Go/No-Go: Bloodline

nasa-mission-control-3Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Bloodline by Claudia Gray. It’s not only our first look at the years before The Force Awakens but also the political Leia book we’ve been clamoring for for years. But how did it go over with us? To mission control for the verdict!

Bria: Bloodline is the book that I’ve wanted desperately for years. As the resident political nerd and lover of all things Alderaan/Organa/Leia, this book sounded like it was going to be right in my wheel house. Spoiler Alert: It was. This is a book that literally begins with the New Republic having a dedication ceremony for a statue of Bail Organa and it only keeps getting better. Bloodline is the emotional love child of Razor’s Edge, The Force Awakens, and Kenobi and if you don’t think that’s a good thing, I don’t know what to tell you. Claudia Gray writes a pitch perfect Leia who feels like the logical progression of a character we last “saw” 20+ years ago. This Leia has decades of politics and rebelling under her belt but neither is she quite yet the Resistance General Organa that we saw in Episode VII. Everything is just perfect. Gray does an incredible job with fleshing out the galaxy in the years before The Force Awakens and answers some of our questions without making it feel like a checklist. The supporting cast is also fantastically written and I promise that you’ll never look at Korr Sella in those few moments on Hosnian Prime the same way again. However, the two standouts are most definitely Greer Sonnel and Ransolm Casterfo. Greer’s a former racing pilot turned Leia’s Chief of Staff and Ransolm is a Senator from the opposite party who also likes to collect Imperial artifacts. Both could have easily been archetypes but Gray does oh so much more with them that I can’t really go into without spoilers. And then there’s the Organa stuff. THE ORGANA STUFF. Bloodline gets one of the strongest GO recommendations from me in a very long time and I will definitely #VoteLeia for First Senator.

Nanci: Two days after finishing this book and I can’t stop thinking about it, which you know is the mark of a good book. There’s a few things I disliked — mainly the glossing over of certain scenes I really wanted to read — but mostly Bloodline left me wanting more in a really good way. For those of you worried that a political book would be boring, you have nothing to fear. Yes, it’s political, but it’s also fast-paced, easy to understand, and does a great job setting the stage for The Force Awakens. And then there’s the characters. Oh, the characters. There’s been so much good Leia stuff lately (Moving Target, Princess Leia), and Bloodline is definitely the pinnacle of that. Leia is the star of this book and unlike a lot of Legends content we’re not focusing on her marriage or her family. We’re focusing on her job as senator and how her family history plays into that. However, the character who surprised me the most in this book is without a doubt Ransolm Casterfo. I was shocked at how much I liked him. At times, his story moved me to tears. In general, this novel both had me turning pages but also dreading what would happen next. While I loved Aftermath (Sinjir is still my favorite character of the new canon), Bloodline gets the crown of best novel in the new canon so far. Definitely GO buy it.

Flight Director’s Ruling: Bloodline is a GO for launch!

Tosche Station Radio: The Force Awakens Live Commentary

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Our seventh installment in Tosche Station Radio’s live commentary track series brings us to The Force Awakens. We’re fortunate to be joined by Heather from Marvel and Tom from Del Rey.

Instructions!

  • We will be using the Blu Ray discs for these recordings. The DVD and digital release will also work
  • Each recording will start at the 00:00:00 mark (the black screen before the Lucasfilm logo appears)
  • We will give a “3, 2, 1, play” count. When we say play, that’s your cue to start the film

Sit back and enjoy!

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

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Tosche Station Book Club #2: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

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Welcome back to the Tosche Station Book Club! This month, host Nanci and guest Katie break down Carry On by Rainbow Rowell.

Tune in next month for a review of Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray!

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!  If you like what you hear, keep an eye out for our forthcoming dedicated iTunes feed or subscribe to the Tosche Station Radio Megafeed for all of our great Star Wars and geek culture content. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Western Reaches #4

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Murphy’s Law can’t keep Saf and Megan down! This week on Western Reaches, the hosts talk the Play by Play festival, books, and take a look back at the history of Mass Effect and its impact on the gaming landscape.

You can find Megan on Twitter with the handle @blogfullofwords and you can find Saf with @Wanderlustin. Be sure to subscribe to Western Reaches on iTunes and subscribe to the Tosche Station Radio Mega Feed for more great shows, discussion, and commentary.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

Review: Star Wars #18

The mystery deepens! Star Wars #18 by Jason Aaron and Leinil Yu continues the Original Trilogy adventure. Well, maybe it’s an adventure of Han and Luke. It’s a fight for their lives for Leia, Sana, and Aphra. Let’s hear it for the laaaaaaaadies!

I love that this comic essentially smashes the Bechdel Test on every other page. As mentioned in prior reviews, Leia and Sana have long since moved past the whole Han Solo thing and their relationship is now based entirely their own interactions. Aphra is a fun wrench in the mix although after a certain exchange, I’m now fairly sure that this is not the first time that Aphra and Sana have interacted in the past and that is a story I’m dying to know. Perhaps my favorite part of this trio is how Leia is (as usual) the voice of reason who just wants them to get out of this alive so can we leave the in-fighting for later and just do as she says, please and thank you?

Han and Luke have definitely had the B-story this arc (which is fine by me) but it hasn’t been without its charm. Aaron has shown that he has a very strong grasp on how to write fresh-off-the-farm Luke Skywalker who is believable without feeling like an easy stereotype. The older/younger brother relationship between him and Han is the actual best.

The big mystery however comes from the prison’s attacker. I won’t spoil it for any readers who have yet to pick up the issue but who is he and how in space does he know that??? I’ll be intrigued to see how many answers Aaron and Yu give us before the story’s end… if they give us any.

The Rebel Jail story arc concludes next month and after an issue like this? I can’t wait to see how it goes!

Review: Obi-Wan and Anakin #4

Four issues in and the mystery on Carnelion IV just keeps getting deeper. Out today is Obi-Wan and Anakin #4 by Charles Soule and Marco Checchetto and this book just keeps getting (yep, you guessed it) better and better.

Look. It’s not that I’m not solidly enjoying all the pages of Obi-Wan and Anakin because I am. The situation on Carnelion IV is fascinating and something I want to know more about. Checchetto and Mossa are doing some absolutely beautiful work on those pages. But the Palpatine stuff… hot damn, that’s what makes this book shine. You know those giant omnibuses that have 30+ issues of a comic? Yeah, I would happily spend a day curled up with a book or two of those reading a Soule written comic just about Palpatine, Anakin, and Obi-Wan in the years between the Battle of Naboo and Order 66.  The manipulation is so beautifully done. Pages like this make me see why people find Palpatine to be such an intriguing character. Plus? This may be the first time that someone has, within the story itself, acknowledged how little agency Anakin Skywalker has ever had when it comes to making decisions about his life. (Spoiler alert: he hasn’t gotten to decide anything.) It’s something that has been discussed between fans but it is especially painful to hear Anakin himself actually talk about it.

One of the coolest things about the limited series that Marvel has been doing is how distinct they all feel. It’s been their chance to experiment more especially when it comes to genre. There’s something about this arc that just feels more… science-fiction-y than some of the others. (It’s because of the mechs which are AWESOME.)  Also worth mentioning about this issue is the beautiful work that Checchetto did on the cover. That would look gorgeous as a print or poster.

Obi-Wan and Anakin continues to be a fantastic book and the only thing that makes me reluctant to pick up the next issue next month is that it means this will be coming to an end.

Lieve Oma: an Ode to Grandmothers

Almost everyone has someone they can point to that has helped positively shape them into the person they are today. A sibling, a parent, a close friend; for Florian Veltman, game developer, that person is his grandmother, someone who means so much to him that he made a game as an ode to her.

Short and endlessly sweet, Lieve Oma is a character-driven game that is, at its core, a loveletter to Florian’s grandmother. This is a game you play less for the gameplay, and more for the characters and the feeling. From the Lieve Oma description:

Lieve Oma is a top-down 3D game where you go for a stroll with your grandmother through a forest. You can pick mushrooms when you find them, but the real reason you’re here is to have a discussion with your grandmother about the issues you encounter, coping with going to a new school, among other things.

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The character designs are very cute and simple, and the child is especially cute when running.

Continue reading

A note from the editor

About eight months ago, I published a post detailing rather abhorrent behavior by individuals nominally aligned with the Bring Back Legends/Give Us Legends movement. In the time since, members of that movement have decided the way to prove that harassment at Dragon Con 2015 didn’t happen was to engage in further harassment. Over that time I’ve received a near constant stream of abuse, harassment, and more recently, threats. While others may be able to shrug that off, I’m not one of those people. I’ve been open with my struggle with depression and anxiety. The never-ending abuse in the form of Tweets, emails, YouTube videos containing vulgarities and slurs that no one should be forced to endure has forced me to prioritize my health and well being. The vast majority of this abuse I have not shared anywhere.

Effective Sunday, April 17th, I’ll be stepping away from TSR and the blog. I’ve set a minimum one-month hiatus for myself, but my health is the first concern and if that window needs to be extended or be permanent, it will be. Here’s what this means to you.

  • Nanci will be assuming sole editor duties over the blog
  • TSR will either go into hiatus after this weekend or another host will step in to do the show with Nanci
  • Western Reaches, Of Dice and Droids, and the Tosche Station Book Club will continue

We’ll see where we are in a month. I know stepping away is handing these serial abusers and harassers a victory, but at a certain point you have to take care of your own well being.

Fandom should be a place full of shared passion and joy. What myself and numerous others have been exposed to lately has been anything but. Remember, fandom is what you make it. Don’t allow it to become toxic, insular, and full of hate.

-Brian

Review: Darth Vader #19

It’s ever so nice when you read the last issue of an arc, flip the book closed, smile to yourself, and say “That was everything I hoped for.” That’s exactly what I did when I finished Darth Vader #19 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca. When Gillen first introduced Queen Trios (then Princess Trios) in the Darth Vader Annual, this was exactly the sort of story I was hoping we would see. (What can I say: I’m a sucker for the Star Wars royals.)  Marvel has absolutely delivered.

Some spoilers after the jump. Continue reading

Review: C-3P0

It’s real! After months of delays, the one-shot C-3P0 comic book that was supposed to be a part of the Journey to The Force Awakens has finally hit comic stores shelves. So was this one-shot by James Robinson and Tony Harris worth the wait?

Consider me… whelmed.

I am not a fan of Tony Harris as a person (google it) but I have to say his art is definitely the highlight of this story. The credits indicate that he did the line art, inking, and colors and it definitely works really well together. It’s actually the best thing about this book. There’s a page at the start that’s mostly of Threepio that just really really works.

The story itself feels… superfluous. We already knew from reference books that Threepio wears the red arm to honor the sacrifice of another droid. That’s… basically the story. Right there. If you’re a fan of Threepio, you’ll like this story because it’s a heck of a lot of him talking like his usual self. The one bit that did stand out was when another droid gets a little more philosophical about what exactly being a droid is. There’s a super neat bit in which we find out that despite being memory wiped, traces and glimpses of those memories still survive. It’s something that I never considered before but find endlessly fascinating.

So is it worth the wait and your money? If you’re a completionist or a Threepio fan, sure. If you’re not… well, it’s not a bad issue. It’s most unfortunate that this issue didn’t come out when originally planned.