Star Wars Canon Contemplation: Inferno Squad and Alphabet Squadron

Hello friends, so after tearing through the Legends trilogy of Darth Bane, I decided to read some canon books. I’ve been avoiding the “pilot” stories because I don’t really care for those–I thought. But there are only a handful of canon novels left that I haven’t read, lol, so I had to broaden my view. I decided to start with Battlefront II: Inferno Squad. Of course, I haven’t played the game, but I’m always willing to give video game books a try if it’s good storytelling.

SPOILERS!!!!

So not only is this one a pilot story and a video game story, but it also has Imperial characters as the protagonists. Those are a lot of strikes for me, lol. I can’t completely root for Imperials to succeed, but I will concede that it’s interesting to get their point of view once in a while. Plus, this one’s written by Christie Golden, and I loved her Star Wars novel Dark Disciple, so off I went.

And you know what? It was a great read! I was pulled in from the very beginning as Iden Versio, a star Imperial TIE pilot, goes deep undercover with her comrades (called Inferno Squad) in the remnants of Saw Guerrera’s Partisans after his death, who call themselves The Dreamers (Save the Dream!). Their job is to find out who is leaking information to them and to eliminate the threat. Iden has to publicly “defect” from and denounce the Empire, citing the destruction of Alderaan as the inciting incident that turned her. This is painful for her, as she doesn’t believe that at all (which is why it’s so hard for me to root for Imperials, who see the destruction of an entire planet full of civilians a military necessity, while the destruction of the Death Star is a “terrorist” act, ugh.)

Anyway, she’s recruited by the Dreamers, while her comrades are playing parts that caused them to become members as well. They have to take part in a few missions where their fellow Imperials are killed, but they maintain their act. They get to know the members of the group, and while some aren’t that likeable (such as their leader Staven), most of them are just people who hate the Empire and want to see justice done. The group is led by Staven, but they have a “Mentor,” who advises and guides them, and is actually the person who is giving them the Imperial intel for their missions. Turns out this is Lux Bonterri, the son of Mina Bonterri from the Clone Wars, who was an Onderonian Senator for the Separatists. I vaguely remember Lux from a few Clone Wars episodes–I remember he kind of had a thing for Ahsoka?–but the rest of his history I’m not familiar with.

Anyway, Inferno Squad figures this out and routes the Dreamers, but not without some personal cost. They lose a member of their squad and have to commit acts against the Empire. And most of them also become, if not friends with, then friendly with some members of the Dreamers, giving them a different perspective of the war.

I think it was clever to have Inferno Squad go up against the remnants of Saw’s Partisans, because they were considered extremists and not an official part of the Alliance. I’m not a fan of Saw’s methods, so I didn’t particularly care what happened to them, even though I did like most of their members. And I wasn’t that sad when one of Inferno Squad’s members died because–well, Imperial. I felt oddly detached from all of the characters, lol. Despite this, it was a good, fast, entertaining read. Iden’s struggle to please her cold, perfectionist Admiral father made her a bit more sympathetic for me, and learning that she later defected to the Alliance after Operation Cinder redeemed her a bit in my eyes.

3.5 out of 5 lightsabers

Let’s switch sides and go with a Rebel/New Republic pilot story. Although this one, Alphabet Squadron, features an Imperial defector named Yrica Quell. Quell leaves the Empire after Operation Cinder, supposedly in protest against its extreme cruelty. She spends some time at Traitor’s Remorse, a camp for Imperial Defectors, where she’s assigned a “therapy droid”–actually, an old reprogrammed Imperial torture droid called IT-O. But then Caern Adan, from New Republic Intelligence, recruits her to lead a squadron to find the Imperial TIE squadron Shadow Wing, which happens to be Yrica’s old squadron.

Together with an alphabet soup of ships and their pilots–Wyl Lark with his A-Wing, Chass na Chadic with her B-Wing, Nath Tensent with his Y-Wing, and Kairos with her U-Wing–Yrica must lead the squad in search of Shadow Wing. But Yrica must prove her loyalty and ability to lead, and it seems she’s got some secrets. Every member of Alphabet Squadron is damaged in some way and it takes some time–most of the book, in fact–for the squadron to form any semblence of a team. I found myself losing patience with all of them, especially Yrica, at some point or another, but it just means the author (Alexander Freed) did a great job writing them as flawed human beings who have been through a devastating war.

I tried reading this book some time ago on my Kindle, but after a few chapters I just couldn’t get into it. More than likely, I was distracted by other books, but this is a slow burn and a fairly dense read. I was determined to get through it, and once I slowed down and took it all in, I found that it’s a great book. For a “pilot book” it’s got a lot going on as far as characterization. While Inferno Squad was a fast, intense read about an Imperial pretending to be a defector, this one deals with an actual Imperial defector, who has to reconcile so many conflicting feelings and ideas about who she’s loyal to now. She desperately wants to prove herself so she can fly again, but her superiors don’t fully trust her yet, and her teammates don’t understand her. Yrica doesn’t make it easy for them, either, as she still thinks like an Imperial much of the time.

It was fun to see Hera Syndulla in the story, as Alphabet Squadron comes to be aboard her ship, the Lodestar. She leads an attack, along with Alphabet Squadron, on a planet called Pandem Nai, in the hopes of routing some Imperial Remnants, as well as destroying Shadow Wing. They manage to do the former, but not the latter–Shadow Wing gets away.

So I’ll be plodding my way through the next two books–Shadow Fall and Victory’s Price–to see how this team can actually come together and defeat Shadow Wing once and for all. Stay tuned.

3 out of 5 lightsabers

My Star Wars Update: Some Reading, Some Writing

As always, the Star Wars reading continues. Here are the books I’ve been diving into:

Star Wars Rebel Force Book 4: Firefight, by Alex Wheeler. This is a continuation of the junior novel series I started a while ago and which has been surprisingly entertaining. This outing takes us to Kamino, which I thought was really neat, considering all the Bad Batch I’ve been rewatching. So we know what happens to Kamino in Canon, but this is a Legends series, and here Kamino hasn’t been destroyed by the Empire, but simply abandoned. Luke, Han, Chewie and Artoo are sent there to investigate why the Empire abandoned it and any weapons that may have been created there; but are ambushed in orbit by a group of assassins hired by X-7 to kill Luke. Han, Luke and Chewie crash land, as well as a few of the assassins, but only one named Div survives. They end up having to help each other to get out of the creepy, abandoned city that is overrun by mutant sea creatures the Kaminoans created. A lone Kaminoan scientist, who has gone insane by this time, still runs his “experiments” and calls in the Imperials to take care of the intruders. Turns out Div is a former Jedi, but after Order 66 turned to mercenary work. After working together to escape Kamino, Luke and Han consider him a friend, but want him to tell them who hired him to kill Luke (although they already suspect it’s X-7) and where to find him, but Div refuses to divulge that information, presumably because it’s “bad for business.” I can’t decide if I like Div or not, lol. They reluctantly keep him prisoner on Yavin 4 at the end of the story, hoping he’ll spill the beans. This was a fun read, with sea monsters that can swallow you whole and then regurgitate you back up to eat later; and flying dinosaur birds that our characters get to ride over the stormy Kaminoan ocean. Cool!

Star Wars Rebel Forces Book 5: Trapped, by Alex Wheeler. The fifth installment of the series that I just started and am currently reading. Div escapes Yavin 4, and our characters set out after him. Stay tuned.

Force Collector, by Kevin Shinick. This is a reread between the latest canon releases (waiting for Rise of the Red Blade in July). I really enjoyed it when I read it a couple of years ago, and thought it would be fun to read again. It takes place in the sequel era, just before The Force Awakens, and is about a teenage boy named Karr who has a strange ability: psychometry, which is a Force ability wherein you touch an object and get flashes of things and people and events that object has “seen.” This is an ability that the Jedi Quinlan Voss and Cal Kestis possess. At this point in history, not much is known about the Jedi, and most people don’t even believe they existed. But Karr’s grandmother insists that Karr has the Force, and though she doesn’t possess the Force herself, she takes it upon herself to teach Karr what she knows, which admittedly is very little. But Karr is determined to use his ability to find out more about the Jedi and how to become one himself. With the help of his new friend, Maize (the daughter of a First Order officer), they traverse the galaxy in her father’s shuttle, following clues and piecing together the story of the Jedi. It’s not a real deep story, but it’s super fun seeing the Jedi through the eyes of a young person who knows very little about them but wants to penetrate the myth.

Shatterpoint, by Mathew Stover. This is a Legends book about Mace Windu that I was hoping to get into and see Mace in a new light. I never really liked him in the films, but in books you get a chance to see more of a character’s personality, and I wanted to give him another chance, lol. But I only got about 40 pages in and got bored. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good story, I just don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to read it. I put it on my “Hopefully I’ll get back to reading this one day” pile, which includes Tarkin, Thrawn, Ronin, and Revan.

Other than reading, I’ve been writing some Star Wars fan fiction, this time about The Bad Batch. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit obsessed with this show and these characters, and I wasn’t ready to let them go yet. So it’s been really fun spending more time with them in my own story. Not sure if I’m going to share it, either here or on a fan fiction site; I might just be writing it for myself. But if you see fewer blog posts from me, it’s because I’m spending more time with Clone Force 99, lol.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. What Star Warsy things have you been doing? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Books: Youtini Academy

If you love Star Wars books like I do, you may have heard of Youtini, a website that makes it a little easier to understand the world of Star Wars books, both Legends and Canon. It has timelines for both, descriptions of books, articles, podcasts–everything you might need if you want to explore the world of Star Wars books, which can be, let’s face it, a little confusing sometimes. Definitely check it out if you haven’t already.

Recently, I learned that Youtini was going to start an online course about the books, both Legends and Canon, starting on May the 4th (for a fee of $57, which I eagerly forked over, lol). This course would talk about Star Wars publishing, the difference between Legends and Canon and the best books of each to start with, best stand-alones and series, and a special unit on The High Republic. Excuse me, what kind of bliss is this???

While I feel fairly confident in the world of Canon (and prefer it, for the most part), I don’t want to exclude Legends and would like to learn more about it. Legends seems like this huge beast that I can’t quite wrap my mind around, lol. That doesn’t mean I haven’t read some Legends books: Kenobi, in particular, is a favorite; Razor’s Edge, Rogue Planet, and some Clone Wars-era books. Everything up to Return of the Jedi seems “safe” to me; but it’s after ROTJ that the two timelines diverge greatly, and I’m afraid of getting the two timelines tangled in my mind, lol.

I’ve read the quintessential book Heir to the Empire, which is a classic and kicked off the golden age of Legends; it introduces Thrawn as the new villain after the defeat of the Empire. I read it way back when it first came out in 1991, and probably its two sequels, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command. There was no other Star Wars out there, and I was thirsty! And the books were fine, but they didn’t really snare me like they did a lot of people, I don’t know why. Dozens of other Star Wars books came out after that over the years, and maybe I read a few, I really can’t remember, but I lost interest. Maybe I had other things going on in my life, maybe I was obsessed with other things at the time, who knows.

Thrawn is a common thread between Legends and Canon.

Anyway, I recently re-read Heir to the Empire, and it was rather fun, but found it difficult to get into the second book. Or maybe I was just distracted by Canon books coming out at the time. But I do want to re-read them all, and possibly more Legends books that take place after ROTJ. With Thrawn making his live-action debut in Ahsoka, I’d like to get to know “Book Thrawn” a bit better. That includes the Legends books and the new Canon Thrawn books. I tried to get through the first Canon book, titled simply “Thrawn,” but couldn’t finish it. It’s weird, because I love the character in Rebels!

But I want to give all these books another chance. As we’ve seen with Thrawn, and plenty of other examples, characters and ideas in Legends haven’t simply been thrown away–they’ve been making their way into Canon in many ways. The Legends books are important. For me, I tend to view the Legends books as an alternate universe of Star Wars–kind of like the Marvel alternate universes in “What If…” It’s not that it didn’t happen that way, it just happened on a different timeline, a different parallel universe. That’s how it makes sense to me. Han and Leia had three kids named Jacen, Jaina and Anakin; Luke married Mara Jade and had a son named Ben. Just in an alternate universe.

Anyway, that’s my Legends story, and I’m very excited to learn more about it in this course. I’m about halfway done with the lessons (little 5-10 minute videos) and am enjoying it immensely. You can also chat with other members about the course or the books or just all things Star Wars. If you’re a big Star Wars book fan, you may not want to miss it! Click the link at the beginning of this post and you’ll see it at the top of their website.

Are you a Star Wars reader? Are you a Legends fan or a Canon fan? Or love both? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Reading Update

I’ve been busy reading the last few Star Wars canon releases, and thought I’d give my thoughts about them here.

Battle Scars, by Sam Maggs. I was really looking forward to this one, as I’ve been wanting a novel about Cal Kestis and the Stinger Mantis crew for a long time. As a non-gamer, I wanted to know more about them in a media that’s familiar to me. This book did a good job with characterization, and I feel like I know these characters so much better now. The story was fine, but nothing galaxy-shattering. The crew pick up a defecting Imperial on one of their missions, and this person–Fret–convinces them to go after some new cloaking technology called The Shroud that could turn the tide of their fight against the Empire. Merrin begins an affair with Fret, but her loyalties are tested when Fret’s information isn’t exactly as they thought. In fact, the entire crew’s resolve is tested as they encounter Imperials, the Haxion Brood, and an Inquisitor–the Fifth Brother. I’m not sure if this book was advertised as Young Adult, but I got a lot of YA vibes from it. Not on the top of my list as favorites as far as Star Wars books go, but these guys are fun to be around.

Quest for Planet X, by Tessa Gratton. This is the middle grade book of Phase 2 Wave 2 of the High Republic. As expected, it focuses on a group of young people, including Jedi Padawan Rooper Nitani, a young prospector named Dass, and a transgender character named Sky Graf. Dass and Sky convince Rooper to accompany them on the Great Hyperspace Race, but what both Dass and Sky want is to find the legendary Planet X. Dass and his father had found it some time ago with the help of a prospector named Sunshine Dobbs, but he betrayed them. Now Dass wants to find his ship, left behind on the planet. Sky wants to find their father, who went missing while looking for planet X. They’re helped out by an ancient hyperspace artifact. But they get mixed up with the Path of the Open Hand, who know that Planet X is where the Nameless come from–the strange, terrifying creatures that reduce Force-users to a husk. Rooper is the moral compass of the group, convincing both of the other kids to do what is right in several different situations. The High Republic middle-grade books have been consistently good and entertaining, and they always tie in with the adult novels it comes out with, so this one coincides with Cataclysm, below.

Cataclysm, by Lydia Kang. This is the second adult novel of Phase 2 of the High Republic, and I have to tell you, it’s fantastic. It builds on the events of the first adult novel, Convergence, and while I enjoyed Convergence, it necessarily had to do some legwork to get us here, so it was a bit slower. Cataclysm also builds off of the events of the audiobook The Battle of Jedha, which I also enjoyed. Cataclysm grabbed me from the very beginning and wouldn’t let go. It’s told from several points of view and several groups of people and Jedi who ultimately converge on the planet of Dalna, where The Path of the Open Hand, the cult that caused so much chaos on Jedha, has retreated to. As more Jedi arrive to investigate their involvement, the Path become aggressive and release their member-soldiers, enforcer droids, and the Leveller, the creature that reduces Jedi to ash, culminating in a relentless battle. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering who was going to live and who was going to die. The characters in this book are compelling, as well, including Axel Greylark, the wayward son of Chancellor Greylark, the Chancellor herself, the many Jedi involved, and Xiri and Phantu-Zenn, of the warring planets of E’ronoh and Eiram. Oh, and Yaddle is in it, which made me happy, as she’s become one of my favorite characters since seeing her in Tales of the Jedi. Eagerly awaiting the last book of Phase 2, Path of Vengeance, which comes out May 2nd.

The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy, by Alexandra Bracken. I read a sample of this book some time ago, and for some reason thought, nah. I think maybe I thought it was too YA-ish, which at the time, wasn’t something I regularly enjoyed. But something told me to give it another shot, and I’m glad I did; I really enjoyed this book. It’s a retelling of A New Hope, but from the particular perspectives of Leia, Han, and Luke. The first third of the book is from Leia’s point of view. so we get her perspective on the Tantive IV, her time on the Death Star, her torture by Darth Vader (which still isn’t too graphic; it’s middle-grade, after all), and the destruction of Alderaan. The middle third is from Han’s point of view, and we get his perspective on the cantina scene, meeting Luke and Ben Kenobi, his meeting with Greedo and then Jabba the Hutt, their capture on the Death Star, rescuing Princess Leia, the garbage masher, and escaping the Death Star. Finally, we get Luke’s perspective on Yavin, a battle-ready simulator test given by Wedge, his meeting with Biggs, and the trench run on the Death Star and its subsequent destruction. Each point of view was perfect for the events it covered, and we got some nice insight into the characters we can’t really get in the film. It’s a new way of seeing this story that’s been around for some 40-odd years.

Not a bad run of Star Wars books! Have you read any of these? What did you think? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

All the Star Wars books I read in 2022

Hello my friends, and happy New Year!

For a 2022 inventory, I thought I’d list all the Star Wars books I read last year. For the most part, I enjoyed every single one of them.

The books:

A re-read of the second adult book in Phase One of THR. The Nihil attack the Republic Fair at Valo.

Third adult book in Phase 1 of THR. The Nihil attack Starlight Beacon.

Companion middle-grade book to The Rising Storm. Two Padawans have their own battle on Valo.

Companion YA book to The Fallen Star. Padawans investigate the Nihil on Corellia.

Companion middle-grade to The Fallen Star. Padawans investigate the Nihil on Dalna.

Three short stories about Rey, Poe and Finn before they met in TFA.

The very first SW book after ROTJ, introducing Thrawn. The only Legends book I read this year.

The third book in the Padme trilogy, a YA novel taking place between AOTC and ROTS.

An Anakin and Obi-Wan novel, at the start of the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan investigates a terrorist attack (“that business”) on Cato Neimoidia.

A straight retelling of the Skywalker saga, focusing on the stories of Anakin, Luke, Leia, and Rey.

A middle grade collection of short stories about familiar Jedi and Sith, including Asajj Ventress, Luke, and Maul.

Post-ROTJ canon novel, with Luke and Lando trying to help Rey’s parents on the run, and battling a mysterious Sith Acolyte.

Sequel-era novel about Resistance spy Vi Moradi on Batuu.

Middle grade book about Rey, Poe and Rose answering a distress call on the planet Minfar.

YA novel about Obi-Wan as Qui Gon Jinn’s Padawan, pre-Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan investigates a mysterious planet with a group of young people displaying Force-like abilities.

Han and Leia’s wedding and honeymoon post ROTJ. Along the way, they investigate an ice planet threatened by the remnants of the Empire.

A re-read of the original Star Wars novel, ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster.

A re-read of the Ahsoka YA novel, detailing what she did after Order 66, and how she got back into the fight.

A re-read of the Solo: A Star Wars Story novelization.

Going back to Batuu, this is a YA story about two young people who grew up together on Batuu, were separated, and reunited there. Complications ensue.

First book of Phase 2 of THR, taking place 150 years before Phase 1. A YA novel about two Jedi investigating a Force cult on Dalna.

First adult novel of Phase 2 of THR. Jedi mediate a war between E’ronoh and Eiram.

A YA book about Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus on Jeda, before the events of Rogue One.

Stats:

Total books: 23

High Republic books: 7

OT Era books: 6

PT Era books: 4

ST Era books: 4

Other: 2

YA books: 7

Middle grade books: 5

Adult books: 11

Legends books: 1

Canon books: 22

E-books: 10

Hard copy books: 13

Not bad. 🙂 Looking forward to all the 2023 releases, including more from the High Republic, a Jedi: Survivor novel with Cal Kestis, and Rise of the Red Blade, about an Inquisitor. I love Star Wars books!

Have you read any of these books? Any favorites? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Ranking the Star Wars books released this year (so far)

I thought I’d post my rankings of the Star Wars books that have released this year–so far, since there are some High Republic Phase 2 books coming out this fall. I’ve included mostly adult and YA novels; the only middle grade book I’ve included is the short story collection Stories of Jedi and Sith. Obviously, I’ve only included books that I’ve read, and so the High Republic audio drama Tempest Runner is not included.

So here we go, from least favorite to best:

8. The High Republic: Midnight Horizon, by Daniel Jose Older (YA). This book occurs concurrently with The Fallen Star, but I consider it the last book of Phase 1 of the High Republic. Older is not one of my favorite Star Wars authors. This story is fine, but it’s one of my least favorite of the High Republic novels (Out of the Shadows takes the least favorite spot), and the least favorite of the books that came out this year. It has Reath Silas in it, though, so that makes up for it, and an awesome cameo by Yoda in the last few pages.

7. Stories of Jedi and Sith, by various authors (Middle-grade). These short stories are fun and showcase some great characters like Asajj Ventress, Maul, Luke, Rey and Poe. They don’t add anything significant to the canon, but they’re fun and interesting. I particularly liked the Asajj story, and the Maul story.

6. Queen’s Hope, by E.K. Johnston (YA). I’ve always been a fan of the Padme books, and this one is no exception. It’s the third in a trilogy, and takes place at the start of the Clone Wars and Padme and Anakin’s marriage. As soon as they’re married, they a get a few blissful days on Naboo, but are soon separated on their own missions. I was kind of hoping it was more of a The Princess and the Scoundrel sort of thing, where they get to go on a mission together. They do at the very beginning, but it’s one little chapter, not a whole book. Of course, their marriage is a secret, and Padme must deal with all that entails. It’s still good, and I especially enjoy the Sabe scenes.

5. Padawan, by Kiersten White (YA). This is a young Obi-Wan adventure, and it was quite fun. It shows a very unsure Obi-Wan Kenobi shortly after he is taken on by Qui Gon Jinn as a Padawan. He’s full of doubt and worries, and trying to figure out his relationship with both his Master and the Force. He ends up going alone to a planet where he finds young people with strange Force-like abilities. As he tries to unravel the mysteries of the planet and help these parent-less teens, he comes to understand himself, and the Force, better.

4. Brotherhood, by Mike Chen. This is an Anakin and Obi-Wan adventure, just as the Clone Wars are beginning, and taking place just after Queen’s Hope. Obi-Wan is sent to Cato Neimoidia after the planet suffers a terrible disaster, to investigate the bombing and figure out who is responsible–the Republic or the Separatists. Anakin has just been made a Jedi Knight, and is sent on his own mission, but the two aren’t used to being without the other, and must come to terms with their new relationship–not master and apprentice, but brothers. Anakin shows up, of course, with a youngling in tow, which presages his taking on an apprentice of his own. This is a great book that explores more of Neimoidian culture, separate from the Trade Federation, and how the Republic–as well as Obi-Wan and Anakin–have to overcome certain prejudices against these people. Asajj Ventress is in the book, too, “investigating” on behalf of the Separatists, and you can bet she causes trouble.

3. Shadow of the Sith, by Adam Christopher. This book takes place about fifteen years after Return of the Jedi. Luke and Lando are on a mission to help a young family–six-year old Rey and her parents, Dathan and Miramir–escape the Sith and Ochi of Bestoon. Lando is involved because he feels it will help him deal with his grief over losing his own daughter when she was two; he asks Luke for help, who is currently running his new Jedi Temple on Ossus. We get to see a young Ben Solo a couple of times, and he’s kind of sweet and eager to please his uncle Luke :(. Anyway, Luke gets drawn into a mystery involving an ancient Sith mask possessed by the spirit of a Sith Lord from long ago. It’s a big book, with a lot going on, and it ties together a lot of loose ends from the sequel trilogy. I was a bit disappointed with the portrayal of Luke, who seemed like a robot through the entire book. Otherwise, it’s a great read.

2. The Princess and the Scoundrel, by Beth Revis. I had doubts about this one, and certainly didn’t think it would be so high on my list. But I loved it! If you live for Han and Leia banter and romance (me, it’s me), this one delivers. We see their lovely wedding on Endor, and then Mon Mothma convinces them to take a honeymoon on the Halcyon, a space cruise ship based on Mothma’s homeworld of Chandrila. It’s somewhat for PR purposes, but she truly wants them to have a nice honeymoon, too. But of course they caught up in some intrigue on a troubled moon, all the while figuring each other out and how this marriage thing works. It’s a very satisfying book, at least to me.

1. The High Republic: The Fallen Star, by Claudia Gray. This is the adult finale of the first phase of The High Republic, and it’s fantastic. Claudia Gray is my favorite Star Wars author (Bloodline, Leia: Princess of Alderaan, Into the Dark, and Lost Stars are all exceptional), and she doesn’t disappoint here. Told mostly from the points of view of Stellan Gios, Elzar Mann, and Bell Zettifar (among several others), it takes place mostly on Starlight Beacon, a new space station that is the pride and joy of the Republic. Naturally, Marchion Ro, the main villain of the High Republic novels, has it in his sights. Since it takes place mostly on the station, and there’s a Jedi-killing monster on board, it’s got some Alien-like vibes. But the character work with Stellan and Elzar, especially, is great. It’s wonderful and heartbreaking, and I can’t wait to get back to these (surviving) characters in Phase 3.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello my friends, and happy weekend!

So I finally finished Heir to the Empire and began the next in the series, Dark Force Rising. I just started it, so I don’t have too much to say about it yet. But I’m enjoying the series so far.

I’m continuing my Rebels rewatch, and am in the third season. Governor Pryce is introduced, as well as the Bendu. I think I read somewhere that the Bendu was a concept that George Lucas came up with early on, but never used in the films. Not necessarily as the creature we see in Rebels, but an idea of something in between the Light and the Dark side of the Force. If anyone knows more about it, please share!

In some Star Wars news, we’ve learned that the Obi-Wan series has been moved moved up to Friday May 27th, instead of Wednesday May 25th, and that the first two episodes are dropping at once. So even though we have to wait two more days for the show, we get two episodes instead of one for our patience. I’ll take it!

In other Obi-Wan news, Starwars.com has released an excerpt of the Obi-Wan/Anakin novel Brotherhood by Mike Chen that comes out May 10th. In the excerpt, Obi-Wan is on Cato Neimoidia for an investigation of some kind of accident, and meets Asajj Ventress for the first time. I thought it was a little dull, to be honest, lol, but I am looking forward to reading the book.

In other book news, Queen’s Hope is finally coming out next week! It was originally supposed to come out last November, but was pushed up to April 5th of this year. I’ve been looking forward to this book for a long time, and can’t wait to start reading it! If you don’t know, Queen’s Hope is the third in a trilogy about Padme Amidala. I love that Padme has her own book trilogy, since she kind of got short shrift in the movies, in my opinion.

In Marvel, Moon Knight premiered this past Wednesday, and if you care to read my thoughts on it, take a look here. It was as weird and entertaining as I thought it would be!

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

A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Bloodline

So here’s the podcast I’ve been yapping about lately. It’s short and sweet, basically just me reading off a tweaked hard copy of my review that I posted on The Star Wars Reader. I’m hoping to get better and a little more interesting as I go along, lol. Somehow.

What do you think? Any advice for a newbie podcaster? Be honest, I can take it, lol.

The Star Wars Reader

I’ve recently started reading the new canon Star Wars books, and I’ve been loving them. I’ve posted a few reviews on this blog: Bloodline, Rebel Rising, and Kenobi. I’ve loved doing them so much, and have gotten so intrigued by the world of Star Wars books, that I decided to create a new blog just for them.

Introducing The Star Wars Reader. My aim is to read one Star Wars book a week and review it on this new blog. My intention is to possibly help Star Wars fans who want to start reading and exploring the books, but maybe don’t know where to start or what they might like.

As a newbie myself, I know the world of Star Wars books can be a bit confusing. Canon? Expanded Universe? Legends? What does it all mean? Hopefully, as I read more books and review them, I can shed a little light on these questions and make it a little less confusing.

I’m really excited to start this new adventure, and I’d love it if you’d join me at The Star Wars Reader. Click the link and hit the follow button or sign up with your email for every new book review.

Upcoming books include Heir to the Jedi, Catalyst, and Phasma, to name just a few.

Hope to see you there!

Star Wars Books, Here I Come

For something different, I thought I’d delve into the world of Star Wars books.

I love to read, and on previous blogs, I’ve done book reviews and really enjoyed writing them. And since the SW films are complete, and we’re waiting on Season 2 of the Mandalorian, as well as future series like the Kenobi and Cassian Andor series, I need more Star Wars (I haven’t gotten into the Clone Wars yet; that may be a future project).

What better way to get more Star Wars than through the many, many books that are out there in that galaxy far, far away? I’ve read all the sequel trilogy novelizations, as well as the stand-alone (Rogue One and Solo) novelizations, and loved all of them. Now what?

After looking into it, I found that it’s very easy to get confused about which books to read, where to start, what are the best, etc. There are literally hundreds of books. Most are comprised of the Expanded Universe or Legends books (books written over the years before Disney took over Lucasfilm and deemed them non-canon).

Then there are the newer, Disney-approved “canon” novels. I’ve already read one such book, Bloodline, by Claudia Gray, and loved it. Encouraged by this, I thought I’d start with some of the newer canon novels, and then backtrack into some of the EU novels. Each book I choose will be based solely on what appeals to me.

The only other Star Wars books I’ve read were the original Thrawn books by Timothy Zahn 35 years or so ago. I may re-read these, and then also the new Thrawn canon books that Zahn recently wrote. But not for a while since I’ve got a stack of books in front of me for my reading pleasure. These include:

Rebel Rising, by Beth Revis.
Phasma, by Delilah S. Dawson
Catalyst, by James Luceno
Heir to the Jedi, by Kevin Hearne
Kenobi, by John Jackson Miller

This is pretty much the order I’ll be reading them in.

I did start to read Last Shot, a Han and Lando story which I was really looking forward to, by Daniel Jose Older, but I couldn’t finish it. This rarely happens, that I find a book so bad I can’t finish. I hate to say it, but it was a terrible mess. Three different timelines flashing back and forth, aimless meandering of the characters that slowed down the action, a non-traditional gender character referred to as “they” (which is fine, but it just confused the hell out of me), and, most egregiously, dialogue that did not reflect the characters of Han and Lando. It was frustrating, and disappointing.

Other than that, I’m hoping to have a blast reading these further adventures of our favorite heroes, and I’ll tell you what I think in future posts.

Have you read any Star Wars novels? Which are your favorites? Comment below and we’ll talk about it!

Tag: Star Wars Canon books