And We (Finally) Have a Winner: Barbara Hambly! Girl power!

Child of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly

Esme's Take
Yes, folks, it's true! After a number of disappointing reads (though, admittedly, the disappointments gives us loads to discuss), we've finally found a winner. And, just to make it extra special, the author's a woman. Obviously, there are loads of incredible sci-fi/fantasy writers who are women: Andre Norton, Ursula LeGuin, and ... okay, so maybe there aren't as many as I thought. But I think, even among her incredible, though not perhaps numerous, contemporaries, BHambly stands out.

Also, am I alone in thinking Han looks completely insane and sketchy in this otherwise beautiful cover art?

Ginger Spice - couldn't resist, she's
the queen of Girl Power ^_^

Where to start? Well, to begin with, I actually quite like Callista. I know, it was a shock to me, too! Not only did I like her, but I discovered I have a lot of respect for BHambly's handling of female characters in general, which is no easy thing in sci-fi. From Leia to Cray to Roganda, BHambly is clearly a pro at characterization - these are well-rounded, powerful women! Roganda Ismaren has taken a battered and humiliating background and twisted it into advantage and power. Sure, she's evil, but unlike the negligible Admiral Daala, Roganda is believable, even sympathetic. I'm not keen on her harsh use of her son in her schemes, but then, he's a man, too, and Roganda has clearly been used and abused too much to care who she uses and how. Actually, I think she makes a nice foil for Mara - both were Emperor's Hands and both turned their ill-usage to their advantage. They did so in very different ways, but still. Looking at Cray and Callista, there's a very similar feeling I have about their character development. Everything about Callista's character paints her as a successful and powerful Jedi, someone who sacrifices who she is and who she loves in order to do her duty. In that way, she's a lot like Luke, although unlike Luke, she's able to continue to sacrifice herself in favor of saving the world.

Which brings me to the very interesting situation we're left with at the end of the book. Up until Cray chooses to sacrifice her body to Callista, Callista has been by-the-book Jedi. It was so interesting to me that she chose to inhabit Cray's body to be with Luke and interesting the sacrifice she paid for that choice. It's also pretty clear that she's not sure how she feels about the decision not to simply join the Force and have the peace of death after a short lifetime's unwavering loyalty to her service. I like that her decision, though at first blush uncharacteristic, does actually make some sense to me. The choice is a hard one and, given that it's clear she wasn't expecting it until the last minute when Cray offered, it was a big risk to take. In short, I find her to be an incredibly easy character to understand and sympathize with.

Just because ... teehee

It's interesting, actually, because my own bias against her was always based dually on my love of the idea
that Mara was destined to be the love of Luke's life and the fandom's hatred of her (seriously? So much fan fiction lays the hate on her). I was never brave enough to actually read about her and give her a chance. I'm so glad I have now read about her and given her - indeed, given BHambly - a chance. BHambly was worth it, Callista was worth it, and I can't wait to continue reading about the little corner of the Star Wars EU BHambly created. I know how it ends, I know what happens, but I feel like I'm reading all this with open eyes and that I can finally, at least, truly enjoy and appreciate the Callista trilogy.

Ro's input: I spent the better part of a Saturday about a week and a half ago dedicated completely to this book. I think I hardly stopped to make tea or toast (my favorite reading munchies, I'm very hobbity that way...). This book had all the compelling agents in it that most phenomenal books have: plot, characters, and good writing. The fact that it starred some of my favorite Star Wars characters just made it that much sweeter.

I did not have the same anxieties as Es going into this book. I went into it the way I've gone into almost every one of our books, with as open a mind as I could (Michael Stackpole notwithstanding). As a child I never formed any ideas either way about characters, Callista vs. Mara, etc. I just cared that the EU books removed me from my own frustrating and sometimes painful reality of terrifying surgery after scary test after frustrating doctor's appointment. I was attached to the Star Wars universe in an entirely different way than Es, but it meant a lot to both of us regardless.

The entire time I read Children of the Jedi, I kept getting glimpses of nostalgia. I know I read this book as a kid, but I remembered only small snapshots of it. It was an incredible feeling, being able to read a book for the second time, but really having it seem like the first. I wish I could do this with other books like Harry Potter and the Divergent trilogy and the Abhorsen trilogy. But I can't leave those books alone for more than a few years, let alone a decade - which is apparently at least how long the forgetting process takes. I can't wait to continue with BHambly, but I suppose we must go through a Kevin J. Anderson book to get there first. So...

...bring on Darksaber!

Back on track with BHambly!

Callista Ming nee. Malasa

As I, Esme, mentioned previously, I had serious reservations about "Children of the Jedi" when I was a kid - reservations which, I hoped, to put aside during my rereading. Ro and I are about halfway through the book (okay, I admit, I'm actually about three-quarters of the way now) and I don't think either of us could have anticipated our reactions.

Which is that it is AWESOME!

One of the great things about this novel is how it truly unfolds. There's real mystery and real sense of each character traveling all over the place and collecting evidence of what's unfolding around them. I like that Han, Leia, and Luke all seem to have their own arch in "Children," their own journey. They begin in one place and end up running all over the place, pushing themselves to their physical and emotional limits in true odyssey fashion.

I also appreciate that, in allowing each of our favorite trio to undertake their own journey, BHambly also fully immerses herself in each of their points of view in a very convincing way. I get a true sense of Leia as a struggling mother, a trainee Jedi frustrated by the limits of her power, a Chief of State burdened by the duty she feel compelled to undertake. Han's character once again feels like he's towing a fine line between the respectable and the roguish as he undergoes his journey and looks into his past as he encounters his old friend, Drub McKumb, and talks to Mara Jade, who moves (as a smuggler) in similar circles. And I've never been so physically exhausted reading about Jedi! Wowza - just when Luke can't damage himself any further, his already-broken leg is set on fire! I exaggerate but the extent to which he undergoes physical and emotional suffering in this book is pretty astounding - and very compelling.

The Eye of Palpatine

There's a whole lot to say on the subject of Callista as well and how differently I feel about her now than I did when I was a kid. I'll save that for the final "Children" post.

I'm feeling back on track with this project in a way I haven't felt since we first ventured in TZahn's trilogy. Not only am I reading a raging, insatiable pace, but I'm also excited about our project again. Who knew the book I was dreading reading would be the one I'd get most involved in. This has been, so far, my favorite outside of TZahn's series. So weird.

Ro here. I never had any reservations about "Children," whether as a child or an adult. I love Mara Jade, sure, but I never worshiped her the way Es did and does. So I was sort of ambivalent about Callista. I was happy when Luke and Mara got married, but as many of us know, one has to have a first love and it's rare when that first love becomes the ONLY love.

Anyway, I am also enjoying the HECK out of "Children!" I was a bit confused and put off by not knowing who Nicos and Cray were at first, but after a chapter or two, I was able to look past my confusion and fall into the story. Es is right. This book is SO GOOD. I absolutely love BHambly's world building ability. I'm actually understanding and seeing landscapes and aliens. Not just rough ideas of them either, but full blown details. It doesn't feel heavy with details, but perfectly balanced with narrative and character building. I'm still around the halfway mark, so that's kind of what I've got to add right now. I'm sure I'll have more once I've finished. I can't wait to get back to my book and it's nearly a physical effort to pull myself out of it!!

Children of the Jedi (or, We're Awake, We're Awake!)

Sorry, Master, we're sorry!

This long hiatus is entirely on Esme (who is writing now). Her cross-country move, job, dance, etc. all piled up into a big bundle of excuses that interfered with our awesome project. RoRo has been the queen of patience and good humor about this and now, at long last, we're back!

Reading "Children of the Jedi" is going to be an interesting and likely humorous experience for me, Esme, for several reasons. When I first discovered Star Wars, and then Star Wars novels and the EU, I fell completely in love with Mara Jade (which I may have mentioned before ^_^). I loved her power, her struggle, her open-book character. And I knew, the moment I'd finished "The Last Command," that she was going to be with Luke Skywalker. I'm convinced that there's no one with a more romantic spirit than a ten-year-old girl and I was positive Mara and Luke were destined.

Children of the Jedi

Then I met Callista. If there's no truer romantic than a ten-year-old girl, there's certainly none more fatalistic. Before even reading "Children of the Jedi," I was heartbroken. I couldn't figure out whose stupid idea it was that Mara be Luke's "friend" and Callista be his one true love. Powerless to stop it, I seethed and moped and refused to read any of the novels except to check for scenes featuring Mara. I didn't know it at the time, but part of my general dissatisfaction with those other novels was that Mara wasn't being written all that well. TZahn created the perfect character; I don't mean Mara herself was perfect by any means. I mean that Mara's perfect in terms of her dimension: she perfectly balanced, with flaws and strengths constantly tipping and causing growth. She goes from abused child assassin to independent woman in TZahn's first trilogy but does so in such a natural way. On top of that, she refuses to follow conventional expectation and become a Jedi. Most authors who aren't TZahn have been hopeless at capturing this in any way. The only one I can remember coming even close is Roger McBride Allen of Corellian Trilogy fame and I'll have to decide upon reread whether or not I still think so.

Enough about my beloved Mara. The point in even bringing her up is that I'm a bit older now and I think it's about time I apologized to poor Callista and gave her a chance to play her part in a galaxy far, far away. The next three books are her shining debut and story arc.

So, Callista, I'm sorry I was a jerk to you. I no longer find you threatening (and not just because I know you're only temporary in Luke's life) and I wish you all the best. Thanks for helping to people the Star Wars universe.

Off we go!

I, Jedi

Are we ready for more MAStackpole?

4/21/13:
Ro here, and we're moving right along from the fun disaster that is the Jedi Academy trilogy to I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole. This is not one that I read as a child. Mostly because it didn't actually feature any of the main characters from the movies. I did pick this book up fairly early on, right after it came out in paperback I think. But I bought it without reading the description. It had a picture of Luke and Artoo on the cover for goshdarnsakes!! After I figured out it wasn't actually about either of them (or any of the other main characters I knew and loved) I put it back among my other, very well loved Star Wars novels and didn't give it another thought. After the frustration with the Rogue Squadron series, I can't say I'm stupendously excited to read more of Michael A. Stackpole. But I'm giving it a go. Because it's Star Wars. And Es and I promised to do this together. And maybe it'll be good. Even without the main characters I know and love...

Esme's Two Cents: I remember my friend Kate loving Stackpole as a kid. She was a huge fan of Mirax Horn (nee Terrik) for a lot of the same reasons I'm a huge fan of Mara Jade: sassy, independent business woman. My hope with I, Jedi was that I would be won over by the Mirax/Corran romance. I don't remember making it that far into this one as a kid but I do remember that Mara's in it, and that's always a huge selling point with me.

The kind of iJedi I much prefer...

Ro's Predictions for I, Jedi

1.) Someone major dies, but the main character moves on quickly.
2.) There's lots of action.
3.) Lots of women squabble over Corran Horn.
4.) That's all I got, so let's do this thing!

Esme's Predictions for I, Jedi

1) Mara will turn up and be awesome! Possibly alongside Mirax as a kind of spy/businesswomen badass duet.
2) The writing will be hard to read but the interesting plotline will make it bearable.
3) A lot of women squabble over The Horn (total copycat move - sorry, Ro ^_^).
4) The mystery will not, as such, baffle me til the very end. I kind of expect to have it solved by then

UPDATE 4/28/13: Well, this book was short lived for both Es and I. We've decided to put it down and replace it with the Dark Empire trilogy instead. This will be an interesting experience I think, the Dark Empire books being the first Star Wars graphic novels we've read for our blog project. In it, a clone of the Emperor threatens the galaxy with terrible weapons called World Devastators, and Luke finally gives into hate and anger and goes to the Dark Side.

Luke Skywalker giving in to the Dark Side.

We'll be putting up a post dedicated specifically to Dark Empire very soon, so let's get back to why I, Jedi just didn't work out. As I wrote above a week ago, I already had reservations about Stackpole's ability to write anything resembling a good book after our experience with the Rogue Squadron series. Of which, granted, we did only read the first book. But one was enough, and clearly that goes for all Stackpole books. I was only able to get through 65 pages of I, Jedi. I'm not sure how far Es got, but I'm pretty sure it was farther than that, for which I applaud her. This was not an easy book to stay with, even for just 65 pages. After that amount of time, all I knew was that Corran Horn's wife was missing, she couldn't be located using the Force (Luke Skywalker makes a cameo to inform us of this, and of Corran's impressive, latent Jedi power), and Corran is worried. After 65 pages. Oh, and that Corran has startling green eyes. This part really irked me. So far, I, Jedi is the only Star Wars book we've read that's in the first person. A bit unusual, but it could be done if the book was written really well. However, this was not. And that point was proven in the first 20 pages when Corran describes his own "startling green eyes" in the narrative twice. As silly and ridiculous as it sounds getting angry over something as insignificant as eye color, this really bothered me. A good writer would figure out how to show or describe eye color in the first person some other way. And other than his "startling green eyes," we don't actually know what the rest of Corran looks like, except at one point he's encouraged to grow a beard and change his hair color. From what to what, I don't know.

The above rant over a character's description is only one part of the frustration of Stackpole's writing, but I think it's pretty descriptive of this writer's inability to focus on the bigger picture of what's going on outside of Corran Horn and his green eyes. Stackpole seems so focused on Corran, he can't give us any more plot than the very basic "Corran decides he wants to have kids (a major stresser between Corran and Mirax before the book starts), finds out his wife is missing, and agonizes about it" plot line. In 65 pages (out of a more than 500 page book), I was sort of hoping for more. But as usual, Stackpole did not deliver, and Es and I have decided to move on to much more interesting EU stories. Sorry Mr. Stackpole, we didn't mean to slam you so hard. But really, after two very frustrating tries, I think I'm personally done with you.

Esme's Two Cents: My issues with Stackpole kind of dovetail with my issues with KJA. I need a narration that isn't overshadowed by the author's voice. I need characters who talk like actual people, not like flowery, over-dramatic caricatures.

In short, I need Zahn!

In other news, cannot wait for this book!!!!

No, but seriously, after having the same experience with two authors in a row, I'm wondering how many more of these books we'll have to wade through before we find the quality of writing that will bring our beloved characters back to life. Will Barbara Hambly, Vonda McIntire, or Kristine Katherine Rusch (huh, lots of WOMEN coming up all of a sudden) be the answer to our desperate pleas? We did both enjoy
Kathy Tyers ...

Well, here's hopin'! Now on to Dark Empire!

Oh ... come on, really?

I'm pretty sure Ro and I are on the same page at this point when it comes to the Jedi Academy Trilogy so

"I've Sithed my pants. My diaper's gone over to the
Dark Side. I've got pages of these, I could go on..."

I'm gonna go ahead and explore the "oh, dear" that is Kevin J. Anderson's series.

As Ro put it when she texted me last week, this series is compulsively readable. It's terrible but you just have to know how it ends. For me, it's like really bad chocolate. I know it's bad, I know I'll get a tummy ache, but I can't stop eating it!

To begin with, there's the totally ambiguous narrator. Throughout the series, Anderson's own voice is all over the narration, divulging information that the character whose POV it's supposed to be has no way of knowing. The fluidity of POV makes the author's voice that much more jarring. The easiest place to see this bleed is any time we're supposedly getting Jacen and Jaina's POV. The kids are two - they're not going to know that an evil Sith spirit has hurt their uncle; they're not going to know that they're in the city's lower levels; and they'r certainly not going to know that a ragged bunch of lower-city dwellers are actually Old Republic political exiles. But during the narration, all these facts are shared with the reader. I find this completely shakes me out of the story because I'm so busy thinking, "There's a mysterious god-like voice telling me things. It doesn't fit into the story anywhere. Why can't I get some POV from an actual character?" I never got to be deeply involved with a character because there was so much authorial voice interfering with my immersion in the story.

Ha!

Another problem I had with the series was that I never really bought into the scenarios so they lacked impact. I mean, Admiral Daala goes nuts and destroys things. I get that she's emotionally scarred but she was also clever enough to get the attention of Grand Moff Tarkin. Someone that clever should have a much better idea of the importance of strategy. And she's been sitting around the Maw tirelessly maintaining her forces for eleven years - someone that patient should, logically, be more cautious with her forces. She's just ... kind of pointless.

Also ... Ro, did you notice how Admiral Daala bears a striking resemblance to Mara Jade? Red hair, green eyes, fiery traumatized-by-the-Empire spirit ... could we have been a bit more creative with physical features? This time around, I also noticed that Tionne, with her "silver-white hair," "willowy form," and memory for historical events seems an awful like like, oh, I don't know, Winter? Now I realize that TZahn is a tough act to follow but it's not that hard to come up with dramatic physical features that don't mimic his characters. Couldn't Daala have had - oh, to pick some features at random - raven-black hair and violet eyes? Tionne could have been non-human.

I want to say something - anything! - positive about this series. To be honest, though, I ended up skim-reading a lot of it. Given that I was still able to follow the plot without a problem, I clearly didn't miss much in doing so.

Very ready to move on. Give me hope, "I, Jedi" ....

Jedi Academy Trilogy: Do I still love KJA??

In Japanese! Admiral Daala is a cheerleader?

I belonged to the Kevin J. Anderson fan club when I was a kid. No, I mean literally. There was a fan club. I got special postcards sent to "Tessa Elizabeth Williams" (these were the days before I loved my first name as-is and had no proper middle name so I made up my own).

To be honest, I was a fan because of the Young Jedi Knights. Having reread them as an adult, I can say with certainty that they feel very, very different. On the one hand, I'm like, "Yikes!" On the other, I gave them to a very challenging student of mine last year who gobbled them up (up to the point where there was romance - then he got upset and demanded to know why I would give him a kissing book).

From "Darth Vader and Son" - everyone should own this book!

My hope is that I won't have the same adult reaction the the Jedi Academy Trilogy that I did last year to Young Jedi Knights. I hope that Luke doesn't seem like a moralizing and pedantic moron (my favorite Luke is the Farmboy, not the Jedi Master). I hope that I love Kyp Durron as much as I did then (mmm, there's trouble!). I hope that Mara's spontaneous arrivals and departures are as exciting to me now as they were when I was younger ("Look, look, it's Mara! Look, there she is!").

Fingers crossed! Let's get this party started, Yavin IV!

Tatooine's Ghost: or What Episode 1 Should Have Been

Who doesn't want a bantha plushie?!

 Having finished "Tatooine's Ghost" about two weeks ago, I've had time to process it. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It was fun, fast paced, quirky, and romantic, all the things that make up a good Star Wars novel for me. But the part I loved most was that we see more of Anakin Skywalker's mother, Shmi. Through an audio diary, we hear her story after Anakin leaves, that of a mother torn between relief that her son is no longer a slave and worry that he's all right in the big, wide universe. I LOVE details like this! I wanted these journal entries to be Episode 1, instead of the horrific disaster that Lucas put forth. These parts of the story were my favorite, and I drank them up as slowly as I could to savor them.

Shmi Skywalker, definitely a devoted mother.

I also loved how Troy Denning helps Leia come to terms, at least a little, with the fact that Darth Vader, or actually Anakin Skywalker, was her father. And was once an innocent child who loved his mother, his friends, and working with machines. Not to mention the fastest human podracer ever! (I love Han's reaction to this information - total disbelief. Clearly keeping with Han's if-I-didn't-see-it-it-must-not-have-existed/happened personality.) It's hard to think of evil people as innocent children once. To learn that they had parents who loved them and cared for them (not always, sometimes it's the lack of parents that leads the child down the path to evil...). But in this case I really enjoyed reading about Leia's confused feelings as she discovers more about her grandmother and her father. Who wouldn't be confused, trying to tally Darth Vader with the beloved Anakin Skywalker? More than anything, this is what I wanted out of Episode 1. Which of course we fans didn't get. But Denning does an incredible job of writing his own version.


Kitster - so cute! He figures prominantly in "Tatooine's Ghost."

Es's Two-Cents
This novel didn't really get a fair read from me, I'll be honest and fair to it. About halfway through reading it, I had some serious stuff happen and it completely put me off reading of any sort for several weeks. By the time I got back to the book, I'd forgotten parts of it so I'm sure I don't have as clear an idea as I should about what happened (for example, did Leia and Han discover Leia was pregnant during the novels? The twins' conception during the Tatooine trip is implied - and hey, Han almost died, no judgment!- but I missed it completely if there was a big discover buried in there). Ro here: there was no implication. But lots of romance... Ooooo lala!

Having said that, I did enjoy it and look forward to more of Denning's good writing in the future. I liked that he put a bit of an adult spin on the characters that Zahn sometimes shies from (yes, Han and Leia are married, sexy business is happening) but I like how he doesn't turn their relationship into a soap opera-esque dramas-ville scenario either. It's incidental and helps the plot progress so it works.

I agree with you, Ro, the plot was quirky, fun, and fast-paced. My only real complaint was that this novel also didn't get as fair a reading from me because, having just finished "Scoundrels," which really is a heist novel, I couldn't help but compare the two.

Still, the mystery was well-derived and I liked that added weight that Shadowcast's network of spies added to the importance of the painting. In that vein, Denning also did a masterful job of implying the existence of Grand Admiral Thrawn without ever saying his name or, I believe, his rank. That was really clever.

Overall, good job, Mr. Denning!