It’s a new week, which means there’s a new batch of Essential Guide to Warfare notes from Jason Fry. We’re finally up to the New Jedi Order, which means Fry is handing off the bulk of these notes to co-author Paul Urquhart.

Yavin, 28 ABY: The purpose of this piece is to set the scene for the events of the New Jedi Order novels – by introducing the alien culture of the Yuuzhan Vong, with its mix of mysticism, sadism and treachery, and by “interrupting” the narrative with something in a very different style, reflecting the violent shock of the alien invasion of the New Republic. Cutting the scene into static-washed fragments was Jason’s idea, and I really like the result.

Vergere’s agenda is a mystery that fans still debate, and I deliberately DON’T want to speculate on the answer, or on how much she’s deceiving her apparent allies here. (After all, Vergere’s most famous line is “everything I tell you is a lie.”) I don’t want to spoil all the surprises of the novels for fans who’ve not read them all, either. But I do want to suggest that Vergere was involved in schemes and plots we never really saw on the page – so her linkage to Mezhan Kwaad and her presence on Yavin 4 are new continuity. There are other questions raised by this piece, as well, which might sneak up on readers who give it several re-reads – for example, just who is monitoring the conversation?!

For more, head to Jason Fry’s Tumblr.