Tuesday sees the release of Paul S. Kemp’s The Old Republic: Deceived, which has been getting a fair amount of hype. (Say it with me: Gamers!)
But seriously, the early buzz has been good, so give it a try if you’re into the era.
EUbits: Why did the Riptide cover change?
Why was the Riptide cover changed? Sue Rostoni answered a reader question on this the other day, saying “The sales folks at Random House weren’t sure it was strong enough — not as dynamic as they’d like.” Not sure I see it, but okay. (Personally, I’d rather they change up the Choices of One cover.) Compare them for yourself by clicking on the thumbnails at right.
In the future… J.W. Rinzler tweeted and then deleted about prepping for “a sequel of sorts” to The Jedi Path. Not a huge surprise in any case, though we all eagerly await details.
Canon, continuity, and The Clone Wars. A certain controversial event happened on last week’s Clone Wars. Leland Chee explains. (Spoilers for ‘Citadel Rescue.’)
Atlasery. Behold the sectors of the Mid Rim in the latest Essential Atlas extra.
Statistics 101. EU Cantina has a new staffer, Andrew, and for his first column he’s taken a look at the complaints that we’re getting less EU product lately.
Comics. Dark Horse’s solicitations for June include Lost Suns #1, Jedi: The Dark Side #2 and trades for Knight Errant: Aflame and the fourth A Long Time Ago omnibus.
On that note… John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant novel answers, part the second.
Out this week: Star Wars Insider #124
Subscribers have (hopefully) received it already, but the latest issue of Star Wars Insider ought to be in stores now. Lest you forget, this is the one featuring the Darth Malgus short story from Paul S. Kemp, to whet appetites for next week’s Deceived release.
Also coming up: Kemp will be on a Star Wars novel panel with fellow author John Jackson Miller and Del Rey editor Erich Schoeneweiss at C2E2 in Chicago on Friday.
EUbits: Del Rey to preview Zahn’s Heir to the Empire annotations
Whoohoo! Beginning next Thursday, the Star Wars Books Facebook page will be posting a Heir to the Empire annotation from Timothy Zahn each week until the book’s release in June. Suddenly, I hate Facebook just a tiny, tiny bit less.
In the meantime, Del Rey is asking what Thrawn scene you’d like to see illustrated in The Essential Guide to Warfare.
The blogside. Paul S. Kemp on readers who complain there’s too much focus on Jedi and Sith in the EU. I’m so with him on this. Sure, it’s nice to have novels about other folks in the galaxy sometimes, but Jedi and Sith are pretty much integral to the DNA of Star Wars.
Pop quiz. Head on over to EUC to find out if you are smarter than a Star Wars blogger. I can neither confirm nor deny that some of the snarky quotes are mine.
C2E2. Not surprisingly, there are several Star Wars events at the Chicago con later this month, including Del Rey and Dark Horse panels. And I’m changing my mind every other day about going…
Weird facts. Pete at Lightsaber Rattling follows up his author list with a look at who’s written the most young adult novels. The ultimate result this time around, though? Not a surprise. Think if we pester him enough he’ll do one by word count?
EUbits: When the Sith are away…
Sith check. Paul S. Kemp’s Old Republic novel, Decieved, drops two weeks from today, so naturally there’s a book trailer.
Kemp has been making the rounds: He appeared on TOR-Talk and an interview with Fictional Frontiers will surely be appearing soonish. And those audiobooks he was giving away last time? The winners are up.
Weird facts. Who’s written the most Star Wars (adult) novels? The answer may surprise you.
Recently… John Jackson Miller has Knight Errant novel answers.
Details, details. Dan Wallace on how the trade paperback Jedi Path will differ from the fancy box version. The answers will… Probably not surprise you.
Interview. There’s not a whole lot of Star Wars talk here , but if anyone deserves a link without that pesky fact, it’s our pal Mike Stackpole.
A second cover for Kemp’s Riptide
The first cover for Riptide was not exactly met with a chorus of cheers, but I was still a bit surprised to see a new one pop up today.
The blurb is the same, but the release date has changed in the interim, and it will now be out on September 27.
EUbits: Insider #124 brings Kemp short story, news of yet another Old Republic comic
Another Old Republic comic is coming. The new Insider contain news of a mini-series called The Lost Suns. Game writer Alexander Freed will be doing the writing honors, with the team from Blood of the Empire on art. Head on over to NJOE and/or Star Wars Universe for the full image and details.
This is the same issue that features Paul S. Kemp’s ‘The Third Lesson,‘ a Darth Malgus short story, so if you’re a fan of the era it’ll no doubt be worth picking up. On that note, Kemp is giving away a Deceived audiobook or two.
Also upcoming… Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff reveals a new tentative title for her and Reaves’ Coruscant Knights followup: The Last Jedi.
More on the Dark Side: Scott Allie talks more with MTV Geek about Qui-Gon Jinn’s adventures in the upcoming comic Star Wars: Jedi – The Dark Side. Without revealing whether Qui-Gon is the one to cross over to the dark side, Allie talks about developing a story about the Jedi’s imperfect judgment, with a plot that is flashbacked to in the YA books, and describes Qui-Gon’s role here as a “powerful Jedi out on the rim of the galaxy, angry and alone, like a hero from the Clint Eastwood western.”
Recent releases. John Jackson Miller has notes for Knight Errant.
Nonfiction. J. W. Rinzler tweets about a new Star Wars Art installment.
Learn something. In his latest blog entry, Drew Karpyshyn writes about how a book makes it from outline to novel.
Coming in the back way. A prequel fan’s review of Heir to the Empire. He liked it!
EUbits: Allie talks Qui-Gon comic, Del Rey to reissue novelization, Shadow Hunter for TPM 3-D
Comics. Writer Scott Allie talks about the Qui-Gon Jinn comic Jedi: The Dark Side with CBR. He reveals that the series will take place 20 years prior to The Phantom Menace, that the focus of Dark Side will be a personal story, and talks a bit about Xanatos. Yoda, Mace Windu and even Dooku will make appearances in the mini-series.
Releases. Del Rey will be reissuing The Phantom Menace novelization and Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter next year to tie-into the first 3-D release. Both books will feature new original short stories for the occasion.
Events. Authors John Jackson Miller and Paul S. Kemp and Del Rey’s Erich Schoeneweiss will talk about Star Wars books at a panel at Chicago’s C2E2. The schedule isn’t up yet, but the panel will be Friday, March 18. (Question: Is C2E2 worth a vacation day and a 4-hour drive in the days of social media? I’ll have to think about it.)
History lesson. Tor.com’s Emily Asher-Perrin takes a slightly snarky (yay!) look back at the evolution of Star Wars galaxy maps. In retrospect, that first one was probably the only reason at all to be excited about Vector Prime. I must admit I do still like the old-timey calligraphy look it has.
The blogside. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff reveals that one of the locations for Shadow Games (née Holostar) is Bannistar Station.
Kids. The folks behind The Strange Case of Origami Yoda will be back with Darth Paper Strikes Back in the fall.
Street date shuffle: Realigning the novels for 2011/2012
We got a number of schedule updates from Sue Rostoni today. There were a few notable delays – Riptide, Shadow Games and (sigh) Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse have all been pushed back a few months. There were also a number of additions: Drew Karpyshyn’s contribution to The Old Republic tie-ins set for October. Looking forward into 2012, Luceno’s Plagueis novel is up for January, and Allston’s new Wraith book for July.
We also got what is perhaps our first conformation that John Jackson Miller’s Lost Tribe of the Sith is set for print. Head on over to our book schedule for all the details.
First look at Kemp’s Riptide
StarWars.com has released the cover and blurb for Paul S. Kemp’s Riptide, sequel to last year’s Crosscurrent.
When a ship full of Sith warriors arrived in Galactic Alliance space, the fight to destroy it accidentally uncovered a deadly menace: a long-hidden group of clones, secretly created as insidious weapons capable of wielding the Force and heedless of the differences between light side and dark side. Now the clones have escaped — and evidence suggests they are flawed by genetic disease and violent madness.
Jedi Knight Jaden Korr pursues the clones, hoping to heal them but prepared to destroy them. What he doesn’t know is that Sith agents are hot on his heels, determined not only to recover the clones for their Master but to capture Jaden for their own dark-side purposes. In a life-or-death battle, Jaden will confront a shocking reality that will rock him to his core and bring him face-to-face with the question of what makes a man… and a Jedi.
This book is very much Not For Me, and the cover reflects that, but I must admit it’s pretty striking and the tight crop and yellow lightsaber will stand out on the shelves. It’s a (hopefully) happy medium between the look-at-me-n00bs Fate of the Jedi covers and the painted covers that please many hardcore fans.
Riptide is scheduled for a July 26 release.