Head to the bookstore tomorrow for Troy Denning’s Crucible, the Big 3-centric followup to the Fate of the Jedi series. (Can’t wait? Here’s an excerpt.) Look for my review tomorrow morning.
Also note that Del Rey’s Star Wars FanCorps is now live!
Meanwhile, comic fans will have Star Wars #7 and the Purge TPB to look foward to on Wednesday.
Our next novel release will be John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi on August 27.
Looking forward to the review. Very curious about this one.
I wasn’t impressed, to put it mildly, but it looks like it’s going to be a somewhat polarizing book.
Can you drop a hint regarding the big question: Is Crucible the end of the classic EU or is it “just” another story?
Huh. I just saw the book sitting on the shelf at my local book store this past Friday. I didn’t pick it up because I didn’t have time to read it this weekend. I didn’t realize it was coming out this week, otherwise I may have gotten the jump on it and could have shared some thoughts. Next time.
Aaron: No hints, sorry. :)
Well, it was worth a try. ;-)
Looking forward to tomorrow, then. :-)
Reviews are already up on Shelfari, Goodreads, and other sites for Crucible. I agree with Dunc – not impressed, but will be somewhat polarizing, especially the end
A lot of the fansites are posting theirs today or will tonight. I’ll do a roundup in day or so, but check the sites on the blogroll.
Dunc, I can’t figure out how to ask this without sounding rude (which is not my intent) but I’m curious as to what were some of the recent SW books that you were impressed by?
I always like to compare a reviewer’s feelings to my own, it helps make a point of reference. For years there was a movie critic in my local paper (yes, paper…) whose opinions seemed to run the polar opposite of mine. If he liked it, I would hate it, etc.
Just curious as to what you’ve enjoyed in the past.
Well, recent past…
I pretty much stick to post-ROTJ, and… It’s been a while. I thought Legacy of the Force had a lot of potential but failed towards the end, and I could not get into Fate of the Jedi at all. The last post-ROTJ book I full out LOVED was Stover’s Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor. That was two thousand freaking NINE.
I have/had real issues with mega-series and how they monopolize eras for this very reason: If you don’t like the series, or most of the series, you’re kind of shit out of luck for a while, for years. I don’t think it’s been a very successful format. And while there have always been bad SW books, a big series means you’re not seeing much, if any, story turnover.
I mean, I stuck through the NJO, I even actually liked Dark Nest because it was such a change of pace. I had a lot of hope for LOTF, which started off fairly strong. But yeah, FOTJ was kind of a last straw for me, one disappointment too many. (And, since others have mentioned it… Crucible is very much a FOTJ postscript, despite being billed otherwise.) I was considering quitting blogging for a while there. If it hadn’t been for the sequels…
That said, I really did enjoy Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, which was a surprise. I have high hopes for the Empire and Rebellion books and Kenobi, which I’ll be picking it up as soon as I detox from Crucible. I’m more willing to branch out now than I’ve been in the past.
Keep in mind I’ve been reading this stuff for a long time, straight on since 1991 and Heir to the Empire. I’ve watch the EU grow and change and shift in real time and maybe I’ve just outgrown a lot of it. Maybe my expectations are too high, maybe my perimeters for a good SW story are just different. (I mean, look at Luceno: I think he’s serviceable but kind of dull, others will rave about how he’s a genius.) So many people I came up with in CJ stopped reading with the NJO or even sooner, and I really can’t blame anyone for quitting at any point. But there’s bound to be a difference from someone like me and someone who came in with YJK, the NJO, or LOTF, or even KOTOR.