Review of Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End

Here's my review of the newest entry in the Star Wars canon.

-Nate

(edit: I added some pictures. - Brent)

Review of Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End

I've been waiting on this book for a while, ever since Aftermath: Life Debt came out back in July. Just like that novel took the premise from 2015's Aftermath and built on it, Empire's End continues that upward trajectory, building toward a climax that wraps up the trilogy nicely, sets the stage for Episode VII, and provides tantalizing hints about what might be revealed in Episode VIII.

Here's what I really liked:

• Characters die in this book. That was, in my opinion, a weakness of the old Star Wars canon; you pretty much knew that the Heroes of Yavin would not die. Here, with the new characters, that's not the case, and that increases the dramatic tension.
• While I was put off a bit by the focus on new characters in the first book of this trilogy, and gratified by the shift toward beloved heroes in the second, this book does a good job of tying together those different emphases in a meaningful way.
• For me, the use of present tense in the first book of this trilogy wasn't too distracting; in this novel, I hardly noticed it at all.
• This book does an even better job of setting up the state of the galaxy following the Battle of Jakku. I feel the urge to run an RPG campaign set in this time period.
• Empire's End does a good job of incorporating elements from various new and old canon sources, including the Lando comics, the Outbound Flight novel and the old Dark Empire comics.
• Rae Sloane is, I think, my favorite character from the new canon. From a being who seemed to be a relatively minor villain in A New Dawn, she has developed into a really interesting persona.

Here's what irked me:

• At times this novel seems grittier than what I expect from Star Wars. That doesn't happen a lot, and I know that it's useful for increasing the dramatic tension, but sometimes it seems like too much.
• While I know that this novel can't reveal much about the details that will emerge from Episode VIII, I guess I'd hoped for more. Some of the big questions left unanswered by The Force Awakens remain unanswered.

All in all, I recommend this novel to anyone who's interested in the sequel era; it brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion and sets the stage for the new trilogy.

Review of Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt

I think there are too many colons in the title of this post, but such is life.

Just now I finished reading Aftermath: Life Debt. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It builds upon the story of Aftermath, but takes the story in different directions. Here are some observations:

1. The present-tense writing style bugged me a little bit in the first novel; in this one, I hardly noticed it. For me, first-person point of view is much more distracting.

2. I like the new characters, and it was fun to see them develop even more in this book. Even so, it was good to see more of familiar characters, especially Wedge, Leia, Chewie and Han.

3. It pleased me that the scale of this novel was bigger. While the focus of the first one was largely the events taking place on Akiva, this one focuses on Kashyyyk--a story that's been waiting to be told, and this one doesn't disappoint. While it took almost half the book to introduce the Han-and-Chewie shenanigans for which I was waiting, said shenanigans were worth the wait.

4. There are more of the Interludes that show what's happening around the galaxy. With the first novel, those were a big part of the drive to read it quickly, since they provided the first (newly) official details about what happens after Return of the Jedi. This time around, while I was intrigued by these glimpses and the hints that they might provide to other stories, I also felt impatient; I wanted to go back to the main story to see how it developed.

5. Rae Sloane is my favorite character to come out of the new canon. She's tough and smart, and makes a much better villain than many in the old books.

6. This book ties a lot more into Episode 7. I don't want to spoil things, but there are some details that I'm eager to discuss with others once they've read it.

7. It's no surprise that the novel to finish this trilogy, Empire's End, will tie into the Battle of Jakku. That means, I think, more connections and an explosive finish. I wish I didn't have to wait half a year for it. What is more, it's interesting to see how the novels in a more regulated Star Wars universe connect to each other. A character (Sloane) who appeared in A New Dawn has risen to importance, and events first introduced in Lost Stars are going to provide a climax. This feels much more orderly than the old Expanded Universe, where a lot of the character development happened retroactively. (For example, Prince Xizor became a lot more believable in the stories released after Shadows of the Empire, even though he was killed in that debut novel.)

8. Finally, I'm intrigued to see how much of this hints at developments that we'll see in Episode 8. While Lost Stars and other books in the Journey to The Force Awakens had some clues, it feels like this has many more. Time will tell, I guess.

Lettin' Loose! (Episode 7 SPOILERS!)

Don't tell me that's another Death Star. Oh no. Please no. Not again....

I said I would reserve my spoiler-laden review of The Force Awakens until the new year. Here we are, almost mid-February, and I am willing to let 'er rip.

I liked the movie in many ways. I was happy to meet a few new characters (Poe, Finn, Rey, BB-8) and I loved seeing some old friends (Han, Chewie, Leia, the droids). The beginning of the movie is wonderful, right up until the Starkiller Base.

I can't stand the idea of Starkiller Base for a large number of reasons: the first of which is it represents a weak plot device. A re-tread of a re-tread. Please. No more superweapons. PLEASE.

Worse yet, this particular superweapon is MORE SUPER-ER than the Death Star. They even have a hologram (and a speaking line) to prove it. We are supposed to believe that a splinter faction of the Imperial remnant that fled to the Unknown Regions has somehow, in less than 25 years or so (you have to have the OT civil war end with the Galactic Concordance, followed by the Military Disarmament Act) built a weapon larger and more capable than what the Empire achieved. Not very likely, even in space opera fantasy. Terrible storyline is more like it.

Starkiller Base somehow shot across ~60,000 light years (literally half the distance across the galaxy, through the galactic core) to hit characters on Hosnian Prime we barely even glimpsed, yet alone met. I was not sure exactly who just died until I read the Visual Dictionary. At least the Death Star had the courtesy to actually show up near the planet it was about to vaporize. Sniping from the edge of nowhere seems less...compelling.

On top of the poor story telling relating to who was being shot, we have an absolute train wreck, details-wise. Somehow people 20,000 light years away from the target (Han et al on Takodana), off-axis from the shot (the line between Takodana to Hosnian Prime is perpendicular to the line between Starkiller Base and Hosnian Prime), see the light from the superweapon streak across their sky (right to left...IMPOSSIBLE...look at the galactic map) and hit what appear to be a cluster of moons in orbit around Takodana. What? Wait. Who just shot whom? And where are Han and Rey? What? Who? How did they observe that from that distance? What is going on here?

Next up, Starkiller wants to take a big shot: this time they hope to line up for a 100,000 light year (the galaxy is 120,000 light years, end-to-end) shot on the Resistance HQ of D'Qar. Again, shooting through the galactic core. Somehow people on D'Qar know this, in real time, and can get a countdown clock going.

Almost everything good about this movie was a remake of A New Hope. I mean, droid with secret plans meets a special, Force-sensitive yet untrained outsider protagonist on a desert planet and must get back to Rebel HQ... you have heard that before, right?

Other parts were bad precisely because the tried to remake A New Hope. Countdown clock to Death Star...I mean...Starkiller Base comes leaping to mind.

Captain Phasma is not a "captain" in rank. She is apparently the head of all First Order stormtroopers, yet in the novelization, the movie, and the book Before the Awakening she appears to either conduct or oversee individual troopers' training. According to my guesses at Stormtrooper rank structure, she'd have to be something like a "High Colonel" to lead a ~10,000 strong Stormtrooper Legion. Higher equivalent rank to lead more troops (something like an Army General).

Then we have the problems of radio communications between forces on the ground on D'Qar and fighters currently in hyperspace, the X-Wing's ability to "linger" in hyperspace until they wish to exit in order to attack, and Han's dangerous misuse of the Falcon's hyperdrive levers...twice! These things strike me as Jar Jar Abrams taking George Lucas's toys and roughly bashing them together just for the hell of it. It was a safe (read "remake") movie. The places where is wasn't original, it frequently wasn't good.

Another thing: the totality of the Resistance "fleet" is apparently two squadrons of T-70 X-Wings, led by Poe. Red Squadron and Blue Squadron, led by a guy calling himself "Black One" (?). Fifteen starfighters, zero capital ships. That is the definition of a crappy "fleet" in my book.

I do like Kylo Ren. I like that he is a dark sider worried about "falling" to the light side. That's a cool twist. I am conflicted about who his parents are, and I am very troubled by the fact the Luke couldn't hold it together, training-wise. The Luke I see at the end of Jedi would be able to re-build the Jedi order. Eventually. He wouldn't fail then run away and hide.

Overall, besides Starkiller Base, I liked it. I didn't love it. I went twice. I would almost go again, just to spend some time with Rey and BB-8 on Jakku. Hang out with Han and Chewie on Takodana. See Finn's funny and misguided attempts at being chauvinistic, start to worry when we meet the rathtars and the poorly named space gangs. Then daydream about how Episode 8 can't possibly include another superweapon. Right?



ASIDE (In defense of properly applied Superweapons)
The first Death Star was cool. No doubt about it.

The Second Death Star was a trap. The Emperor knew that the Rebels would have to respond in force if they knew a second one was being built. The trap almost worked to gather and destroy the Alliance.

Any more Death Stars, or Starkiller Bases, or Sun Crushers, or whatevers can please go away. You are not a Dark Lord of the Sith, you are not the Emperor of the galaxy, and you cannot handle the logistics of building such a thing. It is beyond you. Let's leave it at that.

Now, as for The Force Awakens, what could we have seen instead? Why not certain confirmation that the First Order has been not following the terms of the treaty they signed. They have secretly built a mighty fleet (compared to the deliberately de-fanged and moth-balled New Republic Navy). They have also infiltrated and corrupted many in the Senate. They use their new power to strike Hosnian Prime, not with a superweapon shot from the next galaxy over, but with a conventional fleet action surprise attack. They pull some strings behind the scenes, get some key defense resources reassigned or whatever, then roll into orbit with a fleet and lay waste to the surface. Then they flee before any help can be scrambled from individual member planet defense forces. You wind up in the same sort of place, but you don't need a stupid superweapon to do it. You also don't need to have a ex-stormtrooper, who worked as a janitor, know how to disable the planetary shields. Or at least threaten the Captain who's not a Captain to do it for him. So. Annoying.

Putting Episode VII on the Map

The following chart provides locations for planets from Star Wars: The Force Awakens on the map from pages 248-9 of the Age of Rebellion core rulebook. They were determined by comparing that map with the one from pages 8-9 of the Visual Dictionary.

Planet	Region	Coordinates
D'Qar	Outer Rim	0-18
Hosnian Prime	Core	M-12
Jakku	Inner Rim	J-14
Starkiller Base	Unknown Regions	H-6
Takodana	Expansion Region/Mid-Rim	J-16

The Force Awakens Novelization (no spoilers, yet)

Just finished the novelization of "The Force Awakens" by Alan Dean Foster, as read on my Kindle Fire. I really liked it! Not only was it a fast and easy read, packed with movement and action, it did what one hopes a novelization of a movie you've already seen will do: add to the enjoyment of the overall experience.

My least favorite portions of the movie definitely have to do with a certain secret base with special properties. The novelization helps in this respect, by adding a bunch of pseudoscience gobbledeegook* that serves to make the entire thing a bit more palatable. Hand waving at its best, perhaps, to shoehorn an outrageous concept into a semi-plausible sounding portion of the story. Hand-waving of this type is a necessary art for writing in a shared universe, where super nerds like us that want everything to hang together in some semblance of order and internal logic. Alan Dean Foster does an admirable job in this regard.

*In this case, I do not mean this as a disparaging term. Space opera like Star Wars need not (in fact should not) have too hard an edge to the science aspect of science fiction.

Other portions I quite enjoyed were some more details about Poe's escape from Jakku, a bit more on Lor San Tekka, as well as a couple of extended scenes here and there which give one the feeling of getting a peek at an earlier version of the screenplay, before changes brought about by filming and editing and whatnot.

I must say, this read has solidified my already certain love for these new characters. Particularly Rey, but also Finn, Poe, and BB-8. I will be very interested to see where the next movie takes these adventurers (and glad to have a certain secret base behind us, story-wise).

Visualizing the Movie (Spoilers)

Just finished reading this book. It is almost essential reading, in my view, if you want to understand the movie. I don't consider that a good thing.

A few notes I took as I read and looked at the pretty pictures. Warning: likely spoilers ahead!

A new (partial) map of the galaxy, featuring Starkiller Base (DS3?), Jakku (Rey's home), Hosnian Prime (current seat of Republic Senate), D'Qar (the main Resistance base), and Takodana (site of Maz Kanata's castle). Strangely enough, still no report on where the heck Lothal is located, I far as I can tell.

The Galactic Concordance is the official name of the peace treaty signed between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant. This treaty ended the Galactic Civil War. Shortly thereafter the Republic Senate passed the Military Disarmament Act, wishing to dramatically reduce the size of the standing armed forces which had been in place since the beginning of the Clone Wars.

In an effort to woo worlds to their cause, the Republic Senate is no longer on Coruscant. The body is now hosted on a rotating basis, each host site elected by member worlds. As of the movie, the current Senate is meeting on Hosnian Prime, a Core World.

Lor San Tekka, an important figure in the movie now given a name (here and in a few other books), was a well traveled explorer who, among other things, helped Luke find lost or repressed Jedi artifacts and information after the GCW. Since the time of the Empire, San Tekka has been a member of the "Church of the Force", a religion based on revering the ideals espoused by the Jedi. The adherents to this faith are not, themselves, Force users but they respect the ideals nonetheless. I don't know that something called 'Church of the Force' sounds all that in line with Star Wars, personally.

Captain Phasma is not a captain in rank. Thank goodness, as that would be silly. A Stormtrooper Captain would be in command of something like 150 or so Stormtroopers, not the entire contingent within the First Order. No idea on what real rank she has, but it isn't Captain. As a side note, it is said that her armor was chromed using metal taken from one of Palpatine's personal star yachts.  Cool.

Germane to this blog, it turns out Rey's old broken salvaged Rebel starfighter helmet used to belong to one Captain Dosmit Reah of the Tierfon Yellow Aces. No idea on how a "Yellow Ace" made it to the Jakku battle at the end of the war (since they were disbanded years before that time).

The new movie and its attendant stuff (books, comics, novels, etc) is all very interesting, but I am growing to dislike the decisions made in a number of places. More on that later. Probably much more on that, in fact.

Before the Awakening

In my previous post, I mentioned a complaint with Episode 7: It feels cut off from the rest of the Star Wars galaxy and leaves a lot of unanswered questions. As expected, new novels are beginning to fill in some of those gaps. Take, for instance, Before the Awakening.

This book presents three new long stories, one for each of the characters pictured on the cover. Finn's tale presents a glimpse into his training as a stormtrooper, as well as into other activities of the First Order. It gives hints into the unusual qualities that cause him to make the decision in the film that draws him into the action. Rey's story shows more of what life is like for her on Jakku, but suffers from the fact that one pretty much knows how it's going to end.  Of them all, Poe's tale is my favorite. It includes details from his life growing up on Yavin IV (tying in nicely to the Shattered Empire comics), as well as how he moved from the New Republic to the Resistance--and clarifies some of those organizations' relationships with each other. It also presents a rousing adventure, and one that helps clarify the picture of what RPG scenarios in this time period might look like.

All in all, I recommend the book for a good, quick read.

-Nate

The Force Awakens! (*Spoilers!*)

For the most part, I agree with Brent's review. I quite enjoyed this film. The plot moved at a steady pace; the action sequences were exciting; the acting was solid; it was great to see physical props and familiar faces. With that said, I find myself somewhat unsatisfied due to the high number of questions that the film leaves unanswered.

This impression has been reinforced as I've been reviewing the prequel trilogy. As critical as some might be of it, one thing that should be said for it is that it explains how the Old Republic was toppled by the Sith, how Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side of the Force, and just what the Clone Wars entailed. In that way, it expanded on what we knew of the Star Wars galaxy, even if we weren't sold on the love story or fulfilled by the digital effects.

Episode VII, on the other hand, leaves a lot of wondering to do. This also, of course, brings up many *SPOILERS!*

How did the First Order rise from the ashes of the Empire?

How does the Resistance connect to the New Republic?

How did Kylo Ren fall to the dark side of the Force?

What's the deal with Rey being left on Jakku?

What's been going on with Luke?

I also find it curious that the film takes place on no planets from the previous trilogies, while earlier films have often revisited familiar worlds. 

I know, of course, that Episode IV left some of these same questions to be answered. They didn't detract from my enjoyment of that film, however. I also know that many of these questions will be answered in the novelization of the movie, the visual guide to the film, its sequels, etc. Even so, they leave me not quite as satisfied as I might have been had these details been included in the film. That won't stop me from seeing it a few more times, however, because it is an exciting and engaging motion picture.

-Nate

The Force Awakens! (spoiler free)

Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over! I got the chance to see Episode VII late Thursday night. Overall I was very pleased. As a straight up movie, it was action-packed and quite enjoyable. I am going to post here my initial impressions, spoiler-free, and I know Nate plans to do the same very soon. We'll wait until after the New Year (at least) before diving into details and whatnot.

Lots of positives to be found. There were a bunch of cool tech tidbits, adding to the realism of the background. Tons of new, fresh aliens and droids. We'll be working our way through them for quite some time. Lots of humor, when appropriate. A good crop of one-liners scattered about, here and there.

Great to see old friends. Delighted to see really strong characters emerge as new friends. I quite like BB-8, Poe, Finn, and Rey.

Decent main bad guys in the First Order. OK good guys in the Resistance. From the movie alone (at least from one viewing), it is difficult to tell what, exactly, is going on politically. First Order and Resistance. Plus Republic? I understand there are already extensive background texts out there that have lots more details, including "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary"). I will have to dive into those soon as I try to make sense of it all.

Without giving anything away, I think the plot is the weakest element of this film. For Star Wars nerds like us, that may not matter too much, as we can survive and thrive on just the details alone. Thankfully there are no grating elements like Jar Jar and (as Abrams mentioned before release multiple times) no midi-chlorians talk.

I plan to see this movie at least three more times in the theater before January is out. Perhaps more. It's fun and fast and brand new. It feels like Star Wars (which is a bit odd to say, but an important aspect for me, nonetheless).

As for a rating, I'd say 4/5 stars. The imagery, excitement, and thrill of it all carries the day even when the actual storyline could have used some extensive help. More on my thoughts in this regard next year, when spoilers will be less damaging.

Short Stories, Short Time

I found these digital short stories on my Kindle, released on December 1, 2015.

All five are part of "Journey to: Star Wars: the Force Awakens", the top four have a sub-title of "Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens".

They are mostly enjoyable sci fi stories, but they don't, in my opinion, feel much like Star Wars. They are about characters we might meet in the upcoming movie, especially "All Creatures Great and Small", which features a new alien story teller, Bobbajo (a member of the new species called Nu-Cosians). Bobbajo was the first Force Awakens character I ever saw, appearing very early on behind J. J. Abrams in a teaser video. The other story with an obvious tie-in would be "High Noon on Jakku", with Constable Zuvio (of the alien species called Kyuzo). He'll likely be in the movie, as he has an action figure for sale.

The other stories are about various ne'er do wells across the galaxy. Small time crooks, pirates, and mad scientists. Nothing really heroic, no characters we really know (yet).

One item I found interesting has to do with this aforementioned storyteller character of Bobbajo, a kind of Yoda-like being. He re-tells a classic tale, known to all familiar with Star Wars, inserting himself and his collection of animal companions into key roles in the very heart of the story. When asked by other incredulous characters if what he's telling them is the truth, he answers in his slow, halting way: "History...is an interesting thing. We only know...the versions we are told. It does not mean...that there are not...other truths."

I choose to take this wise advice to heart as we prepare to meet a new generation of Star Wars lore, setting forth on a new journey together, defining new canon but remaining open to the call of the past and the allure of the "Legends" material.

My next post will be a review of the new movie. Don't worry, I won't include spoilers!

Eternal Conflict

This Wired article discusses the very thing I have come to uneasily suspect: Star Wars is going into overdrive. Meltdown. Super-hypetrain, off the rails. We are going to see a new Star Wars movie ever year until "...people stop buying tickets." We literally may not live long enough to see the last Star Wars movie. Add in all the toys and merchandising and whatnot, and it feels like a truly massive marketing juggernaut is poised for the attack.

Part of me loves the idea. Another part of me cringes.

Not to say that Star Wars hasn't always been about marketing toys, etc. It has, since the very beginning. But this is a different thing entirely, without historical precedent. I guess the closest thing in terms of quantities of movies would be the Bond franchise; perhaps the closest thing in recent times to the cross-platform movie tie-in bonanza is that other very successful Disney property: the Marvel movies.

What does this mean for Star Wars, the story? The canon? The saga? I fear it means a cheapening of the central tale of fall and redemption. For one, the new canon requires a state of perpetual war, against which movie after movie after movie can be set. The First Order and the Resistance. I suspect both are of approximate equal size and strength, ensuring a bitter and contested future: forever.

Another pitfall is the re-use of known tropes and themes. Please don't tell me that Episode VII's movie poster has a third Death Star on it.

In this new Disney era, there will never be a post-RotJ happy ending. The Republic, and a new era of peace, is not coming back.

The Star Wars saga is the tale of Palpatine/Sidious, working in secret to come to power, coupled with Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side and eventual redemption.

To my mind, the Empire, which was formed and maintained through the active effort and arm twisting and conniving of a Sith Lord, would crumble within a decade of his absence. He cultivated aggressive top advisers and high ranking military personnel who hated each other and, powered by naked ambition, worked to back-stab each other in a constant jockeying for position and the Emperor's favor. The big bad guy dies...and all that infighting would descend into chaos. The Emperor isn't there to forsee and plan. Vader isn't there to enforce the Emperor's will. Tarkin and the superweapons aren't there to help instill fear. I'd give it about a decade of decay before the last remnants of Imperial controlled space are isolated and dealt with, either militarily or via political agreements. Much like how Zahn et al. version of the Expanded Universe played out.

A Star Wars where, as the book "Aftermath" claims, the fall of the Emperor is "...just the beginning of the war"?

Uhhhhhh....I don't like it.

I hope "The Force Awakens" proves me wrong. I hope it brings back that awesome Star Wars feeling, and that the new story is fresh and exciting, but with ties to the past. We don't have long to wait before the new era dawns.

Journey to The Force Awakens

I just finished reading a great quartet of books, nominally geared toward Young Adults, that aim to set up the events of "The Force Awakens". All were well worth reading, in my opinion. All have been seeded with hints for the upcoming movie, but all take place in the era of the Galactic Civil War.

First up for discussion, the longest of the four: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. This is a rather long book, but a very quick and engaging read. It follows two main characters, friends from a young age, Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree. They hail from a back water planet and manage to make it into the Coruscant Imperial Academy before the events of Yavin. They both initially train as TIE pilots, but then start separate paths: Thane sticks with starfighters, Ciena moves to the capital ship command track. They develop a love interest, and eventually wind up on opposite sides of the Rebellion.

I won't give any more of the plot away, but I will mention that one of the "seeds" in this book, as pertains to "The Force Awakens", is the story behind the cover art (and the wonderful special effects shot of a crashed Star Destroyer, as seen in the TFA trailer).

Can't really complain about this solid entry into Star Wars lore. The only thing that comes to mind is the references throughout to something called "Imperial Starfleet". Sounds like a J.J.-ism, perhaps.

Next up for mini-review is a trio of much shorter books, all done in the same format: namely a short beginning portion, set in the time of "The Force Awakens", wherein the main character is asked to recall a story from the past (i.e. the Galactic Civil War era). The bulk of the book is this story, then the very end few pages are a wrap-up set, once again, in the "future". We get small hints of new characters and other "seeded" hints thrown in, here and there. All three are fun short stories that fit well in the spirit of the Star Wars universe. They remind me a bit of the wonderful "Tales From..." series, as the three plots can all be considered side treks within the main Galactic Civil War story line. 

I read all four books in less than two weeks. Really nice stories that add some good flavor to the Star Wars canon. I have to admit, after reading these, my unease with the whole concept of "The Force Awakens" has grown. I love the Galactic Civil War era too much, and appreciate the now-Legends stuff that filled in after ROTJ too much to see it all swept away by a (possibly) simplistic, eternal war type scenario. Why can't the end of the Emperor spell the (eventual) end of the Empire? A subject for another time, perhaps.


Side Note: I am not going to review "Aftermath", as I could not stand to read even the sample chapter found online. I will have to ask Nate what happened (unless my fear proves true, and I don't care that much about "The Force Awakens"). I have had fun reading some of the 40% one-star reviews on Amazon.com. Not a good sign, in my opinion.

I still have a plethora of GCW era stuff to read, and I am in no hurry to despoil the Expanded Universe, personally.

Shattered Empire #1 Review

Following up on my review of Aftermath--and continuing the "Journey to The Force Awakens"--is a review of the first issue from the new Shattered Empire series.

With a single issue of a comic book, one can only do so much. That is the case with issue #1 of Shattered Empire. The issue starts out at the Battle of Endor, showing some of the famous moments and then introducing a new character, Shara Bey (Green 4). Following the battle, she is reunited with her SpecForce Pathfinder husband, Kes Dameron. (That last name should sound familiar, by the way.) They have a little downtime before the Pathfinder is called off on a new mission, one that leads to an important discovery and, presumably, another assignment. It's a solid start to the series, even if it leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. I'm interested to see.

Two Trailers

I think it's safe to assume that anyone who reads this blog is already familiar with the news coming out of the Star Wars Celebration this weekend. Even so, it seems appropriate--and even obligatory--to repeat some of that information here.

First and foremost, of course, is the trailer for Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

The Force Awakens Teaser 2

This one looks really pretty and provides more insight into the story for the film. It conjures some mixed emotions, too, because of how it seems to handle much of the storyline that was developed for after Return of the Jedi.

Perhaps more relevant to this blog, however, is the trailer for Season 2 of Star Wars: Rebels.

Rebels Season 2 Trailer

I find it especially interesting to see how that series, which felt a lot like an Edge of the Empire campaign during the first season, is starting to feel more like an Age of Rebellion campaign--at least in what one can see from the trailer.

Whatever the case, I think it's safe to say that 2015 is an exciting year in which to be a Star Wars fan.