EUbits: Obi-Wan stares into your soul, not in a good way

Chris McGrath's alternate Kenobi cover. (Detail.)Death is but a door. Time is but a window. Artist Chris McGrath tweeted an alternate cover for John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi. I get kind of a Vigo the Carpathian vibe from it, so I can see why the more heroic final version won out. On the plus side, if they ever decide to do an Infinities ‘Dark Kenobi’ novel, the cover’s all done!

Short stories. Star Wars Insider #142 will feature a Christie Golden story set between Apocalpse and Crucible, ‘Good Hunting,’ Del Rey says. It stars Jaina Solo, Tenel Ka, and Allana Solo and will have new artwork from Joe Corroney. The issue will be on sale June 11.

Chats. The Star Wars Books Facebook chat had a pair of Dawn of the Jedi centric chats this week. Tuesday was comic writer John Ostrander (Roqoo Depot recap) and Wednesday was Into the Void scribe Tim Lebbon (TFN recap.) Lebbon also chatted with Fangirl Blog and TFN since we last checked in.

Reviews. James thinks that Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #2 ups the scope with a boom.

Review: Tim Lebbon’s Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void

Dawn of the Jedi: Into the VoidDawn of the Jedi: Into the Void is not really my kind of Star Wars book. It’s very much not my era and while I’ve bought some of the Dawn of the Jedi comics, I haven’t actually read any of them yet. But you know? I tried it, and despite my long tendency to not get more than a chapter or two into most Star Wars books set before Return of the Jedi, I kept reading. And I actually enjoyed it.

The Dawn of the Jedi period – introduced in a a comic from John Ostrander and Jan Duursema – is set about 36,000 years before A New Hope, in the earliest days of the Jedi (here called Je’daii) before the Old Republic. Into the Void is actually my first encounter with it, and while some questions are certainly raised, I think it’s safe to say that one doesn’t to know anything about the comics to enjoy the book.

Some spoilers beneath the cut, but nothing major.

Continue reading “Review: Tim Lebbon’s Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void”

May the 4th: Get an early look at Denning’s Crucible, plus deep discounts on Kindle Star Wars books

CrucibleFor May 4th, Suvudu is giving fans an excerpt of Crucible, the upcoming post-Fate of the Jedi novel by Troy Denning. The book will be out in hardcover on July 9th.

If that’s not quite your thing, they also have 50 pages of Tuesday’s new release Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void by Tim Lebbon.

Have a Kindle? Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire – the book that started the modern Expanded Universe! – is only $1.99 today. Buy it! Buy it like the wind! (Okay, Darth Plagueis, Path of Destruction and Tatooine Ghost are also $1.99 – and a bunch of comics are deeply discounted too – but trust me, it’s Heir to the Empire you should be voting for with your wallet buying.)

First look: Tim Lebbon’s Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void

Dawn of the Jedi: Into the VoidHollywood.com has the exclusive first look at the cover to Tim Lebbon’s upcoming Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, a hardcover due out May 7. Here’s the blurb:

On the planet Tython, the ancient Je’daii order was founded. And at the feet of its wise Masters, Lanoree Brock learned the mysteries and methods of the Force—and found her calling as one of its most powerful disciples. But as strongly as the Force flowed within Lanoree and her parents, it remained absent in her brother, who grew to despise and shun the Je’daii, and whose training in its ancient ways ended in tragedy.

Now, from her solitary life as a Ranger keeping order across the galaxy, Lanoree has been summoned by the Je’daii Council on a matter of utmost urgency. The leader of a fanatical cult, obsessed with traveling beyond the reaches of known space, is bent on opening a cosmic gateway using dreaded dark matter as the key—risking a cataclysmic reaction that will consume the entire star system. But more shocking to Lanoree than even the prospect of total galactic annihilation, is the decision of her Je’daii Masters to task her with the mission of preventing it. Until a staggering revelation makes clear why she was chosen: The brilliant, dangerous madman she must track down and stop at any cost is the brother whose death she has long grieved—and whose life she must now fear.

Note that since Into the Void was announced at SDCC last year, we’re likely still waiting for the mystery novel to be revealed.

EUbits: Into the Void protagonist, plotline revealed

Force Wars image from The Jedi Path. Dawn of the Jedi. Del Rey has posted a blurb for Tim Lebbon’s Into the Void, the first novel tie-in to the comic series. It reveals the novel’s protagonist, Je’daii Lanoree Brock. Always nice to see another female lead!

Previews. Jedi News has first looks from Dark Horse at standalone Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin, the Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral trade and what looks to be the first Legacy omnibus.

Comics. Brian Wood’s very upcoming Star Wars comics, Scoundrels, and The Clone Wars got some love from USA Today this weekend, including another cover and some extra preview material for the comic.

Interviews. Fangirl Blog continues their talk with Troy Denning. He hints a bit about Crucible, revealing that it’s a “Han-driven” book.

Reviews. James is underwhelmed by Purge: The Tyrant’s Fist #2.

Scoundrels will tease Crucible, Dawn of the Jedi

Scoundrels will be out January 1st, while Into the Void and Crucible are currently scheduled for May 7 and July 2. All three books are hardcovers.

EUbits: Even more Mercy Kill reviews

Mercy Kill. Everyone loves this book! The reviews continue to be overwhelmingly positive. Here’s the latest batch: EUCantina, Roqoo Depot Fangirl, Knights Archive and Tosche Station (twice!)

Celebration VI. Pablo Hidalgo counts down his Thursday slate on the Behind the Scenes Stage. And there’s another edition for EU fans on Friday: Holocron 101. One problem: It directly conflicts with the Del Rey panel.

Interviews. Mark at Jedi News chats with new author Tim Lebbon, who’s writing the Dawn of the Jedi novel Into the Void for next year. Meanwhile, John Jackson Miller chatted with fans on Facebook last week. There’s another chat this afternoon with Leland Chee.

Street date shuffle. The release of Reaves and Bohnoff’s The Last Jedi has moved up by a month on the Random House catalog. It’s now scheduled for February 26, making it likely to be the first release of 2013.

Comics. James reviews Knight Errant: Escape #3 and Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral #1 at Big Shiny Robot.

SDCC: Post-Fate of the Jedi novel from Denning, Dawn of the Jedi novel from new author coming

We got not one but two Expanded Universe announcements from Del Rey in San Diego today, and Fangirl has the details. You might also want to check out Bryan Young’s writeup of the panel, or the live tweets from it.

UPDATE: You’ll also want to check out Pablo Hidalgo’s blog post on his panels today, which covers the full laundry list of releases they talked about (including the comics, which I have, uhh, kind of neglected. Whoops.)

The one I know you’re hanging on your seats for is the first novel to follow the Fate of the Jedi series. Crucible by Troy Denning (of course) is a hardcover standalone with the Big 3 – that is, Luke, Han, and Leia.

They’ve earned the right to rest on their laurels and let the younger generation shoulder the burden–but fate has another adventure in store for our heroes, a quest only they can tackle and hope to survive…

It’s due out in the spring and features a Cliff Nielsen cover.

The big surprise, though, is that Del Rey is going into Dark Horse territory with a Dawn of the Jedi novel, Into the Void. It’s a paperback by new-to-the-EU author Tim Lebbon and is also due in the spring.

The also revealed the cover and a brief blurb for the fourth Coruscant Nights book, The Last Jedi. It’s also (still) a paperback.

Earlier in the day, Pablo shared a few tidbits from the Quirky Point of View panel. Something that’s sure to thrill a lot of Jaders: Jeffrey Brown will be doing a companion book to Darth Vader and Son, Vader’s Little Princess. And Matthew Reinhart (Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-Up Adventure) is working on a prequel trilogy pop-up book.

Oh, and fear not:

We’ll be there!