Category Archives: SWEU

X-wing: Mercy Kill Review (Spoilers!)

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Me and my brand new shiny copy of Mercy Kill

I haven’t been to a bookstore after a Star Wars book on the day it was released in years.

Today, I was cursing myself for not knowing that the bookstore had new hours and was open an hour earlier than I thought originally, because I wanted Mercy Kill as soon as I could get it in my grubby little hands. If, for some reason, you have not gotten your copy yet…go get it. Right now. This is the best Star Wars book to come out in years.

And now, I’ve read it. This review is not so much a review as it is me squealing about various parts of the book. There are spoilers behind the jump, so fair warning.

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PSA: Drop What You’re Doing Right Now And Go Buy Mercy Kill

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It’s Tuesday.

Do you know where your copy of X-Wing: Mercy Kill is?

Is it in your possession? On a UPS truck to your doorstep? If it’s not, stop what you are doing. Log off of your computer, turn off your phone, and get yourself to the nearest bookstore and purchase the first X-Wing novel in thirteen years. If you’ve got a Kindle, buy your copy here. Nook, here.

If you’ve got any interest in the series, the author, or the book at all, go get yourself a copy. We’ve talked about this on the blog and the podcast before, but we’re at a rather critical juncture in Expanded Universe publishing. How well Mercy Kill sells now could very well determine whether or not we get more books like this moving forward. A solid showing in its first week of sales could mean a continued run of X-Wing novels and books from Aaron Allston.

The majority of the early reviews so far have been positive. From all accounts this is the sort of fun and grand adventure the Expanded Universe has been missing for years. Let’s make sure we don’t have to wait another thirteen years between X-Wing books, go buy Mercy Kill now.

Celebration VI Schedule Released

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After a long and sometimes torturous wait, the Celebration VI schedule has finally dropped! Here are some highlights.

For Expanded Universe fans:

There’s also numerous writing workshops with authors like Timothy Zahn, Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. 

Celebrity Panels:

This is just a sampling of what will be available for fans at Celebration VI. You can find other panels and events listed on the CVI Mobile App as well as the mobile website. 

DK Publishing Reveals CVI Lineup

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Jason Fry will be in attendance with DK

DK revealed their schedule for Celebration VI just a few minutes ago. The publisher known for their reference and children books will be in attendance all four days and encourages attendees to Master the Art of Reading at Booth #813.

Thursday 8/23: 

  • Visit the booth for a free CVI exclusive print featuring the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Friday 8/24:

  • Jason Fry from 11am-12 noon
  • Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Expanded Visual Dictionary
  • Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids

Saturday 8/25:

  • Ryder Windham from 10-11am to talk Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary and Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
  • Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas from 3-4pm to discuss Star Wars Blueprints: Rebel Edition and Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids

Sunday 8/26 – Kids’ Day

  • First kids to stop by the DK booth will receive a free DK Star Wars Reader
  • Jason Fry from 11am-12 noon
  • Ryder Windham and Ashley Eckstein from 12-1pm

Stay tuned. We’re supposed to get much more CVI related scheduling details today.

Replace the Catsuit: Art Entry From Kataja

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We’re ticking down the days until the end of our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest! Today we’ve got a new art entry from reader Kataja:

My contribution is based on the “no-nonsense tunic/jumpsuit outfits that she usually wore aboard ship” that’s mentioned in The Last Command. I actually found it hard to picture Mara in a tunic – jackets are easier to make look ‘cool’ – but I’ve tried my best. The outfit is matched by a practical hairdo.

Thanks for submitting, Kataja! Remember, you’ve got until the 15th to enter the contest.

Mercy Kill is coming…

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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:

Replace the Catsuit: Costume Entry From Ellen

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With less than two weeks to go in our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest, we’re starting to see a flood of new entries. Earlier this week we got a submission from Bria and today, we’ve got another costume entry from reader Ellen. I’ll let her describe it for you:

Here’s my entry for the contest to replace Mara’s catsuit. This is inspired by her outfit on the cover of Vision of the Future, but I made several changes to it, so I hope it still counts as a redesign. I tried to take the look of the cover illustration and combine it with the look of Jedi robes–this is definitely a Jedi outfit for Mara, not an Emperor’s Hand outfit! I plan on making a few additions/changes to the costume before Dragon*Con, but I don’t think I will have a chance to do that by the contest deadline, so my entry is just as it appears in the photos here. Unfortunately the green light from the saber tones down the red in her hair, and makes it look pretty blonde, but it is a red-gold, I promise!

Thanks for submitting the costume, Ellen! Who says Mara can’t rock the robes?

Remember, you’ve got until the 15th to submit your entry!

X-Wing Retrospective: Isard’s Revenge

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­­­­­­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.

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Latest ‘Mercy Kill’ Mini-Excerpt Takes a Shot at the Hutts

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We’re less than a week away from Mercy Kill’s release and the return of the X-Wing franchise from a 13-year hiatus. Star Wars Books has released one more mini-excerpt to lead up to the August 7th release.

“Besides . . .” Myri suddenly sounded cheerful. “Did you hear what Trey said? You’re going to Si’klaata Cluster. That’s Hutt space. I can stay here, wallow in the mud, and eat worms all day, and I’ll still be in a cleaner, nicer place than you two will.”

Have you pre-ordered your copy yet?

R.A. Salvatore on Fan Fiction

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Over on Reddit today, former Expanded Universe author R.A. Salvatore is conducting an Ask Me Anything. One intrepid redditor asked the author his thoughts on fan fiction in light of the hardline stance other authors have taken against it (*cough*GRRM*cough*). His response? Rather positive.

I am supposed to tell you that it’s evil and wretched and destroys anything and everything I’ve ever tried to accomplish.

Truth is, this is supposed to be fun and entertaining, and when I hear about fan fiction using my characters, or when I see variations of my characters running around in an MMO, I think it’s the coolest thing ever. Truly flattering. Now, I can’t read the fan fiction, for obvious reasons, nor can I consider it “canon,” but I’m still flattered.

What a remarkably positive and honest answer! To read his answers to other questions (and perhaps to ask your own), head over to his AMA thread.