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bracketsoffear · 24 days

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Dark Leitner Reading List

The full list of submissions for the Dark Leitner bracket. Bold titles are ones which were accepted to appear in the bracket. Synopses and propaganda can be found below the cut. Be warned, however, that these may contain spoilers!

Andersen, Hans Christian: The Shadow Asimov, Isaac: Nightfall

Barker, Clive: Abarat Barnes, S.A.: Dead Silence Baxendale, Trevor: Fear of the Dark Brennan, Joseph Payne: Slime Brontë, Charlotte: Jane Eyre

Chukovsky, Korney: Stolen Sun Cortázar, Julio: Casa tomada (House taken over) Coville, Bruce: The Shadow Wood

Dean, Benjamin Appleby: Lamplight Dukaj, Jacek: Ice

Enríquez, Mariana: Nuestra parte de noche (Our share of the night) Enríquez, Mariana: Bajo el agua negra (Under dark waters)

Halpern, Jake & Peter Kujawinski: Nightfall Hesse, Hermann: Demian Hodgson, William Hope: The Night Land

King, Stephen: IT King, Stephen: The Mist Kirby, Todd: No Power Kristoff, Jay: Empire of the Vampire

Leroux, Gaston: The Phantom of the Opera Lord Byron: Darkness Lovecraft, H.P.: The Haunter of the Dark

Milton, John: Paradise Lost

Poe, Edgar Allan: The Pit and the Pendulum Pronzini, Bill: Peekaboo

Robertson, M.P.: The Moon in Swampland

Schwartz, Alvin, ill. Stephen Gammell: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Sheckley, Robert: Ghost V Smith, Clark Ashton: The Double Shadow Snicket, Lemony: The Dark Snicket, Lemony: The Ersatz Elevator Stine, R.L.: Revenge of the Shadow People Stover, Matt: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

Tolkien, J. R. R.: Shadow-Bride

Weir, Andy: Project Hail Mary Wilson, F. Paul: Nightworld

Andersen, Hans Christian: The Shadow

The story follows a Learned Man on a voyage south from northern Europe. One evening as he sits by a fire, he amusedly observes his shadow dancing and imitating his movements in the light of the flames, and thinks that it would be funny if it was a creature with a will of its own. The next morning, he awakes and finds to his surprise that his shadow has disappeared overnight. But as a new shadow slowly grows back from the tip of his toes, the Learned Man does not give the incident another thought, and soon thereafter goes home to northern Europe. One evening several years later, however, he hears a knock on his door. It is his shadow, the one he lost years before during his journey, now standing upon his doorstep, almost completely human in appearance. Intrigued, the Learned Man invites the Shadow inside, where the two sit down and talk about the Shadow's experiences during its travels and how it came to take the form of a human.

During the conversation, the subject turns to the Learned Man's rather unsuccessful writing career. The Learned Man values the good, the true, and the beautiful in the world, and writes about it often, but his writing seems to garner little to no interest with the public. The Shadow declares that the Learned Man is too much of an idealist, and his view of the world is flawed. The Shadow claims that he, unlike his master, understands the world, that he has seen it as truly is, and knows how evil some men really can be. They soon part ways once again.

The Shadow goes on to make itself quite wealthy, even as the Learned Man barely manages to survive. He eventually grows very ill, and so the Shadow proposes they travel to a health resort. The Shadow will fund the trip, on the condition that the Learned Man pretend to be its shadow instead of the other way around. Absurd as the suggestion sounds, the Learned Man ultimately agrees and they undertake the trip, with the Shadow as his master.

On the trip, the Shadow meets and woos a Princess. When the pair are about to be married, the Shadow asks the Learned Man to remain as its shadow permanently, in exchange for a good life with them. The Learned Man refuses and threatens to reveal the truth to the Princess. Thus, the Shadow has him arrested and ultimately executed, and goes on to live a happy life with the Princess.

Asimov, Isaac: Nightfall

"Nightfall" is a 1941 science fiction short story by the American writer Isaac Asimov about the coming of darkness to the people of a planet ordinarily illuminated by sunlight at all times.

link

Barker, Clive: Abarat

"Candy lives in Chickentown USA: the most boring place in the world, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future may hold. She is soon to find out: swept out of our world by a giant wave, she finds herself in another place entirely... The Abarat: a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of the island of Midnight, ruled by Christopher Carrion. (...)"

Half of the islands in Abarat are night islands and most of the main bad guys work for forces of darkness trying to bring eternal monstrous darkness to all islands.

Spoilers: Can't speak of it in detail cuz I have not read that part yet, but the bad guys apparently succeeded in bringing forces of darkness to the islands.

Barnes, S.A.: Dead Silence

A GHOST SHIP. A SALVAGE CREW. UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

Baxendale, Trevor: Fear of the Dark

Synopsis: "On the very edge of the galaxy lies Akoshemon: a putrefied world of legendary evil.

In the year 2382 archaeologists land on Akoshemon's only moon, searching for evidence of the planet's infamous past. But when the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa are drawn into the lunar caverns they find more than a team of academics — and help uncover much more than ancient history.

Something is lying in wait, deep inside the labyrinth of caves: something that remembers the spiral of war, pestilence and deprivation that ruined Akoshemon. Something that rejoiced in every kind of horror and destruction.

An age-old terror is about to be reborn. But what is the hideous secret of the Bloodhunter? And why does Nyssa feel that her thoughts are no longer her own? Forced to confront his own worst fears, even the Doctor will be pushed to breaking point — and beyond."

Why it's Dark: The Doctor does battle with the literal embodiment of darkness and evil, as unseen monsters in the dark pick off crewmembers one by one. Even by the standards of this series, this book is incredibly grim.

Brennan, Joseph Payne: Slime

Originally published in the March 1953 issue of Weird Tales. The title creature is a black, amorphous blob from the bottom of the sea. In fact, it's so black that it's all but invisible at night; witnesses to its attacks pretty much see their friends and loved ones "taken by the darkness", as though the dark itself were alive and hungry.

Brontë, Charlotte: Jane Eyre

As you read, the shadows get deeper and darker, and you start hearing noises from overhead. It sounds like it's coming from the attic? Do you have an attic? Why would anyone be up there if you did? No, you can't look! It's my attic! Anyway, secrets and shadows and the unknown.

Chukovsky, Korney: Stolen Sun

A Russian children's poem that narrates how the crocodile consumed the Sun and how the bear gave him a proper pummeling and forced him to release the star back into the sky. No, it doesn't make sense in context either, but it does take on the motifs of Slavic myths about a dragon stealing the Sun and imprisoning it for thirty-three years, cueing global night and cold.

Cortázar, Julio: Casa tomada (House taken over)

It tells the story of a brother and sister living together in their ancestral home which is being "taken over" by unknown entities. The mystery that revolves around what those entities are is largely left up to interpretation, allowing the genre of the story to vary from fantasy to psychological fiction to magic realism to political fiction, among others.

Coville, Bruce: The Shadow Wood

The hero faces down and defeats an army of living shadows with a magic candle... until his own shadow rises up and blows it out.

Dean, Benjamin Appleby: Lamplight

Standard sort of evil shadow monsters made interesting by the fact that the only way to stay safe from them is to be in pitch blackness -- no light, no shadows.

Dukaj, Jacek: Ice

The story of the book takes place in an alternate universe where the First World War never occurred and Poland is still under Russian rule. Following the Tunguska event, the Ice, a mysterious form of matter, has covered parts of Siberia in the Russian Empire and started expanding outwards, reaching Warsaw. The appearance of Ice results in extreme decrease of temperature, putting the whole continent under constant winter, and is accompanied by Lute, angels of Frost, a strange form of being which seems to be a native inhabitant of Ice. Ice freezes history and philosophy, preserving the old political regime, affecting human psychology and changing the laws of logic from many-valued logic of "Summer" to two-valued logic of "Winter" with no intermediate steps between true and false. It can also be used to create candles that cast shadows instead of light. This isn't normal darkness, but rather a sort of "anti-light", which can make people and objects in its radius cast "anti-shadows" made up of non-darkened areas, and seems to have an odd effect on the minds of people who spend a lot of time exposed to it.

Enríquez, Mariana: Our Share of Night

This is like a chronicle of some alternate universe People’s Church of the Divine Host. It centres on a cult devoted to a menacing entity that possesses appropriate hosts, manifesting in rituals that summon a devouring darkness that leaves devotees scarred and maimed. There’s also an abandoned house that may exist in many places at once and is brimming with unnatural darkness that acts as a conduit to either the entity itself or its native realm. Beyond the more straightforward darkness, the book’s themes related to obscured knowledge—the central relationship is between one of the darknesses’s hosts and his son, anticipated to inherit his father’s abilities. We see again and again how Juan works to hide his son’s abilities from the cult and also hide knowledge of the cult and the world that he inhabits from his son, even to the point of hurting him very badly with zero explanation in an attempt to keep him safe when he’s gone.

Enríquez, Mariana: Nuestra parte de noche (Our share of the night)

A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family.

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Enríquez, Mariana: Bajo el agua negra (Under dark waters)

In this short story, a detective called Marina goes to a town to investigate some strange murders. There, she finds a cult that adores something that lives under the black water of the polluted lake.

Halpern, Jake & Peter Kujawinski: Nightfall

On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours—it comes every twenty-eight years. Now the sun is just a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold and the shadows are growing long.

Because sunset triggers the tide to roll out hundreds of miles, the islanders are frantically preparing to sail south, where they will wait out the long Night.

Marin and her twin brother, Kana, help their anxious parents ready the house for departure. Locks must be taken off doors. Furniture must be arranged. Tables must be set. The rituals are puzzling—bizarre, even—but none of the adults in town will discuss why it has to be done this way.

Just as the ships are about to sail, a teenage boy goes missing—the twins’ friend Line. Marin and Kana are the only ones who know the truth about where Line’s gone, and the only way to rescue him is by doing it themselves.

But Night is falling. Their island is changing. And it may already be too late.

Hesse, Hermann: Demian

Religious imagery, seen very often w/ the Dark (i.e. Hither Green Chapel, Montauk's cult that I forgot the name of, etc), especially blasphemy (seen most clearly in Manuela Dominguez's statement). Max Demian of Demian fame would be an avatar of the dark I think. There *is* a hint of the End in there but not enough to qualify it

Hodgson, William Hope: The Night Land

The Sun has gone out and the Earth is lit only by the glow of residual vulcanism. The last few millions of the human race are gathered together in the Last Redoubt, a gigantic metal pyramid, nearly eight miles high, which is under siege from unknown forces and Powers outside in the dark. These are held back by a shield known as the "air clog", powered from a subterranean energy source called the "Earth Current". For thousands of years vast living shapes known as the Watchers have waited in the darkness near the pyramid. It is thought that they are waiting for the inevitable time when the Circle's power finally weakens and dies. Other living things have been seen in the darkness, some of unknown origins, and others that may once have been human.

King, Stephen: IT

Pennywise is the boogeyman, the monster under the bed, the shapeless fear in the dark.

King, Stephen: The Mist

In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends...David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they become trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town. As the confinement takes its toll on their nerves, a religious zealot, Mrs. Carmody, begins to play on their fears to convince them that this is God’s vengeance for their sins. She insists a sacrifice must be made and two groups—those for and those against—are aligned. Clearly, staying in the store may prove fatal, and the Draytons, along with store employee Ollie Weeks, Amanda Dumfries, Irene Reppler, and Dan Miller, attempt to make their escape. But what’s out there may be worse than what they left behind.

This exhilarating novella explores the horror in both the enemy you know—and the one you can only imagine.

Kirby, Todd: No Power

A blackout. A bloodthirsty beast. The Bronx. This is not how Tom pictured his 17th birthday... His plan was far more bleak. When Manhattanite Tom Walton wakes up from a suicide attempt, he finds himself in a Bronx hospital being attacked by an ancient, savage creature that thrives in the darkness of a summer blackout. Tom, the son of a rich and racist New York politician, teams up with his fellow patients — a diverse group of Bronx natives — in an attempt to fight back. As Tom falls helplessly in love with Kiki, a badass teenage patient, he gains a deeper understanding of the source of his pain and reconsiders his stance on life. But when Tom’s true identity is revealed to the crew, he must work to unify the group and escape the hospital… or be eaten alive.

Kristoff, Jay: Empire of the Vampire

Daysdeath is the term used to describe the sudden shroud of ash and smoke which rose into the sky twenty-seven years prior to the beginning of the story. The exact cause remains unknown, though most people suspect a falling star which crashed into the earth with enough force to send tons of debris into the lower atmosphere, blanketing the skies and preventing more than a smidgen of sunlight from passing through the shroud. The shroud has not abated in strength over the following decades, and the results have been devastating - repeated crop failure and abysmal harvests, the withering of forests and other natural greenery and the resulting food and material shortages, but perhaps worst of all, the undead no longer being constrained be the daily need to hide from the sun, their numbers quickly multiplying as the lesser vampires were no longer destroyed by the sunlight. The ancien vampires soon realized the opportunity this afforded, and not only have they embarked on a campaign of global conquest, they actively work to eliminate any chances of mankind dispelling the shroud through artificial means.

Leroux, Gaston: The Phantom of the Opera

Everything revolves around the hidden and unseen opera ghost -- the lights are harsh and the dark is a refuge for him, one that he tries to tempt Christine into.

Lord Byron: Darkness

Written in the 'Year without a Summer' of 1816, Byron was inspired by the ashen darkness to compose this poem about the end of the world, and the gloom that would accompany it.

Lovecraft, H.P.: The Haunter of the Dark

The main character, Blake, inadvertently summons an eldritch being into his local church. The being can only go abroad in darkness, and is hence constrained to the tower at night by the presence of the lights of the city. However, when the city's electrical power is weakened during a thunderstorm, the local people are terrified by the sounds coming from the church and call on their Catholic priests to lead prayers against the demon. Blake, aware of what he has let loose, also prays for the power to remain on. However, an outage occurs and the being flies towards Blake's quarters. He is subsequently found dead, staring out of his window at the church with a look of horror on his face.

Milton, John: Paradise Lost

The primary imagery for Satan and other demons is unadulterated darkness. "No light, but rather darkness visible."

Poe, Edgar Allan: The Pit and the Pendulum

The protagonist describes the horror and uncertainty he feels in stumbling through his darkened enclosure, only able to feel around for the instruments of his destruction.

Pronzini, Bill: Peekaboo

From TV Tropes: The only character in the story is a career criminal pretending to be a reclusive writer hiding out in a rented house a good distance away from the closest town. One night he thinks he hears an intruder in the house and decides to investigate while armed. While he's searching his suddenly creepy hideout, he can't help but reminisce on the games of Peekaboo he used to play when he was a kid, as well as the old rumors of occult worship and paranormal activities surrounding the house. He's a nervous wreck by the end of the story, and when he finally reaches the basement after finding nothing in the rest of the house he giggles in relief. There's nothing there after all, it's just him, all alone, hiding under the stairs.

"Peekaboo," a voice behind him said.

Robertson, M.P.: The Moon in Swampland

Hidden in the dark, marshy bogs of Swampland, the wicked and mischievous bogles hide from the Moon, and lie in wait for travellers. Anyone who wanders too close to the edge will feel clammy fingers dragging them beneath the murky water. When the Moon saves a young boy called Thomas, she gets captured by the bogles, and Thomas must set out to save her. Can he end the bogles' reign of terror?

Schwartz, Alvin, ill. Stephen Gammell: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a collection of short stories, written for children. The stories themselves are pretty standard stories that are just spooky enough for kids, but the illustrations are what most people remember. Each story is accompanied by a picture that are still unnerving to look at as adults, let alone as kids. Growing up with this book, it felt like a test of bravery just to turn the page. It reminds me a lot of the Season 4 TMA episode, in Callum Brodie's domain - an avatar of The Dark planting images of monsters in kids' heads and letting their imaginations do the rest of the work in scaring them.

Sheckley, Robert: Ghost V

The protagonists visit a planet with an atmosphere full of a drug bringing out hallucinations of their childhood bogeymen, potentially lethal as if you think you're dead, you are. They take out a couple of monsters with a magic word and a water pistol, but the last bogeyman is absolutely invincible. It's also capable of getting past any lock and door.

(Spoilers) They do manage to beat it with a security blanket. But hey, Leitners do tend to twist their tales -- it could just as easily finish off with 'the blanket never did anything'.

Smith, Clark Ashton: The Double Shadow

The titular shadow arrives after a master wizard attempts an ancient and unknown summoning spell. It does nothing except approach the casters one by one, very slowly, ignoring every method they use to flee or fight it, until it touches and merges with their own shadow, forcing them into a hideous transformation.

Snicket, Lemony: The Dark

The Dark is about a young lad named Lazslo, who is terrified of the dark. He avoids “the dark” as it mainly hangs out in the basement. Then, one night “the dark” is in his room as his nightlight bulb loses its spark. Lazslo, the young lad, must come face-to-face with his fears of “the dark”.

Snicket, Lemony: The Ersatz Elevator

I actually don't think the whole book is cursed, I'm thinking specifically of those pages that are fully blacked out when they're in the elevator shaft

Stine, R.L.: Revenge of the Shadow People

Afraid of your own shadow? Vinny Salvo is. Lately weird things have been happening to his shadow. It's grown horns. And claws. And big sharp teeth! Now it's coming after him! Vinny needs someplace to hide -- and quick. But where can you hide from your own shadow?

Stover, Matt: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

The villain, Lord Shadowspawn, is a Force-user who has a different view of the Force than that of Jedi or Sith; he believes that the Force is the Dark, which is basically destruction and entropy; he induces visions of the Dark — of being alive in the eons after all the stars burn out — to cause despair that he can then use. On a metaphorical mind-battly level, his ultimate technique is to become a black hole, which makes sense in story.

Tolkien, J. R. R.: Shadow-Bride

This macabre poem is about a man with no shadow who sits like a statue until a woman passes by. Then he wraps her shadow around them both and forces her to dance with him forever, casting a single shadow...

Weir, Andy: Project Hail Mary

The book is about alien microbes extinguishing the sun by siphoning off its light energy to fuel their own metabolism. The book follows the amnesiac protagonist, sent far off into the depths of space to the origin of said microbes to save the world before everything gets too dark and too cold. Basically, the sun is dying.

Wilson, F. Paul: Nightworld

At the start of Nightworld the sun rises five minutes too late. Repairman Jack can't understand why the scientists are so disturbed by this, but when portals to Another Dimension open all over the world, spewing a horde of Eldritch Abominations every night, the fact that every day the sun inexplicably rises later and sets earlier than the last becomes a reason for serious panic.

#leitner tournament #reading list #dark poll

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high-mackrels-musings · 4 months

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Star Crossed Lovers: How Revenge of the Sith adapts Pyramus & Thisbe

*This is another adaptation of an essay I wrote on reddit found here

Back when I was in college I took a class on myths, and for my final essay of the class I was given the assignment to find and contrast an Ovid myth with another piece of media. Now, being who I am, I immediately tried to tie it to Star Wars. And I found a sort of comparison between the tragic tales of Anakin and Padme and Pyramus and Thisbe. The tragedy in their love is similar, but there are differences. And Lucas, and by extension Stover who wrote the novel, shows the influence from Ovid’s tale and manages to at the same time change the way the love story of Padme and Anakin is told. And the parallels were interesting enough for me to share my thoughts here.

Who are Pyramus and Thisbe?

For those who have read Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the story of Pyramus and Thisbe ought to be familiar enough. Pyramus and Thisbe are two Babylonian youths whose families live next to one another and utterly despise one another. This of course puts the two at odds with their feelings. Pyramus and Thisbe both love each other. And they manage to find some refuge by speaking to one another through a small gap in the walls, “In the common wall that ran between their houses, there was a narrow cleft made by the builders and unnoticed since. Love misses nothing!” One should note the way then that the love of Pyramus and Thisbe is portrayed by Ovid. There is a sense of the purity of love.

Unlike many of his other stories within Metamorphoses, there is no focus on grotesque violence. Rather the true tragedy of “Pyramus and Thisbe” comes from the way others prevent their love. Because their parents refuse to allow them to be together Pyramus and Thisbe resolve to run away together. They both agree to meet under a mulberry tree, but unfortunately, when Thisbe arrives, she sees a lioness and flees leaving behind her veil for Pyramus to later find bloodied by the lion’s jaws. He believes that the lioness has eaten her. The misinterpretation of symbols, as Pyramus, stumbles upon the bloodied cloak. And he says, “On this one night, two lovers come to grief! For she, far more than I, deserved long life!” Lost in grief he strikes himself down plunging his sword through himself. And in doing so effectively dooms Thisbe who arrives later to see her dying lover. She too takes her own life, but not before begging the gods for their sacrifice to be heard, “And may our wretched parents, mine and yours be moved by this petition to allow joined in the same last hour by unwavering love, to lie together in a single tomb.”. And their prayers are heard, which shows Ovid’s overreaching theme of the legacy of love. Pyramus and Thisbe’s love lives on as their ashes are shared in the same urn, and the gods change the color of the mulberry berries to red.

How This Relates to Star Wars?

So, one may see in fact the parallels here between Anakin, Padme, Pyramus, and Thisbe. The idea of two lovers who desperately want to be together. Anakin and Padme are both forbidden to be together, as Jedi are prohibited from being married, Ki-Adi Mundi aside, Like Pyramus and Thisbe both have had to hide their brief moments of love. And both resolve to run away together, as seen in the Revenge of the Sith novel. So, if the bare-bones structure is there how do they differ?

One must keep in mind that both are tragedies. But the way these tragic moments manifest come in a different way. Instead of a bloody veil in a lioness’s jaws, Anakin receives visions of the impending death of his beloved. These visions haunt Anakin. The love between the pair can hardly be said to be healthy. Anakin has feared the loss of his loved ones since the death of his mother saying in Attack of the Clones, “Well, I should be! Someday I will be. I will be the most powerful Jedi ever. I promise you. I will even learn to stop people from dying!” And in the Revenge of the Sith novel Anakin’s fears are described as a sleeping dragon that haunts him, “That is the kind of fear that lives inside Anakin Skywalker: the dragon of that dead star. It is an ancient, cold dead voice within his heart that whispers all things die …” His jealousy is also present in the novel as we see how he greets Padme and believes there is another in her life, “He took her by the shoulders now, his hands hard and irresistibly powerful. ‘There’s someone else. I can feel it in the Force! There is someone coming between us-” This is a further sign of his unhealthy love, and Lucas and Stover show this love which contrasts the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe.

Anakin is resolved to not allow Padme to die. And in a desperate search for power, he turns to a false promise, and he transforms into Darth Vader. Unlike Pyramus who literally kills himself Anakin’s death is a metaphorical one. Gone is the Jedi Knight Anakin skywalker replaced by the Sith Lord Darth Vader. And this effectively kills Padme who when she learns that all the terrible things he’s done say to him, “I don’t know you anymore. Anakin you’re breaking my heart.” And of course, Padme later dies having lost her will to live. Thus, while Anakin did not kill himself directly as did Pyramus. The death of his identity as Anakin and transformation into Darth Vader does kill Padme.

So How Are They Similar?

So, while we have seen how Lucas and Stover show the difference in the love story, and the parallels of the bloody veil and Anakin’s dreams, one might be inclined to ask how then they are similar?

Thisbe herself pleads to the gods that their love is remembered, and her desire is granted as the Gods allow for the mulberry tree’s berries to forever be stained red for the blood they shed beneath the tree. Revenge of the Sith also reveals to us that there is a legacy in the love of Padme and Anakin. The film ends by showing us the scene of Luke and Leia, the children of Anakin and Padme, being split into two separate families so that one day they too will take up the mantle. And Stover’s novel ends with the words, “The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins- but in the heart of its strength lies weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back. Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite the stars.” And it will be so as Luke and Leia will go on to save the galaxy. And their children would go on to protect it, and their descendants would do the same. Love in both stories has a legacy that would be felt after their deaths within the Legends continuity.

Conclusion:

While I cannot say with any authority that Lucas or Stover have ever read Pyramus and Thisbe, the influence of the text is still felt in this work. And one can see how Star Wars has positioned itself into a new form of mythology that may inform us, and do its best to teach us the lessons. The simple love story changed into something more complex about the nature of love and jealousy. And that is an important lesson which can be taken away. And this entire exercise was a fun way to interact with my favorite fictional series in a more academic setting.

#star wars #ovid #jedi #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #anakin x padme #star crossed lovers #revenge of the sith #star wars legends

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katenepveu · 7 months

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9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better:

from @measured-words!

3 ships I like: I don't think these will be a surprise based on the volume of my reblogs:

Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, The Untamed (specifically the show; I still haven't read the novel);

Hua Cheng/Xie Lian, Tian Guan Ci Fu by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (a.k.a. TGCF a.k.a. Heaven Official's Blessing; I'm behind on the donghua and haven't read the manhua but I don't believe there's any particular reason to distinguish adaptations at present);

Gideon/Harrow, The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. Unlike the other two, this is an ongoing work and not a romance, so I am not particularly holding out hope for a happy ending. That's okay! It'll be the right ending, and that's more important. (I'd say, and we'll always have fic, but I haven't had much fic-reading urge for this series. Who knows what'll happen when it's over, of course.)

First ship ever: this is a surprisingly tough one! Of the important books of my childhood and adolescence, some of them had romantic relationships, but I never really wanted to bang the characters together like dolls and say "Now kiss!", which is what shipping feels like to me. (You'd think there'd be something in Mercedes Lackey but mostly I wanted various characters/a nap.) I did get mushy over the very early, as in the first book, Lan/Nynaeve scenes in The Wheel of Time, which I think predates anything else that comes to mind?

Last song I heard: unfortunately the talus battle music from Tears of the Kingdom is stuck in my head, which is driving out all else.

Favorite childhood book: well, not to be a complete nerd or anything, but I did use to check out the three paperback volumes of The Lord of the Rings every year in elementary when we went to Vermont on vacation, so.

Currently reading: nominally re-reading TGCF along with folks on Mastodon, but I am of course behind. I have three Naomi Mitchison books in (gasp!) paper to read, as she is Memorial Guest of Honor at Readercon this year; The Conquered is due back the soonest so that's theoretically next. In practice I have a very busy few weeks coming up and the answer is probably "some comfort fic rereads."

Currently watching: the TGCF donghua. I rewatched S1 on mute at 1.5 speed (sorry, I know) and have seen precisely one episode of S2.

Currently consuming: water?

Currently craving: pectin jelly beans, which used to be available around this time of year but Russell Stover has apparently stopped making them. There are candy shops on the Internet that sell them but I'm not sure I want to go that far.

Tagging people on Tumblr terrifies me, so please chime in anyone who likes!

#mine-ish #fandom

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that-gay-jedi · 2 years

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I'm tryna catch up on self-care chores I'm overwhelmed on but I'm being overtaken by Star Wars thoughts so it's screamin time I guess.

This bit, where Dooku draws the dark side to himself right before his duel with Anakin & Obi-Wan aboard the Invisible Hand:

[Transcript: This was the real power of the dark side, the power he had suspected even as a boy, had sought through his long life until Darth Sidious had shown him that it had been his all along. (highlighted) The dark side didn't bring him to the center of the universe. It made him the center. (end highlight) End transcript.]

There is so much to Stover's philosophy of the Force as elaborated in Revenge of the Sith, Shatterpoint and Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, drawing on all kinds of sources, but one that I think is frequently missed is mainstream modern magical traditions and the historical and theoretical sources they in turn take from.

As someone whose fingers have been in several occult pies since I was a smol idiot preteen, this part with Dooku could be word-for-word from any introductory primer on things like the Middle Pillar exercise and the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (abbreviated LBRP).

The LBRP is a basic ritual common to practically any westernized spellcasting tradition that appropriates from and kind of mangles kabbalah (as chaos magic, various attempts at reconstructing demonology and angelology, and almost anything drawing on medieval Christian gnosticism do)*. It shares common history and structural progression with the form of circle casting observed in Wicca and so many other neopagan systems.

LBRP's base purpose is to remove negative energy from oneself and surroundings, but for many a beginning mage learning from randos on the internet or reading the mainstream magic books, it's also performed daily as a means of getting oneself used to rituals and practicing the mindset these systems recommend for spellcasting.

For the majority of people practicing it in its vanilla form (I.e. people identifying as chaos magicians), one fundamental skill being practiced is that of making oneself the center of the universe. The LBRP is supposed to be performed while envisioning oneself as the center of the universe, which is frequently done via the Middle Pillar exercise: symbolically drawing the metaphysical structure of all things into and along the lines of the body (this is the part that pulls most heavily from kabbalah, as it takes the kabbalistic tree of life wholesale).

To get an idea of what I mean, take a look at samples here, here, and here. Were I 11 years old today and just researching spellwork for the first time, sites like these would likely be among the first I'd be directed to by older members as beginner resources.

Now, the dark side of the Force is not 1:1 analogous with any particular real world label, but has commonalities with quite a few (not unlike how the Jedi are not 1:1 analogous to any one form of Buddhism, but based on an amalgamation of everything GL thought of it at the time). Practitioners of chaos magic often regard it not as a belief system or magical tradition but as a means of approaching belief and ritual, a meta-framework.

The point here is merely that Stover is a smart cookie and did his homework, and chose sources which would be recognizable to anyone with a background in contemporary spellwork amid the target audience.

*I don't personally perform kabbalah-derived practices nor known derivatives thereof out of respect for Judaism. My own spiritual bent is not chaos magic, neopaganism nor reconstructionism, and is loosely describable as state-of-mind-seeking, meditative, and experiential.

#star wars #count dooku #revenge of the sith #sw rots #ritual magic #witchy #matthew stover #darth tyranus #sw books

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oaresearchpaper · 3 months

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Eisenia fetida Extracts on Fusarium oxysporum Growth

Abstract

Banana wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4), is a worrying destructive banana disease of which there is not yet effective control measures. The present study aimed to evaluate the ability of earthworms Eisenia fetida to be biological control agents against Foc TR4. Methodological approach consisted of assessing interactions between Foc TR4 and (i) enzyme β-N-Acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAGase) and (ii) E. fetida extracts that are the coelomic fluid (CF) and the crude crushed (CC). Then NAGase were dosed in E. fetida CF. Foc TR4 growth was inhibited by NAGase but no effect was observed with the extracts CF and CC of E. fetida. Enzymatic dosage showed that CF contained 0.015 ± 0.006IU/mg protein as NAGase activity. These results suggest the possible use of E. fetida in biocontrol of Foc TR4 however through a process other than the extracts CC and CF. The outcomes of this study may constitute background data allowing to explore potential of earthworms in biocontrol of banana pathogenic fungi, which is of great significance to the development of banana industry system and to the reduction in the use of fungicides.

Introduction

Banana (Musa spp.) is one of the world's most important crops owing to its economic and food interest. Its fruits, namely cooking bananas (AAB, ABB, ...) and dessert bananas (AAA) are used in the diet of many populations in both importing and exporting countries (Lassoudière, 2007). In several tropical countries, plantain (AAB) is a staple food for various social strata. Plantain is an energetic food providing 120 kcal or 497 kJ per 100 g (Yao et al., 2014). Its commercialization constitutes a source of income for rural or lowincome populations (Ouina, 2017). Apart from bananas, other organs of banana plant such as pseudostem, leaves and peelings give rise to a wide variety of uses (animal feed, manufacture of industrial products) (Kumar et al., 2012; Jyothirmayi and Rao, 2015).

Like any plant crop, banana plant is prone to attacks by bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes and weevils. Among these attacks, fungi have been for a long time a growing threat and lead to severe affections of the leaves, stems, fruits and roots, resulting in significant yield reductions (Stover, 1959; Viljoen, 2002; De Bellaire et al., 2010; Dita et al., 2018). Fusarium wilt is one of the most serious fungal disease that affect banana plant. It is caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) and is responsible of constraints on banana production causing serious economic losses worldwide (Ploetz, 2015; Dita et al., 2018. Based on the pathogenicity to host cultivars, Foc is divided into physiological races 1, 2 and 4. Unlike races 1 and 2 which affected respectively Gros Michel (AAA) and Manzano/Apple/Latundan (Silk, AAB), and cooking bananas of the Bluggoe (ABB) subgroup, race 4 has a broad host range. It infects almost all cultivars including "Dwarf Cavendish" (Musa sp. AAA group) as well as the hosts of race 1 and race 2 (Lassoudière, 2007; Sutherland et al., 2013; Lin et al., 2013). Race 4 has been split into subtropical race 4, which affects “Cavendish” and races 1 and 2 suscepts in the subtropics, and tropical race 4, which affects many of the same cultivars as subtropical race 4 in the tropics when disease-predisposing conditions are absent (Ploetz, 2015). Furthermore, vegetative compatibility which has been implemented owing to confusions of the race structure often happening in delineating strains of Foc, allow to identified a total of 24 vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs). Tropical race 4 is designated as VCG 01213/16 and subtropical race 4 belong to VCGs 0120, 0121, 0122, 0129 and 01211 (Dita et al., 2010; Mostert et al., 2017). Fusarium wilt, also known as Panama disease, affected several banana plantations in Australia, Taiwan, Philippines, India, Mozambique (Pegg et al., 1996; Ploetz, 2015; Viljoen et al., 2020) and South Africa (Viljoen, 2002). Control methods against Fusarium wilt that have been developed have focused on chemical (fungicide application) and cultural treatments, selection and varietal improvement by hybridization techniques (Bakry et al., 2005; Lassoudière, 2007). However, these control methods have shown limitations in adapting or mutating pathogens, in inaccessibility of improved banana varieties to farmers with low incomes (Ploetz, 2005; Kra et al., 2009).

Indeed, the banana cultivar "Gros Michel", which was the basis of banana export trade in Central America and resistant to Fusarium wilt, became sensitive in the years 1940 to 1950 and was replaced by the cultivar "Cavendish" (Ploetz, 2005). "Cavendish", the current export cultivar, has become sensitive since 1970 to Foc race 4 (Visser et al., 2009). Fungicide use is increasingly criticized by consumer associations and scientists due to their harmful effects on environment and on human health are (Lassoudière, 2007; Cirad, 2011, Brühl and Zaller, 2019). Regarding worrying destructible effects of Fusarium wilt and galloping world demography (for example 48,796,000 inhabitants in 2050 in Côte d’Ivoire so the double of the current population) (UN, 2015), efforts to protect and develop the production of this staple food should be intensified. Faced with the constraints related to the means of controlling Fusarium wilt previously mentioned, biological control is much explored as an alternative by the research (Gbongué et al., 2012; Mohammed et al., 2019; Torres-Trenas et al., 2019).

Earthworms are soil invertebrates that participate in soil aeration and water infiltration, increasing the nutrients content of the soil, mixing soil minerals with organic material. All making these organisms soil fertility agents (Römbke et al., 2005; Bhadauria and Saxena, 2010). In addition to this capacity of affecting positively soil functioning, earthworms were found to have potent antimicrobial activities. Indeed, they have developed innate immune mechanisms that detect pathogens by recognizing conserved molecular patterns (Prakash and Gunasekaran, 2011). Earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae paste showed inhibitory activity against pathogens such as bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Kebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella abony, and fungi Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus and Trichophytum rubrum (Vasanthi et al., 2013).

According Pan et al. (2003), the coelomic fluid of the earthworm, Eisenia fetida andrei (Savigny) was demonstrated to possess an antimicrobial activity directed against earthworm pathogenic bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila and Bacillus megaterium. Thus, living in an environment with abundant pathogens, earthworms developed defense strategies against the living pathogens.

For instance, they have suspected to synthesize β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAGase), an enzyme that hydrolyses chitin, one of the main constituents ensuring the rigidity of fungal wall (Guthrie and Castle, 2006). These defense strategies or metabolite compounds allowing to implement defense strategies can be exploited for finding innovative biological solutions to issues related to above mentioned means of controlling Fusarium wilt.

This study proposes to evaluate the ability of earthworms to be biological control agents against the fungus Foc TR4. Eisenia fetida is a favorite worm species for composting and is frequently used as a biological monitor for experimental tests (OECD, 1984; Garg et al., 2006; Ouina et al., 2017). Specifically, interactions between Foc TR4 and (i) enzyme NAGase and (ii) E. fetida extracts (crude crushed and coelomic fluid) were assessed.

Source : Eisenia fetida Extracts on Fusarium oxysporum Growth | InformativeBD

#Fusarium wilt #Eisenia fetida #NAGase #Foc TR4

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novelmonger · 1 year

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Book Review: Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover

Recommended by @rainintheevening as part of the 2023 Book Rec Exchange

Quote that should have been on the back of the book: "Ever since I came to this planet, people have been telling me how crazy I am. They've told me this so many times that I had started to wonder if it might be true. Now, though, I understand: you don't say this because it's true. Not even because you think it's true. You say it because you hope it's true. Because if I am insane, you aren't really the revolting slime-hearted vermin that, down deep, you know you are." [Don't get me wrong, the quote that is actually on the back of the book is pretty good too.]

Premise: This is a Star Wars novel set during the early days of the Clone Wars. The Jedi Council catches wind of one of their number, Depa Billaba, who has apparently turned to the dark side. She went to Haruun Kal, Mace Windu's homeworld, whose government has sided with the Separatists. Her mission was to recruit resistance against the government among the Korunnai, the people who live in the dangerous jungles of that world, all of whom are Force-sensitive. (The running theory is that a ship full of Jedi crash-landed on the planet in ages past and were not able to leave, and so they settled there. Mace was a Korun orphan who was sent to be trained as a Jedi, unlike most Korunnai.) After word reaches the Jedi that Depa seems to have fallen or even gone insane, Mace goes to Haruun Kal to try to find out what became of her and hopefully bring her back. He volunteers to go not only because it's his homeworld, but because Depa was once his Padawan, and so he is best suited to bring her in.

Thoughts: I've always liked Mace Windu and thought he was pretty cool, but I never quite felt like I understood him on any deep level. He was always that aloof guy on the Council, sitting there with steepled fingers and silently judging everybody. So I was immediately interested to get a better handle on what makes him tick. It was especially interesting to me to watch him struggle with the pull of the dark side, and the way warfare was already haunting him, even in these early days. The Jedi were never supposed to be soldiers, and this book makes it so clear why.

It took me a while to get a handle on Stover's writing style in this book, and while it's generally effective enough, I don't think I'm a huge fan of it. For one thing, he keeps switching back and forth between third-person narration of the story, and the first-person journal recordings Mace is making. While it makes sense that Mace would do such a thing, it sometimes resulted in there being a scene where they prepare to do something, then you switch to the journal entry after the thing happened, and we don't actually get to see it playing out in front of us. That's a pet peeve of mine, after suffering through Robert Jordan's habit of skipping all the action in favor of people thinking about talking to someone, then skipping ahead to them thinking about how they talked to someone. (But it was nowhere near as bad in this one as it was in Wheel of Time.) Smaller quibbles about Stover's style include too much name-dropping of the exact model of weapons (which does nothing to help me imagine it, sorry), and the way he would sort of slip in and out of a limited third-person POV and a more omniscient one. I would be comfortably inside Mace's head, privy only to his own thoughts, and then along would come a sentence that said in effect, "And Mace was so awesome and powerful and everyone was intimidated by him." It felt a little too much like Mace was bragging to himself about how cool he was XD

Don't get me wrong, though--Mace is definitely cool in this book. There's a whole host of cool fight scenes, both with his lightsaber and without, where you really get a sense of what a Jedi Master in his prime can do. And then when it comes to planning and thinking up ways to outwit his enemies as he understands what he's up against and the tables get turned time and again...Mace is pushed to his limit, but he manages to make it all work out. And it's not just his prowess with a lightsaber or the Force or battle strategies, either. The strength of his character and integrity, as well as his ability to see into the heart of his enemies as well as his friends, his capacity to love and forgive...I came away from this book with even more respect for Mace Windu than I had before. It's so clear why he's a Jedi Master.

But, as I said to the dear friend who recommended this book to me: I give Mace Windu an A+ for style, but a D- for stealth :P

Also, the award for Best Supporting Character goes to Nick Rostu, a Korun who lived most of his life in the capital city and hopes to become a mercenary someday, and who helps Mace throughout the book. He's a lot of fun, has some great quips, as well as some good banter with Mace. The way Stover kept harping on about how annoying Nick was, and having Mace think about how the two of them were not going to get along, made it pretty obvious that Stover very much wants the reader to fall in love with him. And this reader definitely did :D

#book rec exchange 2023 #star wars #shatterpoint #matthew stover #certainly the best star wars novel i've ever read #(though that's not saying very much because i've mostly only read ya stuff lol)

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heyscroller · 2 years

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Broken Promises - Hey Scroller

Broken Promises – Hey Scroller

Russell Stover’s conversation hearts and foil-covered boxes are large and at my local pharmacy, and to them I say welcome. Unlike August’s rude arrival of Halloween candy, Valentine’s Day retail gusto cheers me up in the first week of January. It agrees with my own desire that the winter months are already hurrying. Bring the egg dye kits and Mother’s Day cards. Let’s focus on spring. Slower. OK.…

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jerryb2 · 3 years

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“Ideally, a Jedi took many months to construct a single perfect weapon that he or she would keep and use for a lifetime. Once you build it, the lightsaber will become your constant companion, your tool, and a ready means of defense.

Luke held out the handle of his own lightsaber, sliding his palm over the smooth grip, then igniting it with a startling snap-hiss. The brilliant yellow-green blade drowned out even the bright sunlight in the room.

(...) “I hope you’ll need to use your weapon only rarely...if ever.”

- The Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers, by Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta

Say what you will about Kevin Anderson & the somewhat dubious writing style of The Jedi Academy Trilogy, but both he and his wife, Rebecca Moesta, understood the kriffing assignment when they wrote The Young Jedi Knights series, only a few years later. The fact that The New Jedi Order & the Legacy Era shit the bed immediately afterwards is almost okay, because these books are so damn good.

Don’t go into them looking for Shakespeare, but they feature no pointless deaths, no character assassinations, no nonsensical plotting - only good characters, fun, exciting stories - they’re just pure Star Wars. And I love it so, so much.

Here we have some pics of my personal Rudy Pando Luke V3 lightsaber (it only seemed appropriate) sporting GOTH’s Master Chassis, with a dual crystal chamber reveal, all properly modified to run a Proffieboard v2.2 soundboard. Quite nice, if I do say so myself. This post is fulfilling something of an old promise; a while ago (like, over a year ago), I hinted that I would be reinstalling this saber for one final time, and now, here it is in all its glory. My tribute to a personal hero of mine from my youth, and in the spirit of excellent ensemble stories like The Young Jedi Knights and character pieces, like Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor.

May they be preserved & enjoyed forever.

Speaking of; having read Shatterpoint recently, I’m tempted to go back and read Shadows of Mindor again, if only because I’ll have a clearer idea of who Nick Rostu & Kar Vastor are, not to mention, uh, what TF is going on. It’s a great book, and it absolutely nails Luke’s character, but it’s really kriffing weird.

Even though it’s not (in my opinion) Stover’s best work, it has a short little exchange between Luke & Kar Vastor that perfectly sums up Luke’s character, and more importantly, why he’s such a great character:

I have known Jedi. Many, many years ago. That knowing was not a gladness for me. I believed I would never know another, and I rejoiced in that belief.

But it is a gladness for me to be proven wrong.

I am happy to have known you, Jedi Luke Skywalker. You are more than they were.

“That’s -” Luke shook his head blankly, blinking against the darkness. “I mean, thanks, but I barely know anything.”

So you believe. But I say to you: you are greater than the Jedi of former days.

Luke could only frown, and shake his head again. “What makes you say that?”

Because unlike the Knights of old, Jedi Luke Skywalker...

You are not afraid of the dark.

~~~~~~

Stover truly is the GOAT of Star Wars writers.

#star wars #lightsaber #luke skywalker #v3 #luke v3 #the young jedi knights #lightsabers #luke skywalker and the shadows of mindor #kevin j anderson #rebecca moesta #matthew stover #goth3designs #master chassis #shtokcustomworx #npxl #Proffieboard #sabersmith

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padawanlost · 4 years

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What do you think of ObI Wan's forgiving Maul in rebels? To me- I dunno, it just seems too easy and a little inconsistent. I get that what Vader did was worse and his betrayal in some ways more personal, but he really struggled to forgive Anakin, also his identifying with Maul as a victim since childhood makes no sense, as he should've known Anakin was groomed by Palpatine from childhood, but he didn't even try to find out what caused his fall.

Before I say anything else, please keep in mind that I never watched Rebels (I only watched a couple of scenes/episodes) so I might not have all the details.

Now, that being said, I don’t think Obi-wan ‘forgave’ Maul.

Obi-wan’s ‘kindness’ when killing Maul wasn’t the result of any personal bond between them. it was the expected behavior of any wise Jedi: never start a fight and don’t be cruel. Those are basic Jedi precepts.

If I remember correctly, Obi-wan only ignited his blade after Maul realized he was protecting someone important (Luke) so his actions were motivated by his committed to the greater good (the galaxy and Luke), not his personal feelings towards Maul.

Besides, that was nothing to forgive because Obi-wan wouldn’t keep any (personal) ill feeling towards Maul – beyond him being a threat to the galaxy – because that’s not the Jedi way. Obi-wan, on paper, doesn’t hold grudges. He mourns Satine but he doesn’t hate Maul for killing her.

I think people are mistaking Obi-wan with Anakin, especially Obi-wan’s relationship with Anakin. Now that was a personal relationship that turned violent and bitter because of it. Unlike Maul, Obi-wan couldn’t ‘let go’ of Anakin, whom he loved.

If that final duel had been personal to Obi-wan, it would have gone very differently. It’s the difference between Obi-wan vs Maul in TPM and Obi-wan vs Maul in Rebels. One is fulled by personal, emotional responses. The one isn’t.

As for Obi-wan idifitying Maul was a victim, I don’t know where that comes from. Obi-wan knew nothing about Maul’s past and what he endured growing up. and even if he had, I don’t see that making much of a difference. Obi-wan KNEW Anakin was manipulated by Palpatine and it had no influence on his behavior towards Anakin. we have to keep in mind that until Vader’s redemption, the Jedi believed the dark side was a one way street. Once you took that path you’re lost, regardless of who you *used* to be.

Why had he turned to the dark side? When did it happen? The Anakin he knew and loved couldn't have done it. Something had twisted in him, and Palpatine had exploited it somehow. Obi-Wan knew it wouldn't change anything to know, but he couldn't help going over the same events, again and again. The chances he'd missed, the things he'd seen, the things he hadn't. [Jude Watson – The Last One Standing]

That was where Obi-Wan kept returning. That vision of hatred. Because no matter how Palpatine had corrupted Anakin, no matter how the dark side had taken him over, no matter what decisions he'd made in his heat and his fury, he was Obi-Wan's apprentice and he ended by hating his Master. And that was a Master's failing. [Jude Watson – The Last One Standing]

Obi-Wan said, “I should have let them shoot me …”

“What?”

“No. That was already too late—it was already too late at Geonosis. The Zabrak, on Naboo—I should have died there … before I ever brought him here—”

“Stop this, you will!” Yoda gave him a stick-jab in the ribs sharp enough to straighten him up. “Make a Jedi fall, one cannot; beyond even Lord Sidious, this is. Chose this, Skywalker did.”

Obi-Wan lowered his head. “And I’m afraid I might know why.”

“Why? Why matters not. There is no why. There is only a Lord of the Sith, and his apprentice. Two Sith.” Yoda leaned close. “And two Jedi.” [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

Obi-wan was completely aware of Anakin’s traumatic past and further manipulation by Palpatine and yet there was little sympathy for him once he became Vader. Now, why would he show such sympathy for someone he knew very little about? For someone who, unlike Anakin, he only knew as a Sith? It doesn’t make sense, imo

The man he faced was everything Obi-Wan had devoted his life to destroying: Murderer. Traitor. Fallen Jedi. Lord of the Sith. And here, and now, despite it all … Obi-Wan still loved him.[Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

Obi-wan knew Anakin, LOVED him and still, Anakin’s tragic past made very little difference when it came to Obi-wan’s reaction to his most evil and cruel actions. that’s why I don’t see him going all kind and soft on Maul, whom he knew very little of beyond his ability to destroy innocents and commit crimes.

I’ve talked about this before but the gist is Jedi don’t forgive Sith, they kill them. that’s why the wanted Luke to kill his own father and tried their best to convince him that there was not good left in Vader. It’s not because they were evil, manipulative pricks who wanted Anakin dead. It’s because the truly didn’t believe that it was possible for a Sith to redeem themselves. So for Obi-wan to go all ‘aww poor Maul’ would be out of character, borderline on plot hole.

It’s not like Obi-wan wanted Maul to suffer or anything like that. Clearly, that was not the case at all. But it’s a pretty big leap from ‘I don’t want my enemy to suffer’ to ‘I totally understand why he’s like that and forgive him for it’.

I mean, if Obi-wan didn’t let Maul suffer because he understood his past how does one explain Mustafar and Anakin’s immolation?

#ask #anon #sw meta #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #darth maul #meta: anakin #meta: obi wan. meta: maul #txt

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lifblogs · 3 years

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1, 2, 16

1. What are you reading right now?

Right now I'm reading Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson. And yes, it is a Star Wars book. It's the sequel to Phasma. I'm a little disappointed with one part of it as I thought there would be more enemies-to-lovers going on, rather than unlikely friendship where they don't yet get to spend a lot of time with each other. The unexpected torture scenes were fun though! I really like seeing how Vi views interrogations. It's different from your average character since she's a spy.

2. Favorite classic book?

The Lord of the Rings, and The Great Gatsby.

16. Favorite genre(s) and author(s)?

Fantasy and sci-fi! I love J.R.R. Tolkien (obviously), Robert Jordan, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, Megan E. O'Keefe, Kristyn Merbeth, Timothy Zahn, Delilah S. Dawson, John Jackson Miller, Matthew Stover, and James Luceno. And yes, I know a few of those are Star Wars writers. I also really enjoyed Michael Grant before he got a bit money-crazy. So yeah, lot of favorites. But Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, and Sarah J. Maas might always be my top three.

#ask #evilwriter37

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kenobiapologist · 4 years

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Star Wars Novel Rankings

In celebration of the end of this year, I made a tier list of all of the Star Wars novels I’ve read since I joined this fandom in 2017 (which you can use to rank these books too). And I named all the tiers in a dorky but appropriate fashion. I would love to hear your thoughts on my rankings, as well as how you’d rank the books yourself! I’ve had a blast reading Star Wars novels from both Disney’s canon and the Legends extended universe over these past 3 years. Here’s to many more years of reading stories from the galaxy far far away!

I put longer (but not more coherent) thoughts below the cut.

The Chosen One: Bringing Balance to the Force and My Depressed Soul

1. The first spot of top tier had to go to Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization for obvious reasons. You simply cannot beat it. It’s a masterpiece. I literally had to put the book down to scream when I read the prose associated with the opening battle over Coruscant. It gave a whole new meaning to the triumphant music and the synchronous twirling of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s starfighters as they weave through blaster-fire in the battle over Coruscant. The rest of the book is the same way. You can’t put it down. I have wAyyYyYy too many feelings about this book oh my god.

2. Thrawn was a surprising book for me. For being centered on an admiral of the Empire’s navy, it had so much heart in it! I loved reading from Eli Vanto’s perspective too. god dammit I love that freaking Wild Space hillbilly dweeb with all my heart. I think his experiences getting to know Thrawn and learning from him guides the reader to feel much the same way as Eli by the end. Thrawn is a trusted friend, not the enemy you expect him to be. I could have done without Arihnda Pryce but she’s supposed to be unlikeable so I won’t blame Timothy Zahn this time.

3. The Clone Wars Gambit duology is basically Karen Miller writing fanfic and I’m HERE FOR IT. As is tradition with Karen Miller’s Star Wars novels, the emotions are dialed up the eleven. Our favorite dumbass Jedi team is back at it again with a mission to save the galaxy and this time they end up going undercover as two lumberjacks from the boonies. Anakin holds an energy shield back from collapsing with his bare hands like a total badass. Obi-Wan is in love with another woman despite it always ending in tragedy, while also bickering like a married couple with Anakin every ten seconds. get a fucking room, you two. These two books inspired one of my fics so they’re near and dear to my heart.

Jedi Master: These Books Have A Seat On The Council Too

4. Wild Space was appropriately named, I’ll tell you that. It’s a wild ride from start to finish. *slaps the front cover* this book can fit so much of Obi-Wan’s suffering in it! @forcearama has elaborated on the many reasons why this book is a gem in Snark Wars blog posts (linked here). It’s also the beginning of the best team-up since Anakin and Obi-Wan...Bail and Obi-Wan! These two bastards get under each other’s skin but it makes for the perfect character development. This book is the reason I screech with delight whenever Bail Organa appears on screen, or is mentioned in conversation. Bail gets a mysterious tip about trouble on a planet, and Obi-Wan decides to go with him to investigate. Cue Sith-induced suffering. It’s cool to see a normal person experiencing the weirdness of Force sensitives and how the world has this extra level of sensory information in it. Plotwise this one isn’t the best, but I think the interactions between characters really shine in this novel. Karen Miller’s writing is like a cup of hot chocolate to me. Indulgent character insight, full of sweet moments, has a bunch of extra marshmallowy dialogue, you’re reading it to have a good time but not to be satisfied with plot. You get me?

5. Do I even have to explain myself here? Kenobi by John Jackson Miller is both an interesting western-style tale set on Tatooine, and a beautiful character study of a man stricken with grief he keeps suppressed. How does one continue on when their whole family was murdered and their whole culture burnt to ash? I wanted to give Obi-Wan a hug the entire time I read this. The characterization was spot-on, from the way he wrangled animals to the way he severed a man’s arm off in a bar with his lightsaber. And when he meets a woman named Annileen Calwell, or Annie for short, Obi-Wan can’t bring himself to call her by her nickname ever and if that doesn’t just break your damn heart fucking fuck.

6. Ahsoka was the first Disney canon book I ever read and it kickstarted my love for E.K. Johnston. The writing is simplistic, but that makes it easy to jump into. Overall, it’s a quick and enjoyable read. By far the best parts are the flashbacks that mull over memories Ahsoka has of the time before Order 66. That shit hits you right in the heart, man. And the part where Ahsoka equates Obi-Wan and Anakin to her adoptive family ohhhhhhh god the tears they flow like a river. There are scenes that allude to Ahsoka becoming the vital part of the Rebellion we know her to be from Rebels, balanced with her current struggles to survive and find herself. Despite having cast away her identity as a Jedi and having any remaining bits of her culture destroyed by Palpatine, Ahsoka shows us all how bright a hero can shine in the darkest of times. AND SHE WAS WRITTEN AS QUEER! finally some good fucking food.

7. Oh shit, another E.K. Johnston book? Don’t be surprised. She’s a prequel fan and so am I, hence why Queen’s Shadow is so high on the list. E.K. Johnston pays homage to our favorite queen and badass senator Padme Amidala. There’s politics, there’s solidarity between female characters, and Bail Organa is in it so you KNOW I simply must give it a high rating. All jokes aside, I thought the story added lots of little details to the world of Star Wars without it being all stereotypical sci-fi nerdy language. You know how people want to describe something beyond our technological capabilities so they throw a bunch of nonsense together like “pre-praxis crystal bio-anode circuitry”? I’m looking at you, Karen Miller, I love you but please. There is none of that in this book. It makes sense, it adds color and culture and life to the worlds of Star Wars. Most of all, it devotes time and love to developing Padme outside of her place in canon as Anakin’s wife, Queen of Naboo, and Senator. She is all of these things, but she’s human too. I do agree that the pacing is slow, but it’s something meant to be savored, I think. E.K. Johnston really shines when she’s writing dialogue because she gets these characters. That’s something to appreciate, because not all canon books agree with the way we’ve perceived the characters as an audience.

8. Rogue Planet chewed me up, spit me out, and declared me an even bigger stan for The Team. People who say Qui-Gon would have been a better master for Anakin can ~get out~ because I could read about these two hooligans getting neck deep in space shenanigans all damn day. Anakin is like twelve, which is a time in his training that we don’t get a lot of in canon. Personally, I think it was equal parts heartwarming and funny to read about their adventures. There is some angst sprinkled in there because hey, we’re reading about Anakin here, let’s not forget the emotional trainwreck that is Anakin Skywalker. The duo is sent to a planet that makes super fast ships that are ?sentient? or at least biologically active. They bond with the pilot, which makes Anakin perfect for this mission. There’s a scene where these little floof things attach all over tiny Anakin because he’s so strong in the Force and it’s god damn adorable how dare he?? I’d probably rate this one even higher if I read it again, but it’s been awhile. Characterization is spot on and reminiscent of Matthew Stover’s writing in how it highlights the strong bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin, how they’re fated to know each other. I’m a sucker for soulmates, what can I say?

9. Lost Stars reads like a movie. Not a script, but just the perfect amount of detail that you can imagine the scenes but the pacing is still quick, the dialogue smooth and natural. I couldn’t help wishing this was a film because the story was so all-encompassing. The highs and lows of the emotions of both protagonists, their relationship developing, the differences in culture. Folks, this book has it all! It’s a totally different perspective on the events of the original trilogy, seen from the side of Imperial cadets training to become pilots. Eventually, one splits off and joins the Rebellion while the other perseveres in the Empire. It’s like star-crossed lovers, but covers so much more ground than that. And the characters are fully developed. These original characters knocked my socks off, and that’s hard to do since I’m usually an Obi-Wan stan through and through. For anyone uncertain of reading Star Wars novels, this book is a great place to start. Action-packed, emotion-filled, and stands on its own despite weaving perfectly into the established universe. What more could you want?

10. Back at it again with the prequel shit, amiright? Queen’s Peril is E.K. Johnston’s most recent Padme-centric novel and it does not disappoint fans that wanted a taste of the Queen’s side of the story. Set during the events of The Phantom Menace, we get a “behind the curtain” look at how all of the handmaidens came to be more than their title suggests. There’s teenage girls getting stuff done! It makes more sense why Padme was elected ruler of her home-world, and you come to appreciate that a royal leader is not alone; there’s actually a whole team at her side to help her overcome everything from the drudgery of daily governing to Trade Federation blockades that threaten to starve her people. I think if you enjoyed Queen’s Shadow, you’ll enjoy this book a lot. For those that are unfamiliar with Johnston’s work, I wouldn’t recommend this one first because it does cover events you’ve already seen in movies and therefore is a less suspenseful companion to them. On the other hand, because it does tie in with TPM, it doesn’t suffer from the pacing issues of Queen’s Shadow to the same degree. I read this all in one sitting, so it’s definitely fun, but wasn’t compelling enough in its character development to elevate the book past some of the others I’ve listed already.

11. Thrawn: Treason was a refreshing return to the Grand Admiral we all know and love after the second installment in this series slowed things down a bit. Although it wasn’t as character-driven as the first book (which I love with all of my heart), there were still many moments that had me cackling at the disparity between Thrawn’s immense intellect and the other Imperials’ sheer stupidity, and that’s what we’re here for in a book about the Empire, right? There’s a lot of pressure on Thrawn, as his TIE Defender project has been pitted against Director Krennic’s Project Stardust. Who will get the funds? We just don’t know?? Tarkin sits in between the two and as usual, manipulates everything to his advantage. Palpatine questions Thrawn’s allegiance to the Empire after some of the choices he has made, leaving him in even more of a pickle. Thrawn is sent on a wild goose chase task that should definitely end in failure (on purpose because Imperials all want to watch each other burn as much as they want to watch the Rebellion burn), but you know Thrawn will find a way. My main squeeze Eli Vanto makes his return after being absent from book 2. Missed you, my sweet sweet country boy. He doesn’t have a leading role in this novel, but every scene he’s in makes the story better. Thrawn says “perhaps” way too often for my taste, but if you can ignore that, this book is a solid read. Equal parts action and deductive reasoning, as any Thrawn book should be.

12. Most of Dark Disciple had me thinking this was going to be a top tier book, and damn do I wish we could have gotten this animated. We follow Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress on a mission to assassinate Count Dooku. Why the Jedi thought this was a good idea, I don’t know. But I’m here for it all the same. 3/4 of the adventure were intriguing, but the ending didn’t do it for me. I won’t spoil things for anyone who hasn’t read this yet, but after all of the character development, to have it squandered so quickly just left me disappointed? I got really attached to everyone in this novel, and I’m sure you will to. I’ve read this and listened to it as an audiobook, and actually I think it’s more memorable as an audiobook. Would recommend, except for Mace Windu’s voice being exceptionally southern for no reason. Weird. I think this novel captures all of the great things about The Clone Wars show; time to really get to know each character and their motivations, action and adventure with the darkness of impending doom tinting everything, and lightsaber fights! Plus, Obi-Wan and Anakin make appearances in this book and it just adds that extra bit of spice. Worth the read, even if you know they aren’t going to get Dooku in the end (which I am still mad about, screw that guy).

Jedi Knight: Passed the Trials but There’s Room for Improvement

13. Few books in the Star Wars universe are centered around characters with no use of the Force, but in Most Wanted, we see a young Han Solo and Qi’ra struggling to survive on Corellia and it provides a humorous but compelling backstory to both characters in the Disney canon. Han is his usual lucky goofball self, and Qi’ra is smart and cunning. You can see how they grew into the versions of themselves in Solo. While the book stays on the lighter side of things (typical of stories written for a younger audience), there are still moments of depth on droid rights, viewing the Force as a religion, and what life is like in a crime syndicate. Addressing these heavier topics without it killing the pace of the story is hard to do, but Rae Carson pulls it off flawlessly. I went into this book with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had. Han and Qi’ra start off as competitors, but eventually have to learn to work together to survive as more and more people start hunting them down. They’re honestly so cute together, I loved their dynamic. It makes Solo a better movie, and although I liked it on its own, characters like Qi’ra needed a little more time to get to know, which you can get here!

14. Thrawn Alliances was not what I expected at all, and it took me a lot longer to get through. Hell, it has Thrawn, Anakin/Vader, and Padme in it! What’s not to love? Apparently, a lot. The different timepoints and perspectives in this were more jarring than anything else. Although the interactions between Thrawn and Anakin/Vader were enjoyable, it was not enough to elevate this book into the Jedi Master tier. Things felt dry, the characters didn’t grip me like in the first Thrawn, and it all felt like a ploy to introduce Batuu into canon before the launch of Galaxy’s Edge.

15. Leia: Princess of Alderaan was a dive into young Leia’s life before we see her in A New Hope even though this was marketed as a journey to The Last Jedi book, which I disagree with. We really haven’t seen any content about Leia in this time period before, and although I can’t say I was looking for this, I did enjoy it. The book was a little long, but there was adventure and the seeds are planted for Leia to be a bigger part of the Rebellion. The romance wasn’t too memorable, but Holdo wasn’t pointless in this (a stark contrast to her brief appearance in TLJ just to sacrifice herself). There’s a hint about Leia being Force-sensitive but it’s not in-your-face. It’s a typical coming-of-age story but in the gffa. The best part about this is seeing Bail and Breha as parents. I’m forever in pain that we didn’t get to see more of this in movies because it’s so so sweet. Leia must choose what kind of person she is going to be--and what kind of princess she will become. It won’t be for everyone, but I liked it.

16. Master and Apprentice was a typical Star Wars novel, which means it’s full of original characters that are strange and outlandish to serve the plot, a new world full of beautiful landscapes, and Obi-Wan suffering. I want to make it clear that this book is 80% Qui-Gon, 10% Rael Averross, and 10% Obi-Wan. I was expecting it to be 50% Qui-Gon, 50% Obi-Wan, as the cover suggested. Although I was disappointed by that, the story overall was okay. Qui-Gon is kind of an asshole in this? When is he not, though. We really get to sink our teeth into the way he and Obi-Wan fundamentally disagree with each other, so much so that their teacher-student relationship is falling apart. Tragic! They go on one last mission before calling it quits. Qui-Gon is in over his head with prophecies, Obi-Wan just wants to follow the rules, and Rael Averross is Dooku’s previous apprentice that is living his best life as a regent until Pijal’s princess comes of age. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid book. I just don’t vibe with Qui-Gon and want to whack him upside the head every time he avoids confrontation with his own student. My protectiveness for Obi-Wan is showing again, isn’t it? Yikes.

17. James Luceno is one of the most analytical authors I’ve ever read anything from, but it seems to always work? Tarkin is all about...well, Moff Tarkin. He’s ruthless, intelligent, and just downright evil. His backstory was compelling and I found myself drawn into the story by the details, although it is dense and took awhile to finish. I’m not interested in him as a character, but despite that, I enjoyed this story. The plot wasn’t memorable enough for me to recall after 3 years, but it’s similar to how Thrawn rose through the ranks of the Navy, just in a different part of the Empire’s governing body. We don’t get many books completely focused on a villain (I don’t count Vader ones because we know who he was before and the whole damn saga is about him), but this one is good! Don’t be fooled by it only being in the Knight tier. I think people who read a lot of sci-fi will like this book a lot. This is like the opposite of Queen’s Shadow, basically. If you had gripes about that book, you might like this one instead.

18. Battlefront II: Inferno Squad was a worthwhile read for anyone who played Battlefront II. Iden Versio is a great protagonist in the game, and I think Christie Golden totally gets her character. She’s nuanced and relatable. The whole team is interesting and getting introduced to each member before the events of the game makes everything mean more. That’s the real goal of any prequel story, I think. Accomplished! The action scenes are on point, the plot served to highlight what makes Inferno Squad special, and you get a sense for the morally grey area anyone must function in as an operative for the Empire. Although not necessary for the greater canon, it’s a great adventure. Iden and her squad members infiltrate the remains of Saw Gerrara’s group (they’ve become a bit of extremist) and destroy them from the inside. It’s got the suspense of a spy thriller and all of the nerdy space opera elements you expect from Star Wars. Although it’s weird to jump into a story not knowing any of the characters, you’ll get attached to Inferno Squad fast. Well, except for Gideon Hask maybe. He’s kind of a dick.

19. If you’re craving some Dark Side action, Lords of the Sith will give you what you’re looking for. Sidious and Vader crash-land on Ryloth and have to work together to survive, and also defeat the Free Ryloth Movement led by Cham Syndulla. It’s all fucking connected, guys. I love when people weave together stories that fit into the canon timeline like this, bringing in side characters and allowing them to develop some depth. And a chance to sink into the mind of a Sith Lord is always fun, if you’re in the mood to read about destruction and anger. It’s cathartic sometimes. If you’re always wondering, why didn’t Vader just stab Palps when he had the chance, this book explains their dynamic more. It didn’t really change my opinion of any of the characters, which is why it’s not higher on the list.

20. Catalyst suffered from being in a really boring part of galactic history. Despite that, Galen Erso and Orson Krennic have a hilarious relationship that I would have loved to see on-screen. This book really develops Krennic to become more than just the whiny entitled evil man we saw in Rogue One. He’s ten times worse now! But I mean that in the best way, I laugh whenever he’s in a scene, that sassy man just brings me joy. James Luceno is at it again, making things as detailed and dry as possible. I read so many of his stories right at the beginning of my journey through Star Wars canon and it’s a wonder I didn’t quit. Some of them are dark as fuck. And also slow as hell. With this one, I think it all comes down to what you want out of a Star Wars novel. Some people will really enjoy the plot. I think seeing how Galen became a part of Project Stardust was interesting and every time something about the Death Star became more clear, I screeched because I knew what it would eventually become. This book may not hold your interest though, which is why I put it lower on this list.

21. Star Wars: Clone Wars was a decent retelling of the Clone Wars movie. I liked it because I liked the movie, but you have to be able to sit back and enjoy the ride, not thinking too much about the silly parts. For that reason, it’s pretty far down in the rankings. Ahsoka is young and liable to get on your nerves. I certainly wasn’t her biggest fan at this point in the series. The biggest problem is that Karen Traviss is very anti-Jedi. Some authors for Star Wars tend to do this? To me, it’s weird. I didn’t notice it too much because it was one of the first Star Wars books I read, but it contrasts starkly with the truth of the prequel trilogy and some of the other entries in the Clone Wars Novel timeline, like Karen Miller’s books. Needless to say, although this book wasn’t super memorable aside from the familiar plot, it kept me reading Star Wars books, and so it is at least an average book. Plus, any content with Anakin and the clones is worth it for me. I love them.

22. A New Hope was good, for Alan Dean Foster. I’m not a fan, I’ll be honest. But this novelization stands on it’s own. I’m going to have to do a re-read to really go in depth on why this isn’t farther up on the tier list, but the movie is always going to be better to me. If you want to re-live the great beginning of the Original Trilogy, it’s worth your time. I mean, the story is full of adventure and mystery and lovable characters. What’s not to love? I just feel like the movie really elevates the narrative with a great score and fun character design/costumes/sets.

Padawan: These Books Have Much to Learn

23. Attack of the Clones was more entertaining than The Phantom Menace because the characters are in funnier situations. Obi-Wan and Anakin chasing Zam Wesell through the levels of Coruscant? Hilarious, just like the movie. Anakin and Padme falling in love as they spend time together? Holy fuck it’s so much better than the movie. Please read it for that alone. Outside of that, the writing style didn’t really impress me. And my experience with it wasn’t super memorable. There was potential to really make the inner dialogue of these characters impactful, to really develop the story of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme beyond what we could get from the movie scenes alone. I didn’t think it went above and beyond there. Not a bad story at all, but you don’t get to look at Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, or Ewan McGregor the whole time either, so therefore I must rank it lower. So many beautiful people in that movie, holy shit. You can understand my, dilemma, yes?

24. I enjoyed parts of The Phantom Menace book, like deleted scenes with Anakin living on Tatooine before Qui-Gon and Padme meet him. The additional depth is lovely, but I think a story like Queen’s Peril adds more to TPM than this book does. The story overall is still fun. I love this movie so much, it’s hard for me to be critical. I did put a lot of post-it flags in my copy, so it does develop the characters and get you thinking beyond your expectations from the movie. What more could you ask for from a movie novelization? I’d say not much, if I hadn’t read Revenge of the Sith and had my fucking mind blown. In comparison to that, this one is just okay.

25. The Last Jedi novelization wasn’t bad, necessarily. It tried its best to bring this story up to par with some of the interesting novels that don’t have movie counterparts. But still, the plot suffers because of how this movie was made. It’s very focused on Rey and Kylo, and Finn’s little adventure with Rose seems pointless in the grand scheme of things. I’d rather read this again versus watching the film, but that’s all I’ll say on this because I’m trying to keep my opinions on this movie to myself to avoid digging up old arguments. Jason Fry did well, and of the two Sequel Trilogy books I’ve read, I would recommend this one over Ep. 7.

26. The Force Awakens falls short and I think it’s because of Alan Dean Foster’s writing style on this one? It didn’t really expand on anything from the movie, while taking away the beautiful music and visuals. This novel is the antithesis of Revenge of the Sith’s novelization, and for that reason I ranked it fairly low. I wouldn’t read this one unless you really really love the Sequel Trilogy.

27. To be fair, I read the new Thrawn book before I went back and read this one. Even so, Heir to the Empire didn’t impress me at all. Thrawn didn’t seem like a thrilling villain with lots of depth like he did in Timothy Zahn’s reimagined Thrawn novel. We barely saw him. A lot of time was spent on the Original Triology’s trio, which waasn’t bad. I thought Luke, Leia, and Han were all written fairly well. The latter part of the story was redeemed by the interactions between Mara Jade and Luke, for sure. Enemies to lovers, anyone?? Without Thrawn, this book would have been an entertaining story, but for all of the praise it has received from long-time Star Wars fans, I was expecting to be blown away and I wasn’t. Maybe I have to continue the triology to figure out what all of the fuss is about, but after this one, I’m not super motivated to read more. Change my mind?

28. Cloak of Deception really shines when you’re following Palpatine’s perspective because you can feel the undercurrents of his master plan to destroy the Republic underneath his calm persona as a Senator. Other than that, it’s a forgettable plot. This is all about galactic politics and some terrorist group trying to blow up some government officials. Basically the most boring parts of the prequel trilogy. I listened to the audiobook of this at the beginning of this year and I already forget what it’s about. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan should have been able to bring some humor and energy to get you rooting for the good guys, but there was barely any of that. I was disappointed in all of the characters. Everything felt distant, removed from the heart of the characters. Some people in reviews have argued that the events of The Phantom Menace really pinned this novel in a corner because you already know what happens, but I disagree, because we know how Revenge of the Sith goes and The Clone Wars show is that much more tragic and heartbreakingly beautiful because of it. Prequels can be done right. This ain’t it, Luceno. Sorry.

29. Star Wars: The Old Republic, Fatal Alliance needs to go home and rethink it’s life. I’m a huge fan of the Old Republic and I’ve put like 200 hours of my life into playing that game, so I was hoping for some fun content in this part of the timeline. Sadly, this book captured the worst parts of the game, like the fact that there’s way too many factions at war with each other. Jedi, Sith, Empire, Republic, Mandalorians. They’re all here. They’re all ready to throw down. And I’m tired. As with many of the books in this lower tier, I felt there wasn’t enough description of the world or the people in the story. We’re in the gffa, be a little weird and wacky. Be big and bold! Make things terrifying, or beautiful, or both. But give my mind something to work with. The number of characters made the plot messier than it could have been, and it definitely isn’t worth the read. I can’t speak for all Old Republic books, but this one didn’t impress me.

A Sith Lord?! On My Bookshelf? It’s More Likely Than You’d Think

30. So underwhelming, you might as well just read the first half and then stop. Last Shot is absolutely terrible, except for Lando Calrissian’s characterization, which was spot-on. If the whole story had been from his perspective, I probably would have a much difference opinion on the novel as a whole. Sadly, this is not the case. Han was boring, he bottled up his emotions, and seemed drastically different from the badass he was in the original trilogy. There are different timepoints in this novel, and in all of them, Han is unrecognizable. Don’t nerf one of your main characters like that. Daniel Jose Older and I might just not get along. I thought his writing style didn’t fit Star Wars at all. It was like breaking the fourth wall, totally pulling me out of the story constantly. Also, there were little to no descriptions of body language, locations, or movement. It left me feeling disoriented the whole time I was reading. I thought one of the most interesting things would have been seeing Han, Leia, and baby Ben being a family at this point in time, but Han’s family was there as a prop, nothing more. There was a big bad item that was going to cause galactic destruction and our heroes had to go save the day. There was barely any tension and no one lost an arm so I’m pretty pissed off. Is it Star Wars if no one gets their appendage removed? I can’t tell you how much I disliked this book. Which is sad because I was hoping to enjoy it. I like Han. I like Lando. I like space adventures. I’m not that hard to please, or at least I don’t think so.

#Star Wars Novels #tier ranking #long post #i worked hard to put my thoughts into words for you guys #i read these books over a long period of time but I thought I'd encompass all of it in one post #sw lit #i've had so much fun becoming a part of this fandom #and I love the conversations about the books and the gffa in general #hopefully this will inspire some discussion!#i would love you guys to make tier rankings as well #they're always my favorite youtube videos to watch

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