What I would like to do with this area of the Web page is to reprint letters from folks and answer them right here, so opinions and answers can be shared. By replying through the link below, or by using "Letter of Opinion" as the subject line of e-mail you'll be agreeing to have your letter and my answer to it posted here. Of course, not all letters will be used and I reserve the right to choose which letters will or will not be printed here. The letters will be changed on a regular basis and old editions of this column will be archived on the site.
Letters can be about:
So, get writing.
(Sorry - Michael is going to be out of the country for a couple weeks, and won't have access to his email. He doesn't want people sending him email that won't be answered, so he asked me to temporarily remove his email address from this webpage. Come back here after June 20th and we'll post the email address again.)
From: Pam_Richardson@bc.sympatico.ca (Pam Richardson)
Subject: Letter of Opinion
Mr. Stackpole:
I just finished reading your third of four X-Wing: Rogue Squadron novels. Without reservation, they're the best new Star Wars books around. The revealing of the Squadron's traitor was a shocker, and all of the plots were pulled together convincingly, dramatically and best of all: in a fun way! I had a lot of fun reading this, and the previous two, X-Wing novels.
Of course, your work on Dark Horse's X-Wing series is also top-notch. There's not much else to say, I suppose, other than congratulations, and happy new year. :)
-keith
Thanks very much, Keith. I hope you've had a chance to find The Bacta War and found it up to the standards set by the other books.
From: daggerscout@hotmail.com ("Christine Grosvenor")
Subject: Opinions..thing..(I cant remember the thing its supposed to be)
As a life-long Star Wars fan my opinion is that aside from George Lucas himself, Mike Stackploe is the BEST writer to ever touch the Star Wars Universe.
Tim Zahn used to hold that title (he's in second place now) but then I realised how much more hooked on the X-Wing novels I became than I got on the Thrawn Trilogy. Stackpole's Rogue Squadron is a cast of characters that makes many other Star Wars authors lame attempts at capturing the comradery of the original Star Wars films look pittiful.
The rich, exciting story of the X-Wing novels gripped me like no other Star Wars novel had done before. The mix between romance, military strategy, fun, personal growth, and down and dirty old-fashioned Star Wars fighting is done masterfully.
However, as a concerned fan I wish I could literally beg the Lucasfilm Licensing folks to PLEASE, in the future, to keep Stackpole's fascinating characters out of the hands of other authors. Especially the hands of K.J. Anderson, who can never seem to keep his filthy hands off other people's creations. A cameo or two might be nice, but it disturbs me when an author who does not fully understand or respect a character, uses that character.
I also want to mention that just a few moments ago, when I read the news that there will be a Rogue Squadron Sourcebook AND a Special Forces book, I could not conatin my joy. I dont play the RPG, but I LOVE reading sourcebooks, and a sourcebook for Rogue Squadron will be a dream come true! As for Special Forces, I've been fascinated with SpecForce troopers since I first learned of their existence. I feel that a SpecForce book is LONG overdue, and will be anxiously waiting for it's release.
Finally, I wish to congratulate all those involved in the creation of the Rogue Squadron comics. They are the best Star Wars comics by a long shot, and I cant wait for the new ones! The stories are believable, and the artwork is spectacular. (I'm especially fond of the scene where Tycho gets ticked off in Phantom Affair #1) :D
May the Force be with you all,
Christine "Scout" Grosvenor
Green Leader, New Republic Commando Division
daggerscout@hotmail.com
TekeDscout@AOL.com
PS- I also have a question. During the final battle of The Bacta War, there is no mention of the Pulsar Skate. I would assume it was one of the many freighters involved in the battle, but throughout that whole portion of the book there is no mention of my hero's whereabouts.... I was just wondering why.
Christine, thanks for your letter. Concerning other authors using each others' characters: LFL and Bantam and Dark Horse and West End Games have all been very good at letting us work together to make sure the characters mesh. You'll definitely see that in upcoming books. Ultimately, though, Lucasfilm does own all the characters, so, like you, I just have to trust in them to keep the characters true to their original vision.
Concerning the Pulsar Skate in the last battle of The Bacta War, I probably should have had atleast one scene from Mirax's point of view, because she was there, but so much was going on I decided it would be too confusing. Maybe I'll save that for a Journal story.
From: jmmcfadden@holycross.edu (James McFadden)
Subject: Letter of Opinion
Dear Mr. Stackpole (I sound so formal),
I'm a big fan of your Star Wars work in novel and in comic form. I especially like how you tend to do a good job of pulling together Star Wars continuity. The mention of Black Sun and the Provisional Council fits well and makes a continuity seem more real. These mentions in some other works sometimes feel like LFL is saying, "Hey! Remember The Crystal Star?" Your references are more subtle than that.
I found it interesting how The Bacta War is going on about the same time as, or before, The Courtship of Princess Leia. Indirectly, you've given Wedge fans a reason why he didn't appear in that book.
I recently heard that the last story arc of the X-Wing comic series will involve Isard's rise to power. What a great way to preserve continuity. Doing some figuring, I've noticed you will pretty much fill in the entire timeline from the comic series to the end of the novels. Sounds like some long planning was involved there!
I have a few questions. Even if you don't answer directly, you can at least consider them:
Are there any plans for your X-Wing characters to make other SW story appearances besides Corran's upcoming Adventure Journal story?
Will Tycho's history be given even further depth? I'm mostly asking this because I'm thinking of doing some fan fiction that shows the particulars of Tycho's joining the Rebellion.
James McFadden
Star Wars Historian and Author of the Star Wars Chronology at
http://www.netcom.com/~mikejmc/swhome.html
James, thanks for your note. Part of the reason for the timing of The Bacta War was to explain why Wedge was not in that book. In writing the series I took every opportunity offered to work my books into the mainstream timeline I could.
I don't know if there will be other Rogues appearing in The Star Wars Adventure Journal stories or not. It's not anything I'd rule out, but there are only so many hours in a day.
Tycho's history is something that a lot of folks want to see gone into in more depth. Folks reading the comic are calling for it, too. Perhaps an issue to his back story would be a good idea. Whether or not we ever see his capture by Isard has not been decided at this point.
From: SKOWDER@aol.com
Subject: Letter of opinion
Hello there-
First off I gotta say that I'm not very good at this whole fan mail thing. But then again, doesn't everybody say that before the spontanious barage of butt-kissing begins...
Anyway I just wanted to thank you for taking me on the latest (and hopefully not final) ride with Wedge and company. I also want to thank you for the characters that you've introduced me to along the way. Especially Corran Horn.
Now this is the point in which my formula fan letter template says that I must pummel you with story related questions....
What about Whistler's message from Corran's father? Hypothetically speaking, if you never got the chance to touch his character again, would he ever view it? And what would you think such a message would say? Do you see Coran Embracing his Jedi heritage eventually? I guess it all hinges on what his father says...
Is there any chance of any of the X-wing characters showing up in any of the upcoming novels? Are you given any licesing rights or control of the characters you invent?
Anyway, I gotta run... Thank you again for the wonderful story and for doing justice to a character like Wedge Antilles.
Thanks for the comments. Yes, you will see some of the Rogues in future books. I've already read the chapters of Timothy Zahn's upcoming Hand of Thrawn: Spectre of the Past Where some of them show up. I think you'll find they have aged well.As for the message to Corran and questions of his future, hmmm, maybe I could write a book about it. :)
From: hamza@4link.net ("Noell Milota, Office Administrator")
Subject: Letter of Opinion
Dear Mr. Stackpole,
I don't have any questions for you, but I did want to write and let you know how much my husband and I have enjoyed your X-Wing books. We've read all of the books in the Star Wars saga, and we've really enjoyed them all (some more than others), but we haven't been so hooked on characters and storylines since Timothy Zahn's "Thrawn Trilogy" as we are with your X-Wing books.
I have to tell you that we were a little skeptical about reading Rogue Squadron when it first came out, because we've both grown up with Star Wars and have been true and loyal fans since age 7. We weren't sure whether novels that didn't focus on the main characters from the movies would meet with our expectations of what a Star Wars novel should be. However, we're both great fans of Wedge Antilles, and we both love the X-Wing PC game, so we decided to give your book a chance.
Not only did Rogue Sqaudron meet our expectations, but surpassed them. We could hardly wait the four months until Wedge's Gamble came out. You truly did a wonderful job with both creating the mood of the Star Wars movies and developing new characters that we really grew to like and care about. We worried about what was going to happen to Corran at the hands of Isard at the end of Wedge's Gamble, and about Tycho during his trial in The Krytos Trap.
I'm sure it was not an easy undertaking to enter the Star Wars arena and try to create new main characters that are as "real" and likable as the established main characters in such a well loved and revered universe. You did it VERY well. Even the more minor characters like Ooryl, Gavin, Iella, and Nawara had a lot of depth and were very likable (even Whistler was great). And, of course, it was great to learn more about Wedge, one of our favorite characters from the movies. It was nice to learn some background on who he was before he joined the Rebellion, and his "thoughts" throughout the books made Wedge into even more of a "real person." Though we all know Wedge is a true hero of the Rebellion, he never really got any acknowledgement in the movies or even in the other Star Wars books, so this, too was good to see. (The dedication to Dennis Lawson at the beginning of The Bacta War was a nice touch, by the way.)
Finally, your books had just the right balance of action, intrigue, humor, romance, suprises, and references to the movies and other Star Wars books to keep us hooked. We can only hope that you will be recruited to write more Star Wars novels in the future (the NEAR future, I hope). Another set of X-Wing novels would be great! It would be nice to know if Corran ever read the message his father left him about his Jedi heritage, what he will do with his Jedi potential, or if Booster will kill him before he gets the chance to do anything with it!!
Thank you for the wonderfully entertaining books. I hope that everyone else has enjoyed them as much as my husband and I have.
Sincerely,
Noell Milota.
(My name is pronounced No-el, like Christmas)
Noell, thanks for your letter. I only had to edit a couple of lines for fear they might tip some folks to some surprises in the books. As of this date (7 March) the last book still has not been published in Australia, and there are a lot of readers down there, I have learned.
The task of creating new characters for the universe was daunting, but only because I hoped folks would like them. I wanted to hope folks would accept my take on Wedge. If they didn't like him, the rest of the squadron had no chance. Luckily it looks like things worked out fine.
From: jrmead@swbell.net (Jenna Mead)
Subject: Letter of Opinion
Hello Mike,
I just finished "The Bacta War", which I enjoyed. I especially loved the inclusion of Talon Karrde in the story. I hope the publishers do have you write some more X-Wing books, and that they don't make us wait as long as they have for a new Timothy Zahn book. From a woman's perspective, I tend to prefer less dog fights and more overall action (if that makes sense).
Take care,
Jenna Mead
Jenna, thanks for writing. I was very happy to have Talon Karrde in The Bacta War. Tim read those chapters over to make sure I had the character right. And your liking of fewer dogfights in favor of more action in the story isn't just a female perspective -- I've been finding a broad group of readers who feel the way you do.
From: nukenin@access.digex.net ("R. Cliff Young")
Subject: Letter of Opinion
Mike, I just have to say congratulations on X-WING: THE BACTA WAR. The climactic battle sequence was well-staged and not without its surprises. Reading it was a welcome addition to the Star Wars high experienced over the weekend with the return of STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE to the big screen.
I'm just surprised the X-WING series didn't end with some Rogue pilot taking his or her X-wing down the twists and turns of Lusankya's corridors, to deliver the final killing blow deep within Lusankya's depths (this of course after a daring rescue attempt of Jan Dodonna and the other Alliance prisoners). Haven't you ever played either incarnation of REBEL ASSAULT? For the Rebels, the shortest distance between two points is any maze, trench, tunnel, or cavern complex that happens to both connect said two points and be at least almost barely wide enough to pilot through with whatever vehicle or vehicles that happen to be on hand. (Okay, maybe this sort of treatment will have to await the author who pens a novel or three based on the REBEL ASSAULT games... ;)
But seriously, I'm glad you've been able to lend your pen to the Star Wars universe. Your comments elsewhere on what writing in someone else's universe is all about have also been most insightful and welcome.
R. Cliff Young
Mazes are a staple of computer games, no doubt about it, but they are weak when they come to fiction. Mazes are better implied in that case than given lengthy description. ("And then we went on for ten feet and turned left, then another twenty feet and turned right.")
From: Hcummins@wpo.iupui.edu (Hans Cummings)
Subject: Letters of Opinion
I just finished up "The Bacta War" and I must say that it was by far the best in the series. I bought it right after seeing the Special Edition, and I was really able to vividly visualize the battles. For some reason the character interaction seemed the strongest in "The Bacta War." That could simply be because of the half-dozen or so other novels I've read since "The Krytos Trap" though. At any rate, congratulations on a job (and project) well done, and thanks for giving us a peak into the lives of some rebels other than the core group.
Hans Cummings
P.S. I did buy this first hand from a bookstore. Doubleday, I think. I insist on being the first one to read the Star Wars novel I've just purchased. :)
Thanks for writing, Hans. Actually I think the character interaction was stronger in The Bacta War. In The Krytos Trap none of the fun characters were together that much, so a lot of the wisecracks were missing. I know that made KT tougher to write for me, so BW was a breeze. And, like you, I don't like other folks getting eye-tracks on my books before I do. :)
One last note: I do answer all my own e-mail and try to reply to every letter, even if it is only with a form letter. Three things I would urge upon you:
Mike Stackpole
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