Category Archives: SWEU

EU Retrospective: Lead Up to Yavin

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So I didn’t actually read all four books as planned but it was not my fault!  The library has taken over two weeks to get me the requested copy of Shadow Games and I’m not so desperate to read it that I felt like delaying the Waru Express any longer than I already have.  I have struck it from the list and it will be replaced by The New Rebellion.  More likely than not, I will read it anyways once it finally arrives but not in order.  Sorry if anyone was really looking forward to my thoughts on that book.  I might include it as a footnote in another post.

But enough of that!  On with the show and three very very very different books.

Death Troopers
I really have no idea what I was expecting from this book but it probably should’ve been exactly what the book gave me.  It is definitely a horror story set in the Star Wars universe.  Surprisingly, I actually rather enjoyed it and I’m not necessarily a big horror fan.  This goes back to a comment I think I made a few posts ago about how there really is something for everyone in the Expanded Universe.  Schrieber introduces mostly new characters and I even found myself caring about some of them particularly the doctor, Zahara Cody.

I was not, however, expecting Han and Chewbacca to show up.  Wow do those two get around and attract a lot of danger in the process.  Maybe they should considering retiring to a nice quiet planet without any moons.  Joe Schreiber actually writes a pretty good Han and Chewbacca.  I especially liked how he wrote scenes from Chewbacca’s point of view instead of taking the easy way out and writing them from Han’s.  The only “criticism” I have isn’t actually a criticism but just a comment that there wasn’t much tension in regards to their fates since the book is set before A New Hope.

All in all, it’s a short (and I really do mean short at only 234 pages) read but definitely worth it especially if you’d like a change from the Expanded Universe status quo.  At the very least, it’s worth a try.  Zombies on a Star Destroyer, folks, zombies on a Star Destroyer.  What’s not to love?

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Tosche Station’s Gratuitous 2012 in Review Linkdump

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In January, Nanci and I started a podcast. In April, we spun that podcast off into a blog. All sorts of crazy things have happened since. Welcome to our gratuitous 2012 in Review Linkdump. As a note, thanks for bearing with us over the holidays as we took time to visit our friends and family. We’ll be back Wednesday with regular coverage and posts. Be sure to also check out Club Jade’s 2012 retrospective.

For our year-in-review, to the jump!

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EU Retrospective: The Han Solo Trilogy

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I don’t care what anyone else says but I love the Han Solo Trilogy and always have since I first read these when I was 9 or so.  I’ve said before that they’re my guilty pleasure books and that’s just fine with me.  It has, however, been reeeeeally long time since I’ve read these books and wow was it weird to keep reading about a ‘Bria’.  I don’t know you folks with more commonly used names do it when you read books.  But let’s set my personal issues with that aside for now and get on with the reviews!

The Paradise Snare
Oh street rat Han.  You try, kiddo, you try.  Okay sure his background may be a little cliché but did we really expect Han to come from anything else?  Plus, it’s a nice set up for everyone to realize that Thracken Sal-Solo is indeed a-word-that-I-cannot-use-in-this-review.

The book serves as a nice set up for both the trilogy and Han as a character.  For starters, both his relationship with Dewlanna and his experience with Ylesia make it a no brainer for him to save Chewie later on.  You get to see where he came from and how he made the natural progression to the person he is when he first meets Luke and Obi-Wan on Tatooine.  It’s also fun to see how Han seems to attract sidekicks no matter what although the idea of Han teaching Muuurgh proper Basic grammar is somewhat entertaining.  As far as Ylesia goes though?  Wow does Han have some bad luck when it comes to ending up on crappy mining planets.

Obviously, I really do love the character of Bria Tharen.  Sure she’s in a pretty crappy place (mentally and physically) when we first meet her but her evolution as a character through the series is great.  I think her interest in archaeology is a neat touch.  While yes, she has fallen victim to this fake religion, I really like that Crispin makes it clear that this happens to both the weak and the strong-minded.  Similarly, while she does need Han’s help to initially break away from it, I absolutely do not think that makes her a weak character but more on that later probably.

I do love all the subtle little cameos such as the one by Bornan and Aryn Thul on Alderaan.  It’s a cute little tie-in to the YJK books.  I also appreciate the flyby mention of Hal Horn in connection to the ‘Jenos Idanian’ identity.  Say what you will about the Bantam era books but I really love how the authors really did try to make things tie together and fit to the best of their abilities.

The only thing that had me really rolling my eyes with this book was Han’s abuse of endearments.  Come on, Han.  I know you were a street rat but really?  On the other hand, I can wave it off because this is a book about a very young Han Solo and he hasn’t figured out how to be suave and charming yet scruffy yet.

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EU Retrospective: Coruscant Nights

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I hope everyone got their fill of ‘Watch Bria have an emotional breakdown’ with the last post because we won’t be getting another one of those for awhile.  Now that the Clone Wars are over, we get to look in on what some characters were up to before the Battle of Yavin.  The Coruscant Nights books follow the adventures of Jax Pavan, a Jedi Knight who was lucky enough to survive the Purges and who, for some idiotic reason, is stupid enough to remain on Coruscant instead of fleeing for the stars.

Jedi Twilight
Hey guys.  Do you know who was alive and then died in this book?  Even Piell.  Want to know who I still don’t give a bantha’s butt about?  Yep.  You got it in one.  Literally all I know about him is that there was some continuity snafu and… nope.  Still no caring to be found.

As for the book itself, it’s a decent enough read, I guess?  I could’ve done without everything related to Black Sun because I really don’t care about Kaird or think it was a vital part of the book.  (I mean, out of all the characters to bring back from MedStar, you picked him, Reaves?  Really?)  A lot of things about the plot just felt really convenient.  I still don’t get why Vader is so focused on getting Jax of all the Jedi who might have survive.  I also don’t get why Anakin apparently gave Jax a jewel as a gift a while ago?  Just… what?  Oh and the whole Grey Paladin thing is a bit weird too.  Basically, there are a lot of things I just don’t get but it’s an entertaining enough read to not be a waste of time.  However, I think I enjoyed it more when I first read it a year or two ago.

Oh and when I said I wanted more Nick Rostu, I meant a short story where he and Mace work together to command some battle during the Clone Wars and have lots of humorous exchanges.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still nice to see him being used but it just doesn’t feel like the same Nick although the war can probably be partially blamed for that.  Poor Nick.  He deserves so much better.

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Review: Winner Lose All

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Scoundrels is coming and because we were all good little girls and boys, Del Ray and Timothy Zahn teamed up to give us a short digital exclusive story that serves as a sort of prequel to the forthcoming novel as an early Christmas present.

As the title might indicate, Winner Lose All takes place around a sabacc tournament and stars none other than the king of gamblers himself, Lando Calrissian.  Lando just wants to win the tournament and get rich.  Obviously, because this is Lando, things don’t go his way and he finds himself involved in a scheme he hadn’t planned on once he encounters the Kitik twins and learns that the grand prize could very well be a fake.  Things end up spiraling out of control as they quickly realize how convoluted the scam is and it’s going to take a master scheme and a fair bit of luck for them to wind up on top.

Winner Lose All is a fun and entertaining read and exactly the sort of thing I hope we see more of with these e-stories.  It tells a good story and lets you get to know all of the characters and also plays in a corner of the Star Wars universe that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.  Zahn does a good job with each of the characters, not letting just one overwhelm the story.  The plot also has enough twists and turns without becoming ridiculous and keeps the reader engaged and wanting to know what happens.

Above all, the story serves its purpose well: to serve as a prequel and to introduce readers to some of the new characters who will be appearing in Scoundrels.  In just fifty pages, I already found myself getting attached to Tavia and Bink Kitik, the twin ghost thieves who have differing levels of approval for their business.   They may share the same face but they definitely have their own distinct personalities and don’t fall into the any tiring twin tropes.  Zahn also introduces the twins’ partner in crime, Zerba Cher’dak who will also be appearing in the forthcoming Scoundrels.  He’s definitely not someone you’d want to play against at sabacc though because he is just that good at cheating.

Bottom line is that I suggest you all go get this because not only is it a fun read but it’ll help tide you over these last two weeks until we can all finally read Scoundrels.

Will the Star Wars Comic Rights Be Reverting to Marvel?

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One of the questions surrounding the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm and today’s rumor mill of the day has concerned the future of Star Wars comic books with Dark Horse.  Many people have predicted that Star Wars will return back to Marvel (Disney’s in house comic company) and rumors today put that return date to be sometime in 2014.  However, Randy Stradley, VP of Publishing for Dark Horse, commented on the Dark Horse messenger boards recently and said “don’t believe everything you read on the internet” indicating that the previous rumors are likely false.

There does, however, remain a decently strong chance that Marvel could reacquire the rights to publish Star Wars comics at some point within the next several years.  I’m going to make it clear that this is all speculation on my part based upon rumors and the current state of comics.  So what would that mean for the books themselves?  First and foremost, the fate of the current or forthcoming books that Dark Horse is putting out could possibly be in limbo.  Judging by the interview with CBR, both Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman seem to have at least a year’s worth of issues and story lines planned out if not more for the brand new Legacy comic.  If Marvel does reacquire the Star Wars IP, will comics like Legacy or Agent of the Empire or the new Original Trilogy era comic continue under Marvel editors or would they be halted completely or halted and relaunched with completely new creative teams?

It would also bring the fate of the various creators into question.  It is possible that some of these writers and artists could have exclusive contracts with Dark Horse therefore stopping them from making the change along with the Star Wars IP.  If they don’t have exclusive contracts, it’s possible that some of these titles could simply seamless continue and just change editorial staffs.  More likely than not though, you would probably see at least some creative team shifts but predicting those would be nigh impossible especially since it’s almost equally as impossible to predict what books sales might look like in 2014.

On the other side of things, some people have looked at Marvel’s current line up of writers and artists and become excited about the prospect of something like Bendis, Fraction, DeConnick, Remender, or Hickman writing a story set in the Star Wars universe.  As far as artist goes, I know that I would personally love to see Skottie Young give some of the Star Wars comics and characters his baby treatment or Phil Noto or Jerome Opeña drawing a Star Wars book.  Unfortunately, I honestly do not see that happening especially given the current book assignments and Marvel’s current tendency to double ship many of their more popular books.  For those who don’t know what double ship means, it refers to a comic having two issues published each month instead of one.  Obviously double shipping requires a very strict creative schedule and usually a fair bit of planning so each contributor can meet his or her deadline.  Looking at the current and upcoming Marvel NOW schedule, it is very unlikely that most of the big name writers would have time to add another Marvel book to their schedules in addition to their own creator owned projects.  That’s not saying it’s impossible (because let’s be honest: after the Episode VII announcement, nothing is impossible anymore) but it’s unlikely.  This could potentially give some of the lesser known creators for Marvel a chance to shine or even some new talent to emerge.

On the other hand, there is also the chance that Marvel might not have any immediate interest in working on Star Wars comics in the immediate future especially given their current projects.  Star Wars could possibly have a longer future with Dark Horse than most people anticipated.  At the very least, given Stradley’s comment, it does not look likely that Dark Horse will lose their contract within the next few years.

At the end of the day, we really still don’t know anything for sure about whether or not Dark Horse will be losing the rights to Star Wars once their current contract is up.  Once again though, we’d like to remind you that nothing is officially confirmed as being true until it is announced by StarWars.com.

New ‘Legacy’ Writers Discuss Ania Solo

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Over at Comic Book Resources, new Legacy comic writers Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman stopped by to discuss the new series and all-new protagonist, Ania Solo:

The lead character of this adventure is the great-granddaughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa. Beyond that, what can you tell us about her?

Hardman: As far as her actual lineage goes and exactly how she’s related to Han and Leia is something that is a little bit of a mystery and we’re not going to be paying off anytime soon. A lot of the “Legacy” era has been about these larger-than-life Emperors and royalty — we’re taking this down to much more of a ground level. Ania Solo is somebody that is not a part of that world, and she doesn’t have a personal connection to it. She may have even turned her back on it.

Bechko: She’s living in a backwater, Outer Rim system. She runs a junkyard and she doesn’t have that many prospects, and that’s where we start things. Our story takes off there.

Hardman: That’s where the big change in her life is going to happen. She’s launched into an adventure that involves much bigger stakes than anything she’s been up against before.

Bechko: She’s certainly brash enough to recognize an opportunity when she finds it. It’s not necessarily bravery, but it’s maybe not something a wiser person might do.

Now is Ania a Jedi? She is from a pretty powerful lineage so it makes sense that she’d be carrying on that important legacy in some …

Hardman: She finds a lightsaber.

Awesome. Does she know how to use it?

Bechko: No, absolutely not. [Laughs]

Hardman: We’re so far out in the middle of nowhere that they’re not even entirely sure what it is when they find it. She’s not overly Force-sensitive. She’s a character that relies on her wits, and when she finds this lightsaber, it really just gets her into trouble and draws some seriously unwanted attention that launches her into this story.

Okay. I love this. This is the sort of character I’ve been lobbying to take the lead of an Expanded Universe plot for ages and for the first time, I’m legitimately interested in picking up a Legacy comic.

EU Retrospective: Revenge of the Sith

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Here we are.  At last, we’ve arrived at the book I’ve been dreading because it is just that good.  (Thanks for that, Matt Stover.)  In 2005, Del Ray published a novelization of Revenge of the Sith and two novels that take place on either side of it, forming an unofficial trilogy.   I’m also including another book in this post just because it needed a place to go.  This is also the review where I finally did post some reaction pictures so I could properly express my anguish.  (Enjoy the spam of my face.)  However, if you’re going to take nothing else away from this and the past few posts, take away that I would positively love to see both Stover and Luceno write more books in this era.  Please.

Labyrinth of Evil
This is by far the prequel lead-in book that has the most to do with its film.  (So, in retrospect, my decision to go to the bookstore and read through this hardcover I couldn’t afford the day before the movie was released was a good one but then again 15 year old me probably should’ve had the good sense to get it from the library weeks before.)   Because it goes directly into the film, it ends up being one of the most worthwhile of the lead-in books to read.  However, even though it’s a lead up, the book still has its own story to tell and that tale never really drags.  Luceno’s action sequences are well done and he has an excellent grasp of all the characters.

Speaking of which, no one writes Palpatine like James Luceno and no one has the ability to make the Prequels make more sense like him either.  He drops in some references, like the one to Plagueis, that apparently went right over my head when I originally read that book but that had me nodding and going “ohhhhh” as I read it this time.  He also references tons of things from the rest of the Prequel books without it ever being heavy handed.  What’s even more impressive to me is that he manages to write the best Palpatine in a book that was still under the ‘LOLZ DON’T TELL ANYONE THAT SIDIOUS IS PALPS’ gag order.  The writing accolade obviously extends to how he writes Sidious.  Luceno does keep up the ruse for those who live under a rock and weren’t aware of Palpatine’s secret identity but he doesn’t sacrifice characterization to do so.  Applause all around really.

Luceno also writes a pretty good Anakin and Obi-Wan.  I love that Obi-Wan’s plan of attack to find this pilot is to go drink in every bar until they can find her.  Best plan ever, Boozy-Wan.    This era is absolutely his forte.  Actually, I’d love to see him write a political Amidala book or even an early days of the Rebellion book based purely on how he handled those characters in this book.  Actually, I don’t have any complaints with how he handled any of the characters, even the ill-fated Captain Dyne.

Overall, it’s actually a pretty good read.  It tells the story that it needs to tell and never lets the reader get too bored.  It’s a nice mix of action and politics and the hunt for Sidious.  If you skipped this, it’s one of the Prequel books I would recommend going back and giving a shot.  Honestly, I’m thrilled to have rediscovered this book.

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Timothy Zahn Talks ‘Scoundrels’ and Episode VII with Hollywood.com

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2012-04-06-swscoundrelsSMHollywood.com put up a great interview with Expanded Universe author Timothy Zahn today as part of the promotional blitz for his upcoming novel Scoundrels. One question posed to Zahn was how best to deal with the daunting size of the EU and what authors and editors can do to address that problem:

HW: It’s a departure for you as well, because it feels more like a one-off, standalone adventure. It doesn’t feature some of the characters that recur in your work like Thrawn or Mara Jade. 
TZ: Actually, that was part of the goal with this. Shelly Shapiro, the Del Rey editor, and Sue Rostoni, who was handling these things for Lucas Licensing at the time, were looking for a story that could appeal to Star Wars fans who weren’t necessarily Star Wars readers. There are 150+ Star Wars novels out there and for someone who isn’t already familiar with them the whole thing can look a little intimidating. So my goal was to do a story that could draw in fans who don’t know anything about the Expanded Universe. What kind of story could do that? That story is Scoundrels. If you’ve seen the Original Trilogy, you’re good to go.

And of course, what are Zahn’s thoughts on Episode VII?

HW: What do you, as a Star Wars fan par excellence, want to see from the new trilogy? 
TZ: You got a couple of hours here? First of all, I think they need to skip a generation and have either Luke, Han, and Leia’s kids, or even grandkids, and have the Original Trilogy characters be the older, wiser mentor types. But one of the things I’d really like to see, and this would fit very nicely with Disney, as far as I can remember we’ve never seen a really good family relationship in Star Wars. We’ve had neurotic relationships and even outright antagonism with Luke and Vader. But I’d like to see Luke and his son or grandson have a true bond, a functional family relationship. And of course I want a really good storyline and space battles. I’d like to see something different than a Skywalker turning to the Dark Side. The Star Wars universe is so rich with storytelling possibilities that you don’t need to repeat the “turning to the Dark Side” concept of the previous films. I don’t want to see the same stuff over and over.

There’s other great questions and answers in there as well tackling everything from continuity to whether or not major characters should die in future books and movies. For more, head to the link above and read the three-page interview.

EU Retrospective: The Clone Wars Part II

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It’s a shorter post this time as the Clone Wars books begin to wrap up.  Once again, we have a pretty stark contrast between two books which is a shame.

Jedi Trial
Wow.  This book has some of the worst pacing ever.  The book is basically one giant battle on a planet and Anakin and Nejaa don’t even get there until 100 pages in.  To top it off, about half the book is centered around two soldiers from the planet that I never end up caring about.  If this is supposed to be the Anakin book to balance out the Obi-Wan book… it kinda fails because of that ratio.  Oh.  And the villain is just one big tropefest and not in an entertaining David Eddings sort of way.

This might be the first book that I’ve reread for this project that is worse than I remember it being and I honestly have always wanted to like this book.  I remember being incredibly excited when I heard that it would also be featuring Nejaa Halcyon and he really is the saving aspect of the book.  I do actually like the friendship between him and Anakin and it’s nice that they are this little fraternity of Jedi Who Shouldn’t Be Married But Are.  (Mark Nejaa down as another friend that Anakin desperately needed and should’ve chatted with BEFORE making horrible life decisions.)  Unfortunately, Nejaa never really gets much character development outside of the mission and his friendship with Anakin.  It would be nice if we could get an e-short story about him one day.  (HEY DEL REY.  MAYBE GIVE STACKPOLE A CALL.)

Bottom line is that it’s not terrible but it’s not good either.  To take that a bit further, I think that the moral of my Clone Wars book reviews has been that most of these books are good… except for the ones focusing on our main heroes from the films which is rather unfortunate.

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