Tag Archives: Bria ReReads the SWEU

EU Retrospective: The New Jedi Order Part 1

Posted on by

Welcome back to the Waru Express, dear readers, after a bit of a break.  We’re diving right into the New Jedi Order which requires an entire shelf all on its own.  19 books?  Let’s go!  Before we dive into the book reviews, I figured I’d let you all in on a secret: I don’t hate the NJO.  In fact, I like a fair bit of it.  There are certainly some books and occurrences that I strongly dislike and I think it could’ve been shorter but I enjoy the vast majority of it.  Spoiler Alert: I love the Stackpole, Allston, and Stover books but does that surprise any of you?  My point is that I’m not a hater when it comes to these books but neither do I blindly love them so while my thoughts are on these books are likely to be a fair bit more positive than most of the blogosphere, you’re still going to get a decent dose of snark.  Starting with this post.

With that out of the way, let’s dive into the first lengthy review post as I discuss the books from Vector Prime to Jedi Eclipse.

Vector Prime
Ah yes.  The infamous “Chewbacca is Dead!” book.  I feel nothing but pity for R.A. Salvatore having to be the one to pull the trigger on this given how the fandom can be at times.  Let’s get the giant wookiee in the corner out of the way.  Yeah, Chewbacca dying sucks.  Reading through the book knowing what was coming made all the scenes with Chewie that much more painful.  He’s a big part of our group of heroes and it is sad that he dies.  HOWEVER.  His death certainly does signify to the readers that this oncoming threat isn’t going to be easily defeated and that no one will escape unscathed.  Also?  If you’re going to go out, this is certainly one of the more badass ways to do it.  Chewbacca rejects your notion of death by blasterfire and goes down shaking his fist at a freaking moon.

I’d really like to know what the heck happened to Jacen Solo between the end of Crisis of Crystal Reef and the start of this book.  It feels like I’m reading about two completely different characters and I’m not even counting the lack of bad jokes because that’s something a person could reasonably grow out of.

Overall, I actually think the book functions quite well in its role.  It sets up the Vong invasion, lets us get to see our favorite characters again, and tells us that this isn’t going to be an easy ride.  I also find it to be an enjoyable book on its own.  It’s nice getting to see the Solo kids have some fun before the galaxy goes to hell even if it’s only for the first half of the book.

The final line of the book sums it up the best: “But to Han Solo, the galaxy suddenly seemed a more dangerous place by far.”

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: Young Jedi Knights – Black Sun

Posted on by

The Young Jedi Knights books draw to a close with one final trilogy that takes Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, and Zekk on a whole new adventure which, as we all know, means trouble.

Return to Ord Mantell
I’d forgotten that I dislike Anja Gallandro.  It’s not that I hate her or have some vendetta against her.  I just don’t like her and I’m okay with her not having appeared in the Expanded Universe otherwise.  On the other hand, I suppose these books can serve as another chapter in the ‘Don’t do spice, kids,’ grand story.

It’s always fun getting to see the twins get some serious page time with Han.  This book gets double fun points before it’s diving into Han’s smuggler past.  Watching Jaina fly the Falcon with her father never fails to make me smile.

Zekk’s journey towards becoming a proper Jedi Knight gets its start here.  The more I think about it, the more I appreciate that this plotline wasn’t rushed.  I also appreciate that he decided to combine his piloting skills with his Force abilities to win the Derby.

Oh.  And we get cameos from Kyp Durron and Streen which is always lovely.  I can’t help how much I love that jerk of a Jedi.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: Young Jedi Knights – Diversity Alliance

Posted on by

The adventures of Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca continue!  And by adventures, I mean they get into a lot of trouble because that’s how things work for them.  This time, they’re going up against bounty hunters and the new Diversity Alliance.  On the bright side, no one loses any limbs or goes to the dark side this time.

Shards of Alderaan
Just like with the first arc, KJA and Rebecca Moesta take the first book to set the stage for the new story.  Raynar Thul, the annoying brat from the previous books, gets the chance to move towards the forefront.  Unfortunately, it’s because his father has disappeared and Boba Fett is hunting him but nothing’s perfect, right?

It always amuses me that it feels like everyone gets a spaceship in this book.  Granted, by everyone, I just mean Zekk and Tenel Ka but still.  Poor Jaina still doesn’t have her own ship but she gets to be the Rock Dragon’s pilot so I guess it evens out.  And then Zekk gets the Lightning Rod.  I actually think it’s pretty cool that Zekk decides to become a bounty hunter and doesn’t immediately try to become a Jedi.  The poor boy deserves some time to try and figure out who he is.

On top of that, it’s actually incredibly sweet that the twins decide to give their mother a piece of Alderaan for her birthday.  Obviously things inevitably go wrong but it really is a nice gesture.  Oh the Solo children. <3

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: Young Jedi Knights – Second Imperium

Posted on by

Ohhhh the Young Jedi Knight series.  These were the first Star Wars books I ever read except for the Jedi Prince books and I still enjoy them over a decade later.  While they are clearly written for a younger audience and get cheesy sometimes, they’re still fun reads.  I try to thank Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta every time I see them at Dragon*Con for writing these books and these characters because I love them just that much.  I am also 100% okay with admitting that I wanted to be best friends with Jaina Solo and Tenel Ka as a kid and I still sort of do.  You’ve been warned: these posts will be a fair bit gushing accompanied by some good natured teasing.

Heirs of the Force
First things first: Tenel Ka gets the best character entrance ever.  “Oh don’t mind me.  I’m just going to CLIMB UP THE BACK OF THIS TEMPLE AND POP INTO THE MORNING LESSON.  LIKE A BAMF.”  I love her so much.

Oh!  And I also love that the authors turn a trope on its head at the start of the book because Han brings flowers for Jacen (or rather his pet) and a hyperdrive for Jaina.  The Solos are going to be who they want to be.  Even if it does mean that Jacen has pet snakes.

This book is mostly about introducing us to our four new heroes.  Obviously, we already know Jaina and Jacen Solo who continue with their grand tradition of getting kidnapped.  Good job kids.  At least they’ve learned from experience and don’t actually let Qorl fly off in a TIE fighter with weapons.  We also get to know Tenel Ka and Lowbacca, both young relations to characters we’ve met in the past.  I do think it’s a bit strange that the Solo twins don’t understand Shyriiwook since Chewbacca helped raise them but I can overlook that.  Like I said, this is a set up book and I appreciate it for what it is.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: Scourge and Survivor’s Quest

Posted on by

The two books for today’s post probably could not have been more different if they’d tried.  On the one hand, we have the Luke/Mara go on an adventure in Chiss space book and on the other hand, we have a book about a Jedi trying to take down a Hutt spice ring.  The good news is that they were both fun reads.  The bad news is that I don’t get to be snarky in this post.

Scourge
I must admit that I wasn’t expecting much from Scourge mostly because I hadn’t heard much buzz about it.  All I knew is that it involved Hutts.  I was, however, very pleasantly surprised and that is always a good thing.

Overall, this was a solid book.  Personally, I always enjoy getting to see other aspects of the galaxy besides the galaxy shaking problem of the week and the Solo/Skywalker clan regardless of how much I love them.  It’s nice to see a new member of Luke’s Jedi Order especially one who doesn’t fall into the stereotypical Jedi mold.  Mander Zuma is an archivist who is only a warrior when he absolutely has to be.  He can also be a very surprising person who doesn’t fit neatly into the a box.  Plus, he gets to go through a nice arc of character growth as the story progresses.  Reen Irana and Eddey Be’ray are the other two people helping investigate the death of Toro Irana, a Jedi Knight, and they both prove to be interesting characters in their own rights as is Angela Krin.  Heck, even the Hutts are all very distinctive characters who don’t all fall into the Jabba category.  In all honesty, I would mind reading more about these characters.  I don’t love them yet but they are certainly intriguing.

The plot itself was fairly expected for this sort of novel but that’s not a bad thing because if you’re expecting a book about a drug smuggling ring then you’d probably like to get one.  The story felt timeless though and that’s another good thing.  Although there were clearly references to the New Jedi Order and Yavin 4 and such that tied it to the post-RotJ era, the book could have easily been tweaked and set in the Old Republic era and I rather appreciated that.  Like I said above, not every plot line or story needs to be galaxy shattering to be enjoyed.

Oh!  And I actually love the series of twists at the end.  In retrospect, I probably should’ve figured it out a lot sooner than I did but the storyline certainly kept me guessing which in turn definitely kept me reading.

Bottom line is that I recommend it.  It should probably be distributed to certain characters in certain books to reinforce the message of Don’t Do Spice.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: Hand of Thrawn

Posted on by

Thrawn Returns!  Except not really.  But Zahn is back and that is always a good thing.  Both the Bantam Era and the Empire are about to draw to a close so sit back and enjoy a lovely end to this chapter of the Star Wars story.

Specter of the Past
Zahn gets the team back together again.  Okay, maybe it takes til the end of the book for that to really happen but from the start, we get to see all of our (or at least my) old favorites.  Obviously, we get to see our heroes from the films but then Zahn gives us Karrde and Mara and Wedge and the Rogues!  It thrills me so much to see Tycho get some page time outside of the X-Wing books.

On top of that, we really get to meet Shada D’ukal for the first time.  While this isn’t her first appearance in the books, it’s the first time we really get a chance to get to know her as a character and see her take the spotlight.  She is honestly one of my favorites of the more minor characters and her decision to leave the Mistryl in this book is definitely a part of that.  It’s a struggle between honesty and loyalty and those are always interesting to read.

One thing that occurred to me while I was reading this book is that I think a lot of the authors just… forgot about the Noghri.  Of course, I skipped over a large chunk of the books set between the two Zahn series but I don’t seem to really remember them having a presence.  Maybe that could’ve helped prevent some of their twelve thousand kidnappings…

As far as the book itself goes, I adore the set up.  I love the juxtaposition of Pellaeon and his realization that the Empire can no longer continue to fight and with Disra and his plan to try and make the Empire a force to be reckoned with by use of a Thrawn impostor.  On the other side, there is the New Republic struggling to adjust to being a “peacetime” government that deals with peacetime issues.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: The Corellian Trilogy

Posted on by

If you were to ask me what I remembered about the Corellian Trilogy before I started this read through, I could’ve told you three things: Thracken Sal-Solo is a slimy git, Centerpoint Station is bad, and the Solo children should not try to build droids.  In other words, I went into these books with a relatively clean slate which was actually a rather nice change.  Even better?  It turns out that I do rather enjoy reading these books.  And also that I’d really like to steal Roger Macbride Allen’s career and be a Foreign Service Officer AND a Star Wars author.

Ambush at Corellia
If nothing else, you have to appreciate how self-aware and very Star Wars this book is in the very first chapter.  Han and Chewie are working on the Falcon and its plethora of mechanical issues and oh did anyone mention that the Solo children are a bunch of little troublemakers and have a reputation for it throughout the galaxy?

Also, because I am an Alderaan diehard, I will point out my objection to Leia saying that she was only the Organa’s foster daughter because I am 99% sure that she was adopted and raised completely as Bail and Breha’s own.  If anyone is going to be referred to as the Organa’s foster daughter, it’s probably Winter.

That one quibble aside, Roger MacBride Allen seems to understand the Skywalker twins better than a heck of a lot of the Star Wars authors.  One of the complaints that’s been brought up on the podcast lately is that there is no reason why Leia cannot be both a politician and a Jedi.  The first six chapters of this book show her striving to do exactly that.  On the flip side, they also show Mon Mothma urging Luke to embrace the political talents that he might have to better help the Jedi Order.  Although this trilogy was written well before the Prequel Trilogy was released, I do think that there is a good chance Mon Mothma knew or at least strongly suspected who Luke and Leia’s mother was and therefore thought that maybe some of Padme’s political talents had gone to both twins.  In short, the book’s start is a lovely reminder that people do not need to be defined by one job or one skill set alone and that there is no reason why Leia cannot be both politician and Jedi.

I actually found the book to be a decent enough read.  On its own, it doesn’t really stand up as its own story since much of what happens is clearly just all the set up for the next two books.  The Solo Family arrives on Corellia, Lando drags Luke off on his great ‘find a wife’ tour, and trouble really kicks off in the Corellian system.  The story pay off is going to have to happen in books 2 and 3.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: The Best and the Worst

Posted on by

It was pure chance that put the best book in the Expanded Universe and the worst one next to each other in the Waru Express reading list.  It was also a blessing because after rereading The Crystal Star?  I don’t think I could’ve kept going on this project without Starfighters of Adumar being there to hug me and tell me that everything’s going to be okay.  So with no further ado, let’s talk about the Best and the Worst that the Expanded Universe has to offer.

The Crystal Star

This book has the distinction of being so awful that I had managed to block everything about it from my memory (except the existence of Waru) until the other night.  For those of you who joined me on my livestream, you got to witness my descent into madness.  (I believe Brian noted that the Waru Express finally broke me around 9:16 EST.)  There was drinking, there was cursing, there was defeated sobbing.  There was also the world’s worst Han Solo impression and some singing and some off-color jokes.  And then more cursing and more drinking and more pleas to be released from my agreement to read the book.  But most importantly, there was Waru.  He loves you.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: The Jedi Academy

Posted on by

I’ll go ahead and fess up before we even start this.  I like these books.  Actually, I love these books.  In fact, these books have a very special place in my heart because they are the reason why I tumbled head first into the Expanded Universe.  Dark Apprentice is the first Star Wars book I stumbled upon after my grandmother bought me two random Young Jedi Knights books.  The YJK had already made me fall in love with the Solo twins, Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca and when nine-year-old Bria picked up Dark Apprentice for the first time, there was no turning back.  I do recognize that these books certainly have their faults but I could never hate them.  Instead, I am forever grateful to Kevin J. Anderson for writing books that were my gateway drug.  Therefore you have been warned of my nostalgia for this trilogy.  Onward!

Jedi Search
In retrospect, it’s possible that this trilogy is what started my “Han and Leia are the worst parents ever” way of thinking.  I do, however, make this comment with love for the Solo family to my friends.  But seriously: why would you ever let these two raise your daughter?  (I’m looking at you, Tenel Ka.)  Somewhere out there about ohhhh 30 years farther into the time line, Winter is shaking her head and saying “It’s not my fault” for what happened with the Solo children.

Okay, I shall stop ragging on the Solo’s questionable parenting skills.  For now.

The subtitle of this book should probably be “Han Solo Has A Series Of Really Bad Days”.  Honestly, it takes some serious talent to go from getting tossed into the spice mines of Kessel to stumbling into a secret Imperial research facility and being subjected to interrogation.  On the other hand, he does manage to escape intact and with a new sidekick.  Shut up, I love Kyp Durron.  He gets the long con character development over the course of the EU and I love it so freaking much.

As for Luke, it’s about darn time he decided to try and rebuild the Jedi Order!  I get that he’s worried about having a new Vader on his hands but I would’ve thought that Luke would’ve gotten over his worries there earlier.  But then again, I’m always surprised when Leia isn’t more trained in the Jedi arts than she is.

The blob races, on the other hand, make me laugh because of how ridiculous they are.  Really?  Blobs?  You didn’t even try on that one, KJA.  Aside from that though, I find the book to still be an enjoyable read.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: Thrawn Trilogy

Posted on by

Ahhhh the Thrawn books.  Honestly, is there anything more classic than Zahn’s trilogy when it comes to the Expanded Universe?  If you’re here for the snark, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer because between these three books and another X-Wing novel?  I have nothing but praise this go-round.  (Shocking, I know.)

Heir to the Empire
One of the first things that occurred to me while I was reading this book is how much the Star Wars universe owes to Timothy Zahn.  There is so much about the universe that I just take for granted that I’m now realizing/remembering is all thanks to Zahn.  Coruscant?  Zahn.  Personalities for character who really only cameoed in the films but are integral parts of the EU?  Zahn.  Bringing Wedge Antilles to the forefront?  Zahn.  Introducing the best character ever, aka Winter?  Zahn.  I mean, I’m not saying that Zahn is god but the amount of canon he contributed is amazing.

What I love about this book and the entire trilogy is that the story still clearly feels like Star Wars but still has its own tale to tell.  It’s not a rehashing of the Emperor or Vader because the villains have their own motivations and characterizations.  (I’ll save my ‘Why I love Pellaeon’ ramble for another post.)  Thrawn is most certainly his own character who takes a very different approach to winning the war than any other Imperial we’ve seen before.  It’s pretty cool that he can study art and figure out how someone will react.  And then you have C’boath who is just bonkers.  His original model wasn’t much of a charmer to begin with so this probably shouldn’t be surprising.

And then we have the introduction of the ever fabulous Mara Jade.  If there are people in our universe who dislike her, I don’t want to know about them.  I positively adore everything about her and what she brings to the story.  I’m also a huge fan of Talon Karrde and his smuggling organization that doubles as the best intelligence agency not controlled by a government.  I’d happily read a book all about Karrde and his organization.  Pretty please, Del Ray?  Also, I will admit to also not really getting the Wild Karrde joke either until a few years ago because I pronounced the ‘e’ in my mind.  Nanci isn’t alone here.

Of course, all the familiar characters are always great to read about.  Zahn clearly gets Luke, Han, Leia, and Lando and writes them all quite well.  Plus, I think he did a great job of bringing each of them five years forward from Endor so we see the same characters but we also get to see a logical progression for each one.

The story is good too.  It’s a set up novel for the rest of the trilogy but never feels like it’s only there as exposition because it has its own tale to tell before the final page is turned.  Enjoyable all around.

Continue reading →