Children of the Jedi Part I: An Introduction to Snark

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Greetings, readers! For those of you just joining us here at the blog, this is part of an ongoing series in which I am reading ,or in some cases re-reading, Star Wars novels from yesteryear. I’m going to be starting rather early on in the Bantam-Spectra era and slowly working my way forward. Now, in some cases that will actually mean chronologically but in other it will mean that I’m just reading them as I get to them.

I also want to tell you that I will be reading most of these for the first time while in other cases they’ll be books I haven’t read in fifteen or so years. It’s needless to say that I may miss some things or note things that will eventually be resolved. If that’s the case, I’ll generally try to note it. In most cases, I’ll end up being right. Expect lots of exasperation and rage.

This brings us to the first of many posts in the series, the name of the series might be a bit fluid for a while until I come up with something that I’m happier with, but we’ll just have to see. For now, you pick, either “EU Growing Pains” or simply “Some books have it coming.”

Brian recently posted his roadmap to the EU, suggesting his own recommendations to get started on the path.  You will also notice that many of these really aren’t on that list.  There’s a good reason.

The first thing on the docket from this humble author will be Children of the Jedi.

Part I

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Denning Talks Fate of the Jedi with Fans

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Over at Star Wars Books, Troy Denning conducted a Q&A session with fans via Facebook. Just what do fans want to know from the author that seems to have become the face of the Post-New Jedi Order EU? Why, what his dream project would be, of course.

I’ve been blessed with so many dream SW projects already that I feel guilty talking about another one . . . but I WOULD like to write the story of Yoda coming of age

Denning also dished on the creative process involved with writing Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse, his latest entry in the Expanded Universe and the conclusion of the nine-book megaseries.

One of our goals for Apocalypse was to open up a whole new boatload of story telling possibilities for the EU. I feel like we accomplished that, and there are about a hundred different SW stories I’d love to tell that are hinted at the end of Apocalypse.

While I understand the goal and what they were trying to accomplish, I couldn’t help but feel that this approach made Apocalypse too open-ended for it’s own good.

For more answers to fan questions, head on over to Club Jade for a transcript with some commentary.

Review – Star Wars: Essential Guide to Warfare

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I’m a fleet junkie.

Sure, the lightsaber duels, the Jedi versus Sith battles, and political games were neat, but that wasn’t my favorite part of the Star Wars mythos growing up. It was the blaster fights. The showdowns between X-Wings and TIE Fighters. The sight of the Death Star looming in the distance. Military warfare in this universe has always held a special place in my heart, which is why Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart’s Essential Guide to Warfare was one of my most anticipated Expanded Universe titles of 2012*.

*Which isn’t to say that there’s nothing about the Jedi and Sith in this book. There are a great many words were written about them.

It’s worth pointing out that the creative staff could have simply compiled abridged Wookieepedia-type articles,  slapped some new artwork on it and I would have been moderately happy. What we lucky readers got instead was a product that cleared that bar by a staggering margin. While I was mostly looking forward to the new artwork in the book (and that is more than enough to justify a purchase), it was the written content that pushed EG to Warfare over the top and elevated it to must-buy territory for casual to hardcore Star Wars fans alike.

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The Obligatory Introduction Post

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Welcome to Tosche Station!

Just what are we? Apart from being the subject of one of the greatest whines in cinema history, we’re a hub for geek culture news, discussion, and snark. As the name implies, the staff here are pretty fond of Star Wars. Be it the films, the games, the novels, or the comics, there’s a good chance we’re eager to talk about it. That isn’t to say we’re all about the Galaxy Far, Far Away all the time. We’re all nerds with diverse interests. You can expect tidbits about everything from movies to comics, television to books.

It’s only our first day, but we already have content up for you to check out, such as reviews of Fate of the Jedi: Conviction, Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse,  and the Star Wars: Essential Guide to Warfare. We’re also home to op-ed columns and articles. I’ve got an Introductory Guide to the Post-RotJ EU and Shane has a snarky look back at Children of the Jedi.

If you take a look up at the tabs atop the site, you’ll notice that we’ve also got something we like to call Tosche Station Radio, our official podcast brought to you by Solo Sound. Every week you can listen in to Nanci and I as we discuss the latest news in Star Wars, geek culture, and fandom in general. There’s even a brand new episode posted today, so give it a listen while you poke around the blog.

Should our fandom ramblings on the blog and podcast prove to be insufficient to your needs, you can also get us in bite-sized doses on both Twitter and Facebook. Give us a follow and a Like for up-to-the minute updates on new content.

Shane, Nanci, and myself thank you for visiting and hope we’ll become a regular stop on your Internet commutes. As we like to say on the podcast, grab some power converters and enjoy the show.

Brief staff bios below the cut!

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Essential Reader’s Companion Sneak Peek

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Star Wars Books released a few sneak-peek images from the upcoming Essential Reader’s Companion. The four new illustrations are Old Republic and prequel trilogy era material. While I was hoping for some post Return of the Jedi art in the preview, the images that did go up are awfully pretty and definitely worth checking out.

The Essential Reader’s Companion goes on sale October 2nd.

Check out the preview images over at the official SWB Facebook page.

Review – Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse

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(Originally written 3/13/12, updated 4/4/12)

The long-awaited Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse finally is on bookshelves, wrapping up the nine-book tale and marking the end of the megaseries approach in the Expanded Universe. Does it stack up with the rest of the series? Is it a satisfying conclusion?

Be forewarned, spoilers loom below the cut.

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It just wouldn’t be April

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So, it’s a few days into April and as we all know, the April Fools jokes have been and gone, mostly.  Google had an 8-bit version of Google Maps, complete with 8-bit streetview and an introductory video to go with that, George Takei made us all hope for a new Star Trek movie starring him as the captain of the Excelsior and ThinkGeek previewed yet another product we all wish we could actually buy.

In case you missed it, it’s below the jump.

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Brian’s Introductory Roadmap to the Post-RotJ Expanded Universe

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Meet Mara Jade. She’ll be very important in the EU.

I think we all recall how we felt the first time we saw the credits roll at the end of Return of the Jedi. It starts with a moment of satisfaction and content as the credits roll. Then, almost without fail, a moment of dread. It’s over!  But I’m not ready for it to be over! What do Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie do next? There has to be more, right? (Ed. note 11/2/12: Ahahahahahahahahah)

Mercifully, there is: the Expanded Universe.

Perhaps you’ve hit up the Internet and have done some preliminary research into the EU, thinking you’ll pick up one of these books to satisfy your hunger for more Star Wars. It seems like a great idea at first, right up until you discover that there are scores upon scores of books, comics, and games featuring different characters and eras. Where do you start?

To preface, this is intended to be a roadmap to becoming familiar with the post-Return of the Jedi EU. This isn’t an official Tosche Station reading guide, just my own suggestions* on what novels will best help a new reader build up the needed knowledge of universe, plots, and characters to understand and appreciate the current state of the Expanded Universe. It is possible to get every bit of information needed from Wookieepedia, but if you’re anything like me, it’s simply more fun and enjoyable to develop this knowledge by reading the novels over reading a dry wiki-style overview.

*But a big, big thank you to my friend Bria for helping me compile this list

Seventeen books comprise this list and are broken into five distinct phases. While that sounds like a lot, it’s a mere drop in the giant Expanded Universe bucket. Some of these novels are optional depending on your preferences and are marked as such.
To the cut!

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Review – Fate of the Jedi: Conviction

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A funny and rather unexpected thing happened while trudging through the latest entry in a series of Star Wars Expanded Universe novels that haven’t exactly jumped out and grabbed my attention. Somewhere in the middle of reading through Aaron Allston’s Conviction (the seventh entry in the much maligned Fate of the Jedi series), I realized I was feeling a strange sensation. I was having fun with this book. Now, that’s not entirely unusual, I wouldn’t be an EU reader if I didn’t manage to derive some kind of fun from every novel I pick up.

No, I was having a lot of fun with this.

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