Star Wars: Message Boards: Troy answers Twelve Invincible questions--SPOILERS herein!!


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starwars.com > Community > Message Boards > Beyond The Films > Books, Comics and Television > Troy answers Twelve Invincible questions--SPOILERS herein!!

Troy answers Twelve Invincible questions--SPOILERS herein!! - 232 replies | 16 pages

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Troy Denning
Total Posts: 60
Member Since: 01/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 02:07 PM

"Why did Jacen have to die ? and why in the way he did "

Sue has already answered the first part of this question in the VIP thread, so I'll direct you there for an answer. I'm not sure what you mean by the second part , so I guess all I can say is that the elements of the battle were planned fairly carefully to encourage readers to really think about what was happening.

Troy Denning
Total Posts: 60
Member Since: 01/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 02:11 PM

"Why after a nice setup for something from Tycho Celchu and risking his life to get back in place on the Anakin Solo possibly as a spy, was that never utilized nor said what happened to him?"

Again, I think Sue has already answered this in the VIP thread, so I'll be brief: basically, I didn't need him to advance the plot of Invincible, and I never force a character into a story where he doesn't serve a need.

Darth-Mandalore
Total Posts: 4195
Member Since: 08/04

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 02:41 PM

Why wasn't anything emotional wise resolved? I know you tried to focus it on the tragedy of Jacen dieing, but in many ways you left many things unresolved. I mean, we didn't see anyone's reaction on Jacen's death, or Daala being Chief of State, or Boba's reaction to the nanovirus. Or even Tenel Ka's reaction to giving up Allana.

Troy Denning
Total Posts: 60
Member Since: 01/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 02:52 PM

"After her development throughout the series, and ,most particularly, her heavy role in the last book, why did you choose to have Niathal (and the semi-intertwined end of the Confederation conflict plot thread) occur almost completely "offscreen"?

(I felt the book was a great stand-alone read but, since it focused almost entirely on the Jacen/Jaina plotline to the exclusion of others, it was a little underwhelming as a series finale- and it was the lack of Niathal and the Confederation conflict that was most glaring in that regard, which is why i ask) "

Actually, I'm going to reply to your comment rather than your question, since I think that goes more to the heart of what you're asking.

Early in the writing of INVINCIBLE, it grew obvious to me that I was faced with two mutually exclusive choices: write a sweeping epic across the entire canvas of the war, or write a tightly-focused adventure story about Jaina hunting down her brother. It was impossible to do both, since the sweeping epic necessarily meant that I'd be spending most of my time away from Jaina and Jacen, writing about characters and places that had nothing to do with the Twins' showdown.

Given that the central focus of the whole series has been the conflict between Jacen and his family (especially its effect on Ben), and that REVELATION had just finished narrowing that focus down to Jaina and Jacen, I felt that the choice was absolutely clear. INVINCIBLE had to be Jaina and Jacen's book. It had to focus on their showdown and fly like a missile to the climax, and anything that didn't contribute to that just didn't belong in the book.

xc279
Total Posts: 6
Member Since: 05/08

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 02:57 PM

This message was edited by xc279 on May 21, 2008 03:06 PM

Was Jacen redeemed at the end? He was my favorite character so I'm hoping he was and thought I'd ask.
EDIT: I know you said one question but I'll risk another, were the similarities between Jacen fighting in Inferno and Jaina in Invincible, intentional?

Troy Denning
Total Posts: 60
Member Since: 01/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 02:58 PM

"I know the dramatis person referred to Tahiri Veila as a Sith and she told Ben she was one, however in your opinion was she really a Sith or was she simply making bad choices while at the same time getting strung along by Jacen? The reasons I ask is because her actions seemed to contradict her being a Sith. She never really seemed to embrace it. It could be argued that she killed someone, but in the same series so did Luke."

This is perilously close to commenting on the actual text, so I'm going to be a bit vague and say that I find your reading entirely reasonable.

		The Broox Member Profile Total Posts: 20758 Member Since: 12/02

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:08 PM

> "I know the dramatis person referred to Tahiri Veila
> as a Sith and she told Ben she was one, however in
> your opinion was she really a Sith or was she simply
> making bad choices while at the same time getting
> strung along by Jacen? The reasons I ask is because
> her actions seemed to contradict her being a Sith.
> She never really seemed to embrace it. It could be
> argued that she killed someone, but in the same
> series so did Luke."
>
> This is perilously close to commenting on the actual
> text, so I'm going to be a bit vague and say that I
> find your reading entirely reasonable.

Thank you for your response.

Troy Denning
Total Posts: 60
Member Since: 01/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:09 PM

"I'm intrigued by a theory that's been put forth elsewhere, on TheForce.net boards--Was the "Mine" vision in Inferno meant to link up with Luke's "And it's not your responsibility to worry about those lives. Its mine-- mine, Jedi Solo. Is that clear?" line in Invincible, and imply that if Jacen had not killed Nelani and fallen, Luke would have fallen to the Dark Side instead (explaining why Jacen saw himself doing battle with Luke in all possible futures if Nelani survived in Betrayal)?"

Again, this is getting pretty close to commenting on the text itself, rather than my thought process in writing it. So I'm going to limit myself to saying that yes, the use of the "white eyes' symbols (and everything related to them) has been entirely conscious. Beyond that, people will have to make up their own minds about what it all means--bearing in mind, of course, that symbols usually express something that can't quite be put into words.

Troy Denning
Total Posts: 60
Member Since: 01/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:12 PM

"Why did Jacen accept the use of the Nano Virus? Even Verege thought it was wrong to use biotechnology (Alpha Red) to kill beings which was who Jacen was trying to follow. Or was that supposed to be a sign Jacen was becoming darker than Verege had been? Thanks."

Again, this is actually asking me to comment on the meaning of the text itself, but bear in mind that Alpha Red was indiscriminate, while the nano-killer was very precisely targeted.

raimo.kangasniemi@kolumbus.fi
Total Posts: 1
Member Since: 03/05

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:23 PM

I have been more a fan of the Solos than persons with the last name of Skywalker so I ask this: Why the second most famous last name in Star Wars is being extinguished - is there a reason, some official decision, why the future belongs only to Skywalkers?

MyriAntilles
Total Posts: 668
Member Since: 07/07

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:28 PM

I'll add my voice to the choir, Troy, and thank you for opening the floor to a town-hall style discussion.

I admit I had mixed feelings on book ... many of the element you put in place I felt were spot-on. It truly needed to be a Jaina/Jacen book. I'm pleased that this is the focus you chose to take.

However, I felt the depth to which you explored many of the concepts were .... hmmm. Lacking. You have a tremendous capacity to reach into the soul of a character and have them connect with the reader. Yet in many places the prose seemed hurried. Sparse. Not fleshed out. This seems to be reflected in the overall length of the novel, which surprised many of us.

Were there time constrains upon you that we are not aware of that affected this? Or were there other factors?

YodaKenobi21
Total Posts: 4
Member Since: 10/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:29 PM

This message was edited by YodaKenobi21 on May 21, 2008 03:33 PM

Great book, Troy. Such a great turnaround after the disappointment of Revelation

My question is, why are you so awesome?

Darth-Mandalore
Total Posts: 4195
Member Since: 08/04

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:32 PM

A couple more questions came up

Why don't we see into Jacen's head in the seconds before he dies? Its like we see in his head for every part of his fall this series, but we don't see his final thoughts?

And, what made Jacen more "unable to be redeemed" more then say, Vader?

Troy Denning
Total Posts: 60
Member Since: 01/06

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:36 PM

"Could you perhaps go through the reasons you decided to make Daala the Chief of State? It seems very strange to me since - even if she has mellowed and repaired her reptuation in the interim - as readers we never see this. I'll be honest - my first thought was that "thunderous applause" was a reference to Palpatine's decree regarding the formation of the Empire.

Am I offbase there? "

I've read several of your posts in different places, Becca, and they seem mostly on-target to me. Hindsight being 20/20, I do think that Daala's selection as CoS could have used some heavier foreshadowing, and perhaps even a scene or chapter showing exactly how/why she was chosen for the post (remember--she wasn't elected). At the time, I didn't want to take the camera away from the central conflict, but in retrospect, I think a little detour into Daala-land would have probably have served the central story just fine. Live and learn!

As for the thunderous applause--I guess whether it was a reference to Palpatine or an echo will depend on what kind of ruler Daala becomes in future books. I'm looking forward to finding out!

beccatoria
Total Posts: 6
Member Since: 04/05

Date Posted: May 21, 2008 03:56 PM

THANK YOU so much for replying. You totally just made my day! I'm...all embarassed yet pleased that you've read my posts in various places and think I make vague amounts of sense.

Also your explanation is awesome and I'm very grateful to have it. I think, as you note, I would have understood the Daala decision a lot better had there been a chance to explore her history and how people see her. But it's never too late and like you, I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of ruler she turns out to be. Though as a democracy fangirl and with Daala's history and her unelectedness, I have to admit, I may be hoping just a teeensy bit that she turns out to be scaaarrry. Not necessarily evil, but...I'm fascinated by the idea she's pretty much exactly the sort of ruler that Jacen wanted to be but without the Force...

Anyway, thank you so much for such a thoughtful reply. Your novels always make me *think*, which is the best thing a novel can do.

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