Chadzilla ROARS!!! (The Official Blog of Chadwick H. Saxelid, Writer)

Deathtoopers cover

Star Wars: Death Troopers - by Joe Schreiber

The Imperial prison barge Purge, en route to a remote prison moon, breaks down in an even more remote sector of space.  Luck seems to have favored the vessel, though, because the barge's navicomputer has found a derelict Star Destroyer drifting nearby that it can cannibalize for parts.

How the Star Destroyer became a derelict in such a remote region of space is a question the captain of the Purge does not wish to trouble himself with.  He just wants the Purge's drive systems to be operational as soon as possible.

Two salvage crews board the seemingly deserted Star Destroyer, but only one manages to return.  The returning crew brings with it a rapidly spreading viral infection that kills almost every single person on board the Purge in a matter of hours.

But that is not all the virus does to those that it infects.  Those that have died from the infection do not stay dead...

Wait just a minute.  A Star Wars horror novel?  A Star Wars horror novel that has zombies in it?  Really?  I do not know who thought that it would be a great idea to have Night of the Living Dead take place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, but that person is just nuts.

Death Troopers dares to venture into genre territory that I never thought a Star Wars tie-in novel would ever bother to explore: the R rated horror story.  Now that I think of it, lets make that the unrated horror story, since writer Joe Schreiber's novel has some gore set pieces in it that are worthy of a George A. Romero movie.  Am I alone in thinking that I would never, ever read an officially sanctioned Star Wars novel that features undead stormtroopers, Imperial officers, and numerous alien species (including the Wookie) ripping people and/or aliens apart and eating them?

But now that I have read the book (and do I really need to point out that there was no way in hell that I would not get around to reading this book), the only thing I can I think to ask is: WHY!?!

Death Troopers is, at best, a serviceable piece of programmer schlock.  It does not embarrass itself, but it does not really distinguish itself.  Take out all of the excessive gore and what is left is a spooky bit of fun that could have been the Star Wars Halloween Special.  One that features Han and Chewie navigating their way through an Imperial Star Destroyer that has been turned into something akin to a haunted house.  It's obvious that novelist Joe Schreiber, or his editor, was also very much aware of the Holiday Gimmick feel to the project, because the book dares to have a chapter titled Lifeday, which is a blatant shout out to the memory scarring Star Wars Holiday Special.

This book has been out for a while, now.  So chances are very good that most of the people drawn to reading this kind of nonsense will have already done so.  They will not need to be told that, despite not feeling all that traditional as a Star Wars story, Death Troopers does deliver enough creepy chills and gruesome thrills to make it an interesting change of pace for fans of Star Wars, or of horror, or, as is the case with your humble blogger, of both.

Such an interesting enough change of pace that I now want to read Schreiber's prequel, Red Harvest.

A Moment of LOL: Blackstar Warrior trailer

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #9: Flashpoint Interlude - Homecoming

The events of this story take place approximately 3,963 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"I do not understand why we do not tell them all we have foreseen for Zayne."

Jedi Master Lucien Draay returns to Coruscant, with his conspirators, to meet and discuss with the Jedi High Council the slaughter of the Taris padawans, and how those deaths might have played an important roll in the recent Mandalorian invasion.  But the meeting with the Jedi Council isn't the only one that Draay must conduct.  There is another, far more personal one as well...

The more I learn about Jedi Master Lucien Draay and his cohorts, the more I dislike and distrust them.  As Zayne Carrick has learned, with a Master like Draay, a padawan is in no need of a Sith enemy.  Draay's obsessed determination to kill the betrayed Zayne Carrick, and the actions he and his cohorts take to achieve that goal, are not becoming of "true" Jedi Masters.  That Draay is making, or about to make, yet another in a series of disastrous mistakes, ones rooted in arrogance, is not-too-subtly hinted at.  Yet again, it does not seem to occur to Draay and his cohorts that their own actions could very well have brought about the very thing that the High Council had, through a careful Force reading of the padawans minds and emotions, hoped to avert.  Or maybe it has occurred to them, and these fallen Masters are only looking to destroy Zayne Carrick to hide their own crimes.  If Carrick survives the hunt without turning to the Dark Side, it could be the Masters that face the gallows, not Zayne.

This interlude issue also reveals some very intriguing connections between Draay's past, Zayne's present, and the violent prophecies that have brought this tragic story into being.  I also get the feeling that somebody is going to crossover to the Dark Side at some point, but who that somebody is remains a mystery, for now.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #8: Flashpoint Part 2

The events in this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"I'm not going anywhere with you ever again."

Camper's guardian/companion Jarael, mistaken for a Jedi, has been captured by the Mandalorians and sent to Demagol for tests.  Zayne, Gryph, and Camper attempt to follow and rescue her, but the Mandalorian that has hijacked their ship has other ideas...

Although the cliffhanger at the end of this issue states "To Be Concluded," there is so much intriguing dust stirred up by the events in this book that it is improbable that everything will be settled in the next issue.  It seems to be that far longer plot threads are being woven into this brief little rescue mission of a story.

With Jarael's life in very real danger, and with so many enemies (on both sides of the conflict) popping up to menace Zayne and company, it isn't surprising that the humor in the book fades into the background more than just a little bit.  Zayne, Camper and Gryph are far too busy fighting to survive and escape the Mandalorian sneak attack to make with the funny.  Right now it's all about getting Jarael back and then getting out in one piece, but the odds certainly aren't the group's favor.  But were they ever?

Star Wars: Rebellion #4: My Brother, My Enemy Part 4

"You have Skywalker - take him!"

Luke Skywalker and Deena Shan rescue Janek Sunber and return to the Rebel Fleet, and a rather unfriendly welcoming committee.  Jorin Sol appears to have beaten the Empire's subliminal programming, but is that appearance a deceptive one?

The fourth chapter of My Brother, My Enemy places the Rebel Fleet in a seemingly unwinnable situation, just so they can bust their way out in the action packed finale that will be the fifth chapter.  It's a real "Never tell me the odds," kind of situation, if you know what I mean.

The story has streamlined itself down to the essentials and keeps the pace brisk.  Yet it is all for naught, for, once again, the cover illustration is the issue's frakking cliffhanger.  I spent most of the comic waiting for the characters to catch up with me, something that completely ruined the story's ability to build suspense.  When they finally did catch up, it was on the last page of the issue.  Rebellion continues to be a disappointment.

But there is one good thing about this issue, and that is the character of Janek "Tank" Sunber.  I especially liked how, while Luke joyfully tells of destroying the Death Star, Sunber mulls over the Imperial soldiers that died at the battle of Yavin.  "...How many Imperial soldiers died when that space station exploded?  Were some of them good men?  Have you considered that?"  Sunber doesn't think so, and neither do I.  I also liked the disturbing dream that Sunber had shortly thereafter.  His childhood friend Luke Skywalker makes a rather malevolent appearance in it, looming over a pile of stormtroopers he has killed with his light saber.  I can't help but think that Rebellion would be a far more interesting book if it was focused almost entirely on Sunber's side of story.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #7: Flashpoint Part 1

The events in this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"The Mandalorians are attacking -- FOR REAL!"

Zayne, Gryph, Jarael, Camper, and the droid Elbee are running an invasion scam to pilfer some much needed supplies from a mining colony on the fringe of Republic controlled space.  Then the Mandalorians go and spoil the trick by invading for real.

Phew, for a day or two there I was beginning to seriously doubt if I would enjoy a good, fun read again.  Ever since I finished Steve Alten's giant shark thriller MEG: Primal Waters a week or so ago, I have found just about everything I picked up since to be lacking in the entertainment department.  You know your reading choices are poor when they're far easier to put down than a novel by Steve Alten.  (Yes, he's fun to read, but he doesn't exactly strain the brain, you know what I mean?)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was quick to remind me that there was plenty of fun reading out there.  When I saw that a new issue had come out, I literally heaved a sigh of relief.  I just knew that there was a better than average chance that I was going to enjoy it.  At least I had high hopes that I would.  Those hopes were not dashed, thank goodness.

The first part of Flashpoint is a fast paced beginning to another hectic adventure for Zayne and his friends.  Despite out smarting, and out fighting, the Jedi Masters that attempted to kill him, Zayne's luck has not changed for the better.  It's still as bad as a Rancor's breath after it's evening meal.  I could also happily read about the lovely, and tough, Jarael for the rest of my days.  I do hope that she manages to stay around for the issues to come.  But with this group's sorry luck, one can't tell.

Star Wars: Rebellion #3: My Brother, My Enemy Part 3

"...do what you're told."

As Jorin Sol battles his Imperial brainwashing program, Luke Skywalker argues with Princess Leia over the contents of a secret message he has received from Janek "Tank" Sunber, a Lieutenant in the Imperial Fleet.  Luke trusts his childhood friend, the other Rebels do not.  They believe the message is really just a traceable worm meant to reveal to the Empire where the growing Rebel Fleet is currently hiding.  The Rebel leaders' decision to ignore the message does not sit well with Luke, forcing him to take matters into his own hands.

He won't be alone, at least...

Three issues in and Star Wars: Rebellion is finally starting to pull me into My Brother, My Enemy.  The characters, their places within the story, and the events that surround them are beginning to make sense.  I just don't know if it is enough to keep me reading the book beyond this particular story.  Only my satisfaction, or lack thereof, with the conclusion will decide whether I keep reading Rebellion, or not.  At least that feeling of having stepped into the middle of a complicated story turned out to be justified.  The issue count on the copyright page not only lists this as Star Wars: Rebellion #3, but as Star Wars Empire #43.  I'm 40 issues behind the times.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #6: Commencement Part 6 (of 6)

The events in this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"An intervention.  For the galaxy."

Zayne Carrick is delivered, via bounty hunter, to the Jedi Masters so eager to kill him.  Jedi Master Lucien explains their actions to Zayne.  But the former Padawan's battle is far from over.

Wow.  While the other Star Wars book I decided to test, Rebellion, managed to disappoint by its second issue,  Knights of the Old Republic has whipped through six without once loosing my interest, confusing me with a jumble of poorly introduced characters, or making me wonder what the heck was going on from one panel to the next.  No, from page one I was eager to find out what would happen next.  Each plot twist and/or revelation had me wondering just how Zayne and his friends would manage to escape, not asking "What the hell is going on here?"  That's good storytelling.  Knights of the Old Republic is my pick for the Star Wars book worth reading.

It has been said elsewhere, by Orson Scott Card and others, that the Jedi aren't the noble order they like to think they are.  The prequels, and this story arc, show that the Order's unilateralist methods invariably bring about the very things that they are trying to prevent.  The Jedi Order need not worry about the Sith.  The Order itself is its own worst enemy.

Star Wars: Rebellion #2: My Brother, My Enemy Part 2

The events in this story take place approximately nine months after the Battle of Yavin.

"Anyone can fire one lucky shot, sir."

Lieutenant Janek "Tank" Sunber isn't the only one troubled by the knowledge that a childhood friend is on the opposing side in a fierce war.  Luke Skywalker, current darling of the Rebel Alliance for destroying the Death Star, is wondering how it can be that his childhood friend is an Imperial Officer.  He is also wracked with guilt over wounding Sunber and then leaving him behind on Kalist IV.

While Part 1 of My Brother, My Enemy focused solely on the troubled thoughts of Janek Sunber, Part 2 is a maze of characters and events that left me confused.  But not in a good way.  Who is Deena and which Imperial Officer is she ranting about?  Is it Tank?  I'm going to guess that the trap she mentions was the almost botched rescue of Jorin Sol on Kalist IV, an event covered in the just as convoluted, yet much shorter, Rebellion #0 mini one-shot that came out a few months back.

I did like how Skywalker's destruction of the Death Star is dismissed by one character as nothing more than a simple lucky shot.  It's a nice way to remind the reader of just how young and green the future General Skywalker was at that particular time in the saga.  Another good thing is the tension between Luke and Leia.  Luke's obvious jealousy about her no doubt comfortable and sheltered upbringing in comparison to his hard scrabble life on a Tatooine moisture farm is a nice bit of character shading.  I just wish that the story had unfolded in an easier to understand manner.  Other than Luke, Leia and Wedge, I couldn't tell who was who and how they relate to the events in this story.  Hopefully the tangle of plot threads introduced here can be woven into a compelling narrative.  Especially in regards to the apparently brainwashed Jorin Sol.  That brings me to my biggest complaint about this particular book.  The cover art for issues one and two both turned out to be their cliffhangers.  That really spoiled the surprise, you know?

Star Wars: Rebellion #1

The events in this story take place approximately nine months after the Battle of Yavin.

"Luke...my friend...I think I'm meant to stop you."

It has been more than a few years since Janek Sunber played war with his childhood friends, Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter.  The Tatooine youths are now grown and war is no longer a child's game.  Janek is a Lieutenant in the Imperial Fleet and, having learned that Luke and Biggs have sided with the Rebel Alliance, he grapples with a confusing mix of emotions.  Has he chosen the wrong side in this battle?  How could his two closest friends become his mortal enemies?  Does the goal of destroying the Rebel Alliance mean that he must also destroy Luke Skywalker?

My Brother, My Enemy gets off to a strong start with an intense look into the tortured mind of one Lieutenant Janek Sunber, former childhood friend of Rebel Alliance member, and Death Star destroyer, Luke Skywalker.  The heated battle Sunber muses his way through in the opening pages of the issue is a splendid way to visualize the fierce battle that rages in his conscience.  Sunber wants to believe that he is fighting the good fight, that a triumphant Empire will bring peace to the galaxy.  Yet, deep down inside, Sunber finds that he doubts that he is truly fighting the good fight.  If he were, then why is he so quick and eager to resort to brute force?  What does that make him?  Is he truly a crusader for peace in the galaxy?

I look forward to finding out how Lieutenant Janek Sunber handles learning the answers to those troubling questions.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #5: Commencement Part 5 (of 6)

This story takes place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"I didn't kill anyone before -- and I'm not going to now."

Zayne learns what drove the Jedi Masters to slaughter their Padawans.  He now has the choice of two very different paths: renounce his Jedi training and go into hiding, or turn himself in...

After some soul searching, Zayne makes his decision.

So, what exactly did the Jedi Seers on Taris see?  Was one of their Padawans really going to turn to the Dark Side, or did they just have a glimpse of events that won't come to pass for another 3900+ years?  Of course, none of the characters have anyway of knowing these future events will occur, so it only seems reasonable to assume that one of their Padawans will turn to the Dark Side and, because of this, destroy the Jedi.  It also seems reasonable that the only way to stop these horrible events from ever happening is by killing all of their Padawans.

Doesn't seem like a very Jedi thing to do, does it?  Then again, the course of events in the prequel series reveals that the Jedi Order wasn't the infallible bastion of truth, justice, and the Old Republic Way of Life that Obi-Wan liked to tell Luke it was.  No, the reality of the Jedi was far different from the Myth of the Jedi.

As the grim turn of events that had only just begun in issue four played out in five, the humor that made the set-up for it so much fun fades into the background.  The overall tone of the story darkens considerably.  But any attempt to soften the saddening visions and downplay the seriousness of Zayne's situation would weaken its power.  It is time for the Padawan to act like the Jedi he had hoped to one day become.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #4: Commencement Part 4 (of 6)

This story takes place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"How could you have done such a thing?"

With the Taris Law Enforcement closing in on their suddenly disabled ship, Camper manages to hot wire it long enough for Jarael to hide it in the system's inner debris field.  (That'd be what us Terrans would call an asteroid belt, I'm guessing.)  While Camper struggles to make repairs, Zayne calls the Jedi Council to get help.  None is forthcoming, they believe he killed the Padawans.  He also begins searching for the horrible truth hidden on a battered moon within the debris field.  The moon where the Padawans' final test had been conducted.

Things just keep getting worse for poor Zayne and, to a far lesser extent, Gryph.  The Jedi Council believes that Zayne has gone to the Dark Side and that it has clouded his mind.  He only thinks that the Jedi Masters have killed their Padawans.  Am I alone in thinking that the Jedis are insufferably stiff necked, and thus are their own worse enemies?  It is no small wonder one lone Sith Lord managed to literally wipe them off the face of the galaxy several centuries later.  At least it creates for some interesting dramatic conflict.

The action in this installment of the story is of the character variety, not the lightsaber swinging, turbolaser blasting kind.  Thank goodness all the characters are strongly developed.  The interaction between them is every bit as entertaining as a well choreographed lightsaber battle.  I'm also falling in love with Camper's fierce protector, Jarael  She's tough, hot tempered, and beautiful, the perfect heroine for a pulp space opera such as this.

Issue 4 also has the best cliffhanger of the series to date, great stuff.

Star Wars: Outbound Flight - by Timothy Zahn

The Outbound Flight Project is the cherished brain child of the arrogant, domineering, and driven Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth.  He will do anything to convince the reluctant Senate and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to fund his ambitious plan of sending six Jedi Masters, twelve Jedi Knights, and fifty thousand man, women, and children, all aboard a single, gargantuan vessel, out into the unexplored regions of space, to both explore and colonize an unknown galaxy.  The Sith Lord Darth Sidious sees it as a convenient way of getting rid of six Jedi Masters and twelve Jedi Knights.

When C'baoth thwarts an act of terrorism during tense negotiations, he is bestowed with the Outbound Flight Project by a thankful Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Republic Senate.  What C'baoth, who quickly begins to abuse his power when Outbound Flight gets underway, does not know is that Darth Sidious has a battle fleet waiting to destroy them, just outside of charted Republic space.

However things are not going well out there.  It seems that a wayward group of smugglers, as well as Sidious's attack force, have brushed against the border of the Chiss Ascendancy.  Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, of the Chiss Ascendancy's Expansionary Defense Fleet, is quick to investigate and, in one brilliant chess move after another, exploit each to his own gain.  Soon enough, those that have taken sides with Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo will call him by his given name, Thrawn.

Well, it was bound to happen.  After reading twenty or so Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, I finally read one where, for almost half of it, I had the feeling that I had walked into a conversation already well underway and with no clue whatsoever as to what the hell everybody was talking about.  Not having read Survivor's Quest, the book that Outbound Flight is a prequel to, or any of the original Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command), the three books that actually launched the Expanded Universe series, certainly did not help matters any.  But now that I have finished Outbound Flight, those four books have moved to the top of my Star Wars Expanded Universe reading list.  Outbound Flight should be at the top of yours.

I was quite pleased with how author Timothy Zahn managed to take what seemed to be a confusing jumble of characters, events, and skulduggery, and knit them together into one tense and violent confrontation after another; until all the pieces in Thrawn's intricate manipulation fell into place for the final, bloody confrontation between Outbound Flight, the Expansionary Defense Fleet, and the violent nomads known as the Vagaari.  That battle, and it's suspenseful and tragic aftermath, is an exciting and rewarding payoff to the complex and fascinating story.  Outbound Flight left me eager to learn even more about both the Star Wars Expanded Universe and the fascinating characters that inhabit it.  (Thrawn, for starters.)  But there is one unanswered question.  Why were Obi-Wan and Anakin on Outbound Flight, albeit only briefly?  They really didn't need to be there and, because of that, were more of a distraction than anything else.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #3: Commencement Part 3 (of 6)

The events in this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"That boy is a Jedi problem."

Zayne Carrick and Gryph, his partner by necessity, are barely able to stay one step ahead of capture.  A rather impressive feat, considering that the entire planet wants them either dead or behind bars.  It seems that the mass slaughter at the Jedi Temple has had serious economic ramifications, riots and mass unemployment are spreading across the planet of Taris.  The Gryph takes Zayne to The Camper, the best smuggler on the planet.  But Jarael, The Camper's lovely and lethal guard, is hesitant to let the wanted men enter.

Two new characters, the lovely Jarael and the seemingly befuddled Perero, a.k.a. The Camper, enter the fray.  The back and forth between Zayne and Jarael and Gryph and Perero/The Camper is fast, furious - literally and figuratively, the smugglers are far from happy, for some reason - and, even better, funny.  Humor really is this book's strongest point.

Zayne's trial by fire is turning him into a Jedi faster than the teachings of Lucien seemed capable of doing, and there is more to Jarael and Perero than what first seems to greet Zayne and Gryph.  The issue also ends on an exciting, and funny, cliffhanger.

Will Zayne manage to survive long enough to discover why the Jedi Masters have slaughtered their Padawans?  For one thought to be far too clumsy and ill prepared for Jedi Knighthood, Zayne is doing a fine job of rising to the monumental challenge.

Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader - by James Luceno

Anakin Skywalker is believed to be dead, a victim of the Jedi's failed attempt to assassinate Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.  But the Emperor and his fearsome new emissary, Darth Vader, know the truth.  What little remains of Anakin Skywalker's scarred body is made complete and kept alive by Vader's distinctive and intimidating cybernetic armor.  Anakin's soul is a different matter entirely.  There is nothing to sustain that, and more of it dies as Vader sinks deeper into the seductive abyss of the Dark Side.

While Darth Vader learns to embrace the Dark Side, Jedi Master Roan Shryne and Padawan Olee Starstone, survivors of Order Sixty-Six, struggle with a painful decision.  Go into hiding, as the Jedi Temple beacon demands, or search out other Jedi that have managed to survive.  Then regroup, confront and battle, dethrone, and reveal to the former Republic that the Emperor's enforcer is in fact a Sith Lord.  Although Shryne and Starstone choose very different paths, Shryne goes into hiding, while Starstone goes hunting for Jedi, both wind up in deadly confrontations with Darth Vader.

James Luceno's Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader over laps with the closing events of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, telling the story that George Lucas failed to: Of how a Jedi was lured to the Dark Side and became the most fearsome figure in Palpatine's Empire.  Unfortunately, most of the novel does not focus on Vader himself, but on other characters reactions to the Sith Lord.  It seems odd that the title character's own story would be treated as if it were a sub-plot, but it is.

This makes the book very uneven, with numerous scenes coming across as nothing more than fan service filling (Look, it's C-3PO!  And R2-D2!  They're being funny!), or gratuitous actions scenes to liven up an expository dead spot.  Another problem is that very few of the prequel characters actually play any substantive role in the original trilogy, so the eventual fates of both Shryne and Starstone are easy to guess.  Luceno does manage to tie together an impressive amount of movie and Expanded Universe characters and plot threads, not only bridging the prequel events with those of the original trilogy, but with the numerous spin-off novels, as well.  I especially liked how the concluding moments of the battle on Kashyyyk were made to echo/foreshadow those in Return of the Jedi.  If only the rest of the novel had that kind of energy, but it doesn't.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #0: Crossroads/Star Wars: Rebellion #0: Crossroads

We interrupt the time line of our currently in progress story to bring you this special sneak preview Special Edition.  Thank You for reading Star Wars Comic Books.  The Management.  (aka Dark Horse)

The events in this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"Sometimes you have to enter the darkness to save the light."

Bumbling Padawan Zayne Carrick's latest attempt to apprehend the smuggler know as The Gryph ends with yet another embarrassing mishap.  One witnessed by a Jedi passing through Taris and on the way to the front lines of the war currently being fought between the Republic and the Mandalorians.  The visiting Jedi hopes that several of the Knights stationed on Taris will join in the battle.  Not all agree with the Jedi being used to wage war, and the request causes what seems to be a catastrophic disturbance in the force...

That plot description pretty much covers the entire Crossroads story, a sort of teaser/prequel for Knights of the Old Republic's Freshman Yarn, Commencement.  It does a pretty good job of introducing all the primary characters, there relations to each other, as well as laying the groundwork for the story that immediately follows.  I'm already hooked, so I would have much preferred the next chapter of Commencement.  But Dark Horse wants to drum up interest in its other new Star Wars comic book serial:

The events in this story take place approximately nine months after the Battle of Yavin.

The Jabiimi have not forgotten, nor forgiven, an Old Republic betrayal.  During the Clone Wars, Annakin Skywalker was forced to retreat and left the Jabiimi to fight for themselves.  A battle they lost.  Now a generation has lived under the aggression of Imperial rule.  While an appeal from the Rebel Alliance is welcome, the name of Luke Skywalker is not.  Tal Hesz, thinking that he has brokered a deal that will result in the withdrawal of Imperial occupation, betrays the Rebel Alliance and turns over to the Empire an engineer that had accompanied Luke, Jorin Sol.  Being a deal with the devil, Hesz, and all on Jabiim, gets burned, quite badly.  Now Hesz wages a one man battle to right the wrong he is responsible for.

Oh, and Luke confronts a childhood friend who is now an Imperial Lieutenant named Janek Sunber...

Of the two teasers, Rebellion's Crossroads is the lesser of the two.  It has way too much back story for such a limited amount of space and is nowhere near as effective as setting up its first story.  Then again, I haven't read the first story, which premieres this April.  This complicated intro doesn't do much for me.  It's all talk, no action, and has all the humor of Saving Private Ryan.  It also makes me wonder about the contradiction problems the Skywalker surname brings about.  Many in the Universe seem to know the Skywalker name (a problematic plot point in the otherwise quite good Star Wars novel, Tatooine Ghost), while Luke is completely unaware of his father's history.  How this history is kept from him through the events of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, during which Rebellion takes place, should provide for some interesting reading.  Well, that is if the actual stories in Rebellion are not as cluttered with cumbersome exposition as this teaser's abrupt tale was.

I'm pretty much undecided about, and unimpressed with, this particular book.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #2: Commencement Part 2 (of 6)

The events in this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.

"If you weren't the worst trainee they've ever had, it's only because all the records were lost when the next guy down the list blew up his planet."

Zayne Carrick narrowly escapes the gruesome fate that befell his four Padawan friends, but the slaughter is almost immediately blamed on him and his now unwilling accomplice, Gryph.  The fugitives try to figure out a way to escape Taris and uncover the secret that turned the Jedi Masters murderous, while those same Masters hunt them down.

Commencement part two is another entertaining mix of action, comedy, and character.  The mystery is intriguing.  What has driven the Jedi Masters of Taris to kill their Padawans?  Is a critical clue to their reasoning hidden in the Padawan training?  Hopefully the answers will pay off.

While Zayne Carrick might be clumsy, when the time came he managed to escape a pack of Jedi Masters determined to kill him.  Dumb luck, or is there more to Zayne than anyone, including Zayne, has thought?  The small-time Snivvian crook Gryph also seems to have a Han Solo type heart beneath that grungy exterior.  This sets up some nice banter between him and Zayne's awkward Annakin/Luke styled character.  Knights of the Old Republic has gotten of to a solid start that is, I'm happy to say, a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #1: Commencement Part One

The events in this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin.  (That's a long time.)

"By the time I get to be one, all the rules may have changed."

Zayne Carrick is an eager, albeit accident prone, Padawan stationed on the rim world of Taris.  A crowded city-world, not unlike Coruscant, Taris has fallen into near lawlessness, with rival crime gangs battling for what little pieces of the commerce pie remain.  While his fellow Padawans prepare for the ceremony that will announce who among them will be elevated to Jedi Knight, Zayne, who is certain that he is far too clumsy to qualify as of yet, tenaciously chases down the smuggler Gryph.  What Zayne and his fellow Padawans don't know is that their world of peace is about to change, for the worse.

At some point between the release of The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith I became a some what larger Star Wars fan than I had been prior to Phantom.  I even start reading the Expanded Universe novels and comic books.  Reading both is pretty much essential, as events and characters in the comics are mentioned, or actually appear, in the novels and, I am assuming, vice-versa.  Considering the sizable number of tie-in novels that have been published, not to mention the equally large number of comic book series, I have a lot of reading to catch up on.  Well, better reading to be behind on than nothing to be read at all, I say.  Nonetheless, deciding exactly where to start in such a densely interconnected Universe was rather daunting, for certain plot developments or characters could prove confusing to an uninformed reader such as myself.  For the novels, I choose The Truce at Bakura, a story that began mere hours after the conclusion of Return of the Jedi.  As for the comics, I figured that a fresh series would be as good as any.  The characters and situations would be new to all readers, right?

Knights of the Old Republic is set in the fertile pre-history of the Star Wars saga.  A time that spans 25,000 to 1,000 years prior to the Battle of Yavin.  (What is that Battle of Yavin, anyway?  Is that when Luke Skywalker blows up the first Death Star?  Excuse the spoiler.)  Another SW series, The Tales of the Jedi, takes place in this era.  That makes me wonder if events and characters from that book might be showing up in this one.  I guess I will just have to keep reading and find out, won't I?

Zayne Carrick is a suitably doofy Every-boy Character that any reader who has every made an ass of him (or her) self in public can easily relate to.  The action is plentiful and the frame work from which the events to come will hang is solidly constructed.  It all builds to a cliffhanger ending that demands issue two to be read.  And read it I will, gladly.  Just to see what happens next.

Since this is only the third Star Wars comic book I have read, I cannot say how it measures up to the other series.  What I can say is that it has all the elements that long time SW fans will want and expect from a tale set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...lots of action, a dash of comedy, and some dastardly intrigue.  That is all I ask of Star Wars, and that is all I got.

Star Wars: Purge

"The events in this story take place approximately one month after the events in Revenge of the Sith."

"Palpatine's mailed fist, Dooku's successor, Maul's inheritor, the new Sith - Darth Vader."

Order 66 is still being carried out, the Emperor's Clone Troopers relentlessly hunting down and killing the few remaining Jedi.  Darth Vader, consumed by anger, searches for the now in hiding Obi-Wan Kenobi, wanting more than anything to kill his former Jedi Master.  A desperate Jedi, knowing of Vader's search, sets a trap, using the rumored presence of Obi-Wan Kenobi for bait.

While Purge does a nice job of filling in the blanks of Darth Vader's back story, (namely how a whining dork became one of the most feared men in that galaxy far, far away...) it is hamstrung by its time line setting.  Other than killing more Jedi, there is not much for Vader to do or have done to him.  All the other characters, with the exception of the Emperor, only exist to fight Vader and die in spectacular fashion while doing so.  The fight is exciting, the Jedi putting up a solid enough defense so that it doesn't look too much like Vader is just shooting fish in a barrel.  More interesting, though, is the closing dialog between Vader and the Emperor.  It both fleshes out their relationship as Master and Student and hints that Vader's vicious reputation might be more of a manufactured legend, rather than a horrible reality.

Then again, there's more than enough time for Vader to grow into, and live up to, that reputation while the Skywalker kids grow up.