I've never watched a complete episode of DS9, so I don't know anything about it. Is that the series that had the "Dominion War"?
Yep, that's the one. I found it darker and more political than TNG, which is probably why it's my favorite trek series. Take a gander at some of the episodes on that site Jason posted - you might even see some old favorites like Worf and O'Brien.
I think Thrawn was the first character in the Star Wars books that had a brain.
Thrawn was in Outbound Flight, one of the books I mentioned in my original post. If he hadn't been in that book, I would've lost interest about a third of the way through. The reason I have such an on-again off-again interest in Allegiance is that it's written by Timothy Zahn, the same guy who wrote Outbound Flight. He also wrote the Thrawn trilogy novels.
Thrawn was the man, but the whole deal with the Force-negating iguanas was a little meh. Those books have been out forever! The only problem is that I can't help the feeling that Star Wars novels, no matter how well written, are just a wee childish. A wii childish. A little bit childish.
Thrawn was the man, but the whole deal with the Force-negating iguanas was a little meh. Those books have been out forever! The only problem is that I can't help the feeling that Star Wars novels, no matter how well written, are just a wee childish. A wii childish. A little bit childish.
The only problem is that I can't help the feeling that Star Wars novels, no matter how well written, are just a wee childish. A wii childish. A little bit childish.
That's why I'm embarassed to read them. But I still do, *sigh*. Not all the time, but occasionally. It's a problem. No wait - it's a guilty pleasure.
Thrawn was the man, but the whole deal with the Force-negating iguanas was a little meh. Those books have been out forever! The only problem is that I can't help the feeling that Star Wars novels, no matter how well written, are just a wee childish. A wii childish. A little bit childish.
Like Ep's 1-3?
Ep's 1-3 can die in a fire. I had SUCH hopes for Ep 3. I thought it might actually pull through, but I could see 5 minutes into it that it was gonna be the crap.
Tell me why, if you had force powers and force precog and you were all noble and stuff, you'd let a situation arise in which your friend could roast in lava and then, when your friend was actually roasting in the lava you'd leave him to suffer?
A better Ender's Game? I have to check those out. As far as SW, the Thrawn ones are pretty good. Actually, all the ones Kite listed. Not sure about all the x-wing books, but the ones I've read are good.
I've never found the Star Wars books to be childish, however it annoys me that the writers are stuck recycling the same main characters over and over (Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie). I don't know if that is the fault of Lucas Arts or unimaginative writing but it eventually gets really old and stale. That is why I loved the X-Wing novels so much, they ditched the same old main characters except for a few token cameos and created some fantastic and memorable new characters that are almost as real in my mind as those that appear in the movies. I'm actually starting to get into the newer SW novels because Hand and Leia's and Luke's kids are starting to take center stage while their parents are discovering that they're no longer eternally young and indestructible. Welcome to middle age, now get out of the limelight already >__<
I'd highly recommend people check out all the books by Aaron Allston in the X-Wing series (Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, Solo Command) because they're incredibly funny. I've reread each 4 or 5 times and I still lol at them (:
Kite: Have you readAllegiance?
I haven't because of the reasons I've stated above, I do not want to read any more "classic" Star Wars books. Especially one that takes place after episode 4.. But it is written by Timothy Zahn so I'm tempted..
Hahaha.... I used to read the Young Jedi Knights series by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta in middleschool but I don't remember much. Maybe that is for the best?
1) Any of the James Blish adaptations of the original episodes - they are what got me interested in reading sci-fi.
2) Gene Roddenberry's own novelization of "ST:TMP." It fills in everything that is missing in the first feature film.
3) Diane Carey's Trek novel "Best Destiny." It tells the story of a teenage Kirk and his stormy relationship with his dad. It is one of the better Trek novels I've read that didn't come from the series or feature films.
It isn't Trek, but I'd also recommend David Gerrold's 3 book series, "The War Against the Chtorr." He wrote the classic Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," among other Trek related stuff.
I'm reasonably familiar with the older books everyone keeps talking about. I'm a lot more interested in newer books like Allegiance, the Crucible Trilogy, Missing In Action, and the Starfleet Corps of Engineers books. Has anyone read any of those?
I recently finished Hannibal Rising. I wouldn't recommend it. Right now I'm reading Harbingers, the latest book in the Repairman Jack series. The author, F. Paul Wilson, is very good and I'd recommend any of his books. After this, I plan on Final Impact, the last book in the Axis of Time trilogy. This trilogy is very good and I highly recommend it as well.
So, I just finished Allegiance. I waited and waited for my library to get it, but finally I had to ask for it through interlibrary loan. It was a good decision not to spend anything on it.
It was just like you'd expect. The characters were more two-dimensional than Paper Mario. Don't waste the money buying it. Get it from your library if you must.
Now, Final Impact was good. Right now, I'm reading Coal Black Horse, which is turning out to be pretty good. I'm also about halfway through Off Armageddon Reef , which started pretty slow, but is turning out to be pretty good as well. Much better than Allegiance - but that bar is pretty low.
I think I've read 100+ Star Trek novels and I found they were either hit or miss. I would say the best are written by Peter David. His New Frontier series was especially good.
The only Star Wars novel that I really enjoyed was Shadows of the Empire.
I greatly enjoyed the New Jedi Order set of Star Wars books. They deal with the original characters but have a bit more order about them and a relatively decent set of bad guy's that are not the Empire. It also throws quite a bit of upheaval into the Star Wars Universe. In the New Jedi Order series you can't depend on your most precious characters being untouchable.
I also greatly enjoy the books by Michael A. Stackpole, Kevin J. Anderson, and Tim Zahn. Everything else can pretty much be ignored.
I have not read any of the Rihannsu novels. I'm currently reading 3 different books, only one of which is Sci-fi...it's some of Cory Doctorow's short stories (it's very good by the way).
Nice picture hungryjoe. Tales of the Dominion War is a good book. Heres what they said about it from the target website.
Quote "For two seasons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine® chronicled the intense struggle of the Federation, fighting alongside the Klingons and the Romulans against the overwhelming forces of the Dominion in some of the most exciting hours of television ever produced.
Now, for the first time, see how the Dominion War affected the entirety of the Star Trek universe. From the heart of the Federation to the bridge of the Starship Enterpriseâ„¢. From the front lines of Klingonâ„¢ space to the darkest recesses of the Romulan Empire. From the heroic members of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to the former crew of the U.S.S. Stargazer. From the edge of the New Frontier to the corridors of station Deep Space 9â„¢."
You should also read Mirror Universe Books 1 and 2. Here what they said on the Star Trek web site. Quote "In the late twenty-fourth century, decades after the fall of the once-mighty Terran Empire, the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance dominates the worlds that, in another reality, made up the United Federation of Planets. Humanity and its former subject races are now bound together by their shared oppression, slaves to their cruel and brutal conquerors. But a downtrodden few have found the courage and the strength of will to act. Inspired by visitors from another continuum to fight for their freedom, they have rekindled hope . . . and rediscovered an ancient truth: that every revolution begins with a vision.
Star Trek: VOYAGER - A rebel ship commanded by a former slave named Chakotay attempts to evade pursuit in the Badlands . . . only to encounter a strange ship that was catapulted seventy thousand light-years across the galaxy. On board the craft are two aliens, one of whom has the potential to completely alter the balance of power within the Alliance. But as both sides of the struggle race to get to the stranger first, treachery throws all schemes into a tailspin.
Star Trek: NEW FRONTIER - Following the Terran Empire's collapse, its longtime rival, the Romulan Star Empire, has absorbed many of the fringe civilizations spread across that part of the galaxy. One of the Romulans' slaves is M'k'nzy of Calhoun, a savage and unpredictable Xenexian who dreams of death . . . and who learns the value of freedom from the unlikeliest of teachers, a Romulan named Soleta.
Star Trek: DEEP SPACE NINE - One fallen dictator's struggle to regain her power and her position leads to the discovery of a bold rebel plan for a decisive military strike against the Alliance. But while Kira Nerys navigates the dangerous road of politics, sex, and military intrigue that she believes will lead her back to reclaiming the Intendancy, cracks form in the rebel leadership, leading to a showdown that will change the course of the Mirror Universe."
I just finished Death Star. Yes, I know - I was slumming. However, I checked it out from the library, so I didn't spend any money on it. Also, I couldn't resist that nifty cover.
It was better than most Star Wars books, but that's not saying much. It did have one ridiculous thing - a prison planet named "Despayre". Please. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. It wasn't too juvenile and a lot of the story took place during the events of A New Hope.
I think I mentioned on the show that I read all three books in the famous Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn. They weren't the worst books I have ever read, but they weren't amazing. They were just average pulp science fiction that happened to be in the Star Wars universe. If those are the "best" Star Wars novels, I shudder to think what the other ones are like. I also read Dark Empire, what some say is the best Star Wars comic book. I don't remember, but I either gave it away for free or sold it to Book Off.
Star Trek is even worse. Every Star Trek thing I have ever experienced has been so painfully bad, I am afraid to even look at the spines of the books on the shelf for an extended period of time. I don't have any particular fear of what might happen, I'm just playing it safe.
I'm interested in these because they mostly started coming out when I was in law school, so I never had time for them. Since this thread started, I've read Truce at Bakura, The Courtship of Princess Leia, Allegiance, Death Star, Return of the Sith, and Dark Lord.
They're mostly pretty bad. I can imagine how someone in high school might like them more, but when I was in high school, the only Star Wars novels that existed were Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy, and Splinter of the Mind's Eye.
More of those Star Trek books were out when I was in high school and college. I read a lot of them. Most were terrible.
However, it's sometimes hard to resist the newer ones that have covers like this. Damn. How could a book with a cover like that be bad?
However, it's sometimes hard to resist the newer ones that have covers likethis.Damn. How could a book with a cover like that be bad?
First of all, I don't see what's so great about that cover. Second of all, there are plenty of terrible books with great covers. Even Dianetics has a pretty cool cover with the Volcano and such.
This reminds me: I don't know anything about Warhammer. Nothing at all. However, I've seen a couple of HUGE collections of stories in Borders that look very appealing. Would it be worth it to pick up one of those?
If you want a fun fantasy action story then I recommend any Gotrek and Felix book. Try picking up a single volume to try it out before buying the huge collections.
I have like every star wars novel that is in audiobook on my computer, at some point I'll burn through these in the best way possible, while I'm working :-p We'll see how they are taken in the entirety. God, I'll be sick of star wars when I'm done.
The Knights of the Old Republic games and comic series are the only parts of the Star Wars that I've really followed or enjoyed since I was in middle school.
Comments
Tell me why, if you had force powers and force precog and you were all noble and stuff, you'd let a situation arise in which your friend could roast in lava and then, when your friend was actually roasting in the lava you'd leave him to suffer?
I'd highly recommend people check out all the books by Aaron Allston in the X-Wing series (Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, Solo Command) because they're incredibly funny. I've reread each 4 or 5 times and I still lol at them (: I haven't because of the reasons I've stated above, I do not want to read any more "classic" Star Wars books. Especially one that takes place after episode 4.. But it is written by Timothy Zahn so I'm tempted..
1) Any of the James Blish adaptations of the original episodes - they are what got me interested in reading sci-fi.
2) Gene Roddenberry's own novelization of "ST:TMP." It fills in everything that is missing in the first feature film.
3) Diane Carey's Trek novel "Best Destiny." It tells the story of a teenage Kirk and his stormy relationship with his dad. It is one of the better Trek novels I've read that didn't come from the series or feature films.
It isn't Trek, but I'd also recommend David Gerrold's 3 book series, "The War Against the Chtorr." He wrote the classic Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," among other Trek related stuff.
I'm reasonably familiar with the older books everyone keeps talking about. I'm a lot more interested in newer books like Allegiance, the Crucible Trilogy, Missing In Action, and the Starfleet Corps of Engineers books. Has anyone read any of those?
I recently finished Hannibal Rising. I wouldn't recommend it. Right now I'm reading Harbingers, the latest book in the
Repairman Jack series. The author, F. Paul Wilson, is very good and I'd recommend any of his books. After this, I plan on Final Impact, the last book in the Axis of Time trilogy. This trilogy is very good and I highly recommend it as well.
It was just like you'd expect. The characters were more two-dimensional than Paper Mario. Don't waste the money buying it. Get it from your library if you must.
Now, Final Impact was good. Right now, I'm reading Coal Black Horse, which is turning out to be pretty good. I'm also about halfway through Off Armageddon Reef , which started pretty slow, but is turning out to be pretty good as well. Much better than Allegiance - but that bar is pretty low.
The only Star Wars novel that I really enjoyed was Shadows of the Empire.
Peter David is a writer of awesome.
I also greatly enjoy the books by Michael A. Stackpole, Kevin J. Anderson, and Tim Zahn. Everything else can pretty much be ignored.
Hellllloooooooooo Nurse!
Quote "For two seasons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine® chronicled the intense struggle of the Federation, fighting alongside the Klingons and the Romulans against the overwhelming forces of the Dominion in some of the most exciting hours of television ever produced.
Now, for the first time, see how the Dominion War affected the entirety of the Star Trek universe. From the heart of the Federation to the bridge of the Starship Enterpriseâ„¢. From the front lines of Klingonâ„¢ space to the darkest recesses of the Romulan Empire. From the heroic members of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to the former crew of the U.S.S. Stargazer. From the edge of the New Frontier to the corridors of station Deep Space 9â„¢."
You should also read Mirror Universe Books 1 and 2. Here what they said on the Star Trek web site. Quote "In the late twenty-fourth century, decades after the fall of the once-mighty Terran Empire, the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance dominates the worlds that, in another reality, made up the United Federation of Planets. Humanity and its former subject races are now bound together by their shared oppression, slaves to their cruel and brutal conquerors. But a downtrodden few have found the courage and the strength of will to act. Inspired by visitors from another continuum to fight for their freedom, they have rekindled hope . . . and rediscovered an ancient truth: that every revolution begins with a vision.
Star Trek: VOYAGER - A rebel ship commanded by a former slave named Chakotay attempts to evade pursuit in the Badlands . . . only to encounter a strange ship that was catapulted seventy thousand light-years across the galaxy. On board the craft are two aliens, one of whom has the potential to completely alter the balance of power within the Alliance. But as both sides of the struggle race to get to the stranger first, treachery throws all schemes into a tailspin.
Star Trek: NEW FRONTIER - Following the Terran Empire's collapse, its longtime rival, the Romulan Star Empire, has absorbed many of the fringe civilizations spread across that part of the galaxy. One of the Romulans' slaves is M'k'nzy of Calhoun, a savage and unpredictable Xenexian who dreams of death . . . and who learns the value of freedom from the unlikeliest of teachers, a Romulan named Soleta.
Star Trek: DEEP SPACE NINE - One fallen dictator's struggle to regain her power and her position leads to the discovery of a bold rebel plan for a decisive military strike against the Alliance. But while Kira Nerys navigates the dangerous road of politics, sex, and military intrigue that she believes will lead her back to reclaiming the Intendancy, cracks form in the rebel leadership, leading to a showdown that will change the course of the Mirror Universe."
It was better than most Star Wars books, but that's not saying much. It did have one ridiculous thing - a prison planet named "Despayre". Please. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. It wasn't too juvenile and a lot of the story took place during the events of A New Hope.
Star Trek is even worse. Every Star Trek thing I have ever experienced has been so painfully bad, I am afraid to even look at the spines of the books on the shelf for an extended period of time. I don't have any particular fear of what might happen, I'm just playing it safe.
They're mostly pretty bad. I can imagine how someone in high school might like them more, but when I was in high school, the only Star Wars novels that existed were Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy, and Splinter of the Mind's Eye.
More of those Star Trek books were out when I was in high school and college. I read a lot of them. Most were terrible.
However, it's sometimes hard to resist the newer ones that have covers like this. Damn. How could a book with a cover like that be bad?
Incidentally, I'm very much looking forward to WotC's new KotOR Campaign Guide.