Category Archives: Books

Review: The Force Awakens Novelization

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star-wars-force-awakens-official-posterA novelization can be a tricky thing. After all, it’s not creating its own story but adapting someone else’s (which is a whole ’nother battle than coming up with a plot.) The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster not only has to face that complicated task but also gets to follow in the wake of the best Star Wars novelization ever. Released in ebook on December 18th and in hardcover on January 5th, The Force Awakens is an enjoyable but not groundbreaking read.

First and foremost, the novel is definitely no substitute for watching the film and there are certainly aspects lost in translation. The charm of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac just doesn’t make it on to the page all of the time. In all fairness, capturing that much charisma would have been a near impossible task for almost any writer. Foster’s also not one of those writers who writes amazing starfighter battles and thus what were exhilarating moments on the screen come off as a bit dry on the page especially without a John Williams soundtrack to back them up.

What this book does do a good job of is help expand upon the new galactic status quo. It fills in some of the gaps that the movie did not, like giving us Lor San Tekka’s name for one along with some tantalizing hints about his past. Additionally, Foster gives us more Leia, something that’s always a positive. Perhaps most interestingly, the book shows readers how Poe escaped—something well suited for inclusion in the novel where it can’t impede the dramatic effect of the X-wings’ arrival.

Perhaps more than anyone, Kylo Ren benefits from the transition to the page. Not only are his speech patterns more elegant (think Vader’s slaughter on Mustafar in the Revenge of the Sith novel) but readers also get into his head at some of the key character moments, potentially shedding a brand new light on some of his actions and reactions. Han Solo and Rey are two other characters that readers really benefit from getting inside of their heads. The fast-formed bond was one of the highlights of the film and it’s almost sweet to see Han’s side of it before they go into Maz’s cantina. Follow that up with an incredibly sweet moment between Rey and Chewie at the end that mirrors a more bittersweet one from the start and you’ve got some great character bits in here. It’s in the character moments where the novelization does its best.

As a note, the hardcover does include eight pages of color photos from the film—a little bonus for those who waited for the hardcover that wasn’t printed until after the film was released.

Is The Force Awakens novelization an essential read for any Star Wars fan? No, but it is still fun and can provide fans with more of the galaxy far far away.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing us with a copy of the book for review purposes.

Our 2015 Superlatives – Books Edition

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It’s the end of 2015, which means it’s time for Best of Lists! Here at Tosche Station, we thought we’d break up our lists into categories, and post a different topic per day.

In this installment, we discuss our favorite books of 2015.

Nanci – My reading tends to go in cycles; some years I read a lot, and sometimes I only finish a handful of books per year. This year, most of my reading was focused on Star Wars, especially after September 4. My to-read list seems never ending, especially with Kindle sales, and I’ve resolved to read more in 2016. That said, there were a couple of books I read this year that really stood out.

  • Liesmith, by Alis Franklin – a queer urban fantasy set in Australia that tells a modern version of Norse mythology, focusing on Loki in particular. I’m not a huge fan of Loki, but I loved this story and especially the characters. Sigmund is an utter delight.
  • Under the Empyrean Sky, by Chuck Wendig – this is the novel that convinced Del Rey to hire him to write a Star Wars book, and I can definitely see why. Wendig has described it as John Steinbeck meets Star Wars. It’s the story of a young man named Cael who lives in the Heartland, which is ruled by the Empyrean, a totalitarian regime that floats overhead in flotillas in the sky. I really enjoyed the setting–cornpunk is definitely a different genre for me–and Wendig’s prose is a breeze to get through.

Saf – Boy, I’ve been so overwhelmed with Star Wars books this year that I’ve barely read outside of them, except for a few others. There were two I absolutely adored, both by my two favourite authors since high school.

  • Tigerman, by Nick Harkaway – a British sergeant is sent to the island of Mancreu, a place that is slowly ticking down to an apocalyptic event. It’s filled with Harkaway’s throwaway line worldbuilding and typical flare, and builds up a lovely, but sad story about a man who just needs a long, long rest.
  • The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness – in a world where young heroes save the world on the regular, the rest of the kids at their schools just want to survive their normal, drama-filled teen lives. Ness always tends to have two things in his stories: LGBT people, and a lot of feelings. The Rest of Us actually helped me get through some rough things in my life, just because Ness really seems to understand how young people think when writing his YA fiction, and I adore him for it.

Bria: THANK GOD FOR GOODREADS.  Look, I read a lot this year and can’t remember everything but there were some standouts. I’d also like to mention both Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel which are both due out in 2016.  I was lucky enough to advanced copies of both and they were both AWESOME.

  • The Bloodbound by Erin Lindsey hit all of the right notes for me that a Tamora Pierce book does while having its own vibe.  Lindsey created a neat fantasy world that simultaneously plays by the rules and break them.
  • Finishing School Series by Gail Carriger is about a finishing school for young ladies who are also assassins in a steampunk fantasy version of England.  Is it ridiculous?  Yes.  Is it delightful? Absolutely.
  • Lightless by CA Higgins was just plain neat.  It gave me Leviathan Wakes vibes at times.  I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about this science fiction book with its very contained cast at first but once it really kicked into another gear in the second half, I was completely enthralled.

Brian: Like Nanci, much of my reading was focused on Star Wars this year, especially with the Journey to TFA stuff taking up all of my post-September reading time. That said, I did have some time to read a couple books outside of the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

  • Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig. Nanci and I read this about the same time, and like her I really enjoyed this book. I thought I had burned out on post-apocalyptic YA, but this was really a fresh take on the genre. Set in what was once the heartland of the USA, Wendig self-describes this book as cornpunk. Read it and you’ll see why. I actually picked up this book because I wanted to get used to the third-person present writing style Wendig would be utilizing in Aftermath. Let’s say I got a whole lot more than just a style choice primer. This was an excellent read and one I’d encourage everyone to pick up.

Review: The Perfect Weapon

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It seems like just last month that the Star Wars folks announced Delilah S. Dawson would be writing an e-short titled The Perfect Weapon. Oh wait, that was last month! Del Rey doesn’t make us wait very long with today’s release of The Perfect Weapon, one of five stories that feature the pictured beings from Maz Kanata’s castle. Bazine Netal is an efficient and lethal mercenary and spy who knows how to get a job done. When an anonymous client hires her to track down a former stormtrooper, she’s forced to trade teaching a newbie in exchange for use of a ship. And while Bazine is good, even she can still be taken by surprise on a dangerous mission…

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Review: Battlefront: Twilight Company

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Battlefront_Twilight_Company_coverWar isn’t glamorous. War isn’t fun. War isn’t something that everyone survives. Several years after the destruction of the first Death Star, the galaxy definitely remains at war. Out today, Battlefront: Twilight Company follows the eponymous Rebel Alliance company as they fight the Empire on fronts that Alliance leaders have likely only heard of in briefings. Star Wars veteran Alexander Freed doesn’t pull any punches in his first novel as he takes readers to the front lines of the galactic war.

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Go/No-Go: Battlefront: Twilight Company

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nasa-mission-control-3Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed. Not only is it a tie-in to the game that can stand on its own but it’s the new canon’s first real foray into serious military science fiction. But how did it go over with us? To mission control for the verdict!

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Go/No-Go – Star Wars Rebels: Servants of the Empire book series

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nasa-mission-control-3Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: the Star Wars Rebels: Servants of the Empire book series by Jason C. Fry. This four-book tie-in to Star Wars Rebels is made up of Edge of the Galaxy, Rebel in the Ranks, Imperial Justice, and The Secret Academy, each of which Nanci has discussed individually. But now that the last book is out, how do we feel about the series as a whole? To mission control for the verdict! Continue reading →

Go/No-Go: Rise of the Empire

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nasa-mission-control-3Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Star Wars: Rise of the Empire.  It’s a unique book we’re looking at today as its a compilation of A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller, Tarkin by James Luceno, and three brand new short stories by Miller, Melissa Scott, and Jason Fry to link them all together.  We’ve reviewed both books in the past but is this compilation worth your money? To mission control for the verdict!

Bria: First things first, this book is huge.  It’s about the size of Game of Thrones for reference but it’s absolutely worth every page.  One of the complaints I’ve seen about the new canon is that nothing really links together.  The three short stories in this book should remove that complaint as one could easily sit down and read Lords of the Sith, the entirety of Rise of the Empire, and then Aftermath and it would flow awesomely.  Can we discuss how rad it is that Rae Sloane has become the cohesive glue that ties together to many of these stories in addition to being a kickass character?  Reading about her at the Battle of Endor was just spectacular.  Melissa Scott does a great job of writing a younger Hera who’s not quite the confident rebel we know from A New Dawn and Rebels but definitely shows her leadership potential and doesn’t forget about her amazing pilot skills.  I even found John Jackson Miller’s story about Tarkin and Vidian to be delightful in its own way.  It’s like watching a chess match between two very confident chess masters from different schools of strategy.  The book is absolutely a must buy if you haven’t picked up one of the two novels yet but is it worth it if you already have? I say yes. Not only its it a nicely put together compilation but the three short stories are just so fun. It’s a strong GO from me.

Nanci: Disclaimer: I have not read Tarkin, nor do I have any plans of doing so soon. (There are way too many other books I haven’t read yet before I play catch up.) A New Dawn is excellent, though, enough to warrant picking up this bind-up if you don’t already have a copy. The short stories, though, are what make this book worth the price of admission. “Mercy Mission” by Melissa Scott ties more into Lords of the Sith (another book I haven’t read, oops), than either of the novels in this bind-up, but it features a young Hera learning the importance of working for the good of the galaxy. You can definitely see how she becomes the young revolutionary we see in A New Dawn and the awesome pilot we see in Rebels. “Bottleneck,” by John Jackson Miller, features characters from both novels forced to work together against their will. Miller does a great job with both Tarkin and Vidian; I found I liked the latter character a lot more in this story than I did in A New Dawn. (Also, the cameo from another A New Dawn character made me very happy.) Last but not least, “The Levers of Power” by Jason Fry makes this book an insta-buy. Rae Sloane at the Battle of Endor is everything you ever expected: bad-ass, in charge, and taking no shit from anybody. Definitely GO and get it, now.

Brian: Right from the start, let me say that if you don’t have either A New Dawn or Tarkin in your library, you should pick up this compilation. That said, I imagine most folks who are reading this review are far more interested in the all-new short stories that are appearing in the book. Mercy Mission is a solid look into a much younger Hera. While there were points where it felt like an incomplete short story that was taken from a larger work, it was still an engaging read. Bottleneck, however, was classic John Jackson Miller. It’s really the Tarkin and Vidian buddy cop story you never knew you needed in your life. The real winner though, and the reason this book is worth every penny, is Levers of Power. I’ve made no secret that I think that Jason Fry is one of the best talents creating Star Wars literature these days. Now, combine that with one of the greatest characters to appear in the new literature canon in Rae Sloane. This is an incredible short story, and it’s one you’re definitely going to want to read. The book would get a go from me just for that, but when everything else is factored in it’s a huge GO.

Flight Director’s Verdict: Rise of the Empire is GO for launch!

Review: Smuggler’s Run by Greg Rucka (by a Luke fan)

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Smugglers-Run_DBGI’m not the biggest fan of Han Solo.

It’s not that I don’t like Han. He’s a great character. As a viewer, I appreciate his humor and his cynicism. I appreciate his smuggler with a heart of gold characterization. I appreciate his relationship with Leia and, even more, his relationship with Luke. As an author, I like that he provides shades of gray and an excellent voice. But it’s no secret that Luke Skywalker captured my heart way before Han Solo could ever have a chance, and I never “grew up” to like Han, as many other people did.

So among the three “Journey to the Force Awakens” young reader novels, Smuggler’s Run was the one I was least looking forward to. I saved it for last, even though people said Moving Target would spoil the end. All that said, I still had good expectations for this book.

I was pleasantly surprised, because Smuggler’s Run is an amazing romp, super fun, and has absolutely fantastic characterizations.

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Review: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

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lost starsLost Stars, the young adult entry in the Journey to the Force Awakens, reads like fanfic.

For many people, the phrases “young adult” and “fanfic” give Lost Stars two strikes before even turning to the first page. There’s a big stigma out there against YA fiction, because, and let’s not be blunt here, teenage girls read it. That’s not to say YA is all great — it can be melodramatic and poorly written — but the same is true of adult books, is it not?

Then there’s the fanfic comparison. Many people like to criticize Expanded Universe books they dislike by calling them “glorified fanfiction.” To me, though, fanfic is not an insult. Fanfic represents a land of opportunities in Star Wars literature. You can write about whoever you want, doing whatever you want, whenever you want. You can stick to canon or split into an alternate timeline. There are no rules. So you could, for example, create your own original characters and have them live through key events of the Galactic Civil War.

Lost Stars takes that common fanfic premise to the extreme, and that’s a good thing. Continue reading →

Go/No-Go: Aftermath

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nasa-mission-control-3Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Star Wars: Aftermath.  It’s our first book set after Episode VI in the new canon and is the tentpole of the Journey to the Force Awakens. No, it’s not Heir to the Empire, but the start of something entirely new. Is it worth your time? Does it live up to the hype? Should we stick to Legends instead? To mission control for the verdict!

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