Category Archives: SWEU

Thrawn Trilogy Retrospective: Heir to the Empire Chapters 12-14

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In the last installment of the Thrawn Trilogy retrospective, the Empire attacked Bpfassh, there was another kidnapping attempt on Leia, Luke had a vision of Mara Jade at the sail barge assault, and Mara Jade was thirsting for Luke Skywalker’s blood. Let’s get on with the show as everyone congregates on Nkllon. 

A shieldship escorts the Millennium Falcon to Nkllon

A shieldship escorts the Millennium Falcon to Nkllon

Chapter 12 starts with Han and Leia arriving in the Athega system, right off the bat we get a rather annoying callback to their arrival on Cloud City. I guess I can give it a pass because Leia lampshades the reference and, again, first post-RotJ book and all that. Because Nkllon is so close to the sun, all the space traffic need to be escorted in with shield ships. Normally they’d slave ships together and do a quick hyperspace jump, but the Falcon doesn’t have a slave circuit, of course, so they have to take a 10 hour trip with the sublights. There’s some tension in the air as the shield ship says they’re waiting around for ship that also doesn’t have slave circuits, but it’s just Luke. What a coincidence! Han worries it’s another trap, and asks Leia to sense Luke on the other ship. She says she’s almost positive it’s him.

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Heir to the Jedi and Lords of the Sith Release Dates Pushed Back

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Lords of the Sith Heir to the JediDel Rey announced on their Star Wars Books Facebook page today that the release dates for the next two adult-targeted Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, Kevin Hearn’s Heir to the Jedi and Paul S. Kemp’s Lords of the Sith, have been pushed back, though, happily, not by much. Heir to the Jedi will now be released on March 3 while Lords of the Sith will be coming out on April 28. You can read their announcement here.

(via Club Jade)

Go/No-Go: Star Wars Rebels: Servant of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy

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nasa-mission-control-3Servants of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy is the first installment in a new young reader tie-in series to Star Wars Rebels. Told from the perspective of a teenage boy named Zare Leonis, it chronicles his final year in AppSci school before following his sister Dhara to the Imperial Academy on Lothal.

Jason Fry is no stranger to writing Star Wars, and he does a great job with Zare’s character arc. Zare starts out the story a teenage boy whose only concerns are succeeding in grav-ball and proving himself to be just as good as his sister, but due to the year’s events he starts to question the Empire he’d basically been born to serve. It gives a good insight into what causes some people to want to rebel against the Empire, and why others would be more resistant to speaking out. Despite it being set in a different universe, it’s a very relatable issue.  Do you do what you feel is right and in the process risk your life and the lives of your loved ones, or do you keep quiet about wrongdoings and not cause any trouble? It’s easy to say what you’d do in that situation until you’re actually in it. And Zare’s problems start small, from issues with a school administrator, but eventually become much larger than he could ever imagine.

One thing I found interesting is that the Imperial Academy was actually located on Lothal, and not on a more populated world. I always had the impression from A New Hope that there was just one Academy, but upon reflection I realize that would be unrealistic in a universe as big as Star Wars. It makes me wonder which Academy Biggs attended, and which one Luke would have gone to.

SotECoverEdge of the Empire has great little nods to the Legends EU, including mentions of caf, hot chocolate, and use of the swear words stang and kriffing. I was also glad that Dhara mentioned women going through stormtrooper training at the Academy. Fry also invents a new sport called grav-ball, which is a combination of soccer, football, basketball, and Quidditch (the sport in Harry Potter, for all you Muggles out there). I’m not a huge sports fan, but those scenes were well-written and tied into the plot and Zare’s character arc very well.

If you’re a fan of Rebels, definitely pick this up. Don’t be put off that its meant for younger audiences. It’s a fun, fast read and does a great job at depicting everyday life in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. And, as I’m sure was the intention, I’m now really looking forward the Academy episodes of Rebels–not to mention the future installments in the Servants of the Empire series. This book gets a GO from me.

Thrawn Trilogy Retrospective: Heir to the Empire Chapters 9-11

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Welcome back for another installment of the Thrawn Trilogy retrospective! We ended last time with our heroes escaping the Noghri and Leia being sent back to Bimmisaari. In this episode the Imperials launch another attack, and Luke visits Dagobah. Let’s get on with the show, shall we?

Schlacht_Bpfassh

The Imperial assault on Bpfassh

First I would like to lodge a formal complain to Timothy Zahn for using another crazy planet that starts with a B. This time it’s Bpfassh. I know I’m to mess up this spelling, so I apologize in advance. The Imperials are launching a three-pronged attack and using C’baoth to coordinate the attacks. Pellaeon realizes it’s not only a test of C’baoth’s battle meditation, but also his ability to take orders. While watching the battle, he reluctantly admits how effective C’baoth is. He doesn’t want to think that the Emperor was controlling the Battle of Endor, but now he’s not so sure.

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Review: Tarkin

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tarkinThe Star Wars universe turns to view the galaxy from the other side with its second book in the new canon. Veteran writer James Luceno makes his return to the galaxy and his debut in the new canon with Star Wars: Tarkin due out on November 4th. Set five years after Revenge of the Sith, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin finds himself stationed on the remote planet overseeing the construction of what all of us know will become the fearsome Death Star. The story, of course, leaves the fledgling battle station behind as the Emperor first summons and then sends both Tarkin and Darth Vader to Murkhana to investigate Separatist communications technology.

Without a doubt, Luceno is the master of weaving together all the pieces into one cohesive tale that makes sense of things you didn’t even realize you wanted clarity for. The time period between the trilogies has been deemed the Dark Times and rightly so as there have been relatively few stories placed in those years. Unlike Darth Plagueis, Tarkin doesn’t cover years and years of the protagonist’s life; instead covering perhaps a week supplemented with looks back into Tarkin’s formative years and moves seamlessly between the past and the present.

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New Tarkin Excerpts

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tarkinYesterday Del Rey posted another Tarkin mini-excerpt to their Star Wars Books Facebook page. Check it out here.

And also according to the Star Wars Books Facebook page, Star Wars Insider issue 153 comes out on October 22 and will contain another excerpt from the novel. Read more about that here.

Tarkin, by James Luceno, will be released in hardback and ebook formats on November 4.

Thrawn Trilogy Retrospective: Heir to the Empire Chapters 6-8

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Welcome back to the Thrawn Trilogy retrospective, in which I reread the trilogy and overload you with my feels, as the kids say. In the previous post, we met two of our antagonists. In today’s installment, the crap hits the fan–for the first time of many.

The Millennium Falcon arrives on Bimmisaari

The Millennium Falcon arrives on Bimmisaari

The New Republic envoy–Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids–arrive on Bimmisaari. (How Timothy Zahn was able to keep track of how to spell all these crazy planet names is beyond me. Don’t fault me if I misspell them.) We learn that Leia never fully realized how to understand Shyriwook. I guess she’s not as adept at Wookiee as Ahsoka. They’re greeted by the Bimms, who ask Han to leave his blaster on the Falcon. They overlook Luke’s lightsaber, however, which turns out very good for him later on. After a half-hearted attempt to split up the group, Han and Leia go to explore the marketplace while Luke heads off to explore a nearby exhibit. Chewie stays on the Falcon, because he’s the only smart one of the group.

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Full blurb for Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi

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Heir to the JediFebruary 17, 2015 will be a banner day here at Tosche Station, as Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi is released into the wild.

The novel was first announced at Celebration VI under the “Rebels” banner, and is the third book in the now defunct “Empire and Rebellion” trilogy that takes place after A New Hope. Del Rey has saved the best for last here, as this novel features Luke Skywalker in first-person POV.

To say I’m excited about this novel would be an understatement. But in case you’re not like me and squeal at anything involving Luke, here’s a more detailed blurb from Random House:

Luke Skywalker’s game-changing destruction of the Death Star has made him not only a hero of the Rebel Alliance but a valuable asset in the ongoing battle against the Empire. Though he’s a long way from mastering the power of the Force, there’s no denying his phenomenal skills as a pilot—and in the eyes of Rebel leaders Princess Leia Organa and Admiral Ackbar, there’s no one better qualified to carry out a daring rescue mission crucial to the Alliance cause.

A brilliant alien cryptographer renowned for her ability to breach even the most advanced communications systems is being detained by Imperial agents determined to exploit her exceptional talents for the Empire’s purposes. But the prospective spy’s sympathies lie with the Rebels, and she’s willing to join their effort in exchange for being reunited with her family. It’s an opportunity to gain a critical edge against the Empire that’s too precious to pass up. It’s also a job that demands the element of surprise. So Luke and the ever-resourceful droid R2-D2 swap their trusty X-wing fighter for a sleek space yacht piloted by brash recruit Nakari Kelen, daughter of a biotech mogul, who’s got a score of her own to settle with the Empire.

Challenged by ruthless Imperial bodyguards, death-dealing enemy battleships, merciless bounty hunters, and monstrous brain-eating parasites, Luke plunges head-on into a high-stakes espionage operation that will push his abilities as a Rebel fighter and would-be Jedi to the limit. If ever he needed the wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi to shepherd him through danger, it’s now. But Luke will have to rely on himself, his friends, and his own burgeoning relationship with the Force to survive.

A Luke Skywalker novel where he’s paired with a female lead? Count me in!