Interesting Failure: The Crystal Star
Oct. 3rd, 2021 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ermingardenTime for Day 2 of the book meme...posted on Day 3. Oh well.
2. A book that was an interesting failure
What does it mean for a book to "fail"? Does it just mean the book is bad, or is there something else to it? Is it based on what the author intended to accomplish by writing the book, and if so, how do we know that, and how do we judge it? Can a book have a purpose at which it can succeed or fail independent of authorial intent? Can an excellent book nevertheless be a failure?
My answer for this is Star Wars: The Crystal Star by Vonda McIntyre. The Crystal Star is McIntyre's only Star Wars novel, and it's almost universally disliked by Star Wars fans. The thing is, The Crystal Star isn't an awful book; it just doesn't work as a Star Wars book. McIntyre's worldbuilding is interesting, but doesn't mesh well with the established Star Wars universe, and her characterization of existing Star Wars characters is shaky. As what it is – a Star Wars novel – The Crystal Star fails, but if McIntyre had written a book with largely the same elements outside the constraint of a pre-existing canon, I think it could have been good.
The only time I can remember seeing elements from The Crystal Star used in a fanwork is in "Alter of Waru" by Jedi-lover, an excellent Luke/Mara story published on FFN back in 2012. Otherwise, fandom has largely ignored it.
The remaining questions:
3. A book where you really wanted to be reading the "shadow" version of the book (as in, there are traces of a different book in the work and you would have preferred to read that one)
4. A book with a worldbuilding detail that has stuck with you
5. A book where you loved the premise but the execution left you cold
6. A book where you were dubious about the premise but loved the work
7. The most imaginative book you've seen lately
8. A book that feels like it was written just for you
9. A book that reminds you of someone
10. A book that belongs to a specific time in your mind, caught in amber
11. A book that came to you at exactly the right time
12. A book that came to you at the wrong time
13. A book with a premise you'd never seen before quite like that
14. A book balanced on a knife edge
15. A snuffed candle of a book
16. A book you'd take with you while you were being ferried on dark underground rivers
17. A book that taught you something about yourself
18. A book that went after its premise like an explosion
19. A book that started a pilgrimage
20. A frigid ice bath of a book
21. A warm blanket of a book
22. A book written into your psyche
23. A book that made you bleed
24. A book that asked a question you've never had an answer to
25. A book that answered a question you never asked
26. A book you recommend but cannot love
27. A book you love but cannot recommend
28. A book you adore that people are surprised by
29. A book you detest that people are surprised by
30. A book that led you home
2. A book that was an interesting failure
What does it mean for a book to "fail"? Does it just mean the book is bad, or is there something else to it? Is it based on what the author intended to accomplish by writing the book, and if so, how do we know that, and how do we judge it? Can a book have a purpose at which it can succeed or fail independent of authorial intent? Can an excellent book nevertheless be a failure?
My answer for this is Star Wars: The Crystal Star by Vonda McIntyre. The Crystal Star is McIntyre's only Star Wars novel, and it's almost universally disliked by Star Wars fans. The thing is, The Crystal Star isn't an awful book; it just doesn't work as a Star Wars book. McIntyre's worldbuilding is interesting, but doesn't mesh well with the established Star Wars universe, and her characterization of existing Star Wars characters is shaky. As what it is – a Star Wars novel – The Crystal Star fails, but if McIntyre had written a book with largely the same elements outside the constraint of a pre-existing canon, I think it could have been good.
The only time I can remember seeing elements from The Crystal Star used in a fanwork is in "Alter of Waru" by Jedi-lover, an excellent Luke/Mara story published on FFN back in 2012. Otherwise, fandom has largely ignored it.
The remaining questions:
3. A book where you really wanted to be reading the "shadow" version of the book (as in, there are traces of a different book in the work and you would have preferred to read that one)
4. A book with a worldbuilding detail that has stuck with you
5. A book where you loved the premise but the execution left you cold
6. A book where you were dubious about the premise but loved the work
7. The most imaginative book you've seen lately
8. A book that feels like it was written just for you
9. A book that reminds you of someone
10. A book that belongs to a specific time in your mind, caught in amber
11. A book that came to you at exactly the right time
12. A book that came to you at the wrong time
13. A book with a premise you'd never seen before quite like that
14. A book balanced on a knife edge
15. A snuffed candle of a book
16. A book you'd take with you while you were being ferried on dark underground rivers
17. A book that taught you something about yourself
18. A book that went after its premise like an explosion
19. A book that started a pilgrimage
20. A frigid ice bath of a book
21. A warm blanket of a book
22. A book written into your psyche
23. A book that made you bleed
24. A book that asked a question you've never had an answer to
25. A book that answered a question you never asked
26. A book you recommend but cannot love
27. A book you love but cannot recommend
28. A book you adore that people are surprised by
29. A book you detest that people are surprised by
30. A book that led you home
