Category: books and comics

Posted on

Book Review: The Jedi Path (Vault Edition)

Do you want to make people smile?  Get The Jedi Path (Vault Edition) and tell them to push the button. 

I brought this to my local Star Wars club meeting, yesterday, and people actually squealed with delight when the vault opened.  And when they calmed down enough to do it again and listen to the sound effects?  Delighted claps that made them look like five-year-olds on their birthdays. 

Going beyond the coolness of the vault, the book itself is fantastic!  It’s designed as an orientation manual/text book for younglings at the Jedi Temple that has been passed from master to apprentice in a line descending from Yoda to, belatedly, Luke.  (And, yes, they explain how this happens.)

As with many textbooks, it’s filled with notes scribbled in the margins.  And I think this is my favorite part.  It represents a conversation through the ages.  And Dan Wallace really captures each owner’s voice in these notes.  Of particular amusement, however, are Darth Sidious’ notes after he captured the book in the Order 66 aftermath.

There are also tons of keepsakes inserted by its various owners that are hilarious.  My only complaint would be a coin that keeps falling out of the book and rolling across the room; a particular source of amusement for my dogs.  I suspect that will make it difficult to keep this collectible intact in the future.

As to the book itself?  It’s a brilliant compilation of thirty-three years of Star Wars lore in a spackle job at a level not seen since Michael Stackpole’s I, Jedi untangled the Bantam Era.  Contradictions are explained.  Disparate details from several different authors are melded into a coherent theory.  And it’s all in the style of textbook; along with some stunning illustrations.

I’m no Santa Maul, but I would definitely add this one to your holiday/birthday wish list.

Posted on

Ashley Eckstein talks Her Universe, Mara shirt

Jessica Johnson (@laregista) interviewed Ashley Eckstein at New York Comic Con. We can expect new items for Cyber Monday (the day after Thanksgiving – Santa Maul will be thrilled) and then again in March or April.

But the information most relevant to our specific interests is towards the end, where Jessica asks about the Mara Jade shirt. From the transcript:

J: I have to ask you this question because an onslaught of people are asking about it. What’s up with the Mara Jade tee, is it happening, is it not?

A: I kinda opened up my mouth too soon. It is going to happen. I don’t have a date for how soon yet. I still don’t have a design for it but I’m definitely talking to artists. It’s definitely going to happen I just don’t have a date. I kinda made it sound like it was happening tomorrow but I wish it was but it’s not. But hopefully, I would say next year I will push it forward so I will keep you updated. The second we start designing I will let the fans know.

Posted on

Long-form Red Harvest blurb surfaces

A short blurb for Joe Schreiber’s prequel to last year’s Death Troopers showed up back in June, but now Random House’s online catalog has a longer version:

The era of the Old Republic is a dark and dangerous time, as Jedi Knights valiantly battle the Sith Lords and their ruthless armies. But the Sith have disturbing plans—and none more so than the fulfillment of Darth Scabrous’s fanatical dream, which is about to become nightmarish reality.

Unlike those other Jedi sidelined to the Agricultural Corps—young Jedi whose abilities have not proved up to snuff—Hestizo Trace possesses one extraordinary Force talent: a gift with plants. Suddenly her quiet existence among greenhouse and garden specimens is violently destroyed by the arrival of an emissary from Darth Scabrous. For the rare black orchid that she has nurtured and bonded with is the final ingredient in an ancient Sith formula that promises to grant Darth Scabrous his greatest desire.

But at the heart of the formula is a never-before-seen virus that’s worse than fatal—it doesn’t just kill, it transforms. Now the rotting, ravenous dead are rising, driven by a bloodthirsty hunger for all things living—and commanded by a Sith Master with an insatiable lust for power and the ultimate prize: immortality . . . no matter the cost.

Red Harvest is due out in hardcover on December 28. (via)

Posted on

Out this week: Making of ESB, Knight Errant

Two big releases this week! Coming up first, on Tuesday, is J.W. Rinzler’s eagerly anticipated The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the follow-up to 2007’s The Making of Star Wars. I was lucky enough to find a copy early this weekend, and while I haven’t had a chance to do a proper read, I can say one thing: It is huge.

I suspect we’ll see a good deal of press on this, but so the biggies are Vanity Fair’s interviews with Rinzler and Jeremy Bulloch (Irvin Kershner coming soon.) Meanwhile, io9 has some tidbits out of NYCC.

The other new release that’s been getting a lot of buzz in fandom is Knight Errant #1 by KOTOR’s John Jackson Miller. Look for it in your comic store on Wednesday.

Posted on

Remember Chewbacca Day: 11 years, one dead Wookiee

It’s been 11 years since Vector Prime was released and the big guy got mooned. So folks on Facebook are celebrating the GFFA’s favorite Wookiee with Remember Chewbacca Day.

If only I could remember the drink recipe… I think it involves Baileys. But if that’s not your speed, here are some filks we did back in the day: ‘The Saga Goes On’ (we even had a video for this! Alas, in those pre-Youtube days, it was lost,) ‘Big Moon Falling,’ ‘Died, Died, Died,’ and ‘Chewie Had To Die.’ Perhaps they can help you too laugh through your tears. We won’t tell if you forgo the tears entirely.

Even author R.A. Salvatore, who got a lot of grief for Vector Prime and the event contained within, joined and posted. Even more shocking, the responses are very polite so far! Aww, fandom. Learn and grow. (Hattip to Austin.)

Posted on

‘Holostar’ title up for vote as blurb is revealed

Suvudu has three possible titles for Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff’s Holostar novel (none of which are Holostar, sadly.) They’re all pretty generic, so let’s focus on the blurb, which is our first detailed look at the book:

Stranded on Tatooine with a broken-down hyperdrive, Dash Rendar and crew—his Nautolan copilot, Eaden Vrill, and a droid named Leebo—have to find a way to raise credits. It comes in the lovely form of Javul Charn, a multi-talented human holostar being stalked by an over-zealous fan. She needs bodyguards to protect her during her tour along the Corellian Run; Dash needs credits. It’s a perfect match… until things begin to go wrong—seriously and dangerously wrong. By the time Dash realizes that the threat to Javul is not what it seems, he’s in up to his neck in a conspiracy that goes much deeper than anything he would have signed up for. Even with the help of his hated rival—Han Solo—will Dash be able to protect this spoiled entertainer, all the while being reminded that he couldn’t protect his own family?

It’s cute that Dash Rendar, the expanded universe equivalent of New Coke, thinks he’s actually a rival of Han Solo. At least, that’s how I hope they play it. We need the comedy, guys!

UPDATE 10/05: In the comments of the Suvudu post, Del Rey editor David Pomerico explains why Holostar isn’t an option the poll.

…Just wanted to let you know the reasoning behind changing from HOLOSTAR. Ultimately it was felt around here that while there is a holostar as one of the main characters, the feel of this book is much more like a traditional thriller than an adventure, and we wanted it to have a slightly darker, slightly more exciting edge.

I honestly think once you get a chance to read the novel that you’ll see that one of these three titles truly works best for this story, and I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

Oh well. I suppose my (comedy) prince will come another day.

The book, whatever the title ends up being, is scheduled for a September 2011 release.

Posted on

EUbits: The Jedi Path marches on; HttE 20th details

The Jedi Path. I have yet to see any copies in a brick-and-mortar store yet, but The Jedi Path has been dominating the news cycle. There are interviews with Daniel Wallace at TheForce.Net, and Geekdad, plus a feature on Amazon.com – which is probably your best bet for getting a copy right now.

More on Heir anniversary edition. First, Del Rey’s Suvudu blog confirms that Timothy Zahn is working on the annotations, while Sue Rostoni has confirmed that they are “looking into some variations of a special cover.”

Comics CBR has features/interviews on John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant and Tom Taylor’s Blood Ties arc.

Columness. EUC’s latest columns are on zombies and Boba Fett. I am so clearly not the intended audience here. (She says with a resigned, sisterly affection.)

Two-for-one classic comic artists. The next Star Wars Insider will feature an exclusive Howard Chaykin cover and poster, while a Star Wars drawing by Jack Kirby surfaces on Twitter.