Search

advertisement

StarWars.com has unveiled Star Wars: The Blueprints by J.W. Rinzler (author of The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back). Limited to just 5,000 copies (English language) and costing $500, each copy will be individually numbered (the first 125 copies will also be signed by the three surviving Academy-Award® winners for Best Art Direction (Star Wars, 1978): art director Norman Reynolds; art director Les Dilley; and set dresser Roger Christian). The book is presented in a custom-made cloth case designed to showcase more than 250 of the original and unpublished technical drawings created for all six Star Wars films including those for the Millennium Falcon, X-Wing, the Death Star and the Rebel Blockade Runner.
Full details can be found at StarWars.com and the book's publisher Epic Ink Books.

Star Wars: The Blueprints is due for release in the Autumn.

StarWars.com has posted a 7-page excerpt (PDF) from the second chapter of the forthcoming Fate of the Jedi: Ascension novel. Penned by Christie Golden, Ascension is the penultimate novel is the nine-book Fate of the Jedi series:

As Luke and Ben Skywalker pursue the mysterious and powerful Abeloth, the Lost Tribe of the Sith is about to be sundered by an even greater power. On Coruscant, the government strains to the brink of collapse in the struggles resulting from a power vacuum. These tensions tug the Jedi Order in conflicting directions.

Ascension is due for release in hardback in August.

Dark Horse Comics has posted a three-page preview for the second issue of Scott Allie's comic tale featuring Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi: The Dark Side. Set some 21 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace, this comic tale tells the story of when Jedi Master Jinn is dispatched to prevent the outbreak of civil war on Telos IV, his Padawan Xanatos's homeworld - where it just happens that Xanatos's father is king. In this second issue, Qui-Gon, Xanatos and Jedi Master Tahl must uncover the secrets behind a recent political assassination to prevent an outbreak of civil war. For the headstrong Xanatos, this return to the world of his birth has dredged up hidden resentments, while Master Tahl has herself become a target for assassination.

Written by Scott Allie (Empire: Betrayal) with art by Mahmud Asrar, Jedi: The Dark Side #2 is due for release on Wednesday 22nd June from Dark Horse Comics.

.

Scholastic Books are to add another title to Ryder Windham's character biography series (The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader, The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi and A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker) with a fourth title concentrating on Episode I favourite villain, Darth Maul. Possibly titled The Wrath of Darth Maul, according to Barnes & Noble, it will feature new, never-before-told secrets about Darth Maul. This new biography is due for release in hardback at the beginning of 2012.

Lastly, with the fourth season of The Clone Wars animated series due this Fall, Grosset & Dunlap continue Ryder Windham's Secret Missions series with a fourth title, Guardians of the Chiss Key, due for paperback release mid-February and another tie-in storybook titled The Secret Villain due for release mid-January.

Invasion: Revelations #3 (of 5)
Comic book by Tom Taylor, Colin Wilson, Wes Dzioba et al.
Approximately 25 years after the Battle of Yavin
Queen Nina of Artorias and her stepdaughter Kaye discover that the haven meant for the refugees in their care is actually a work camp run by the Empire--for the benefit of the invaders! But worse than that, Kaye learns a horrifying secret about her adoptive mother--and herself!
Available: September 14th 2011

The Old Republic: The Lost Suns #4 (of 5)
Comic book by Alexander Freed, George Freeman, Dave Ross, Mark McKenna et al.
Approximately 3,660 years before the Battle of Yavin
Captured by the evil Sith Empire, Republic spy Theron Shan is about to find out what secret sacrifice brought about the end of the great war. But once the Imperial's covert activities are revealed, will he be able to act on his devastating discoveries?
Available: September 14th 2011

Jedi: The Dark Side #5 (of 5)
Comic book by Scott Allie, Mahmud Asrar et al.
Approximately 21 years before the Battle of Yavin
Civil war has broken out on Telos IV. As the governor rallies his military, Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn struggles desperately to uncover the reason for the planet's unrest, in hope of stopping the war...
But Qui-Gon's troubled Padawan isn't helping: his homecoming to Telos has been anything but happy, and the recent events--including the horrific death of a family member-have fueled his growing anger. This time, though, Qui-Gon is the target!
Available: September 21st 2011

Knight Errant: Deluge #2 (of
Comic Book by John Jackson Miller, Iban Coello, Sergio Abad et al.
Approximately 1,0.32 years before the Battle of Yavin
Answering a distress call, Jedi Knight Kerra Holt has returned to her Sith-held home planet to liberate as many slaves as possible with a single shuttle. She didn't expect to meet a squadron of starfighters from the Republic! With the help of the Devil Squadron, Kerra can go on the offensive, and the entire planet will have a chance at liberation!
But there is more to the Devils than it first appears. A scheming Hutt with an evil agenda is infiltrating the planet, and the Sith Lord Daiman is just getting wind of what is happening on his planet!
Available: September 21st 2011

Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #3 (of 5)
Comic book by Mick Harrison, Douglas Wheatley, Dan Jackson et al.
Approximately 19 years before the Battle of Yavin
Caged fury! Desert raiders have captured Ember Chankeli, only to discover they have a tiger who can't be tamed! Worse for them: they have a Jedi on their trail!
But Jedi Master Dass Jennir had better watch his back, because a mysterious assassin and Darth Vader both want his head!
Available: October 5th 2011

The Clone Wars: Strange Allies
Graphic Novella by Ryder Windham, Ben Dewey, Mae Hao, Stéphane Roux et al.
Between 22 and 19 years before the Battle of Yavin
With so many Jedi Generals occupied with the Clone Wars, assignments that would usually go to Knights or Masters are falling to Jedi in training: in this case, masterless Padawan Nuru Kungurama. Accompanied by his squad of clone troopers and a hulking swoop biker named Gizz, Nuru’s job begins as a routine protection detail but soon evolves to include a mystery massacre, the hijacking of a space freighter, and the kidnapping of a group of orphaned younglings!
Available: November 9th 2011

Darth Vader and the Lost Command
Hardback Graphic Novel by Haden Blackman, Rick Leonardi et al.
Approximately 19 years before the Battle of Yavin
Still haunted by the death of Anakin Skywalker's beloved Padmé in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader is tasked with a mission to locate a lost Imperial expeditionary force--led by the son of Vader's rising nemesis, Moff Tarkin. But the perils of Vader's journey into the unexplored Ghost Nebula are compounded by traitors among his crew and the presence of the system's religious leader, Lady Saro.
Available: November 30th 2011

Following last week's teaser for the penultimate Fate of the Jedi novel, Ascension, Del Rey has posted a teaser for Paul S. Kemp's upcoming novel, Riptide, on their Facebook page:

Khedryn cleared his throat. “So, then, do you have a plan? What do we do about the escaped clones?”
“We find them,” Jaden said.
“Yeah, I figured that. I’m all ears about how.”
“First I need to speak to Grand Master Skywalker.”

Riptide, Kemp's sequel to last year's Crosscurrent, is due for release in paperback in the US on 25th October.
(Source: via Roqoo Depot)

Omnibus Graphic Novel by various
Titan Books ( )
Just before, during and after the Battle of Yavin:
Collating the following stories: Betrayal, Princess... Warrior, The Short, Happy Life of Roons Sewell, What Sin Loyalty?, The Savage Heart, Target: Vader, A Little Piece of Home, Alone Together, Idiot's Array and The Price of Power from Empire comic book series...more

Star Wars Galaxy #9
Premier Comic Book
Titan Comics ( )
Featuring reprints from The Old Republic: Blood of the Empire, Darth Vader & The Lost Command and Invasion: Rescues.

StarWars.com has posted a 16-page excerpt (of Chapter Two) from Timothy Zahn's upcoming novel Choices of One. A sequel to 2007's Allegiance, Choices of One is set eight months after the Battle of Yavin at a time when the Rebellion is in desperate need of a new base. So when Governor Ferrouz of Candoras sector proposes an alliance, offering the Rebels sanctuary in return for protection against the alien warlord Nuso Esva, Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie are sent to evaluate the deal.
Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand, is also heading for Candoras, along with the five renegade stormtroopers known as the Hand of Judgment. Their mission: to punish Ferrouz's treason and smash the Rebels for good.
But in this treacherous game of betrayals within betrayals, a wild card is waiting to be played.

Choices of One is due for release in hardback next month.

Conviction by Aaron Allston, the seventh title in the nine-book Fate of the Jedi series which was released less than two weeks ago, has entered The New York Times Best Sellers list for week ending 12th June at #3. This position is one notch higher than Allston's previous Fate of the Jedi novel, Backlash, which entered at #4 in March 2010, but mirrors the highest entry point for any title in this series so far: Outcast, the first novel in the series, also by Allston, entered at #3 back in April 2009.

This apparently marks a return to popularity for the Fate of the Jedi series as, although still Best Sellers in their own right, the last two novels in this series, Vortex by Troy Denning and Allies by Christie Golden, only entered at #20 and #8 on their respective Best Sellers lists. By comparison, Denning's other novel in this series, Abyss, entered at #7 while Christie's Omen entered at #4.

Fate of the Jedi: Conviction is available now in hardback in both US and UK.

• Two comic tales - Repel All Boarders! and A Trooper's Tale
• Ones To Watch In Season 4 - the most likely candidates for big returns and epic storylines in Season 4 of The Clone Wars
• Episode Guides - episodes 3.20 "Citadel Rescue" & episode 3.22 "Wookiee Hunt"
• Clone Wars Infinities - What if the Nightsisters Supercharged Ventress? We all know how Clone Wars history unfolded - but what if the story went a different route? Find out right here!
• Ship Spotlight: Slave I - Find out about Jango and Boba Fett's bounty hunter ship - complete with blaster cannons and projectile launchers!
• Profile on Saesee Tin, the reclusive Jedi Council member who prefers starfighters to his fellow Jedi!
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars puzzles and activities, and loads more awesome features!
• Plus win a General Grievous spinning electronic lightsaber by Hasbro or a Star Wars Top Trumps Tournament in our awesome Sweeps!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Magazine #5 hits US newsstands on 7th June.

In an interview published today on Suvudu.com, Aaron Allston author of Fate of the Jedi: Conviction, revealed some tidbits about his next Star Wars project - the as yet untitled Wraith Squadron novel:

Most of the action takes place in the same approximate period as Fate of the Jedi, but there are critical chapters that revisit the Wraiths in earlier years, starting just after they made the jump to become an Intelligence unit. The current-era story reunites some of the longtime Wraiths, introduces new ones, and even has second-generation Wraiths.
Not every subplot that arose in Fate of the Jedi will have been resolved by that series’ end, and it’s up to the Wraiths to clean up a big mess left behind. That’s about all I’m willing to say at this time.

You can read the full interview with Allston here. Allston's Wraith Squadron novel is due for release in hardback next year.
(Source: Suvudu.com via EUCantina.net)

© SWBooks.co.uk.

advertisement