I figure the original trilogy does get credit for Leia, considering the female characters in MOST science fiction in that era. The prequels, on the other hand, are in a lot of ways a huge step BACKWARDS, especially with the majority of Padme's non-love interest scenes getting cut from 2 and 3, not to mention the whole "Now she dead from stupid" bit.
The decline in the expanded universe was similarly saddening. In the Bantam era, Leia was leader of the bloody GALAXY, and an effective one at that. And what does the Del Rey era harp on? The fact that she was too busy leading the galaxy and raising children to be a Jedi. Leia's daughter went from being an ace pilot and generally well adjusted teenager to permanently fourteen years old, with no storyline beyond "Which guy will she pick?" And poor Mara Jade Skywalker, former assassin, randomly switched between bitchy (there is a LINE between willing to knock some sense into Luke with sarcasm and being bitchy) and... CLINGY? The Bantam books had a lot of strong female characters, but other than my beloved Aaron Allston (who is a holdover from the Bantam books...), no one under Del Rey seemed to be able to WRITE these women.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-06-18 11:42 pm (UTC)The decline in the expanded universe was similarly saddening. In the Bantam era, Leia was leader of the bloody GALAXY, and an effective one at that. And what does the Del Rey era harp on? The fact that she was too busy leading the galaxy and raising children to be a Jedi. Leia's daughter went from being an ace pilot and generally well adjusted teenager to permanently fourteen years old, with no storyline beyond "Which guy will she pick?" And poor Mara Jade Skywalker, former assassin, randomly switched between bitchy (there is a LINE between willing to knock some sense into Luke with sarcasm and being bitchy) and... CLINGY? The Bantam books had a lot of strong female characters, but other than my beloved Aaron Allston (who is a holdover from the Bantam books...), no one under Del Rey seemed to be able to WRITE these women.