Jeff Diamond’s Comments (group member since Jan 27, 2010)

Jeff Diamond’s comments from the The Expanded Universe group.

Sorry for the long hiatus, everybody! On the upside, I'll be back in the States in a few weeks! What do all y'all think we should read for July? Keep going with the next Thrawn book? Switch to something else? Let's post up a few suggestions in this forum, and then I can get a poll up for a few days.

Mara is a redhead, so that's probably means she's pretty much always angry. So it makes sense that everything has an edge of anger to it. This coming from a ginger.

Pretty sure it was referenced in the NJO, as well, but not by name.

Or perhaps it could be that Pelleon is in the shadow of Grand Admiral Thrawn? That could be a humbling experience.

Jeff wrote: "And from the "I'm going to make Jeff feel really old" department..."

For a second, I thought you were talking about me...

Glad to see everybody going on this thread. Sorry it took so long for me to get it set up in its new home--the iPhone app doesn't let me do any moderatory stuff. :(

Alli wrote: "Free flow discussion, I assume. :)"

This would probably make the most sense given our current format--we're basically a discussion forum, so yeah...it makes the most sense to me. Besides, if it wasn't going to be a free-flow discussion, you'd probably need a moderator that can get on and...moderate.

Tim wrote: "Is there any kind of schedule for this read-through?"

Go at your own pace, man! The point is to enjoy the book!

And how freaking awesome is Thrawn as a character? Just...whoa.

I'm out of it for a little while...

I like the idea of having a monthly group book, as well. I tried doing this before, but it never really got off the ground. But maybe this time!

I'm going to nominate a few, and maybe post up a few options in a poll based on suggestions already submitted later today. (I live in Japan, so it'll be the middle of the night for most everyone here when the voting starts.)

Why would they have to die? The original trilogy of films never once mentioned characters like Padme, Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Sidious or any of those other characters. Only a couple of books ever mention Kyle Katarn. The list of characters goes on. Just because they play a major role in that story doesn't mean they play a major role in intergalactic events and will be the focal point for a long time. Just enjoy thinking about what he might do after the book ends. He might go on to lead a quiet life and build a stamp collection.

Hello and welcome!

Well, if you're looking for chronological order, you certainly did the right thing in going for Into the Void. We've had some discussions in this group about your specific questions, so I think I'd recommend checking through those threads to see if you can find a good answer for you. But keep posting, and asking questions.

I think Karpyshin is a great author, but I wonder if his storytelling is at all hampered by TOR's being a tie-in with the game. He's done writing for games like KOTOR, which I felt we're fantastic, but the TOR series...well, lets just say that I feel that it has some shortcomings. I don't know who to look to for those. Maybe it's just that its a whole new era, relatively speaking.

That's how I get them. Most of the newer books are unabridged, but the older ones like the X-Wing books and NJO(?) are only available as abridgements.

Some are quite good--I listened to Darth Plagueis, Scoundrels and Fatal Alliance, and all included sounds and music. I've got Deceived up next on the queue.

That's one of the reasons I've not gotten any of the older EU books from Audible. They're all abridged. Good to know my position is founded.

This is for both of you: you never really need to play a game to appreciate the books, particularly those from The Old Republic series. They were written in conjunction with the game, but they're separate enough that it won't make a big difference.

Haven't read Revan yet, but you bring up some good points.

As for Coruscant being the galactic center of power, I think it goes back quite a bit further than those. When you look at the names of the sections of the galactic map--the Core, Colonies or the Expansion Regions--give us some explanation that its been the Center while the Republic was still expanding. Which would be long before these books would have come out.

As for the Sith Empire in TOR resembling the Galactic Empire in OT, I think we have to look at it from within the universe. When we do that, it'd be the other way around. Palpatine would want to connect with the glory days of the Sith Empire, along with all the bells, whistles and Red Guards.

Just my two cents.

I listened to it on audio, so maybe there's a small difference there. But still, I see your point.

@Jonny: You're probably the only person I've ever heard say that you didn't like Darth Plagueis. But, different stokes for different folks...

The last few comments have prompted me to create a new thread called "Psychology in the EU." It's in the ... General EU Stuff section. We can keep it up there.

So, I made a somewhat inflammatory comment about rebel scum in the "What book are you reading at the moment?" thread, and wanted to continue the topic here. I guess it goes beyond psychology, but...yeah.

The last comment I posted was about the Rebs whitewashing history and demonizing stormtroopers during the Galactic Civil War. I guess this is interesting to me because I'm a stormtrooper in the 501st, and I like to get into my character...

Which history could be whitewashed by the Rebs if they didn't want their own misdeeds to be seen in the light of day.

Stormtroopers always fight for justice and order. All of you are just brainwashed by these rebel scum terrorists. Many of the truths we hold most dear depend greatly on our own point of view...