Dooku: Jedi Lost

Just finished this book, which is, interestingly, written as a play: Dooku: Jedi Lost (Cavan Scott, 2019). I don't think I have read a Star Wars play before. Practically speaking, plays are almost 100% dialog- Scott uses different narrators at various points to expand on the short scene setting notes and whatnot. Broadly speaking, in was interesting to see some of Dooku's history back at the Jedi temple, eventually becoming Yoda's padawan.

A major character in these proceedings is the force sensitive not-quite-failed-Jedi-nor-Sith assassin Asajj Ventress. She acts as the most frequent narrator throughout the proceedings. We follow her story as she becomes enthralled to the fallen Count Dooku.

We also get a bit of backstory (new to me, at least) about the mysterious name "Sifo Diyas", a Jedi called Dooku's oldest friend. I am still not clear on exactly how this old friend's name became involved with the cloners of Kamino to the point that they mis-identify Obi-wan Kenobi as Count Dooku's oldest friend. Context clues within this story suggest that Sifo Diyas was not in any shape to actually participate in the Clone Wars- there is probably some more info out there about this aspect of the broader story, but I haven't run across it as of yet.

All in all, I thought this book was decent. Fairly low key, low stakes backstory development. Good characterizations: Dooku, Yoda, Ventress, and others all sounded and acted "right".

Chapter 1: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian, S1, E1)

 

Just re-watched the episode that started Disney+, "The Mandalorian" Chapter 1: The Mandalorian (directed by Dave Filoni, written by Jon Favreau and George Lucas, original air date Nov 12, 2019).

Mandalorian: I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.

Such a great start to the series! I have two minor quibbles; the first is how Mando attacks the Quarren (called "Quarren Trawler" in the IMDb entry) who appears to be running away and causes an industrial accident with the very doorway pictured above. Seems a bit gratuitous, especially for a target that appears to be leaving the fight. The second is the loss of random landspeeder driver who tells Mando to 'stay off the ice'. He seems to have known how dangerous the area was...but had to die for some reason to drive that point home? Unnecessarily to my mind. Those two minor points are all I had for criticism. They certainly do set a tone for how cheap life is in this neck of the galaxy.

I am thrilled with how fast we get to the good stuff. Meeting Greef Carga and the Armorer as well as fan favorites Kulil and IG-11. Meeting "the Client" and Dr. Pershing and their inexplicably dirty stormtroopers. This portion of the Imperial Remnant has some 'splaining to do. Some great lines like "I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold" and "Bounty hunting is a complicated profession". And, of course, meeting your friend and mine, the star of this or any other show from 2019: Baby Yoda!

I like the deadpan humor of IG-11 repeatedly attempting to initiate his self-destruct sequence. I love the Razor Crest as a Star Wars vessel, Mando's extensive collection of weapons, and his (apparent) frequent use of carbonite freezing. Pretty cool (carbonite pun intended).

The Princess and the Scoundrel

 

A while back I read this book The Princess and the Scoundrel (Beth Revis, 2022). It really caught my attention as it dives into the events just after Return of the Jedi, including the wedding of Han and Leia! Observe the Ewok tree village on the very cover of the tome, if you will.

I did like to reunite with these beloved characters, and I felt their characterizations were very good. This is a bit of a strange story, mostly about the newlywed's honeymoon: first aboard a luxury starliner, then on a remote ice-encrusted planet. The stakes as one could imagine, feel rather small coming as this tale does hot on the heels of the defeat of the Emperor. A "bottle episode" of sorts, this adventure has quite a limited scope and character cast. One does get the feel of being on Han and Leia's honeymoon, enmeshed in their struggle to figure out how to be a couple in the abrupt aftermath of the galactic civil war. They have both sacrificed so much and worked so hard and now their goal is achieved.

Leia is ever the politician, and can't stop working. Han just wants to enjoy some space bagels and his new wife back in the room. 

The Ewoks have access to some special wedding ring magic, for some reason. The planet the newlyweds visit is a bit boring and the scope of the story's central conflict is small, by galactic standards. Again, one wouldn't expect them to fight another Death Star, or Dark Lord of the Sith, or get involved in a fleet battle in space, coming as it does so closely after the events of Jedi, so it makes sense.

The theme of "what do we do now?", both in a personal sense for Han and Leia and in a governmental sense in terms of the fledgling New Republic, victors in the civil war, is intriguing. I imagine it was a messy and complicated time immediately following the Battle of Endor. Glad I tagged along for the story.

Long Time, No See

 

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted something here. Last post was summer of 2020. Missed the last third of that year, all of 2021, all of 2022, and 5/6ths of 2023. A picture of our good buddy Han, frozen in carbonite, seems appropriate somehow.

I have big plans for the next few months! A veritable flurry of posts, many in the "media review" vein. As negligent as I have been in the blog updating realm, I have been nearly as bad in my Star Wars book reading. Luckily, many of the books published since 2019 or so have been in the High Republic era; which I have no interest in at this time. However, there are a ton of books that I will be tackling (and reviewing here, dear readers), starting today.

Here is a list, in order of their publication, of the books I will be working my way through, starting now.

Dooku: Jedi Lost (Cavan Scott, 2019) --- just checked this out from the library today
Padmé: Queen's Peril (E. K. Johnston, 2020)
Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising (Timothy Zahn, 2020)
From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (various, 2020)
Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good (Timothy Zahn, 2021)
Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil (Timothy Zahn, 2021)
Padmé: Queen's Hope (E. K. Johnston, 2022)
Brotherhood (Mike Chen, 2022)
Shadow of the Sith (Adam Christopher, 2022)
Stories of the Jedi and Sith (various, 2022)
Padawan (Kiersten White, 2022)
Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade (Delilah S. Dawson, 2023)
From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi (various, 2023)
Crimson Climb (E. K. Johnston, 2023)

I have to admit that it is the last title on this list that really sparked my interest. Almost released, a story about Qi'ra, from a good SW author. I'm sold! Can't wait to get my hands on it.

I will also be going through the various high quality offerings on Disney+ that have come out since we last spoke in this format.

The Mandalorian Season 1 (2019)
The Mandalorian Season 2 (2020)
The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
Obi-wan Kenobi (2022)
Andor Season 1 (2022)
The Mandalorian Season 3 (2023)
Ahsoka Season 1 (2019)

We have a ton a material to get through. I plan to rewatch all of the above episodes (57 of them!) before writing a blog post on each. Sounds delightful (and like it will take awhile).