Let's catch up with an EU-related news item along with some links as we slowly count down the days to Celebration VI. The majority of these items come to us from Del Rey's Star Wars Books Facebook page.
Last month, San Diego Comic Con brought forth news of a new novel from Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, titled Star Wars: Last of the Jedi, that will serve as a follow-up to their Coruscant Nights series. Here's the description from Jay's original post:
"Ever since Emperor Palpatine's Order 66--which called for the execution of all Jedi--Jax Pavan is the last Knight around to fight the dark side of the Force. Together with his droid I-5, Jax has eluded Vader time and again, all the while wreaking havoc against the Empire through the underground resistance on Coruscant. But now the Rebel's leader on the city-planet has been captured, and it's up to the Last Jedi to ride again...possibly for one final adventure. (Cover illustration by Gene Moloica and cover design by Scott Biel.)"
That original post also noted a Spring 2013 release window. Well, a new post at the Star Wars Books Facebook page reveals that the release date has moved up to February 2013. Naturally, we'll keep you posted when the release gets narrowed down to a date.
Moving right along, you can visit FanGirlBlog.com for an interview with Del Rey's Shelly Shapiro that hits on such topics as Star Wars: The Old Republic, female characters, ?editor-manuscript confidentiality,? upcoming releases and more. See below for an excerpt but make sure to click here for the full entertaining read.
"Linda: Do you think SW:TOR engages the science fiction reader, whereas WoW (or other games, like EverQuest) engage more of the fantasy reader?
Shelly: I originally assumed SW:TOR would be more for sci-fi fans, but playing it was a surprise that way: It doesn?t really feel more sci-fi to me than WoW did, I guess because the play mechanics are so basically similar. Blaster/gun/crossbow, lightsaber/sword/dagger, Force/spells ? it all feels pretty much the same to me. I just think my familiarity with all the details of the Star Wars universe brings an added bit of fun.
That said, I?m not convinced that Star Wars specifically engages science-fiction readers; there are many, many SW fans who don?t read other sci-fi, and many sci-fi readers who won?t pick up a SW book. The movies especially had a feel of fantasy in sci-fi trappings, unlike, say, Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. The sci-fi elements in Star Wars don?t affect the characters and the cultures in the way they do in science fiction: they?re more like ornaments on the story tree. Star Wars is really more fantasy than science fiction, despite the setting and the tech trappings. So I?d say that WoW and SW:TOR are pretty much tapping demographics that hugely overlap."
If you didn't get a chance to participate in Leland Chee's Facebook chat earlier this week, you can still catch up on the fun that was had by clicking here.
Head on over to Suvudu for a fun new blog entry from Tricia Barr where Del Rey staff recounts a San Diego Comic Con experience that involved their booth and the voice of Savage Opress.
Last but not least, let's remind you of a couple home-grown items to keep you up to date in the wilderness that is the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Jay catches you up with this week's Dark Horse comic releases right here.
Of course if you really want to be on top of the EU, and for your listening pleasure, make sure to check out the August edition of the ForceCast: Jedi Journals.