Following Disney’s takeover of the Star Wars franchise, the storytelling has completely declined epitomized with the absolute failure of The Last Jedi and subsequently The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian.
Not only has the storytelling declined significantly, but the company also employs people who regularly attack its fans such as Rian Johnson and Pablo Hidalgo.
So there are plenty of reasons to ditch Star Wars, and there are a number of properties that can replace it.
This writer was pleasantly surprised and deeply honored to find one of his series on the list.
Combat Frame XSeed is a series of novels written by Brian Niemeier that takes place in a future where tensions are rising between the people of Earth known as grounders and space colonists that make up the Systems Overterrestrial Coalition.
As tensions rise the Systems Overterrestrial Coalition deploys giant manned robots called combat frames in an attempt to put an end to the growing violence.
The first set of novels includes Combat Frame XSeed, Combat Frame XSeed: Coalition Year 40, and Combat Frame XSeed: CY 40 Second Coming. Most recently he released Combat Frame XSeed S.
I offer my thanks to BiC, along with a slight correction: There are now two series in the Combat Frame XSeed saga.
Find the first hit military thriller series here.
Get started on the second thrilling series. Book two now in the works!
It’s also encouraging to see nods given to my peers Jon Del Arroz and Richard Fox. Not to mention the original Mobile Suit Gundam, which had a major influence on CFXS.
Are you a writer hoping to make a positive impact on popular culture? My fellow author and client Adam will teach you how to write like a beast!
I clearly need to get my Star Wars-alike serial out the door.
Come on in, the water's fine!
Very fine indeed!
Yup! Serials are a great way to get a story out. I've been saving so much more money for worth while stuff by leaving Dead IP land behind. And making my own alternatives to replace it. 😀
I could take my Star Wars RPG campaigns, file off the serial numbers, and have better content than anything Mouse Wars has come up with. After floundering for years, it's been nice finding good SF by indie authors who don't insult everything I stand for.
Second the guy above about getting a SW-alike out the door. I gotta strike while the iron is hot.
Fun fact: I gamed out nearly all of my novels' outlines.
Welp, time to get cracking on a chapter of my own book before heading out to work
The best time to start making money is now.
Will the next xseed be crowdfunded? Any time estimate?
Yes. Soon. Newsletter subscribers get notified first.
This is great. Has anyone put together a list of Star Trek replacements?
I’ve heard the Galaxy’s Edge book series is a good Star Wars inspired series. Anyone read it?
Legionnaire perfectly captures the mood of an inspired WEG group's squad-level stormtrooper campaign.
Galactic Outlaws does the same thing for an Outer Rim scoundrel romp.
Read the first one. Loved it. Passed it on to a friend. Will read more after slogging through Brian's Soul Cycle. Just kidding! Enjoying it.
Don
I have. Fantastic series and highly recommended. Many titles have been written by vets.
xavier
yeah, it's really good.
Awesome, guys. I’ll definitely check it out!
X Seed and the Galaxy's Edge stuff are badass. Star Wars (back in the EU era) was once badass, but became too self-important. Since much of the best stuff in Star Wars came from outsiders (the EU material), it makes sense outsiders would be able to replace it with something better.
Thank you all for the high praise. If my readers are happy, I'm doing my job.
Though, to be honest, the fall in storytelling began before Lucas sold to Disney.
How many people in 2010 still cared about Star Wars? I was a hardcore fan, but by then most SW themed RPGs were dead. We weren't talking about it anymore. People had moved on. Including many hardcore fans.
Between Disney taking over and EA rolling out SWTOR there was a glimmer of hope.
Neither delivered.
That being said, with all the hype over how great the EU was? It wasn't. The EU had outstanding stuff like the Thrawn trilogy, yes. It also had abysmal trash like the NJO. Was it better than Disney Wars? Yes. But it wasn't this great perfect monolith either. Just like Lucas wasn't a saint in regards to Star Wars.
Personally I'm not looking for a Star Wars replacement. I don't want anything like Star Wars anymore. Just like I don't want a Star Trek or Doctor Who replacement. Give me something completely different. As long as it's good I don't care.
I've even been digging out my old Perry Rhodan books again.
Star Wars as a movie franchise ended in 1983. the extra material since then, such as video games, novels, and comics, were good ways of satiating those who wanted more.
Everything to come since the special editions, outside of those niche areas, have worked to tarnish all the good will built up.
Star Wars should have stayed niche, because it has nothing else to offer popular culture aside from rehash nostalgia. It told its story, and it is over. Just like every other '80s property that won't stay dead. It's done, as far as wider mainstream appeal.
We need to move on to new stories.
By 2010 the games had about dried up. X-Wing, Dark Forces, Rogue Squadron, and the classic Battlefront games were dead. Knights of the Old Republic only had an MMRPG which did okay but didn't have nearly the impact of the earlier games.
Book wise, all the great books had already been written and the new releases were dominated by the New Jedi Order.
No true successor ever arose to replace the West End RPG, and despite Wizards' best attempt to make use of the license they never got anything put together. By 2010 there were definitely many people playing Decipher's game than Wizards' version.
Personally I had been a huge Star Wars fan through mid-high school, but had jumped ship to Mecha after being introduced to Gundam. And I know that I'm not the only one.
Our backgrounds are similar. That was the route I took, as well.
Chris Fox has a pretty good dragons-in-space magitech series. There's a whole genre called Galactic Fantasy that really scratches that magic in space itch.
Congrats, Brian!
Many thanks!
Richard Fox Ember Wars isn't quite as lasers-and-wizards as Star Wars but it is /great/ space action-adventure.