Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
I love infographics. If I could, I’d spend all day looking at them. The staff over at Hark.com have pieced together a fun graphic comparing the successes of two Star-based franchises. Sorry, Search fans. Your fandom was not included in the list.
Click image to view the rest of the infographic
It’s been a banner year for Star Wars reference books. We got Book of the Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side that chronicled various Dark Lords and their teachings. A few months later we got Essential Guide to Warfare, a dream for Star Wars and Expanded Universe military buffs.
Today perhaps the crown jewel of Star Wars references hit bookstores: The Essential Reader’s Companion by Pablo Hidalgo.
Just about everyone who has gotten their hands on the ERC has made this very comment, but it really can’t be said enough. This book is big. It’s nearly three pounds and nearly five-hundred pages of summaries, art, and analysis. That said, the dimensions are actually quite nice. This is a book that fits well on your bookshelf or would serve as a brilliant coffee table reader. But enough about the aesthetics, how does the content stack up?
To the jump!
Vector Prime and Betrayal aren’t exactly the type of EU novels I’d recommend a new reader to pick up right away, but this bundle is worth it on the strength of Heir to the Empire and Rogue Squadron alone.
You can get your bundle tomorrow. Links to sellers are available at Random House.
Del Ray has moved the publication date for Star Wars: Scoundrels but not in the way we wanted. According to Timothy Zahn’s Facebook page, Scoundrels will now be published a week later on January 1st, 2013.
A bit of news: The pub date for Star Wars: Scoundrels has been postponed a week until January 1, 2013. (The delay has apparently been applied to all of RH’s December 26 releases, so it’s not like Scoundrels has been singled out.) No reasons have been given, at least not to me.
While it’s still close enough to be a belated Christmas present, it’s a shame that the publishers didn’t choose to bump the release date ahead by a week instead of back.
I just don’t care about continuity like I used to.
The fiery passion I had for it years ago isn’t there anymore. I used to scour over Wookieepedia to try and see how things pieced together. How did this book tie in with that comic, or how did that obscure background character from that film work in this book? There’s a part of me that still really enjoys seeing the minutia of the universe fit together, but over the last few years I’ve noticed that my insistence that everything mesh perfectly together has more or less vanished.
I got worn out fuming over how The Clone Wars was treading on the Expanded Universe. I got tired arguing about how the prequel films trounced on the ethics and philosophy of post-Return of the Jedi novels. At some point, I realized that the only thing that mattered to me anymore was that I was reading a compelling narrative. For a long time I had been prioritizing continuity over the story and it had gotten in the way of my enjoyment of the Expanded Universe.
While I may not be a continuity die-hard anymore, I know it matters to many fans. It still matters to me to a certain degree. That’s the great thing about fandom, because there are countless ways one can be a fan of something. We all weigh certain things differently.
However, because it’s very important for a lot of people and still matters to me somewhat, we need to sit down and have a discussion. Continuity fans, there’s some behavior and expectations that need to change.
Episode 5×01 – “Revival”
Directed by Steward Lee
Written by Chris Collins
Fortune cookie – “Strength of character can defeat strength in numbers.”
Cosplay Monday returns with this cool photograph by darkainmx of brethlessaire as Ursula from The Little Mermaid that I found via Tumblr! Her costume isn’t just gorgeous but is also incredibly detailed and undoubtedly took a lot of work. It’s also probably one of the most impressive looking versions of a “humanized” Disney villain/character that I’ve ever seen.
In Nanci’s world, Sunday is really Friday. (Or she lost track of the days and is a failure at this column.)
It’s no secret that I dislike the Legacy of the Force series. It’s no secret that I hate that Mara died. However, I do like fanfics that use Mara’s death as a basis for wonderful character exploration and missing scenes. This story, by salanderjade, does exactly that. It is an extension of the scene at the end of Revelation, in which Ben overhears his father talking to his mother’s Force ghost. I understand why Karen Traviss wrote the scene from Ben’s POV, but I would have loved to know exactly what Mara said to Luke. I’m glad that writers like salanderjade attempt to answer that very tough question.
Hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior—the man called Revan has been all of these. He left Coruscant a Jedi, on a mission to defeat the Mandalorians. He returned a Sith disciple, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was the loss of his memories. All that’s left are nightmares—and deep, abiding fear. What happened beyond the Outer Rim that Revan can’t quite remember or entirely forget? One thing he’s certain of: Something dark is plotting to destroy the very existence of the Republic. With no idea how to identify the threat, let alone stop it, Revan may be doomed to fail. For he’s never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.
Kicking the show off, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog this week. Fanwork Friday featured Marcin’ On, a Harry Potter fan music video. Bria highlighted an incredible Lin Bei Fong costume in Cosplay Monday. In honor of The Avengers releasing on DVD and Blue Ray, This week’s Trope Tuesday investigated the Avengers Assemble trope. Brian reviewed War of the Seasons: The Human by Janine Spendlove.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci finished off her final edits of her original novel Robber Barons. Of course, that means she also started work on the sequel! She also watched a couple more episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, much to the joy of the rest of the Tosche Station staff. Brian finished reading War of the Seasons: The Human and dove into the second novel.
Deak’s Dirt starts out with news of a female Expendables and the hosts offer up their suggestion for who should be in it. Mark Hamill celebrated a birthday this week and in other Star Wars news, the latest LEGO Star Wars special aired on Wednesday. Be sure to check out James’ interview with Michael Price over at Club Jade! Timothy Zahn is on his way to New York Comic Con. Meanwhile, Jen Heddle of Lucasfilm answered questions regarding fan diversity and reiterated that the Big Three will be fading into the background post-Crucible. Finally The Hunger Games: Catching Fire just began filming!
This week’s Camie’s Concerns will require some tissue on hand. Brian and Nanci discuss their notable and favorite tear-jerker scenes in the films and Expanded Universe.
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 Zune Marketplace. 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.