Tag Archives: Paul Urquhart

Latest ‘EG to Warfare’ Endnotes Covers the New Jedi Order

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It’s a new week, which means there’s a new batch of Essential Guide to Warfare notes from Jason Fry. We’re finally up to the New Jedi Order, which means Fry is handing off the bulk of these notes to co-author Paul Urquhart.

Yavin, 28 ABY: The purpose of this piece is to set the scene for the events of the New Jedi Order novels – by introducing the alien culture of the Yuuzhan Vong, with its mix of mysticism, sadism and treachery, and by “interrupting” the narrative with something in a very different style, reflecting the violent shock of the alien invasion of the New Republic. Cutting the scene into static-washed fragments was Jason’s idea, and I really like the result.

Vergere’s agenda is a mystery that fans still debate, and I deliberately DON’T want to speculate on the answer, or on how much she’s deceiving her apparent allies here. (After all, Vergere’s most famous line is “everything I tell you is a lie.”) I don’t want to spoil all the surprises of the novels for fans who’ve not read them all, either. But I do want to suggest that Vergere was involved in schemes and plots we never really saw on the page – so her linkage to Mezhan Kwaad and her presence on Yavin 4 are new continuity. There are other questions raised by this piece, as well, which might sneak up on readers who give it several re-reads – for example, just who is monitoring the conversation?!

For more, head to Jason Fry’s Tumblr.

Suvudu Highlights the Best Star Pilots in the Galaxy

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Paul Urquhart dropped by Suvudu today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway in a somewhat unique way: talking about the snubfighter pilots as unsung heroes in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Not only that, he teamed up with artist Frank-Joseph Frelier to illustrate some of the great combat pilots introduced via the Expanded Universe.

As Jason Fry’s authorial sidekick in Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare, I got the chance to write about the development of fighter tactics in a galaxy far, far, away and how the advantages and limitations of combat planes translate into the vast arena of space. Between us, we produced “biographies” for almost every major warplane type from the movies, novels and comics.

But last week was the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, a decisive air battle with more than a passing resemblance to some stories in the Star Wars universe — and reading about the real-world fighter combat reminded me of another key component of any war: the people.

One of the pilots Urquhart and Frelier highlighted that might have gotten some audible noise of excitement out of me? Syal Antilles, daughter of Wedge.

And if you need a bit of heartwarming in your life today, take a look at the helmet Syal’s holding. That appears to be the one that belonged to her father.

Paul talked about a bunch of other pilots that have made their marks on Star Wars and the Expanded Universe and there are other great illustrations of some neat minor characters to go along with the post. Head on over to Suvudu to check the rest out.

Jason Fry Releases Fifth Batch of ‘EG to Warfare’ Endnotes

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Ask any fic writer who has dabbled in Star Wars military fiction and they’ll tell you they have pulled their hair out trying to find out just how the rank system works between various military factions. Thankfully for all of us, Jason Fry and Paul Urquhart managed to answer some of those questions definitively in EG to Warfare.

Paul writes: “This section had to combine the basic four-color rank stripes from Attack of the Clones with the more complex grade system from ‘Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic’ in Star Wars Insider #84, as well as stray references to additional ranks in various novels, and it had to make them all work with the unit structure. I’d have liked to have done something with the unit formations, which real soldiers tell me are unrealistic, but I subtly hinted that the Kaminoans are a bit unrealistic and childlike in their liking for neat, obedient ranks of expendable troops. More on that when we get to the Empire….”

For more information, check out the fifth batch of endnotes on Jason Fry’s Tumblr.

Paul R. Urquhart Talks ‘Essential Guide to Warfare’

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Were the endnotes from Jason Fry not enough for you? Suvudu has a lengthy piece from Essential Guide to Warfare co-author Paul R. Urquhart discussing all sorts of fun little details that went into crafting the book.

But what do you do when you’re writing a book that needs to describe the technicalities of how an Ewok defeats a Stormtrooper? You have to come up with straight-faced explanations that don’t seem completely crazy or compromise the inherent fun and lightness of the saga.

That’s the situation I found myself in when I was asked to co-write Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare – a new guide to the warriors and weaponry of the Star Wars saga. Of course, I jumped at the chance, and thus, I became a sort of kilted Boba Fett sidekick to lead author Jason Fry’s baseball-bat-wielding Darth Vader.

And then I realized just what I’d gotten myself into.

How do you describe the technicalities of how an Ewok defeats a Stormtrooper?

The authors clearly had fun putting this book together and you do have to admire how they straddled the line between taking things too seriously and preserving the often amusing absurdities of the epic space opera. Occasionally the Expanded Universe feels like its too caught up in making itself edgy and dark. Essential Guide to Warfare is a lovely change-of-pace.

For more, head on over and read Paul Urquhart’s first Suvudu post.

Facebook Chat With Jason Fry, Paul Urquhart, and Erich Schoeneweiss

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Yesterday the writers behind the Essential Guide to Warfare stopped by Star Wars Books official Facebook page to answer questions from fans. Among the hard hitting questions: was there a classic Disney influence on the book?

Johann Mitzscherlich: It may seem obviously, but is the name “Skere Kaan” (where you first introduced his forename) to the tiger Shere Khan from The Jungle Book.

Jason Fry: Yep, Skere Kaan is a Jungle Book nod. That was Paul. Made me smile.

I’m always game for clever little nods to things outside of the Star Wars universe. Reading over a Han Solo profile, I spotted an Animal House reference. Austin over at EUCantina noticed a Kent Brockman reference in the book.

For a lengthy recap of the chat, head on over to Club Jade.