A 1995 Brian Daley Interview
A 1995 Brian Daley Interview
By Alex Newborn
Reprinted on Star Wars Action News by permission of the
author
Hello, my name is
Alex Newborn, and like yourself, I am a fan of great Science Fiction
Literature... and therefore an admirer of the works of the late Brian Daley. I
was also blessed enough to conduct an interview with Brian via mail and
telephone just months before he passed away, which some have called the last
one he ever gave.
Originally written
for a newsletter devoted to collecting Star Wars memorabilia, I have rewritten
my own parts slightly, using less abbreviations and insider lingo to make it
more accessible to Brian's mainstream fans. I have not changed the wording or
even the punctuation on many of Brian's replies.
Rest assured, we
covered more than just his Star Wars contributions. I spent a few heady months
re-reading everything of his I owned, as well as tracking down and devouring
voraciously nearly everything else I could lay my hands on. Although some of
our discussions are dated now, especially the frenzied anticipation over the
then-iffy Return of the Jedi Radio Drama, where necessary I have included
footnotes in brackets for today's audience.
I hope you enjoy
this trip to the past as much as I have enjoyed reformatting it for your
perusal. Special thanks to Martin Thurn for his blessing, Jim Luceno for his
encouragement, and Lucia St. Clair Robson for her assistance.
Alex Newborn
October 1999
****
A STAR
WARS Fan Interviews Brian Daley
by Alex Newborn
Originally appeared in Martin Thurn's STAR WARS COLLECTOR. Used with
permission.
****
In April 1995, the
front page of SWCollector #10 ran a blurb for an upcoming "interview
contest" with Brian Daley, and invited subscribers to submit additional
questions for inclusion:
ANNOUNCING! BRIAN DALEY INTERVIEW
CONTEST!
by Alex Newborn
If you're like me, your original
paperback copies of Han Solo at Stars' End, Han Solo's Revenge, and Han Solo
and the Lost Legacy are tattered and dog-eared from frequent re-readings. Or
perhaps you think that the National Public Radio Dramas of Star Wars and Empire
Strikes Back (considered canon by Lucasfilm) are the best adaptations of the
stories ever written. Or maybe- just maybe- you actually own two copies of the
Disney/Buena Vista audio tape "Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell", in case
anything ever happens to the one you always listen to.
If so, consider yourself a fan of
author Brian Daley, because he penned all of these beloved "further
adventures" in the SW universe. Second only to Splinter of the Mind's Eye
by Alan Dean Foster, Brian Daley was one of the first authors to expand upon
George Lucas' characters and settings, and his creations reappear regularly in
SW Role-Playing Game sourcebooks and the more recent novels. His early
expansions permeate the fabric of the interwoven continuity of the SW universe
at a level which is almost subconscious. Timothy Zahn's popular character Mara
Jade could never fly a Z-95 Headhunter if Brian Daley hadn't invented the
fighter craft in the late 1970's.
Recently, Brian Daley consented to an
interview for STAR WARS COLLECTOR, but he warned me that
he had just conducted one for SW Galaxy Magazine (see issue #2 of that
publication). SWC's publisher Martin Thurn and I
decided to try something a little different, more in keeping with the
collecting aspect of SW fandom.
The result is what we call an
interactive interview. Here's the best part: the winner will receive copies of
the SW and ESB radio drama script compilations, autographed by Mr. Daley
himself!
P.S.
Brian Daley informed me of an
interesting variation in his Han Solo novels, which may be of special interest
to completists: In the British editions of the books, the name of the character
Bollux was changed to Zollux, to avoid being a homonym of a Cockney slang word
for male genitalia. [Great, kid, don't get Cockney!] So, you may want to
track down a few foreign editions of these decade-plus-old books for your
already overcrowded bookshelves!
Vis vobiscum.
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