Book review roundup: Karen Miller’s Wild Space makes the Livejournalers squee

The Clone Wars: Wild SpaceAbout a month ago, Karen Miller’s first Star Wars novel was released. It’s been getting a surprising amount of of lip service in fandom lately, and I wasn’t sure why until I read a couple of reviews on LiveJournal – not exactly the hot spot for EU meta these days.

But no, right there in Jedi News, four reviews in little over a week, and two of them (Calmer-Sky and Senatorsfan-Ink) are so enthusiastic you’ll need a squeegee afterwards. Meanwhile, LazyPadawan enjoyed it but has a much different perspective on the book’s (dare I say?) fan service, while JawaStew takes a balanced tone.

Another surprise came off-LJ – a review of the book at io9 by Charlie Jane Anders, their first for Star Wars fiction. With the catchy title of ‘At Last, A Book That Explains Why Obi-Wan Is Such A Dick,‘ it’s easy to see why this post has a whopping 14,407 views as I type this.

And lest you doubt, the numbers at the highly-critical Jedi Council review thread look pretty good as well: An average of 8.08 out of 10.

With my chronic case of Clone Wars apathy, I’m still not too tempted to pick this up myself, but maybe… At the library. If I see it. Those who have read it, what do you think?

EUbits: Stover, Miller & Karpyshyn interviews; Books on sale; awards; contests; previews

Interviews: Matthew Stover talks to SWBooks about Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, while John Jackson Miller discusses the Knights of the Old Republic comics at IGN. And finally, Drew Karpyshyn at Lightsabre.

Out this week: Complete Encyclopedia, Wild Space

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia 2.0This is a big week (literally) for Star Wars stuff: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia finally arrives in bookstores tomorrow, along with Karen Miller’s The Clone Wars: Wild Space. And on Wednesday, comic fans can pick up The Clone Wars #3, aka ‘the one where Anakin thinks a eyepatch is an effective disguise.’ If that’s what they teach in those fancy Jedi disguise classes, why bother with Order 66?

EUbits: Ostrander, Miller, Wallace and Hasbro

Legacy #30 / Vector #11

EUbits: Watson’s National Book Award, Karen Miller interviewed, KOTOR preview, Jacen Solo

Awards: Judy Blundell, better known to Star Wars fans as Jude Watson, author of the Jedi Apprentice, Jedi Quest, and Last of the Jedi series’ for Scholastic, has won the National Book Award for her novel What I Saw and How I Lied.

UPDATE: GalleyCat now has a video interview with Blundell.

StarWars.com offers first look at Wild Space

The official site brings us the cover and summary for Karen Miller’s Wild Space, the second novel based on The Clone Wars.

The Separatists have launched a sneak attack on Coruscant. Obi-Wan Kenobi, wounded in battle, insists that Anakin Skywalker and his rookie Padawan Ahsoka leave on a risky mission against General Grievous. But when Senator Bail Organa reveals explosive intelligence that could turn the tide of war in the Republic’s favor, the Jedi Master agrees to accompany him to an obscure planet in the Outer Rim to verify the facts. What Obi-Wan and Bail don’t realize is that they’re walking into a deadly trap concocted by Palpatine… and escape may not be an option.

The book’s street date has also changed – it’s now listed for December 9.

EU newsbits: Details from Irvine, YA, interviews

More new contract fallout: Alex Irvine details the timing of his ‘ancient Jedi’ novel on his blog:

…Yours truly is going to be writing a novel set just before the Knights of the Old Republic storyline. Since I am one of those guys who saw the movie (you know, The Movie; you know the one I mean) a dozen times the summer it came out, this is kind of a dream come true. Viva la Geek! Plus, there are some interesting open spaces in the continuity from that period, which give me a lot of room to work.

Isn’t that what the comics are doing? Oh well: I won’t even pretend to be an expert on that time period. (Some have speculated that this could be related to the still-rumored KOTOR MMO, but aren’t direct game tie-ins handled by separate contracts?)

Only Karens for five-book The Clone Wars series

In the light of yesterday’s press release, Karen Miller spills a few more beans at her livejournal:

The Sekrit Projekt is a Star Wars novel. I’ll be doing 2. They’re both set in the Clone Wars era, and connected to the new animated series that’s coming out soon. It’s a 5-book series in total, and the super spectacular Karen Traviss will be writing the other 3. I’m so lucky to be working with her. It’s a bit of a cosmic trip, this, no pun intended. I think I’d be a lost cause if I didn’t have her to guide my tottering footsteps.

Gotta tell you, I am having waaaaay too much fun.