Of Dice and Droids Episode XIV: Love is a Battlefield

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SEASON TWO – FLIRTING WITH DANGER

DIPLOMATS OF PLOOMA

EPISODE XIV: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD

The Cast:

  • Brian the GM
  • Kiera Lex played by Rocky
  • Diya Barron played by Nanci
  • Perceval played by Jay
  • Shoto played by Sho
  • Gin played by Saf

Diplomats of Plooma continues with a gala and a royale! Strap in, we’re heading for the battleground.

Watch Of Dice and Droids Episode XIV: Love is a Battlefield from ToscheStationNetwork on www.twitch.tv

This podcast has been brought to you in part by your support on Patreon. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes/Google Play to hear all of the adventures! You can also subscribe to the Tosche Station Radio master podcast feed  (iTunes/Google Play) for even more great Star Wars  and geek culture content. 

Book Wars Pod, Episode 48: What Else Am I Gonna Do With These Grenades?

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This week, we’re welcoming our favorite Luke superfans — Shannon Joy and Tosche Station’s very own Nanci Schwartz — to the pod to talk about THE LEGENDS OF LUKE SKYWALKER by Ken Liu. How does this book enhance our understanding of Luke’s character in The Last Jedi? How do these stories compare to the former Star Wars Expanded Universe? Plus, Nanci and Shannon answer some listener questions.

This podcast is NOT spoiler-free!

Book Wars Pod explores the Star Wars universe through the franchise’s non-screen media: the canon novels, comics, and video games. Check out our guide to past episodes, and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you cast your pods. You can also subscribe to the Tosche Station Radio Mega Feed on iTunes or Google Play for more great shows from our podcast network.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr for episode updates! Hosted by Kristen Sereci, Chris Sedor, and Kate Sedor. Art by Joe Butera. Music by Podington Bear.

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

Review: It’s Your Universe

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Since 2008, Ashley Eckstein has had a huge, positive impact upon the lives of fangirls everywhere as both Ahsoka Tano and the founder of Her Universe and now she’s written a book too! Out today, It’s Your Universe: You Have the Power to Make It Happen is a biographical and inspirational account of Ashley’s journey from being a young Disney-loving girl in Florida to a Star Wars star who runs a company focused on supporting fangirls.

Towards the start of the book, Ashley encourages readers to use the book as their own journal for writing down their hopes and dreams and what the path towards that dream might look like. She even leaves lines and little prompts for readers to do so. This turns the reading experience into something interactive.

Admittedly, It’s Your Universe is not a book intended for me. (I’m a 28-year-old pessimist who masquerades as a realist.) But that’s okay. Not every book has to be for every person and there are plenty of people out there, young girls in particular, for whom this book will be amazing. The suggested age range for this book is 12-18 but I think younger fans would appreciate it even more than older teenagers.

Throughout the book, Ashley incorporates some of her favorite quotes and storylines from Disney films, both classic and new. Between descriptions of times when Disney Princesses had to keep going in the face of adversity and Ashley’s own candid descriptions of instances where she experienced set backs, readers are reminded that the path to success isn’t always a straight line. What matters is that you keep believing in yourself and come up with a new plan when your first one doesn’t work out.

It’s Your Universe is likely the perfect book for a young fangirl and especially one who needs a little positive reinforcement as she strives towards her dreams. And hey! While it might not be the book for me, it could very well be an inspirational book that older fans adore as well. In short, if you’re a fan of Ashley Eckstein and Her Universe, you’ll likely find something to like about It’s Your Universe.

Thank you to Disney Editions for providing an advance copy of the book for review.

Holonet Blast #57

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Hey there one and all, it’s time for our weekly roundup of news from a galaxy far, far away.

A New Narrator for A New Hope

Solo: A Star Wars Story Director Ron Howard has had as storied a career as an actor as he has behind the camera. One of his best known roles was the narrator of the cult comedy hit Arrested Development, where his pithy commentary serves to underscore the hilarity of the Bluth family’s misadventures. Last week, the Skywalker family was given similar treatment as Howard lent his voice to a humorous, albeit truncated, version of Star Wars:  A New Hope complete with a shameless plug for Solo.

The Immaculate Cape Closet and So Much More

The world got a tour of the Solo: A Star Wars Story version of the saga’s beloved Millennium Falcon, hosted by the caped charmer himself, Donald Glover. Glover takes fans in an intimate tour of his shiny spacecraft, complete with a visit to the Captain’s quarters and a walk inside the cape armoire.

Becoming Solo

In yet another video tease leading up to Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s release on the 25th, the featurette Becoming Solo also debuted this week. Take a look inside the creative process behind bringing this iteration of the galaxy’s favorite scoundrel to fruition at the link above.

Return of the X-Wing

Fantasy Flight Games announced a new edition of the X-Wing miniatures game this week. X-Wing Second Edition expands on the success of the original game including the added ability to use the Force in ship-to-ship combat. The core set comes with everything a would-be flight leader needs for a thrilling two-player adventure.

Forces of Destiny

This week we saw the debut of new episodes of Star Wars: Forces of Destiny. New content includes a long-anticipated episode featuring young Queen Amidala, a Luke and Leia team up on Endor, and a meeting between Ezra and Ahsoka. All of the new Forces of Destiny episodes are currently available on YouTube and will air on May 25th on the Disney Channel.

Han Solo Season

The folks at EA Games have a very good feeling about this week’s announcement– and frankly, so do we. The Han Solo Season (a cryptic yet thrilling moniker) is coming to Battlefront II this month.

Run to the Light!

Or to the Dark Side, if that’s your thing. runDisney announced this week the 2019 Star Wars Rival Run Weekend. The race weekend will be hosted by Walt Disney World on April 4-7, 2019 and will allow participants to choose which side of the Force they’re running for. The Star Wars Rival Run weekend will have new features highlighting famous Star Wars rivalries as well as traditional favorite challenges including the Rival Run Challenge (running both the 10k and the half marathon over the weekend) and the Kessel Run Challenge (running both the in-person and at-home/virtual half marathons).

Donald Glover on SNL

The Galaxy’s smoothest cape wearer was well-represented by fan favorite Donald Glover, who hosted this week’s Saturday Night Live. While not all the jokes were about Star Wars, Glover represented himself and the brand well, raising hype for Solo and reminding us all what it takes to be that cool.

The Falcon has Landed

This week saw the first volley of fans invited aboard the Millennium Falcon as it tours the country. A perfect replica of both the cockpit and the crew lounge as seen Solo: A Star Wars Story opened to the public this week in Atlanta. The exhibit is housed at The Battery, adjacent to Sun Trust Park (where the Braves play baseball), and free to tour. If the photos we’re seeing are any indication, it’s glorious.

And that’s it for this week! As always, send Star Wars news tips (and pictures of yourselves visiting the Millennium Falcon Experience!) to us here at Tosche Station. And May the Fourth Be in our hearts all the year through!

Review: Choose Your Destiny: A Han & Chewie Adventure

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I had absolutely no idea what I’m doing when it comes to a choose your own adventure book but you know what? That’s actually pretty in-character for Han Solo so I’m going to say it works. Star Wars: Choose Your Destiny: A Han & Chewie Adventure by Cavan Scott with illustrations by Elsa Charretier is precisely what it says on the label and hey to top it off, it’s actually rather fun.

As I said before, I’m not exactly a connoisseur when it comes to choose your own adventure books so this was a brand new venture for me. Turns out that I’m not actually all that great at picking the right option: I led Han and Chewie straight into their journey’s premature end at least five times if not more. That’s actually part of what makes this fun because the right choice isn’t always immediately evident. Sometimes, this is because Han has two equally hair-brained ideas such as telling someone that he’s Jabba the Hutt when he’s in a less than ideal situation. (Honestly, it’s actually somewhat impressive how many people in the galaxy don’t know what a hutt looks like…) I only went through the book once but there are apparently twenty different outcomes (although I suspect that I found about a quarter of those given how many times I unsuccessfully guided our favorite smugglers.) This could easily keep someone entertained for a few hours if they wanted to try and find all the different endings.

The bottom line? If you like these sorts of books, you’ll enjoy Choose Your Destiny: A Han & Chewie Adventure. If you’ve never tried a choose your own adventure book, this could well worth giving a try. It’ll keep you (or kids in particular) entertained for a little while and let you have fun flying the Falcon alongside Han Solo and Chewbacca.

Thank you to Disney-Lucasfilm Press for providing a copy of the book for review purposes.

TSR #189: Oh Snap

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This week on TSR: Dungeons and/or Dragons, a buzzfeed quiz, Star Wars Day came and went, and oh snap! Infinity War.

TSR is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net. If you like what you hear, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes and Google Play. For more great shows from us, you can also subscribe to the Tosche Station Network mega feed on iTunes and Google Play. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci is the founder of Tosche-Station.net. You can find her on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants.

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

Vorkosicast Episode #4: The Vor Game

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This month on the Vorkosicast, Robin and Nanci discuss The Vor Game, the fourth book in the Vorkosigan saga.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by your support on Patreon!  If you like what you hear, you can subscribe to the Tosche Station Book Club on iTunes or you can 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.

Book Wars Pod, Episode 47: Artoo, My Rude King

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By popular demand, this week, we make our first foray into middle-grade fiction with THE LEGENDS OF LUKE SKYWALKER by Ken Liu! What does this book teach us about storytelling in the galaxy far, far away; Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master; and the nature of the Force? Who determines what kinds of literature are “child-appropriate”? How does this book tie into The Last Jedi? We discuss all that and more during this episode.

This podcast is NOT spoiler-free!

Book Wars Pod explores the Star Wars universe through the franchise’s non-screen media: the canon novels, comics, and video games. Check out our guide to past episodes, and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you cast your pods. You can also subscribe to the Tosche Station Radio Mega Feed on iTunes or Google Play for more great shows from our podcast network.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr for episode updates! Hosted by Kristen Sereci, Chris Sedor, and Kate Sedor. Art by Joe Butera. Music by Podington Bear.

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

Holonet Blast #56

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“Welcome to the Resistance.” – Leia Organa, and, probably, Dave Filoni.

That’s right, this week Star Wars Resistance was finally announced as our newest animated series based in the galaxy far, far away. Filoni, who previously worked on and created Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, respectively, said that this will be an anime-inspired show about a young pilot recruited to spy on the burgeoning First Order. (Editor’s Note: Bria is VERY excited about Christopher Sean being a part of the voice cast.) With voice roles by Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie already announced, it’s a safe bet that Resistance will tie in heavily with both the sequel trilogy and, possibly, some characters that we just said goodbye to in Rebels.

In other news this week, Lucasfilm and the team behind StarWars.com won three 2018 Webby Awards. But they’re not the only winners, because we, the fans, get to step inside the Millennium Falcon  – at least, if you live in northern Kentucky, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, or Denver. Slightly smaller (but it could still make the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs) is the scale model of everyone’s favorite freighter made out of – you guessed it – SOLO cups.

Meanwhile, Disneyland will be adding a second Star Wars Nite to their schedule next week, as part of their popular “Disneyland After Dark” series. Presumably, they’ll use the profits from ticket sales to fund their legal defense after being sued by Ren Ventures, who own the trademark to the game Sabacc.

Finally, in Tosche Station-specific news, a new Vorkosiverse novella, “The Flowers of Vashnoi”, will be gracing the screens of thousands of e-readers soon, and Nanci is here. for. it.

That’s a wrap for this week – stay classy and may the Force be with you.