Mixing NASA and Leonard Nimoy is always a recipe for success. Adding ion propulsion engines just makes it that much cooler. (via)
On Long Books, Short Books, and Impatience: Why I Refuse to Read Doorstoppers
When I was younger, I used to love getting my hands on long books. A long book was always better than a short book, because there was more story to tell. And as a practical matter, long books were always worth the money, especially if it was a hardcover. Short books just couldn’t be as interesting; not only that, they were a waste of money. Why should I spend my hard-earned cash on a 200-page book when I could spend the same amount of money on a 500- or 1000- page tome?
(Ignore the fact that storing and carrying around doorstoppers could get old pretty quickly. Thankfully, with the advent of e-readers, I can carry around the entire Harry Potter series without breaking my back.)
As I’ve gotten older, however, I’ve stopped caring how long books are. Actually, that’s not true. Continue reading
Cosplay Monday: Gender Swapped Storm
Aaaaaand Cosplay Monday is back after a nice long break for the holidays. This week, we’re featuring a super amazing gender swapped costume: Storm from Marvel’s X-men! When pictures of this amazing costume by Larry popped up on tumblr the other week, I just knew it had to be shared with all of you. He completely captures the essence of Storm’s character while simultaneously creating a fantastic costume. On top of that, his poses for the photos are great and absolutely make me believe that he is indeed worshiped as a weather god in Kenya. (Honestly. Just try and tell me he doesn’t look cool as heck!)
You can check out more photos of the costume and from the shoot at NYCC over at the Felix Wong Photography Facebook Page.
‘Scoundrels’ Audiobook Clip
Curious about the Scoundrels audiobook? Random House has released a preview for your listening pleasure.
Jabba the Hutt has placed a bounty on Han Solo’s head. Not a great situation for the gruff captain of the Millenium Falcon to be in, especially just after he was integral in the blowing up the Death Star, and he needs help. Sure, his heroics earned him some credits but those are long gone and now he needs help. Luckily, a mysterious stranger approaches Han with a less-than-legal way to pay off his debt. Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian and seven other rogues join together to attempt to infiltrate the ultra-fortified stronghold of a Black Sun crime syndicate underboss and crack the galaxy’s most notoriously impregnable safe. Written by Timothy Zahn, a fan-favorite writer of Star Wars novels, and read by Marc Thompson, this Ocean’s Eleven-type tale is sure to adventure worth taking.
To listen, click the media button below! Head to the Random House page if you’d like to purchase a copy.
Why I Like Science Fiction, by A Woman
This weekend, a Tumblr post appeared on my dash, about the 2009 Star Trek movie. Apparently, during the initial planning meetings, the writers asked themselves how to get women to go see this movie.
Women don’t like sci-fi, get it?
I read this and, understandably, got angry. Why, in 2013, do people still labor under the idea that women don’t like sci-fi? That sci-fi is something for only men to enjoy? That men must somehow trick women into seeing sci-fi movies by inserting story elements that appeal to them?
This is a famous science fiction writer saying this, by the way, not some Joe Schmoe nobody’s ever heard of. Go Google Damon Lindelof if you don’t know who he is. I’ll wait. Now that you know his credentials, one would think that he’s been around long enough not to fall into that old “women don’t like sci-fi” trap, right?
Apparently not.
Tosche Station Radio #40: Problematic Behavior
The hosts are back and in this week’s all-new Tosche Station Radio they investigate the problems with True Fans, fandom gatekeepers, and the Fake Geek Girl meme.
Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s new on the blogside. Bria has continued on with the Waru Express, and is now through A New Hope. She reviewed Winner Lose All and Scoundrels. Stay tuned for additional reviews when your slow-reading hosts finish, as well as a roundtable. In addition, Bria also pondered if Star Wars comic publishing rights would be transitioning from Dark Horse to Marvel. Since she’s one of our resident Tolkien freaks, Bria also found time to write a review (good grief she’s been busy). Shane gave a further examination into independent comics. Maggie examined fanworks done right, focusing on the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Brian trolled the internet. More on that later. Finally, check out our 2012 Gratuitous Linkdump!
In Fixer’s Flash, the hosts appeared to have spent the holidays being incredibly geeky. Nanci finished the Mageworlds series and read Read Winner Lose All before starting Scoundrels. She also reworked her current novel and is getting into the writing swing again. In holiday movies, she went off and saw The Hobbit and Les Mis. Meanwhile, Brian finished the Mageworlds trilogy and took some time to read new issues of Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, and Avengers Assemble. Now he’s finally started Scoundrels. He also got into a new TV series, Once Upon a Time.
Deak’s Dirt is a bit quiet this time around, understandable with the holidays having past by. Star Wars Weekends dates were announced. Brian and Nanci will be in attendance for some of them. EW had a look at 100 episodes of The Clone Wars. The new Legacy writers discussed Ania Solo. In books, Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels finally released. According to Kathleen Kennedy, there will be an Episode VII announcement coming in January. Brian Wood discussed Pilot!Leia and the new Star Wars comic.
This week’s Camie’s Concerns dives into a pair of articles Brian wrote this week (here and here) and investigates the destructive nature of True Fans and fandom gatekeepers. Just what are true fans and gatekeepers and why is that behavior counter-productive and damaging to fandom? How does the gatekeeper tie into the fallacious Fake Geek Girl meme? Most importantly, what counts as “real” Star Wars?
Wrapping up the show, the hosts field a question in their Ask Us Anything segment.
Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Xbox Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook, Google+, 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.
‘Scoundrels’ Reviews from Around the Blogosphere
Around the web the reviews for Scoundrels are coming in. Some of the highlights:
- Staff writer Bria blasted through the book on release day, giving it a 5/5.
- Over at Jedi News, Mark praised the characters and smaller scope.
- Author Bryan Young was also high on the book, awarding it 5/5 stars.
- Our friends at EUCantina were generally positive on the book, scoring it a 4/5.
- Roqoo Depot also seemed to enjoy the plot and characters to the tune of a 4/5 score.
The early reviews definitely have trended towards positive and indicate that Scoundrels is a novel well worth your time. Another bit of consensus seems to be that this is a great entry point for those unfamiliar with the Expanded Universe, so if you’ve got a friend that needs a place to start, this may be a great novel to consider.
The rest of the staff here will be chiming in with late reviews as we read through the book. In addition, we’re planning a roundtable discussion on the podcast, so stay tuned!
Fanwork Friday: Mosymosey’s Guide to the SWEU
Jacen Solo killed Mara Jade, but at least she still looked super hot!
The most concise, hilarious, and accurate description of the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe I’ve ever seen. Found on Tumblr; insert obvious spoiler and language warnings here.
On True Fans, Gatekeepers, and What is Real Star Wars
Now that we’ve had some time for that to settle in, let’s do a rambling, winding follow-up*.
*But everything you write is a rambling, winding follow-up, you say! I’m not going to dispute that.
Just what is real Star Wars? That is, what counts? What’s okay to invest time, money, and emotional attachment? If you want to stop reading at the end of this paragraph, the short answer is whatever resonates with you counts. It doesn’t matter if your preference lies in the films, television, books, comics, toys, games, Disney rides, or even fan works. There’s no singular right answer or a universally accepted truth as to what is worthy of your own personal fandom. In other words, if you enjoy it, it counts.
Still with me? Let’s have a chat about gatekeepers under the jump.
EW Looks at 100 Episodes of The Clone Wars
EW’s Inside TV has a look at The Clone Wars 100th episode set to air this Saturday and discusses the success the show has achieved against long odds.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars reaches a milestone moment on Saturday with its 100th episode, which is titled “Missing In Action.” The big number is an impressive feat if you consider that even the most sacred of sci-fi shows fall short of the triple-digits. Consider the fact that the original Star Trek ran out of power at episode No. 79 and Battlestar Galactica (the 21st century edition) and The Six-Million Dollar Man were judged to be scrap metal after 73 and 99 weekly episodes, respectively (and no, we do not have to count either brand’s made-for-TV movies).
Sure, the achievement of keeping a show on the Cartoon Network for the past five years is a different challenge than holding on to a primetime slot during the network days of Capt. James T. Kirk and Col. Steve Austin. Still, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has been an impressive with its visual ambition, persistent storytelling interest in knotty ethical quandaries, and the amount of pivotal new canon it’s introduced (such as the existence of the Overlords).
In addition, they’ve got an exclusive trailer offering peaks at the second half of season five. Head over to Inside TV to read the rest of the piece and watch the trailer.