ThousandWorlds Collected

Zine
Title:	Thousandworlds Collected
Publisher:	Mazeltough Press/Bev Clark
Editor(s):	Maggie Nowakowska
Date(s):	1986
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Wars
Language:	English
External Links:
	Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
	Contents 1 About; 2 Issue 1; 3 Gallery; 4 Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1; 5 Issue 2; 6 Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2; 7 Issue 3; 8 Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3; 9 References;

front cover, Carol Walske, NOTE: covers of all three volumes are identical

back cover, Carol Walske, NOTE: covers of all three volumes are identical

the map published in issue #2

ThousandWorlds Collected is a single-author collection of Maggie Nowakowska's ThousandWorlds Star Wars stories, with a few guest writers interspersed throughout the zine. It has three perfect bound volumes. It was published by Mazeltough Press and the first two volumes were edited by Linda Deneroff. It also went under the name of "The ThousandWorlds Chronicles." In the first two volumes Maggie wrote new stories in the series and updated older stories; the third volume is a reprint of Skywalker 5, edited/published by Bev Clark.

Maggie won the 1979 FanQ Award for Best Author for the ThousandWorld series, though this was before they were all written and combined in these three volumes.

About

Maggie Nowakowska began her series of Star Wars stories immediately after the first movie appeared. She, with the help of a friend, created a complex universe of various races, social structures and alliances. The stories appeared in a number of fanzines, many now out of print. Mazeltough Press has collected all the stories in three volumes. The first includes material pre-" A NEW HOPE"; the second starts at that movie and moves onward; and the third is Maggie's novel, "Counterpoint: The Battle for Rynan," which was published as Skywalker 5. For those unfamiliar with the series, Maggie's plotline breaks off at "A NEW HOPE," ignoring the events of "EMPIRE" and "JEDI." This is a completely alternate universe, with characterizations that grow in different ways than their movie counterparts . ^[1]

Issue 1

ThousandWorlds Collected 1 was published in September 1986 and has 279 pages.

The art is by Steve Gallacci, Marilyn Johansen, Steve Knapp, Pam Kowalski, Mary Otten, and Mary Stacy-MacDonald.

Proofread by Susan Bridges, Linda Deneroff, Dragon, and Melanie R.

From the editorial:

I never wanted the equivalent of an "M.A." in ThousandWorlds, but I feel as if I've earned one anyway! It's been a hectic few years, putting these tomes together, and a lot of fun as well.
Maggie first introduced herself to me with five disjointed pages of a Star Trek timeline that she wanted to know if I would be interested in printing in the first issue of Guardian. I read them, and not two minutes later was on the phone -- the first of my I don't know how many calls to the opposite end of the country -- demanding why she hadn't sent the rest of the timeline and, yes, I most certainly did want to print it! It's been ten years between that first phone call to this epic work and almost ten since SW entered our lives. And whatalong, strange trip it's been.
By this time, too, Maggie's stories had appeared in several different zines and some were out of print. I suggested to her that they should all be collected together, and I volunteered to be the one to do it -- some year when I had the time. And there the matter lay, until the summer of 1983, when I visited Maggie, Susan Matthews, Bev Clark, and the rest of the Terran Enclave in Seattle. Skywalker 5 was almost finished, and Maggie asked if I were still interested in doing the Collected. "Sure," I said. Toward the end of that year, Bev was pricing printers, and it turned out that, even with shipping, it was cheaper to print the zine in New York City. Since it was now definite that I was going to be doing the Collected and middle-manning Sky5 -- and since, per copy, it is cheaper to print 1,000 copies of a zine than 700 -- I made arrangements with the printer to print 700 copies of Sky5, remove the extraneous pages, change the covers to those done by Carol Walske, and print the remaining 300 as TWC3 (which has been sitting in partner Cynthia Levine's garage ever since, waiting for the rest of the Collected to be printed!)...
A word processor is a wonderful invention, and having friends with the same machine is an additional benefit. In the course of 1984/1985, Ann Harvers, Kathy Hintze, and Jenn [Barbara] Wenk helped me retype all of ThousandWorlds, and then Maggie and Dyane, Sue Bridges and I spent more time making revisions while I typed all the new material and commissioned artwork.
This volume is only half the result; the rest appears in volume two, so you can see the enormity of the task.

Gallery

interior v.1, Mary Stacy-MacDonald
interior v.1, Pam Kowalski
interior v.1, Marilyn Johansen
interior v.1, Mary Otten
interior v.1, Steve Knapp
interior v.1, Steve Gallacci
interior v.1, Pam Kowalski, an early rendition of Darth Vader
interior v.1, Pam Kowalski, an early example of "computer art"
interior v.1, Pam Kowalski

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

See reactions and reviews for Last Sanctuary.

See reactions and reviews for Phantoms of Shadow.

Issue 2

ThousandWorlds Collected 2 was published in December 1986 and has 327 pages. The art is by Marilyn Johansen, Leah Rosenthal, Marty Siegrist, and Pam Kowalski.

From the editorial:

In the disclaimer department: The bulk of ThousandWorlds was written be fore the last two-thirds of the Star Wars trilogy were ever filmed. By the time even The Empire Strikes Back came out, it would have been much too dif ficult to conform TW to the films -- although Maggie has swiped some names here and there.

Some excerpts from Ellen Randolph's preface:

The lure of the created universe -- it catches the writer by the throat. What begins as a desire to spend time in a much-loved fictional world created by someone else becomes a positive mania to explore further; the more one writes of one's own version of things, the more one must write. And that's why this collection takes up three volumes...
Although I have vague memories of having read Skywalker 1 back in 1978 or so, I don't recall having read anything else of the TW universe until I received three humongous packages in late 1985 in preparation for writing this preface. Obviously, many things stayed with me from that years-ago reading -- for when writing my own work in 1983-85, I quite blatantly stole the phrase "Thousand Worlds", and quite probably a few other things, too. But these two words are indicative of some thing Maggie does superlatively well: choosing the right words. "Hundred worlds" is too small; "million", incomprehensible. It also echoes Obi-wan's (infuriating!) "thousand generations" of Jedi very neatly. "Enclave" is another right word -- how many writers fled to the thesaurus for some other term to describe Jedi establishments in their own work? Yet whatever one ends up using, the effect is always: "Oh, she means the local Enclave." The slang, the technical jargon, the oaths, the deities -- all these words create atmosphere. The trick is to choose the right ones and not over use them. The readers need reminding that they're in that galaxy far, far away, yet beating them over the head with a lot of strange phraseology and in-talk turns irritating in the end. Maggie found the happy balance...
Writing now from a history major's point of view, I find the sequencing of events excellent. The plethora of emperors in TW indicates that no one person had the strength to hang onto power in a galaxy coming apart. The instability of the political situation at the top is consistent with the time it's going to take these people to stitch things back together. This was a piece of wisdom, for in order to explore all the permutations of TW society and to bring those elements into the struggle, time is essential. Had a more stable system been postulated, with only one or two emperors having a stranglehold on everything, the galactic fabric would not have unraveled so quickly, and the time necessary to piece it back together would have been much shorter. By choosing a more chaotic breakdown of the established order, Maggie gave herself time to play with all the aspects of the society that fascinate her....
This was billed as a "brief critical preface". That first adjective compels me to skip over a dozen more observations that may or may not have added to anyone's enjoyment of this work. The second adjective, however, was a real pain to deal with. On reflection, I seem to have said that TWC is both rich and superficial; too long and too short; a selection of good choices and missed chances. All of this is true -- from a certain point of view. TWC is a collection of sometimes excellent writing, plotting, and characterization. What it lacks in disciplined structure it makes up for in scope and originality. Like all fan universes, it is a place to stretch wings, build strengths, and discover weaknesses; a learning place to which its creator and admirers will return for further lessons. In many ways, it's as much of an education for its readers as it was for its writer.

Dedication (ii)
ThousandWorlds, A Brief Critical Preface by Ellen Randolph (v)
Kenobi genealogy by Maggie Nowakowska (vii)
ALev genealogy by Maggie Nowakowska (viii)
A ThousandWorlds Hymn, filk by Maggie Nowakowska (1)
Reflections of a Jedi as He Leads a Boy to War, filk by Maggie Nowakowska (2)
The Vow, filk by Maggie Nowakowska (3)
The Battle of Yavin 4, filk by Maggie Nowakowska (4)
Other Alliances 1 by Maggie Nowakowska (5)
Vintage 6080 by Maggie Nowakowska (reprinted from Skywalker) (7)
Other Alliances 2 by Maggie Nowakowska (15)
Emme's Diary by Dyane Kirkland (18) (reprinted from Skywalker)
The Immigrants by Maggie Nowakowska (69)
A Tale of Two Lukesby Maggie Nowakowska (73)
Another View of Life, filk by Maggie Nowakowska (88)
Last Flight of the Millennium Falcon by Maggie Nowakowska (89) (reprinted from Skywalker)
Dev's Song, filk by Maggie Nowakowska 177)
And Provide for the Harvest Next Year by Maggie Nowakowska (178)
Nothing Left to Lose by Maggie Nowakowska (190)
Bethen's Song, filk by Maggie Nowakowska (301)
Appendix 1 --the filks by Maggie Nowakowska (302)
- Corelli Mothers' Advice Sont (304)
- Dance to Your Da-A (305)
- DarCOhne (306)
- The Drake's Love Song (307)
- Gods Before Us (308)
- Hard Times in Downport (310)
- The Indies' Profit Song (311)
- Memories Late on a Tatooine Night, 6089 (312)
- Requeim, Corellian (313)
- Requiem, Frielen (313)
- Two's Company, Three's a Corellian (314)
Appendix 2, The ThousandWorlds Galaxy (map) (315)
Appendix 3, The ThousandWorlds Timeline (316)

from issue #2, Pam Kowalski
from issue #2, Pam Kowalski
from issue #2, Marilyn Johansen
from issue #2, Leah Rosenthal
from issue #2, Pam Kowalski
from issue #2, Pam Kowalski
from issue #2, Pam Kowalski
from issue #2, Marty Siegrist
from issue #2, Marty Siegrist
from issue #2, Pam Kowalski
from issue #2, Pam Kowalski
from issue #2, Pam Kowalski

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

See reactions and reviews for Emme's Diary.

Issue 3

ThousandWorlds Collected 3 is a reprint (with different covers) of Skywalker 5, edited/published by Bev Clark. It is the novel, "Counterpoint: The Battle for Rynan."

... since, per copy, it is cheaper to print 1,000 copies of a zine than 700 -- I made arrangements with the printer to print 700 copies of Sky5, remove the extraneous pages, change the covers to those done by Carol Walske, and print the remaining 300 as TWC3. ^[2]

Interior art is by Pam Kowalski, Martynn, Jay Mullins, and Nancy Stasulis. The covers are by Carol Walske.

Content:

Counterpoint: The Battle for Rynan" by Maggie Nowakowska (the sequel to the "The Last flight of Millennium Falcon' and "Nothing Left to Lose") (From the zine: "Please. If you have never read any of the ThousandWorld Chronicles: COUNTERPOINT: The Battle for Rynan is based on the universe presented by George Lucas in star wars. Episode 4: A New Hope, and only that episode. Subsequent plot and character/relationship developments of the STAR WARS universe in Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, do not apply. No difference between the TW universe and the official SW universe is meant to be taken as critical commentary on the universe Mr. Lucas has created.") (1-255)
The Battle for Rynan, filk to the tune of The Baron of Brakely, Childe No 203," by Geialev (3)
a two-page cast of characters (4)
In the Name of the Profit, filk to the tune of "The Vagabond King," by Susan Matthews ("Because everyone KNOWS Han Solo and Francois Villon were second cousins once removed.") (256)

inside art for issue #3, Pam Kowalski
inside art for issue #3, Jay Mullins
inside art for issue #3, Pam Kowalski
inside art for issue #3, Nancy Stasulis
inside art for issue #3, Pam Kowalski
inside art for issue #3, Martynn
inside art for issue #3, Jay Mullins
inside art for issue #3, Martynn

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

I've always been an admirer, rather than a fan, of Maggle Nowakowska's ThousandWorlds stories. Until COUNTERPOINT.
I trust everyone grasps the subtle difference between "admirer" and "fan". Most fans would agree that Nowakowska is a fine writer, ensconced firmly among the four or five fan writers In existence who really understand their craft. Her multi-layered, fully realized plot lines present a striking contrast to the character-in-angst vignettes that fill most fanzines. But in the past my admiration was tempered with a number of reservations. Her stories tended to bog down in their own socio-political backgrounds. The action kept grinding to a halt to allow the insertion of a lecture. And her characters seemed to me considerably less important than their framework...in Nowakowska's worlds, the people took second place to the political moral of the stories. Not everyone, perhaps, would perceive this as a fault, but to me, character should be the central point around which a story revolves. The character is the story. And it seemed to me that this is where Maggie always fell short. COUNTERPOINT laid these reservations in the grave. Nowakowska has taken a giant step forward in her craft and, in the process, has written a piece of fiction that few other SWARS writers could touch.
This is a l-ooo-nnn-ggg novel, weaving together all the threads touched upon in other ThousandWorlds stories. And it has a cast of characters that would do a Russian novel justice. Just juggling all those plotlines and characters is a task I wouldn't care even to contemplate. But Nowakowska does even better. For the first time (at least, to my mind) she doesn't just write characters, she writes people. And she lets her moral points and socio political backgrounds reveal themselves as a good fiction writer should through people you can care about. Not all those people are "main" SW characters, a fact that may subtract from the reading pleasure of those who are only interested in Han, Luke, Leia or Darth. But even those fans should give COUNTERPOINT a try. Because it's these other characters that make COUNTERPOINT a delight.
The best, to my mind, are her created characters… these came to be the people I cared about the most. The Drake, for example, is an absolute delight, as is his lady Senator Faeter. In the youth-oriented pages of fan fiction. It's nice to see one writer who doesn't believe that everyone over 35 1s dead from the neck down (if you take my meaning). Fascinating in a different way is the newspeak, Iain Avairly, who first showed up in "No Guarantees". Her handling of this character shows a deep understanding of the subtle moral choices that life offers.
Nowakowska also does the minor Saga characters justice — particularly Jan Dodonna. No one has ever done quite so good a job of bringing the bearded general of ANH to sympathetic life. He's likable but fallible.. .and without doubt, a military leader. Interestingly enough, (since this series is based solely on ANH, having been begun long before TESB), she uses some of the minor characters from TESB, such as Veers, Piett, Ozzel, and Rleekan, all to good effect. Lando, however, remains in the outer darkness.
All this is not to say she neglects the main characters. Han, in particular, is well drawn. His gradual growing up process vividly demonstrated, especially In the climactic scene where he sees where the "freedom" of his life-style is heading. I've had trouble with Maggie's Han characterization (a personal preference, rather than a true quibble), but I have no problems with the COUNTERPOINT Han at all. Ironically, this welter of well-drawn characters is part and parcel of what I consider the novel1s only Important flaw: It's too diffuse. To my mind, novels should Ideally have one or two central characters which the rest of the action revolves around,..other characters are Important to a 'bin' novel, like Nowakowska's, but they should take somewhat of a back seat. Readers need that point of identification, someone to empathize with, to see the action through. It would be difficult to name one or two or even three main characters in COUNTERPOINT. An equal weight is placed on almost all the characters. In a way that's bound to reduce the emotional impact.
Another complaint I've heard about COUNTERPOINT is one I don't share, but I do feel I should point it out: This is not the final "wrap-up" of the Thousand Worlds series. It may be the last story, but there are clearly loose ends, and Nowakowska doesn't even pretend to wrap up the war. I can't say it bothers me. Lucas left a few loose ends of his own In ROTJ, and, at any rate, it would have taken something the length of the whole SW trilogy to wrap up the loose ends of the threads Nowakowska's been weaving. It does bring the major action of the novel itself to a conclusion and, for me, that's adequate.
COUNTERPOINT is a novel that's well worth reading on Its own terms, not as a SW story or even as a continuation of ThousandWorlds. It's well-written, it's engrossing, and it's written about characters that one comes to care about. To my mind, that's about all you can ask for from a novel, whether fan or pro. ^[3]

References

^ from "The Wookiee Commode Guide to Star Wars Zines -- 1986", from The Wookiee Commode #6
^ from the editorial of ThousandWorlds Collected #3
^ from Jundland, Too #2

[1] rom "The Wookiee Commode Guide to Star Wars Zines -- 1986", from The Wookiee Commode #6

[2] rom the editorial of ThousandWorlds Collected #3

[3] rom Jundland, Too #2

[1]

[2]

[3]

Zine
Title:	Thousandworlds Collected
Publisher:	Mazeltough Press/Bev Clark
Editor(s):	Maggie Nowakowska
Date(s):	1986
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Wars
Language:	English
External Links:

Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
Contents 1 About 2 Issue 1 3 Gallery 4 Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1 5 Issue 2 6 Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2 7 Issue 3 8 Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3 9 References