Out this week: The Jedi Doth Return

jedi-dothYou have a reason to go to the bookstore today! Out now is William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doescher and Crucible by Troy Denning in paperback, though I can’t exactly recommend the latter. Still, we now know for sure that it’s the last gasp of the old (post-ROTJ) EU, so if you’re a completist, might as well go for it. Or not. I’ve done enough judging on that book.

As for the former, Cnet has a look at a few of the images.

Wednesday brings the hardcover collection of Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows to comic shops.

EUbits: Ewoks, excerpts, and bugs. Lots of bugs.

ewoks-comicAlready used up my yub yub quota this week, sorry. Heard some things here and there about an Ewoks comic through the recent cons, but not enough to go much on… But here’s a Newsarama interview with writer Zack Giallongo. The TPB is due in October; Start planning your celebratory buffet now. (via)

Officially… From the Del Rey folks, we have a Kenobi mini-excerpt, what other excerpts Razor’s Edge will contain, aand, on StarWars.com, Troy Denning writes about Crucible and his other Star Wars work. And bugs. Prefer not to think about any of that? Rich Handley and Abel G. Peña are exploring the Empire’s alien henchmen.

The blogside At Tosche Station, Nanci addresses the issues with the EU’s Jedi in recent years, but also takes the time to thank Del Rey for having so many women in the recent and upcoming lineup. And MTV has been doing a series on things that the new movies ‘need,’ most of which have been borderline ridiculous, but at least Jaina Solo and Lumiya made it.

Reference. The cover for Death Star: Owner’s Technical Manual

New blog. Check out Eleven-ThirtyEight, which focuses on EU-based meta and opinion pieces.

SDCC: Honor Among Thieves cover reveal and other tweets from the Del Rey Star Wars panel

Honor Among ThievesAt Del Rey’s Star Wars panel at SDCC today, they revealed the cover for for James S.A. Corey’s Honor Among Thieves, in addition to saying the book is in the same vein as the classic Brian Daley novels!

We’re not expecting big news, but anything could happen… Attending were authors Jeffrey Brown, Troy Denning, John Jackson Miller, and J. W. Rinzler, Del Rey editor Frank Parisi and Lucasfilm’s Jennifer Heddle and Leland Chee.

They also discuss Kenobi, The Making of Return of the Jedi, and Brown’s followup to Vader’s Little Princess… And nothing about Crucible, Sword of the Jedi, or the Kemp books. On hold, indeed.

Continue reading “SDCC: Honor Among Thieves cover reveal and other tweets from the Del Rey Star Wars panel”

EUbits: Lucasbooks get some serious ink

Below the fold, but hey.

Before we get any deeper into the SDCC madness…

Press. LucasBooks and the Expanded Universe was highlighted in an article that appeared on the front page of Friday’s Wall Street Journal. (That’s the print version above.) It’s situated behind a paywall online, but there are ways around that. Writer Alexandra Alter appeared on NPR to talk further about it on Tuesday.

The Star Wars. J.W. Rinzler talks about the upcoming comic with CBR, while artist Mike Mayhew chats with Bleeding Cool.

Crucible. There’s another Troy Denning interview at Lightsaber Rattling. Shockingly enough, not everyone agrees with what he had to say about Jaina Solo. And here’s a video that features Denning talking last week in Minnesota.

Namesake corner. Mara again? Here’s a new piece of art from the new card game, by Anthony Foti. She also made the cover of the latest expansion, and you can see she’s on at least one more card there, too.

EUbits: Corey’s Honor Among Thieves has a release date

ANH: Han and LeiaStreet date shuffle. James S. A. Corey’s Honor Among Thieves, the Han-centric second novel of the Empire and Rebellion series, has appeared in the Random House catalog with a release date of March 4. Per usual this is subject to change – we’ve already seen Martha Wells’ Leia book move up twice – so pencil it in.

Upcoming. There’s an excerpt from John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi on the Random House catalog. There’s also a new short story from him, ‘Incognito,’ in the latest issue of the Star Wars Insider, which should be hitting subscriber mailboxes soon if it hasn’t already.

Interviews. Crucible author Troy Denning talks to TheForce.net, Hollywood.com and Roqoo Depot. There are spoilers in these, so be cautious.

Reviews. James finds that the start of the new story arc in Brian Wood’s Star Wars #7 is full of tension, but light on action, and brings in a new artist, Ryan Kelly, who had previously worked with Wood elsewhere. (Plus a female Moff?!)

Love it? Hate it? Here are the Crucible reviews

Crucible There’s no doubt that last week’s release, Crucible, has been a very polarizing Star Wars book. To call the reviews ‘mixed’ would be an understatement – this seems to be very much a love-it-or-hate book. You know what side I fall on, but here’s the rest of the Star Wars blogosphere. Accordingly, we’ll start with the negative and work our way up.

Please note almost all of these reviews contain big spoilers, to the point where I’ve only labeled the ones that don’t give away the ending.

  • Bryan at Big Shiny Robot calls it “nothing short of a boring, weird descent into things I just didn’t care to see in a Star Wars novel.”
  • The crew at Tosche Station were equally unimpressed. Brian’s review may be the most lengthy. He says it may be “the most disappointing EU book I’ve read.” Bria says “to call [the ending] ridiculous would be kind” and compare it to The Crystal Star. (She also did a hilarious Tumblr slideshow review.)
  • Kay at Fangirl Blog found the book “a painful read” and was disappointed by the book’s increasing galactic threat. Still, she felt it had some moments. Meanwhile, Tricia ponders who Crucible is for, exactly.
  • Aaron Goins at the Star Wars Report felt the book had a lot of wasted potential, saying “the story wasn’t that interesting and the strange factor was just way too high.” (Minor spoilers.)
  • The folks at Knights’ Archive were split. Megan thought the book “seemed to be trying too hard to check all the Star Wars boxes. Do all cantinas really remind Han of Chalmun’s?” Bryan Dean, on the other hand, was “hooked right from the first chapter” and says the book has “a lot of great moments and surprises.” (Minor spoilers.)
  • Nerdvana’s Jayson Peters liked the book, but thinks “it tries too hard to be an epic capstone for the major characters’ careers while relegating them to the sidelines for too much of the action.”
  • Lightsaber Rattling felt “Denning really nailed the characterization of both Han and Luke,” and says the conclusion is “both satisfying and logical,” but wishes the book had been “a little more grounded.” (Minor spoilers.)
  • William at EUCantina was “was pleasantly surprised” by the book and had a hard time putting it down. (Minor spoilers.)
  • NJOE’s Commander Cody liked the book, saying the characters “felt more human, as if their age had caught up to them.” (Spoiler-free.)
  • Roqoo Depot has been one of the most vocal supporters of the book. In their double review, Skuldren calls it “a wild and crazy ride, and possibly my new favorite Star Wars story,” while Geralyn says “there’s nothing about this story I didn’t like.”

So there you have it. It’s been out for almost a week now, so what did you think of Crucible?

Review: Denning’s Crucible is just more of the same

Crucible I’m so glad there’s going to be a sequel trilogy, because I can only imagine how much more disappointed I’d be in Crucible if that wasn’t a factor.

It’s not that I was expected a masterpiece, mind you. I freely admit that Denning’s books have never been favorites of mine. But I was hoping for something a little bit different this time. Something at least a little fresher than what we’ve been getting in the ‘modern’ era of the Expanded Universe. Something that lets the Big 3 go off into retirement with one last fun adventure.

Crucible is not that book. It’s just more of same uninspired EU we’ve been getting far too much of in this era – very much a followup to Fate of the Jedi – trying too hard to be profound and failing.

(Yes, there are spoilers beyond this point.)

Continue reading “Review: Denning’s Crucible is just more of the same”

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.)

Denning’s Crucible gets a blurb

Crucible Knights’ Archive spotted that Troy Denning’s Crucible, the first Big 3 adventure set after Fate of the Jedi, now has a blurb in the Random House catalog.

When Han and Leia Solo arrive at Lando Calrissian’s Outer Rim mining operation to help him thwart a hostile takeover, their aim is just to even up the odds and lay down the law. Then monstrous aliens arrive with a message, and mere threats escalate into violent sabotage with mass fatalities. When the dust settles, what began as corporate warfare becomes a battle with much higher stakes—and far deadlier consequences.

Now Han, Leia, and Luke team up once again in a quest to defeat a dangerous adversary bent on galaxy-wide domination. Only this time, the Empire is not the enemy. It is a pair of ruthless geniuses with a lethal ally and a lifelong vendetta against Han Solo. They will stop at nothing to control the lucrative Outer Rim mining trade—and ultimately the entire galactic economy. And when the murderous duo gets the drop on Han, he finds himself outgunned in the fight of his life. To save him, and the galaxy, Luke and Leia must brave a gauntlet of treachery, terrorism, and the untold power of an enigmatic artifact capable of bending space, time, and even the Force itself into an apocalyptic nightmare.

The book is still due out on July 9.