Fandom Apocalypse?

My Star Wars fandom is at an all-time low right now. It's not that I don't enjoy Star Wars (I still love the OT and many, many EU works), but I find myself very unexcited about future releases. My fandom has been on a low swing for a little while now, but I think it was Apocalypse that really pushed me into low gear. It wasn't so much the book itself, but it really put the current state of Star Wars in perspective for me.

I've always defended Star Wars from people who called it a "cash cow", but I'm beginning to really see their point of view. At least on Lucas's part. The continuity is a mess, and it will forseeably get worse in the future. Lucas just doesn't care about continuity. And the "It's his universe argument" doesn't work, because he doesn't even seem to care about continuity within his own universe, much less the EU.Whether it be small things like giving a small ship a cloaking device (and even waving off the objection from Filoni) or it's huge things like Mortis, it seems clear he just doesn't care. I think Mortis is the worst thing to ever happen to Star Wars (yes, worse than Jar Jar). It's just that bad. I can't reconcile everything I know about Star Wars with Mortis. Star Wars is now working against itself.

Also, the two most hotly anticipated books this year were disappointments to me. I know that more obscure books are often much better, but is this what I really want? Scrounging the good little stories and ignoring the mess that the larger story is?

I don't want to be a downer, but I want to be honest. It's very possible there's a peak on the other side of this valley, who knows? I'll keep reading the books (if, for no other reason than that I can keep visiting this site and have things to talk about), and we'll see what happens, but I'm just not feeling it right now.
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Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
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There is the utter east.

Master Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 4400 Location: Korriban

I don't really have any good feelings about Star Wars right now either. I just re-read NJO and I remember when there was a lot of effort being thrown into a huge, coherant story within an amazing universe. I've become less impressed with the bigger series as of late and while I think there is a lot of potential in the standalones and duologies they've proposed TCW has kind of ruined my ability to care. You're right, Lucas is forcing absolute crap sometimes. Did Maul need to come back? No. Was it handled well? Yes. Is it still an absolute mistake? Yes. The show is nothing more than an excuse for Lucas to keep sucking Star Wars dry. He once complained that he'd never make a sequel trilogy because people hate him for his more recent Star Wars contributions, so why would he make more movies? I wish he would apply that to the rest of the Star Wars universe and bow out completely. When people within your own circle beg for you to hold onto continuity and you just toss their objections aside it should be obvious that something is wrong, but Lucas doesn't care. He can't even maintain the saga with any continuity, its been clear since Episode III came out that he never actually cared. And its getting to where we can no longer do things like ignore TCW in continuity (citing it as Lucas's while we have ours) because Del Rey is trying to force it into canon for Him. I believe I may be taking a break from spending money on Star Wars novels (Scoundrels aside because that looks awesome. Its losing its flavor for me and while I'll continue to buy the comics regularly the novels may be getting a break from me till I can get them on amazon.com for a few cents each. You're right Reep.
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Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.

I still like the theory that the real Lucas disappeared after RotJ and this one is just a doppelganger. It's the only explanation that makes sense. It's sad, really. I used to have a lot of respect for him, but it's gone now. Sad

Master Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 4400 Location: Korriban

I can't use the library. When I was younger I started buying and even now I've slowly been replacing paperbacks with hardcovers if they came out that way. I have a huge and gorgeous collection and I want to continue it so unfortunately for me I have to keep collecting. But not for awhile, not with all the stuff that's been going on with Star Wars.
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Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.

Knight Joined: 08 Apr 2011 Posts: 299

I'm happy with Star Wars at the moment. Maybe it's because I focus only on the post movie materials and Zahn, but I'm loving it. I think Fate of the Jedi was a nice comeback from the mess that was LOTF and left several doors open for future writers. The fact they are going to stop these epic stories and go back to small single writer stories is a huge plus for me as well.

EUC Staff Joined: 09 Nov 2011 Posts: 1204 Location: Nirn

I think it's a pretty safe bet to say they've got surprises they're saving for CVI. I'm looking forward to Scourge. Scoundrels... I'm not sure. Maybe. I've still got a massive backlog going back twenty years (still haven't read TTT etc) so I'm safe for now. As for modern stuff, I want to get Crimson Empire III and one other thing that I can't remember.
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You shall learn that history is an intricate weaving of many events. No one thing can be understood without the proper context.

The best techniques are passed on by the survivors.

Master Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 4400 Location: Korriban

EUC Staff Joined: 09 Nov 2011 Posts: 1204 Location: Nirn

Knight Joined: 12 Apr 2011 Posts: 386 Location: Canada

It seems like most of the complaints stem from the gigantic cluster-**** that is the Clone Wars.

Well that's not exactly new, and I'm not surprised people are pissed at Lucas for a lot of those things. Most of the small things can be explianed away (cloking device on a small ship for example, is a simple ret-con in that it wasn't actually a cloking device, but other sensor-bafling technology), but the larger ones like Maul and Mortis are annoying.

That said, just because Mortis is canon and was worked into FOTJ to explain Abeloth, does not mean that it has to become a central part of the mythology. In fact, it can be explored in a more coherent way than Lucas did in order to give us some idea of what the Celestials actually are since they've been mentioned for several years now, and then promptly allowed to fade into the background.

Its also quite possible to explain them as just a more powerful version of the Jedi-vs-Sith conflict. The light and the dark. Sure they affect the galaxy every now and then, but they don't shape the force.

Sure, its annoying, but I think that people giving up on the EU is a bit excessive (to say the least). Sure if you're losing interest, take a break and come back if/when you want to. But I think if you really annalyze each work that has come out recently, and ignore TCW, you'd find that the quality is equivalent to the Bantum era.

Knight Joined: 08 Apr 2011 Posts: 299

Knight Joined: 12 Apr 2011 Posts: 386 Location: Canada

Knight Joined: 03 Apr 2012 Posts: 103 Location: UK

I've been asking for a break from the Jedi/Sith storylines for a while, plus the big Alter The Destiny Of The Galaxy stuff. Sure, fighting the Empire was about changing the galaxy, but it wasn't done in massive series. There were standalones, and shorter series, which linked together as part of the larger picture, but entire galactic, government changing wars were not fought over 1 year and nine books. Getting from the Battle of Yarvin to signing the treaty with the Imperial Remnant took 20 years !

Del Ray had said they are moving back towards singles and short series, which is a relief. Our original characters, like Luke, Leia and Wedge spent 20 years fighting for peace and a stable government. Then the Vong invasion happened and there was a new government. Then Jacen decided only he knew how to manage things, and there was another civil war and yet another shift of government. The older characters must have felt they were in a time loop - all their best efforts seemed to have achieved almost nothing. It's depressing, watching characters you care about having the rug pulled out from under their feet. And in less than 100 years down the line, there's the Legacy stories, with the galaxy in disarray again. I think Wedge would be proud to know that there's still a Rogue Squadron in dark times, but depressed at the thought that's it's still needed in the galaxy.

Obviously, an adventure series like Star Wars needs action and drama, but I'd be happy for it to be scaled down a bit, and to feel like our long-suffering heroes are actually accomplishing something that lasts more than five years.

Last edited by Reepicheep on Fri May 11, 2012 9:51 am; edited 3 times in total

Master Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 4400 Location: Korriban

...RotS was a piece of great literature. Well written, excellent characterization, came up with plausible fixes for Lucas's plot-holes...
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Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.

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