Sometimes licensed novels are surprisingly good, and other times they read like a piece of bad fan-fiction. While conventional books are judged by creativity, licensed novels are judged by their use of the setting. If you're reading a Star Wars book and think "Wow, this really feels like it takes place in the Star Wars universe!" it's a successful licensed novel. If you read a Star Wars book and think "Bogus! A hutt would never act like that!" then the writer did not properly capture the setting, and thus has failed. That writer will get no cookie today.
Books often have tools that other mediums don't. Books can get inside a character's head, something movies fail to do (unless you're watching Alfie). Books can also put in exposition, another something that movies cannot do. This is why there are licensed novels, because sometimes, you just need a book to get the job done.
No comments:
Post a Comment