OSIK. I knew LucasFilm wasn't treating their authors with the respect they deserve, and now I have more proof than ever. Thanks to their antics with this new Clone Wars kid show, Karen Traviss' work is going to be...not canon. Which means, according to our beloved Mr. Lucas, it doesn't matter, didn't happen, and that, therefore, years of Ms. Traviss' sweat and blood can be obliterated with a 30-minute episode.
What kinds of changes are these bozos making that are screwing up an ENTIRE STORY LINE? Here's the pertinent part of her blog entry:
I can't discuss the canon issues because of the standard non-disclosure agreement that all writers sign. I'm not even going to discuss the ones that are public now, and I know little of the full detail anyway. So please don't ask me. All I can say is that I was given enough of the detail in January to realise that changes in continuity were such that I wouldn't be able to carry on as originally planned with the storylines you were expecting to see continued in my books. It would have required a lot more than routine retcon.
The only solution I could think of that could accommodate the changes was a complete reboot, and I seriously considered doing that. But starting over, when I had so many other books on my plate? The knock-on effect on my other work was a problem, because most of my income doesn't come from Star Wars. And then there was the risk of alienating readers. Pulling the rug from under them after so many books - that wouldn't go down well, and "I was only following orders" doesn't appease anybody these days.
The canon is beyond my control, because that's the very nature of tie-in work. But that still left me with some personal choices I had to make. I could try to make the retcons. Or I could switch to different SW books that weren't affected by these changes. Or I could decide to call it a day - I had a great run, but I had an increasing amount of non-SW work to get on with that was more important to my business.
In the end, the only rational decision I could take was to make Imperial Commando #2 my last book for Star Wars. I'm sorry I had to do that, and it wasn't a decision I took lightly or even quickly, so bear with me while I explain.
Obviously, in business, there are always multiple reasons behind any decision. Some of my influencing factors were business ones about contractual matters, but that's dull and of no interest to the customer. Let's stick to what concerns you, which is the story.
Rather than switch to vastly altered storylines in which many of the characters whose lives you've been following for the last five years wouldn't exist, or move across to other SW areas, I decided this was a natural point at which to make the break.What is this going to mean for Darman, and Niner, and the Nulls, and Kad, and ALL the characters we Mando'ade have come to know and love? Lucas, you need to start realizing that just because you own the rights, DOESN'T mean you own Star Wars. This is way bigger than you now. There is a fandom of MILLIONS around the world, and your quest to get a bigger buck has made them angry.
OSIK. That is all. [/rant]
