Star Wars Reads Day returns today, 5 October, for the second time. Various stores will hold events all over the country, these stores include Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million as well as independent book stores and public libraries.. The event, which was created in 2012, was founded by George Lucas who partnered with Dark Horse, Scholastic and other publishers.
Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copy* Andrew: Originally published at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2008/12/andrews-review-of-x-wing-rogue-squadron.html 4/5 Rancors – Michael Stackpole’s first book in the X-wing series, Rogue Squadron, was an exciting breath of fresh air when it was published in 1996. Bantam Spectra had offered a variety of novels focusing on the main characters from the Original Trilogy, but Rogue Squadron brought us an almost completely new group to follow. The story begins as Wedge Antilles, the only survivor of both Death Star runs (Luke was preoccupied with his father and the Emperor during the attack on the Death Star II in Return of the Jedi), is reassembling Rogue Squadron two-and-a-half years after the Battle of Endor. Wedge has been touring around the New Republic as a political figurehead, helping convince worlds uncertain of their allegiance to join the new government founded by the Rebellion. The fledging diplomatic corps is anxious to assemble a Rogue Squadron that has broad representation among various key constituent worlds, meaning Wedge can’t quite assemble the exact team he would desire. Squadmates Hobbie and Janson from the Battle of Hoth are off training squadrons of new recruits, so Rogue Squadron’s new roster is comprised entirely of non-film characters. The…
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher if a fun mashup, what would happen if the famed bard would write a well known story. not to mention George Lucas
Kevin J. Anderson’s Darksaber is the second novel in the unofficially named Callista Trilogy. Introduced in Barbara Hambly’s Children of the Jedi, Callista
My son celebrated his sixth birthday yesterday, my wife and I decided to surprise him with a Star Wars themed room … on a budget. The reason I’m writing this post is because of the lack of resources I found on the Internet when it comes to kids Star Wars themed rooms. I found a whole bunch of great stuff, I mean really great… thousands of dollars great and as much as I think that my son certainly deserves a life size Yoda statue or a wall of FX replica lightsabers I don’t think he’d appreciate those collectibles as his old man would. We redid the room for about $150 which includes the new bed sheets and comforter. We did use some of his old Star Wars toys which are no long in use but would make great decorations (such as the masks) and puzzles. The room consits of: New bedding New comforter Yoda Glow in the Dark Giant Wall Decal (bought at AC Moore with a 40% off coupon) Various Star Wars: The Clone Wars glow in the dark wall decals (bought at AC Moore with a 40% off coupon) Darth Vader and Clone Trooper masks Custom bought pictures…
This Star Wars novel follow Han, Leia, and their kids along with Chewie, Lando, Luke and our two favorite droids as they all end up in the middle of a rebellion
Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copy* Andrew: Originally published at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2010/01/andrews-review-of-corellian-trilogy-vol.html 3/5 Rancors – Assault at Selonia, the second volume in Roger MacBride Allen’s Corellian Trilogy, picks up the pace considerably from the leisurely first book. The story opens with our heroes stuck in various predicaments. Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian have left the fringes of the interdiction field blocking all access to the Corellian system and are on their way back to Coruscant to report and formulate a strategy. Han Solo and Chief of State Leia Organa Solo are being held prisoner in separate facilities by Han’s treacherous cousin Thracken Sal-Solo. Han and Leia’s children have escaped along with Chewbacca and are on the run looking for a hiding hole. The New Republic is working to identify the true puppet masters behind the Corellian situation, on the theory that Thracken’s Human League and the other Corellian splinter groups simply don’t have the wherewithal to have put together such a large-scale conspiracy. There is quite a bit more action in Assault at Selonia than is found in its predecessor. The book opens with Thracken conducting an interrogation of Han followed by a forced fight pitting him against an intimidating Selonian named Dracmus. A great…
Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copy* Andrew: Originally published at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2009/04/andrews-review-of-children-of-jedi.html 1/5 Rancors – Barbara Hambly’s Children of the Jedi kicks off a sequence of stories unofficially known as the “Callista Trilogy.” First published in the spring of 1995, this novel is representative of a period of time when Bantam Spectra was struggling to find its footing with its successful Star Wars license. Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogyhad met with massive success and acclaim, and subsequently Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy also saw significant sales, although less fan acceptance. These two trilogies set out many key elements of the Expanded Universe that would ripple through all the stories to come, including Han and Leia’s children, Luke’s attempts to revive the Jedi Order, the shape of the New Republic, and more. One element common to more than a few of the Bantam novels was something Anderson picked up from the Death Stars in the films, and that is superweapons. Hambly keys in on this plot device and introduces a new one of her own: the immense Dreadnaught Eye of Palpatine, an automated ship built in secret and designed to wipe out an enclave of Jedi on the planet Belsavis. Why Palpatine would need such a gigantic ship to…
Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copy* Andrew: Originally published at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2009/08/andrew.html 1/5 Rancors – Vonda McIntyre has garnered many accolades over the course of her writing career, including the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards. As such, I can only assume that Ms. McIntyre may have deliberately chosen to write The Crystal Star using simple language and short paragraphs, perhaps targeting a perceived audience of younger children. This book talks down to its reader, most painfully in the very long chapters dealing with the adventures of the Solo children. Names are continuously restated in place of pronouns, as if the reader might not have the attention span to remember which characters are present in a scene. Granted, the storyline does ultimately center around child characters to a large extent, but it feels underserved by being presented as if seen through the eyes of a child. The events of The Crystal Star revolve around an intriguing area of space in which a white dwarf star is orbiting a black hole and slowly being drawn in by the immense spatial forces at work. Parked near this black hole is Crseih Station, an unpleasant radiation-baked locale used by both the Empire and smuggling groups throughout the decades. Luke Skywalker…
Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copy* Andrew: Originally published at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2009/01/andrews-review-of-jedi-academy-trilogy_2371.html 2/5 Rancors – Champions of the Force is the final book in Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy. It continues much in the vein of the first two novels: a somewhat promising and engaging storyline is dragged down by pedestrian writing and some very hokey scenes. The 300-some pages of this book are essentially one extended climax to the trilogy. One battle in particular, the assault on the Imperial facility in the Maw, almost stretches the entire length of the story. The Bantam Spectra era of Star Wars novels was noted for the authors’ predilection to invent “superweapons-of-the-week.” True to form, this trilogy contains not one but two in the form of a prototype (but fully functional) Death Star and the even more powerful Sun Crusher. It’s not that hard to swallow the existence of a prototype Death Star, although the idea feels a trifle overused after seeing them in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. However, the Sun Crusher concept goes beyond the pale. Anderson asks the reader to accept it took a 100+ kilometer wide sphere to support a laser that could destroy…
