I’ve promised a post on my view of the Star Wars Expanded Universe before, and so I am now here to deliver. I touched on what I thought in my post about Death Troopers, but here goes the real, full on, entirely too long and almost thoroughly pointless rant that you have all come to expect from when I make a blog post.
For those not that well versed in what the Expanded Universe, either those new to Star Wars fandom, fans not entirely up on the lingo, or people who compulsively read every blog post I make, aren’t Star Wars fans and seem slightly confused, allow me to explain. The Star Wars universe is split into two (maybe three or four) camps. We have the OU, the Official Universe. Anything with the official George Lucas Seal of Approval, so that’s the six films, The Star Wars Clone Wars animated TV series, the upcoming Live Action TV show, the Official Film Novelisations, the audio dramas, and all that jazz. The Expanded Universe is, in effect, all the comics, books, and other officially licensed, but non-George Lucas’d, Star Wars things. You can then also add into that the “Infinites” things which fit into an “Alternate Universe”, AU, and then there’s the “Fan Universe”, no I will not abbreviate that, which is non-licensed, fan-made stuff that people just felt like making so they could play in the Star Wars Universe.
Now that’s sorted, let me explain the ongoing problem. The Star Wars Universe is huge. There are almost uncountable books, the films, the TV shows, the audio dramas, the comics, and all the other stuff, all telling stories in the Star Wars Universe. All of this stuff in the EU can sometimes cause problems. I mentioned a rift that occurred, in a previous post, when there was an alleged “change in cannon” and a certain writer pulled out of writing Star Wars books, because Lucas Film printed a guide that changed certain things the writer had written. This sent ripples throughout the fan community and caused a rift. Those who felt betrayed because they had invested time in these books and Lucas Film had just gone and changed it meaning they had “wasted their time”, and others who felt that if Lucas wanted his universe to have a certain fact, then that was his right as the maker.
George himself has admitted that he doesn’t have time to keep up with all the books, comics etc. and as far as he is concerned, all that he knows is what is in the films and TV shows, and that is all that is true to him. He has his plan, it’s all been written out for many, many years, and that is what is true. Yes we have the encyclopedias, visual guides, the online databank and Wookieepedia, but Lucas is a busy man, he can’t keep up with it all, and I doubt there are many fans who can.
These books come so thick and fast it’s difficult to know what’s happening. I try to keep up, I know enough to get by, but I can;t even pretend to know it all. The thing is, I know where I can go to get an answer, there are many places, but is being able to find an answer, that relates to a single line, from a comic, really an answer?
Did Boba Fett die in the Sarlacc Pit? Did Darth Maul come back as half robot? Did Han and Leia get married? Did they have kids? When, where and how did Chewbacca die? All of these questions have answers in the EU, I can even give you them off the top of my head. They weren’t, however, spelled out by Lucas. So do they count? More importantly, do they matter?
I recently read Death Troopers. I loved it. It is, quite simply, the most fun I’ve had reading an EU book for a long time. I loved it so much I’m currently listening to the audio book. The thing with this book is that whilst there are links to the movie trilogy, you don’t need to be a Star Wars fan to love the book. You don’t need knowledge of the Expanded Universe to enjoy it. It is a fully stand-alone book, and most importantly, it isn’t boring. The EU, of late, has become so bogged down in providing unnecessary detail in the books, stretching what could be a quick back and forth between two people, driving the story forward, into in-depth psycho analysis of the characters, dragging the book out, and boring people.
I know some people love that, and don’t let me tell you not to, I know you won’t, but for me, it is pointless, bloats the story, pretty much symbolises the EU in general. It was easy in the early days. A few books to go with the films. Padding out a bit of detail, but now there is so much, coming so fast, that if anything it makes the Star Wars universe too big.
So much of the EU now intertwines that you can pick up a book and find you need to read another book, but to get that you need another one, and so on and so on, and this can put a lot of people off. It’s put me off to a certain extent as well. More standalone books like Death Troopers would be nice. More fast-paced, less intricate-detail-oriented books, like Death Troopers, would be nice.
Books that really make me get involved with the characters, make me want to go back and watch the films, make me want to keep turning the page ’til I’ve finished, that’s what I want from the EU, and that is what Death Troopers has delivered.
The thing is, none of this is important. I can say all of this, tell you that I don’t care what the books say, until GL says it, it’s not true, but if you enjoyed the book, does it really matter? That there is what I think of the EU. It may or may not be true. It may just be true from a certain point of view, but if it’s a good book, then who cares. If it’s a boring book I don’t care if it’s all canon and I learn what Yoda’s species is, if it’s boring, it’s a bad book.
And that is my rant on the Star Wars EU. Which was a bit of a cop-out really. Real waste of time. Why are you still reading? Go find something better to do. Read a book or something.
MTFBWY