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 at the cover for Making of Return of the Jedi

Making of the Return of the Jedi

Entertainment Weekly has revealed the cover for J.W. Rinzler’s The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, along with 5 ‘unseen’ pics that are probably not all that unseen if you’ve been paying any attention throughout the years. (Though I admit the shot with Harrison Ford and George Lucas is not quite as familiar as the others.)

The book’s release date has also moved up a week to October 1!

In more upcoming upcoming releases, Hollywood.com has an excerpt and a look at the cover art process for next week’s novel Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void.

EUbits: Pester Pablo on Friday!

Chat. Pablo Hidalgo will be chatting on the Star Wars Books Facebook page this Friday, where we’ll be sure to ask him all sorts of weird stuff about Episode VII. Or something.

Interviews. ScienceFiction.com talked to Timothy Zahn at Starfest, while Roqoo Depot catches up with Patricia A. Jackson, who wrote for the Star Wars Adventure Journal back in the day.

The blogside. On the official blog, Jennifer Heddle talks Star Wars storytelling hallmarks, while J.W. Rinzler discuses The Star Wars comic

Excerpts. The third and fourth excerpt from Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void

Review. Ania and Sauk are on the run, and we get a new awesome droid character in Legacy #2

EUbits: Did George Lucas have Anakin Solo killed?

Anakin SoloMythbusting. Tosche Station got Pablo Hidalgo to dig into his notes to clarify one of the most widespread rumors about the New Jedi Order series. Did the almighty George Lucas order LucasBooks to kill off Anakin Solo? Turns out… Not so much.

Forthcoming. Jeffrey Brown, the author of Vader and Son and next week’s Vader’s Little Princess, told the Full of Sith podcast about his next Star Wars project, Jedi Academy. In a hurry? FOS co-host Bryan shares the relevant details.

Comics. Brian Woods’ Star Wars gets a new artist, Ryan Kelly, for the new arc that starts with issue #7. Meanwhile, Cosmic Book News interviews Wood.

Excerpt. Just a little one from Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void.

Reviews. James is glad the action picks up in Star Wars #4 and thinks the story gets off to a fast start with a very intriguing foe in Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1.

EUbits: Movies are not wikis, or why backstory doesn’t mean that book characters can’t be in Episode VII

Mara in 'Vector Prime' art by Darren Tan from the Essential Reader's CompanionThe blogside. Nanci at Tosche Station points out how backstory isn’t an impediment to Expanded Universe characters appearing in the sequel trilogy. (If you really want to make that point, there are plenty of more legitimate reasons!) Meanwhile, on the Star Wars blog, editor Jennifer Heddle talks a bit about editing the roleplaying books.

Upcoming. The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi has a blurb now, and Kevin Hearn’s outline for his Rebels book – the Luke one – has been approved. Making of is due in October, while we’ve got a tentative January 2015 date for the Hearns. And while we’re on the topic, the first Rebels novel, the still-untitled Leia one by Martha Wells, has moved up a week to October 15. (via)

Excerpts. And on that note, the first chapter of Tim Lebbon’s Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void has appeared in the Random House catalog. That one is out in May. (via)

Podcasts. Our own Jawajames guested on the second episode of Star Wars Bookworms.

Conventions. Dark Horse will be selling a limited edition cover variant of the new Legacy at WonderCon.

Translation. Abel Pena will be translating some vintage Droids and Ewoks comics from Spain into English.

Reviews. James gives Dawn of the Jedi: The Prisoner of Bogan #4 a big thumbs-up, while he’s ‘intrigued’ by the new Legacy #1.

Out this week: The Last Jedi. No, the other one.

The Last Jedi (detail)Out Tuesday is Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff’s The Last Jedi, which continues the story of Jax Pavan from the Coruscant Knights book.

Wednesday has plenty to offer comic fans, with Agent of the Empire: Hard Targets #5 and Dawn of the Jedi: The Prisoner of Bogan #3. Plus there’s the third printing of Star Wars #1.

Our next novel release won’t be until May, with Tim Lebbon’s Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void.

Stradley reveals the origins of Legacy’s return

Legacy #2Comic Book Resources interviews Dark Horse’s Randy Stradley about their Star Wars line, Brian Woods’ eponymous series and the return of Legacy.

He hints that Wedge will be getting more facetime in the Woods’ series, and how the upcoming Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin came about…

And of course, there’s Legacy, which apparently owes it’s return to the retailers asking for more. Stradley talks about why it’s going in a different direction than the original:

For one thing, I felt too many direct comparisons between creative teams would dilute fan enthusiasm for the series. I also felt that by the end of his arc, Cade Skywalker had become too involved with the movers and shakers within the galaxy. I couldn’t see where to take him. That’s when it struck me there had been no Solos in “Legacy.” What were the Solo descendents doing 140 years after “A New Hope?”

There’s more, of course, on Dawn of the Jedi and Dark Times: Fire Carrier… Plus Dark Horse still has “a huge announcement coming up in the next few weeks.”

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.