Book Wars Pod, Episode 37: One-Sleeved Crop Top

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This week, we’re starting PHASMA by Delilah S. Dawson, the origin story of the First Order’s most feared — and most mysterious — soldier. Join us as we discuss Parnassos, a world unlike any other in the current Star Wars canon; hope and the First Order; and how, right off the bat, the writing itself is different from the canon novels we’ve discussed before.

Also, Kate mixed up Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights in this episode; she meant the latter. Bronte sisters confusion.

This podcast covers chapters 1-13 of PHASMA and 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 #45

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SOLO WHAT A MAN SOLO. Yeah. That’s basically everything in our Holonet Blast this week. Well… almost everything.

Let’s just get this first one over with: David Benioff and DB Weiss of Game of Thrones fame are going to be making a series of Star Wars films. We don’t know what they’re about yet but we do know that yes, this is yet another film(s) being written by white guys. Give us a little diversity behind the camera, please.

In better news, Iger says that there are several TV series currently in development. Star Wars is launching a new Force For Change campaign which gives you for first shot at Solo merch.

Disney also gave us some more insight into Galaxy’s Edge. You can buy toys from a Toydarian and I don’t know why this delights me so much.

And now… Solo. So much Solo. EW unleashed an onslaught of articles: Emilia Clarke talks Qi’ra, why Ron Howard, jumped on board, the rogues gallery, an elite droid, LANDO!!!, and some Han Solo. And with that, go watch the trailer again. Because you can.

Review: DJ: Most Wanted

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DJ: Most Wanted: It’s fine.

Oh wait. You want more of a review than that? Fine.

(Did you see what I did there?)

Set right before the events of The Last Jedi, DJ: Most Wanted gives us a little more insight into what it’s like to be DJ. Unsurprisingly, it’s basically what you think: a scoundrel who finds trouble and looks out for himself. This isn’t even necessarily a slight against Ben Acker and Ben Blacker because there’s really only so much they could do with a character prequel comic like this and we have seen them do far more captivating work with their Storms of Crait one-shot where it feels like they had more freedom. It’s not a bad comic. It’s just… a comic in which DJ certainly gets into trouble and tossed into jail. If nothing else, the story helps further flesh out Canto Bight. If you want more of these things, it’s worth picking up this issue. Otherwise… it’s fine.

The one delightful thing about this book is that we get to see Kev Walker drawing Star Wars again! There’s no one else I could imagine being the one to draw an incredibly buff Rodian. (No really: look at the size of his biceps!) If nothing else, you can always count on Walker to keep his cast of characters diverse and his backgrounds interesting.

Bottom line? DJ: Most Wanted is fine but not worth going out of your way for.

DJ: Most Wanted: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker/Writers, Kevin Walker/Penciler, Marc Deering/Inker, Java Tartaglia/Colorist, Clayton Cowles/Letterer, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor, Jordan D. White, Editor

Review: Mace Windu

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Mace Windu just might be the first of the Marvel comics that I recommend you skip entirely and that’s a bummer. Mace Windu has been one of my favorite Prequel Era Jedi ever since I read Shatterpoint and I was hoping for so much more from this. In fact… go pick up a copy of that book instead. It may be Legends now but it’s a better use of your time than this bland comic.

Bland may sound harsh but it’s the best way to describe the book. You could have subbed in almost any other Jedi without the story changing too much. That’s not a good thing. If you’re going to put Mace Windu on the cover then you expect a little of his grim and badass personality to come through on the pages. It never does. That’s not to say that Matt Owens doesn’t try and come up with an interesting story and you can see places where it might really take off but unfortunately, it just never works out.

And then there’s the art… It’s difficult to move past the gremlin Yoda and struggling depictions of some of the more familiar aliens. Most of the time, the art is serviceable but it’s difficult to get that image of Yoda out of your head.

In the interest of not being entirely negative about the comic, I was happy to see the miraluka brought back into canon. They’ve always been a species that’s fascinated me and the eye-related humor did get a laugh or two from me. The absolute best part of the book were the battle droids. Owens got their voices and The Clone Wars feel down pat. They were the highlight of the book.

I genuinely hate to sound so down on a Star Wars comic. I honestly do. Mace Windu isn’t necessarily bad: it’s just not up to the level of the other Star Wars comics that Marvel’s been publishing. You can feel comfortable in skipping this one.

Mace Windu #1-5: Matt Owens/Writer, Denys Cowan/Penciller, Roberto Poggi/Inks, Guru-eFX/Colorist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Heather Antos & Charles Beacham/Assistant Editor, Jordan D. White/Editor

Vongcast Episode #1

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The Vongcast begins in earnest as Megan, Rocky, and Bria discuss the book that started it all: Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore.

You can find Megan on Twitter with the handle @blogfullofwords,  Rocky with @ladydarthcaedus, and Bria with @chaosbria. 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 Radio Megafeed for more episodes and all of our network’s great Star Wars and geek culture content. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. 

Book Wars Pod, Bonus Episode 5: It’s the Navy! In Space!

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In this very special not-so-mini-episode, we’re welcoming our first scheduled guest to the podcast! Poppy Ashwright is a YA enthusiast and the co-host of The Parabatai Pod, a weekly podcast about Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters universe. She’s here to talk with us about the YA landscape, why YA matters, and how YA might change the world. Also, LOST STARS by Claudia Gray was Poppy’s first foray into the Star Wars extended universe, so you should throw all your book suggestions at her!

This podcast is NOT spoiler-free and mentions plot points from LOST STARS by Claudia Gray (which we discussed in our episodes 33-36).

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!

Vongcast Episode #0

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Welcome to the Vongcast! Megan, Rocky, and Bria kick off their reread through the New Jedi Order series by introducing themselves and talking a little about what the books have meant to them, what they’re excited for, and how this new, monthly podcast is going to work.

You can find Megan on Twitter with the handle @blogfullofwords,  Rocky with @ladydarthcaedus, and Bria with @chaosbria. 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 Radio Megafeed for more episodes and all of our network’s great Star Wars and geek culture content. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. 

Vorkosicast Episode #1: Shards of Honor

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This month on the Vorkosicast, Robin and Nanci discuss Shards of Honor, the first 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 36: Heart-Eyes Cannon Fodder

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This week, we’re wrapping up LOST STARS by Claudia Gray! We’re discussing how the Force is present in a novel that mostly skirts around Force-users and fun, less-obvious Easter eggs we found. Plus a whole lot of nerding out about writing: pacing, writing style, and why verbs are good.

This podcast is NOT spoiler-free, and includes plot points from:

  • BLOODLINE by Claudia Gray (which we discussed in our episodes 4-8)
  • Star Wars: Rebels
  • The Last Jedi (which we discussed in our third and fourth mini-episodes)
  • THRAWN by Timothy Zahn (which we discussed in our episodes 10-14)

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!