UPDATE: Look, Googlers: There will be no more Imperial or Republic Commando books. Aaron Allston is writing a Wraith Squadron book that took RC #2’s publishing slot. It’s over.
The departure of Karen Traviss might not mean a dead end for the Imperial Commando series after all. Sue Rostoni posted on StarWars.com today:
Imperial Commando — we’re seriously considering continuing the series with a new author. Details to come as they happen….
I feel for the author who would takes on that project – Traviss’ issues with The Clone Wars aside, they’re going to take a lot of scrutiny from her rather rabid fanbase – but plenty are clamoring for it. Stay tuned…
I seriously hope it doesn’t happen, to be honest. No-one understands the commandos better than KT, and getting someone else to finish what she started will completely bugger up what she created. Just leave it alone, I say.
I’m dubious about how it would work…. but maybe it’s time for the Star Wars universe to expand into parallel universes…. one where the Mando’a continued the way we know and love them, and one with the new peace-and-love Mando’a…..
Don’t feel bad for any author who’d land this gig. There are scores of writers who’d jump at the chance, eager to show that it can be done, and done well.
It’s not the writing part I’m concerned about.
I’m concerned for anyone who would take up this project. Karen was my favorite author in the Star Wars Universe. I just don’t think that anyone else could really bring the true grit to the characters. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Hey, not all of her fans are rabid, thank you very much. :p
I’m only iffy ’cause it’s always a shaky situation when a new author tries to mess with someone else’s characters.
“It’s always a shaky situation when a new author tries to mess with someone else’s characters.”
Infra-irony unlocked! ;)
I vote for John Scalzi. With his Old Man’s War series, he shows that he can tackle military sf and other cultures decently, and write with some humor. and with his track record, he could actually look credible as an author to the more rabid Mando fans. and at this point, Kal Skirata is turning into an old man. ;-)
Speaking as a regular reader of his blog (though not his books; Old Man’s War is still in the pile) I think that signing Scalzi would be too big a coup for LFL to stick him on Traviss’ cast-offs. Of course, Internet Genre Fame might not translate to Bookstore Genre Fame, but I suspect he would rate a standalone hardcover at least.
But I doubt he’s even a possibility, unless it’s something he really wanted to do. And I don’t know if LFL would consider this a factor, but he has been pretty outspoken about the Star Wars prequels, and not always positively.
Huh. Not sure how to feel about this. Maybe a different author would mean I could read about the characters I still love (despite everything!) without making me feel like I was reading Mary Sue fanfic.
Dunc: totally agree that having Scalzi pick up the castoffs of KT wouldn’t really fit with his general stardom level – having his own hardcover or trilogy would probably fit better.
but he does have the writing chops and credibility to do it, and he clearly thinks that Traviss raised the bar in SW lit.
hmm…. Karen Miller. would we end up with battered shirtless clones?
Stooge said it best!
There’s many MANY great writers out there who deserve a chance to make Star Wars even better. I’m sorry that Karen chose to leave, but I’m more excited to see someone new do their thing with Star Wars.
Personally, I’d love to see Warren Ellis do something with Star Wars. But I’m always interested in seeing a new undiscovered talent surprise us all.
I second John Scalzi – I think he’s certainly proven his worth with Old Man’s War – it had issues, but his writing style fits perfectly.
While I really wish she could have finished out the series (even if a big NON-CANON sticker had to be slapped on the cover) continuing with a new author is definitely preferable than seeing it die.
The only problem is, how does this new author deal with the same issues Traviss did with the new Clone Wars canon? It’s not like all the characters can just suddenly wake up from amnesia or blurt, “Just kidding!”
I’m a big fan of this series and I just don’t want to see a final book that feels like the black sheep. Though, I’ll still say that’s better than leaving it open ended; for me anyway.