We’re living on the edge this week, doing the bare minimum of tweet harvesting. But you like it, right? Right.
Continue reading “Going rogue: Best #StarWars, #EpisodeVII and #SWEU tweets for Sept. 16-22”
Out this week: Razor’s Edge kicks off new series
Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge by Martha Wells is out today. Tosche Station gives it the Go/No-Go treatment, while Lightsaber Rattling and Geek with Curves also did early reviews. (Ours, of course, is thataway.)
Comics fans can turn up at their shops on Wednesday to pick up Legacy #7.
And while Razor’s Edge may be our last novel release of the year, there is J. W. Rinzler’s massive The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi coming October 1 and the Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual from Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas on November 5. Plus paperbacks reprints of Drew Karpyshyn’s The Old Republic: Annihilation on October 29 and Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels on November 26.
EUbits: Get a glimpse of Razor’s Edge
Razor’s Edge. Fangirl has some exclusive art of the book’s cast, plus an interview with artist Magali Villeneuve. (Follow the link to see the whole thing!) Author Martha Wells chats with This Blog is Full of Words, Geek with Curves and Jedi News. (I’ll have more Razor’s Edge links later in the new release post.)
The blogside. At the official blog, editor Jennifer Heddle talks about the process behind Kenobi, while Bryan Young discusses the cinematic influences behind some of the books. Meanwhile, on my personal blog, I wrote a guide to the Expanded Universe for casual fans.
Street date shuffle. Can we still call it ‘street’ date for an eBook? The enhanced eBooks for Making of Return of the Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars have been pushed back to October 22, Star Wars Books has announced. The hardcover Making of Return of the Jedi will still be out on October 1.
Interviews. Suvudu had the transcript of John Jackson Miller’s Facebook chat, plus Shelly Shapiro and Brian Wood. Eleven-ThirtyEight chats with Jason Fry, Star Wars Union with Alan Dean Foster, and Target Audience magazine has Timothy Zahn.
Reviews. James was impressed with Dark Times: A Spark Remains #3.
Out this week: In the Shadow of Yavin trade
If you’ve been waiting to try Brian Wood’s Star Wars series to make it to trade, Wednesday is your lucky day: Volume 1: In the Shadow of Yavin comes out, collecting the first 6 issues plus the Free Comic Book Day special.
Meanwhile, there’s also Dark Times: A Spark Remains #3 and the trade collection of the last Dark Times storyline, Fire Carrier.
In stores on Tuesday will be the perplexingly ‘educational’ National Geographic Angry Birds Star Wars.
Next week brings our final brand-new novel for the year, Martha Wells’ Razors Edge, first in the Empire and Rebellion series.
EUbits: Razor’s Edge makes the blog rounds, Essential Characters pushed back to 2016
Lots of Leia. Lots of goodies are coming up on the Razor’s Edge blog tour. There are Martha Wells interviews at Fiction State of Mind and TFN and, with excerpt, on the Her Universe Facebook. Plus another excerpt from Star Wars Books and on Suvudu, an interview with White Hot Room’s Bria about her Razor’s Edge Leia costume.
Upcoming. Has the new Essential Characters been pushed back to 2016? It looks like it, from what Knights’ Archive has discovered. Making room for Episode VII characters? They also spotted the first Rebels tie-ins, which are coming in August 2014 from Disney Press.
Kenobi. John Jackson Miller got some pixels at Publisher’s Weekly upon the occasion of Kenobi being a bestseller; He’ll be chatting with Star Wars Books next Wednesday. In the meantime, there’s a new interview at Knights Archive.
Review. James thinks Star Wars #9 has good revelations for Vader and Leia, but only meh on Han’s part.
Out this week: Star Wars #9
Head to the comic book store on Wednesday for Star Wars #9, in which Leia apparently visits the remains of Alderaan. September is all about Alderaan, I guess.
Or, if you want the original Legacy series collected in hardcover, Book 2 will be out as well. Not sure which issues are in this one, but with both it and Book 1 clocking in at over 400 pages each, it’s gotta be a good chunk of the series.
Our next novel release is Razor’s Edge by Martha Wells (reviewed!) on September 24, with J. W. Rinzler’s massive The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi looming on October 1.
Full blurb for Corey’s Honor Among Thieves
Star Wars Books has just released a full blurb for James S.A. Corey’s Han-centric Empire and Rebellion book, Honor Among Thieves:
When the mission is to extract a high-level rebel spy from the very heart of the Empire, Leia Organa knows the best man for the job is Han Solo—something the princess and the smuggler can finally agree on. After all, for a guy who broke into an Imperial cell block and helped destroy the Death Star, the assignment sounds simple enough.
But when Han locates the brash rebel agent, Scarlet Hark, she’s determined to stay behind enemy lines. A pirate plans to sell a cache of stolen secrets that the Empire would destroy entire worlds to protect—including the planet where Leia is currently meeting with rebel sympathizers. Scarlet wants to track down the thief and steal the bounty herself, and Han has no choice but to go along if he’s to keep everyone involved from getting themselves killed. From teeming city streets to a lethal jungle to a trap-filled alien temple, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and their daring new comrade confront one ambush, double cross, and firestorm after another as they try to keep crucial intel out of Imperial hands.
But even with the crack support of Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing squadron, the Alliance heroes may be hopelessly outgunned in their final battle for the highest of stakes: the power to liberate the galaxy from tyranny or ensure the Empire’s reign of darkness forever.
The book is second in the loosely-connected series and scheduled for a hardcover release on March 4. The first, Martha Wells’ Razor’s Edge, is out September 24, but you can check out my review now.
Also debuting today is the cover art for Corey’s Cibola Burn, fourth novel in their series The Expanse.
Review: Wells’ Razor’s Edge is old-fashioned Star Wars
Razor’s Edge is the first book of the Empire and Rebellion series but it is, as promised, very much a standalone story.
I found the book to be a bit of a throwback – in a good way. Like Kenobi, it’s a straightforward, streamlined Star Wars story, though this one wouldn’t have been out of place back in the Bantam era… If you look back at it with a warm fuzzy glow that erases most of the silly parts.
Minor spoilers beyond this point.
Continue reading “Review: Wells’ Razor’s Edge is old-fashioned Star Wars”
A.C. Crispin has passed away
Jim Macdonald at Making Light reports that Ann Crispin died this morning. She had posted a final message on Facebook only days ago.
EUbits: Editor Jennifer Heddle pens Leia short story
Short stories. Star Wars Books announced last night that Lucasfilm editor Jennifer Heddle has written a young Leia Organa novel for Star Wars Insider #145. “Constant Spirit” features Leia before A New Hope, and Heddle thinks it’s “one of the earliest-set stories about Leia there’s been, if not the earliest.” The issue will be on newsstands October 22, and in subscriber mailboxes a week or so before that.
Chats. Star Wars Books also had a Facebook chat with James Arnold Taylor the other day. (About… Kenobi? I guess?) There’s even an official edited transcript. There’ll be a John Jackson Miller chat soon, but no details yet.
Interviews. Speaking of Miller, he did a bunch of Kenobi interviews. Check them out at Suvudu, Tosche Station, Eleven Thirty-Eight and TFN. Yes, there are more, but Miller himself has rounded ’em up and he’d know better than I.
DRAGONCON! Tosche Station Radio was on location at DragonCon, and they shared their experience with those of us who had to play along at home. Check out their audio of panels with Star Wars authors, fan activities and the panel on women and minorities in the franchise, featuring Club Jade’s own Luci! They also caught Tim, Mike, and Aaron conspiring!
Reviews. Head over to the newly-redesigned Big Shiny Robot for James’ latest comic reviews: A double (with Bryan Young) of the hot new release The Star Wars #1, plus Star Wars #8, Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #5 and Dark Times: A Spark Remains #2.