Del Rey Updates: Rise of the Empire and Battlefront Descriptions Announced

mill__cvr_all_r1.inddAmong all the Monarchy Discussions and The Force Awakens news drops this week, we’ve also gotten some updates from Del Rey regarding upcoming novel releases.

First, blurbs for the three new short stories in the Rise of the Empire novel bundle have been released.

MERCY MISSION by Melissa Scott
Years before she led the crew of the Ghost, Hera Syndulla was a young pilot looking to make a difference in the galaxy. Hera sets out with Goll — a close ally of her father, Cham Syndulla — on a dangerous mission to help the citizens of her homeworld, Ryloth, now languishing under the might of the Empire.

BOTTLENECK by John Jackson Miller
When Grand Moff Tarkin is tasked by Emperor Palpatine to investigate a dispute slowing Imperial production on a backwater planet, he expects an easy mission. Instead, Tarkin must forge a tense alliance with Count Vidian, the Empire’s newest rising star and a most capable rival. Matching wits and risking betrayal at every turn, the two powerful Imperials duel to gain the upper hand…and elude, at all costs, the price of failure.

THE LEVERS OF POWER by Jason Fry
As Imperial and Rebel forces clash on and above the Forest Moon of Endor, Admiral Rae Sloane commands from the bridge of the Star Destroyer Vigilance. At a time where the stakes could not be higher, Sloane works to protect the Death Star and ensure Imperial victory, all too aware of the uncertain future for the Empire that may lie in the aftermath of the battle.

Young Hera? When Tarkin Met Vidian? ADMIRAL RAE SLOANE AT THE BATTLE OF ENDOR? Sign me up!

Second, Random House released a blurb for Battlefront: Twilight Company, the upcoming video game tie-in from Alexander Freed.

Among the stars and across the vast expanses of space, the Galactic Civil War rages. On the battlefields of multiple worlds in the Mid Rim, legions of ruthless stormtroopers—bent on crushing resistance to the Empire wherever it arises—are waging close and brutal combat against an armada of freedom fighters. In the streets and alleys of ravaged cities, the front-line forces of the Rebel Alliance are taking the fight to the enemy, pushing deeper into Imperial territory and grappling with the savage flesh-and-blood realities of war on the ground.

Leading the charge are the soldiers—men and women, human and nonhuman—of the sixty-first mobile infantry, better known as Twilight Company. Hard-bitten, war-weary, and ferociously loyal to one another, the members of this renegade outfit doggedly survive where others perish, and defiance is their most powerful weapon against the deadliest odds. When orders come down for the Rebels to fall back in the face of superior opposition numbers and firepower, Twilight reluctantly complies. Then an unlikely ally radically changes the strategic equation—and gives the Alliance’s hardest-fighting warriors a crucial chance to turn retreat into resurgence.

Orders or not, alone and outgunned but unbowed, Twilight Company locks, loads, and prepares to make its boldest maneuver—trading down-and-dirty battle in the trenches for a game-changing strike at the ultimate target: the very heart of the Empire’s military machine.

Chuck Wendig to write Aftermath Trilogy

AftermathEntertainment Weekly has confirmed our suspicions: Chuck Wendig is writing the entire Aftermath Trilogy. No word yet on the other book titles or when they’ll be out, but it’s very nice to see a single author handling a series in the post-RotJ timeline again.

Also revealed earlier today is the Chewbacca comics miniseries, written by Gerry Duggan with art by the awesome Phil Noto.

Aftermath is released on September 4.

Aftermath gets a Synopsis, YA Novels get Covers

AftermathThe Official Site dropped more information on Journey to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The big bombshell? We’ve finally got a synopsis for Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: 

As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance — now a fledgling New Republic — presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but is taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.

Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former Rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world — war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.

Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit — to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on the Norra and her newfound allies — her technical genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate.

Wedge is the damsel in distress saved by a new female protagonist? Well this sounds incredible! Just when I thought I couldn’t get more excited about this book.

Additionally, covers for the three new YA novels were shown off. We also learned that Jason Fry co-wrote the Leia novel in addition to the Luke book. Check out the link above for more information and to see those fantastic covers.

Details and an Excerpt from Disney Press’ All-New Original Trilogy Adaptation

The Official Site gave new details of Disney Press’ effort to bring the Original Trilogy saga to young readers with an all-new adaptation of the films.

In a new series coming September 22, fans will experience the original trilogy in an entirely different way, with Star Wars: A New Hope — The Princess, The Scoundrel, and The Farm Boy by Alexandra Bracken (theDarkest Minds series), Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back — So You Want to Be a Jedi by Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark & Grimm series), and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi — Beware the Power of the Dark Side! by Tom Angleberger (the Origami Yoda series).

But these are more than just mere retellings from this top talent; these are fresh interpretations — true to the films but filtered through each author’s vision. In each novel, the authors get inside the characters’ heads, tell us about the scenes between the scenes, and even teach us how to be a Jedi.

What’s more, they’ve released an excerpts from all three books. Head to the link above for more information!

Moff Mors and the Importance of First Impressions

Lords of the SithApril 28 saw the release of Paul S. Kemp’s Lords of the Sith, the fourth novel in the new story-group approved canon, of which you can read our spoiler-free reviews here and Brian’s more in-depth review here. Along with being the first of the new books to focus on Darth Vader, Lords of the Sith holds the distinction of introducing the new canon’s first LGBTQIA+ character, Moff Delian Mors.

I found Moff Mors to be an interesting character and a welcome addition to the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Unfortunately, her introduction is handled with far less care than one would hope. Continue reading

Tosche Station Radio #114: Publishing Madness

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Our Celebration recap continues with Megan from Blog Full of Words joins us to recap the publishing news from Celebration. We highlight the announcements and highlights from Del Rey and Marvel’s panels.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.

Her Universe - Flaunt Your World - www.heruniverseshop.com Listen to a bestseller for $7.49 at audible.com!

Rise of the Empire Short Story Authors Announced

mill__cvr_all_r1.inddAt Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, Del Rey announced a new bind-up of A New Dawn and Tarkin called Rise of the Empire, that will feature three new short stories bridging together the two novels and providing further insight into the power of the Galactic Empire.

Today Del Rey revealed the cover as well as the authors for the three short stories: first time Star Wars author Melissa Scott, John Jackson Miller, and Jason Fry!

Rise of the Empire will go on sale October 6.

Review: Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

Lords of the SithGrowing rebellion on Ryloth prompts Palpatine and Vader to personally travel to the planet to deal with matters. Immediately upon arrival, their Star Destroyer is attacked by Cham Syndulla’s forces. Vader and Palpatine are forced to evacuate and crash land on Ryloth. Seeing this opportunity, Cham engages in a dangerous game to hunt down and kill the two heads of the Empire and finally free his people from Imperial oppression.

Thus is the setup for Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp.

Head below the cut for the spoiler-filled review!

Continue reading

Celebration Anaheim Publishing News

The publishing news from Celebration Anaheim was light this year, but considering most of the news we got at the last Celebration never came to pass (I’m looking at you, Sword of the Jedi), maybe that’s a good thing? We did get some important bits of information, though, and one item in particular I think most of the blogosphere is very excited about.

landoThe Marvel and Del Rey panels ran back to back on Saturday, although all the Marvel news was released a few days earlier. The Marvel panel featured C.B. Cebulski, Jordan White, Jen Heddle, and Leland Chee. It was announced that Charles Soule and Alex Maleev will be writing Lando, a limited release series that will take the place of the current miniseries, Princess Leia. The first issue will be out in July. While Lando doesn’t have the Millennium Falcon during this pre-A New Hope time period (Han already won it), it will feature Lobot! The panel also announced the Shattered Empire team, which includes Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto. While the audience praised Marvel’s Original Trilogy adaptations, the panelists confirmed we won’t be seeing The Force Awakens adaptation any time soon as there’s just too much security surrounding the film’s release.

Jordan White recapped the current Marvel releases, and revealed that “Star Wars #7”, a one-shot about Obi-Wan on Tatooine, will be drawn by Simone Bianchi. Stuart Immonen will take over full-time artist duties for John Cassaday starting in issue #8. We also learned that “Princess Leia #1” was Mark Waid’s first ever number one selling comic, and that Greg Weisman will be writing the second arc of “Kanan”. One final piece of news out of Marvel is that Jen Heddle will be moving off Marvel and Frank Parisi will be taking over her duties. Despite the lack of news, the panel was interesting and revealed some neat insights, and it was great to hear so much enthusiasm from the audience. Most questioners were especially pleased by Princess Leia, which was heartening to see.

The Del Rey panel featured Shelly Shapiro, Jen Heddle, John Jackson Miller, James Luceno, and Christie Golden. We already knew a Battlefront novel was coming, thanks to its placement in the novel timeline and Friday’s battlefront panel. Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed will focus on what it’s like to be a soldier in the front lines during the Rebel Alliance. It’s good for gamers and non-gamers, and will not be a novelization. Look for that in November. The second not-really announcement was that A New Dawn and Tarkin will be repackaged into a single edition titled Rise of the Empire and feature three new short stories, one of which will link to Aftermath, the first post-Return of the Jedi novel in the new canon (which was announced prior to Celebration).

As for Lords of the Sith, which comes out next week (look for a review from Brian!), Heddle stated that the book will give us some insight into Hera’s view of the Empire. The novel features her father, Cham Syndulla, in a major role leading the resistance on Ryloth. Christie Golden discussed the production of Dark Disciple, coming in July, and how she worked with Dave Filoni and the story group to adapt the unproduced The Clone Wars scripts.

fosterFinally, in the best troll of the convention, the panel opened for Q&A. An older gentleman stood up and asked if he could write The Force Awakens novelization. After some back and forth with the panelists, they said “why not” and invited him onto to stage. Surprise–it was Alan Dean Foster! He’s currently at work on the novelization, which will be released in ebook format on December 18. Yes, you heard that right: we won’t be getting the novelization prior to the film. Hallelujah! A hardcover version will come a few weeks later. And the spoiler-phobes like me rejoiced.

You can listen to the entire Del Rey panel here, and be sure to check our Twitter feed for our live tweets of both panels.

Tosche Station Radio #107: Fridges in Temples

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Brian and Nanci get literary on this week’s Tosche Station Radio!

Kicking off the shows, the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog. Bria reviewed Princess Leia #2. Bria reviewed Darth Vader #3. She also outlined a new approach to recommending the Expanded Universe.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been busy with writing a new book. The hosts went to Cloak and Blaster (a fun Central Florida geek themed pub), and Brian bought some new audio gear for Celebration.

Deak’s Dirt starts with news that The X-Files has reopened! Meanwhile in Star Wars, there’s a new blurb for Dark Disciple. Star Wars Celebration schedule has been posted. Rumors that a Star Wars live action show will be shooting at Pinewood in between movies.

What’s in Biggs’ Bull#&$*? Well, In the stupid department, Lucasfilm can’t market Rogue One until Rogue Nation comes out. Musically, John Williams will be recording the Episode VII score in LA

Camie’s Concerns is all about the Expanded Universe and Star Wars literature. We look at what’s already been released, what’s coming up, what we liked, and what we think could use some improvement.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.

Her Universe - Flaunt Your World - www.heruniverseshop.com Listen to a bestseller for $7.49 at audible.com!