Category Archives: Star Wars

Review: Crucible by Troy Denning

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Crucible by Troy Denning is a bookend of sorts. It’s not the dramatic conclusion to the Expanded Universe that many fans hypothesized, but it is sort of an end-point for Luke, Han and Leia. As such, expectations for this book are high, and that’s only natural for a book of such importance for the Big Three. Because of the importance of this book, my review is going to run a bit longer than it normally would. As an additional note, we’re also going to roundtable discuss this book on the podcast this week, so we’ll be able to hash out some additional thoughts that Bria and I couldn’t quite fit into our written reviews.

There’s a lot of things I wanted to touch on here so without further ado, to the review. Be warned, spoilers loom below the cut.

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Review: Crucible

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CrucibleCoverI went into Crucible slightly hopeful and also without very high expectations, hoping that this book would surprise me.  Unfortunately, it failed miserably.  Instead of moving forward and away from some of the less liked bits of the last ten years of the Expanded Universe, Crucible latches on to those bits and runs with them.  Readers who haven’t read Fate of the Jedi will be lost about a great many plot points, which makes it a failure as a standalone novel.  The best way that I can describe this book is that it takes the worst plotlines from Fate of the Jedi, adds in lot of arrogant Jedi superiority, and then a final dash of Crystal Star at the end.  Unfortunately, no Star Wars fan ever said “The Expanded Universe needs more plotlines like the Crystal Star!’ and for good reason.  If this is really going to be the last big adventure for Luke, Leia, and Han, then I am oh so sorry for all three of them.

Mild Spoilers Beneath The Cut

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Go/No-Go: Crucible

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Later tonight, we’ve got a pair of Crucible reviews that we’ll get posted. Until then, we want to try something new. Our reviews usually feature spoilers, and I’m certain a number of you wish to stay spoiler-free but also want to know if something we’re reviewing is something you should go out and buy right away. That’s why we’re introducing a new feature called Go/No-Go. What we’ll do is go around the horn Mission Control style and have the blog’s staff writers offer a brief, spoiler-free paragraph detailing whether or not they think a book, film, or other piece of entertainment is a Go or a No-Go to purchase.

First up on the launch pad: Crucible by Troy Denning

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Diversity In Star Wars

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star-wars-episode-vii-logoCasting rumors have been flying around rampantly almost as long as we’ve known about the Sequel Trilogy and with the recently leaked Episode VII casting breakdown, it seemed like a good time to tackle an issue that’s been bothering me a lot lately: the lack of diversity in leading roles in the Star Wars galaxy when it comes to gender, race, and species.

The Star Wars galaxy is an incredibly diverse place.  There is an innumerous amount of different species in the galaxy far far away all living on hundreds upon hundreds of different planets.  So why is it the default in Star Wars films and literature to (almost) always make the protagonist a white male?

Think I’m exaggerating?  I recently completed a reread of 130 Expanded Universe books.  Out of those 130, only 15 of those books had a leading character who was not a straight white man, excluding books that you could potentially argue are led by Skywalker women.  Five of those books are the Republic/Imperial Command novels and I’m even including books like The Cestus Deception and The Approaching Storm which were co-led by aliens and (you guessed it) a straight white male.  15 out of 130. That’s about 12%.  In a galaxy where I couldn’t even name all of the alien species if I tried?  I haven’t sat down and looked at every single main book in the Expanded Universe but I reckon that number wouldn’t rise much above 15%.  That’s pretty bad and unfortunately, the films don’t do any better.

Star Wars is an epic universe that is ripe with opportunity for diversity.  This is science fiction we’re talking about here.  To quote writer Jane Espenson, “And if we can’t write diversity into sci-fi, then what’s the point? You don’t create new worlds to give them all the same limits of the old ones.”  If the vast majority of the named cast is white and mostly male, then the creators are failing at truly embracing the core tenants of what science fiction should be about.  What really makes all of this jarring is when you watch the films (especially the Prequel Trilogy) and see the wide variety of species and races in the background.  It’s not that the writers and the character designers and the special effects artists are lacking in imagination because clearly those characters and those ideas are there.  So why haven’t we been seeing more Star Wars stories with more diversity in the forefront?

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Blurb – Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge

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Razor's EdgeThe blurb for Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge, written by Martha Wells, has appeared in the Random House catalog.

Times are desperate for the Rebel Alliance. Harassment by the Empire and a shortage of vital supplies are hindering completion of a new secret base on the ice planet Hoth. So when Mid Rim merchants offer much-needed materials for sale, Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo lead an Alliance delegation to negotiate a deal.

But when treachery forces the rebel ship to flee into territory controlled by pirates, Leia makes a shocking discovery: the fierce marauders come from Leia’s homeworld of Alderaan, recently destroyed by the Death Star. These refugees have turned to pillaging and plundering to survive—and they are in debt to a pirate armada, which will gladly ransom the princess to the vengeful Empire . . . if they find out her true identity.

Struggling with intense feelings of guilt, loyalty, and betrayal, Leia is determined to help her wayward kinspeople, even as Imperial forces are closing in on her own crippled ship. Trapped between lethal cutthroats and brutal oppressors, Leia and Han, along with Luke, Chewbacca, and a battle-ready crew, must defy death—or embrace it—to keep the rebellion alive.

Alderaanian pirates? We were all really excited about this book, but now you know staff writer Bria is going to be allll over this book.

The first novel in the Empire and Rebellion series, previously known as Rebels, is scheduled for release in hardcover and ebook formats on September 24.

(via Knights Archive)

Kemp duology is “on standby”

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Over on Reddit today, author Paul S. Kemp was in the middle of an Ask Me Anything when someone asked up about the status of the duology he was signed to write a few years back. Kemp say much, but what he can say isn’t encouraging for those looking forward to it:

I wish I could say something.

Here’s the thing: The Disney deal and announcement of the new movies is a big deal. I’m on standby at the moment. That’s about all I can say. :-/

As Club Jade points out, if this duology is on standby because of the Disney deal and upcoming new film installments, that could very well be bad news for Christie Golden’s Sword of the Jedi. Of course, keep in mind there’s been little said about this duology since it was initially announced that Kemp had received a contract to write them. There has been uncertainty about this project since before the Lucasfilm sale to Disney went through.

Del Rey introduces the Star Wars Action Team

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It’s not fully active yet, but the Del Rey team are geared up to introduce a fan promotion program that lets readers earn themselves points to win cool stuff. The details:

Del Rey Books is thrilled to announce the launch of the Del Rey Star Wars Action Team, or SWAT for short. Whether you’re a die-hard reader who’s consumed every one of the novels over the past 35 years, or a newbie jumping into the books for the first time, the SWAT is looking for a few dedicated recruits. It’s entirely free — all you need is a passion for Star Wars stories and a willingness to help spread the good word.

The way it works is quite simple:

1. Help spread the word.

2. Earn points and rankings.

3. Get stuff.

Once the SWAT site is live, you can register and begin getting the word out about your favorite Star Wars literature.

Rumor: Star Wars expansion to be largest in recent Disney parks history?

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As always, thDisneyis is a rumor so use as many grains of salt as you need.

According to the Orlando Business Journal, Disney World will be getting a Star Wars expansion. It’s doubtful that anyone would be surprised if this happens. Why wouldn’t Disney use one of the most valuable intellectual properties in entertainment in their parks? What may be surprising is the scale Disney is considering for this expansion.

Guess what, Disney fans? That rumored Star Wars land/expansion at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will dwarf any other Disney-related expansion in its recent history.

At least that’s what a source with close connections to the park told me about all the growing chatter about a new Star Wars land project coming to Walt Disney World.

It’s expected that any type of Star Wars expansion could easily be north of $200 million in new investment at Mickey’s house, but the thought of something bigger is quite impressive.

Another interesting rumor is the expansion wouldn’t be contained to just Disney’s Hollywood Studios or any single park.

To find out just what that expansion might entail, I reached out to yet another source who seems to have a magical way of knowing things about Disney.

“My understanding is the Star Wars expansion will be similar to the Harry Potter expansion featuring new attractions, new creative merchandise and food and beverage options, as well as re-purposing older rides with the Star Wars theme,” said Chad Emerson, a Disney author and expert.

“There also have been conversations of re-themeing the Fantasmic! night show and introducing a new fireworks show with a Star Wars theme,” Emerson told me. The Fantasmic! show is on the opposite end of the theme park from its current Star Wars-themed area. He said that thought process by Disney shows the Mouse doesn’t see Star Wars as a ‘single area’ type of addition, but rather, as playing a larger role in the entire park.

“It’s not just an isolated land I hear they have in mind, and they are not just seeing this as a way to revitalizing a part of the park. Disney is seeing this Star Wars brand as something that will be sprinkled elsewhere throughout Hollywood Studios and elsewhere through out the resort,” he said.

Not so sure how keen I am about re-theming Fantasmic, which is perhaps Disney’s most iconic daily show at their parks. Expanding the presence of Star Wars to more than one area is interesting, though. Perhaps the Swiss Family Robinson Tarzan treehouse is going to be re-skinned to an Ewok theme.

Obviously here at Tosche Station, we’re keen on new Star Wars themed park developments. A few weeks ago we did a podcast on this very topic.

(Via Club Jade)

Review: Star Wars: Legacy #4

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Somehow, Ania Solo’s week just keeps taking her further and further away from being a junk dealer and into a much larger universe.  Out today is Legacy: Prisoner of the Floating World #4 by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman and trouble is definitely the name of the game here for our heroes.

This review contains mild spoilers for the issue.

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