Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
People have asked me what my favorite Star Wars book is before. They’ve asked me what the best Star Wars book is. Those ideas always change for me, depending on what I’ve read most recently and what the newest Tim Zahn book is.
But if anyone ever thought to ask me which Star Wars book was the most fun, the answer would have to be Starfighters of Adumar, hands down. Click on the jump for more from our final X-wing retrospective as we gear up for Mercy Kill.
Tomorrow, folks: tomorrow (!!!) marks the long-awaited return to the X-Wing series with X-Wing: Mercy Kill by fan-favorite author Aaron Allston. And, understandably, the EU blogosphere has been very excited. We here at Tosche Station have been looking back on the classic novels in preparation for tomorrow’s release. Look for our final retrospective on Starfighters of Adumar by Emily later today. If you want to start your own retrospective, you can purchase a nine-book bundle of the classic novels, available for Kindle and other ebook formats.
For those of you who just can’t wait until tomorrow, Suvudu released the first 50 pages of Mercy Kill as part of their 50 Page Fridays feature. (I am resisting and haven’t read it yet, although that might change today.) And, of course, the Star Wars Books Facebook page has given us several mini-excerpts throughout the summer. This month’s Star Wars Insider also has an interview with Aaron Allston as well as a short story (with art!) featuring Myri Antilles, written by Karen Miller.
Early reviews have been popping up as well. Check out reviews from Knights Archive, Lightsaber Rattling, Big Shiny Robot, and the Star Wars Report. They’re mostly spoiler-free and mostly positive. Roqoo Depot also has a nice summary of one of Mercy Kill‘s main characters, the scientifically-altered Gamorrean named Voort saBinring, also known as Piggy.
And if you really can’t wait for the novel, go back and check out our interview with Aaron Allston, where he reveals some insights about what it was like to return to Wraith Squadron after 13 long years.
Amazon tells me that my copy is in the mail. I’ll probably also buy the Kindle version so I can sneak peeks during breaks at work tomorrow. I’m so excited! Are you? These guys are:
The eighth book in the series marks a rather dramatic departure from what we’ve seen to this point. Gone are the multi-book arcs. Instead, the final two novels in the original nine-book run are more standalone tales. The first of these books is Isard’s Revenge, Michael Stackpole’s return to the franchise after taking time away to write I, Jedi. Perhaps more importantly, it’s a return to the tales and adventures of Rogue Squadron, the new Republic’s premier military outfit.
When you’re a part of Rogue Squadron, danger and the impossible are all part of the job description. That’s no different in Isard’s Revenge, which means the Rogues and the readers had best strap in for another white-knuckle adventure.
Have we convinced you to read the X-Wing books yet? We Have? Then good news!
You can buy the original nine novels in an eBook format bundle today for $56.99, a 20% discount over buying them individually. If you’re considering picking these books up for the first time or are long-time fans that simply wish to save your poor paperback copies wear-and-tear, you can get the bundle for Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes and Noble’s Nook.
While you’re at it, why don’t you pre-order X-Wing: Mercy Kill as well?
Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s new on the blog. We ask just what’s in a Power Converter. Nanci asks EU fans to give Crucible and Troy Denning a chance. Brian looked back at Solo Command. On this week’s Cosplay Monday, the blog featured a magnificent Heimdall costume.
Fixer’s Flash is somewhat light this week. Both the hosts have Icarus Hunt tales to share. Nanci finished the first draft of her book and Brian finally put academia behind him.
In Deak’s Dirt, there’s a host of Celebration VI news including announcements of a Rancho Obi-Wan exhibit and the return of the Bounty Hunt game. Mary Franklin claims that the CVI schedule currently stands at nine feet long in the physical printout. Leland Chee discussed the Holocron on the official blog. Jena Malone was officially confirmed to play Johanna Mason in Catching Fire. In some bizarre (but awesome) rumors, will Mary Poppins duel a gigantic Lord Voldemort at the Olympic Games? Finally, we bid farewell to pioneer and trailblazer Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
Camie’s Concerns this week brings us back to the X-Wing retrospective. This time around, the hosts dig into the Wraith Squadron arc and talk the plots and characters as well as examining the impact Aaron Allston’s novels have had on the Expanded Universe. It’s far more than just dogfights and blaster skirmishes.
For Wormie’s Works this week, Nanci highlights Star Wars Yoga and Brian links to an Indiana Jones vocal cover.
Rounding out the show, the hosts answer questions from listeners. Remember, if you’ve got a question you want to ask us, e-mail and tweet them to us, or leave us a message on Facebook.
Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.
Everything comes to a head for the Wraiths in Solo Command, the final entry in the three-book Wraith Squadron arc by Aaron Allston. Do the Wraiths survive? Will Lara be unmasked? What will be the fate of the illustrious Lieutenant Kettch the Stuffed Ewok?
Most importantly, can a book succeed when the reader knows going into it that the villain will live to fight another day?
Our X-Wing retrospective continues with a look back at Solo Command below the jump. Beware of spoilers!
Iron Fist is my favorite novel of the Wraith Squadron trilogy, for many reasons. It’s funny, heartwarming, touching, and intriguing. The characters continue to be flawed, fascinating creatures, and you root for them to both survive and thrive. In the meantime, you know that this is war and not everyone will make it out unscathed, both physically and mentally.
This is book has one of my top moments of the entire Expanded Universe. And yes, I warn you now: there will be spoilers. If you’ve already read this book, I’m sure you can figure out what for.
I love all the X-Wing books. I especially love the Wraith Squadron trilogy by Aaron Allston. While Corran Horn remains one of my favorite Expanded Universe characters, I have a deep and abiding love for Garik “Face” Loran. (This will not come as a shock to people who regularly listen to the podcast.) However, there is so much more to this series than this one exceptional character. Allston took the wonderful setup given to him by Michael Stackpole and ran with it, but wasn’t afraid to put his signature touches on the trilogy. To that end, fans of the Expanded Universe received a plot worthy of Star Wars and engaging characters who jump off the page and keep bringing you back for more.
On the blog this week, we introduced a new feature we’re calling Cosplay Monday. Each week we’re highlighting some costumers that have gone above and beyond to represent fandom and this week, we’re featuring Sylar and Sheila’s Korra and Tahno costumes. Maggie fired back at a New York Times article taking issue with The Hunger Games and romance in literature. Shane continued the blog’s look back at the X-Wing novels with his retrospective of The Bacta War. Meanwhile, Nanci reviewed Operation Montauk by Bryan Young.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been keeping herself busy writing, but still managed to find time to finish reading Operation Montauk and start War of the Seasons by all-around awesome person Janine Spendlove. She also squeezed in time to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It was everything you’d expect from a movie with that title. Meanwhile, Brian kept himself busy by watching Brave, Pixar’s latest film and one he thoroughly enjoyed. If you follow him on Twitter, you might have caught a barrage of Legend of Korra finale related Tweets. He’s also giddy that Futurama is back on the air and has started reading Mageworlds. You can blame Nanci for that.
So, now we’ve reached the end of the initial run of the X-Wing series. The Bacta War is the capstone to Mike Stackpole’s work on start of the series and it represents, to me, some of the highest points of all four books. The tone of these books is different than the books in the past have been and for very good reason.
After we were left with the end of The Krytos Trap, many of us were on edge, disbelieving what happened and completely ove awed by the possibilities. Please be aware, once you cross this jump, you are deep into spoiler territory.