r/StarWarsEU • u/Drunker_moon • 1d ago

Legends Novels Is Splinter of the Mind's Eye worth checking out?

29 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

16

u/xtricks2025 1d ago

Well, it's kind of fascinating as a piece of history (and if you wanna see Leia and Luke start a romantic line since they hadn't decided they were siblings yet). Foster is an adequate author but his style is dated.

4

u/ncraiderfan17 1d ago

I made it through a couple ADF Star Wars books, but didn't enjoy his writing at all

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u/xtricks2025 8h ago

I liked his Pip and Flix stories (for a while) and he did one book that was set in the Pip and Flix universe called Nor Crystal Tears which I thought was a pretty good first contact novel.

4

u/Drunker_moon 1d ago

Oh, that's interesting lol. Guess it makes sense, I hadn't even considered they weren't known as siblings yet

7

u/Kryptoknightmare 1d ago

I thought it was an interesting glimpse into an alternate reality where this was the cheapo sequel to a modestly or possibly underperforming Star Wars in 1980 as was originally considered. While reading it, I tried to see it in my mind as that movie, and I had a lot of fun.

5

u/Drunker_moon 1d ago

Interesting interpretation. Now I'm more curious to try to check it.

6

u/Crow_in_the_sky New Republic 1d ago

As others have said, it's a curiosity, but not really worth reading in itself.

What it really shows, to me, is how much of Star Wars' style didn't solidify till ESB.

ANH really existed thematically far closer to the pulp sci-fi of Flash Gordon, John Carter, etc... and Splinter very much is written with that pulp sci-fi aesthetic in mind.

2

u/Drunker_moon 1d ago

Ngnl, that makes me even more interested in checking it out

4

u/Several-Businesses 1d ago

The comic adaptation tries to bring it more in line with the rest of the EU. It's admirable but really has the feel of a filler chapter, and in the Epic Collection order there's so many of those that already came before. If you want just one comic miniseries between 4 and 5, I prefer Vader Quest which has great art and an interesting use of Luke as propaganda.

2

u/bbbourb Wraith Squadron 1d ago

It's...fine, I guess? It's an interesting sci-fi story but it's more fitting as an Elseworlds-style story.

2

u/Drunker_moon 1d ago

Makes sense.

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u/Filmfan345 16h ago

It was canon to the EU though as confirmed by “Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force” and “The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader”

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u/bbbourb Wraith Squadron 16h ago

I didn't say it wasn't canon. I said it was more fitting as an Elseworlds-style story. I don't dislike it. Just with what came after I don't think it fits as well in the EU's timeline. But yes, it's still canon to the EU.

2

u/Saberian_Dream87 1d ago

Yes, I like it.

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u/hideousinsides 11h ago

Definitely fascinating as a piece of history, less so as an actual story lol

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u/sidv81 15h ago

Maybe stick to the comic adaptation? Comic adaptations of novels tend to omit the Legends-continuity breaking aspects of the prose versions, including "early installment weirdness"

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u/Drunker_moon 14h ago

I might do. Thanks!

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u/FloppasAgainstIdiots 14h ago

Yes, there's a statue of Cthulhu in it.

The Luke vs Vader duel shouldn't have happened prior to ESB, but the worldbuilding is cool.

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u/Drunker_moon 13h ago

Oh, interesting 

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u/Mainalpha11 2h ago

I would say so, not particularly necessary but still a fun read, even if one small passage was a bit of a head scratcher for me