Archive for May, 2010

Nothing says Memorial Day like kicking back by some some body of water whether it be lake, ocean, pool, or pond, with a grill going, holding a cold drink in one hand and an iPod in the other listening to Star Wars Book Report: The Podcast.  Have a great and safe holiday, and thank you to all the soldiers that are and have served our great country.

In episode 3, we first do a spoiler free book review of Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire.  We follow that up with a little more in depth  review that has spoilage.  We examine where Grand Admiral Thrawn should rank amongst Star War villains, and I share with you my favorite scenes from Heir to the Empire.

We also read your e-mails answering the question, what genre you would like to see Star Wars novels enter into next, since Death Troopers has opened the door to other genres.

Lastly, I give you my recomended reading if you are looking for a non-typical Star Wars novel.

Thanks for listening.

As always send us your thoughts and comments to jesse@starwarsbookreport.com or leave us a voice message for our podcast at 706-760-5782.  Have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

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Dashing smuggler with a heart of gold and a muscle spaceship…or…Smooth businessman with money and style to burn.  The question before us today is who is cooler Han or Lando.  There is no doubt that both men are a couple of coolest characters in the entire Star Wars universe, but it is about time to decide if we prefer Corellian Whiskey or Colt 45.  We will of course be taking a very scientific approach breaking each character down and comparing their traits like smile, style, ship, girl, and so on.  So let’s begin this epic battle of coolness.

Category one – Clothing Signature

Lando’s clothing signature is his capes.  They are flashy and expensive, and turn heads whenever he enters the room.  Han clothing signature is his vest and white shirt, but most importantly is the Corellian blood stripe that Han won in the line of duty.  Earning to wear an item that only the brave and heroic get is pretty cool, and the fact that everyone who understands anything about Corellian culture sees that stripe as a sign to Han’s bravery and character, and that is pretty impressive, but I have to side with Lando in this category because HE WEARS A CAPE.  You know what bravado it takes to wear a cape.  It takes a man’s man to wear a cape in public, and the blood stripe only impresses those who know Corellian culture, and I must admit ever since Superman, Batman, and even Darkwing Duck…I love a nice cape.  Category one goes to Lando.

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Novels or Series Mentioned

The Courtship of Princess Leah

Shadows of the Empire

The Thrawn Trilogy

The Hand of Thrawn Duology

The X-Wing Series

The New Jedi Order

The Legacy of the Force

The Fate of the Jedi

If we learned anything from the Princess Bride, it is that man or woman, boy or girl, we are all looking for true love, or should I more appropriately say…twuuee wwove.  Well, thankfully we have some great advice to find our soul mate found in the pages of some good old Star Wars novels.  Today, we are going to examine four couples who found true love to help us find the secret of catching that perfect guy or girl of our dreams. 

The four couples we are going to look at are as followed: Han and Leah, Luke and Mara Jade, Corran and Mirax, and Jagged Fel and Jaina.  Han and Leah have been successfully married for decades, and their marriage has weathered and been strengthened through storms that I cannot fathom going through from carbonite freezing to the death of children.  Luke and Mara Jade do not even have to talk to each other to share their feelings or love.  They have a deep connection that most couples dream about.  Who enjoys each other company more than Corran and Mirax?  From the first time they shared a ryshcate together, you saw magic spark because they truly love each others’ company, and with Jagged Fel and Jaina, we see teenage puppy love mature into a deep commitment for one another than easily spans the vast gulf between the Imperial Remnant and the Galactic Alliance.  We are going to examine these loves to help us all out in our own quest for true love. 

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Novels or Series Mentioned

The Ewoks Join the Fight

Heir to the Empire

The Thrawn Trilogy

Paradise Snare

The Han Solo Trilogy

Shadows of the Empire

Jedi Search

The Jedi Academy Trilogy

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

Sacrifice

The Legacy of the Force

My first Star Wars Book was the 1983 children’s book with record The Ewoks Join the Fight.  I still have it and listen to it on occasion.  I had others of the Star Wars book and record books, and I enjoyed them all, but none are as good as The Ewoks Join the Fight.  I still have a soft spot for the Ewoks, and it was these, book with record, books more so than the movies that generated my love for Star Wars.  Do not get me wrong I love the movies, but as a kid, I did not own them, so I rarely got to see the movies, but I read along with a 33 rpm record for hours acting out scene after scene with my action figures.  This passion has done nothing but grow. 

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In this episode, the award winning author of The Cestus Deception Mr. Steven Barnes drops by to share with us his thougths on writing in the Star Wars Universe.  We discus such topics as: Why is Count Dooku on the cover?  Who was more fun to write Obi-Wan Kenobi or Kit Fisto?  Why is Anakin absent? among other topics.  Mr. Barnes also share a little about his work as a life coach, and you can find more information about his life coaching at www.diamondhour.com

I also will revise my review of The Cestus Deception, posted earlier, in light of Mr. Barnes comments.

Finally, I want you to join me on the podcast though your e-mail and phone calls.  Write me an tell me about what you are reading at jesse@starwarsbookreport.com or call the show and leave a message at 706-760-5782 for future use on :The Podcast.

Enjoy the ride, and thank you for listening to your Star Wars Book Report: The Podcast.

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This is a spoiler conscious review of Karen Miller’s Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth, but with any review their will be a little spoilage, but I try to keep it a minimum. 

Novels or Series Mentioned

Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth

Clone Wars: Wild Space

X-Wing: Rogue Squadron

            Have you ever said something that just totally missed your audience?  I will never forget…picture this…Nashville…1998…that’s right, I can do Golden Girl references.  Sophia was a comedic genius, but I digress.  I was in college at baseball practice one beautiful fall day, and over head of Shelby Park flew a group of three F-117 Nighthawks, which are Stealth fighter jets.  Everyone at practice looked up to watch this rare plane fly over.  I see this a great time to tell a wonderful joke, so I say, “I thought you could not see those planes?”  To which with an absolute straight face, I had a teammate explain to me that stealth technology has to do with radar and not plain sight.  To which I responded, “I know…that’s what made my joke funny,” but it was too late.  They missed my joke completely, and I felt like an idiot.   I hope you do not miss the subtle dialogue between Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padme, and Bail that make this a wonderful book.  

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This is a spoiler conscious review of Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber, and even though I am spoiler conscious in this review, all reviews do reveal some information from the novel.

Novels or Series Mentioned

Death Troopers

Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

Outcast

Abyss 

This is our third installment in our journey through Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber.  We have heard from Mr. Schreiber.  You have read my reaction to my thoughts…I still can’t believe Mr. Schreiber did not see that he was and is a pioneer in the novels…and now you get my thoughts on the book Death Troopers.  As a kid, I loved horror movies especially Michael Myers in Halloween, but I loved them all from Jason to Freddie to even Pumpkin Head.  The one thing that scared me the most in scary movies was when the killer would walk slowly and the target person would be running like crazy, but then they would trip or stumble.  Then, the target would run like crazy again and the killer is still just walking, and the target would run into a dead end.  Then, the target would turn around and run again like crazy.  The killer is still just walking…and eventually no matter how fast the target ran, the killer who just walked still caught them and killed them…that scared me more than anything else in scary movies.  It still scares me.  Death Troopers was full of walking Zombies who catch running victims, so this book pushed all the right buttons to get to me. 

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My goal is to make Star Wars Book Report: The Podcast very interactive.  To be an interactive podcast, I need you.  I need you to send me your thoughts.  I want to hear you answer questions posed on the site.  I want to hear your comments on posted blogs and podcasts.  I want to hear about what you are reading.  I want to hear about what you are excited about in the Star Wars novels.  Share your voice with us, and we will share it on our podcast.  

There are many ways to contact :The Podcast.  You can e-mail us or CALL US, or you can visit ut on Facebook or Twitter.  Just contact us and let us know what you want to hear on your Star Wars Book Report: The Podcast

You can e-mail me at jesse@starwarsbookreport.com and I will share your voice by reading your e-mails, or you can…

Now, call in and leave a message to be used in The Podcast.  Let your voice be heard…literally.  You can call Star Wars Book Report: The Podcast at 706-760-5782 

You can leave us up to a 3 minute message, and if we like your message, we will share your thoughts on the show. 

Our Facebook Page can be found  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Star-Wars-Book-Report/122935641066282

And our Twitter Page can be found http://twitter.com/swbookreport 

Help make this show better by being a part of it.  I want Star Wars Book Report: The Podcast to be the most interactive Star Wars podcast period, and I cannot reach that goal without you.  E-mail us and call us, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Current question is, Death Troopers took Star Wars novels into the horror genre, What genre would you like to see Star Wars enter next?  Let us hear from you. 

Help make this show better by being a part of it.  I want Star Wars Book Report: The Podcast to be the most interactive Star Wars podcast period, and I cannot reach that goal without you.  E-mail us and call us.

I want you to become Star Wars Book Reporter…send us lots of e-mails at jesse@starwarsbookreport.com and call us at 706-760-5782, or post your messages at our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Thank You and I hope to hear from you soon.

Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

I apologize to David Stevenson and Indika Studios for not giving them credit for the cover artwork in this article’s original publication. The article I read about the artwork only mentioned Ms. Eno, and I failed to do more research and verify. I am sorry, and I want to thank Ms. Eno and anyone who sets me straight – Jesse December 18th.

Novels or Series Mentioned

Death Troopers

The Thrawn Trilogy

Vector Prime

The Cestus Deception

Clone Wars: Wild Space

X-Wing: Wedge’s Gamble

Shatterpoint

Inferno

Clone Wars: Gambit Trilogy

One aspect that makes Star Wars the best place in sci-fi is the time that the powers that be give to the ever day fan.  Let me tell you, just because you buy a book and pay their salaries does not mean they owe you their time.  For your money, you get a story, not personal one on one time with them.  But they give their time to the fans anyway.  They do book signings, go to conventions, answer e-mails, and give interviews to goofy website fans like me.  We are so lucky as fans of Star Wars that we get the access we do to the powers that be…so be appreciative.  I know I am. 

I want to react to the Joe Schreiber interview, and the first thing that stood out to me was…well I don’t know if it is humility or he just missed it.  I asked him two questions about blazing a trail that will open up new genres for future Star Wars novels, and in both responses he said he did not think of himself as a trailblazer.  That blew my mind.  I think Death Troopers is one of the most significant Star Wars novels written.  It is up there in significance with the Thrawn Trilogy that started it all and Vector Prime that taught us that main characters can die.  I was stunned that Mr. Schreiber did not realize the significance of his work.    

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In this episode, we have the priviledge of talking with Mrs. Karen Miller the auther of Clone Wars: Wild Space and the Clone Wars: Gambit Duology.  She was a blast to talk to.  Mrs. Miller was opiniated and difinitive.  She gives us her thoughts on the ethics of the Jedi of the Old Republic, who was right on attachment Yoda or Luke, which character she would love to write, and so much more.

Also we ask for your e-mails to answer this question, “Which genre or story style would you like to see Star Wars venture into next?”  With Joe Schreiber’s Death Troopers, Star Wars has finally ventured out of the action genre into the horror genre.  I want to know what other genres you would like to see Star Wars enter next.  Send those e-mails to jesse@starwarsbookreport.com and I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for listening.

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