Club Jade

Today is the day to pick up James Luceno’s Millennium Falcon in paperback. Wednesday will bring Legacy #42 and/or the seventh trade collection of the same, ‘Storms’.

EU Cantina has posted their interview with James Luceno. Topics include writing, Millennium Falcon, Brian Daley, and the future of the EU. They’re also taking questions for their next interview, with Lucasfilm Licensing Executive editor Sue Rostoni.

• Upcoming: …Speaking of, Sue made a rare weekend appearance on StarWars.com this afternoon to confirm that there will be some sort of novel tie-in for The Old Republic MMO, though the details are still up in the air. She also touches on the Fate of the Jedi covers.

• Comics: Buy The Clone Wars movie at Target, get a free variant-cover copy of Shipyards of Doom.
• LOL N00B: io9 mines some general Star Wars cluelessness to make a case for the Nagai. Thirty years and countless sources of EU, and they latch onto …albino space elves? Bravo.

James Luceno’s history lesson/Legacy of the Force bookend has been out for a week now… What did you think? Vote on the sidebar or below the cut, and if you have more to say, comment here! (more…)

Sue Rostoni announced on the StarWars.com boards this afternoon that the January ’10 Jaden Korr novel by Paul S. Kemp is titled Crosscurrent.

In more immediately relevant EU news, Fictional Frontiers had James Luceno on this weekend in honor of Millennium Falcon. And EUC wants your questions for their own interview.

The book comes out tomorrow, and since it’s the first set after Legacy of the Force and our bridge to next year’s Fate of the Jedi expectations are pretty high. (Plus, fanboys love Luceno.) First up, an excerpt.

Random House has posted their spring catalog as a PDF, and it includes a blurb (though no cover) for Fate of the Jedi!

Fate of the Jedi launches a huge story arc, with heroic roles for the galaxy’s most beloved characters — Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa Solo, and their surviving children, Ben Skywalker and Jaina Solo. While Luke and Ben set off on the journey of a lifetime — of discovery and hardship, of obstacles and victories—the others remain in more familiar territory, dealing with the aftermath of the civil war that rocked the galaxy in the Legacy of the Force.

Some of that is familiar from early rumors but it’s good to have some sort of official confirmation. (When are the print catalogs sent out, exactly? Could it be the source of the early leak? Plus there are a few recently-revealed things missing, like the title of book 1, Outcast.) We can also expect a seven-city author tour, a “free PDF sampler giveaway,” an “original prequel short story” and a live chat (that’s been a while) on StarWars.com. (No, FateOfTheJedi.com isn’t live yet!)

Millennium Falcon also gets a page, which touts that it will have an excerpt from Outcast. Excerpts in hardcovers? That’s new…

Wow, is it time for Coruscant Nights: Street of Shadows already? The new Michael Reaves book should be in stores today. Also keep an eye out for The Dark Lord Trilogy trilogy, a trade omnibus that collects Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno, Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover, and Luceno’s Dark Lord.

Don’t worry, comic fans: There’s plenty for you on Wednesday. The much-anticipated Darth Wyyrlok-focused Legacy #27, Rebellion #16 aka Vector part 8, and the fourth Knights of the Old Republic trade, Daze of Hate, Knights of Suffering. Punny!

On the official site tonight, the cover and blurb for the first post-LOTF novel, James Luceno’s Millennium Falcon. Here’s the first part of the blurb – head on over to StarWars.com for the rest.

Two years have passed since the defeat of Darth Caedus, the former Jacen Solo. For a grieving Han and Leia, the shadow of their son’s tragic downfall still looms large. But Jacen’s own bright and loving daughter, Allana, offers a ray of hope for the future as she thrives in her grandparents’ care. The eager, inquisitive and Force-strong girl makes a curious discovery aboard her grandfather’s beloved spacecraft — the much-overhauled but ever-dependable Millennium Falcon. The Solo family then finds itself at a new turning point, about to set out on an odyssey into uncertain territory, untold adventure, and unexpected rewards.

So sayth the official blog this evening: Stover’s Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor has been moved back to December, and Luceno’s Millennium Falcon moved up to October. But the main focus of the post is a nice bit from artist Dave Seeley on the how and why of the image, and we get our first look at Mindor’s back cover – Lord Shadowspawn.

This is also the second time we’ve gotten a real news item via the blog… Interesting, no? (I suppose an all-Flash site would be mildly bearable if this method continues. Permalinks good!)

Yes, yes, I’m updating the book schedule.

UPDATE 05/20: On TOS, we have word from Sue Rostoni on the how and why of the switch:

Matt is late with his manuscript, and Jim is early — just made sense to swap them to give us a bit more time.

• Millennium Falcon: A hardcover listing for the post-LOTF novel by James Luceno has finally appeared on RandomHouse.com (We were tipped off by audio versions.) The listing gives the book a page count of 320.

• LOTF: StarWars.com user Suzanne has summarized the Invincible comments from Troy Denning and Sue Rostoni.
• TFU: A user on NJOE has spotted a new blurb for The Force Unleashed novel from the Science Fiction Book Club. (Scroll down about halfway.)