More Poe and Rey and a little Falcon

A lot of good and a little bad in this section but the good far outweighs the bad!

Before The Awakening (Rey)
One of the arguments you’ll find online in regards to Rey being a “Mary Sue” is that she’s able to fly the Falcon without seemingly any training.  If for no other reason, read this part of Before The Awakening for that argument to be eliminated.  As for the story itself, it’s a fun story very worth reading.  Pick it up if you haven’t already, you’ll learn a little more about Rey!

Forces of Destiny Season 1 Episode 15 – The Happabore Hazard
Forces of Destiny – The Rey Chronicles – Rey and the Happabore
I didn’t like this one at all.  Rey literally picks a Happabore’s nose and it helps here out.  No, just no.

Forces of Destiny Season 2 Episode 5 – Run Rey Run
Forces of Destiny – The Rey Chronicles – Rey and Teedo
This one wasn’t too bad for what it was.  Not really a ton there and it’s really not intended to be.

Star Wars Adventures Destroyer Down:  Rey scavenges a “ghost ship”.  This one was fun.  Again, not much in the way of impact of canon but a fun read.

Poe Dameron 20 – 25 Legend Found:  The search for Lor Santekka! Obviously, the title gives this a way and I’m sure I’ll look at The Force Awakens a bit differently in the opening scene.  The first few issues were a bit difficult because there’s some “then” and “now” flips going on so it definitely is an arc that requires full attention when reading.

Poe Dameron Annual 2:  The story by Jody Houser is very enjoyable.  The artwork is horrid and unbecoming for this series.  I tweeted examples of just how bad it was.  It seems most of Marvel’s missteps occur in the Annuals, maybe they should stop doing those.

Star Wars Adventures 18 – Flight of the Falcon 5 Grand Theft Falcon (pg. 13-18)
Like most of the Star Wars Adventures stories, the key word is “fun”.  However, this one adds a bit of meat to the bone.  Don’t want to spoil it but think Force Awakens and the whole “he stole it from the Irving Boys who stole it from Ducain who stole it from me” line from Rey/Han.

Up Next:

Join the Resistance
Join the Resistance: Escape From Vodran
The Weapon of a Jedi (Prologue/Epilogue)
Smuggler’s Run (Prologue/Epilogue)

Poe’s Time To Shine

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #4-6, “Lockdown, Parts I-III”: Immediately this arc gave me Escape From L.A. vibes.  Great to see Grakkus again.  Terex is easily one of the better characters so far and you can’t help but like L’uolo and Oddy.

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #7-13, “The Gathering Storm, Parts I-VI”: This arc introduces Suralinda Javos, a friend of Poe’s and a very interesting character in her own right.  I like the idea of new species as well as the storyline of this arc.

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #14-16, “Legend Lost, Parts I-III”:  Really no way to discuss this arc without spoilers so I’ll just say the title of the arc says it all.  Which legend was lost? You’ll have to read that one to find out!

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #17-19, “War Stories, Parts I-III”: Back to back sad arcs.  I like the angle Soule took on this one as it’s not as straight forward as one would think.  When there’s two sides of a moral dilemma, the outcomes can be the same or different.

Star Wars – Poe Dameron Annual #1, “Annual”:  I noted on Twitter this one belongs sooner in the timeline, somewhere between 15 and 16.

Star Wars – Forces of Destiny: Rose & Paige:  This one just didn’t do much for me.  It seems to be targeted at a far younger audience and while it does have some good life lessons for younglings, it’s impact was minimal if any.

Star Wars – Battlefront II: Mission 12 – Discoveries:  The biggest mistake Battlefront II has made is not coming out with more story mode content.  I’m sure it’s not as easy as adding to the multiplayer content but to me, it’s the best part of the game.  If you haven’t played the campaign mode, put it on Explorer mode so you can focus on the story and the environment around you instead of having to be awesome at first person shooters.

Up Next:

Before The Awakening (Rey)
Forces of Destiny Season 1 Episode 15 – The Happabore Hazard
Forces of Destiny – The Rey Chronicles – Rey and the Happabore
Forces of Destiny Season 2 Episode 5 – Run Rey Run
Forces of Destiny – The Rey Chronicles – Rey and Teedo
Star Wars Adventures Destroyer Down Episode 1 Explore (pg. 1-14)
Star Wars Adventures Destroyer Down 2 Discover (pg. 1-14)
Star Wars Adventures Destroyer Down 3 Protect (pg. 1-14)
Poe Dameron 20 – Legend Found 1
Poe Dameron 22 – Legend Found 3 (pg. 1-3, 6-8, 20)
Poe Dameron 21-25 – Legend Found 2-6
Poe Dameron Annual 2 (pg. 9, 1-8, 10-30)
Star Wars Adventures 18 – Flight of the Falcon 5 Grand Theft Falcon (pg. 13-18)

A Little Rey and a lot of Poe

This entry was largely comics and for me, that’s the hardest thing for me to review.  If I weren’t trying to avoid spoilers, I suspect it would be a lot easier but since I am trying to keep these reviews spoiler free to encourage people to read for themselves, the degree of difficulty increases.

At any rate, on with the show!

Star Wars Adventures – SDCC Special: This was more of a series introduction featuring R2-D2 and C-3PO.  Almost reminded me of an intro to a Saturday morning cartoon.

Star Wars Adventures #1-2, “Better the Devil You Know”:  This is a fun tale that gives a little history between Unkar Plutt and Rey.

Star Wars – Before the Awakening: “Poe” and Poe and the Missing Ship:  These two get combined because the Missing Ship is a short version retelling of the first part of the story in Before the Awakening “Poe”.  This one shouldn’t be skipped.  You get backstory on Poe as well as how he joined the Resistance along with some other good tidbits as well.  For a book aimed at a younger reader, like the rest in the category, it’s pure Star Wars!

Star Wars – C-3PO #1, “Phantom Limb”:  This one is pretty obvious.  All about how C-3PO got his red arm.  Not really sure this one was necessary but there’s a trivia morsel anyways.

Star Wars – SaBBotage (Star Wars – Poe Dameron #1): This one didn’t do much for me, then again, it’s a very simplistic old-fashioned newspaper comic strip style that tells a typical love story.  Cute and all but not really anything substantial.

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #1-3: Black Squadron:  Having already read the flashback portions, I believe I’ve already gotten the backstory portions so this should all be new story leading up to Force Awakens and this certainly fits that category as the search for Lor San Tekka is on.

Up Next:
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #4, “Lockdown, Part I” (pg. 3-17, 1-2, 18-20)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #5-6, “Lockdown, Parts II-III”
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #7, “The Gathering Storm” (pg. 26, 1-13, 27, 14-15, 27, 16-24, 27, 25-30)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #8, “The Gathering Storm, Part I” (pg. 1-5, 10-15, 17-20)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #9, “The Gathering Storm, Part II” (pg. 1-5, 10-14, 17-20)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #10, “The Gathering Storm, Part III” (pg. 1-5, 12-20)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #11-13, “The Gathering Storm, Parts IV-VI”
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #14-16, “Legend Lost, Parts I-III”
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #17-19, “War Stories, Parts I-III”
Star Wars – Poe Dameron Annual #1, “Annual” (pg. 1-2, 15-16, 3-14, 17-30)
Star Wars – Forces of Destiny: Rose & Paige
Star Wars – Battlefront II: Mission 12 – Discoveries

Phasma Review and the journey ahead!

Reading chronologically presents several challenges, for example, missing new books or comics as soon as they come out or in this case, reading chapters out of order.  There are advantages to this though.  I had the experience of reading Phasma’s backstory from beginning to end with no interruption.  I also got to read the story of Cardinal and Vi uninterrupted and as a separate story entirely.

The book is meant to be read as an interrogation of Vi by Cardinal with the Phasma backstory interspersed throughout.  One day, I’ll read it as intended but for this project, the chronological read provided a fascinating viewpoint.  Reading all about Phasma and her past first was highly enjoyable.  It had the feel of Mad Max in Star Wars.  I particularly enjoyed the primative nature of Phasma’s past.

As for Cardinal and Vi, I was immediately pulled to Cardinal.  You can tell he’s a man of integrity and character.  Vi presents an intuitive character with a bit of snark infused.  I can’t help but wonder if maybe these characters may be revisited in some form or fashion in the future.

As with any work, there are always flaws, whether small and nitpicky or large and crater-sized.  In this case, the only thing I didn’t like was the number of sentences that either started with “For all” or had the phrasing “for all”.   This occurs 49 times in the manner I’m noting.  An editor should have caught something occurring that frequently in my opinion.  The problem with repetitive phrasing is it’s a distraction from the story.  That said, it’s still a very good story and very well worth the read as there is far more to like than dislike.

Up Next:

Star Wars Adventures – SDCC Special
Star Wars Adventures #1, “Better the Devil You Know, Part I” (pg. 3-5, 1-2, 6-15)
Star Wars Adventures #2, “Better the Devil You Know, Part II”
Star Wars – Before the Awakening: “Poe”
Poe and the Missing Ship
Star Wars – C-3PO #1, “Phantom Limb”
Star Wars – SaBBotage (Star Wars – Poe Dameron #1)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #1, “Black Squadron, Part I” (pg. 7-11)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #2, “Black Squadron, Part II” (pg. 5-7)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #1, “Black Squadron, Part I” (pg. 1-6, 12-22)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #2, “Black Squadron, Part II” (pg. 1-4, 8-20)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #3, “Black Squadron, Part III” 

Mayhew and Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away Aliens Vol. 1

Yesterday we received the news that Peter Mayhew had passed away.  I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Mayhew at Celebration Orlando 2017.  With Carrie Fisher’s passing just months before Celebration, I realized that I never got to say hello to her or Kenny Baker or get their autographs in person while getting the chance to say “Thank you for all the great memories you’ve given me.”  As I walked to Mr. Mayhew’s table I tried to think of what I could say in the short amount of time that might make an impact and I came to the conclusion that it’s best to just be gracious instead of trying to be clever (I saved that moment for Steve Blum) and so I said exactly what I quoted above.  Mr. Mayhew shook my hand and gave me that unforgettable smile of his and said “Thank you for making that possible and for all this” while gesturing at the large crowds.  I’ll never forget that as long as I live.  Rest in peace Peter, we’ll miss your smile and enthusiasm.

As for what I read recently:

Tales From A Galaxy Far, Far Away Aliens Vol. I is a collection of 6 short stories aimed at a younger reading audience and are centered around aliens from The Force Awakens.  Although intended for a younger audience, don’t let that deter you from reading this.  The stories are very enjoyable.  My favorite was All Creatures Great and Small which cleverly wove a morality tale within the Battle of Yavin from A New Hope.  Being an animal lover, that story struck a chord with me.

I followed that up with The Perfect Weapon by Delilah Dawson.  While Bazine Netal only had a few moments of screen time in The Force Awakens, this prequel story is a very good read that gives a bit of background on this character.  What I found most impressive is being able to write a story about an obscure character and captivate the reader’s interest.  Dawson accomplished that with this story.

Finally, I read the short story “Bait” from Insider #162 by Alan Dean Foster.  This one didn’t grab my attention, not because of the writing but because of the subject matter.  Again, I’m an animal lover so trophy hunting is not my bag at all.

Up Next:

Star Wars – Phasma (Chapters 1-3, 5, 7, 9, 11-13, 20, 29, 31-35, 37-43)

Bloodline Review!

Bloodline, by Claudia Gray, is an adult novel placed four years prior to The Force Awakens.  It is Ms. Gray’s second work in the Star Wars universe following Lost Stars.  As with Lost Stars, this book does not disappoint!

The best thing about this book is the character development.  Having already read Gray’s third novel, Leia of Alderaan, I knew going in that she knows how to write the character of Princess Leia and came away very impressed with how she progressed to a an older Leia and the challenges that come along with that age progression. Further, she delves into Leia as a mother, a wife as well as a politician.  For the many Leia fans, this book delivers on all levels.

While Gray does well with the well-established character, she shows her abilities with original characters as well from Ransolm Casterfo to Joph Seastriker to Greer Sonnell.  Gender and age matters not, she is simply a fantastic writer.  With Casterfo, you have a younger male counterpart to Leia who challenges her but shows faults of his own.  In Joph, you have the youthful exuberance that you can’t help but like.  Finally, there’s Greer who is a tough yet somewhat vulnerable character that is also easily likable.

If there is any criticism at all, and it’s extremely minor, is that the villain story line is predictable.  That said, the story is so well laid out that you don’t care that you know who’s behind it all.  The beauty is how that individual is dealt with and yet, even with resolution, you are left with questions.

I certainly hope we haven’t seen the last of these characters and that after Episode IX, we get more details fleshed out on the First Order and it’s development from Rae Sloane to Snoke (who hasn’t been mentioned yet in the canon to this point in the timeline).

Up Next:

Star Wars – “The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku” (Chapters 1-34) (Star Wars – Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens, Vol. I)
Star Wars – “The Perfect Weapon” (eBook)
Star Wars – “High Noon on Jakku” (Chapters 2-11, 1, 12-13, Epilogue) (Star Wars – Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens, Vol. I)
Star Wars – “All Creatures Great and Small” (Star Wars – Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens, Vol. I)
Star Wars – “The Face of Evil” (Star Wars – Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens, Vol. I)
Star Wars – “True Love” (Star Wars – Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens, Vol. I)
Star Wars – “Bait” (Star Wars Insider #162)

A Poe Flashback and Phasma!

Poe Dameron #9-10 (select flashbacks):  Without going into too great of detail to avoid spoiling it for those who haven’t had the chance to read them yet, these early flashbacks continue the story of two stormtroopers, Corlac and Terex.  Having not read the  rest of the series, I’m not quite sure who they are yet but the ending of this run of flashbacks definitely had an ending with a twist!

Star Wars – Phasma (Chapters 36, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14-19, 21-28, 30): I’d really love to do a whole blog on these chapters right now but I want to read the remaining chapters before doing so.  These chapters cover Phasma’s beginnings.  I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the book and can’t wait to finish it!

Star Wars – “Scorched” (Star Wars Insider #165) – This was a short story that detailed a pilot’s (Greer Sonnel) in a race with a surprise participant, Han Solo.  Of course, his appearance brings up all kinds of questions since Ben Solo would be around 20 at this point.  Is Han still with Leia?  Has he already left? Maybe these get answered soon.

Star Wars – Phasma (Chapter 44): This chapter occurs 1 year after the previous chapters and is hugely important and character defining!

Up Next:
Bloodline

Last Shot

Last Shot, by Daniel Jose Older, happens at various points along the timeline.  The earlier sections give us adventures from young Han and Chewie as well as young Lando and L3. The “Now” sections occur when Ben Solo is just two years old.

This novel is entertaining and challenging at the same time.  Peekpa was easily my favorite character.  While the idea of an ewok slicer is a challenge since they are known as a primitive species, it’s not the first time a more technologically advanced ewok appears in Star Wars literature.  Kolot and Treek certainly come to mind. I also enjoyed the personality of Taka.  Highly entertaining although being referred to as they/them was confusing at times.  I’m still not sure what the purpose of it was as it was never explained.  Seeing Lando (“unca wanwo” was a scream by the way) 2 years after the events of Return of the Jedi was a welcomed sight as well.

Some of the other challenges than what I previously mentioned are things like droid sentience.  Exactly how much choice in actions do droids have?  Can they exercise judgment of right and wrong actions?  The timeline jumps are another challenge not only because of parallel story lines but also because some of the time markers just aren’t correct and require a bit of retconning to make work.  Finally, some of the language was too modern, for lack of a better word, for me.  Using “Because Kaasha” sounds too “Twittery” to me.  Also, Han calling something a “wussy weapon” just doesn’t fit in the universe.  Granted, those are small nits to pick but this is about getting all thoughts out not just one side or the other.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and I think anyone who enjoys the antics of Han and Lando will certainly enjoy this book.  While it’s not up there with Lost Stars, Dark Disciple and the best of the new canon, it’s enjoyable and a solid addition.

Up Next:

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #9, “The Gathering Storm, Part II” (pg. 6-9, 15-16)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #10, “The Gathering Storm, Part III” (pg. 6-9)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #10, “The Gathering Storm, Part III” (pg. 10-11)
Star Wars – Phasma (Chapters 36, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14-19, 21-28, 30)
Star Wars – “Scorched” (Star Wars Insider #165)
Star Wars – Phasma (Chapter 44)

 

Picking up the pieces after Aftermath

Star Wars – Battlefront II: Mission 10 – The Battle of Jakku: This mission shows the involvement of Inferno Squad in the Battle of Jakku.  Can’t say it enough, the story is really good, just wish there was a lot more of it.

Star Wars – Battlefront II: Mission 11 – Until Ashes: Iden makes one last attempt to take her father out of the Empire but he’s too far gone but still does the right thing in his own way.

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #8, “The Gathering Storm, Part I” (pg. 6-9): Just a brief flashback of two troopers immediately after the Battle of Jakku.

Star Wars – Lost Stars (Chapters 27-29): I can’t say enough good things about Lost Stars.  Just an excellent book.  Yes, it has the YA romance stuff in it but it’s not so much that it takes away from the story, if anything, it adds to it in this case.  Have to say, it certainly didn’t end the way I thought it would!

Star Wars – Aftermath: Empire’s End (Epilogue): Hate to say it but the epilogue and the story around it was better than the actual book.

Star Wars – Poe Dameron #8, “The Gathering Storm, Part I” (pg. 16, 18-20): Continuation of the previous flashback, interested in seeing the connection to everything.

Up Next:

Star Wars – Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel (the “Now” sections)

The End of the Aftermath of the Empire’s End (or something like that)

Star Wars – Battlefront II: Mission 9 – Cache Grab:  I’ve really enjoyed this contextual replay of the campaign.  In this segment, Lando and Shriv are on a mission to destroy an AT-AT manufacturing plant (and a whole lot of stormies!)
Star Wars – Lost Stars (Chapter 26): Easily the most challenging read in this chronological reading list as I really want to finish it, a really good entry into the Disney canon.
Star Wars Adventures – Destroyer Down, The Ghost Ship (Pts 1,2 and 3): This story happens at the beginning of the Battle of Jakku.  It references Grand Admiral Sloane issuing directives but at the point at which this happens, she’s not in charge.  I’ll want to revisit the timeline aspects of this to make more sense of it.
Star Wars – “Blade Squadron: Jakku” (Star Wars Insider #172 : Not sure if this is the end of Blade Squadron or not but this story takes place just after Temmin crash lands.  It’s supposed to weave into Empire’s End but there’s difficulty there as well that I’ll want to revisit and see how it can fit properly.

Star Wars – Aftermath: Empire’s End  (Full Review)
From previous reviews, it’s painfully obvious that I haven’t been a fan of this trilogy nor Chuck Wendig’s writing style.  No changes after reading this book.  By the third book, I’d expect some level of attachment to the characters and for me, there wasn’t any.  Norra Wexley and her son Snap, aren’t key players in The Force Awakens and this series really doesn’t set up that story at all.  Not every book has to make a huge impact but I’ve always felt that a trilogy of books should have a wide impact on the overarching story as a whole.  The only impactful things we get are the end of the Empire officially (and to me, that really happened with Return of the Jedi and the defeat of the Emperor/Vader) and the birth of Ben Solo.

As for the other characters, Rax ends up being a one-off character that has no bearing on the future that I can tell.  Sinjir and Jas haven’t shown up anywhere so again, more one-offs.  The only character I really come away from this caring anything about is Rae Sloane and I know she’s addressed in the Epilogue which I haven’t gotten to yet. The only other character that appears in The Force Awakens is Armitage Hux but at this point, he’s a child and not a whole lot of time is spent there.  Maybe we’ll get more of that going forward, I’m not sure since I haven’t read beyond this point.

This book was extremely long and felt as Wendig was over-describing events.  The plot breaks up to focus on different aspects but gets lost along the way because of his descriptive rambling.  There were storytelling points that I felt were unnecessary and pulled me out of the story.  Some people like the trilogy but for me, I’m glad it’s not the first books of the new canon that I’ve read as I’m not sure I’d have continued.

Up Next:
Star Wars – Battlefront II: Mission 10 – The Battle of Jakku
Star Wars – Battlefront II: Mission 11 – Until Ashes
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #8, “The Gathering Storm, Part I” (pg. 6-9)
Star Wars – Lost Stars (Chapters 27-29)
Star Wars – Aftermath: Empire’s End (Epilogue)
Star Wars – Poe Dameron #8, “The Gathering Storm, Part I” (pg. 16, 18-20)