Who would have thought that 2020 would be the Year of The Clone Wars especially back when the series was cancelled after the Disney acquisition? And yet the Year of The Clone Wars it continues to be as Disney-Lucasfilm Press bring us the middle grade anthology Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark featuring stores by Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Zoraida Córdova, Jason Fry, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greg Van Eekhout, Tom Angleberger, E. Anne Convery, Sarah Beth Durst, Yoon Ha Lee, and Anne Ursu. Each story also features a gorgeous illustration by Ksenia Zelentsova with whose fan art you might already be familiar. Is this a book that fans of the show are going to love? Definitely! And if you’re not already a fan? Well, let’s dive into that. Continue reading
Tag Archives: book reviews
Review: Star Wars: Shadow Fall
What happens when you bring together five New Republic pilots who all fly different starfighters and put them under the command of an Intelligence officer and also one of the Rebellions best generals? You get Alphabet Squadron. And then, if you’re really lucky, you get three whole books about them! Thankfully, we are indeed really lucky or at least much luckier than the Alphabet Squadron crew.
Out today, Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed is the follow up to last year’s Alphabet Squadron and the second book in a planned trilogy about these ragtag pilots fighting a war against a dying Empire. Although they’re fresh off their victory at Pandem Nai, they’re still no closer to tracking down and destroying what’s left of the Empire’s Shadow Wing. Even worse (if your name is Yrica Quell), they also don’t know that Major Soran Keize has returned to the Empire and Shadow Wing. The solution? Alphabet Squadron, along with parts of the 61st Mobile Infantry, are going to set a trap in Cerberon. It’s risk but if it works, the job will finally be done. If it doesn’t, things could get far worse than any of them have anticipated. Continue reading
Review: Alien Archive
Editor’s Note: The following is something a little different from our usual book reviews… because it’s written by someone from the intended audience for Star Wars: a kid! Olivia W. is nine years old, a member of the Galactic Academy, and one of the biggest Star Wars fans I know. I thought it only fitting to ask her to review the book for us. Enjoy!
Alien Archive – A Guide to the Species of the Galaxy, illustrated by Tim McDonah is an in-universe reference book for explorers, travelers, animal lovers, and those looking to learn more about the galaxy around them. This book includes over two hundred alien species from all times of galactic history and locations. It includes some that are well known to all fans, and others that are only seen briefly in a classic battle scene or mentioned once in a book. Information is laid out in the form of a journal written by some unknown traveler. In addition to facts and details about aliens, their homeworlds, and their characteristics, there are amazing drawings of all of them.
Species are categorized by their habitat, so if you are looking up a specific species you will need to know something about them to get started. Or, this is a book that you can pick up and open to literally any page to learn something about any creature big and small, well known or not. Alternately, there is a good index in the back of all the species by name and by some of the locations where they are found. Some species include notes about famous figures in the history of their kind. Some references have handwritten notes with the observations from the traveler.
Strangely, this book includes no direct references to humans, maybe the author thought that humans weren’t worth talking about in a book of interesting species. On the other hand, if you are desperate to hear about tales of the humans there are many familiar figures and heroes included in the articles about species like the Rodians, or the Lanai. Also, there are multiple entries for “species: unknown; homeworld: unknown”. This book even includes information about aliens when we don’t know what species they are classified to be, like Yoda and Maz.
This book includes characters and species from the movies, books, tv shows (even Resistance!), comic books and more. It will be best appreciated by a true fan that may have wondered just what a Momong looks like, or where a Frigosian is from. This is a colorful and informative addition to the bookshelf of any true Star Wars fan.
Thank you to Disney Lucasfilm Press for providing a copy of the book for review purposes.
Review: The Afterward
The big Quest always gets all of the attention in storytelling but there are tales still left to be told about what happens after everyone returns home. The Afterward by E.K. Johnston gleefully delves into this mostly untapped time frame, just as the title indicates, delivering humor, friendship, adventure, and (most importantly) a love story and the world would be a better place if we had more books like this in it.
It’s been a year since Apprentice Knight Kalanthe Ironheart and thief Olsa Rhetsdaughter and the rest of their companions returned from their Quest to find the Godsgem to save the king. While the others are all full knights with a bit more freedom to adapt to being heroes of the kingdom in their own ways, it’s a bit harder for these two to go back to how life once was. Thieving isn’t as simple for Olsa anymore now that everyone knows her and the king’s reward only made a small dent in Kalanthe’s training debt. Will they remain separated by their own pride and honor or will they find their way back to each other again? Continue reading