Battlefields fan fic

My new Star Wars fan fic, the first I have written in three years, is now available to download and read from my web site. I am really pleased that it is finished as I had set myself a deadline of the end of January to complete it. Of course, it is not perfect, there are still parts that I am not happy with but I think it is sufficient in itself to see the light of day and hopefully the critical eye of some Star Wars fans!

Nearly finished

My new Star Wars fan fic is nearly ready for publication. I polished off some bits this morning and settled on a new title for the piece. When it is finished I will be publishing it in the Delta Source section of my web site. Update to follow here when it is ready...

Widget!

This is nothing to do with Star Wars, I am sorry. I am having a play around with various web tools at the moment and I found a great one for widgets. You'll notice that I've added a blog widget so that you'll see updates from my main blog on this page as well. I'll see how it works and if anyone likes the idea before deciding to add something similar to my other blogs.

Fan Fiction

I started writing a new Star Wars story (fan fic) last week. I got the gist of it down on paper and now I've hit a brick wall. I am not sure how to develop it further beyond setting up the characters and opening with a situation that needs somehow to be resolved.

I got the idea for doing a story from Derek who suggested that I could do a piece about Carlist Rieeken as he said that he didn't know much about the character. As it happens some research on the Internet shows that Rieeken's back-story is heavily and well detailed despite the fact that he only appears on screen in The Empire Strikes for I guess about two minutes or thereabouts. So that idea was out unless I was going to make up my own idea of his back-story but as you might have guessed from my previous rants about continuity in the Star Wars universe that idea wasn't going to happen.

In the end I plumped for a character just barely mentioned in the Imperial Sourcebook published by West End Games, called High Colonel Theol Drost. A search on Wookieepedia turned up the character and a couple of reasonable pictures and a brief resume of the piece from the Imperial Sourcebook. The character is also mentioned, again briefly in the Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook and I am luck to have both these publications to refer too. Great, so there is not other material published on this character as far as I can ascertain so I have a relatively blank canvas to work from.

I decided that using such an obscure character on his own wasn't going to be particularly interesting to anyone but the most hardened of Star Wars fans, so I need some hook to connect him with the wider known 'universe.' Still thinking about The Empire Strikes Back, Veers struck me as a great character to be in my story, particularly as I found a reference to the fact that Veers was promoted to a General over many equally-competent High Colonels, so what if Drost had been one of those overlooked for promotion? Did he and Veers have a back-story? If so, what was it? And how could I fit it in with the events of the films (and books) without contradicting the continuity?

So that was my starting point and I wrote a reasonably brief synopsis of the plot of my story, which I will not disclose here as it will spoil the end result. I always write a synopsis when I am going to do a fan fic as I need a framework to work within. Not always do I follow it strictly and sometimes I will rewrite the synopsis as I am composing the story. Normally, I'll go through about three or four drafts of the story before I get to a version that I am content enough with to publish or submit to a fanzine etc.

I am talking about all this in the present tense but truthfully the last fan fic I did before my current effort was back in 2003 and I think that maybe in the intervening years I have become a bit rusty. Still I do have the main piece of this new fan fic written. I just need to decide on a suitable resolution, which doesn't spoil the continuity and ties-in with The Last Command, where Drost is next mentioned. Once that is finished, I just have the small task of choosing a title... from experience the title is the thing that comes last. It is easier I find to choose one when the piece is completed. All being well this fan fic should be finished by the end of the week and I will be posting a link to where it will be hosted. Watch this space...

Review of Star Wars Death Star

I read a review of this book in SFX at the weekend, which described it as pedestrian; I think they were being kind. I am not expecting a literary masterpiece from a Star Wars novel but Death Star is about as trashy as novels come. It has a ridiculous plot which never goes anywhere populated by a cast of stock characters, a dull and repetitive narrative and despite the claims on the dust-jacket isn’t so much the story of how the Empire’s most feared weapon came into being than a soap opera set in space.

Death Star is a very badly written book, which on occasion repeats itself and towards the latter half borrows directly from the Star Wars script. The editing is atrocious - one example being the misspelling of Admiral Motti’s first name. The plot, such as it is concerns a collection of characters who find themselves aboard the Death Star during its construction and shakedown voyage. There is the ace TIE pilot – Villian Dance (oh dear, what a dreadful name); Memah Roothes who runs the cantina that everyone on the station uses; Nova Stihl who is supposedly an Imperial marine but appears at times to be a stormtrooper (do the authors not realise that the Imperial Army and Navy are separate to stormtroopers?); Tenn Graneet, the chief gunnery officer who pulls the lever firing the Death Star’s super-weapon; an over-sized human male called Rodo who is the bouncer at Roothes cantina and Teela Kaarz who is a prisoner and supposedly architect on the Death Star. The librarian character is so boring he is not even worth a mention. So there we have a cast of bland and uninteresting characters who through some fanciful plot devices find themselves enmeshed in the events of Star Wars: A New Hope.

To remind us that this is a Star Wars novel, Darth Vader makes an occasional appearance, breathing down the neck of Grand Moff Tarkin. But Vader has little to do in this novel other than seethe with anger and think about his Master. Another ridiculous little twist is the arrival of Daala on the station, ostensibly there to hunt down a Rebel saboteur but really so she can have a last fling with her lover Grand Moff Tarkin. During her visit, a very strange thing happens. An implausible Rebel attack is launched against the part-completed battle station involving a Trade Federation ship appropriated by the Alliance and 500 X-Wings! Yes, this really is in the book. In the ensuing battle Daala is injured and suffers a brain injury which leads to short-term memory loss. For some reason Tarkin then decides to pack her back off to the Maw double-quick so she won’t remember anything of her visit to the Death Star! This ridiculous turn of events ensures that the continuity of the Jedi Academy Trilogy remains intact because of course Daala has supposedly been out of contact with Tarkin for years, trapped in the Maw. As for the plot about the saboteur this is never resolved.

Never mind because it seems that every character on the station has sedition on their mind and in another plot contrivance they decide – our band of two-dimensional soap-opera heroes that is – to take off in an Imperial ambulance ship and defect to the Rebellion. Of course, one has to stay behind to be the hero that allows them to escape.

In summary, this is a terrible book not worthy of carrying the title Star Wars on it and if it didn’t, it would be nothing more than bargain bucket trash in the local book-shop. I am surprised that it is so bad considering that the authors have both a respectable career and as the covers remind often, both are bestselling novelists. Make up your own mind if you wish but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

Origins of the Death Star

The ultimate weapon of fear has had a torturous history and the truth of its genesis seems to have been contradicted time and time again. Here, seems to be about the best explanation we are ever going to have (excerpt from the Death Star entry on Wookieepedia):

The Death Star was born in the mind of Raith Sienar, who had conceived of it as an Expeditionary Battle Planetoid. He shared his idea with his friend Captain Wilhuff Tarkin, who presented it to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine, as Sith Lord Darth Sidious, gave the designs to his apprentice, Separatist leader Count Dooku. Dooku then presented the designs to Geonosian Industries for further technical modifications.

During the Battle of Geonosis, Archduke Poggle the Lesser, leader of the Geonosians, returned the top-secret designs to Count Dooku to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Jedi. Dooku took the designs back to Coruscant and gave them to Darth Sidious, his dark master.

To me it personally doesn't make a lot of sense and it is a contrivance, trying to draw together all the different elements supposedly involved in the genesis and evolution of the Death Star. And what of Bevel Lemelisk, who I once understood was the creator of the Death Star? Well, he was involved with the designs of the laser super-weapon at the Maw and the development of the Death Star Prototype. In one book (Darksaber, I think) Lemelisk is repeatedly tortured by the Emperor for the thermal exhaust port flaw in the original battle station that allowed the Rebels to blow it up. It now seems that Lemelisk was unfairly blamed for a fault that was not of his making at all!

What also doesn't make sense is all this passing around of what were supposed to be top secret plans for the ultimate weapon. And why would Tarkin give the plans to Palpatine? Surely he would wish to maintain control of the project especially as the Death Star was a possible insurance for Tarkin or maybe a means of one day wresting power from Palpatine.

I am currently reading the novel Star Wars: Death Star and this had such a confusing and vague explanation for the battle station's origins that I am not sure that I quite remember what it said. Largely I think it was along the lines of the comments quoted above from Wookieepedia.

But I have another problem with this book, apart from the fact that it is badly written and has on occasion appalling sentence structure; the introduction of Admiral Daala. My recollection, and a re-reading of relevant passages from Jedi Search largely confirms this, is that Daala was put in charge of the Maw Installation and was out of communications contact with the Empire for over a decade. She was forbidden from making contact with the galaxy outside the Maw and indeed Kevin J Anderson in his book suggests that holonet transmissions were impossible because of the effects of the black hole cluster surrounding the installation. How can it be explained that in the novel by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry, Daala is summoned to the Death Star by Tarkin? I have not yet read the outcome of his invitation but if Daala did leave the Maw and visit Death Star I, this would seem at odds with Jedi Search. Furthermore if communications to and from the Maw are firstly prohibited and secondly supposedly impossible, how was the conversation between Tarkin and Daala possible?

Although these may seem trivial concerns, I am annoyed by the fact that where a story has been established it is subsequently contradicted or rewritten in a later novel. Similarly, the events Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith add extra complexity to the origins of the Death Star and I wonder whether the only thing we can really consider as canon is the films themselves. In other words, all the books, source materials and novels (which have been licensed by Lucasfilm) are just an interpretation, not necessarily part of the official canon.

Making it up

Yesterday I bought Star Wars Insider, for the first time in a while. I used to be a regular and avid reader of the original Star Wars Magazine, which in its formative years was far superior to this reprint of the American mag. Come to think of it, even Insider used to be better than it is now! One section, which I usually read is the Q&A's mainly to see how the answers are going to try and untangle another intractable 'cock-up' in the continuity. I was not disappointed with one of the answers in the current issue.

A question was raised about whether Luke had ever been to Dagobah before, referring to his comment in The Empire Strikes Back that it seemed 'like something out of a dream.' The answer is no apparently but then it went on to say, that although the scene was deleted from Revenge of the Sith, Yoda's arrival on Dagobah was also the first time he had visited the planet. This then throws up a contradiction, which I had forgotten about with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, which said that Yoda had fought a Bpfasshi dark Jedi on Dagobah. The 'answer' then rather dismissively says that this part of Heir to the Empire is therefore 'no longer considered part of continuity.'

Hmph! So, when we were told at the time of the release of the Timothy Zahn-penned trilogy that they were the 'authorised' continuation from Return of the Jedi, that wasn't quite true then? Or at least it was the authorised continuation until Lucas had a better idea. But why did Yoda choose Dagobah if he had never been therefore before? Was it purely chance that he happened upon the planet or was it always his back-up plan when he saw how things were going back on Coruscant?

What the contradiction with Heir to the Empire illustrates though is that despite the protestations to the contrary, there was and apparently still isn't a grand story for the whole saga. There isn't a unifying story arc from start to finish, where events follow logically.

I've said this before and I think it is worth repeating again, Star Wars was in my view never meant to be part of a larger saga. The original film, if you consider it without all the continuations and back story that have been provided since, is a perfectly self-contained film. It has a defined start, a middle and an end. There is no need for anything further or additional to what is contained within its two hours to understand, appreciate and enjoy the story and the characters. The fact that it was so successful of course led to the five sequels/prequels and the story continuations provided since.

Lucas has often mentioned this 'back story' he had. I see nothing remarkable in that. Presumably it would be necessary to sketch some sort of back story to the characters and events to be able to understand them in the context of where Star Wars begins. But clearly this was far from a detailed account with a clear plot line marked out. There is much evidence that this cannot have been the case if the number of changes made in the prequels is to be considered.

There are many examples of plot and story inconsistencies between the prequels and the original trilogy of films, not least the introduction of midi-chlorians in Episode's 1 & 2, which are never again mentioned and the confusion as to who actually trained Obi-wan. The original trilogy suggests it was Yoda, the prequels leave us with no doubt that it was Qui-Gon who was instrumental in Obi-wan's tutelage.

My question then is this. If Lucas had this back story mapped out from the start, why do these elements contradict with the original trilogy? If it was clearly written down who the characters were, their origins and destiny and the story followed a defined arc, why has it constantly been re-written over the last thirty years?

The issue about what is 'continuity' and what isn't, is not helped if established parts of the canon can be dropped or changed at a whim. Can any of Heir to the Empire and its sequels now be considered an official continuation? Or are we only to turn a blind eye to those parts, which don't fit conveniently with a rewritten story?