Tosche Station Radio #74: 2013 in the Expanded Universe

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Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s New on the Blog.  Bria started her new blog project, the Hondo Caravan. She also reviewed 2013 in the Expanded Universe…which we’ll get back to shortly. Brian and Nanci did a Go/No-go for Ender’s Game. Brian reviewed the The Haynes Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reif, and Chris Trevas. Bria reviewed The Star Wars #3.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been busy reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. She’s knee-deep in NaNo, but still found time to watch Ender’s Game. Both Brian and Nanci watched Thor in preparation for The Dark World. Bria. Bria’s kept herself busy with duolingo. She also attended a Pretty Deadly signing and met awesome person Kelly Sue DeConnick

There’s not a whole lot in Deak’s Dirt this time. UK Casting Call for Episode VII? Also a US call? Dennis Barbie tweets that Episode VII will be coming “end 2015,” but he backtracked later in the day. In comics news, the new Ms. Marvel is a Muslim shapeshifting teenager! Awesome!

On Camie’s Concerns, staff writer Bria joins the hosts to take a look back at the year that was in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. What books stood out? What books fell flat? Which book got everyone angry ranting and which book had everyone gushing? Wrapping things up, everyone discusses the trends noticed in 2013 and what we hope to see in 2014.

Finally, the hosts field questions in Ask Us Anything. 

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 Audible.com.

Review: The Star Wars #3

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It’s a Desert Ambush as the cover proclaims in Issue #3 of The Star Wars, out in comic book stores today.  Jonathan Rinzler and Mike Mayhew continue to adapt the original draft of A New Hope in an action packed issue with more sass than you could possibly imagine.  (And hey, I can imagine quite a lot.)

Darth Vader searches for the royal family of Aquilae, hoping to complete the Empire’s victory and a new player joins the search: Prince Valorum; a Knight of the Sith.  Meanwhile, See Threepio and Artwo Detwo disagree about how to handle being stranded in the Dune Sea only to both end up being found by Annikan and Leia as they hurry back to the hidden fortress to the Palace of Lite.  With the King dead, Leia is now the true Queen of Aquilae but for her safety, Queen Breha orders General Skywalker to take Leia and her younger brothers to the Ophuchi system.  But first, they must get safely past the Empire’s army on planet.

For an issue that starts with the droids being stranded in the desert, this issue certainly isn’t lacking for action and goes by so quickly that readers will likely find themselves surprised when they reach the last page so soon.  Rinzler definitely knows how to keep readers coming back for more.  The weirdness of how some of the names are spelled has yet to wear off and I suspect I’ll never be able to type Artwo correctly on the first try but the weirdness is honestly a part of the book’s charm.  It’s difficult to find a reason to complain about Rinzler’s grasp of dialogue and pacing.  Again, his use of lines from the film invokes smiles instead of eye rolls and that is absolutely a good thing.

One of the best things about this particular issue was the banter between different pairs of characters.  To put it simply: the sass levels were off the charts.  I frequently found myself chuckling at Artwo’s lines and downright laughing when Threepio puts an end to the argument.  This version of Princess Leia continues to take none of anyone’s crap.  Some things stay true no matter what alternate universe they are in.  She also has quite the mind for retaliation tactics.

I’m also still not over Mike Mayhew’s artwork.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.  Mayhew also continues to excel at costume design.  The official royal regalia that Princess Leia and Queen Breha wear in the throne room are truly magnificent.  I haven’t the faintest idea how Leia can sit with that headdress much less stand but wow does it have a visual impact.  Another strength of Mayhew’s artwork is the facial expressions of the characters.  At times, it feels like some of the panels don’t even need the dialogue bubbles for the words to get across.

The Star Wars #3 has elevated this book from a ‘pick this book up if you’re intrigued by the concept’ to ‘you should definitely give this book a try’ so run out and go find the first three issues!

Review: The Haynes Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual

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Death Star manualLet’s just get this out of the way. The Haynes Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reif, and Chris Trevas continues right where the Millennium Falcon manual left off. Suffice to say, if you enjoyed that book, you’re going to enjoy this one just as much.

The text is a fun in-universe affair. It should be said that this book isn’t exactly the sort of oil-stained Haynes manual your father kept in the garage to do self-repairs on the old Datsun pickup truck that he just refuses to get rid of. This is less of a book of diagrams and more of a history text and reference book. You’re not going to find out how to repair a deactivated tractor beam (though there is a nifty labeled diagram), but you will learn a great deal about the key minds behind the Death Star and just what all those little details on the surface of the station are.

Some of the neater sections are memos and letters from characters in the Star Wars universe discussing the Death Star. In particular are the Personal Data Journal Entries from Grand Moff Tarkin that discuss various key elements of the battle station. You gain insight into his mindset and why he wanted specific things. More interesting, they detail why his specific needs for the Death Star wound up being its downfall.

There’s a host of new artwork within the pages of this reference book. Personally one of my favorite illustrations was the Death Star cross section early on in the book. It really gives scale on just how massive that superlaser was. Throughout there are a multitude of cutaways, diagrams, and new illustrations that shed a lot of light on just how the Death Star operated and functioned.

The end of the book looks briefly into the second Death Star. Once again, the art is incredible. I would gladly pay for a print of the comparison chart showing the size differences between a Star Destroyer, a Super Star Destroyer, the first Death Star, and the Second Death Star. For that matter, there’s a lot of art in this book I’d love to get as a print. The Death Star Cutaway in particular would look great in any geeky office or bedroom.

At 122 pages, there’s a whole lot to sink your teeth into. It’s the perfect size and the perfect material to make a great geeky coffee table reader. For a casual fan, there’s all sorts of neat trivia that will keep anyone’s attention. For a fleet junkie, the book is a huge wealth of knowledge that you’ll come back to scan again and again. The Haynes Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual is a fun and brilliant read. Go pick it up.

The Hondo Caravan: Bria’s Watching The Clone Wars

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One year ago today, I made a very poor life decision: I decided to reread the Star Wars Expanded Universe.  That train wreck (did you see what I did there?) resulted in what has become known as the Waru Express.  It was a 7 month journey through 130 books with my commentary that ranged from squeeing to flailing to ambivalence to headbashing to gross sobbing.  It seemed to amuse and entertain a good number of people.

Good news, folks!  I’m doing it again.  No, don’t give me that look.  I’m not rereading all the Expended Universe books again.  Instead, I’ll be watching The Clone Wars from start to finish.  So don’t be shy: come aboard the Hondo Caravan!

There are going to be a few differences between the Waru Express and the Hondo Caravan.  The Hondo will have a much steadier pace because my fast reading speed is of no use here and I cannot watch an episode any faster than anyone else.  I’m also coming into the show relatively blind.  I watched the film and saw some of the first season episodes a few years ago but that’s it.  There are some things (such as the finale) where I just couldn’t avoid spoilers but for the most part, I really don’t know much of anything.  (So sorry, Waru groupies: there will no be encore to the Crystal Star event this time.)  If Season Six becomes available in a timely fashion, I’ll definitely add those episodes to my watch through.

A few things will stay the same.  I’ll be watching about 6 episodes or however many episodes are on a disc and then posting my thoughts and commentary on them.  I’ll be posting about once a week, give or take a bit depending on my schedule.  You’ll also be able to follow my progress in relative real time again on Twitter @chaosbria or the hashtag #HondoCaravan.

So sit back and enjoy my latest trip into madness and enjoy your stay aboard the Hondo Caravan!

Check out the master list of episodes/future review links after the jump!

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2013 in the Star Wars Expanded Universe

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It’s the vogue thing to do right now so I couldn’t help but sit down and take a retrospective look at this year’s Expanded Universe books and then rank them in my order of preference. (Because hey!  All the cool kids are doing it!)

Overall, 2013 was a solidly enjoyable year for Expanded Universe releases.  After all, what else could it be when we literally started 2013 with Scoundrels?  I can promise you that I paid no attention to the ball dropping in Time’s Square and was instead impatiently waiting for Scoundrels to finish downloading to my Nook instead.  As those who followed the Waru Express are probably well aware, I’ve had my fair share of problems with a number of the Expanded Universe releases in the past five years or so.  2013 has, for the most part, been a giant breath of fresh air.

We’ll start with my basic rankings and then I’ll go a bit more into detail because this list is going to look deceptive.  My reviews for each of these books are linked.

  1. Kenobi
  2. Razor’s Edge
  3. Scoundrels
  4. Into the Void
  5. The Last Jedi
  6. Crucible

That’s the simplified version of the rankings.  If you really want a better sense of how I felt about these books, it’ll look something more like this.

  1. Kenobi
  2. Razor’s Edge OR Scoundrels
  3. Into the Void.

9. The Last Jedi

87. Crucible

Let’s start with the good. (And a few spoilers that will be said in passing.)

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Tosche Station Radio #73: Mechanical Breakdown

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On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, Brian and Nanci discuss Razor’s Edge and fan expectations!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s New on the Blog. Bria penned an unapologetic love letter to the Young Jedi Knights books. She also reviewed Star Wars Legacy #8. There’s a new episode of our sister podcast, Women of Odd Enthusiasms.This week Bria and Emily chat all about Harry Potter. We looked back on one year after Disney bought Lucasfilm and announced Episode VII.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci finished Razor’s Edge and started reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. She also work on her next NaNo project. Both of the hosts watched Pacific Rim and are now making Drift Compatibility jokes. Related to this, Bria took to twitter and asked for the best suggestions regarding Jaegers in Star Wars. As often happens on the show, the hosts go off on a tangent about meta diversity commentary in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D fandom

Deak’s Dirt starts with the release of the The Making of Star Wars enhanced eBooks. Last week Jedi News uncovered some Star Wars information out of the European Brand Licensing Show. Next up, it’s the rumor roundup. Rumor the first: LFL wanted a 2016 release for Episode VII, but Disney wants them to stay on target for 2015. Rumor the second: Harrison Ford has a deal for Episode VII in exchange for Indy 5? Finally, some big actual news: Arndt is done with his portion of the script, Kasdan and Abrams to finish. Next on the docket: Trailers! Lots of trailers! Specifically Catching Fire, Winter Soldier, X-Men: Days of Future Past. And finally, in news very relevant to our interests, Jen Heddle and Shelly Shapiro met with Leland Chee and Pablo Hidalgo the other day. Wonder what they were discussing…

This week’s installment of Camie’s Concerns has the hosts discussing Razor’s Edge by Martha Wells and a more macro discussion of fan expectations and how they impact our feelings of books, film, and entertainment as a whole.

Don’t forget to check out our sister podcast Wrong Opinions About Movies. This week, they reviewed The Counselor.

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 Audible.com.

Report: Lucasfilm wants to push Episode VII to 2016, Disney holds firm to 2015

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star-wars-episode-vii-logoIf the Hollywood Reporter is to be believed, Lucasfilm asked Disney to push Episode VII back to 2016 in part to accommodate for the departure of screenwriter Michael Arndt. Disney’s response? Stay on target for 2015.

With the Oct. 24 exit of Star Wars: Episode VII writer Michael Arndt, the studio is under the gun to keep the film on course for a 2015 release despite a script that several insiders say isn’t close to ready.

According to those close to the project, producer Kathleen Kennedy and most of the film’s creative team have asked Disney to push the release to 2016, but studio CEO Robert Iger is adamant that Episode VII — perhaps the franchise’s most anticipated installment since 1999’s The Phantom Menace — not budge. That has created enormous pressure on all involved, with director J.J. Abrams stepping in to take over scripting duties with Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote 1980’s Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, considered the best film in the series.

According to the report, while Kennedy is lobbying for a delayed release, director and screenwriter J.J. Abrams is more in-step with Disney CEO Bob Iger on releasing the film next summer.

I know that personally, I’d be more comfortable delaying the film a year to get it as polished as possible. That said, there’s a lot of very skilled and capable people involved with Episode VII, and if any crew is going to be able to hit all the marks to get the film out two summers from now, it’s them.

Of course, remember that this is all unverified. For all we know these insiders feeding information to the Hollywood Reporter may just be latching on to the moved release date idea and rumors because Disney’s got the well-oiled Marvel machine as well. For all we know, at Disney and Lucasfilm are on the same page for a summer 2015 release.

One Year Ago Today…

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holy

The above conversation was probably representative of a number of conversations you all had with your peers. Except you probably didn’t bother to black out the expletives.

One year ago today, the entire fandom was blindsided by the news that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas. That was wild enough, but shortly after those rumbling began trickling out onto the Internet something even wilder happened. Disney confirmed the sale and announced that the one thing that was never going to happen was about to become a reality: The Sequel Trilogy.

At the time of the announcement, I was in a Taco Bell in Moses Lake, Washington having just finished up a work trip. Nanci sent me the above text message alerting me to the news and a few hours later Dunc from Club Jade joined us for the first and only emergency podcast episode we have ever done.

And here we were worried we’d have nothing to talk about after Celebration VI. What are your memories from the day Disney bought Lucasfilm?