Star Wars Book Report

In today's episode, Wayne and I discuss Clone Wars: The Animated Series and how the cartoon and the novels accent and help develop one another.  We discuss our thoughts on the cartoon dropping Ahsoka Tano into the timeline, and how certain novels and the cartoon follow similar models: from Anakin's leadership style in the Clone War Novels to the twisted Rule of Two followed by the Emperor that allows for other Dark Side Jedi such as Mara Jade from the Novels and Asaj Ventress from the Animated Series, and more. We then break down the amazing Night Sister Trilogy from the Animated Series that borrows heavily from earlier novels, our thoughts on Savage, whose name looks more manly in print than when spoken, and what are our thoughts on Darth Maul coming back if that was Maul in that orb. Today's show is full of fun Star Wars talk, but that does not stop us from chasing rabbits, as I ask Wayne his thoughts on the recent NHL All Star Game and we make a Super Bowl bet where the loser will pay up in the next episode. Join us for our usual shenanigans and explore with us the galaxy one page and one episode at a time. Thanks for listening, Jesse

In today's episode, Wayne and I have a great time making fun of each other as I poke fun at Canada's Junior Hockey team, and Wayne makes fun of my knowledge of Hockey and at how only six inches of snow can paralyze our community...Oh yeah, and we also discuss a novel, Rogue Planet by Greg Bear, and how this novel bridges the gap between The Phantom Menace and The Attack of the Clones. We discuss at length the fascinating character development of Anakin Skywalker from boy to teenager, and how Mr. Bear has Anakin dealing with his tremendous power in the force and his responsibility of being the chosen one.  We discuss Tarkin and his slimy plans to farther his own ends.  We share our thoughts on the depth of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his issues at being the one who is training the chosen one.  We open up the question of when do the ends justify the means.  On top of all this, there is an assassin, a living planet, the biggest engine ever, tying in a future series, some football talk and so much more, so join us as we explore the galaxy one page at a time. Thank you for listening, Jesse

We have a big show for you today. Wayne and I break down Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn.  We discuss Zahn's ability to write great characters.  Some you love, and others you love to hate.   We also break down plot and how Zahn truly captures the spirit of Star Wars and is faithful to George Lucas' vision. Later we share with you and interview with Paul Kemp author of multiple Forgotten Realms and Star Wars novels, short stories, and more.  Mr. Kemp shares with us his favorite characters he has written, if any of his Forgotten Realms characters come from his RPG days, how he would describe his own writting, and I couldn't resist asking who is crazier Star Wars or Forgotten Realms fans, and much, much more. One note - early in the podcast I mistakenly say that Crosscurrent by Paul Kemp was connected to the Legacy of the Jedi series, and that is incorrect.  As you all know, and I do too, I just misspoke, it is connected to the Fate of the Jedi series. Thank you for listening.  Please share us with your friends. Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

Welcome to our Christmas spectacular!  In today's episode we interview prolific author and veteren Star Wars writer Sean Williams, and we complete our discussion on Eragon by Christopher Paolini. We try and ask questions of Sean Williams that he has not been asked in recent interviews.  If you want more traditional interviews or just more Sean Williams here is a link where you can find several recent interviews with Mr. Williams http://ladnews.livejournal.com/tag/interviews We discover from Sean Williams his passion outside of writting that almost kept him from writting novels and shor stories, whether or not his wife reads his books, what is is like having a short story turned into a play, how the dark side ending is worked in The Force Unleashed 1 and 2, and much more including his favorite meal at the moment. Then, Wayne and I complete our discussion on Eragon, including Paolini's gift at crafting characters, setting up of the sequel, our take on many critics' take on this novel, and more. So come along and explore the galaxy with us one page at a time.

Welcome to your Star Wars and Sci-Fi Book Report: the Podcast episode 14, and in this episode Wayne and I discuss The Force Unleashed and The Force Unleashed II.  Wayne being a professional video game reviewer gives us the gaming review.  He discusses gameplay, game engines, and gives us his thoughts on how these stories are revealed in the games and the overall gaming experience. I on the other hand give the perspective of the novles.  Where I break down my thoughts on both of these novles...I also tell you the greatest video game ever. This podcast gets interesting in discovering the differences between the novels and the games, and Wayne and I just have a blast discussing how all of the unbelievable acts in these two stores fit into the canon.  It may be a short episode, but it is full of laughs and insights.  We have never given you a more fun podcast, so come along and explore the galaxy with us one page and today one button at a time. Thank you so much for listening, Jesse

Welcome to our Thanksgiving speical.  Where we give thanks for books esspecially The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams.  Chris Hothiceplanet Smith stops by from The Sarlacc Pit the official podcast of www.galacticbinder.com to join the discussion.  We discuss all the things we like and dislike about this novel, and how it fits within the canon.   We also discuss the challenges of novelizing a video game.  It is a fun break down of everyone's favorite video game and now novel. Also, Chris Hothiceplanet shares some very cool Christmas news going on at www.galacticbinder.com where they will be giving Star Wars toys, collectables, and merchandise to three needy families this Christmas, and they need your help.  All of us that has been blessed this year can share and help out.  There are two ways for you to help out.  First, www.galacticbinder.com need Star Wars stuff to give away, so you can mail any donations to: Holiday Star Wars Gift Packs 4955 Byron Road Memphis TN. 38122 Send those gifts in, and also you can share your story of need or if you know a family in need,  you can share the story of some other family.  You can send in these stories of families in need to hothiceplanet@galacticbinder.com, and then three families will be chosen.  You can find more information at www.galacticbinder.com/pgiveaways.html.  Also, at the previous link, there is a tab to donate through paypal to save you a trip to the store.  I hope you all will participate.  If you have much, send in a gift.  If you have little, share your story with them, and if you know a family in need, share their story.  Submissions must be sent in by December 10th, 2010.  Join in this great Christmas ministry as your Star Wars Book Report has. Thanks for listening, Jesse

What a jam packed episode we have for you today!  It is John Jackson Miller day here at the podcast.  Wayne and I discuss The Lost Tribe of the Sith e-book series written by John Jackson Miller, which is absolutely free online.  You can find links to download these e-books plus more information on John Jackson Miller at his writing website at http://www.farawaypress.com.   Wayne and I enjoy breaking down this series which ties into The Fate of the Jedi series and Crosscurrent, and more.  If you are trying to get your friends to enjoy Star Wars reading it is a great introduction to the written Expanded Universe because well, they are free and a good read. Also, we interview John Jackson Miller himself who is right in the middle of so much withing the Star Wars Universe right now.  He is writing a newly released comic entitled Knight Errant, from Dark Horse Comics, http://www.darkhorse.com, the above mention e-book series, and has his first Star Wars novel set to be released January 25th 2011.  We discuss the differences in writing in these different mediums.  We discuss his comic collection and work as a comic historian, which can be enjoyed at http://www.comichron.com.  He also tells us how writing Star Wars is like camping in a national forest, and where is the best place to watch a college football game. The John Jackson Miller interview begins at the 47 minute mark.  Thanks for listening. So come along for the ride as we explore the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

In today's episode, we discuss Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn.  We discuss what makes Darth Bane such a great villain and an odd Sith Lord.  We share our favorite scenes.  We guess how Darth Bane would think of Darth Vader.  We break down our thoughts on the Sith Order and the Rule of Two, and much more.  Come and listen to us break down this chilling anti-hero. Also, as we are continuing to bring you more great Sci-Fi coverage we turn a 180 from Darth Bane the evil anti-hero to a pure hearted hero in Eragon in Eragon by Christopher Paolini.  We begin with part 1 of a discussion of this lengthy fantasy epic.  We discuss just how jealous we are of a teenage boy.  Paolini’s skill at writing characters you love and character you love to hate, and much, much more. Come explore the galaxy with us one page at a time with your Star Wars and Sci-Fi Book Report. As always send us your thoughts and comments to jesse@starwarsbookreport.com or jesse@scifibookreport.com or leave us a voice message for our podcast at 706-760-5782.  Have a great day, and thanks for reading. Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

Brand new expanded podcast.  It is like getting two podcast for the price of one.  In the first part of this mega-episode, Wayne Chamberlain and I share what we are currently reading which is The Force Unleashed for me and Heir to the Empire  for him, and then we launch into a wonderful discussion on the villains of Star Wars and how the villains make the story just as much as the heroes do.  We discuss different types of villains and where to find them.  We share our favorite villains and so much more.  Thrawn, The Emperor, Vader, Dooku, Fey'Lya are all in here and we also discuss whether or not the Dark Side of the force is a villain.  Enjoy Also, in the second part of the interview we have a wonderful interview with New York Times best selling author and multi-Scribe award winning author Greg Cox stops by to discuss his 4400 novels and what is it like to write tie-in work with such legendary characters like Batman, Superman, among others.  He also shares what he is watching on TV.  Greg Cox was fun and he is a true fan of Sci-Fi.   The Greg Cox interview begins at about the 1:09 mark. Thanks for listening...we appreciate your time. Exploring the galaxy together one page at a time, Jesse.

In this episode, we chat with Mark Newbold from www.lightsabre.co.uk, which is a fan fiction, interview, and role playing site from the UK.  Mark's site is merging with www.jedinews.co.uk a collectibles and news site, and Mark stops by to give us all the news on this merger.  Mark is a veteran fan site webmaster whose has been in cyberspace for more than ten years. Then, Mark and I just begin discussing Star Wars, and like most discussions between two true Star Wars fans, the chat goes all over the place.  We discuss books, collectibles, authors, interviews, Ahsoka Tano, the unifying force, comics, and much more.  If you like Star Wars, you will like listening to Mark share his Star Wars thoughts and experience here. I do make one goof in the show that I do want to correct.  You can find much are Mark's lighsabre material at http://legacy.lightsabre.org.uk/ give the org as a co in the podcast, and I apologize for that error, but here is the correct link.  Check Mark's site out...you will find all sorts of entertaining material. Also, we make two major announcements for our site here.  We announce a new blogger and podcast co-host to join www.starwarsbookreport.com, for which I am very excited, and also, we will share with you which author will be joining our episode 10 extravaganza.  Thanks for listening. Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

I am so fired up for today's episode.  Big Honkin' Steve from www.geekoutonline.com and www.geekoutpodcast.com is with us for the second part of our discussion on the unifying force...now, we are discussing the idea of the unifying force, not to be confused with the novel The Unifying Force although it is in that novel that Luke puts forth the idea of the unifying force. For your information, we are both passionately against the concept of the unifying force, and our discusion definitely displays our passion. Part One of this discusion can be found here.  Listen to it, and all other of Big Honkin' Steve's podcast they are gold. Thanks for listening to us, and for exploring the galaxy with my one page at a time. Thanks, Jesse

In this episode, we bring on Wayne Chamberlain an editor of the fine newspaper The Sudbury Star to share his story of how he got back into Star Wars through his children. We discuss Wild Space by Karen Miller.  We discuss her writting style, our favorite scenes, the ethics of the Jedi during this time period, the nastiness of the Clone Wars, the tremendous power and skill of Palpatine to play both sides of this war and much more. Lastly, we discuss the wonderful and different ways in which we receive Star Wars stories from the movies, books, cartoons, audio-books, and more. Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoy, your Star Wars book report. Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

In this episode, we have the priviledge of interviewing the co-authors of Jedi Trial Dan Cragg and David Sherman.  They answers questions about: what is it like to write in a partnership, what Star Wars story were they asked to share, why Nejaa Halcyon, what kind and how much research did they do to write a war novel and a Star Wars novel, how dark is Anakin Skywalker at this time, what are Yoda and Mace Windu's attitude toward knighting Anakin and much, much more. You will also learn about: changes that had to be made to their ending, what real life military battle influenced their battle of Praesitlyn, Sherman and Cragg's writing style, and they reveal the existence of an object that I would love to get my hands on.   Come along as we explore the galaxy one page at a time. You can find my review of Jedi Trial here. Thanks for listening, and this is your Star Wars Book Report. Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

In this episode we will discuss the novel that shook the Expanded Universe to its very core.  Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore, and love this book or hate you, you must admit one thing, it is one of the most significant books ever written. I will argue that Vector Prime change our reading experience for the better.  Listen to discover why. Also, I will complete my top ten list of favorite characters from the Expanded Universe number 5 through number 1. Finally, there are two major announcements regarding upcoming podcast, which will include a crossover spectacular with Steve Glosson from www.geekoutonline.com, and his official podcast, which can be found at www.geekoutpodcast.com. The final and biggest announcement is a scheduled interview with two Star Wars authors have been confirmed for an upcoming episode...listen to find out who they will be. Thanks for listening, and this is your star wars book report. Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse

In this episode, we review Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. We discuss the characters that make this book good, and the ending that make this book great.  Don't worry if you have not read this book yet.  We begin with a spoiler free review, and then let you know when we are going to discuss details, so you will know when to fast forward the program.   We also begin a countdown of my 10 favorite characters of all time in the expanded universe, which will not include characters from the movies, beggining with number 10 through 6.  Listen to see if you agree with me, and send me an e-mail with your favorite characters of all time.   Thanks for listening to your Star Wars Book Report. As always e-mail us at jesse@starwarsbookreport.com Exploring the galaxy one page at a time, Jesse