May 29th – Legacy of the Force: Revelation

Ok, I am getting pretty tired of Jaina and her “I need to take the burdens of the universe on my shoulder, woe is me, I’m the Sword of the Jedi, whatever that is”.  I wish I would have counted how many times I’ve seen it.  I would have rather have only had the reference in the NOTJ, and then maybe one when she realizes “now I know what it means” type thing.  Oh well, let her keep complaining about it – I guess that makes her realistic?

Also, what is up with Tycho Celchu?  Was he supposed to report the boarding party?  I don’t feel like he would let duty rule over everything else.  He DID leave the Empire (twice I guess you could say), so I think he’d have a bigger duty to his friends/family, and not to the Galactic Alliance.

Pages Read Since Last Post: 356

Pages Read to Date: 48,422

Books Read to Date: 133

Days: 511

May 17th – Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice

Well, this series is definitely about Jacen turning Sith.  It seems pretty obvious now if it hasn’t already that that’s the path he’s taking.  We just need him to “sacrifice the one he loves” and take a name, and there he is.  Well, judging by the name of the next book, that seems to be what’s going to happen.

It was good to see Han and Luke bury the hatchet.  Now we see that we have our bad guy (Jacen) and the good guys (the rest of the Solos and the Skywalkers (and Lando and a few others) that is the war within the war going on.

Pages Read Since Last Post: 337

Pages Read to Date: 47,410

Books Read to Date: 131

Days: 499

May 7th – Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines

Yep, Jacen’s definitely going to go Sith on us.  I guess you do pretty much see the transition in the Dark Next trilogy, but Betrayal definitely caps it.  I feel like Luke and Mara should be reversed in how they see him.  Mara has doubts, but also thinks highly of him for how he’s working with Ben.  You’d think she’d be the more skeptical of the two, and Luke having more faith in him. Maybe that’s just me though.  Well, now let’s see how the Boba Fett portion starts to tie in…

Pages Read Since Last Post: 387

Pages Read to Date: 46,301

Books Read to Date: 128

Days: 488

May 4th – Imperial Commando: 501st

Well, I actually finished Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader late Thursday night, but didn’t have a good opportunity to post last night, so here I am, and having already started 501st.  Also in this time, I did obtain the original Clone Wars cartoon DVDs and have watched both of them – they were enjoyable.  They went pretty quick.  I’m actually glad that there were 2 Clone Wars series.  I think the first was needed to fill in a little gap – and I don’t recall it was a huge undertaking.  It must have been used maybe as a test to gauge how people responded to it – that or along with more books involving the Clone Wars era coming out, it was decided more could be expanded in cartoon/tv form.  You definitely do need the second series to help fill in the gaps between the 3 years betwixt AOTC and ROTS.  There wasn’t enough there in the first go around, but it was cool to watch something definitely more cartoony, and gamey in a way.  And seeing the Jedi basically act as super heroes.  Man, if they could have all performed like Mace did when battling, the whole Clone Wars should have been over at Geonosis.

I did read Dark Lord recently, so it went quick for me.  Before the year began, I did read a number of 1 off’s (that I may or may not have mentioned), and will find myself familiar with The Force Unleased Novels, and a few more.  I will point out, that it seems weird having read about Jedi on Kashyyyk in Dark Lord, when it is again revisited in The Force Unleashed – but with different characters.  I wish TFU used a different planet.  There are plenty of already established ones and creatures that could have been used.  I have nothing against Kashyyyk, but to have multiple books close chronologically with different stories, using the same planet makes it feel too familiar.  Also, I did look up the spelling of Kashyyyk – 3 y’s whereas I was using 2.  I do look up some words from time to time, for the most part try to refrain from it.

Pages Read Since Last Post: 338

Pages Read to Date: 12,460

Books Read to Date: 36

Days: 124

April 27th – Republic Commando: Order 66

Well, it looks like I got the timing wrong on my last few.  I actually started ROTS on the 24th, so it took me 3 days to read this and 2 for Labyrinth of Evil (I have them reversed in my tallying).

Nothing else to really say, it read like the movie for the most part, and was enjoyable.  I think I’ve only read the movie novels one time each.  And as always, I have another Karen Traviss novel to look forward to.  Not always, but whenever she’s next it’s one I really look forward too – especially involving her Republic Commando’s.

Pages Read Since Last Post: 418

Pages Read to Date: 11,690

Books Read to Date: 34

Days: 117

April 4th – Republic Commando: True Colors

Well, I’m nearing 10,000 pages, and will have the 30 book mark then too.  Not too shabby I guess.  I’ve been trying to balance my reading with other things, so I’ve been devoting about 2 hours-ish per night.  I think there have been times where I’ve read more than that in my life, but 2’s about all I can do these days with all the things I have going on/want to do.  I wonder how many words total I’ve read?

This is a nice stretch of books I’m in.  I enjoyed the Gambit duology, I always like reading Karen Traviss, and the Medstar Duology which is next is also one that I found to like a lot.  Yeah, I tend to like more action/adventure like Darth Bane and Rogue Squadron, but I guess I like the M.A.S.H.-ness of Medstar.  It’ll be interesting seeing how Barriss Offee does with her healing and everything being a healer and all, with Obi-Wan and what he did over the Gambit series.

Anyway, you know what?  I don’t blame Obi-Wan for “disappearing” to Tatooine to watch over Luke and take it easy for 20 years.  For what he did on Zigoola and Lanteeb (among all of the other battling he did during the Clone Wars), and his epic duel with Anakin – the man certainly needed a rest.  I feel tired sometimes just reading how beaten and worn he is.  But he keeps going.

 

Pages Read Since Last Post: 382

Pages Read to Date: 9519

Books Read to Date: 28

Days: 94

March 24th – Republic Commando: Triple Zero

Reading the Republic Commando novels makes me wonder how the Republic Commando video game was.  I’ve always played video games, but have never considered myself a “gamer”.  Around the times these novels were created, I was big into Battlefront (I and II).  I like games with a lot of replayability, and I’ve still been playing them every now and then the past few years.  Maybe I’ll look into seeing if I can find a cheap copy for PC.  The same thing for Empire at War – I saw an ad for that in Triple Zero.  Normally if it’s an action game, I do enjoy the first person shooter type – you know, like the Battlefront games or Shadows of the Empire.  I do enjoy some strategy type games, and are a fan of goofy “tower defense games”, so I’m not sure how Empire at War would be.  For a few bucks on ebay, can’t be too bad, right?

This is maybe the only time you see two of Karen Traviss’s books back to back chronologically.  I’m hoping that since the Essential Chronology came out, that the chronology’s in the beginnings of future novels will be adjusted.  I do have Scoundrel’s and Last of the Jedi, but haven’t checked into them to see if this is true or not.  I have a feeling not so.  Why make your “official guide” for this, if you’re not going to listen to it and do what you want in the book by book chronologies?

Pages Read Since Last Post: 257

Pages Read to Date: 8349

Books Read to Date: 25

Days: 83

March 21st – The Clone Wars: No Prisoners

I went through Shatterpoint pretty quick.  I guess I was able to enjoy it more than what I remember.  It seems that any novel dealing with the Clone Wars deals with 1. the Clones themselves, or 2. giving Jedi more personality/character depth.  This one was the latter.  Mace is pretty awesome.  You know, I don’t have a problem with too many Jedi.  Despite the fact some people, in hindsight, complain that  Yoda and Obi-Wan aren’t the greatest Jedi for what they “made” Luke go through, they’re all pretty neat.  I mean come on, they’re basically super heroes.  I dunno, I just like them.

On the other hand, Karen Traviss really excels at getting into the minds of the Clones.  She could have directed/wrote the whole Clone Wars series, and I bet it would have been phenomenal.  I guess since the mid 2000’s, she’s been one of the few stand out novelists that I think are awesome (don’t forget my boy Drew!).  It’s sad that she probably won’t be a part of the Star Wars Universe any more, but she has left a legacy with the work she’s done with Clones and Mandalorians.  Also, I think she made the right choice.  Rather than go with how the Clone Wars series was doing, and could have had a lucrative career (not that she won’t), she did the right thing for her.  Yeah, I don’t know all the details, but I get that sense from her by the way she writes (or so I think).

 

Pages Read Since Last Post: 410

Pages Read to Date: 8092

Books Read to Date: 24

Days: 80

March 13th: Republic Commando: Hard Contact

I really enjoyed Wild Space.  I mean really enjoyed.  It was hard to set down.  You finally get a side of Obi-Wan that you’re not used to.  He’s human (aka not perfect), he’s angry, he’s fed up, and he hates the Sith.  Not that I didn’t like him before (I always have), but this makes me like him even more.  Does he really hate politicians that much he’s angry?  Is he angry because he’s just had 10 years or so of Anakin acting like Anakin does, and now he has a non-Jedi showing similar behaviors?  Is he sick of fighting? I say yes to all three.

It was awesome having some more back story to Bail Organa too.  He’s such an important minor character- shaping Leia into what she becomes.  Sure, this was written after all that great Leia stuff – but we definitely see where her attitude in ANH comes from.  Bail and Anakin are very similar, and it kept them apart.  Now, they’re basically BFF’s – and I approve.

I also like the little Palpatine thinking comments about how he’s Sith and his master plans.  Sure, in a *perfect* world, you’d have no hint of it until ROTS, and then have the Palpatine book come out, some sort of autobiographical memoirs.  That’d be neat.  But you know, I already knew Palpatine was a bad guy from TESB and then ROTJ, so it doesn’t matter too much.  But if someone wanted to read everything start to finish like I’m doing that has NO CLUE as to anything Star Wars, you could have larger surprises by revealing Palpsy is all Sith AFTER he gets Vader (and not reveal Vader is Anakin until TESB).

BAM!

Pages Read Since Last Post: 342

Pages Read to Date: 7389

Books Read to Date: 22

Days: 72

March 5th: The Clone Wars

Parts of Jedi Trial were good, but for the most part, it felt more like a kids book.  The Odie/Erk scenes seemed like they inspired Twilight – it came off as very childish.  Granted Odie appears to be late teen’s early 20’s, but eh, it wasn’t necessary.

Slayke surprises me.  For all of the times where people debate and wonder about Clone’s being people etc, he has no problem admitting he doesn’t like them.  While I can understand some military people disliking them and seeing them as “nonthinking cannon fodder” – for lack of a better term, someone who is more mercenary and not a part of an official army I would think would feel sorry and take pity for the clones.  Maybe not.  Maybe he’s a “good guy” with a slightly bad tinge?  Maybe not bad, but doesn’t care.

The Clone Wars *should* be a quick read for me as I read it fairly recently, but we see how I’ve been reading lately.

I read 19 books in 2 months – I think that’s pretty solid.

Pages Read Since Last Post: 337

Pages Read to Date: 6791

Books Read to Date: 20

Days: 64