Kevin J. Anderson

[Handothrawn]

Everyone talks about how terrible the Jedi Academy Trilogy and Darksaber are pretty bad, am I the only one that likes his novels.

Why do I have to always not go with the group, I hate not being affected by peer pressure!

[Smeghead]

<span style="color:green">Uh, maybe 'cause his books are poorly written. And he killed Crix Madine. :o)</span>

[Whuffa]

His books are way too childish and one-dimensional for my taste.

[jade51999]

Hey, its ok handofthrawn..

i understand why KJA's novels aren't well recieved..
i personally liked them, although not as much as i did when i first read them..

the Jedi Academy Trilogy was good in a sense because it gave Luke a different role to play out, but there were points where the plot had some holes that i couldn't buy..(i only realized this after reading I, Jedi which overlaps the books timeframe)....

i liked darksaber, because it explained the horror of Barbara Hambly's COTJ.

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif
anywhoo gtg

[Meche]

I've heard complaints about KJA's books having too many superweapons... even though the movies are chock full of 'em... he actually writes stories a lot like Lucas's. Not totally believable but fun. He's often compared to Zahn, who generally writes about people whose powers are concentrated in the mind (wisecracks, intelligence in military strategy, politics, etc.), which are fun to read but not so fun in movies. Oh well.

[Rogue_0009]

I liked KJA's books most don't like it because his style is very different from most of the other authors'

[longingfor2005]

Didnt kevin j anderson write the books where the academy students battled the ghost of Exar Kun? I thought that part was great but that Admiral Daala was boring. Why is it that with the exception of Thrawn, the emperor reborn and Exar Kun that none of the novels villians have ever felt like a threat. Ive been reading a lot of the EU novels lately and all the villians seem to just come off like power ranger monsters or a villian of the week kinda deal. Why cant anyone come up with an awe inspiring villian anymore? Excluding the Yuuzhan Vong of course.

[Smeghead]

<span style="color:green">I dunno, Ysanne Isard (from the Rogue Squadron books) always felt like a threat to me... She was pretty evil and dangerous...</span>

[Meche]

I hadn't read too much with Isard, mainly just in By the Emperor's Hand comic, but she did seem like a real danger and evil. The description of her eyes basically summed her up (I don't have the book with me but it went something like this: red eye = angry, mean, and violent; icy blue eye = cold and uncaring).

Daala did seem dangerous too; I mean, that torture scene with Han was totally frightening. After that though, she messed up over and over, and Exar Kun remained the real threat.

[GaViN28x]

I Personally Liked KJA's Novels but i do agaree with the others who have said that his writting style is a bit different then other SW authors, and thats is probaly why people don't like his novles.

[Rebel Astromech Droid]

I've only read the Jedi Academy trilogy but I really liked it. My friend told me that darksaber isn't that good though.

[Mann]

In Darksaber, KJA talked about the creation of the Death Star being some scientist's idea during the time of the Emperor. Yet, Lucas screwed him over by putting it in AotC as a Commerce Guild creation. This means Lucas doesn't approve of KJA that much. The reason: He takes the dialouge from the movie and puts in the book. That's dumb, he needs to think up better dialouge. His concepts are pretty good though. The idea of the Hutts making a Death Star was cool. I'd like to actually see a black hole cluster wouldn't you?

[QuigonWindu]

I've never read a KJA book but Darksaber sounds good.

[Luminara Skye]

I don't know what the big deal is. *Some of the fave books are the JAT. *I really enjoyed KJA's books. *I just don't understand why everyone is so hard on him. * ??? *On the other hand, I'm not a very big fan of the Timothy Zahn books and most people seem to love him. ???

[Mann]

Okay, KJA needs to think of his own ideas and not just using some of the same situations Lucas has thought up. Why is Zahn better? his books deal with characters rather than situations. Thrawn is the best villian of any star wars book. No one is anywhere as close as smart as him. Zahn started the Star Wars EU and that is why it is the best.

[lathian]

I read both jedi acadamy trilogy and darksaber just two weeks ago and found nothing wrong with them. There certainly have been worse books. When you don't include superweapons and deadly situations in your books you get something lame like Planet of Twilight.

[lathian]

I read both jedi acadamy trilogy and darksaber just two weeks ago and found nothing wrong with them. There certainly have been worse books. When you don't include superweapons and deadly situations in your books you get something lame like Planet of Twilight.

[Rebel Astromech Droid]

<span style="color:00FFFF">Hey I liked Planet of twighlight.</span>
<span style="color:7030CC">It was the first star wars novel I ever read.</span>

[jade51999]

Children of the Jedi was worse..POT wasn't as bad...

[Whuffa]

I actually liked both. I like Hambly's style. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/banghead.gif

[jade51999]

Really?

I didin't underestand the situation or alot of the Events in COTJ..POT was better b/c at least i could follow along without throwing the book against the wall (or having people explain stuff to me)

[Whuffa]

Guess it's just a matter of oppinions. I disliked the hutt-Jedi though, It was a bit too weird for me. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pacman.gif

[Mann]

A Hutt JEdi is funny! Imagine it in a film fighting someone. HAHAHA! That would be hilarious!

Anyway, I just read Darksaber again. I realised that the dialouge really sucks in this book. I hate it when KJA refers back to the OT in the stories, when the characters play back the events in dialouge. That is a major flaw. He is obsessed with his own stories too. He keeps everything revoling in Darksaber around the JAT. He makes little reference to other characters in other stories, but when he does he has them talk about what happened. It is really boring and dumb. People don't say everyhting that happened to someone who was there too.

Oh, did I mention that all the imperials in this story were retarted? All of them acted liked idiots. When they are under attack they just yell and whine. That is why I hate his villians. Zahn made Thrawn always cool about this stuff. That is why Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole are the best.

[Whuffa]

Yeah, and I always hated it how KJA tried to portray Dala as a super intelligent woman, but she always ended up a complete idiot. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/saber.gif

[Meche]

I agree about Daala.

But Tim Zahn is obsessed with his stories too. He created a Mistryl in the Thrawn trilogy, and then went back to that storyline with Shada in the Hand of Thrawn duology. In the trilogy he had Borsk all worried about what might be found on Wayland, and he expanded on that in the duology as well. He went back to his own stories all the time, so did KJA, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

Daala was just dumb, so was that guy who decided to kidnap Anakin Solo. But Exar Kun was a good villain.

[Handothrawn]

I agree that Zahn is the better author, as is Micheal Stackpole, but KJA isn't as bad as some of the authors out there. But writing in the grander EU just wasn't the right place for him, his YJK novels were better written that the JAT and Darksaber, but still Darksaber and the JAT are some of my favorites, not to mention the first ones I ever read. KJA novels are more like the movies, if you ask me, Superweapons, idiotic warlords, and dumb dialogue. What more could any SW fan want, besides Grand Admiral Thrawn, of course.

[Clara]

<span style="color:7000CC">The man created Kyp Durron for crying out loud. I love Kyp Durron. It was also Anderson's books that inspired me to start my novels and hooked me on Star Wars. There is no way I could hate his books.</span>

[jade51999]

I do think Exar Kun's villany comes out more though when stackpole expanded on it...

he was a villian in JAT but he was CRAZY in I, Jedi. (in that i mean we actually get to see the psychic torture that he put upon the other fallen Jedi.)

[RedMirax]

KJA DEFINITELY isn't the worst SW author. I do like Stackpole, Allston, and Zahn better. There hasn't been anyone writing in the NJO to beat them, yet, IMO.

I must say I never liked Kyp and still don't. I can't put my finger on it. He just always rubbed me the wrong way. And now especially. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

[Clara]

<span style="color:7000CC">I guess I just have a lot in common with Kyp, that's all. Not that my families been destroyed by the Empire or anything, but they way he acts...</span>

[Mann]

Maybe casue Kyp was only truely develpoed in KJA's series (how sad!), where he was a Sith and killed billions of people?

[Whuffa]

I think Kyp was messed up in the NJO. After the Jedi Academy Trilogy he became this reeeeeealy goody-good Jedi with extreme feelings of guilt, who would never do the things he does in the NJO. There should be a short story about a turning point in his life between Leviathan and the NJO where we see how he got rid of his guilt and started acting the way he does in the NJO.

[BlueSaber]

I quite like his books. I've read the Jedi Acadamy trillogy about 4 times and I'm busy reading Darksaber for the second time. I have found that his books lack depth (They are nothing compared to Children of the Jedi and Crystal Star). But they're not bad. He started a whole lot of things that have a lot of importance in future novels (The Academy itself for instance).

[jade51999]

I agree,

there are definitly worse novels out there..
and i guess what i liked the most about it was that something happened to Luke, and it wasn't boring..it was a chance for the students to find themselves and become "Champions of the Force"

but they could have had more depth..style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif as has been said before

[Jedi_Ronetta]

Personally I think Anderson wrote good books. I think that the author Zahn, on the other hand, makes the Force seem much more restricted than other authors. Also, Anderson's books have more action causing me not to put down his book's til I have read them cover to cover.
style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/saber.gif
May the Force be with you!!

[General Antilles]

KJA is not a bad author. *The JAT and Darksaber are not bad books. *But for some reason, they are both regarded as books that are not up to snuff. *As I see it, Timothy Zahn, Michael Stackpole, and Aaron Allston are the best Star Wars authors, but with Kevin J.'s writing, Star Wars became accessible to almost everyone. *Anyone could pick up a JAT novel and immediately understand it, and relate with it, without knowing mounds of Star Wars jargon. *Clara, you yourself said it was JAT that got you hooked on books. *It was a user-friendly saga. *I did initially enjoy KJA's books, they added to the Star Wars saga. *But for some reason, I also found them lacking, like KJA tried to say too much, and it got all jumbled up and came out weird. *

As for Kyp Durron, I see him in NJO as a perfectly written character. *For a teenager laden with guilt, his transformation into the aggressive, arrogant Jedi in NJO is believable for the simple fact that he was spoiled. *He wasn't punished in any real sense (you can't really say "Go to your room and think about what you did" to a Jedi), and he sees his pursuit of, at first, pirates and smugglers, and later, the Vong as a way to not only hope to atone to the people he "saves", but he thinks that he has atoned for his wrongs by going after the bad guys. *He doesn't stop to think, until Dark Journey, that perhaps he should look for acceptance at home (Han, Luke, Leia, even Jaina) before he should worry about his image towards others. *

And for the record, I was never a fan of Qwi Xux *style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif

[RedMirax]

Me either, GA. I can't understand why they had her and Wedge together. That was all wrong.

There are several books in the SW universe that are freaky weird. KJA's aren't like that.

[vodo]

I jka bokks are fun 2 read and I dont give a ****e what anybody says a bout them style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/duel.gif

[Enneth42]

Exar Kunn was great, and Anderson also did some great work in the comics Tales of the Jedi, which go into the origins of Kunn and his legacy. If you haven't read those you haven't seen the half of Exar Kunn's character... he rocks!!

While I do understand some of the issues people have with Anderson, I have thoroughly enjoyed his works.

[One Lad to Rule Them All]

Originally posted by handothrawn@Jun 20 2002, 02:51 PM
Everyone talks about how terrible the Jedi Academy Trilogy and Darksaber are pretty bad, am I the only one that likes his novels.

Why do I have to always not go with the group, I hate not being affected by peer pressure!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Jedi Acadamy trilogy. I thought it was a great story, and I was a fan of Exar Kun from the graphic novel series he penned.

Darksaber was ok. He did flesh out Callista a bit (though I'm still not certain if that's good or bad) but all in all it was just yet another super-weapon. Yawn.

[blacksaber]

Zahn is better, but KJA is still a good read... i am loyal

[pinksaber]

i Love the Jedi academy trilogy. i think its great! I like that kinda mystical stuff. i mean the books were short but i liked them

[Nathan Butler]

http://www.starwarsfanworks.com/chronoradio.html

Under Interview Editions, check out the one with KJA (#16). You'll find answers to a lot of the frequent critiques of his work, including the "superweapon of the week" and the lack of much Mara in YJK.

[Anguirus111]

I'm also a fan of KJA even though many people aren't. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif

The reasons mentioned before are why I like them. They're just like the movies and are easy to read without knowing to much about other EU events.

Personally I found them hillarious like with Tol Sivron and how he got his hands on the prototype Death Star and went on rampage with it. It was really funny when they powered up the Death Star only to miss Kessel and hit the moon that orbited it, that's classic stuff. Everything about that guy is crazy, he's the only resident mad scientist and we didn't see too many of them in EU that weren't force capable.

[corran]

I don't think that KJA is a bad author. When I read the JA books, I actually kinda liked them. But what I consider the main problem is that in the early phases no one seemed to care about continuity and there was no plan where to bring the books. Stackpole somehow tried to fit into the Zahn books and into the JA series as well. And somehow he did it that well that it seems (at least to me) superior to KJAs writing.
That is something that has been improved in the NJO. The guys know what the others write and not everyone tries to do with the characters what only he or she wants.
For example, after the first Zahn trilogy, the things were perfectly set up for Mara and Luke. But later other authors just chose to ignore that. And finally, Zahn himself had to somehow find as many loose ends as possible to end the between movies and NJO time. I think, they could all have done a lot better if there had been a plan where to go

[Soontir Solo]

I don't hate Anderson. I thought he should have focused a little less on weapons of mass destruction though. Darksaber was good, I really liked that book. Not as much to do with a weapon of mass destruction as the Jedi Academy Trilogy did. And at least the whole mini-Death Star laser thing seemed a little more realistic than the Sun Crusher.

I thought the JAT wasn't bad, but could have been better. Luke seemed too weak, Kyp too strong, Daala to stupid, and the Sun Crusher just didn't seem to be all that great of an idea to me. Flying through a star destroyer and everything, with impenetrable shields. Seemed to much for even Star Wars.

[Spacehunter24]

I read the first book of the JAT and remember liking it, but never got around to reading the other two, even though I have an omnibus edition.

As for DARKSABER, apart from the first three chapters and the scenes where Luke takes Callista to Dagobah and Hoth, I really hated it. It just seemed like there were too many stories going on at once, and for the first time, I was bored(!!) with the Han Solo storyline. And what a lame death for General Madine: shot by a Hutt. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/crying.gif

[Jjm3233]

I find that most of the SW authors I enjoy, I also enjoy their non-SW stuff; and the ones I don't care for, I tend to not like their non-SW stuuf.

To me, KJA was the most disappointing SW author. The reason is that I have enjoyed his non-SW work; but not his SW stuff. JAT was his best, but for me it ranks in the middle of the Star Wars books.

But no, no flaming hatred of him, although I do despise Darksaber.

[brookie]

didnt he write some of the x files novels as well? i read them in hight school, they sucked.

[Ripley the Warmaster]

I didn't mind KJA. I've read the first two JAT, but had to stop reading the last one because of school books to read. Good, not a Zahn, Stackpole, or Stover, but not as bad as some people make him out to be. Plus it's interesting to see how he effected the entire EU with the establishment of the Jedi Academy, the unifacation of the major warlords, and Pellaeon given command of the Remnant.

wolf

[jadesaber86]

i like his books, they're pretty good in my book.

[Jjm3233]

Originally posted by brookie@Jan 29 2004, 09:15 PM
didnt he write some of the x files novels as well? i read them in hight school, they sucked.
Yes, he wrote several X-Files books, not my favorite either.

[Edgeomatic]

KJA Anderson is awesome I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Darksaber

[Soontir Solo]

Anderson was not awesome. He is teh second worst Star Wars writer ever, besides the Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight author of course

[Suzanne (ex CoS Leia)]

I actually quite enjoyed the Jedi Academy Trilogy. Whilst the superweapon of the month aspect was a bit much, and the long dead Sith Lord embedded in the temple was a bit over the top, and Admiral Daala was a little on the cardboard caricature side, I actually thought that this was overall a positive contribution to the EU.

However, Darksaber is in a category of its own and is one of the worst of the EU books I have read. I can't think of anything positive to say about it.

[Ripley the Warmaster]

<span style="color:blue">Haven't commented on KJA in a long time. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif Besides the first two Jedi Academy trilogy books, I've read Dune: The Buterlian Jihad(read a lot like a Star Wars book), and two of his X-Files books. Nowadays, I like it more than all of Zahn's, Allston's, and all but one of Stackpole's novel. That one novel being I,Jedi, and the first half is a retelling of Jedi Academy Trilogy.</span>

[BoHeDia]

i liked them, they were kinda cool to me, and when i started to read the njo, i missed the humorous jacen who tried to make everybody laugh, its like jacen grew up overnight...

[Ripley the Warmaster]

<span style="color:red">Read Lightsabers. For a young reader's novel, KJA and his wife did a very good job.</span>

[Soontir Solo]

First off Ripley, are you actually Sniper except with a name change?

Secondly to BoHeDia, you know Jacen Solo is humorous and stuff in the Young Jedi Knight Series not 10 year before in the JAT right? Seems like your commenting on the YJK series rather than the JAT Series.

[Ithorian guy]

you know what, im VERY disappointed with all of you who hate KJA, he is my favorite starwars author, in my opinion, he is better than Timothy Zahn.

[MrSouthernRonin]

Adding my two cents:

If you put everything into perspective, KJA had a lot of stuff stacked against him when he went into writing his JAT. I notice everyone mentions Allston, Stackpole, and Zahn as their favorite authors. I would maintain that the reason for the preference (besides great writing on all accounts) is the choices they made in terms of the characters you follow.

In all three books, you latch onto characters who aren't canon (People will argue that Zahn's books were about Luke and Leia, but I suggest you reread. Did you REALLY care what happened to Luke? I wanted to know more about Thrawn and Mara.)

When you identify with non-canon characters, it means you know, deep in your heart of hearts, that they are mortal. If they die, the overall story won't be affected.

Lucas won't let Luke or Leia be massacred. We know that. So when KJA brings out a series where they are the headliners, there's something lost. It's not a story anymore. It's an unfolding laundry list of events. Granted, I thought it was strung together very well by Mr. Anderson, but the bottom line was: there was no danger. Luke was going to win. End of story (before it's begun).

Although I haven't yet read them, it seems to me that the authors/publishers wanted to break out of the immortality curse with Chewie in the NJO. I think that's one of the reasons the Vong are so popular - they can kill characters. That's a big measuring stick in our subconscious minds.

[The Arbiter]

KJA is a prolific author and one of the pioneers of post-ROTJ EU. His SW books are both loved and hated, for various reasons.

Do you like KJA's works? His style,plots, characters, and his contributions to the SW histories?

[Darth Magnus]

I haven't read any of his SW books, and after reading his books based on the Dune series, I don't think I ever will. I think his writing style contains poorly developed characters, attempts to create too many plots and subplots without properly developing any of them, and he disregards too much of the original material and just tells the story he wants to regardless of the gaping inconsistencies.

[Ripley the Warmaster]

<span style="color:blue">Should be getting to his Tales of the Jedi work some time soon. I've heard nothing but praise for Redemption.</span>

[The Arbiter]

Originally posted by Darth Magnus@Jul 8 2005, 11:09 PM
I haven't read any of his SW books, and after reading his books based on the Dune series, I don't think I ever will. I think his writing style contains poorly developed characters, attempts to create too many plots and subplots without properly developing any of them, and he disregards too much of the original material and just tells the story he wants to regardless of the gaping inconsistencies.
<div align="right">Quoted post</div>


I agree his Dune books were particularly bad. Horrible. But don't shy off because of them. He cowrote them.

Saga of Seven Suns and his SW books, especially JAT, are far superior to his hackneyed Dune prequels. His style is much improved and the plotlines in Saga of Seven Suns are unpredictable enough to pass muster. Its received many positive reviews.

[Ithorian guy]

Why did somebody resurect this thread...the only thing I didn't like about KJA's books was that he killed off Crix Madine.

[Clara]

<span style="color:#7000CC">I think it got resurrected because of the Zahn thread. As for Crix Madine, I was in shock when he died, but it added something to Darksaber. I like Anderson's books, although I do dislike some elements of them. I love the JAT to death, and coupled with Stackpole's I, Jedi, there is just something special about it. I can't put my finger on why, but KJA is probably my favourite author of them all.</span>

[Ripley the Warmaster]

<span style="color:blue"><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I agree his Dune books were particularly bad. Horrible. But don't shy off because of them. He cowrote them.[/b][/quote]

Actually the parts that Brian wrote felt a lot like Hurbert senior's stories. KJA's parts were even more trashy.</span>

[The Arbiter]

Originally posted by Ripley the Warmaster@Jul 11 2005, 04:55 AM
<span style="color:blue"><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I agree his Dune books were particularly bad. Horrible. But don't shy off because of them. He cowrote them.

Actually the parts that Brian wrote felt a lot like Hurbert senior's stories. KJA's parts were even more trashy.</span>
<div align="right">Quoted post</div>
[/b][/quote]

At no point during the prequels did I feel that the writers had achieved anything close to Frank Herbert's style. It's simply too action-based, and insufficiently philosophical. Even the quotes sounded cheap.

What I feel was that Anderson's parts were, except for a few low points, written in his usual style, and Herbert wrote the particularly bad parts. I've seen some of Herbert's other work, the style does seem rather bad.

[Ripley the Warmaster]

Originally posted by The Arbiter+Jul 11 2005, 03:32 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(The Arbiter @ Jul 11 2005, 03:32 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Ripley the Warmaster@Jul 11 2005, 04:55 AM
<span style="color:blue"><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I agree his Dune books were particularly bad. Horrible. But don't shy off because of them. He cowrote them.

Actually the parts that Brian wrote felt a lot like Hurbert senior's stories. KJA's parts were even more trashy.</span>
<div align="right">Quoted post</div>
[/b][/quote]

At no point during the prequels did I feel that the writers had achieved anything close to Frank Herbert's style. It's simply too action-based, and insufficiently philosophical. Even the quotes sounded cheap.

What I feel was that Anderson's parts were, except for a few low points, written in his usual style, and Herbert wrote the particularly bad parts. I've seen some of Herbert's other work, the style does seem rather bad.
<div align="right">Quoted post</div>
[/b][/quote]

<span style="color:blue">Slight typo on my part. If it feels vaguely like Herbert Sr., it is probably Brian writing.</span>

[Phil_ogana]

I've read the X-wing books, and Darksaber. i really thought the X-Wing books were funny but i didn't really like darksaber,
like the part at the end where she shoots stun bolts and it gos all over.

[Darth Magnus]

Brian's parts tried to poorly emulate the style of his father, but lacked the depth, layered multiple meanings of Franks work. Anderson's parts I would just describe as cheesy sci fi action, and with the invincibility the characters in the initial 3 prequels have, the stories are about as suspenseful as a weather forecast.

[The Arbiter]

"Invincibility" is hardly the word I would choose. For the older prequels some amount of "invincibility" would be needed- you know these characters are going to survive.

In the Butlerian Jihad series lots of people died. Lots.

[Darth Magnus]

Yeah I was referring to the original 3 prequels House Atreides House Harkonnen and House Corrino, should have made that more clear.

[mirax terrik horn]

Originally posted by Darth Magnus@Jul 8 2005, 09:09 AM
I haven't read any of his SW books, and after reading his books based on the Dune series, I don't think I ever will. I think his writing style contains poorly developed characters, attempts to create too many plots and subplots without properly developing any of them, and he disregards too much of the original material and just tells the story he wants to regardless of the gaping inconsistencies.
<div align="right">Quoted post</div>


If you are using dune as a judgement for all KJA books that is not really fair. KJA had huge shoes to fill and I think he did he a good job for what he had to do.