Is the 'Legacy of the Force' killing the future of Star Wars...

United States
July 24, 2007 1:10pm CST
Fans have long debated what makes Star Wars special for them. It may be the action, the relationships of the characters, the aliens, the space ships, the nature of the force itself, etc. Whatever it is, Star Wars is a saga that has had an everlasting impact on our culture and has earned an endearing place in our hearts. People who have never watched the movies know what you are talking about when you say "May the Force Be with You!" and understand what you are referring to when you mention the dark side. 30 years and Star Wars is finally on US postage stamps and still has a selling power to make Donald Trump's head spin. Even if you aren't a fan, you have to respect what the films have been able to achieve. Myself, I've been a fan all of my life. I can remember being a kid and collecting everything Star Wars. I also remember back to the early 1990s when 'Heir to the Empire' first came out and took Star Wars to new heights. I fell in love all over again with that galaxy far, far away. Other books would follow. Some of them I related to better than other, but always there was a level of excitement and anticipation. Timothy Zahn was always my favorite, but there were other great authors as well. Then one day an announcement was made that Bantam would not be publishing new Star Wars and Del Rey would be taking over. Del Rey published the first Star Wars novels and had a solid reputation, but still in the back of my mind an alarm went off that changes might be made that would not be good for the quality of the saga. The New Jedi Order series was published. Not my favorite, but I could live with it. Then Legacy of the Force began and with it an increasing decline in the quality of stories that I had come to expect in association with the Star Wars product label. The characters became wooden, the stories reaching, plots were recycled, and needless character death has been pushed upon fans. I can't even remember the last time the droids or any aliens played a heroic part in the stories. It seems that even good writers can publish bad stories under the pressure to commercialize a product. I've come to the point where I'm just not vested in the future of the stories anymore and that is not what a good story is supposed to do. I'm supposed to read it and yearn to read more. If anyone else out there shares these feelings, a friend of mine on another website has created a list of common complaints and would like to hear your voice so that your opinion can be heard and counted. You may visit that site at the following link: http://arkan2.livejournal.com/11362.html?view=83042#t83042 and record your thoughts. May the force be with you.
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