Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
On Tuesday, Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi is out in paperback. I reviewed it when the hardcover came out, and was not particularly impressed.
More promising is Wednesday, which brings Darth Vader #13 – the second part of the ‘Vader Down’ crossover – and Chewbacca #4.
UPDATE: I forgot that Delilah S. Dawson’s ‘The Perfect Weapon’ short story is also out Tuesday as an eBook.
Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi brings a lot of firsts, as far as Star Wars novels go. It’s the first of the new canon novels to feature one of the big three characters; the first Star Wars first-person novel* to feature an actual movie character, and the first canon novel to be set after A New Hope. It’s also the first of the new novels I actually had any interest in reading.
Now, I don’t expect a Star Wars novel to rock the very galaxy, particularly when set in a movie-limited era like this one is. I wasn’t expecting a game-changing book by any means. And generally, I don’t mind a quieter story, as long as it’s an engaging one that keeps me wanting to read.
Unfortunately, Heir to the Jedi delivers an unremarkable tale that fails to make much of an impression. From the first-person conceit to the title that seems deliberately reminiscent of Heir to the Empire, it seemed to me like the book was writing several checks that it completely failed to cash.
There is a major spoiler under the cut, but it’s black-barred so you can avoid it. Continue reading “Review: Heir to the Jedi is a whole lot of nothing”
Del Rey to give out Heir to the Jedi ARCs. You could get an early copy of Kevin Hearne’s Luke Skywalker book during the Rebels on Monday, November 24. The book is coming out in March.
Two new Star Wars novels that are coming out next spring have had their release dates changed slightly, Del Rey informs us today. Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi moves back two weeks, from February 17 to March 3. Meanwhile, Paul S. Kemp’s Lords of the Sith only jumps back a week, from April 21 to April 28. Our book release page has been updated.
Both novels will be considered part of the canon.
Random House has updated their blurb for Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi, the third of the new canon novels. It looks like we can count on there being at least two new female characters being vital to the plot. No, neither of them sounds like someone who will secretly end up to be Mara Jade.
Luke Skywalker’s game-changing destruction of the Death Star has made him not only a hero of the Rebel Alliance but a valuable asset in the ongoing battle against the Empire. Though he’s a long way from mastering the power of the Force, there’s no denying his phenomenal skills as a pilot—and in the eyes of Rebel leaders Princess Leia Organa and Admiral Ackbar, there’s no one better qualified to carry out a daring rescue mission crucial to the Alliance cause.
A brilliant alien cryptographer renowned for her ability to breach even the most advanced communications systems is being detained by Imperial agents determined to exploit her exceptional talents for the Empire’s purposes. But the prospective spy’s sympathies lie with the Rebels, and she’s willing to join their effort in exchange for being reunited with her family. It’s an opportunity to gain a critical edge against the Empire that’s too precious to pass up. It’s also a job that demands the element of surprise. So Luke and the ever-resourceful droid R2-D2 swap their trusty X-wing fighter for a sleek space yacht piloted by brash recruit Nakari Kelen, daughter of a biotech mogul, who’s got a score of her own to settle with the Empire.
Challenged by ruthless Imperial bodyguards, death-dealing enemy battleships, merciless bounty hunters, and monstrous brain-eating parasites, Luke plunges head-on into a high-stakes espionage operation that will push his abilities as a Rebel fighter and would-be Jedi to the limit. If ever he needed the wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi to shepherd him through danger, it’s now. But Luke will have to rely on himself, his friends, and his own burgeoning relationship with the Force to survive.
Heir to the Jedi is scheduled for a February 17 release. (via)
Del Rey has slightly pushed back the release dates for two 2015 book releases. Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi will now be out February 17 instead of January 13, while Paul Kemp’s Lords of the Sith is set for April 21 instead of March.
Our book release schedule has been updated.
First Heir to the Jedi excerpt. Celebrating 150K likes, the Star Wars Books Facebook page gives us our first look inside Kevin Hearne’s January novel.
Del Rey has revealed Larry Rostant’s full jacket art for Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi, which will be out in January.
Star Wars Books UK spotted a longer, more detailed blurb for Kevin Hearne’s Heir to the Jedi on Amazon UK:
The Galactic Civil War rages on after the destruction of the Death Star and Luke Skywalker struggles to learn more about the Force without the aid of Obi-Wan Kenobi – or indeed without any aid at all. But the few memories he has of Obi-Wan’s instruction point the way to a stronger control of the Force, and he is encouraged to pursue it by a new friend in the Alliance. When Luke, R2-D2 and his new ally are tasked with liberating a valuable asset from the Empire and delivering her to a safe planet where she can aid the Alliance, their journey across the galaxy is fraught with peril – and opportunities for Luke to discover the mysteries of the Force.
This is our second blurb for the book. Originally contracted and announced as the third Empire and Rebellion novel, it’s now part of the first wave of fully canon novels. Heir to the Jedi is scheduled for a January release.
Earlier today, we had our first official statement on the Expanded Universe’s place in the light of the new films. Now, we get more on the novels going forward. After John Jackson Miller’s A New Dawn (September 2,) we’re getting Tarkin by James Luceno (November 4) and…
Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne (January) was originally announced as part of the loose Empire and Rebellion trilogy pre-Disney… They dropped the subtitle on Honor Among Thieves, but that and Razor’s Edge both fall under Legends with the rest of the old EU, per Lucasfilm editor Jennifer Heddle. In any case, this book is a first-person Luke Skywalker story. (First person? I’m suddenly a lot less excited, but whatever, I’ll read it.)
Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp (March) features Palpatine and Vader “stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely solely on each other, the Force, and their awesome martial skills to prevail.” And Kemp says the book also features “a character who I’m not allowed to name just yet, but who appeared in The Clone Wars animated series.” Subtle!
These are being announced by both Disney Publishing and Random House… Curious, no?
