Last of the Jedi by Jude Watson
Written approximately 15 minutes before I passed out in bed last night - Not finished yet but I'm on page 30 and I'm like "Ferus is reacting like he lost a partner-partner, not a business partner - actually the word 'partner' is being emphasised a lot???". So I checked. Author confirmed. FERUS IS QUEER. FERUSSSSSS ISSSSS QUEEEEEER. I'm so excited. Watson just became even more awesome imo for stealthily writing a queer character into the EU canon, which was famously heteronormative. I mean, I don't like everything Disney has done post-acquisition, but damn at least we get openly queer characters in the books now. I am crying rainbows rn. And also actual crying, because Ferus lost his HUSBAND. I'm seeing the whole series in an entirely new light.
0 Comments
Clone Wars: Secret Missions by Ryder Windham
Quest for Planet X (Star Wars: High Republic) |
 | Anakin to the Rescue by Cecilia Venn Okay, that was pretty cute. And the author obviously knew her audience very well, because it's structured perfectly for kids learning to read. |
| Queen in Disguise by Monica Kulling I had seen illustrations from this book pop up on the Internet over the years, so I'm happy to finally have a copy. Very cute. As a kid, I would have adored it. |  |
 | Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection Vol 1 A solid collection of Legends tales, which I really enjoyed (mind you, I skipped over the Dawn of the Jedi one, since I'd read it recently in the associated novel - I recall it being decent, though). Great choice of authors. But I don't agree with the decision to add Disney-canon stories to the back of this book. They felt very out of place - and the Blade Squadron stories just weren't that interesting. Ignore those and you've got a great collection of stories here. |
| Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection Vol 2 I have the same issue with this volume that I did with the previous one - Legends and Disney canon stories should not be presented in the same collection. It really highlights how much better the older works are. This time, though, I did enjoy one of the newer pieces. |  |
Star Wars: Boba Fett
 | #1 - The Fight to Survive by Terry Bisson Ooof this was not good. Most of it is a retelling of Attack of the Clones, from Boba's point of view, but it really wasn't necessary. The real story doesn't start for some time and it mostly consists of Boba being irritatingly (and uncharacteristically) gullible. There's also a random, inexplicable cameo by Siri Tachi. She didn't actually do anything, much to my disappointment. |
| #2 - Crossfire by Terry Bisson This instalment delivered an actual plot, though not a brilliant one - and Count Dooku, who could have been a great villain, was severely under-utilised. But I'm impressed that a kids' book from 2002 managed to include a non-binary (if alien) character. Boba also made sure to confirm his new friend's gender. A nice surprise. |  |
 | #3 - Maze of Deception by Elizabeth Hand A frustrating read, because Boba was still written as a gullible kid (so gullible, in fact, that my 10-year-old self would have despised him in this book!). At least he had a couple of good moments this time. There seems to be no real difference in writing style, despite another author taking over the series. |
| #4 - Hunted by Elizabeth Hand What a relief this was. The best of the series so far (and by far!). The creepy eye things, Boba vs Durge, Boba handling Jabba for the first time - a solid story and not too much cringing on my part, for once. |  |
 | #5 - A New Threat by Elizabeth Hand A standard adventure that doesn't offer anything new, but it contains enough excitement to keep the pages turning. It's also good to see Boba actually being competent. |
| #6 - Pursuit by Elizabeth Hand Well, I'm not exactly sure what that was, but I know it wasn't good. Boba Fett abandons a bounty for a personal vendetta, then fails at that too. Who is this guy? In fact, I didn't recognise any of the characters in this disaster, even though they were wearing very familiar names. A terrible ending to a meh series. |  |
Star Wars Adventures (Star Wars Legends)
by Ryder Windham
 | #1 - Hunt the Sun Runner A decent enough adventure with an intriguing premise, which is surprising given the book's short length. Not brilliant by any means, but also not terrible. PS: How fortunate that a secondhand copy of this book arrived in my letterbox about 90 minutes before I'd planned to read it! |
| #2 - The Cavern of Screaming Skulls This continuation is much the same as the first book - not brilliant but good fun, aided by moments of humour that aren't forced or too cringey. Obi-Wan's predicament at the end made me chuckle out loud. |  |
 | #3 - The Hostage Princess So far, these books have been consistently okay and this one is no exception. An amusing romp with a side order of young romance. Alas, I had to read it on a dodgy website, since a year of futile searching has not yielded a secondhand copy anywhere (if you have one, please let me know!). |
| #4 - Jango Fett vs. the Razor Eaters Another solid instalment - it also marks the beginning the second part of the series story arc, this time focusing on the "baddies" instead. Jango and Cradossk are both very entertaining, especially when sharing scenes. |  |
 | #5 - The Shape-Shifter Strikes Zam Wesell has entered the chat. Attack of the Clones did her so dirty, but happily there are some Legends books and comics that give her many moments to shine. And she deserves all of them. Additionally, Bossk provides some great comic relief in this instalment. |
| #6 - The Warlords of Balmorra Wow, that was one seriously weird book - and nowhere near as fun as the previous five in the series. I found myself hoping that "it ain't over til the Hutt sings" was a real saying instead of a desperate wish and that it was applicable here, but alas no. It was not over. Windham decided to inflict more horrible lyrics on us for several pages. *shudder* I won't be reading the rest of the series as those books reprint earlier Adventure books. |  |
Star Wars Episode I: Adventures
 | #7 - Capture Arawynne Not as good as the previous two entries - the book is mostly taken up with kids trying to evade adults in a killer garden. Silly would be an understatement. But it's still well written, for the intended audience that is. |
| #8 - Trouble on Tatooine A very strong conclusion to the Tatooine arc. I didn't expect such an emotional finale or that I'd ever feel so attached to Kitster, a character I only had a passing interest in before now. |  |
 | #9 - Rescue in the Core Oh my God. How am I going to survive three more of these? I vowed to read all of the Legends books and comics that I own... I'm regretting that decision now. Jar Jar is okay(ish) in small doses, but this entire book is full of Gungans talking the same way as him. It was so painful to read. |
| #10 - Festival of Warriors A slightly more coherent plot in this one, but the dialogue still makes me want to stab my eyes out. I remember being pleased to find secondhand copies of these books that looked completely unread. I envy the previous owners their blissful ignorance. |  |
 | #11 - Pirates From Beyond the Sea The Gungan dialogue is still unbearable. And what's worse... the words "romance" and "Tarpals" appear together in the same paragraph and I can never unsee that. |
| #12 - The Bongo Rally Hurray! The ghastly arc is over - and I don't think we ever needed to see Jar Jar and Tarpals in a love triangle. I don't own any of the other books in the series, because I have enough versions of The Phantom Menace, thank you very much. |  |
Star Wars Episode I: Adventures
 | #1 - Search for the Lost Jedi This wasn't too bad - much to my surprise, since I am very aware that this entire series is a cash grab - though it's obviously a bit simplistic for an adult reader. I didn't appreciate the unresolved ending, but I do understand why it's there (ka-ching!). |
| #2 - The Bartokk Assassins A much more entertaining instalment, possibly because it was able to jump straight into the action without any preamble. I'm impressed that Windham could cram so much into such a short book and make it work. So I'll overlook that ridiculous mental image of Rune Haako and Daultay Dofine disguised as Duros lol |  |
 | #3 - The Fury of Darth Maul A decent enough Darth Maul adventure, though the plot developments are a bit silly and Qui-Gon is suddenly not very good at making mission-critical decisions. |
| #4 - Jedi Emergency Yoda was the hero of this book and I think that was a good choice, because 1999!Yoda didn't look like he could do very much. This particular arc of the series is over, much to my relief. Any longer and it would have outstayed its welcome. |  |
 | #5 - The Ghostling Children Well, I'm shocked. This book was really quite good, especially given that it's only part of the story. The extra handful of pages (it was slightly longer than Windham's contributions to the series) might have helped with the pacing. Wolverton is also a much better writer (which isn't a slight against Windham - Wolverton is just brilliant). |
| #6 - The Hunt for Anakin Skywalker Another thrilling instalment from Wolverton. I'm quite enjoying the adventures of Anakin and his friends and I suspect I'll be sad when this arc finishes. |  |
Quest for the Hidden City (Star Wars: The High Republic)
by George Mann
Rooper Nitani is a Jedi Padawan on the frontier and now she must investigate the disappearance of another Pathfinder team with her Master. Her journey will lead her to Gloam, a planet of creatures that came out at night and who carry a secret that will affect an entire civilisation. But only if the truth becomes known. And only if Rooper and her companions survive.
This was a pretty basic MG adventure that managed to be fun at times and I appreciated the horror vibe. But the writing...alas, not that great. I also didn't feel like Rok was a real character at all - he was very two dimensional and I really couldn't care less if he lived or died. This all said, the book will no doubt be enjoyed by its target market, despite its deficiencies.
This was a pretty basic MG adventure that managed to be fun at times and I appreciated the horror vibe. But the writing...alas, not that great. I also didn't feel like Rok was a real character at all - he was very two dimensional and I really couldn't care less if he lived or died. This all said, the book will no doubt be enjoyed by its target market, despite its deficiencies.
Star Wars: Mission to Disaster (The High Republic)
by Justina Ireland
Jedi Knight Vernestra and her Padawan Imri are back with another adventure. After Avon is abducted by Nihil and put to work by them, Vernestra and Imri must investigate other disappearances before they can make any progress towards rescuing their friend. It would be nice if people seemed more willing to help them!
Jedi and seismic activity in the same book? Kid!me would have loved the heck out of this. Who am I kidding? Adult!me also loved it. Ireland is one of two authors who makes reading the High Republic worthwhile. The excitement that her previous MG novel lacked is here in spades - along with great pacing and superb handling of characters I care about a lot.
Jedi and seismic activity in the same book? Kid!me would have loved the heck out of this. Who am I kidding? Adult!me also loved it. Ireland is one of two authors who makes reading the High Republic worthwhile. The excitement that her previous MG novel lacked is here in spades - along with great pacing and superb handling of characters I care about a lot.
About
Alyce Caswell, when she isn't drinking her way through a giant pot of tea, can be found dabbling in multiple genres and writing forms. She has self-published several titles in her space opera family saga, which is divided into two series: The Galactic Pantheon and The Pantheon War. Her most recent book is The Shadow of the Gods.
Archives
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
Categories
All
Alt Hist
Anthology
Ashley Poston
Australia
Australian
Book Review
Canada
Chicklit
Classic
Collection
Comedy Of Manners
Comics
Community Unravels
COVID 19
COVID-19
Crime
Denmark
Diversity
Emma Baird
Fairy Tales
Fantasy
Female Relationships
Harlequin
Historical Romance
History
Hugo Award Winner
Irish
Jack Campbell
JNR
Julia Quinn
Kim Harrison
Korean
LGBTQIA+ Representation
Literary Fiction
Lorraine Heath
Lynsay Sands
Malaysian
Memoir
Messy Family
MG
Mills & Boon
Netgalley
New Adult
Non Fiction
Non-fiction
NOPE NOPE NOPE
Novella
Paranormal Romance
Patricia Briggs
Paula Quinn
Prequel
Queer Romance
Romance
Romcom
RUBY
Rural Romance
SA
Sarah J Maas
Sci Fi/fantasy
Sci-fi/fantasy
Scottish Romance
Sequel
Small Town Romance
Sophie Barnes
Space Opera
Spin Off
Star Wars
Suspense
Tea
Television
The Epic EU Read Through
Time Travel
TW: Suicide
UK
Urban Fantasy
US
Vampires
Video Games
Wattpad
Werewolves
Witches
YA
Zimbabwe
Zombies
RSS Feed