Club Jade

StarWars.com has the first look at Paul Kemp’s Crosscurrent. Head over to check out Dave Seeley’s full cover.

An ancient Sith ship hurtles into the future carrying a lethal cargo that could forever destroy Luke Skywalker’s hopes for peace.

The Civil War is almost over when Jedi Knight Jaden Korr experiences a Force vision so intense he must act. Enlisting two salvage jocks and their ship, Jaden sets out into space. Someone — or something — appears to be in distress.

But what Jaden and his crew find confounds them. A five-thousand-year-old dreadnaught — bringing with it a full force of Sith and one lone Jedi — has inadvertently catapulted eons from the past into the present. The ship’s weapons may not be cutting-edge, but its cargo, a special ore that makes those who use the dark side nearly invincible, is unsurpassed. The ancient Jedi on board is determined to destroy the Sith. But for Jaden, even more is at stake: for his vision has led him to uncover a potentially indestructible threat to everything the Jedi Order stands for.

The book is scheduled for January 26.

SWBooks.co.uk noticed a new, heftier blurb on the Random House listing for the third Fate of the Jedi book, Denning’s Abyss. This might be spoilery for book 2, Omen, so highlight to read:

Following a trail of clues across the galaxy, Luke Skywalker continues his quest to find the reasons behind Jacen Solo’s dark downfall and to win redemption for the Jedi Order. Sojourning among the mysterious Aing-Tii monks has left Luke and his son Ben with no real answers, only the suspicion that the revelations they seek lie in the forbidden reaches of the distant Maw Cluster. There, hidden from the galaxy in a labyrinth of black holes, dwell the Mind Walkers: those whose power to transcend their bodies and be one with the Force is as seductive and intoxicating as it is potentially fatal. But it may be Luke’s only path to the truth.

Meanwhile, on Coruscant, the war of wills between Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala and the Jedi Order is escalating. Outraged over the carbonite freezing of young Jedi Knights Valin and Jysella Horn after their inexplicable mental breakdowns, the Jedi are determined to defy Daala’s martial tactics, override Council Master Kenth Hamner’s wavering leadership, and deal on their own terms with the epidemic of madness preying on their ranks. As Han and Leia Solo, along with their daughter Jaina, join the fight to protect more stricken Knights from arrest, Jedi healers race to find a cure for the rapidly spreading affliction. But none of them realize the blaster barrel is already swinging in their direction–and Chief Daala is about to pull the trigger.

Nor do Luke and Ben, deep in the Maw Cluster and pushing their Force abilities beyond known limits, realize how close they are–to the Sith strike squad bent on exterminating the Skywalkers, to a nexus of dark-side energy unprecedented in its power and its hunger, and to an explosive confrontation between opposing wielders of the Force from which only one Master–good or evil–can emerge alive.

Abyss is due in August, while Omen comes out on the 23rd.

StarWars.com has the cover and official blurb for Karen Traviss’ Imperial Commando: 501st.

The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has fallen. Now the former Republic Commandos — the galaxy’s finest special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fett — find themselves on opposing sides and in very different armor. Some have deserted and fled to Mandalore with the mercenaries, renegade clone troopers, and rogue Jedi who make up Kal Skirata’s ragtag resistance to Imperial occupation. Others — including men from Delta and Omega squads — now serve as Imperial Commandos, a black ops unit within Vader’s own 501st Legion, tasked to hunt down fugitive Jedi and clone deserters.

For a bigger look at the cover and the rest of the blurb, including some possible spoilers for Order 66, head over to the StarWars.com link above.

Yes, it’s yet another cover! But this one comes paired with the official summary for the book it will eventually contain, Troy Denning’s Abyss. Gaze upon it, and highlight the oh-so-spoilery blurb, beneath the cut. (more…)

Mystery solved… The Deathtroopers UK summary was unapproved copy, Sue Rostoni says:

the folks in the UK got a bit carried away here… they posted unapproved copy. We had wanted to keep the DEATHTROOPERS Han/Chewie bit secret as they aren’t the main characters… we wanted a happy surprise. Ah, no surpises now.

The others? I think they’ll be taken down and replaced with approved copy.

So you can stop arguing, kids. (The official copy from StarWars.com is here.)

The official site has revealed the blurbs for two upcoming books: Joe Schreiber’s Deathtroopers and Drew Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil. The Deathtroopers summary resembles the one that Amazon UK was sporting, but note it doesn’t mention any specific characters. Read them both under the cut. (more…)

Ewan at swbooks.co.uk spotted yet another blurb at Amazon.co.uk. This one is for Karen Traviss’ Imperial Commando: 501st. And in related news, Random House is now giving the book a release date of October 27, moving back from September 29.

Once again, remember these Amazon blurbs are unconfirmed information! And it looks like this one contains spoilers for Order 66, so it’s black-barred under the cut. (more…)

More new info spotted by Ewan of SWBooks.co.uk! Along with Deathtroopers, he spotted some brief Fate of the Jedi blurbs. The first, for Golden’s Omen, echos what we got in last week’s full copy from the official site. The other, for Denning’s Abyss (third book in the series) is all-new. Read it beneath the cut, but again, remember this isn’t confirmed information. (more…)

Two big bits of book news on the official site today: The title for Drew Karpyshyn’s third Darth Bane novel, Dynasty of Evil, and the blurb for the second Fate of the Jedi book, Christie Golden’s Omen. It contains what looks like some spoilers for the first book, Outcast, so it’s black-barred beneath the cut. (more…)

Speak of the Devil… It’s not what I expected at all. So bright! I like that it’s a new, very bold direction… I don’t like that it looks like a basic vector trace. Hrm. And why is Ben (yes, that’s Ben on the right) wearing Lando’s shirt? Dare we go there?

There’s also jacket text, under the cut. (more…)