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 22, 2008 05:56 AM

"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."

That was primarily due to the tight focus on the Jaina/Jacen showdown. The only POVs in the book were Jaina, Han, and Ben. So it wouldn't have been possible to show, say, Boba's reaction to the nanokiller without introducing a new POV at the end of the story--and I just didn't think it was appropriate.

But you did see Jaina's reaction to most of those things, and she was the primary viewpoint character. You also saw Leia's reaction, when she tells Han that Jaina got Caedus (though there wasn't time to dwell on it, as they were going into battle at the time.) And Han's fury at the end of the book wasn't entirely about what he thought had happened to Allana--though this wasn't specifically stated because those sections were written from Han's viewpoint, and--Han being Han--he was more than a little blind to his own feelings.

		darthlex74 Member Profile Total Posts: 66 Member Since: 05/02

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 07:51 AM

Hmmm--it's just preference. When I'm reading a description, directional references actually jar me out of the story for a moment, so I tend to avoid using them when I write.

Makes sense. There are definitely some things that take me out of the story which other people don't mind.

To clarify, for me it was visualizing the scenes as I read. For example, there's that great moment at the start of the second Caedus/Jaina fight where he's standing in the open doorway, backlit by the incinerator room, with a lightsaber hole bored through his gut - and Jaina looking on in disbelief that he's still standing. It's a very powerful visual, something right out of the movies - but it was a bit odd for me not knowing which arm to picture as missing.

Given his grandfather and uncle, though, I went with "right arm."

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer questions, Troy!

MandoLegion
Total Posts: 1
Member Since: 05/08

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 07:51 AM

Contrary to the popular beliefs shown in this thread, I was (and many of my fellows were likewise) rather disappointed with the book - to put it mildly. The one question we have as a group is this: What have you got against Mandalorians? It feels that, with this one book, you've almost completely obliterated the efforts put forth to humanize the culture, to say nothing of certain individual members. No, they're not the Jedi, they're not the Sith, they're not Force-uers of any kind (for the most part), but does that really mean they're not deserving of some modicum of respect?

And to the community in general, I ask: Why is it that the rest of you seem to similarly look down on the Mandalorians?

Ke nu jurkad sha Mando'ade, burc'yase.

JWEBSR
Total Posts: 179
Member Since: 11/06

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 08:11 AM

No disrespect is intended and I appreciate you dealing directly with the fanbase. Very classy. I loved the NJO. Why? Because when it was over and done, I was left with a compelling character who was above good and evil, a true vessel of the force. Instead of taking advantage of that character and pushing the Jedi into a new era, the writing team decided to take the same old path and make him a bad guy and kill him, leaving us with the same old cliche of characters who promise to encounter the same old storylines. Wouldn't it be interesting to finally have a hero who got the job done, but may have stepped on a few toes along the way? My question is this: Why take the easy, unimaginative way instead of giving us something that hasn't been done before? Side question, if you don't mind: Jacen was borderline genius in the beginning and was transformed into a monumental dope as the books went on. Why?

		stoner jedi kenobi Member Profile Total Posts: 1222 Member Since: 09/02

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 08:17 AM

I think troy did a good job with the mandalorians. He showed that they were not invincible(ironic). I just think that what many readers were upset about was that they played a large part in the overall story arc, but really had no decisive role in the conclusion. I'm sure that there will more mandalorians in the future considering the relationship we saw between Daala and Boba!

jedi19688
Total Posts: 8
Member Since: 03/06

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 09:35 AM

Troy, thank your for taking time to answer people's questions. Hearing your thoughts on the writing process and what the characters were thinking (and why that wasn't necessarily portrayed in the book), has helped me come to peace with the ending of LOTF. I look forward to reading the book again, now that I no longer have my own preconceived ideas on where the LOTF story was trying to go (and selfish desires, since I really wanted Jacen to live). Thanks for bringing LOTF into the SW EU...I surely enjoyed it!

Wari
Total Posts: 9625
Member Since: 12/99

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 09:39 AM

This message was edited by Wari on May 22, 2008 09:41 AM

Why is it that the rest of you seem to similarly look down on the Mandalorians?

I admire Boba Fett. He's always been one of my favorites. Jango of course is by far the best Mandalorian in my opinion. But everybody has a right to like or dislike a character. Some would say die hard mando fans are too sensitive an often times ready to go to war for the slightest nod towards any Jedi, Sith or other Force user. For those that do feel that way? So be it.

I've personally stayed out of Mandalorian threads, but it's not because I don't like Mandalorians. I just feel that the hardcore mando fans get a little touchy. Apparently staying out of the threads is not enough. I would honestly say that just because some don't follow the Mandos in detail (an probably perfer other groups) doesnt exactly make them 'haterz'. Hey if you love the Mandos an you enjoy thier stories, who cares what other people think.

May the force be with you

Shinfei
Total Posts: 6
Member Since: 10/06

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 09:59 AM

Thanks Troy for answer us, it's very kind of you $;\$

I would you like to know if the fact that Legacy Comics is already out, had restrict your imagination or desires and if you'd prefered Legacy hadn't existed yet?

JWEBSR>
So true, i totaly agree with your post, why killed all potential character. Is it for there is no rival for a Skywalker ? i think Jacen would have bring such a new breath in Expanded Universe

TKeiraLea
Total Posts: 9
Member Since: 05/04

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 11:05 AM

Mr. Denning,

Thanks so much for taking the time to interact with the readers. There are tons of questions I have related to the story but I guess we'll have to wait. Anytime you're ready to spill the beans, we'll be waiting...

I do have a question related to the tight POV. Take for instance the last scene between Zekk and Jaina. We see Zekk's actions from Jaina's POV, and her interpretation of his intentions/mindset are tainted by her state of mind and their history. When you write a scene like that do you generally have a good idea of what the other character is "thinking" or intends? Do you create in your mind a secondary POV that the reader never sees? Or is the POV character's perspective only important for what you want to achieve as a writer? (You probably can't relay specifics as to my example, but you can't blame a girl for trying.)

~T'Keira

P.S. - Loved the book, and most importantly that Jaina got the heroine page-time she's deserved.

Latara the Ewok
Total Posts: 845
Member Since: 04/01

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 12:19 PM

Okay, first a caveat: anything I say here is strictly conjecture. When/if somebody writes a story set on post-Invincible Mandalore, however they decide to handle the nanokiller takes precedence.

That said, I'd think the clones themselves would be at risk, since their DNA is identical to Fett's (ignoring the possibility of spontaneous and/or disease-driven mutations). However, clone offspring would be safe, since the nanokiller was very narrowly targeted and they don't share Mirta's mother's DNA.

That's sound reasoning. I forgot to factor in Mirta being a third-generation Fett. Thanks for your time, Mr. Denning. We all appreciate the clarification.

(I cried buckets at Jacen's death, too.)

Darth Potentia
Total Posts: 157
Member Since: 10/06

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 12:30 PM

This message was edited by Darth Potentia on May 22, 2008 12:32 PM

Troy,

First congratulations on a good book and series.

Where do you think Tahiri's character should go from Invincible forward?

Dark_Lord_Halal
Total Posts: 459
Member Since: 05/08

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 12:51 PM

This message was edited by Dark_Lord_Halal on May 22, 2008 12:56 PM

I noticed you havent answered a question like this, and its whats nagging me, so I thought i'd ask.

Okay, so I know that your main focus in this novel was to generate deep thoughts and emotions, and I respect and understand this stand point. But, from the perspective of the overall Star Wars universe, Jaina wouldnt have stood a snowballs chance against Jacen. Now, I'm guessing most writers in the SW universe want to tell their own story that they're working on and their main focus isnt the entire SW unvierse.

So my question is first, how can you justify this (Jaina defeating Jacen) and second, when writing for SW is it more about your individual story and not the ripples it will cause in the universe?

Answer however you please (if you choose to answer at all), thank you!

(Ecclesiastes 9:11 is a pretty good answer to my question about how Jaina won, if that was your line of thinking.)

darthanakin318
Total Posts: 4
Member Since: 10/06

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 01:39 PM

Troy you are one of my favorite SW writers and I loved Invincible. Still found Jacen's death sad though. He was a fovorite. While reading the LotF series I notice many things and many things where mentioned that got me believing that this story was set up while writing NJO.

My question is is this true? Was NJO written with LotF in mind or during your writings did you and the other authors find ways to make LotF the fallout of what happened to Jacen in NJO?

Lucian Akili
Total Posts: 1800
Member Since: 08/02

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 02:47 PM

How cool is it to talk to the author himself! Thank you, sir! I wish more SW authors would let us blitz them with our crazy questions.

If you've been reading the other threads the deal with Invincible you've probably seen me ranting about Luke's actions in the novel. It would never be anything personal to any author, so please don't take this the wrong way, but it really does bug me that the Grand Master of the Jedi Order was portrayed as fearful and so overtly tied to emotion. The foundation of the Jedi is to be selfless and unemotional. I realize you needed Jaina to face and defeat Caedus, but why make Luke so afraid to face him? IMO, it was out of character for any Jedi, much less Luke.

Thank you for your time - it is greatly appreciated.

LA

Thunder 1347
Total Posts: 3850
Member Since: 11/04

Date Posted: May 22, 2008 03:33 PM

This message was edited by Thunder 1347 on May 22, 2008 03:34 PM

First off, I really appreciate it when you guys take the time to come and talk to us (especially considering how whiny we can get sometimes). I also want to say that I really enjoyed Invincible. I know SW authors get a lot of grief because fans all have their own ideas about how the story should be written, and as a writer myself, I know how good it feels to get some praise once in a while. Invincible was very good, as usual. Anyway, I have one question-

This pertains to when Luke left behind the Owools because he knew the Mandos would be here. I know he used a little foresight, but did he really leave the Owools behind because he knew most of his escorts would die, and he preferred sacrificing Mandos to sacrificing Wookiees? It was unclear in that scene whether Luke actually did that or Jaina just thought he might have.

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