OH KAREN TRAVISS, YES!
Aug. 9th, 2009 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccatoriaOH, UNIVERSE. You give me such lovely birthday presents
Most of you probably don't remember my various rants about Karen Traviss, but trust me, she's nuts.
And, in a wonderfully ironic turn of events, has decided to stop writing Star Wars novels after her final two (I presume already written) novels are released later this/next year.
Her stated reasons for the decision are to do with the Clone Wars Animated Series contradicting some fairly fundamental pieces of canon she introduced in her Mandalorian storylines (we don't know what yet because it's to do with the upcoming second season, but she says it's big enough she can't just retcon around it). And she doesn't feel that she can tell her story without rebooting it entirely so she's out.
It's wonderfully ironic because one of the major reasons that a lot of EU fans dislike her (aside from her vile comments about the fanbase and blatant Mary Sueism) is the fact that she semi-frequently wanders all over canon rewriting it to "improve" it, which invariably means, to make the Mandalorians look more badass. And by rewriting, okay, maybe it's more a retcon than just flat out changing stuff, but when your retcons entirely change the motivations, characterisations, goals, ideologies and outcomes of storylines, to the point that the only thing that remains the same is...well, they were there and maybe...they said some words or something...that's pretty much rewriting canon.
I cannot say I'm sorry to see her go. More because I'm still so shocked by her attitude to the fans (flatout comparing us to terrorists, the mentally ill and nazis among other things) and was shocked LFL never, like, DID anything about that, than my dislike of her work. But...I really didn't like her work and felt a lot of her ugly public behaviour was reflected in the underpinnings of her stories, so yeah. I'm glad that'll be gone too.
And I certainly think it's fantastically ironic that it's the fact someone suddenly changed HER canon that caused her to do it.
Good luck video-game fandom! She'll be grenading your fetuses and comparing you to Nazis in no time! :D
Most of you probably don't remember my various rants about Karen Traviss, but trust me, she's nuts.
And, in a wonderfully ironic turn of events, has decided to stop writing Star Wars novels after her final two (I presume already written) novels are released later this/next year.
Her stated reasons for the decision are to do with the Clone Wars Animated Series contradicting some fairly fundamental pieces of canon she introduced in her Mandalorian storylines (we don't know what yet because it's to do with the upcoming second season, but she says it's big enough she can't just retcon around it). And she doesn't feel that she can tell her story without rebooting it entirely so she's out.
It's wonderfully ironic because one of the major reasons that a lot of EU fans dislike her (aside from her vile comments about the fanbase and blatant Mary Sueism) is the fact that she semi-frequently wanders all over canon rewriting it to "improve" it, which invariably means, to make the Mandalorians look more badass. And by rewriting, okay, maybe it's more a retcon than just flat out changing stuff, but when your retcons entirely change the motivations, characterisations, goals, ideologies and outcomes of storylines, to the point that the only thing that remains the same is...well, they were there and maybe...they said some words or something...that's pretty much rewriting canon.
I cannot say I'm sorry to see her go. More because I'm still so shocked by her attitude to the fans (flatout comparing us to terrorists, the mentally ill and nazis among other things) and was shocked LFL never, like, DID anything about that, than my dislike of her work. But...I really didn't like her work and felt a lot of her ugly public behaviour was reflected in the underpinnings of her stories, so yeah. I'm glad that'll be gone too.
And I certainly think it's fantastically ironic that it's the fact someone suddenly changed HER canon that caused her to do it.
Good luck video-game fandom! She'll be grenading your fetuses and comparing you to Nazis in no time! :D
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Happy Birthday to You
Date: 2009-08-10 01:01 am (UTC)Re: Happy Birthday to You
Date: 2009-08-10 04:24 pm (UTC)Out of curiosity, do you remember what book you read?
Also, omg! You changed your user name! :D
Re: Happy Birthday to You
Date: 2009-08-11 11:18 pm (UTC)I don't remember the book; I think I was in middle school, and all I remember is that Han and Leia had three kids and the youngest was named Anakin. Sorry! Any recommendations?
Yes. :D It's an incredibly geeky reference to tort law, but hopefully doesn't sound like one. :D
Re: Happy Birthday to You
Date: 2009-08-12 11:28 pm (UTC)As to Star Wars - oh don't worry, I'm being a giant geek by even asking! And yes, Han and Leia end up with three kids, the youngest of whom is named Anakin. Though only one of them is still alive by this point. :/
It's kind of hard for me to rec Star Wars to people bcause obviously I love it. Probably a good deal more than is really evident on my LJ. But I love it for...kind of weird reasons that are too wordy to explain here. Suffice to say that the EU (Expanded Universe; i.e. everything that's NOT the movies, which is, at least in theory, all one coherent "canon" universe) is a massive adherent to that law - 90% of everything is crap?
But that 10% man. That's what I'm there for. And just...somehow the fact it all fits together (sort of) means that the other 90% is better somehow for it. Because sometimes that 10% is only as amazing as it is BECAUSE it looks that 90% in the face and says, "Screw you for being crap! I'm going to make you awesome! YES I DAMN WELL AM!"
But I can't exactly recc a story to you that you have to wade through three novels of CRAP for in order to understand how this novel suddenly made it amazing?
Wow, that's gotta be the least convincing declaration of fannish love ever!
If you are interested though - or are interested in my favourite stuff - I put together a list of my Top 20 EU Works (http://beccatoria.livejournal.com/41637.html). It even has pictures! Though one of them features Anakin Solo with a rabbit thing whispering sweet nothings into his ear. No. Really. :/
Re: Happy Birthday to You
Date: 2009-08-15 06:49 am (UTC)And thanks for the recs. Bookmarking in case I ever have both time to read books and money to buy them with again. ;)