Star Wars Canon Book Thoughts- Outlaws: Low Red Moon

Hello friends! It’s been a bit, as I’ve decided not to do the monthly entertainment update for a while. What I’m going to do instead is post about new Star Wars books or shows and what I think about them as they come up. (I will also continue to post my Legends Reading Challenges; I’m working on Knight Errant right now). The latest canon novel is Low Red Moon, based on the video game that came out last year.

As you probably know, I’m not a gamer. I almost decided not to read the book out of lack of interest. But this is a prequel to the story of the game and so, theoretically, you don’t need to know anything about Outlaws beforehand. And I heard there were cameos by Fennec Shand and Q’ira, so my interest was piqued. Also, I liked Mike Chen’s earlier book, Brotherhood.

So, I got the book, and watched a few story videos of Outlaws just to get a feel for the characters. And just so you know, if you plan to read the book or play the game, there are

TOTAL SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

So, in the game, a man named Jaylen Vrax and his BX Commando droid ND-5 work with a woman named Kay Vess on various missions in the criminal underworld. This book takes place before they meet Kay, and the very beginning is about ten years before.

We meet the Barshas, a wealthy and powerful family who own Barsha Corp., which builds engines for various kinds of ships. The parents are Nytyl and Roisem Barsha, who are pretty terrible people, and two kids: Jaylen, the natural child of Nytyl and Roisem, and Sliro, the child of Nytyl and…some other woman we don’t meet. The parents favor Jaylen, of course, and treat Sliro horribly, particularly Roisem, who always reminds him he’s only “half a Barsha,” and Jaylen is the heir. Jaylen sees this, doesn’t really like it, but also accepts it as normal behavior. He’s fond of his brother Sliro and tries to maintain a good relationship with him, but it’s clear Sliro is resentful, of Nytyl and Roisem, and perhaps even Jaylen, on occasion. Jaylen is groomed to take over Barsha Corp., while Sliro is found a postion in the Empire, which has been in power for a few years now.

Jaylen decides he wants to run the company with Sliro’s help, but before he can announce it, his family is arrested on charges of corruption and exiled to a family compound on an island on the planet Gus Treta while the Empire decides their fate. While there, he tries to find out what happened to Sliro, who never showed to the official announcement, but there’s no word on him. They get the news that the Empire will not imprison them, but all their holdings are confiscated. That’s when the droid shows up.

ND-5 is a former Separatist Commando droid, created for battle and assassination. He has been reprogrammed by…someone, to kill the entire Barsha family. And he does, all except Jaylen. With another droid’s help, Jaylen manages to put a restraining bolt onto ND-5 to prevent him from killing him, but not before he witnesses the murder of his family. He manages to escape the planet with ND-5, unsure of what is next.

Nine years later, Jaylen Barsha is now Jaylen Vrax. ND-5 is still with him. They’ve been travelling the galaxy, looking for work in the criminal underworld to stay afloat. At this point, along with the restraining bolt, there’s a fused chip in ND-5’s neural core, and I’m kind of confused about the state of these things and why Jaylen has been lying to ND about it for years. Obviously, he was at first terrified that the droid would kill him, but along the way it turns out that, with adaptation and learning experience, he probably wouldn’t, but Jaylen wants ND-5 completely under his control, and so refused to remove the restraining bolt, and lies about his prior programming taking over, etc. etc. It was hard for me to keep up, lol. But basically, ND-5 is completely loyal to Jaylen, even wanting to prove his loyalty again and again, but Jaylen refuses to remove the bolt under the lie that if he does, ND might revert back to his original programming and kill him. He keeps telling ND-5 that they’re partners, but clearly Jaylen is using him for his own purposes. And in all fairness, the droid did murder his family, which is something Jaylen can’t get out of his mind. But you also feel bad for ND, because he just wants to be Jaylen’s partner and basically be his own “person” and make decisions on his own. So there’s a tension there.

A central part of the book is about ND-5’s restraining bolt, ND-5’s push for autonomy, and Jaylen’s reluctance to give up control.

Anyway, in the early years Jaylen tried to find Sliro and find any information on who might have sent the droid to kill the Barshas, all while trying to make a name for himself in the criminal underworld. Early on, he found a code name–Low Red Moon–associated with the slaughter of the Barshas, but could find nothing further for years. After nine years, he decided to let go of the past and focus on the future. This led to a mission with Fennec Shand, one that got him a datapad with a list of ISB agents and their code names, a list he could sell or trade in the criminal underworld to get himself ahead. The mission is a success, but the list contains a name–Low Red Moon. He’d almost forgotten about it, but now he wants to follow up and track this agent down.

The name attached to the code name is Madel Nureth, who they track down. She turns out to be an accountant who works for the ISB, cleaning up financial records between the Empire and the criminal syndicates. Jaylen and ND find her and follow her, as she’s heading to a meeting with Crimson Dawn. But before they can confront her, they’re incapacitated by a Hutt agent, who’s also following her. But then the Hutt agent is incapacitated by someone else, a shadow. The shadow takes Jaylen, while Nureth takes ND-5.

Turns out, the “shadow” is a Zabrak named Mill, who saves Jaylen’s life by killing the worm that was injected into his body (ew!). It’s not stated in the book at all, but Mill is a character created by the author in his other book, Brotherhood. She was a young Jedi Padawan who accompanied Anakin on a mission, but what she really wanted to do was to study medicine and heal. There are clues in Low Red Moon that she is a Jedi, but I wouldn’t have remembered Mill from Brotherhood if I hadn’t seen it mentioned elsewhere in a review of the book. Anyway, she and another former Jedi named Vivert travel the galaxy, collecting medical equipment and trying to help people. She doesn’t tell Jaylen they’re Jedi, but he’s bewildered by their altruistic motives. Vivert is being held by Crimson Dawn for…reasons, it’s all very complicated and has something to do with a bacta tank owned by a Hutt, a bacta tank they want, but now the Hutts want the tank back and to kill Vivert because she knows a Hutt is sick and vulnerable, and somehow Crimson Dawn is involved, and….I don’t know, I give up, lol.

So Jaylen and Mill decide to go to Crimson Dawn, for several reasons: Jaylen still wants to find Madel Nureth and how she’s involved with Low Red Moon, and to get ND-5 back, and also to offer the datapad to Crimson Dawn to get on their good side and further his underworld career. Mill just wants to get Vivert back, and maybe to get the elusive bacta tank. So in they go to meet with Q’ira, to offer her the gift of the ISB list. Meanwhile, Madel Nureth is cooking their books, and messes around with ND-5, who is in off-mode, or something, and finds out that this is the droid that she was ordered to send to Gus Treta to kill the Barshas.

Then the Hutts show up causing some trouble, wanting Vivert and the bacta tank. Vivert escapes and meets up with them, and they hatch a plan: Jaylen will smooth things over between Crimson Dawn and the Hutts, thus securing the trust of both syndicates; Mill will go with Jaylen, while Vivert and ND-5 will deal with Madel Nureth. There’s some details concerning who gets the datapad, and who gets the bacta tank, and somehow proving to the Hutts that Vivert is dead, but my brain is fried by this point, lol. Let’s just say the negotiation goes well, peace is restored, Jaylen and Vivert go back to her ship, and ND-5 and Vivert find Madel Nureth. ND-5 ends up killing Nureth, because she knows who Jaylen is. Even now, ND-5 is protecting Jaylen, and he doesn’t even have the restraining bolt on (can’t remember why, lol). But Nureth had unlocked some files in ND-5 that neither Jaylen nor ND-5 had access to, and these files revealed who it was that had ordered Nureth to send ND to kill the Barshas. And it turns out the perpetrator was…(drumroll, please!)–

Sliro.

Big surprise. I already knew this from watching some of the Outlaws story game play, but I didn’t mind knowing. Even if I didn’t, it’s pretty darn obvious throughout the book who sent ND-5. And Jaylen, smart in so many ways, never suspected. It throws him for a loop. Jaylen Vrax decides to seek vengeance for Jaylen Barsha, and to use his new underworld status to help him in that. And to keep lying to ND-5, about the restraining bolt, and his programming. Even though Nureth told ND that Jaylen was lying to him, the droid refused to believe it.

And so that’s where they are at the start of the Outlaws game, where Kay Vess gets involved with Jaylen’s schemes to destroy Sliro. Kay becomes very fond of ND, and in the end, after Jaylen kills Sliro, she removes the restraining bolt so ND can finally kill Jaylen–not out of programming, but because he wants to be free of him. There’s an epilogue in the book, showing ND with Kay and her little friend Nix on board her ship (their ship, I guess), and everyone’s happy. ND has found a family, of sorts, and can make his own decisions and be his own person.

So, I liked the book, despite being a little confused at times. I liked the cameos by Fennec, Q’ira, and Mill. I like ND-5. Jaylen is more complicated. Like ND, he needs to reinvent himself, learn and adapt after his original purpose is taken away from him. But unlike ND, those pesky human emotions get in the way. He’s traumatized by his family’s slaughter, naturally. He’s stuck with the droid that did the deed, and no matter how much ND proves his loyalty, Jaylen can’t let go of his need for control. One could argue that ND-5 is “only a droid,” but I think we Star Wars fans know better than that.

My rating: Three out of Five Lightsabers

A Peek At My Star Wars Shelves

I promised in my last post that I’d share some pics of my Star Wars shelves, probably as an addition to my usual Entertainment Update. But this seemed worthy of its own post, so let me introduce you to my most prized possessions, lol.

So here are my two Star Wars shelves. The tall one contains all the canon books and references, and the smaller one is my Legends shelf. (The shelf to the right of that is my husband’s shelf of marbles, dice, old bottles, and other shiny, fun little ephemera that he fancies).

So here’s the top of the canon shelf, which contains almost all of the High Republic novels (adult and YA). Trials of the Jedi, the last book, I had to put on the next shelf down. I put my Acolyte Funkos of Yord, Sol, and Osha here. Though they’re not in these books, they’re a part of the later High Republic as seen in The Acolyte. I love my “life-size” Grogu; the little diorama is something my husband found for me at a flea market. A thrift shop framed photo tops it off.

The second and third canon shelf. Most of the paperbacks are in chronological order, and the hardcovers are new ones mostly shelved in release order (but not always, lol). It’s getting to the point where they go wherever I can find room. I love my Cassian and Wrecker figures; Cassian is near Rogue One books, and Wrecker is where I could fit him. I have Cal Kestis near the Battle Scars book, and if you look closely, you’ll see a tiny Padme figure next to the Queen books. The Luke with Grogu Funko is just adorable.

Fourth and fifth canon shelf. The fourth has odds and ends, like short story collections, Ian Droescher’s Shakespeare collection (the original trilogy), Carrie Fisher’s The Princess Diarist, journals, cards and games, and canon books I have yet to read (Thrawn, Ronin, Tarkin, etc). Good place for my Rey Funko, and beloved Hello There Obi-Wan. The bottom shelf has magazines (SW Insider as well as others), comics, and reference books. Grogu is everywhere, of course, and I love my Rey figure with BB-8.

This shelf is newer, since I started my Legends Reading Challenge. I get the books as I come across them or when I get to the book to read, so most of these aren’t read yet. I’m still in the Old Republic phase, but getting close to finishing that one. One mug contains some SW Topps cards I’ve come across, and the other holds SW bookmarks. And naturally lots of little Grogu knicky-knackies.

Bottom two of Legends shelves. Some YA or middle grade Legends books, some different-sized Clone Wars books, and an Essential Legends of Shatterpoint (The Essential Legends are gorgeous, but I’m going to stick with the original release covers from now on). And all the rest of my figures and knick-knacks. I love my big BB-8, and the Obi-Wan figure from his show. Also Cloud City Han and Leia figures in the back my husband got me. And a big, BIG Mando, lol.

And that’s it so far. 🙂 These shelves will continue to grow and become stuffed with each new book, and I’ll probably have to find a place for the figures and Funkos. I’ve stopped getting the toys for the that reason–I just don’t have the room, and I’d rather save it for the books.

Share your Star Wars shelfies if you have them, I’d love to see them!

Star Wars Legends Reading Challenge: Annihilation

Hello friends, and welcome to the latest installment of my Legends Reading Challenge. We’re still in the Old Republic (and will be for a bit), and this time it’s Drew Karpyshyn’s Annihilation. Let’s get into it!

This one stars Theron Shan, the son of Grand Master Jedi Satele Shan (descendant of Revan and Bastila Shan). Except Satele gave him up at birth, to be raised by her former master, Ngani Zho. Satele, besides breaking the Jedi code of no attachments, knew that having a child would distract her from her job as a Jedi fighting for the Republic against the Sith Empire. Theron knew who his mother was, and understood why she gave him up, but they never had contact with each other or had a relationship of any kind. He never knew his father, and Ngani Zho was all the father he ever needed. Turns out, though, Theron didn’t have an affinity for the Force, so instead of going to the Temple, he trained as a spy for the Republic. And he’s very good at his job.

The Sith Empire seems to be flagging in the war with the Republic, but a ship called the Ascendant Spear is a huge threat. It belongs to the Sith Lord Darth Karrid, who can plug into the ship itself through portals surgically implanted into her brain, making it extremely dangerous to the Republic cause. The Supreme Commander of the Republic Forces, Jace Malcom, wants this ship destroyed and decides to send Theron, along with Jedi Master Gnost-Dural, on a mission to destroy it. Gnost-Dural was Darth Karrid’s master before she fell to the dark side. They come up with a plan, but not before Jace has a stunning realization: Theron is most likely his son. He and Satele had had a relationship decades ago during the war, and Satele never told him she was pregnant. And Theron doesn’t know, either. Before the mission, Jace tells Theron he’s probably his father, and Theron isn’t exactly thrilled with the revelation. Ngani Zho was his father, the only father he ever knew or needed. Jace’s revelation is unsettling, to say the least.

Anyway, Theron and Gnost-Dural must execute a rather complicated plan: they need to steal a black cipher from the Empire’s Minister of Logistics, which will allow them to listen in on Imperial transmissions to find out where the Ascendant Spear will be docked; but they can’t know it was stolen, or they’ll change the encryption codes and it will be worthless. So they have to break into the Minister’s Office, steal the cipher, replace it with a broken one they have, and then blow up the building so everything will be so damaged they won’t know the cipher was replaced by a damaged one. Got that?

Of course things don’t go exactly according to plan, but they manage to get the job done with only a few injuries. They go back to Coruscant, and through the cipher find out the Spear will be docked at Reaver Station. They need a way onto the station to get to the ship, which they intend to sneak on board and plant a virus that will incapacitate it. They enlist the help of Teff’ith, a young Twilek woman that Theron sees as a kind of younger sister and feels responsible for (they had some adventures together in a video game–I think? Or comics?–and Ngani Zho died protecting her). She does not appreciate Theron’s help and really wants nothing to do with him, however. But she’s part of the Tion Brotherhood, a criminal gang that can get them ship codes, uniforms, and a way onto Reaver Station, so they make a deal.

After some trouble, they get on board and Gnost-Dural goes to face his former Padawan. His plan is to get her to send the Spear to the planet Duro, which is going to be attacked by the Empire. Theron had sent Teff’ith to Coruscant to ask his mother, Satele, for help–if she can convince Jace to send a Republic fleet, they can save Duro and take down the Spear at the same time. Gnost-Dural fights Darth Karrid’s two apprentices and then her for a time, but gets captured. But it’s all part of his plan, even the torture he endures at her hands.

Meanwhile, Theron finds a way on board and gets to the engine room, where he connects to the ship’s systems through his cybernetic implants (I forgot to mention those, lol) to try to find a way to plant the virus. But then he figures out he can’t plant a virus, as Karrid connected to the ship would know instantly and destroy it. So he decides that when (if) they get to Duro, he’ll just sabotage several systems like weapons, communications, etc, on the fly to give the Fleet a chance to destroy it. If they get to Duro.

Gnost-Dural has gone through some horrendous torture, but manages to manipulate Karrid into going to Duro. Once there, the battle ensues, and Theron causes some trouble for Karrid once she’s plugged in. He also releases Gnost-Dural from his prison, and the Jedi makes his way to Karrid’s chamber. Theron leaves the engine room and they meet up; Gnost-Dural fights Karrid’s apprentices while Theron tries to get into Karrid’s sealed chamber. By this time, the Fleet has dealt fatal blows to the Spear and the ship is failing; the apprentices flee to escape pods and Karrid is blown up inside her chamber. Theron and the Jedi find an escape pod and get out of there, to be picked up by Jace–along with Satele and Teff’ith–on his Republic ship.

We leave with Theron softening a bit on Jace, and maybe–eventually–Satele.

I enjoyed this book–I liked the characters, there was a good balance of action and character development, and the pacing was good, moving right along its 350 or so pages. I really thought I’d have to slog through these Old Republic novels, but so far they’ve been pretty good. I give “Annihilation”:

3.5 lightsabers out of 5.

Up next is “Knight Errant,” by John Jackson Miller. I tend to like his Star Wars novels, so I’m looking forward to it. (According to my list, “Lost Tribes of the Sith” is the next book, but I’m not feeling it right now, lol. I think I’ll save this one for last in the Old Republic category.)

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for October 2025

Hello friends! Lots of things to cover this past month, so let’s get started.

If you missed the past two reviews of my Legends Reading Challenge, here are the links: Deceived, and Red Harvest.

The Final Order, by Kwame Mbalia. I’ve been really looking forward to this book, as I’ve been extremely eager for some post-sequel trilogy stories. In fact, we sequel fans have been starved for stories, and we kept waiting and waiting and waiting…

Well, this book ain’t that.

Not exactly, anyway. It begins mere days after the Battle of Exegol with a young man named Coy, who’d been part of the Citizen’s Fleet. His family grows tea on his home planet, and he was pretty damn well terrified at the battle. But he made it and is proud he took part. He was ready to go home…until a ship arrived full of refugee kids from the First Order, and Finn and Jannah need a ride to find a vicious FO officer named Major Grohl. So Coy finds himself on another adventure.

But the bulk of the book is alternating chapters between Finn and Jannah, flashbacks to their time as stormtroopers. Like, 95% of the book. Which was disappointing. Sure, we get to see Jannah and her troops refuse to fire on civilians on Ansette Island–at the very end of the book. And the whole story of how they got to that point. As well as Finn’s entanglements with Major Grohl. But did I really need these stories? No, not really. Nope.

That’s not to say it’s a bad book. The author did a fine job with what he was given and allowed to write about. But it wasn’t what I expected or wanted, and I’m being grumpy about it, lol. I feel like Lucasfilm/Disney is holding back on sequel-era stories, while The Rise of Skywalker came out six freaking years ago! We’ve gotten plenty of “leading up to” stories, and “between this movie and that movie” stories, but nothing after. It’s frustrating. And yes, the Rey movie, blah blah blah, but who knows if that will even come out? (I hope so). And yes, Starfighter takes place after the sequels, and I’m eager to see what might be going on. But damn, give us some books or comics with Rey, Finn, Poe, etc. after TROS. Please???

Anyway, rant over. The book was fine, and if you want to know more about Finn and Jannah’s experiences as stormtroopers, this is your book; if you’re looking for new, uncharted material, you’ll have to wait.

Comics:

Han Solo: Hunt for the Falcon #2. Han and Chewie continue their search for the Falcon, this time running into the Irving Boys. The only thing I find particularly interesting about these comics are the personal moments, the character-driven moments, Han’s memories of his family, etc. At the beginning of this one, Leia is speaking to Chewie via hologram and warns him not to let Han drag him into one of his schemes. To go back to his family. Also, Han has a memory of himself and Leia with little Ben on the Falcon, and Ben is so excited to be at the controls with his old man. Damn. I imagine the next two issues will involve Unkar Plutt, the Guavian Death Gang and/or Kanjiklub. Stay tuned.

Legacy of Vader #9. Tava Ren fights Kylo Ren, then they have dinner, a little conversation, she kisses him, he recoils and attacks her, she escapes his ship, and though he could shoot her ship down, he lets her go. In a nutshell, lol. Tava fights Kylo, teases him, provokes him, infuriates him. I’m still not sure why she even went there, to be honest. To serve him was a lie, and she admits that. She tells him he misses the freedom of the Knights of Ren, that with the First Order he’s in a cage. She definitely strikes a nerve, but I’m not sure if we’ll see her again or what her end game is. Stay tuned.

Visions 1 & 2 rewatch. With Season 3 of Visions dropping on October 29th, I thought I’d rewatch Seasons 1 & 2. There’s only a few episodes that don’t really resonate with me, but for the most part I love this series. My favorites are “The Duel,” “The Ninth Jedi,” and “The Elder,” from Season 1; almost all the episodes from Season 2 are fantastic but I particularly love “Sith,” “The Bandits of Golak,” and “The Pit.” I can’t wait to see what we get in Season 3–there are sequel episodes to “The Ninth Jedi” (and a series in the works, I hear), and “The Bride.” I love it all so much!

(I’ve since watched S3 and will discuss it a bit more in my next Update).

Book news:

Ooh, new book news! I love that we’re getting some more sequel novels; along with The Last Order (see above), we’re getting this one with Leia and Rey between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Can’t wait! Here’s the blurb:

STAR WARS: LEGACY

By Madeleine Roux

On Sale Date: July 28, 2026

Set between Episodes VIII and IX, Rey and Leia embark on a quest to repair Rey’s lightsaber and rekindle the legacy of the Jedi.

After barely escaping the First Order on Crait, Rey and the Resistance are struggling to rebuild. Her friends need the last Jedi more than ever, but Rey feels alone and overwhelmed. Jedi tradition is built on masters and apprentices, and Rey’s teacher is gone. Leia Organa tries her best to train Rey in the ways of the Force as Luke did for her so many years ago, but Leia’s knowledge is limited, Rey’s lightsaber is broken, and the specter of Kylo Ren and regrets from the past haunt them both. How can Leia pass the torch when she herself is unsure of the way?
But then, the ancient Jedi texts offer a glimmer of hope: a long-forgotten Jedi temple on Tython that might hold the key to repairing Rey’s saber. Rey leaps at the chance to journey there — and to her surprise, so does Leia.
Rey and Leia’s nascent mentorship is put to the test when they discover the temple on Tython is filled with obscure clues to decipher and arcane trials to complete. As they work to unravel the temple’s mysteries, they encounter a group of refugees living in its shadow, hiding from a First Order officer hot on the trail of two freedom fighters in their midst. With the threat of the First Order looming and the secrets of the temple yet to be unlocked, the newly forged master and apprentice must confront their pasts, reach each other in the present, and decide what it means to carry the legacy of the Jedi into the future.

Again, an “in-between” story, but I’ll take it, because I still would like some more insight into Rey and Leia’s relationship.

Eyes Like Stars, by Ashley Poston. There’s always been romance in Star Wars, with some books focusing on it more than others, but this one is being touted as the first “romance novel” in Star Wars. It’s a young adult novel, which makes sense, and I’ll probably read it out of curiosity. It’s also during the sequel era, which is a plus. I’m kind of hoping it leads to more romance novels featuring more familiar characters (Obi-Wan and Satine, anyone? We’re waiting, Disney/Lucasfilm!), but we’ll see. Here’s a little blurb:

What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Legends Reading Challenge: Deceived

Hello friends, the Legends Reading Challenge continues with…

(As always–SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived, by Paul S. Kemp. You know, I really thought I’d have to slog through the Old Republic books, but they’ve been surprisingly good. This one, especially, I thought was quite good, as it had interesting, complex characters that had to make difficult decisions.

There are three interweaving plotlines in Deceived. One is of Darth Malgus, who, at the beginning of the book, leads the assault on Coruscant and destroys the Jedi Temple. At his side is Eleena, a lovely lavender Twi’lek, a former slave that Malgus had taken pity on and rescued. Now she is is his constant companion, lover, and stand-in-conscience, and is absolutely devoted to him. During the assault, Malgus defeats Master Zallow, a Jedi Master, and the Sith force kill all the Jedi in the Temple.

Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Aryn Leneer is on Alderaan with a Jedi delegation meeting with the Sith for a peace treaty. It doesn’t sit well with Aryn, as she had recently fought the Sith on Alderaan. When her former Master, Master Zallow, is killed by Malgus, she feels his death and is devastated. Once Coruscant is taken, the Republic has no choice but to acquiesce to the Sith’s demands. Aryn is furious that they are capitulating, but the Jedi and the Republic really have no choice. Aryn decides that she will leave the Order and pursue vengeance for her master’s death.

The third story involves a former Republic commando named Zeerid, who is now running spice for a criminal syndicate called The Exchange. He is only doing it for the money to take care of his daughter, Arra, who had been in an accident that killed her mother and left her with no legs. Zeerid wants to give his daughter a better life, and is now in debt to The Exchange and feels there is no way out. His boss wants him to deliver engspice (a highly addictive form of spice) to Coruscant, which has been shut down by the Sith. At the same time, a rival operative employed by the Hutts called Vrath Xizor is trying to stop the shipment, either by destroying the spice, or killing Zeerid.

Darth Malgus and Eleena Daru, by Aleksandra Skiba.

These characters will all come together and collide during the course of the story. Aryn, who had fought beside Zeerid before and considers him a friend (and perhaps a little bit more), seeks him out to help her get into Coruscant, and he happens to be going there. Vrath tells Malgus about Aryn, and Malgus figures out that Zallow was her master and she’s probably looking for him. So he goes to her.

I love these characters because they’re all wrestling with some form of internal conflict. Malgus, who is furious that the Sith are seeking peace when he wants war, knows he has a weakness: Eleena. He loves her, and that makes him vulnerable, particularly to other Sith lords like Darth Angral and Lord Adraas, who use the idea of Eleena to undermine him. Aryn obviously has left behind the Order to seek vengeance for her master’s death; she chooses to do this without too much doubt, but realizes that when she seeks to hurt him through Eleena that perhaps she’s gone too far. And Zeerid hates himself for dealing in spice, but feels he has no other choice in order to help his daughter; he later kills Vrath in order to protect her, and must live with the idea of being a murderer.

There are some great lightsaber duels and fight scenes, and I like that the plot remains fairly simple but interesting nonetheless. The characterizations and personal stakes involved are enough to keep me invested. Particularly at the end, when Darth Malgus defeats Aryn in battle but lets her go for sparing Eleena; he then turns around and kills Eleena after admitting to her that he loves her. He recognizes that she is his weakness, and he mustn’t be weak or vulnerable in any way. It’s tragic and so very Sith-like, lol. So Malgus lives, but Aryn keeps her soul and goes to live with Zeerid and Arra on Dantooine.

My only gripe is that there are too many names that begin with the letter A: Arra, Angral, Adraas, and Aryn. Whyyyyyy, Paul S. Kemp????

Rating: I’m going to give this one 4.5 out of 5 lightsabers (not sure what half a lightsaber looks like–the hilt or the blade? Or split down the length? Lol.) I really liked this one, but I need to read more Legends to get to know what a 5-star book looks like (I’ve heard great things about the Bane trilogy, so we’ll see).

Up next is Red Harvest, by Joe Schrieber. Just in time for Halloween: zombies!

Star Wars Legends Reading Challenge: Revan

Hello friends! Welcome to book #2 in my Legends Reading Challenge: Revan, by Drew Karpyshyn, published in 2012. It’s been out for quite a while, so there are SPOILERS ahead!!! (And it’s kind of long, lol). By the way, I’m getting the chronological order of the books from a list on Youtini.com.

So Revan is a character from the Knights of the Old Republic video game, and the events of this book occur between in the middle of Revan’s video game story arc. As I’ve said here before, I’m not a gamer, so I felt I had to do some research before I began this book. Youtube to the rescue!

This is what I gathered from my “Revan’s Story” research (very basically): Revan was a very gifted Jedi, strong in the Force, who did not agree with the Jedi Council’s stance on staying out of the Mandalorian conquest of the Outer Rim worlds. He gathered some loyal Jedi who followed him to fight the Mandalorians, including his close friend Malak. At one point during the war, Revan found a Mandalorian mask and put it on, vowing to never take it off until the Mandalorians were defeated. After besting Mandalore the Ultimate in one-on-one combat, the Mandalore revealed that it was a Sith who pushed them to go to war with the Republic, so Revan and Malak went in search of this Sith on the planet Dromund Kaas. It was the Sith Emperor Vitiate, who, when Revan and Malak confronted him, twisted their will to the dark side and sent them out to make war against the Republic.

Now Darth Revan and Darth Malak, they did just that; the Jedi Council decided they had no choice but to fight back and sent Jedi Knights to oppose them, led by Bastila Shan. At this point, Malak had challenged Revan (as Sith do) but Revan won the battle by shearing off Malak’s jaw (oof). Anyway, Bastila confronts Revan, but there’s an explosion and he’s injured. She instinctively tries to save Revan, bringing him back to the Council. They decide to wipe his memory and retrain him as a Jedi. He and Bastila then go back out to defeat Malak, and the two Jedi fall in love, though they both try to ignore their feelings. Malak manages to capture Bastila and turn her to the dark side. After much trial and tribulation, Revan defeats Malak, turns Bastila back to the light, they declare their love for one another and go back to Coruscant to live together. This is a very trimmed down synopsis, and I may have gotten some things mixed up, lol. But it was enough background for me to know in order to start the book, which begins with Revan and Bastila on Coruscant.

Revan is having vivid dreams and nightmares, mostly about a dark, lightning-filled world. He believes it’s some of his memories coming back and is convinced that there’s still something out there that threatens the Republic. We know that it’s the Sith Emperor Vitiate on Dromund Kaas, but Revan has no idea what these dreams mean, only that he is compelled to do something about it.

He decides to talk to his old Mandalorian friend Canderous Ordo. He and Canderous were enemies during the Mandalorian Wars; when the Mandalorians were defeated and the clans scattered, Canderous became a mercenary. Revan meets him during this time, and they work together during the Jedi Civil War to defeat Malak. Anyway, he asks Canderous for help, seeking any information on what he, Revan, had said or done when Canderous knew him. Canderous asks around among his Mandalorian contacts and finds out the clans have been searching for Mandalore the Ultimate’s mask in order to reunite and possibly move against the Republic. Revan had told him he had taken Mandalore’s mask and he and Malak had hidden it somewhere to prevent the clans from reuniting. It was after that he and Malak went to the Unknown Regions and came back as Darth Revan and Dark Malak.

Revan believes that finding Mandalore’s mask might help him discover why they went to the Unknown Regions and what happened there. Canderous says that the Mandalorian clans are looking for the mask on the planet Rekkiad. Revan decides he needs to go and find out what his dark dreams mean. When he tells Bastila, she gives him her own news: she’s pregnant with his child. She understandably must stay on Coruscant, and neither of them know if they’ll ever see each other again (spoiler: they don’t). Even so, Revan leaves with Canderous and his loyal droid, T3-M4.

Meanwhile, on Dromund Kaas, we meet Lord Scourge, a Dark Lord of the Sith who arrives to serve Darth Nyriss, a member of the Dark Council. Scourge, like Nyriss and many on the Dark Council, are of the Sith species, red-skinned and strong with the dark side. Scourge is ambitious, as all Sith Lords are, and hopes his service with Nyriss will one day lead him closer to the Dark Council. However, he becomes enmeshed in the entangled machinations of Nyriss, who tests Scourge’s abilities, loyalty, and motivations. It turns out that Nyriss and others on the Council believe the Emperor is mad and will bring the galaxy to eventual annihilation. To convince Scourge of this and recruit his help, she tells the history of Vitiate and what he’s done. He’s lived for over one thousand years; his immortality stems from what he did to his home world, Nathema–through a Sith ritual, he drained the entire planet of life and Force energy, every living being and plant reduced to dead ash (this reminds me of the Blight in the High Republic novels–a deadness that spreads across planets, in which the Force itself is absent). Nyriss decides to take Scourge to Nathema so he can experience it himself and convince him the Emperor must be stopped.

Meanwhile, Revan and Canderous meet up with the Ordo clan on Rekkiad (who are led by Canderous’ wife, Leera). Revan and Canderous find the mask at the top of an ice tower, but Leera has figured out that he’s their old enemy Revan and turns on them. Leera and her team are killed, and Revan gives the mask to Canderous to lead the Mandalorians as Mandalore the Preserver. But seeing the mask unlocks some more memories of Revan’s, which also leads him to Nathema.

Scourge, after being on Nathema for a short time and experiencing the total loss of the Force, agrees that the Emperor is mad and must be stopped. He and Nyriss leave the planet, but before they leave the system they detect Revan entering it and crash-landing on the planet. They take him prisoner, leaving T3 behind.

Revan is their prisoner for three years. They get all the information they can out of him, but don’t really have a use for him. What’s interesting is that Scourge becomes interested in Revan. Revan is drugged most of the time to keep his Force abilities at bay, but Scourge will often visit him to have conversations with the Jedi. He knows Revan has mastered both the Light and Dark sides of the Force, which fascinates him. He wants to know about Force visions, which Revan has had (and which darksiders rarely have, apparently). Revan makes use of Scourge’s interest, attempting to plant the idea of Scourge freeing Revan so they can work together to take down the Emperor, a common goal for both of them. Scourge is getting impatient with Nyriss and the rest of the Dark Council, who clearly aren’t going to make a move against the Emperor out of an abundance of caution and fear.

In the meantime, T3 has gotten himself off of Nathema and found Meetra, a Jedi known as the Exile. She’s got a whole backstory of her own (which I learned about on Youtube, but won’t get into here), but basically, she worked with Revan during the Mandalorian Wars and now wants to find him. Meetra goes to Bastila with T3; Bastila gives Meetra two things: a holovid of herself and Vaner–her and Revan’s 3-year-old son–and Revan’s old Mandalorian mask.

Meetra and T3 go to Nathema, where T3 extracts information from the dead city about Dromund Kaas, where they head next. Meetra eventually meets up with Scourge, and they come up with a plan to free Revan so they can work together to defeat the Emperor. Of course, things go terribly wrong.

Scourge, who has had an actual Force vision of seeing Meetra and Revan dead at the Emperor’s feet, starts to have doubts. Unlike the Jedi, he’s unwilling to sacrifice himself for the cause (although he’s willing to sacrifice others). When the battle with the Emperor goes badly, he makes his decision and betrays the Jedi, killing Meetra and showing Vitiate he’s willing to kill Revan. He tells himself he will continue to undermine the Emperor and take him out when the time is right, so their deaths are acceptable. He lies to the Emperor to save his own skin.

However, the Emperor has another use for Revan–he keeps him in stasis indefinitely, feeding off of his lifeforce. During this time, the Force ghost of Meetra stays by his side, giving him strength.

Scourge is rewarded by Vitiate with immortality and the title of “Emperor’s Wrath.” The ritual to achieve this is extremely painful, and to Scourge’s dismay, he finds out after the ritual that the pain never ends. He’ll just eventually “accept” it and become numb to any emotions, which runs counter to his plans–as a Sith Lord, he counts on his anger and hate, as well as that of his enemies, to fuel his power, a power he had hoped would increase over time so he could defeat the Emperor. Ah well, make a deal with the devil, and you get what you deserve.

The epilogue shows Bastila, an old woman fifty years later, talking with her son and grandchildren. Vaner has not inherited force-sensitivity and got into politics instead, helping to rebuild the hurting Republic. Bastila misses Revan, but believes he achieved his mission, as there has been no threat to the Republic since he left.

It’s very sad, and I’m glad she doesn’t know the truth–that Revan is alive and being held by Vitiate and will be for the next TWO HUNDRED FIFTY YEARS. Revan’s story isn’t over, and I assume the next game tells it–that eventually Revan is freed from his prison and splits into two beings: the “good” Jedi part that becomes a Force ghost (I think?) and a living being that is all dark-side revenge against the Emperor. Say what you want about Legends, it’s over-the-top nuts! But in a fun way, lol.

Despite not having played the game, I enjoyed this book. I liked Revan and his story, but he’s kind of larger-than-life, which makes sense–he’s a mythical figure to the Jedi. Surprisingly, I found Scourge to be the most interesting character. He’s bad, no doubt about it, but he’s complex, too. Ambitious, brutal, but understands the existential threat of Vitiate and willing to work with the Jedi to defeat him. But only to a point. Sith like absolutes–Scourge wants to know that they will definitely win if they go up against the Emperor. Revan tells him they must have faith in the Force and do their best–and be willing to sacrifice their lives for it. This doesn’t satisfy Scourge, lol. The Force vision he has (which he thought he wanted) doesn’t help. He doesn’t know how to interpret it, and it makes him skittish. That doubt seals his fate–once the battle goes downhill, he decides to save himself, rationalizing that at least one of them will live to continue the battle. But he only gets eternal pain as a result, which–duh, dark side.

Rating: 4 out of 5 lightsabers.

Anway, a cool book, and I’m really starting to get into this Old Republic stuff. Onward to Darth Malgus in The Old Republic: Deceived.

Star Wars Legends Reading Challenge-Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void

Hello friends, and welcome to the first post of my Legends Reading Challenge. The first book in timeline Order is Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, by Tim Lebbon. It was published in May of 2013, and ties into a collection of comics called Dawn of the Jedi. (I’m only reading the adult novels, and not any comics or junior novels, etc).

Into the Void takes place about 25,000 years BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). It has date references such as 3,500 TYA, 7,537 TYA, 10,661 TYA, etc., with chapters starting with a quote from some Master. TYA stand for “Tho Yor Arrival,” which refers to eight ships that arrived in the Tython system long ago, from a mysterious, far away system, and which held Force-sensitive beings. They began the settlement on Tython and eventually became the Jed’aii Order. These ancient Jedi strove to find a balance between Ashla (the Light) and Bogan (the Dark).

I had to look up a few of these things on Wookieepedia, as I didn’t know much about this time period and the book doesn’t exactly spell it out. I have a feeling the comics delved much deeper into the ancient lore. This book tells the story of a particular Jed’aii, Lanoree Brock, that lived about 10,000 years after the Tho Yor appeared. She is a Ranger, akin to a Jedi Knight’s role and responsibilities, travelling the system and helping out in whatever way she can. There is no hyperspace travel at this point, so they’re contained to the Tython system.

Lanoree is called back to Tython to speak with the Jed’aii Council concerning a new mission. They’re concerned about a cult called the Stargazers, who have developed a device that, if detonated near a supposed “hypergate,” will either cause a hyperspace gateway to open up, or cause a black hole that will swallow the entire system. They want Lanoree to find this group and stop them. The twist is that the leader of this group is Dalien Brock, Lanoree’s brother, who has long been thought dead.

The book flips back and forth between the present and the past; it tells of Lanoree and Dal’s relationship and childhood. Their parents are both Jed’aii, and Lanoree has a strong connection to the Force. Everyone expects Dal to have that connection as well, but…he doesn’t. This seems to be something they can’t accept, as they believe he’ll eventually “allow the Force in,” as if he’s actively pushing it away. This kind of confused me–is he Force-sensitive or not? Because if you’re Force-sensitive, why would you actively reject it? Dal seems to hate the Force and everything about it, but I assume it’s because he can’t access it. His parents and sibling don’t seem to accept this and keep encouraging him to continue with his studies. He and Lanoree travel across Tython on their “Great Journey” to different temples where they study different aspects of the Force. Each time, Dal fails miserably. Is it any wonder he becomes bitter and hateful? They keep expecting him to do this thing he cannot do.

Anyway, Dal becomes obsessed with the ancient myth of their ancestors, who they were and where they came from, and is determined to somehow get back there. He finally murders a Jed’aii student and flees to the Old City, which is a ruin built by an ancient race, the Gree. Not much is known about them, but Dal believes there is a hypergate deep in the bowels of the City. Lanoree follows him, hears him scream, and finds his bloodied clothing. Everyone assumes he’s dead.

In the present, it seems her brother is definitely not dead, and Lanoree is instructed to find him and stop him–kill him, if she must. With the help of a Twi’lek Jed’aii contact named Tre Sana, she follows a trail from Khalimar to Nox to Sunspot, playing a game of cat and mouse with Dal, who she believes has gone completely mad. Twice he tries to kill her, and twice she survives. She finally catches up to him back on Tython as he brings his device to the Old City and very nearly initiates the device before Lanoree kills him.

An artist rendering (Albert Umanov) of Greenwood Station on the planet Nox.

It took me a bit to get into the book, but once it got going, it was fine. I found the Jed’aii Order interesting, especially the temples the young learners had to visit on their “Great Journey” to finish their training. Tython itself is described as a planet strong in the Force, and it seems only Force-sensitives can manage to live on the planet. Their code wasn’t as solidified as we see in the later Jedi; these Jed’aii strive for balance between the Light and the Dark. I can see where some fans got the idea for the “Gray Jedi” in this story.

Lanoree herself, though she doesn’t relish killing, separates quite a few heads from bodies in this story, if it serves her mission (with a metal sword; there were no lightsabers yet). She also studied and had a proficiency in Alchemy, a “manipulation of the flesh through use of the Force,” which I thought very weird, to say the least, lol. She conducted experiments on her ship, the Peacemaker, in which she grew living tissue from her own cells, and which she used to heal herself when Dal shot her in the chest at point-blank range. She was always trying to balance the influence of Bogan (the Dark) when she felt pride and power from her accomplishments. She was also tempted to try Dal’s device herself after he was dead, to see what would happen. Just for a minute.

This was a fairly entertaining book, and I learned a lot of Legends Lore about the early incarnation of the Jedi, a good start to my Legends Reading Challenge.

Three out of Five Lightsabers

Up next: The Old Republic: Revan

Star Wars Legends Challenge

I love Star Wars in any form: movies, live-action shows, animated series, some comics and manga, and of course, the books! I favor “canon” books–the ones that have come out since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2015 and is supposedly what “really” happened in a galaxy far, far away.

Everything that came before that–all the books, comics, games, etc., usually referred to as the Extended Universe, or EU–got relegated to what is now called “Legends.” A lot of EU fans were furious, believing that everything they loved and knew as Star Wars had been thrown into the trash bin. I get that, but as I’d never been a huge EU fan, it was far less painful for me. I tend to see the EU as an AU, or alternate universe, of Star Wars. A different way things could have gone for our characters. Whether people like one or the other better shouldn’t matter, and we certainly shouldn’t be at each other’s throats about it. And Disney Star Wars has borrowed a lot from Legends, if you pay attention.

As a fan of anything Star Wars–seriously, there’s not much I don’t like–I feel I have room in my heart for both canon and Legends. I’ve simply concentrated on canon, sprinkling in Legends here and there that caught my interest. There are still plenty of canon books I haven’t read yet that I intend to someday (looking at you, Thrawn and Alphabet Squadron), and I will always read upcoming publications; but I’ve decided to turn my attention to Legends and read them in a more consistent fashion.

I’ve been reading Dawn of the Jedi by Tim Lebbon, which happens to be the first Legends read in timeline order. I thought, well, why not keep going? It’s time for a Star Wars challenge, and I’ve always had the intention of reading all the Legends books “someday” (that’s about 160 adult novels). Why not now?

So here’s my challenge to myself: one Legends book per month (on average), in timeline order. This is on top of any canon book I may be reading, and any non-Star Wars book. I think I’ll do separate posts on the Legends, outside of my monthly update.

This is a lot of freaking books, lol. I can do this!

I’ve printed out a list of Legends in timeline order from Youtini.com, which is a great resource for Star Wars books. I already own a few, as I often pick them up as I come across them at used bookstores. I’d like to get all physical copies and have a complete collection at the end of this–which will take some time! It’s a little daunting and long-term, and I worry about getting through the Old Republic novels, as I’m not a gamer and not familiar with these characters. But I’m determined, lol. Revan and Bane, here I come!

I’m sure I will love some, and hate some, but it will be an interesting experience. Stay tuned for the first Legends Challenge post!

Do you prefer canon or Legends? Or both? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for August 2025

Hello friends! I hope everyone is doing well and had a great summer. I’ve been busy getting my daughter ready to go back to school (I can’t believe she’s 16!) but as always, I find time for my entertainments.

The Crystal Crown, by Tessa Gratton. This is a Young Adult novel that centers around two Jedi from The Acolyte–Padawans Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar (Yord had become a Jedi Knight by the time of the show) and takes place not long before the events of the show.

At the beginning of the book, the two Jedi don’t get along very well. They don’t actually dislike each other, they just grate on each other’s nerves because they’re so different. Jecki is a bit younger, likes to challenge herself, is friendly with an open mind, and is quite happy to be Master Sol’s Padawan for the time being. Yord, on the other hand, is a bit rigid, a stickler for rules, uncomfortable around other people, and is chomping at the bit to take his trials and become a Jedi Knight (his Master is a Pantoran woman named Elishe, who is very kind and free-spirited, someone who knows how to teach Yord what he needs to know). Jecki and Yord often butt heads and get exasperated with each other.

The Padawans and their Masters are sent to the planet Silene, in part to make amends with its people over a previous Jedi who unwittingly slighted them. The Silinese wish to become a member of the Republic, and the mission is delicate and important to both sides. Everything about Siline is crystalized–the planet itself has many crystal formations, and its people have crystal-like horns and jewels on their faces and bodies; even their bones are made of crystal. They come in many hues, and I surmised that they’re very beautiful and striking. They are warriors, however, and have a warrior-like culture. Every year they hold a coming-of-age event called the Convocation, which is a series of challenges and tests, the winner of which receives the Crystal Crown. Outsiders may participate in the challenge, and the Padawans are invited to take part in it.

Jecki is very excited to participate, while Yord is reluctant and thinks it’s a waste of time. He agrees, however, as their Masters approve of the idea, and the mission seems to require it. They agree not to use their lightsabers or the Force during the Convocation. The challenge is in three parts: the first is a straightforward duel between participants with a Silinese traditional crystal sword; the second is a survival challenge, as the participants are dropped into the wild and must forage for food and water, and survive the attacks of its native creatures, which can be quite dangerous; and the third is the Hunt, in which participants must hunt and tag (but not kill) a particular, dangerous creature. The whole thing used to be to the death, but modern Silinese have downgraded it so no one (and no creature) dies, lol.

Jecki and Yord come to know a trio of young people who are taking part in the challenge: siblings Sitia, the eldest, and Rhos, who is gender-fluid; and Lionine Graf (yes, another young gender-neutral Graf, which seems to be a theme in Gratton’s books. Which is fine, I just find it hard to distinguish between them all and a little predictable). The Grafs have a notorious reputation in the High Republic, and Lio is no exception. They’re a human among the Silinese, has grown up here, and desperately wants to prove that they are one of them. How far they’re willing to go becomes the conflict of the book, and they cause problems, naturally.

Jecki and Yord do well in the challenge; Jecki is having a blast, while Yord is getting through it, lol. They also learn a lot about each other and come to have a respect, and dare I say, a fondness, for each other by the end. They’re not the best of friends, as evidenced by their relationship in the show, but they tolerate each other much better by then.

It’s a fun book, though not what I expected, really. It’s sort of like a Star Wars hunger games, or Survivor. I like these characters, but I kind of wished they were doing something else, lol. And it’s bittersweet, knowing their ultimate fate in the show, and that made me sad. 😦

Comics:

Shattered Empire. I found this omnibus in my local comic store. It takes place at the very end of Return of the Jedi, and the few months thereafter. Mostly, it centers around Poe Dameron’s parents, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron and the part each played at the Battle of Endor. In other issues, Shara helps Leia, along with the Queen of Naboo, when the Emperor’s Operation Cinder kicks in on that planet. She also helps Luke Skywalker retrieve a set of Uneti trees that are being hoarded by the Imperials (why they have them, I’m not sure). After all the dust is settled, Shara and Kes decide to settle on Yavin to raise their son, Poe. I enjoyed this one. I found another omnibus called Out Among the Stars but didn’t realize until later that it was issues 33-37 or some crazy thing. It’ll just stay on my shelf for now.

Hyperspace Stories: Codebreaker #3. Speaking of Poe Dameron, I’m continuing this current comic featuring him helping a Muun girl, Cheka, escape the First Order. They were using her as a codebreaker, and Poe wasn’t aware it was a girl rather than some machine, but now that he’s come to know her sad story, he rethinks bringing her back to the Resistance to work for them. He just wants her to be able to be a kid. I’m enjoying this comic, as I always find Poe entertaining and likeable.

Other books:

Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy. My book club decided to start up again, and we picked this book to read. It was one of my suggestions, as I like this author–I read Once There Were Wolves a few months ago and loved it. Her style seems to be rooted in writing about the natural world, with a traumatized woman with a secret or a dark past as the protagonist, lol. It works for me, though: the environment is a character in itself, and mirrors the violence and churning emotions of the characters in the story.

This one takes place on a remote island in the Antarctic, where a seed vault is protected by a group of researchers. The main protagonist, Rowan, washes up on shore, badly injured but alive, and a family finds her and nurses her back to health. The family consists of father Dominic Salt, daughter Fen, and sons Raff and Orly. Both Rowan and the Salts have their secrets, and it’s the slow unraveling of these secrets that lures you into the story and keeps you there.

That’s about it this month. I’ve been continuing my rewatch of Enterprise, as well as Lost, both of which are shows I loved more than twenty years ago, so I must be feeling nostalgic, lol. It’s funny, because the story I’ve dredged up to work on was begun by me about eighteen years ago (!!!) and was left unfinished in the archives to collect dust. But something brought me back and I’ve revived it, changed it around a bit, and have been slowly working on it these past few months. It’s been fun.

Anyway, what’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for July (& a bit of August) 2025

Hello friends! Hope your summer (or winter, depending on where you are) is going well. I’ve been busy working on a new writing project, so I decided I’m only going to blog in some detail about Star Wars entertainments for the time being and simply list the rest with a few lines (well, I’ll try, no promises!). Here we go!

(SPOILERS ahead!)

Star Wars Books:

Sanctuary, by Lamar Giles. You all know I’m a huge Bad Batch fan, so it’s no surprise that I was super-excited when I heard about this book. It’s finally here, and I read it in a day and half, lol (it’s fairly short at 328 pages and I dropped everything to read it).

It takes place in a very particular time-slot: just after Episode 13: Pabu from the second season. So no Crosshair or Echo, but with the added attraction of Tech still being there. I’m in.

If you remember, Pabu is the island planet Phee brings the Batch to in order to lay low after leaving Cid’s service; but while there, a devastating tsunami occurs. The community needs funds to rebuild, and in the book, Phee has come up with a few jobs that will help in that regard. One is procuring (ie, stealing) an expensive artifact from an auction put on by icky, rich criminals that they will then sell to a buyer, but it goes bad after Phee’s droid, Mel, screws up.

They get out with the artifact anyway and move on to the next job before going to the artifact’s buyer: picking up passengers on Mygeeto that want to get to Felucia. The woman they pick up is very pregnant and her companion’s face is covered by a mask. As fate would have it, the woman, Sohi, is wanted by an ISB agent named Crane who pursues them to the planet where the artifact buyer is. Turns out, the buyer, Cellia Moten, is a narcissistic murderer and they barely get away with their lives.

In the meantime, Crane has followed them there, and he’s after Sohi because she used to be a pupil of his in the spy game and they’d worked for the Separatists. She got away from him and wanted a different life, but he’s a bit obsessed and wants her back, calling her his “daughter.” He also wants her baby, his “granddaughter.” Turns out, Sohi’s masked companion is a clone named Ponder and the father of her baby (mystery solved! Clones CAN reproduce). After some trouble, they all get away and flee to Dallow, where Sohi gives birth and after some MORE trouble, escape both Crane and Moten.

So, the plot line here is fine, but I didn’t really care what it was, to be honest. All I wanted was to see the Batch in action again (which it delivered) and some character interaction and insight (which it also delivered). Every member of the Batch had their time to shine in this book, especially Hunter and Tech. Hunter was particularly intense, maybe a bit more than in the show, but his arc was to learn to let go of control, as well as to get more in touch with his feelings. I liked that we did get more of his special enhancement, which I felt was underused in the show. I also loved that Crosshair was mentioned, and that Hunter was personally struggling with his betrayal and absence. A dream sequence in which he talks with Crosshair is wonderful.

Tech was showcased mostly in his interactions with Phee, which I loved. I’m one of the people who loved their flirtation in the show, which was mostly on Phee’s side. But here, we got to go inside Tech’s head and see what he was thinking and how he actually felt about all that. And yes, it was slightly confusing for him, but he also had a growing affection for her. They had a really fun, sweet dynamic, and it just twisted the knife a little bit to know they’d never get to play it out fully. There was nothing too dramatic about it, just conversations, little touches, and them being totally unaware that time was short and that Tech would be gone in a matter of days or weeks. (I’m still not over it).

Wrecker had some wonderful moments, too, showing that he’s not just a big dumb muscle-guy. He’s got some good ideas, and he’s keenly in-tune with his team and has opinions on whether or not they should stay on Pabu. Omega is shown as the brilliant and capable kid she is, particularly with her medical skills that she garnered on Kamino with Nala Se. She remains the bright heart of the group, and her character didn’t really have an arc. She’s the optimistic Omega we’ve always known, and that’s okay.

The villains were fine, both of them crazy in their own way, but clearly dangerous. I felt like the book spent way too much time with them, frankly, but I understand wanting to flesh them out. Crane and Cellia wound up playing their own dangerous game with each other, which was kind of interesting, but also tedious, lol.

There was a lot going on in this book, but the author handled it all deftly; he knew the characters so well it was like watching an episode, but more, if you know what I mean. I loved it, and I really hope we get more Bad Batch novels in the future.

Star Wars Comics:

I don’t normally read comics, but every once in a while, I’ll check one out for a specific character that I’m interested in (like Obi-Wan Kenobi, for instance). Lately, there’s been a few that have piqued my interest:

Legacy of Vader, by Charles Soule (Marvel). This one’s about Kylo Ren and how he learns about his grandfather Darth Vader as told to him by Vader’s servant, Vane (pronounced “vanay”), as well as how Kylo goes about trying to “kill the past.” It’s seven issues in, and I’ve gotta say, it’s a little weird. I’ve always liked a bit more insight into Kylo, but this one is only making him seem more nuts than usual, lol. I’m invested at his point, though, so I’ll keep going. It takes place between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.

The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents, by Michael Moreci (Dark Horse). Of course, I had to read the latest Bad Batch comics. This takes place during the Clone Wars, so no Echo or Omega, but Crosshair is still part of the team. The Batch are sent on a mission to retrieve intelligence on Republic spies that has been stolen by a Separatist agent. Spoiler: the agent is Asajj Ventress (and later, Aurra Sing). Ventress wears a mask, though, so they don’t know who she is, and won’t immediately recognize her later in the show’s third season, when she shows up on Pabu. The story of the comic was fine, but I didn’t particularly care about it; I just loved seeing the Batch together before being broken up by Crosshair’s betrayal in the show. The comic was four issues. I think there’s another Bad Batch comic down the pipeline, this fall, I think, and I’m sure I’ll check that one out, too.

The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation, by Jody Houser (Marvel). I don’t usually read comic adaptations of movies or shows, but I heard this one was pretty good (courtesy of Star Wars Explained) because it had a little bit of extra stuff that gave insight into some characters. There’s extra dialogue and scenes with Leia, as well as Kylo Ren and Rose Tico, that was great. This one was five issues.

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: Codebreaker, by Ethan Sacks (Dark Horse). This one is a Poe Dameron story, and since he’s one of my favorite characters, I had to check it out (I need to check out some earlier Poe comics, as well). Poe must infiltrate a First Order base and retrieve some code-breaking technology; however, the codebreaker turns out to be a young Cerean girl that he then has to protect and save. Again, the story is fine, but I just love listening to Poe’s snark, lol. There are four total issues, and three are out right now. The fourth will be published in October.

Other Entertainments: I’ve read and watched quite a few other things lately, such as:

Books:

Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son, by Lois Lowry. I read The Giver in June and found out it was the first in a quartet, so naturally I had to read the others! These fantasy books, though written for middle-grade, are fantastic.

The Ferryman, by Justin Cronin. I loved Cronin’s series beginning with The Passage, and thought I’d check out this stand-alone novel. It’s a great “what in the world is really going on here?” book, and the answer is satisfying indeed.

All The Water in the World, by Eiren Caffall. This book takes place sometime in our near future when climate change has caused horrific storms and polar melt that has flooded coastal regions. It focuses on Nonie, a young girl who has been living on the roof of the American Natural History Museum in a flooded New York City. She and her sister, Bix, her father, and their friend Keller, survive a “hypercane” that destroys their home, so they embark on a dangerous journey to the Berkshires (not far from where I live in Massachusetts, by the way) to a family farm and hopefully a new, better life.

On the screen:

North and South (BBC). Just randomly saw this on Youtube and decided I was ready for another period drama. It’s based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s book North and South, published as a serial in 1854-55, at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Love amid the soot of Northern England, lol. It’s more than that, obviously; it’s about worker’s rights, the clash between the factory owners and the workers, the horrific conditions of the poor. A highlight for me was that it starred Richard Armitage, who I only know as the “hot dwarf” Thoren Oakenshield from the Hobbit movies, lol. North and South is made up of 4 one-hour episodes, and I loved it.

High Rise. Tom Hiddleston, people living in a high-rise apartment building in some sort of dystopian scenario where the rich live on the top and the poor live on the bottom, what’s not to love? Answer: this entire movie. I don’t say this about many movies, but this one was BAD. Not just, “Oh, it’s not really my thing,” but a really awful, terrible, horrible mess of a movie. Nothing, and I mean nothing, made sense in this whack job. Two hours of my life I can’t get back. Maybe I just don’t “get it,” in which case, it’s painfully pretentious.

Fantastic Four. Now, this is a good movie. A Fantastic movie, in fact! I really liked the 2005 movie and its sequel, The Silver Surfer, despite not being perfect; the 2015 reboot was totally forgettable; but this one! Ah, perfection. At least to me. I loved everything about it, from the great cast, the omitting of the origin story (who needs to see it again?) and the futuristic retro look of an alternate timeline Earth. The sixties vibe was so cool. It’s enough to make me excited about Marvel again, when my interest has been waning lately. Super fun and good storytelling.

Star Trek: Enterprise rewatch. I’d been casting around for a new show to watch, but couldn’t decide on anything, so I went for an old favorite. Enterprise ranks probably second after The Next Generation for me, and it’s been years since I watched. Super fun.

So, I tried to keep this as brief as possible, but if you’re still with me, thank you and I’m impressed! Have you read/watched any of the above-mentioned? What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!