An Unrevised Exploration of Star Wars Expanded Universe
Rebel Je'daii 
Wedge’s Gamble is the second book in the acclaimed X-Wing series of novels by Michael Stackpole. It’s a real page turner, but it doesn’t stand alone unless you want the cliffhanger ending to be your last glimpse that leaves some characters in desperate straits. The previous book is X-Wing Rogue Squadron and the follow-up is … Read more
At long last I can try this classic Bounty Hunter game, originally released only for Gamecube and Playstation 2, now for all modern platforms including PC. The story: The Sith need the right warrior to be the donor for the clone army. He must pass many trials, including defeating the Bando Gora and deranged former … Read more
“Only two there are, Master, and apprentice” ~ Yoda and Darth Bane: the Path of Destruction is where it begins. While he first appears in the Jedi VS Sith comics, this story fills out his backstory up until the ending where he is set to establish the Rule of Two. Darth Bane Lore and Continuity … Read more
X-Wing Rogue Squadron fires up an adventure that catapults Wedge Antillies and the new hero, Corran Horn, into star status. Wedge already survived 2 Death Stars and Hoth, Corran is a (almost) new character. But now, Luke Skywalker’s legendary squadron has been officially handed over. Rogue Squadron is being rebuilt with the best of the … Read more
It’s easier to say with the first part of the Force Unleashed game, since the second was a cliffhanger that went unfinished. The first part storywise is excellent. The game mechanics are (naturally) overpowered, and it’s clear that it was designed for a controller, not a keyboard. There are variances in game versions, but the … Read more
This is a new beginning, where Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy now has put out enough adult Jedi to shift toward training younger students. Naturally, his own niece and nephews, Jacen and Jaina, along with Anakin are among the youngest. In this series, Jacen and Jaina are the center, along with their friends Tenel Ka and … Read more
In the Clone Wars, they seemed like the good guys, in spite of their suspicious creation. By the time of the Rebellion, their name was no longer clone troopers but stormtroopers, and few, if any, were still clones. Where was the individual in these trooper stories? But their individual stories are different, no matter their … Read more
This is an expansion to Dark Forces 2 Jedi Knight, but by modern standards, Mysteries of the Sith might be its own game. It features Kyle Katarn and Mara Jade. Unfortunately, neither it nor any of the following games got the novella or audio drama treatment of the original Dark Forces or Jedi Knight games. … Read more
Beginning of Jan Ors, Dissident Jan was born on Alderaan. Her parents (a choreographer and engineer) were not in agreement with Alderaan’s pacificm after the Clone Wars and helped found the Justice Action Network, named after her. The group was considered to be an anti Empire Terrorist group. Jan joined this group when old enough, … Read more
I’ve very little, if any, memory of not being into Star Wars. I’ll dare date myself and say tiny tot me saw the original in theaters. I played with the action figures, flipped through picture books and thrilled when Vader was redeemed. I spent decades imagining who he was before he fell! Luke was my … Read more
In Yoda Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart, during the Clone Wars, a Jedi returns to the temple with a message for Yoda. Dooku claims to want peace. Unlikely as the prospect is, Yoda must set out to find the truth, with 2 Jedi and their padawans. The meeting is on a dark side world of … Read more
The mysterious Outbound Flight Jedi colony ship was first mentioned all the way back in the Thrawn Trilogy, Heir to the Empire. Now at last its full story is told. Complicated manipulations by Darth Sidious, the stubborn determination of Jorus C’Baoth whose behavior has even the Jedi Council wary, and a crew of smugglers who … Read more
Attachment is forbidden. A Jedi isn’t to fall in love. But it does happen. Across 3 generations this is explored in Secrets of the Jedi. Qui-Gon is barely over the loss of his secret beloved, when he, Obi-Wan, Adi-Gallia & Siri are sent to protect a boy who is witness to an assassination plot. The … Read more
The stories in Tales of Jabba’s Palace are short and stand alone in themselves, but most of them interweave with the others. It’s creative and entertaining how the beings in Jabba’s palace are expanded here. This isn’t just a different points of view of the events but a bit of background and some on their … Read more
This prequel era Starfighter game starts right before the Trade Federation Blockade of Naboo and is a blast to play. There are three starfighters flown throughout the main story involving a pirate, free trader and a Naboo pilot. While a blast to play it had a learning curve as I am not the best pilot … Read more
When a young Jedi is killed, a Jedi archivist must find the reason for his fate. A mysterious new and deadly spice, a new scourge on the galaxy, seems involved. Along with the young Jedi’s sister, and her bothan companion, they have to finish the original mission to get exclusive hyperdrive routes from the Hutts, … Read more
Jedi families were at one time a common thing but later they became a contradiction in terms. The Jedi Order were supposed to be guardians of peace and justice in the universe. To do this, they had to be unbiased and use the Force for knowledge of what a situation truly is, not what they … Read more
The Hutts are conquerors as a whole. They often conquer as gangsters, through money, power, enslaving others and manipulating others into indentured servitude. But they initially conquered through violence, using machines and mercenaries. Biology Home Turf: Varl was the original homeworld but it was made inhabitable by a catostrophe and lost. They took over Nal … Read more
The major player of Tatooine is the heir to Desilijic clan. Savvy and smart when it comes to business he’s also totally immoral and ruthless. Jabba has no mercy for repeated failures by subordinates. And he has been known to torture or feed people to monsters just because he was in a bad mood, or … Read more
Jabba the Hutt in all of his infamous ugliness! Jabba the Hutt: The Art of the Deal is a story of greed, gore, and twists where you can get away with rooting for the Hutt because honestly, his opponents are just as criminal as he is. Jabba the Hutt : The Art of the Deal … Read more
Legacy 2 is set over 100 years after Return of the Jedi and the last of the stories of Luke, Han and Leia. it’s right on the heels of Legacy, containing it’s wrap up. I’ll start here as that is a much longer arc. Legacy 2 stars Ania Solo with new friends and it’s a … Read more
This young junk dealer from Carreras Minor is named Ania Solo but doesn’t know her exact connection to the famous family. She has boldness (or recklessness) and courage as well as dreams, but gets more than she bargained for when she makes an unexpected find of droid and lightsaber that lands her in a galaxy … Read more
Jaina Solo is the older of the Solo twins born to Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo approximately 5 years after the Battle of Endor. Jaina is their only daughter. She found early on that being a child of the Skywalker Solo lineage has its disadvantages. Like Anakin Skywalker, the moment people knew she existed … Read more
This book by Barbara Hambly had some interesting moments and made good use of the original trilogy characters. Once more there is an abundance of creepy bugs, but there is also a well balanced use of old characters as well as some new ones. There is a lot of mystery and suspense in this package. … Read more
Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson is the follow up to Children of the Jedi and follows multiple threads. It’s a bit of a complex story, involving the Jedi, the Empire and the Hutts, as well as Luke’s saga with Callista, his would be lover. It’s actually quite a roller coaster of an adventure and jumps … Read more
Grand Moff Tarkin is one of the most infamous characters of Star Wars, even without any flashy fight scenes. Few can compete with the sheer ruthlessness of a man who would casually order the destruction of an entire populated world of pacifists. He’s also notable as one of the few with authority even over Vader, … Read more
This novel, Dark Lord Riise of Darth Vader, really is a transition period for the fallen knight. The catalyst is not surprisingly, surviving Jedi, a struggle he’s wrestled with before. After all, his choice was predicated on saving his wife and he lost her and his health at the same time. Formerly the Jedi Anakin … Read more
Leading directly into Revenge of the Sith, Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno takes Anakin and Obi-Wan on a hunt for the identity of Darth Sidious. This is the trail that could lead them to unveiling their foe before he is ready. While most of us already know who that is, sometimes the journey is … Read more
The Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry adds a whole new depth to the first ever Star Wars movie, A New Hope. From the movie standpoint we only see the side (mostly) of the heroic freedom fighters. But while villains ran the Death Star, there were others aboard, who had bought into the … Read more
Patterns of Force doesn’t just wrap up the Coruscant Nights trilogy, but several plotlines from previous Michael Reaves’s stories and finishes in a satisfying way. It is a fun adventure, but a bit frustrating because it doesn’t so much explain all it’s own started threads as well. I love the general story I just do … Read more
The main story in Street of Shadows is a murder mystery set in the Star Wars dark times, when the few surviving Jedi are in hiding. The main story is well worth a read, though I didn’t care for the side quest and the continuity hiccups were a distraction. It continues the set noir style … Read more
by James Luceno This is kind of an adventure crossed with a political thriller and a mystery that, if you’ve seen the movies, you do know the answer to. But you don’t know how it got that way! It’s a solid story if you like intrigue, or if you want more Qui-Gon. Cloak of Deception … Read more
Spoilers for the previous books. Jedi Academy: Champions of the Force by Kevin J. Anderson story itself does reiterate and repeat certain points, as a refresher for those who haven’t read them in awhile. It’s an action packed finale to the series. It was a bit overwhelming at times but did get a great thrill … Read more
The inspiration for this era comes of Star Wars the Old Republic game’s Tython and it’s ancient Jedi lore, as well as Knight’s of the Old Republic’s Rakata. Who were the Jedi, before their were Jedi, or a Republic? Dawn of the Jedi comics answer this. They were the Jedaii Rangers, originating from Tython where … Read more
Wookiees are tall, bipedal fur covered people with an animalistic snout, and are easily underestimated. They have a deep history and impressive achievements. Modern Wookiee culture is one of loyalty and honor. Physically wookiees usually come in shades of brown, which camouflage well with the forests of Kashyyyk, there homeworld. There are exceptions however, an … Read more
In 2003 George Lucas decided to hire Genndy Tarkovsky to create a series of animated shorts of the Clone Wars. Originally it aired in the commercial break, during cartoons on the Cartoon Network channel. Eventually these shorts were put together into DVDs. The first set of animation featured various battles throughout the galaxy. Genndy had … Read more
Dawn of the Jedi : Into the Void by Tim Lebbon opens up a whole new era. Before there was a Republic, the precursors to Jedi were confined to the Tython system, taken there by the Tho Yor for unknown (to them) reasons. This is the story of one Jedaii Ranger, Lanoree Brock and her … Read more
As the title “Dark Apprentice” indicates, the promising start of the first story in the trilogy is about to meet some dark challenges. Admiral Daala, loosed from the Maw cluster with her Star Destroyers is out seeking vengeance. Leia finds a tragic diplomatic crisis rocks the New Republic, as she struggles to manage family with … Read more
Story by Kevin J. Anderson, original cover art was by John Alvin. It was released in 1996. This is an amazing piece of galaxy building and I can’t overestimate it’s importance to the mythos of Star Wars. This was the book that starts the massive multimedia project, where game, comic and novels would tie together … Read more
Star Wars Interviews was a site and also a series of books dedicated to Interviews with all sorts of people involved with the Star Wars galaxy. Actors, cast and crew, behind the scenes folks, game developers, authors and so on were all on his site. Sadly, the site was removed. Disclaimer here: that isn’t me. … Read more
Jax Pavan had barely made knighthood when Order 66 or ‘Flame Night’ went down. Now in Jedi Twilight, he’s finding that being on the run has compromised his morals as well as his ability to access the Force. To top it off, Vader for some reason is looking for him, him personally, with more interest … Read more
The final chapter of the Bounty Hunter Wars is an action packed story of survival set during the events of Return of the Jedi. Hard merchandise is the cold term that bounty hunters use for the people they hunt and treat as products to profit off of. And sometimes, the hunter themselves may become the … Read more
I’m writing this coming up on it’s 40th anniversary! Growing up on the original trilogy, this was my hands down favorite even though as a kid, I wasn’t sure what moved me so strongly. It left me speculating on who Anakin Skywalker was before his fall and I was eager to see it. It was … Read more
As the second book in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, Slave Ship gives us more information more adventure and a bit more that is expanded on later. There are tidbits I recognize as popping up in the rest of the Expanded Universe (both before and later). Naturally, the Boba Fett and bounty hunter bits are … Read more
Well by now the word has spread throughout the fandom that another Star Wars Expanded Universe author is gone. It’s a grievous thing anytime that happens, but this one stings me as Michael Reaves was by far my favorite Del Rey era author, based on how many of his books I absolutely loved and reread. … Read more
The Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy by K.W Jeter Boba Fett is dead, and his victims and rivals rejoice. But Dengar and a young slave woman who knows that Fett is part of her lost past have found evidence he’s not as gone as his enemies hope. And while neither trust him, they know they need … Read more
I,Jedi is by Michael Stackpole and he is the primary author of most stories (but not all) stories involving Corran Horn and his family. Warning going in: this book I,Jedi contains a few spoilers for the X-Wing Rogue Squadron Book Series. It also has spoilers for the Jedi Academy series. This book does stand alone … Read more
Black Sun is no one’s ally, and stamping it out and keeping it that way has been a job for Jedi, the Republic and even certain Sith. It isn’t the only bit of the past to rear its head in these stories. While a bit simplistic in the resolution (or suggested implementation) its still a … Read more
This story has it’s grindy moments, as I kept wanting to get back to the actual Jedi, Anakin and Nejaa in Jedi Trial. I kind of wish there had been more moments with the two of them. But it was overall a good read. Right up until the end I had no idea how or … Read more
While the Jedi Code was first laid out in the Expanded Universe, it is based entirely on what we see of the Jedi in the movies. Only the Original Trilogy was out when it was written, but the prequels only clarified that information, didn’t contradict. George Lucas did give guidelines on the Jedi to the … Read more
