The Aftermath aftermath, or, what’s up with all those crazy Amazon reviews?

aftermath-ours2With Aftermath, the first canon Star Wars novel to tread where only Legends had been before, it’s only natural that some controversy would erupt.

Now, some of it has been people who just plain don’t like Chuck Wendig’s writing style and/or the book itself. I didn’t find the style bothersome and liked the book, but both are perfectly valid complaints.

And then, there are the… Others. Our old friends (‘friends’) the folks who are still bent out of shape that the old Expanded Universe has been decanonized. And, of course, the folks who are mad that some of Wendig’s characters happen to be gay.

Needless to say, neither group is particularly sympathetic. The Legends folks might have a case, if they weren’t so plain-out obnoxious, but if there’s a moderate part of this supremely ineffectual ‘movement’ they’re being drowned out.

Together, some outspoken members of those three groups all got the idea to… Leave a whole bunch of very quick, very many one-star reviews on Amazon. Jim C. Hines and Michael Patrick Hicks have some nice breakdowns of that. Of course, there’s also a wonderful irony here. Per Wendig himself:

…A passel of negative reviews actually elevates the book’s overall sales ranking. Which in turn garners it more sales. Amazon reps have been clear with me on this point: buyers buy books with reviews, period. Not good reviews, not bad reviews. But rather: quantity of reviews impress buyers to make purchases. So, leaving a ton of bad reviews actually increases the book’s sales. Ironic, and not likely what anyone supporting such a campaign intends.

His response to the objections regarding the gay characters needs to be read in full, though.

I’m not here to tell you how to feel about anything Star Wars. We are all adults here (or so I am going to assume for my own mental health,) and I can’t believe I have to keep saying this, but: Not everything in Star Wars is going to work for everyone, and that’s fine. Feel however you like about whatever, it’s no skin off my back. But that doesn’t give you the right to be a dick, and there’s far too much of that going around. Or, to throw it to Wendig again:

Loving something is fandom. Hate isn’t, or shouldn’t be, part of it. Fandom is about sharing awesome things with like-minded people. It isn’t about spreading hate and forming spiteful tribes. That’s heinous fuckery. Do not partake in heinous fuckery.

Amen.

And to end this on a high note, check out DragonCon’s Wendig panel with Tosche Station and the latest Full of Sith.

Review: Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath (finally!) breathes some life into the canon Star Wars novels

Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath is the first canon Star Wars novel to take place after Return of the Jedi since the old EU was declared Legends more than a year ago. I’ve only formally reviewed the lackluster Heir to the Jedi since then, but it’s no secret that the canon novels so far haven’t been to my tastes. My focus has never really been on books set during the film eras, and before Aftermath all the offerings were just that.

But I am pleased (and, yes, a little surprised) to report that I found Aftermath to be rather good. You’ll hear a lot about Wendig’s unusual style of prose – and I had some hesitation there as well – but I found that once I got into the rhythm of the book it was no trouble at all. In fact, this is the first canon novel I didn’t have to force myself through at all – it read speedily and offers a satisfying story with interesting characters.

But they are, for the most part, new characters. Wedge Antilles plays an important part, but you can’t call him a lead by any means. Rebel pilot Norra Wexley, her son Temmin, former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, bounty hunter Jax Emari and Imperial Admiral Rae Sloane (who originated in A New Dawn) carry most of the plot’s weight.

Only minor spoilers, if that, beyond the cut.

Continue reading “Review: Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath (finally!) breathes some life into the canon Star Wars novels”

Journey to The Force Awakens begins

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Force Friday is here, and that means Aftermath and the other Journey to The Force Awakens books are on shelves now. We don’t have a review (yet?) but you can check out some mostly spoiler-free takes on the book at Nerdist, Tosche Station, Big Shiny Robot and IGN. And there’s a new excerpt at USA Today as well.

There’s also an interview with author Chuck Wendig at EW, where they also talk about his introduction of a new gay character.

Star Wars out this week: Force Friday edition

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We all know by now (hopefully) that this Friday, September 4th, is Force Friday, when a huge chunk of The Force Awakens merchandise is going to drop. And naturally, what we’re most excited about are the 5 novels in the Journey to The Force Awakens line.

But first, there are other things coming out this week. Tuesday brings season 1 of Rebels on Blu-ray and DVD. Shockingly, there are no comics coming on Wednesday. (Shattered Empire, Marvel’s entry into Journey, will be out later in the month.)

You’ll also be be seeing things like coloring and sticker books for Journey, but for our purposes, here are the standouts:

jtfa-aftermath-700From Del Rey, we have Star Wars newcomer Chuck Wendig tackling Aftermath, our first canon story set after Return of the Jedi. We know it stars Wedge Antilles and new character Norra Wexley, but not much more than that. First of a trilogy. An excerpt is available, though I wouldn’t be shocked to see another in the coming days.

Disney Lucasfilm Press has four novels total. Claudia Gray’s Lost Stars is a YA novel that follows two childhood friends, one who joins the Empire and one who becomes a Rebel. The last three are set during the original trilogy, one each for Luke, Leia and Han, though we’ve recently learned they all feature prologues (at least) set in The Force Awakens era. I’ve heard these described as both for young readers and as YA, but the presence of illustrations make me think it’s the former. Jason Fry’s The Weapon of a Jedi and Greg Rucka’s Smuggler’s Run are both set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, while Cecil Castellucci and Fry’s Moving Target is our first canon story to be set between Empire and Return of the Jedi.

A handful of reference books will also be out on Friday: Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know by Adam Bray, Cole Horton, Michael Kogge and Kerrie Dougherty and Benjamin Harper’s Ships of the Galaxy. Both are targeted to young readers, and we know that Ships, at least, has blueprints to TFA ships. We can also expect an assortment of things like sticker and coloring books, which may contain ‘new’ characters.

We’re expecting a lot of hints and small pieces in these books, but most of the heavy-hitting movie tie-ins will be out later. The Force Awakens novelization will be out on December 18 as an eBook, the same day as the film, with a hardcover edition to follow in January. We fully expect the traditional compliment of reference books – making of, concept art, etc – but those haven’t been formally announced yet. (Though are also expected in January at the very soonest.)

The first Aftermath excerpts are away!

aftermath-smallEntertainment Weekly has the first excerpts from Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath, Del Rey’s entry in Journey to The Force Awakens.

It features a brief section set on Coruscant, Wedge Antilles (who we now know is one of the book’s main characters,) plus a character who first debuted in another of the new canon novels. (Now with a promotion.)

Much of the excerpt was up on Random House’s online catalog earlier today, but has since been removed.

Aftermath, along with the rest of the Journey books, goes on sale September 4.

Chuck Wendig is writing the entire Aftermath trilogy

jtfa-aftermathJust as the publishing panel at SDCC was getting into Del Rey, Entertainment Weekly has big news: Chuck Wendig is writing the entire Aftermath trilogy.

Good news, given the recent history with round robins. We haven’t had a one-author trilogy since… Coruscant Nights? Dark Nest? Not exactly sterling examples, but a nice sign that Del Rey has, perhaps, learned from past mistakes. (Now we just hope Wendig is good at more than tweets!)

Also being talked about at the panel was Marvel’s upcoming Chewbacca miniseries we learned of earlier in the day.

The first hour of the panel focused on books for kids, and both parts are being liveblogged by Dan Brooks at StarWars.com, while our own James was valiantly live-tweeting.

Journey to the Force Awakens: Aftermath, Lost Stars blurbs, more covers

jtfa-aftermathThe Journey to the Force Awakens series finally gets a little bit of fleshing out on StarWars.com – and we finally get a synopsis for the centerpiece, Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath. As predicted, it features Wedge Antilles!

As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance — now a fledgling New Republic — presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but is taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.

Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former Rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world — war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.

Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit — to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on the Norra and her newfound allies — her technical genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector — who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.

We also get the covers for the YA novels:

Phil Noto on all three! Note that MVP author Jason Fry, in addition to writing the Luke novel The Weapon of a Jedi, did double duty with Cecil Castellucci on the Leia book, Moving Target. Also getting a full synopsis is Claudia Gray’s Lost Stars:

jtfa-loststarsThe reign of the Galactic Empire has reached the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan, where aristocratic Thane Kyrell and rural villager Ciena Ree bond over their love of flying. Enrolling at the Imperial Academy together to become fighter pilots for the glorious Empire is nothing less than a dream come true for the both of them. But Thane sours on the dream when he sees firsthand the horrific tactics the Empire uses to maintain its ironclad rule.

Bitter and disillusioned, Thane joins the fledgling Rebellion — putting Ciena in an unbearable position to choose between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for the man she’s known since childhood.

Now on opposite sides of the war, will these friends turned foes find a way to be together, or will duty tear them — and the galaxy — apart?

The Journey to the Force Awakens books – which will also include several reference books, plus at least two comics – will be out on Force Friday, September 4.

EXCLUSIVE: A major plot detail from Journey to the Force Awaken’s Aftermath

aftermath-ap1-teaser2We learned a little about Aftermath, Del Rey’s key piece in the Journey to The Force Awakens, a few weeks ago: Namely, that Twitter-winning author Chuck Wendig is writing it, and that it involves “a fan favorite from the films” and “other familiar faces.” And Club Jade has learned who a few of those faces are.

So. Spoilers. Under the cut.

EXCLUSIVELY.

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I hope you like @ChuckWendig: Best #StarWars, #RogueOne and #SWEU tweets for March 16-25

@ChuckWendig: *sees STAR WARS AFTERMATH is in Top 20 books at Amazon*  You like me! You really like me!  …  You like Star Wars! You really like Star Wars!

Over the last week, we finally got our first look at Del Rey’s first post-ROTJ novel in the new canon – and a brand new, very Twitter-savvy author to go with it. We also swooned over Oscar Isaac pictures, planned for Celebration (#SWCA is the official hashtag, if that matters to you) and partook of some delicious fanboy tears. Onward!

Continue reading “I hope you like @ChuckWendig: Best #StarWars, #RogueOne and #SWEU tweets for March 16-25”

Journey to The Force Awakens: Aftermath cover, Wendig officially revealed

jtfa-aftermathEditor Jennifer Heddle introduces officially introduces Aftermath and author Chuck Wendig at StarWars.com today. She reveals for the first time that the book is first of a trilogy that “that begins to bridge the Star Wars timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens:”

Obviously I wish I could tell you more about the story, but I can’t just yet. What I can reveal is that you will be introduced to a sweeping new cast of characters, along with a fan favorite from the films. And who knows what other familiar faces will pop up along the way? And once you’ve seen The Force Awakens in movie theaters, you may find that certain names and places in Aftermath have a relevance you never knew–so keep your eyes wide open!

Will Wendig write the next two books in this trilogy? (We have reason to suspect they won’t be coming before TFA… But who knows?) Hopefully we’ll find out soon. Aftermath is due out September 4.