Both Karen Traviss and Barbara Hambly are professional writers of a pretty good quality.

Karen Traviss was lead writer on Gears of War 3, which I'm given to understand is a pretty popular game. Karen's been on the New York Times bestseller list more than once in her own right, and not just riding the coattails of Star Wars. She's pretty darn good as a writer, actually, and usually writes in the science fiction genre. As a character writer, she's very much on top of how people react, and her characters have realistic motivations.

Barbara Hambly usually writes in the fantasy genre, often in the real world/fantasy world crossover subgenre. My impression of her writing is less favorable, though I can't pinpoint why; possibly it's because her fantasy worlds seem to feel generic to me.

In terms of their Star Wars novels, Barbara Hambly's are considerably less focused, less coherent, and given to outright strangeness.

Karen's were focused on the "dirty" side of the Clone Wars; what it might feel like to be "on the ground" and on the moral implications of the Republic using what was effectively a slave army.

Both sets of novels didn't mesh with the original "space opera" feel of Star Wars. However, Traviss's novels are, for me, a much more enjoyable read. Hambly's novels are.. well, they were written during a time when LucasBooks really didn't care too much about the consistency of Star Wars novels. I'd very much rather reread the Republic Commando set than the Children of the Jedi/Dark Star pairing.

Both Karen Traviss and Barbara Hambly are professional writers of a pretty good quality.

 

Karen Traviss was lead writer on Gears of War 3, which I'm given to understand is a pretty popular game. Karen's been on the New York Times bestseller list more than once in her own right, and not just riding the coattails of Star Wars. She's pretty darn good as a writer, actually, and usually writes in the science fiction genre. As a character writer, she's very much on top of how people react, and her characters have realistic motivations.

 

Barbara Hambly usually writes in the fantasy genre, often in the real world/fantasy world crossover subgenre. My impression of her writing is less favorable, though I can't pinpoint why; possibly it's because her fantasy worlds seem to feel generic to me.

 

In terms of their Star Wars novels, Barbara Hambly's are considerably less focused, less coherent, and given to outright strangeness.

Karen's were focused on the "dirty" side of the Clone Wars; what it might feel like to be "on the ground" and on the moral implications of the Republic using what was effectively a slave army.

 

Both sets of novels didn't mesh with the original "space opera" feel of Star Wars. However, Traviss's novels are, for me, a much more enjoyable read. Hambly's novels are.. well, they were written during a time when LucasBooks really didn't care too much about the consistency of Star Wars novels. I'd very much rather reread the Republic Commando set than the Children of the Jedi/Dark Star pairing.

Karen Traviss when working on Star Wars was highly unprofessional. She insulted Star Wars fans attributing them to being like terrorists. She admitted to also having never read another Star Wars novel when doing her own work. when focusing entirely on then Mandalorians she was okay. However, when writing about Jedi she stepped on author's toes. She'd write characters completely out of character and more. Her lack of respect to the IP is what got her removed and now her work is being ret-connned. She literally hated the Jedi and fans of the Jedi which was Star Wars primary focus.

When you start throwing words around like "Talifans" just because you disagree with her view. It's time to go.

Karen Traviss when working on Star Wars was highly unprofessional. She insulted Star Wars fans attributing them to being like terrorists. She admitted to also having never read another Star Wars novel when doing her own work. when focusing entirely on then Mandalorians she was okay. However, when writing about Jedi she stepped on author's toes. She'd write characters completely out of character and more. Her lack of respect to the IP is what got her removed and now her work is being ret-connned. She literally hated the Jedi and fans of the Jedi which was Star Wars primary focus.

 

When you start throwing words around like "Talifans" just because you disagree with her view. It's time to go.

She was removed? I thought she just threw a hissy fit and quit over her Mando continuity being stomped on by the Clone Wars CGI series.

Just for context for those that are unaware: the "Talifan" comment made by her was about the fans raging hardcore at her for saying there were only three million clones in the clone army. Not that it excuses her behaviour, but the behaviour of some of the fans were just as bad and both sides should share the blame. Plus, seeing as how R.A. Salvatore received death threats from Star Wars fans for killing off Chewbacca (and it wasn't even his decision to do so), I can see where she would feel threatened by the fanbase.

Everything else in the quoted post is true. The Traviss novel that exemplifies (almost) all of the above regarding her Mando worship and Jedi hatred is Revelation in the Legacy of the Force series.

RE: Hambly: I tried to read Children of the Jedi, but some of the stuff read like she was tripping on acid when she wrote it and made no sense. I found it hard to get through the book. :\

Traviss is a professional. She was in the middle of a story, that story had to rely on certain elements being in place.

Then the Clone Wars writers entirely upend the background story and utterly change the character and environment of the planets she was planning on writing about.

She and her LucasBooks editor talked and tried to brainstorm ways to continue the novel series, but neither of them could see a way forward. Since writing is her business, she made the simple, logical, and reasonable decision to not commit to another book and moved on.

This is something a lot of people don't understand: If you're a professional writer, you don't write novels out of love for a particular universe or series. You write to express a story in order to sell that story so that you can put food on the table.

If you end up hitting a roadblock with one book, series, or universe, you either set it aside or drop it in order to continue.

Any animosity is on the part of the fans who either feel betrayed that she stopped writing for Star Wars or that she wrote for Star Wars at all.

She was removed? I thought she just threw a hissy fit and quit over her Mando continuity being stomped on by the Clone Wars CGI series.

 

Just for context for those that are unaware: the "Talifan" comment made by her was about the fans raging hardcore at her for saying there were only three million clones in the clone army. Not that it excuses her behaviour, but the behaviour of some of the fans were just as bad and both sides should share the blame. Plus, seeing as how R.A. Salvatore received death threats from Star Wars fans for killing off Chewbacca (and it wasn't even his decision to do so), I can see where she would feel threatened by the fanbase.

 

Everything else in the quoted post is true. The Traviss novel that exemplifies (almost) all of the above regarding her Mando worship and Jedi hatred is Revelation in the Legacy of the Force series.

 

RE: Hambly: I tried to read Children of the Jedi, but some of the stuff read like she was tripping on acid when she wrote it and made no sense. I found it hard to get through the book. :\

Thank you for the clarification ppl just assume that it was KT's fault the fans were the worst part about it. I would have freaked out on you ******es as well. Most ppl do not realize tht the authors do not have control over characters deaths and major plot points are all laid out before a book or series is even started. So the author has to find a way to bring these characters to these plot points so in some case making you favorite characters act different or change their views. Much in the way Anikin fell he was a great guy but then he became a selfish ******e why because he had to become Vader.

Mara had to act like an weirdo cuz she was pissed at jacen and over protective of ben so she was going crazy over the fact that she felt like it was all in her head but deep down she knew the truth so acted on it and was different than the mara we all loved. She was slated to die KT had to bring her to that point. As far Barbara Hambly goes I could not even finish children of the jedi it did not feel like star wars and the plot was ****ed the were no children of the jedi back then. Unless there were tones of jedi all hiding their kids and girlfriends. Yoda is slamming some hot green chic while he tells the rest of the jedi to go home a masterbate. lol

She was removed? I thought she just threw a hissy fit and quit over her Mando continuity being stomped on by the Clone Wars CGI series.

 

Just for context for those that are unaware: the "Talifan" comment made by her was about the fans raging hardcore at her for saying there were only three million clones in the clone army. Not that it excuses her behaviour, but the behaviour of some of the fans were just as bad and both sides should share the blame. Plus, seeing as how R.A. Salvatore received death threats from Star Wars fans for killing off Chewbacca (and it wasn't even his decision to do so), I can see where she would feel threatened by the fanbase.

 

Everything else in the quoted post is true. The Traviss novel that exemplifies (almost) all of the above regarding her Mando worship and Jedi hatred is Revelation in the Legacy of the Force series.

 

RE: Hambly: I tried to read Children of the Jedi, but some of the stuff read like she was tripping on acid when she wrote it and made no sense. I found it hard to get through the book. :\

From what I heard, Karen Traviss was given the choice to quit or be fired. So she chose the former. That said, I think she is a hack that doesn't give a rat's *** about the continuity already in place. I've heard she's a good writer, but she had no place in Star Wars, imo and in a lot of others' opinions as well. She also had no concept of teamwork, as evidenced when she knowingly and willfully made the decision to kill off Mara Jade WHILE Tim Zahn, who created the character, was working on a new novel with her in it. She basically spit all over the fans and the other writers on the Expanded Universe team when she did that. Thanks to her being a *****, they had to go and rewrite their novels with a living Mara in them. That's just dirty. I for one am glad she's no longer there and will never be there again, The Force willing.

Hey, if she's not going to even respect an author of Zahn's calibre, then I am NOT going to respect her. In fact, I'm wondering if she went in with her Fandalorians and her attitude that her **** doesn't stink just to sabotage the ExU team's efforts. Whether she intended to or not, that was the final result.

And as to Chewie's death. I'm a huge R.A. Salvatore fan and have been since The Dark Elf Trilogy. He did the ol' Wook justice, imo. Chewbacca went out like a champ, and the only way he could. Fulfilling his life debt. Salvatore was dealt a bad hand, but he played it well.

How many StarWars Authors are Best Sellers ? Well we know Karen Traviss is !

We know she LEFT StarWars because they were gonna change Mandos down to tree huggers instead of the warriors we been reading about.

Hey She did a good job on Gears of War books and has serveral projects going so maybe leaving the hateful StarWars fans behind and move on to less hateful fans was better.

Gears of War being fairly new has less a critical fanbase of players and readers that would be willing to send hateful threats / death threats and troll extremely on a Author/writer.

There is nothing from LucasArts or a Offical StarWars site stateing" She had to quit or she would be fired " . Thats very unrealistic in the world of Work and Pay , she wasn't a cheap writer .

The Extreme FanBase is why Lucas does not want to make anymore StarWars Movies after getting attacked for characters like JarJar. Being told you are ruining your own creation would make anyone not want to continue .

Karen isn't the only Author that has gotten the Extreme Fans threatening Authors , from what I have seen atleast 2 more Authors have gotten this treatment .

Drew if I remember correctly , has gotten alot of bad feedback himself for Revan . The Entitled Fans of StarWars do not want you making a intresting character . (Here comes the hate , can you feel it . The Lameside is about to attack )

Personally I would like to see more books/comics on what the friendship of Surik and Revan was, seems like there is alot their for Surik to be his guardian for 300 years protecting his mind from the constant attacks of Vitiate who is powerful enough to get into you mind lightyears away as he did to his apprentice.

Karen is a Best Selling , meaning she made LucasArts MONEY for her books.

In game I do not play anything outside of Jedi Shadow and Sith Assassin . I have many Lv1-10 Alts but I am not into them . So my speaking about Karen is only because I am happy that others are moved to play other classes outside of Jedi and Sith, and it could be because of someone like here made them to be just as big of a deal as Sith and Jedi . Personally I loved Republic Commando , been thinking on getting it again for my PC .

How many StarWars Authors are Best Sellers ?

Timothy Zahn. Michael Stackpole. Kevin J. Anderson. Aaron Allston. Barbara Hambly.

They don't NEED Karen Traviss to bring "best seller" cred. They have 5 right there.

Timothy Zahn. Michael Stackpole. Kevin J. Anderson. Aaron Allston. Barbara Hambly.

 

They don't NEED Karen Traviss to bring "best seller" cred. They have 5 right there.

The whole thing isn't about Cred but being a Best Seller isn't easy ...so yea

We know she LEFT StarWars because they were gonna change Mandos down to tree huggers instead of the warriors we been reading about..

Then all she had to do was make the Mandos she wanted to write about a splinter group like Death Watch is in TCW, like Jaster Mereel's True Mandalorians were in the Dark Horse comics... having not read beyond the first Republic Commando book, I don't know how much she set on Mandalore and whatnot, but it SEEMS like there should be a way to reconcile it all.

It would involve some retcons, but it seemed like she just threw a hissy-fit and left because she didn't wanna kill ANY of her babies--which is a major thing a writer learns to do, with novels & screenplays alike. If you come up with some element you love, and it's no longer working for the story because of the way the plot's developed or outside influence (ie, a higher-level element of the IP changes it, as TCW did with the dominant culture of Mandalore), then you change it or run into a wall.

The Star Wars Atlas from a couple years ago already retconned the True Mandalorians into another splinter group that aspired to the more noble ideals of the Mandos' previous warrior culture, and they were still kicking around after the New Mandalorians--the pacifists--came into power. Based on the history of Satine we learn in the show, it seems like the pacifist movement came around while Obi-Wan was still a Padawan, so probably just a few years before Episode I--which means the timing would be perfect for a bunch of warrior Mandalorians, forced to hide or abandon their ways, disappointed with the new direction of their culture, to be recruited by Jango after a few years of living a lie or hiding out, to become the Cuy'val Dar--those who no longer exist--to train the Clone Commando units.

That all would work. Some backstories might need to be altered, locales, etc... but you could still get Kal Skirata, Walon Vau, and the rest.

I don't know if her hissy fit had anything to do with the Mando Prime Minister declaring Jango to be a nothing more than a thug with a stolen set of armor, but if it did it was a mistake. It seemed very clear that was the PM's personal opinion, either of the man himself or of the whole idea of him as the PM was supposedly a pacifist, where Jango represented a part of Mando society the dominant party would rather forget. And we find out later the PM's a traitor ANYWAY, so EVERYTHING he says/does could be considered suspect!

My impression is that Traviss' greatest strength is also her greatest weakness. She is extraordinarily prolific; she's even remarked that she (believes she) writes better in a state of exhaustion. For sheer stamina, for sheer volume of output, I'm sure she's an attractive hire for established sci-fi franchises, for which -- let's face it -- having more product to sell is more important than making sure the product is of the highest quality.

The other side of the coin is that Traviss isn't thorough. She's admitted, even bragged, that she doesn't read fiction. That in itself isn't all that controversial; what she does in her free time is entirely up to her, but Traviss doesn't even read fiction that is directly related to, and in some cases, absolutely foundational for, her own work. In the case of Star Wars, she apparently relied almost exclusively on editorial notes from LucasArts to get her background information.

She even said at one point, IIRC, that she had only watched two of the Star Wars movies.

So it isn't any wonder that her characterizations might seem off to avid fans, or that her narratives might seem inconsistent (both internally and in the over-arching context of the fictional universe). To some extent, I actually sympathize with her: I think she works herself to the bone, perhaps under the entirely reasonable assumption that her employers want speed first and foremost. I think she started out with the idea that she'd be approachable to the fans, engaging them on the internet perhaps more than most other authors even before her first book was published.

But the combination of frazzled, accessible, and un-thorough author with a horde of hardcore fans is a recipe for disaster. That's even before we get to specific criticisms of her work. I think she would have eventually blown her top almost regardless of the issues at hand, because frankly the internet is a cesspool: if you open yourself up to its murky depths, you're gonna find some really unpleasant comments about just about every subject imaginable.

All of that said, Traviss appears to have basically one story to tell, a story based on her experience as a civilian volunteer hanging around military types. If you give her a plausible framework for gritty, soldiery fiction, she'll succeed. If you give her ... well, basically any other framework, she'll screw it up. Or, rather, she'll reinterpret your framework to fit whatever preconceived ideas she might have based on her zero-research approach to writing.

And she is unprofessional in her interactions with fans. Say what you will about shared blame; it was her mistake to lower herself to the level of the rabid rabble. More casual fans are going to see her commentary ("Talifan," "Nazis") and they'll be turned off. It doesn't matter what provoked her reaction; the standard of conduct for a professional writer is higher than it is for random internet blowhards.

What's worse, her outbursts have (fairly or not) justified every unflattering theory about her motivation in writing some of her more controversial work. Given her statements, it isn't at all a stretch to think that her work on Revelation was a conscious middle finger at fans and/or at her fellow authors.

Looks like the other Karen Traviss thread got nuked, so I took the liberty of posting to this one to put it on the front page. By all means, continue to discuss her writing ability (lack thereof?) and her massive mando-*****....

edit: lol @ word filter ....

I have read little of the latter author, but I am going to say that she is the worst, as the RC books were amazing.

are you KT's publisher, whats with all the nerco threads? are you trying to raise her profile somehow?

I don't understand why people think that Karen Traviss being a "bestseller" makes her a good writer. There are many books that sell well and still suck.

You know who else's books sell well? Stephenie Meyer's

I don't understand why people think that Karen Traviss being a "bestseller" makes her a good writer. There are many books that sell well and still suck.

 

You know who else's books sell well? Stephenie Meyer's

If Stephanie Meyer and Karen Traviss teamed up on a novel, it would be "Twilight of the Jedi" with Mandalorian Vampires.