Requiem of the Outcast: Episode VIII
A Review by Jay Mustered

Rich, Ron and Janine have another outing, dubbed "The Lazy Episode," actually an interview show, taped at StellerCon in March 2004 with writers Timothy Zahn (Thrawn Trilogy, Hand of Thrawn Duology, Survivor's Quest) and Aaron Allston (Wraith Squadron, Rebel Dream, Rebel Stand).

After the standard opening dialogue, lasting about 15 minutes (referencing I Dream of Jeanie, ConCarolinas, fan films, and Nathan Butler), the interview proceeds. Fan interviews are always a dicey proposition; most cover the same ground and usually do so in a fawning tone. This is where the ROTO hosts' normal rollicking format works very well. Instead of another staid interview with the authors, we end up with a very loose, fun show. The interview is laid back and covers both Star Wars and other science fiction works of the authors, managing the difficult task of both being amusing and informative.

Some of the topics covered in the interview include:

What is it like to write in someone else's universe?

What is it like to have another author mess with your characters?

Mara Jade

Character popularity - what is too far?

How much reality is in your characters?

Are author's websites self-promotional? Is that bad?

How much planning do you do for a series of books?

The show concludes with a discussion of whether Alan Dean Foster would enjoy having "Baby Got Back" sung to him as much as Allston and Zahn did, as well as some outakes with Zahn and Allston.

Overall: a very good episode and a great first author interview show. Hopefully, we will get to see more in the future.