The cover for Drew Karpyshyn’s Rule of Two spotted on Random House site. A bit of a letdown after the nice John Jude Palencar cover for Path of Destruction, but I suppose that’s inevitable with such a shortened production schedule. Maybe it’s an early sketch version?
Expanded Universe at random
It was a busy week on the VIP blogs… First, a slightly defensive Drew Karpyshyn Rule of Two update (seriously fanboys, lay off the guy already,) then John Jackson Miller pondered keeping things unexplained, and we were favored with an Abel G. Peña double-punch on Darth names and, of all things, The Crystal Star.
- TFN took a seven-part look at Darth Krayt. I’m not really sure there actually is seven days worth of material on the subject, but that’s why I don’t work for TFN, I guess.
- Speaking of comics, a review of Legacy: Broken.
- A neat Darth Nihilus costume spotted at Comic-Con.
Writing on a deadline
Bane novel title: Rule of Two?
A TFN reader noticed that the Bane sequel acquired a title this weekend: Rule of Two. No doubt someone’s asking about it in the TOS VIP thread at this very moment…
UPDATE: And Sue snarketh: “The Rule of Two is a placeholder, and is unlikely to be the final title. After all, it doesn’t have Dark or Shadow in it.”
Bane sequel is a go for December
So sayth Sue Rostoni on the TOS:
Shelly called me late last week to propose an additional hardcover this fall. THIS fall. Yep. Del Rey figured the market could bear one more, and since the Darth Bane novel was a hit, a follow-up, written by Drew, seemed the best idea. So the untitled Feb. 09 hardcover (previously the “Plagueis” novel) has been moved up, and Drew agreed to continue Bane’s story. So we’re off and running.
The release date is slated for December 26th, 2007.
I’ll be updating our release schedule presently…
Could this be the mystery hardcover?
A TFN reader found a listing on Random House’s website for a Path of Destruction sequel. Could it be the replacement for the canceled Plagueis novel? The date might be wrong (‘Untitled Hardcover’ is set for release early 2009) but a second Bane novel might not be a bad idea…
From the Blogside
Brooklooineghost wrote an excellent essay on compassion; Drew Karpyshyn addresses continuty errors in Path of Destruction.; Rogueish on politics in the GFFA; Vader of Bast throws down a rant about the Legacy comics; Lord Noctifer rambles on Skywalker courage; Jan Lomona wonders why only Palpatine noticed Luke’s compassion.
Quick interview with Karpyshyn
SF Crowsnest interviews Path of Destruction author Drew Karpyshyn. Be warned, he talks a lot about games.
Confession: I found Path of Destruction at my local library and read it, even though the whole Old Republic era isn’t something I’m particularly interested in. It was a fast, decent read; I’d recommend it if you want a quick sideline from LOTF or whatever your current focus is. However, I’m still boggling at one fan who dismissed it as ‘popcorn reading’. By my definition, the worst a decent Star Wars novel can be is ‘popcorn’. There are some authors who take that aspect too far (you know the ones I mean) but not every novel needs to delve into the philosophy of the Force to be a satisfying read. Hell, if Star Wars can’t be popcorn, what can?
Oh yeah, the Sith book
I was shocked to find Path of Destruction at my local library (Yes, I did check it out; no telling if I’ll actually read it,) but I’m even more shocked to see that SF Signal already has a review up. You win this round, fanboy Tim: You are the Supreme BlogGeek.
Any Sith aficionados in the crowd?
Drew Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane novel, Path of Destruction, was released today, and starwars.com has the standard interview and excerpt up. The real question is… Will you buy it?