The New Rebellion

Just finished reading this book, The New Rebellion (Kristine Kathryn Rusch, 1996). I saw an ad for it in issue 11 of the Star Wars Adventure Journal (which I am also reading right now).

Overall, I'd say it was a fun book. Good characterizations of the main people we love spending time with: Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, R2, 3PO. Even Mara Jade and Kaarde show up. It's a New Republic era book, taking place after the Thrawn trilogy (approx. 17 ABY). It heavily references many books that come before it, including the Thrawn series. At least one of the characters is a hold-over from 1995's Young Jedi Knights series of books. I may look into those at some point.

The good: a nice plot (not too crazy, but grand enough to matter), good character work (actually seems like our friends talking and acting), a huge number of new alien species added to the lexicon (some of them weirder than others). In fact, the Wookieepedia article says 22 alien species have their origins in this book as well as a dozen new creatures. Nice! The opening dedication mentions a group of friends who joined the author in a theater in Duluth, MN way back for their first viewing of Star Wars. Maybe Nate was there, too. Also great: the cover art.

The not-so-good: a bit weak on some details of the shared world (droids don't all come from a single factory, for instance), some names are silly-sounding (the worst being perhaps "Nandreeson", a "Glottalphib" crime lord on Smuggler's Run), a strange usage of Jawas in space, lots of graphic injuries are described herein; lost limbs, crushed torsos, etc. Not very Star Wars.

A nice enough book; primarily. Who couldn't be won over (or run over) by a stampede of astromechs?

Solo Sabotage

This is a delightful remix of the Solo preview trailer using the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" as the soundtrack.

Space Buddies and More

Finally some word on...words. Words related to the Upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story. First up is a novel with two alternate covers (one on each side of the book, I guess). This one comes out 4/17/18:

The blurb from the announcement:

In a story spans the decades, from a time before Han and Lando ever met, to a time after the destruction of the Empire, Star Wars: Last Shot features the two biggest scoundrels in the New Republic on their most dangerous adventure yet. 

The Empire has been destroyed and smuggler-turned-war hero Han Solo is trying to adjust to domestic bliss with his wife Leia and young son, Ben. Enter Lando Calrissian, who needs Han’s help or all life on Cloud City will be annihilated. Lando is being hunted by a gangster known as Fyzen Gor, and to no one’s surprise, it’s actually Han’s fault. Not long after Han met Chewie and completed the Kessel Run, he and Sana Starros cheated Gor out of getting his hands on a mysterious device. But Gor only knows the culprit was the owner of the Millennium Falcon: Lando Calrissian. In the present, Han and Lando must put together a team, including everyone’s favorite Wookiee, to put a stop to Gor and his nefarious plans. Along the way Lando will realize that he has his own connection to the device, one that goes all the way back to his own days flying the Falcon with the droid L3-37. 

Star Wars: Last Shot takes place in three time periods: when Lando owned the Falcon; shortly after Han takes ownership of the Falcon; and not long after the Battle of Endor. And only secrets from all three time periods will help our heroes put a stop to a new threat to the galaxy!

***

Then there's this one, a YA novel (5/25/18).

Han and Qi’ra don’t have a lot in common other than not having a lot. They’re street kids on the industrial planet of Corellia, doing whatever it takes to get by, dreaming of something more. They each jump at a chance to prove themselves in the perilous world of Corellia’s criminal underbelly, only to discover they are on the same mission for the same unscrupulous boss. When the job goes disastrously wrong, Han and Qi’ra are on the run–from pirates, a droid crime syndicate, the Empire, and their boss—and will have to learn to trust each other if they have any chance of surviving.

***

Then we've got this handsome devil. Truly you belong with us, here among the clouds. A 5-issue mini-series from Marvel (5/29/18).

When a beautiful crime lord commissions the galaxy’s most talented smuggler to help free her people enslaved by the Empire, Lando Calrissian must wager it all on an impossible mission fraught with danger. Set just prior to the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, our charming scoundrel must face Imperial forces with the help of his ship the Millennium Falcon in a deadly race against time. But even with the deck stacked against him, Lando can’t help playing the odds.

*** 

Then these two (5/25/18)...

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Strangely enough, still no word on a novelization of the movie. Weird.

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Lastly, we should throw in this one (7/24/18):

New School isn't like the Old School

One more series of gripes.

We have been spoiled over the years with lots of data about Star Wars vehicles. Their weaponry. Their hyperdrives. Their crew complements. Their lengths. And, in the case of capital ships, the number of starfighter squadrons they can carry (if any).

Much of this information is missing from the new releases.

I have been curious as to how many starfighters Profundity can carry (especially with that oversized and very prominent hangar).

How long is the TIE Reaper? What is it's official designation (like TIE/ln, TIE/sk, etc?). How many troops can it carry? C'mon, Pablo Hidalgo! This is right up your WEG alley! Let's get on these details, my man!

Finally: where is the Solo: A Star Wars Story novelization? For Rogue One, I knew about two novels (Catalyst and Rogue One) in early September, 2016 (at least 98 days before the film release). One hundred days before the Solo movie is...tomorrow. Happy Valentine's Day! (hopefully we'll learn something about this one).

Bringing Balance to My Force(s)

I have recently completed a purge of sorts, brought on by a growing collection of what I consider to be poor examples of Star Wars fare.

It all started with The Last Jedi. I can't shake the feeling that this was a terrible movie, right down to its rotten core. I have already ripped on it elsewhere, so I will refrain from revisiting those grievances. The point is, I realized that I had collected a large-ish amount of recent Star Wars material for which I did not really care. Dove-tailing with this feeling was a similar vibe about all things Star Wars Rebels. I watched the first few seasons of Rebels. It was OK, most of the time, but never great. And never quite Star Wars.

So I sold it.

A bunch of it. Books like The Last Jedi Visual Guide, Cobalt Squadron, Canto Bight, and Battlefront II: Inferno Squad. Star Wars Armada ships like the too-big QuasarFire-class and also too-big Interdictor-class ships. Both of them weirdly and unnecessarily redesigned previous items. Like the Thrawn re-invention, etc. Unforced errors on the Legends continuity constantly perpetrated by the Rebels show. Also in Armada, I had to get the Thrawn upgrade card, only found in the new Chimaera expansion. But...Rebels strikes again! This time with a graffiti'd version of an Imperial Star Destroyer they claim Thrawn would like and some dumb Mandalorian fighters.

So I purchased the Chimaera expansion and another, regular Imperial Star Destroyer (sans graffiti). I kept the pieces I wanted and sold the rest on eBay.

I also took the opportunity to sell any and all upgrade cards from Rebels. They ruin the Star Wars feel for me.

Also sent away in the Great Clean-out of 2018: my large collection of recent SW comics. All 51 issues of the Star Wars title (Marvel, Jan 2015 - Jan 2018; 41 regular issues, 3 annuals, multiple cross-overs). Twenty one issues (plus one annual) of the Poe Dameron title as well (Marvel, Apr 2016 - Dec 2017).

First Look at SOLO

For the sake of completeness, here is the Superbowl first look as well.


Perhaps this is Lando's buddy (a Clone Wars era T-series Tactical Droid):

Trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story

After very mixed feelings about The Last Jedi, I'm hopeful that this one will recapture the feel of Star Wars.

-Nate