My Entertainment Weekend Update (Monday Edition)

Hello friends, and happy weekend!

I normally post this on Saturday or Sunday (hence, “weekend”) but I needed some time to watch the first three episodes of The Rings of Power, so here we are. But more on that later.

First, I’ve been getting back into my reading of N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. It’s such an enthralling story, but I’ve been so busy watching stuff this past week that I haven’t opened the book as much as I would have liked. I did get a big chunk of the book behind me, though, and it doesn’t disappoint. I’ll write more on it when I finish it.

On Kindle, I’ve been slowly reading through A New Hope, which was ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster. It’s so weird, because the story is the same as the movie, obviously, and some lines taken from it are word for word. But there’s also more dialogue in there than in the movie, which makes sense. Movies pare things down. Or a scene is slightly different. For example, I just read today about the cantina scene in Mos Eisley where Ben Kenobi cuts off the arm of that alien that had been bugging Luke (I forget his name; he didn’t have a name, or a name for the species, for that matter, in the book). But he also cut a couple of characters in half as well. Pretty gruesome, Obi-Wan, lol. The author also makes some references to Earth-related creatures, like dogs or pandas or dinosaurs. It kind of takes me out of the story for a second when the author does that. Oh well.

I watched Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return on Disney+ on Wednesday when it dropped, and enjoyed it. I always enjoy these behind-the-scenes shows, but this one was special because I loved the show so much, lol. Just seeing Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen gush about how glad they are to be back in Star Wars just makes my heart happy.

I also finished my rewatch of The Bad Batch, in preparation for Season Two (which was initially on Sept. 28 but now, I hear, has been moved to Jan. 4 of next year). I’m looking forward to seeing them maybe branch out a bit and join the fight against the Empire. I also hope we learn more about Omega; in other words, what is it that makes her so special? What is her enhancement? Yes, she’s good at strategy, but I don’t think that’s it. I’m still holding on to my theory that she’s Force-sensitive, but we’ll see.

Some casting news has me excited, which is that Eman Esfandi has been cast as Ezra Bridger for the Ahsoka show. I’m not familiar with this actor, but based on his looks alone, I think they nailed it! All he needs is blue eyes, and we have our Ezra. I am chomping at the bit for the Ahsoka show!

I’ve watched the trailers that dropped on D23 day for The Mandalorian S3, Tales of the Jedi, and a new one for Andor. They’re all very exciting. Looks like Mando S3 will be focusing on more Mandalorians, with Din perhaps trying to atone for his “sins.” Personally, I think Din needs to break away from his cult-family and pave his own way. It will be interesting to see how he and Bo-Katan interact and what will become of the Dark Saber.

Dooku and Mace Windu in Tales of the Jedi.

Tales of the Jedi is an animated show that will drop all six episodes at once, I believe. They look to be about Ahsoka, and Count Dooku. This one looks really cool and I’m looking forward to it.

The Andor trailer just shows us more fantastic footage from the upcoming show, and just makes me even more excited to watch. Ten days!

So over the weekend, I watched the first three episodes of The Rings of Power. Yes, I bit the bullet and signed up for Prime. I just really wanted to watch this show, and the free shipping on all the Star Wars books I buy won’t hurt, either. So what do I think of it so far?

The short answer is: I love it. It’s gorgeous, mesmerizing, intriguing, and I love that the creators have made Galadriel the center of the show, among a fascinating ensemble cast.

I’m totally on board for badass Galadriel.

I understand that there are some Tolkien purists who are furious (big surprise) that they’ve “mangled” Tolkien’s mythology. Well, here’s some news: not everyone is familiar with The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s book that contains the stories that the creators have drawn from. I actually have the book on my shelf, it’s been there for decades; I think I managed to read 50 pages of it years ago. Does it bother me that the creators of the show have adapted these stories into something else, something that may appeal to a wider audience? Nope. It’s a great show. And don’t get me started on the racists who complain about the dark-skinned characters in the story; they don’t even deserve a rebuttal.

Anyway, I’m totally invested in this story now. I haven’t thought about Middle-Earth for a long while, but it’s so worth going back. To see Galadriel and Elrond in their relative “youth,” to see characters only touched on in the films, like Durin, Elendil, and Isildur. And the new ones are great; I especially like Arondir, the elf who’s in love with the human woman Bronwynn. I’m really worried about him right about now, lol. Halberd seems to be a kind of Aragorn figure, the man who would be king, but who refuses the call at first. And the Harfoots, a kind of pre-hobbit people, are just charming. Norri is delightful. And who is the tall stranger from the meteorite she helps? I keep thinking he must be a wizard, he just doesn’t know it yet. Or maybe it’s obvious, I don’t know.

There’s a lot of exposition coming from characters, but that’s understandable. There’s so much history in this world, you need to know the context of what’s going on. And the elves tend to speak a bit theatrically, poetically, a bit dramatically, but let’s be honest, they’ve been around for thousands of years; they’re gonna be a little weird, lol.

So yes, I love it, and I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.

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

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello my friends, and happy weekend!

I don’t have a ton of stuff to talk about this week, as I’ve just been reading. And reading, and reading, lol.

I had expected to receive The Princess and the Scoundrel about a week after its release date of August 16th, because that’s been the pattern lately, as it was with Padawan and Shadow of the Sith. So I started reading The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin while I waited. But it only took two days to get Princess, and I just couldn’t wait to get into it. And I was far enough into Fifth Season not to want to put it down. Reader problems, eh? 🙂 So I’m reading two books.

The Fifth Season is a big book, and I’m about one quarter to a third of the way through. It’s mesmerizing, and unlike any other fantasy I’ve ever read. It takes place on a large continent called The Stillness, which is an ironic name since the place is constantly erupting with earthquakes and tremors. It’s so bad that their whole society is formed around this geological fact: they have the “Stonelore” which tells you what do when a “Season” (a particularly catastrophic event) comes around. The continent has been shaped and reshaped many times over the course of millenia, and many cultures and empires developed and ruled over that time. But this particular one has learned how to survive. In this world, there are people who are born with the ability to affect the tremors and shakes; they’re called “orogenes.” People fear them, so much so that when a child shows such powers, they are often killed. When they aren’t, they are sent to the Fulcrum, where orogenes train to control their powers and help keep the shakes at bay.

There are several storylines that overlap, although I’m not sure of the actual timeline. The first one introduced is that of a woman named Essun, and she’s just discovered her three-year old child is dead, beaten to death by his father. Essun is an orogene, living in the “comm” of Tirima for the past ten years and hiding what she is; she fears her son had shown signs of being an orogene like her, leading to her husband, Jija, killing the child. He’s fled with their young daughter. Essun makes it her quest to find her daughter, and, well, deal with Jija.

The world-building in this book is incredible and intricate. There are mysterious, floating obelisks in the sky, leftover from some ancient civilization that didn’t survive a Season. No one knows what they are or what they were for, but I have a feeling we’re going to find out later in the book. I’m so intrigued by the whole story, I haven’t been this swallowed up by a book in a long time. Oh, and it won the Hugo Award a few years ago. There are two other books after this one that makes up The Broken Earth series, The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky, and you can bet I’ll be reading those, too.

I’m about a third of the way through The Princess and the Scoundrel, and it’s just wonderful. There’s nothing earth-shattering in it, nothing that significantly affects the canon (so far), but it’s just a joy to read. We thought we knew the love story of Han and Leia, but there’s always room for more details, in my opinion. We get to see Han’s proposal and their wedding on Endor, and Mon Mothma has convinced them to take their honeymoon on the Halcyon, a space cruise ship. Where I am in the book, they’re just arriving at the Halcyon, but I know that some adventure and intrigue will follow.

But what I really love is getting into Han and Leia’s heads in alternating chapters, their excitement, their fears and doubts, their hope, their love. What we kind of forget is that Han lost a year of his life while he was in carbonite; it’s disorienting to him to know that others continued on with their lives while he was in that carbonite block in Jabba’s palace, and he has to catch up. So things have progressed really fast for him, to say the least. Leia, after having some conversations with Luke, has to deal with the new knowledge that Darth Vader is her father, and she’s having a hard time of it. Unlike Luke, she can’t forgive him. She hates him. And she’s hesitant to learn about the Force, because she fears she’ll become like him. I’m really enjoying the book so far.

I’m also excited to learn that there will be a Cal Kestis novel next year! I’ve never been a gamer, and let’s face it, I never will be nor do I want to be, but I’ve always felt like I’ve missed out on the story of Cal Kestis from the game Jedi: Fallen Order. He’s kind of a big part of canon now, especially with the Fortress Inquisitorious making an appearance in the Obi-Wan Kenobi show. So while gamers wait for the sequel to Fallen Order, Jedi: Survivor, there will be a book called Jedi: Battle Scars, and it will release on March 7th of 2023. I’ve always hoped for a book or series of books with Cal Kestis, and it looks like my wish will come true!

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

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello friends, and happy weekend!

Last week, I forgot to mention that I finished Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson. I was a little wary at first, considering it’s a tie-in to an amusement park; but besides an introduction to the Outpost at the beginning that seemed like a tour at Galaxy’s Edge, I have to say it was a really good book. Vi Moradi, a Resistance spy, and Archex (aka Cardinal), both of whom were in Dawson’s excellent book Phasma, are sent by General Organa to Batuu to set up a Resistance base. Of course, everything goes wrong immediately, and Vi must somehow get back her equipment (which was stolen after they crashed), find and set up a Resistance base, recruit the locals to the cause, and stay out of the First Order’s clutches, who have recently landed. Vi has become one of my favorite Star Wars characters, by the way; she’s tough but compassionate, funny but one hundred percent committed. This poor woman was not only tortured in Phasma, but is beaten and tortured several times in this book as well. As a spy, she’s been trained to deal with torture (which seems kind of appalling to me, but makes sense); she tells another character at one point, “Spy school was fun,” with tongue firmly in cheek. She’s even got a poisoned tooth to get her out of unbearable situations, but she’s never used it. Atta girl.

I also finished Padawan by Kiersten White, about a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. I talked a little bit about in last week’s post, before I finished it. It’s a good book, a great coming-of-age story for Obi-Wan, who learns to trust not only himself, but the Force; and I liked its theme of how those with power must learn how to responsibly wield it. A very fun but also thoughtful book.

I debated on whether or not I wanted to get into the whole “Obi-Wan’s sexuality” controversy brought on by this book, and I just want to say: who cares? A few lines in a book (in which he isn’t explicitly attracted to another male, he’s simply wondering about kissing, well, anyone) isn’t a big deal. Yes, he fell in love with Satine, but the point is, he never acted on any sexual attraction he might have had for anyone during his entire life, as he’s committed to the Jedi Order above anything else. So the argument is moot, in my opinion. People love making mountains out of molehills, and it’s annoying, lol.

Anyway, I’ve been reading the novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story on my Kindle just for the fun of it, and it made me want to watch the movie again. So I did the other night, and I’m just reminded how much I love this story. Because it is SO much damn fun! And the book delves into a lot of details that the movie leaves out, like what, exactly, happened to Qi’ra after Han escaped Corellia but she didn’t. There’s more about Lando and his delightful idiosyncrasies. And a whole lot more about L3-37, Lando’s revolutionary droid–about how she became who she is, and how she integrated with the Millenium Falcon. Just really cool, neat stuff.

I also watched the Star Wars LEGO Summer Vacation, and as usual, it was fun and delightful. I still think the Holiday Special reigns supreme, but these specials never disappoint. I still think the Emperor steals the show, though, as always, lol. Got a little misty-eyed at the end of the third one when Han tells Ben “I love you,” and Ben says, “I know.” Some high points are Obi-Wan singing “Gamorrean Girls” in Jabba’s palace, and Anakin’s Force ghost showing up in scuba gear, of all things. I’m hoping we someday get to see the sequel crew doing their things–Finn looking for Force-sensitives, Rey searching for Jedi Temples, Poe training X-Wing pilots, and Rose going on relief missions. I want to see ALL of this, okay LF/Disney? Please?

In Marvel news, I heard that there may be a second season of Moon Knight! I hope this is true, because I loved that series. I’m disappointed that in a long list of Emmy nominations, Oscar Isaac did not get an acting nomination. This is criminal, in my opinion. So it’s fantasy, who cares? His performance was phenomenal, I don’t care what anyone says. These kinds of shows always do great in the technical categories (as they should), but for some reason the actors get passed over. And that’s too bad, because they often pour their heart and souls into these roles, and should be taken as seriously as anyone else. Anyway, that’s my rant for the day, lol. Ooh, and I hear he’s not against coming back as Poe Dameron. Whaa??? Don’t get my hopes up, Oscar!

I’m now patiently awaiting The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis, which comes out on August 16th, but I probably won’t receive it until the next week. That leaves me some time to read another book. I was browsing around my local bookstore when The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin caught my eye. This one’s been on my someday list for a long while, so I finally bought it. I just started it, but I can tell it’s going to be a really different, interesting read. It’s the first non-Star Wars book I’ve picked up in probably over a year, lol, so it will be a nice change of pace.

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