Star Wars: Black Spire Novel Review

I've been intrigued recently about the new Galaxy's Edge portion of Disney World that's opening up, enough so that I picked up this novel that ties into it. I wasn't expecting much, given that I haven't much cared for the "adult" Star Wars novels that have been published since Disney bought Lucasfilm.

This time I was pleasantly surprised, though.

Black Spire does a good job of telling how two Resistance operatives go to a new world and and work to set up a new base of operations. While the story was a little slow in starting, in my opinion, it introduces interesting characters and really sets the scene for that location. Since these are not necessarily ones who'll be in the next movie, there is real risk involved for them. That heightens the action and drama, especially since many of them are likable. The action does build, too, to an exciting conclusion--and one that might connect to events around The Rise of Skywalker. (Time will tell about that.)

There is some violence in this novel of the gritty type, which I don't love, but it's not enough to detract from the overall story.

All in all, I strongly recommend this novel to anyone who's interested in this time period.

-Nate

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Final Trailer

Well, here's the last trailer that we'll see before December.

-Nate

Breaking in to the Expanded Universe

Recently my friend Molly asked an interesting question: “If I want to explore the Star Wars expanded universe, where do I start?” That started me thinking, and here's my response. 

-Nate 

Breaking in to the Expanded Universe

1. Start with the young adult books.

In my opinion, the most consistently good books have been the ones intended for young adults. I especially enjoyed Lost Stars, but also liked Queen's Shadow, Ahsoka, and Rebel Rising. Those books provide more depth for some of the great heroines in the Galaxy Far, Far Away, and bridge gaps between Episodes I and II, the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons, and the flashbacks and main story of Rogue One. Lost Stars tells a story about friends who become caught up in the Galactic Civil War, against the backdrop of events from all three Original Trilogy movies and beyond.

2. Speaking of the cartoons, they're great.

Clone Wars may have had some clunker episodes, and Rebels was a little slow in building momentum, but the animated series have provided some of the greatest moments in Star Wars outside of the movies themselves. I will admit that I haven't watched Resistance, and am waiting to see what I think of Rise of Skywalker before I do so.

3. The adult novels have been, in my opinion, hit-or-miss.

I've enjoyed some of them, especially Catalyst, which is a prequel to Rogue One. I also liked the three Aftermath novels, which tell what happened right after the Battle of Endor. The same goes for A New Dawn, which tells more about how Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla first met. Others I've found to be too dark in tone, such as Lords of the Sith and even Heir to the Jedi.

4. If you're okay with reading old, non-canon books, there are some great ones.

The Han Solo trilogy by Brian Daley is perhaps the best, in my opinion. A.C. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy is good, too, if a little too grandiose at times. There's also a special place in my heart for the Lando Calrissian trilogy, which is full of strangeness but I loved it—and it explains some of the references made in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Most of the other stuff, even if I liked some of it, has been swept away by Disney, and just doesn't seem worth it to me.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker from d23

Here's the second look at The Rise of Skywalker, this time with some interesting implications regarding Rey's path.

-Nate

Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Here's a cool development. I've had mixed feelings about the notion of "grim and gritty" Star Wars adventures, but this looks like it's going to be a good show.

-Nate

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The release of the trailer for Star Wars Episode IX is no longer news, but I've been taking some time to process its content. I have posted previously that I was disappointed with Episode VIII, to the extent that it changed the New Republic-oriented direction that I'd been planning on having this blog take. I must say that I am cautiously optimistic about this upcoming film.

-Nate

The Wayward Droid

Here's a ready-made plot device that's bound to complicate the lives of anyone who find it in the sewers beneath the city.

-Nate

The Wayward Droid

It's a well-known fact that Hutts are notoriously tough on the droids who serve them. It is common for one of the crimelords to vent frustration on mechano-sapient servants, often causing considerable damage and even outright destruction. When this happens, the droids usually seem like helpless, harmless victims. Such is not the case, however, with the protocol droid known as G-3PO. 

Having served as a translator for Slarr the Hutt and his minions, the droid was programmed with subroutines to spy on its Hutt master, as well as on his associates and even, sometimes, their enemies. G-3PO was, in fact, a gift to Slarr sent by an agent of the Crimson Dawn, intended as a mole to help keep track of rival activities. Unfortunately for that agent, however, the droid upset its master one time too many, during a sail barge cruise in Coronet City on Corellia. G-3PO managed to survive, however, and found its way into the sewers beneath the city. Now it seeks a means of leaving the planet, and possesses valuable information that could let it buy such freedom.

G-3PO Type: Protocol Droid DEXTERITY 1D Skill 3D KNOWLEDGE 3D Planetary Systems 5D MECHANICAL 1D PERCEPTION 1D Con 3D Investigation 3D STRENGTH 1D TECHNICAL 1D Comp. Prog./Rep. 3D Special Abilities: Life Preservation Programming: See the core rulebook for details. Force Points: 0 Character Points: 5 Move: 7 Equipment: Internal data storage and comlink.

G-3PO Brawn 1 Agility 1 Intellect 3 Cunning 3 Willpower 1 Presence 1 Soak: 1 Wound Threshold: 11 Strain Threshold: 1 M/R Defense: 0 / 0 Skills: Computers 2, Cool 1, Deception 2, Education 2, Perception 1, Skulduggery 1, Underworld 1, Warfare 1 Talents: Codebreaker, Defensive Slicing x2, Master Slicer, Natural Programmer, Skilled Slicer, Technical Aptitude Abilities: Does not need to eat or breathe; receives six career skills and three specialization skills Equipment: Internal data storage and comlink.

G-3PO seems like any other protocol droid, unassuming even to the point of being timid. Behind that facade, however, is a cunning artificial brain that seeks to gain information for future exploitation by its true master.

Using G-3PO in a Star Wars Campaign

This droid can be incorporated into adventures and campaigns in many different ways; a few of the possibilities are detailed here.

• A band of scrumrats, while engaged in other business, might find the droid in a state of terrible disrepair in the sewer tunnels.
• A character who can help repair G-3PO would earn the droid's gratitude, and possibly even its assistance.
• All the while, G-3PO is curious to learn more about its new owner(s), and beings in power—such as the Devaronian leaders of the Pack—might suspect that it knows more than it admits.
• Just what information the droid has discovered could, of course, link into all manner of adventures.
• If more powerful individuals from the surface learn what the droid knows, then they would send ruthless enforcers who want to recover it.
• In the end, G-3PO must decide whether to aid the PCs, or to betray them for its own advantage.