. Then the walls begin to close in on them, and our heroes are caught in a tight squeeze! - Manufacturer's blurb, Death Star Trash Compactor 1 & 2 In December of 2002, Hasbro Inc. released Death Star Trash Compactor 1 & 2, two separate multi-figure sets that, when put together, form a single diorama that recreates the iconic sequence in Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope that pits Han Solo, Chewbacca the Wookiee, Luke Skywalker, and the recently rescued Princess Leia Organa against the double threat of a hungry dianoga and the converging walls of the Death Star's trash compactor.  Originally introduced as a Walmart exclusive in Hasbro's December 200

Cover art by Tom Jung. (C) 1993 Bantam Spectra and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) In 1991, eight years after the release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Lucasfilm's licensing division authorized various projects to revive interest in George Lucas' characters and situations in advance of both the 20th Anniversary of the Star Wars Trilogy and to create fan anticipation for the still-in-planning prequel trilogy. Among the many ideas that were given the green light was a publishing concept known as Star Wars: The Expanded Universe, which entailed hiring some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers to create new "further adventures" featuring Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Artoo Detoo (R2-D2) and See Threepio (C-3PO) and set in the time period immediately after Return of the Jedi. Although there were many authors involved and not all the stories would be in the same format (Dark Horse Comics, for instance, would publish the Dark

(C) 2014 LucasBooks and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Cover art by Tom Jung In 1991, Bantam Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. reinvigorated interest in the  Star Wars  universe (well, galaxy) by gathering a diverse group of noted science fiction writers and starting an ongoing series of novels set in the time period which follows  Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi .  Timothy Zahn's  Heir to the Empire , the first volume of a three-book cycle, was almost an instant phenomenon when it was published in hardcover. With its depiction of the continuing battle between what is left of the Galactic Empire and the fledgling New Republic, this novel cleverly mixes the characters from the Classic Trilogy with a cast of newly created heroes and villains, some of whom will make appearances in other authors'  Star Wars  Expanded Universe works.  As  Heir to the Empire  begins, the New Republic has been engaged in a five-year long campaign to mop up the remnants of the once-mighty Empire. The once dr