Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Column. Over at EU Cantina, Nanci takes a look at how the prequels effected the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe.
Fate of the Jedi. Roqoo Depot spotted an audio excerpt for Denning’s Apocalypse.
Book of Sith. Take a look inside Dan Wallace’s latest tome with MTV’s Laurel Woods.
Excerpt The first mini-excerpt from Jeff Grubb’s Scourge.
We might not be getting further annotated editions of the Timothy Zahn classics, but at least audiobook fans are getting something: Unabridged recordings of Dark Force Rising and The Last Command will be coming out in June, Random House audio announced this week.
Read by Marc Thompson, the audiobooks will be available digitally on June 26.
As the new edition of Heir to the Empire approaches, so does a flood of excerpts and extras and the like. Today we have an excerpt from the audiobook (via) and a text one featuring actual pages. (And a chance to win an actual copy.)
NJOE discovered a new listing for an audiobook download called Heir to the Empire: Behind the Scenes. Set for release the same day as the annotated novel, the audio listing carries the subtitle of ‘An Expanded Universe is Born’ and credits for both author Timothy Zahn and the book’s original editor, Betsy Mitchell.
I suspect this will end up containing an interview/discussion about the book and it’s long-ranging influences of the Expanded Universe. Or, if we look to the new audiobook art lurking in the Random House database – a new, unabridged recording. (The image credits Marc Thompson as the reader — according to Wookieepedia — Denis Lawson read an abridged version back in the day.) We’ll have to wait for an official announcement to know for sure!
An audio excerpt of Christie Golden’s Allies – the fifth book of the series, out on the 25th – is up at Random House.
In related news, Sue Rostoni has revealed on the boards that Kenth Hamner, not Saba Sebatyne as previously announced, will get the back cover spot on the sixth book, Denning’s Vortex. (It’s due out in December.) A model has been hired, so presumably he won’t be a dead ringer for William Shatner this time around.
Fate of the Jedi: Hard up for something even after the panel video? Well, you can listen to an audiobook sample of Abyss at Random House now. Seems to be the same section we got a peek at in Omen. (Thanks to Zee Zee.)
The Old Republic. I’m pretty sure I missed blogging that the second part of the TOR webcomic is well underway. (The gaming is always the first to go.)
Dark Horse. Randy Stradley reveals the one-shots on the boards. (via) And also lost in the shuffle, several previews: The Clone Wars #8, Knights of the Old Republic #44, Legacy #39 and Dark Times #14.
Holostar. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff talks the title of her book… But no reveal of who the holostar is yet.
Surprise audiobooks! A couple days ago, Zee Zee spotted audiobook listings on the Random House catalog for the first four Jedi Quest books: Way of the Apprentice, The Trail of the Jedi, The Dangerous Games and The Master of Disguise. All four are listed as $9.99 unabridged digital downloads with spring release dates.
Audiobooks years after the fact? Plus, the original books were published by Scholastic, which isn’t a Random House imprint, though the audio versions are listed under Random House’s Imagination Studios. (Del Rey’s Star Wars audiobooks are Random House Audio.) Lucasbooks is clearly trying something new here, but we’re still awaiting some kind of confirmation…
Karen Traviss points to an audiobook excerpt of Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines. It’s first person from the point of Boba Fett.
Latest audiocast (Hyperspace members only) is a look at Star Wars publishing and an interview with Troy Denning.
Mostly it’s a short interview by Jacob Bronstein, executive producer of SW audiobooks, with a few clips from the Dark Nest audiobooks.
Troy talks at length about the Killiks – from inspiration to whether he’s really a bug-lover; putting characters in mortal danger (surprise suprise, he enjoys it;) and who he considers the coolest characters. (The answer may surprise you.)
Overall, the interview was interesting enough. I could really have done without the audiobook clips, though. I can’t stand the things: they get way too melodramatic, and the heavy descriptive passages read outloud are… vexing. I don’t know if this series will be worth getting Hyperspace for, but if you have it already, it can’t hurt to try. Especially if you have a much higher audiobook tolerance than me.