EUbits: Fate of the Jedi is ending, have you heard?

Fate of the Jedi. Apocalypse is only days away, and so there is a book trailer. (Naturally.) And a mini-excerpt. And a 50-page excerpt. And Troy Denning on a podcast. And, of course, another spoiler-free review at Star Wars Report. Will it ever end? (Well, yes. Presumably, Tuesday. And then, the arguing. Yay!)

Comics. John Jackson Miller talks about Knight Errant’s next arc, ‘Escape,’ with io9’s Cyriaque Lamar.

Upcoming. DK will be releasing The Old Republic Encyclopedia this fall, Roqoo Depot discovered.

The blogside. Roqoo Depot’s Skuldren speaks out against super-powered characters in video games and the EU. In my book, that’s a very big reason why certain streams should no be crossing… Meanwhile, io9 makes a valiant effort to connect the Star Wars timeline to Earth’s timeline – pity that the comic tale they’re using as a cornerstone is kind of, a little bit, well, actually entirely Infinities, aka a non-canon AU. Which they admit. But still.

Okay, fine. If it’s an actual EU timeline you’re looking for (sorry, no Earth,) here’s an official one from Del Rey.

Review. James gives the latest Clone Wars digest, The Enemy Within, a thumbs-up for its Dirty Dozen meets L.A. Confidential in space storyline.

Out this week: Crimson Empire III, The Enemy Within

Once again, we have a week without a book release, but Wednesday does bring a few things to your local comic shop. First up is Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost #5, as the series winds up to next month’s conclusion. Then, for the The Clone Wars fans, there’s The Enemy Within trade, which Dark Horse is describing as “Dirty Dozen in space.”

Of course, next week, we’ll finally get the last Fate of the Jedi book, Troy Denning’s Apocalypse. Which means now is the time for those of us who’ve been slacking (ahem, yours truly) to finally get around to reading finishing Ascension. For those who are hanging on every word, Lightsaber Rattling has the first review. He hints at some spoilers, but nothing major.

EUbits: New excerpts for Darth Revan, Riptide, & Darth Plagueis

Plagueis the child? Today, Star Wars Books gives us the first in a series of mini-excerpts for James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis on Facebook. The Sith aren’t babysnatchers… most of the time.

On Stranger Tides: Paul Kemp dishes out a second excerpt, eight pages long, from Riptide, which comes out next week. If you missed the first excerpt, check it out on Suvudu.

Inside the Sith Empire: Random House has a good chunk of the first chapter of The Old Republic: Revan up on its site. Drew Karpyshyn’s novel about the character from the Knights of the Old Republic game comes out in November. If there’s one thing to be said about the Sith Empire, it’s that the trains run on time, so they must be doing something right.

Vader turns the page: At Suvudu, Eric Geller previews The Complete Vader with a video walkthrough of the book that looks at Darth Vader as both character and as pop culture icon.

Fate of the Jedi: In case you missed it, last week, Troy Denning has turned in his manscript for Apocalypse.

Comics: I’ve been busy reviewing the latest Star Wars comics over at Big Shiny Robot: Last week we had the awesome Invasion – Revelations #4, and the lackluster The Old Republic – The Lost Suns #5. This week, I take a peek at Knight Errant – Escape #3, and a The Clone Wars digest: Strange Allies.

EUbits: Clone Wars coming to Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day. It’s not until May, but we learned today that The Clone Wars will be among the offerings. (Dark Horse will also have an Avatar: The Last Airbender comic.)

Fiction returns to Insider. Paul S. Kemp has turned in a short story destined for the magazine. It stars Darth Malgus of his upcoming Old Republic novel, Deceived, so I expect we’ll be seeing it early in the new year.

Chattage. Del Rey will be holding a Vortex chat with author Troy Denning on their Star Wars Books Facebook next Wednesday.

Interview. Geeks are Sexy interviews Daniel Wallace about The Jedi Path.

Podcasts. The ForceCast has launched a new EU-focused show, Jedi Journals, with RebelScum staffers Chris Wyman and “Jovial” Jay Shepard. I have yet to listen, but am assured that they know their stuff!

Out this week: Fate of the Jedi #6

Today sees the release of the sixth Fate of the Jedi novel, Denning’s Vortex. People seem awfully excited that there’s a Kindle edition. I’m a book traditionalist (and too much of an Alton Brown fan to trust a unitasker, though yes, I know there’s an iPhone app) but in to their credit, it is only $6.29.

Meanwhile, because new releases only come in two speeds lately – feast or famine – comic fans have a few things to look for on Wednesday as well. There’s The Old Republic #6, The Clone Wars: Deadly Hands of Shon-Ju and a Quinlan Vos omnibus, Jedi in Darkness.