EUbits: FOTJ except, Sue updates, Knight Errant story

Hey, remember Fate of the Jedi? The site StarWarsBookExtras.com is offering an excerpt from Try Denning’s Vortex – Chapter 5, to be exact. The catch? You need to redeem a code. Or, just click this direct link to the PDF. (Thanks, EUC!) The cards with the code were available at C5 or in the Hyperspace member kit.

Details, details. We got a couple of updates from Sue Rostoni on the StarWars.com forums last week. I had asked if there was a chance or others joining Zahn to do annotations for the Heir to the Empire anniversary edition, and she wasn’t sure — but did say that Del Rey was looking into it. She did have a solid answer on the ETA for the next Lost Tribe of the Sith story: October 25th, aka next Monday. (Hopefully it’ll contain a different Vortex excerpt.)

Short story. Speaking of John Jackson Miller, StarWars.com has an original Knight Errant short story, ‘Influx.’

Shadow Games. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff reveals the main cast for the novel-formerly-known-as-Holostar.

Really? The Star Wars Books page on Facebook is starting a Reader’s Club. Not a bad idea, in theory… But starting with The Bounty Hunter Wars? Really? Uh… Good luck.

EUbits: The Jedi Path marches on; HttE 20th details

The Jedi Path. I have yet to see any copies in a brick-and-mortar store yet, but The Jedi Path has been dominating the news cycle. There are interviews with Daniel Wallace at TheForce.Net, and Geekdad, plus a feature on Amazon.com – which is probably your best bet for getting a copy right now.

More on Heir anniversary edition. First, Del Rey’s Suvudu blog confirms that Timothy Zahn is working on the annotations, while Sue Rostoni has confirmed that they are “looking into some variations of a special cover.”

Comics CBR has features/interviews on John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant and Tom Taylor’s Blood Ties arc.

Columness. EUC’s latest columns are on zombies and Boba Fett. I am so clearly not the intended audience here. (She says with a resigned, sisterly affection.)

Two-for-one classic comic artists. The next Star Wars Insider will feature an exclusive Howard Chaykin cover and poster, while a Star Wars drawing by Jack Kirby surfaces on Twitter.

Brief blurb offers new hint at Knight Errant

I’m not sure how noteworthy this is to anyone who picked up the preview of the comic/novel at Celebration – and it’s much less detailed than what we saw at StarWars.com – but this new blurb does offer a new detail of John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant novel.

A lone Jedi in Sith space dedicates her life to bringing down Sith rule, one act of sabotage at a time. A thousand years before Star Wars: A New Hope, the Republic is in a dark age and groups of Sith have taken over vast swaths of the galaxy. Hiding in one Sith hell-hole is Kerra Holt, a young Jedi working alone to destroy the Sith Masters. But what she doesn’t know is that she just might be the pawn of a powerful Sith Lord…

The Knight Errant comic book is due to start in October, with the novel coming in January.

EUbits: Tenel Ka’s lightsaber, Riptide peek, Legacy cover, John Jackson Miller and more

Fanmade. Check out this version of Tenel Ka’s rancor tooth lightsaber by Heather (@hexterah) who dressed up as the character at DragonCon.)

Riptide. Paul S. Kemp broke out another brief excerpt from his Crosscurrent sequel on Friday.

Comics. Dark Horse has revealed the cover to Legacy: War #2; Writer John Jackson Miller talks Knight Errant at The Sci-Fi Block.

Further reading. EU Cantina has a new column by Chris (@VileZero) and so far he’s addressed the Darth Plagueis novel and upcoming comics as well as some gaming/Clone Wars stuff. Check it out.

Street date shuffle. It was a slow news week, so Random House moving Denning’s Fate of the Jedi: Vortex up a week got a lot of ink. Still months away, but I did update our book schedule.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@clubjade) for updates and discussion.

Celebration V: EU news – Fate of the Jedi #9 has a name, Knight Errant and season 3 of The Clone Wars

While Dunc is off at fashion shows or handing out orange Death Star fans, I got a chance to attend a couple panels today, and here’s the top information:

  • Apocalypse was announced as the title of the ninth book in the Fate of the Jedi series.
  • Pablo Hidalgo is going to be writing an Essential Reader’s Companion, helping not only to sum up all the existing novels, but also provide some behind-the-scenes, and showcasing connections between stories. It will be illustrated, and Cal Omas will be pictured at last (and not hiding behind a potted plant)
  • After Fate of the Jedi, Del Rey will be staying away from long series for a while, with just one-offs and duo/trilogies.
  • Wedge Antilles is apparently the only SW character allowed to retire. He’s working on his memoirs, but Aaron Allston says not to count him out yet.
  • Knight Errant: comics will be released in October, novel in January, and while you don’t need one to understand the other, hopefully the new storyline will pull you in with a young female Jedi, Kerra Holt, on her own in Sith warlord space a generation before Darth Bane. This is the first time that Dark Horse and Del Rey are working together on a SW project, with a single writer: John Jackson Miller.
  • The Clone Wars – Season 3: going to rock! Dooku gets mad at Asajj, and gets a new Sith villain, raised by the Dathomir nightsisters: A Steelers-colored Maul kinsman. Invisible nightsisters attack Dooku in his pajamas! Shaak Ti is coming! Kamino is under attack (with cool water, smoke and explosion effects). Asajj’s background is revealed! Jawajames explodes from awesomeness of the trailer! Dave Filoni has trouble giving evasive answers to little kids!

SDCC: Saturday (and some Friday) roundup

Someone got stabbed with a pen in Hall H this evening; There’s a report from San Diego’s NBC affiliate and Comic Book Resources and Entertainment Weekly are on the case. (Harrison Ford is not a suspect.) The rumors have been flying over Twitter, including allegations that seat-squatting (a common practice) was a factor.

EUbits: Delusions of granduer from Hayden Blackman, the Insider; Sample Fatal Alliance via audio; Taylor interview

TeeEffYou, too. A summary has appeared at Random House for The Force Unleashed II novelization. Admiral Ackbar may appear in the game and Hayden Blackman wants a movie and/or TV show. I’m torn between eye-rolling and snickering, and ended up just pulling something from Robot Chicken. As you do.

Sample. With less than a month to go to release, there’s an audio excerpt of Sean William’s The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance.

Maybe they should just start a blog. The Insider is going digital.

Interviews. SWBooks.co.uk talks to comic writer Tom Taylor; The EU Review has John Jackson Miller.

EUbits: Inside The Making of The Empire Strikes Back

Nonfiction StarWars.com offers up a peek at J.W. Rinzler’s The Making of The Empire Strikes Back. The book’s release was recently pushed back to October, but there’s little doubt that it will be worth the wait.

Street date shuffle. On that note, our book release schedule has been updated. The most notable change: A double shot of Fate of the Jedi paperbacks as Omen and Abyss are moved up to spring.

Podcastery. Star Wars Action News talked to Paul S. Kemp earlier in the month, while the ForceCast caught up with John Jackson Miller at C2E2.

The blogside. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff on the end game and the last period.

Morsel. Sue Rostoni says that Joe Schreiber’s Black Orchid is getting a new title because some people thought it sounded like a romance novel. Personally I think old school Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean

Toys. Rebelscum reports that the Legacy Collection’s Expanded Universe action figures (the wave that includes Jacen and Jaina) have begun showing up at Toys “R” Us stores.