An Unrevised Exploration of Star Wars Expanded Universe
The Ambush At Corellia is pure suspense. We find out pretty quick there is danger for our heroes in the near future, we just aren’t sure what or how. There is an interesting family dynamic here, with typical kids being kids (except they are as bright as their Grandsire and they already know about the … Read more
Dark Forces introduces Kyle Katarn and an amazingly cathartic, immersive game that includes new challenges and the foundation for a new era of Star Wars games. That new era in turn ties in (as usual) with the rest of the content. At this beginning level, we see in the movie tie ins while it sets … Read more
This site is based on Star Wars expanded universe, and stories are my favorite thing. So naturally this is what I focus on in SWTOR. SWTOR itself is purely based on this universe. It combines all the best action, storytelling and humor just as the movies did. Origin Story SWTOR originally called these classes and … Read more
This Young Jedi Knights story arc, about the Diversity Alliance, hits harder in 2022 than when it was released in the late 1990s. It’s the second arc in the series, so you might want to read that first if you are worried about spoilers. It picks up right where the other left off. Warning: review … Read more
This story by Dave Wolverton features Han and Leia and the reasons for their long delayed marriage in spite of what seems an overlong courtship. General Solo has been off battling Warlord Zsinj while Leia has been on the home front running diplomatic missions. On return he finds that one of those missions has led … Read more
The Cestus Deception by Steven Barnes is full of intrigue, adventure and deeper themes behind the Clone Wars. Starring Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kit Fisto, a secret (but familiar) enemy it also introduces new characters that are well rounded and interesting. It’s a real page turner, and gets even faster and harder to put down as one … Read more
My Thoughts I absolutely love this book, Star Wars the New Rebellion. It’s by far one of my favorites of the post Return of the Jedi era. All the heroes of the movies have a part to play with the same sense of adventure, danger, humor and heroism. This isn’t always so in the books, … Read more
The story of Choices of One goes that an Imperial Governor is offering the Rebels safe haven for a base, in part, in hopes they’ll help guard the system from alien attack from outside the Empire. This is being investigated by our heroes among others. It’s also known by the Emperor, hence his sending Mara … Read more
Razor’s Edge surely implies where Leia finds herself as a mission to trade for supplies for the new Hoth base takes a dark twist. Between being attacked by the Empire, an Imperial spy among the rebels, and just to top it off, a band of pirates, Leia, Han and her crew are now in terrible … Read more
The Comics It would be difficult to overstate the importance of Tales of the Jedi comics, both to me and the expanded universe. It opened up a whole new era of storytelling in a galaxy far far away. The characters for the first time were not our old familiar heroes of the original trilogy. The … Read more
In Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn, It’s time for our heroes to step up and break through the morass of red tape, fear, and political hatreds stirred up first by the discovery of the Caamas document and then by the alleged re-appearance of Thrawn. (This is in Specter of the Past. Read that … Read more
My rating: 4 1/2 Stars Overview: Our heroes are in a bit of transition from their usual jobs. But the past is a specter that haunts them, both individually and as a united government. They won’t be allowed much down time as an old document has resurfaced that holds clues to a decades old vicious … Read more
“He’s just been on Ansion dealing with a border dispute.” It’s a simple statement at the beginning of the movie, hinting at what Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice did right before Attack of the Clones. But the mission to Ansion entails a planet spanning adventure in the Approaching Storm. Along with Master Luminara Unduli and … Read more
The Ewok Adventure was released on TV in the US and in overseas theaters as ‘The Caravan of Courage’. Two human children are searching for their missing parents after a starship crash leaves them stranded on Endor. Who should show up to help…but Wicket the Ewok’s family. The story: In the Ewok Adventure, Mace and … Read more
At first glance a lot of people don’t care for Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly. They don’t like her style or her grammar. Newcomers also think it’s evidence that the Expanded Universe isn’t canon because the Jedi mentioned don’t follow their prequel themes. (It was written long before.) However, the story actually has … Read more
This is one of the most amazing trilogies ever regarding continuity. Han Solo’s story is followed from his childhood taken in by a thief to right before A New Hope. It’s also one of my favorites. The Han Solo trilogy explains many things never seen but clearly implied by the movies. Less a case of … Read more
Going into Scoundrels one knows 2 things: it’s bound to be a good read, because its by Timothy Zahn. That said, how much it is enjoyed depends on what one is in the mood for. If one is expecting Jedi, space battles, or Rebel vs Empire action, one may be disappointed. If however one is … Read more
Medstar 2 picks up the pace from the first book. Barriss makes a startling discovery about the Bota that brings her to face the real, subtle temptations of the Dark Side. Her questioning is a serious question on what one should do for the greater good. It also gives a great arc for Jos Vondar. … Read more
In Honor Among Thieves When the Empire threatens the galaxy’s new hope, will Han, Luke, and Leia become its last chance? This book would be better if it wasn’t clearly ignoring the movies and the expanded universe in some spots. When the mission is to extract a high-level rebel spy from the very heart of … Read more
The Han Solo Adventures are some of the oldest stories in the Expanded Universe, before it had an official name or continuity. In fact, at the time of writing they there was no original trilogy, just one movie called Star Wars. Brian Daley did a fabulous job of staying true to the character and actually … Read more
Watching the original movie back in the day, we had no clue there would be more. An unexpected hero had big dreams but was afraid to leave the familiar old responsibilities for new ones. Then he was forced too. The hero had a chance to save the beautiful Princess and save a Rebellion fighting a … Read more
The Star Wars Sourcebook by West End Games even predates Heir to the Empire. merchandise, the first new companies to put out new products. It came out in 1987. Coming out even before Heir to the Empire, let alone the prequels, there were a lot of unknowns. Some might assume the later works are contradictory. … Read more
Continuity and the Story Obi-Wan plays. In between the story bits there are training / sparring levels in between the main ones. The game starts out before The Phantom Menace, and has Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon investigating the Black Heth gang and their Jin Ha allies. It starts on Coruscant and moves to Obredaan. On Coruscant … Read more
The Last Adventure Of Han, Luke, Leia and Lando – the Original Trilogy Heroes Crucible the culmination of a lifetime of service that began with the Original Trilogy, as well as a chance to unexpectedly reflect on the past and decide on the future. Youth has been replaced with age, but also with wisdom and … Read more
The Jedi Academy Game is a tie in that goes in all directions. By this I mean previous games, comics and books, as well as those that come after. For that alone I would love it. I also find it most helpful in that I had previously been stuck on Jedi Outcast. After playing this … Read more
Medstar, Battle Surgeons is not an adventure in the sense where the heroes are running from or blasting bad guys. These are the kind of heroes who fight to save lives with medical supplies. This is the Star Wars version of M*A*S*H with a mystery twist set during the Clone Wars. Barriss Offee is sent … Read more
If one has seen Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and realizes where Darth Maul: Shadowhunter lies in the timeline, one might assume one knows how it ends. If Darth Maul gets halved by Obi-Wan there, he clearly doesn’t die here. But sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. Sometimes, things don’t turn out … Read more
The Truce at Bakura is the literal aftermath of the Battle of Endor and deals with the emotional and very real strategic fall outs of it. As such, its a great place to dive into the Expanded Universe. The Truce at Bakura starts immediately after Return of the Jedi. It is literally the day after … Read more
Shadows of the Empire was the first multimedia event. Everything was tied in but an actual movie. The story takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The mission: to find and rescue Han Solo before Boba Fett gets him to Jabba the Hutt. The complication: someone has put a hit … Read more
Description: Never before has the incendiary mix of action, politics, and intrigue that has become Timothy Zahn’s trademark, been more evident that in this new Star Wars epic. On the heels of the stunning events chronicled in Star Wars: A New Hope, the newly minted heroes of the Rebellion–fledgling Jedi Luke Skywalker, smuggler turned reluctant … Read more
How does a Jedi Master, a servant of justice disappear? Not easily, when the Force keeps putting him right in the middle of trouble.Wanting nothing more than to blend in, Obi-Wan Kenobi finds himself discovering (or rediscovering) that for some people, there is trouble and drama enough in their neighborhood and those struggles are enough … Read more
Description: Allana introduces new adventure into her grandparents’ lives when she discovers a strange device hidden aboard the Millennium Falcon–a discovery that sparks a fact-finding expedition to retrace the people, places, and events in the checkered history of the famous spaceship. But the Solos are not alone in their quest: Crime lords, galactic pirates, rogue … Read more
The New Jedi Order series drove some fans right out the door. But it had a reason. When you know beyond a doubt that your heroes always survive an win, the story doesn’t seem quite so cutting, you know that eventually you turn the page and find them escaping and defeating the foe. The New … Read more
Heir to the Empire is the first in a 3 book trilogy that fired up the Star Wars franchise novels and expanded universe, the first novel since the Lando Calrissian trilogy. Grand Admiral Thrawn is a mysterious character, first of his species introduced in the Expanded Universe. He has a lot of Sherlock Holmes’s observational … Read more
