Here are all the tweets that were “blocked” by SOPA and/or PIPA during yesterday’s protest.
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Posts that JediSoC commented in.
Imperial March on the… Floppy Drives?
Here’s something that will put a smile on JediSoC’s face for sure.
[JediSoC: Techie, you are right! It does make me smile! 
]
[TuneSoC: Using floppy drives as intruments? [vader voice]Impressive… Most impressive[/vader voice]]
Star Wars: The Old Republic Release Date Announced
Yay! Now to find a job so I can buy the game and afford the monthly fee… and find a way to make it work on Linux… hmmm.. TechSoC! I need your help! /walks away toward TechSoC’s room
From Abyss…
Ben:
How do you feel? Better than you look, I hope.
Rhondi:
That’s nice. (turns to Luke) If you want grandchildren someday, you need to have a conversation with your son about how to talk to the ladies.
Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber
This book comes down to the following: Star Wars = Awesome; Zombies = Awesome; Star Wars + Zombies = Awesome2.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a Star Wars book without a force-sensitive character of some sort in it. It was a stroke of luck that this one is one such book (though I hope at some point they will explore a zombie horde vs Jedi story). That it features zombies in the Star Wars universe just makes this book so full of epic win I had to read it in less than 24 hours.
Here’s the breakdown.
Characters
I totally wasn’t expecting Han and Chewie in this book, but they made for a good familiar cameo. Apart from them, there are really 4 other characters the story follows. Trig and Kale, brothers who were arrested with their father. Jareth Sartoris, captain of the guard on the prison barge carrying everyone through space (also, murderer of Trig and Kale’s father). Zahara Cody, doctor on the prison barge. These four are randomly immune to the virus, while Han & Chewie get a quickly made anti-virus (that almost doesn’t work out for Chewie).
Story
It’s set in a prison barge that breaks down near the Unknown Regions, just by chance within range of a derelict Star Destroyer. Ten men go over to scavenge for parts, five come back, bringing a deadly infection. Of course, after a while being dead, the bodies get up and start trying to kill the few survivors there are.
Basically, it’s your typical Zombie story, only set in the Star Wars universe, making it a whole lot more fun.
Once the survivors all get together in one place and it’s revealed that it is indeed the walking dead that are chasing them, it plays out much like I imagine a Left 4 Dead story would, only with less guns and more wookiee.
It’s a fun, quick read and I really enjoyed it, but the younger audience and those who are frightened of zombies and other horror themes will want to stay away.
Refugees by Tom Taylor
“It’s lucky you like pain. Because this is going to hurt.” – Kaye Galfridian
I’ve been waiting for this series since I heard about it a while back. I loved the New Jedi Order’s Yuuzahn Vong invasion and what they did with it in the books (except killing two of my favorite characters in Star Wars *sniff* Chewie, Anakin… *sniff*) and now we get to see it visually in comic book form. Frakkin’ awesome if you ask me.
Here’s the breakdown.
Characters
Apart from the family of the Big Three (Luke, Han and Leia), this series seems to follow a former rebel now king, Caled Galfridian, and his family. They are on Artorias, one of the first planets targetted by the Vong invasion. The king himself is a war veteran as I already mentioned. The queen I’m not sure of yet as she hasn’t done much as of the end of this collection of comics. Their son, Finn, is recognized by Luke as a potential Jedi and their daughter is deadly enough without the Force, killing a Vong warrior in battle and later leading a prisoner revolt and taking over the prisoner ship. Finn seems to be the one at the forefront of the stories and I’m loving his character. Not too many people in the Star Wars universe would say what he said to Han when they first meet him – not after the man has saved the galaxy so many times.
Story
The main arc is obviously the Yuuzahn Vong invasion, but these comics follow the Galfridian family as they try to survive and find each other throughout the bloodiest war in the Star Wars universe. So far, they have survived, but they are each in their own kind of danger. The King is leading a resistance in their planet while the queen and princess have stolen a prisoner ship and are trying to save their people. Finn is off with the Solo family which always means adventure and danger of some sort, even if they are just trying to look into the past of the Falcon.
It’s a great beginning to the series and I can’t wait for the rest. It’s nice to finally see the Vong drawn to life.
The Basement
[CynicSoC: That the title of our most anticipated post ever? Srsly?]
[TechSoC: Yes. That is the title.]
[CynicSoC: O rly?]
[DescentSoC: *Targets CynicSoC for mass destruction* We won’t be suckered into your antics this time. You’ve derailed too many attempts at us telling this story already.]
Omen by Christie Golden
Ben: “Jedi Skywalkers. Practicing a fine family tradition of rescuing people from the dark side.”
Luke: “Hey, there are worse family traditions.”
Ben: “Like Aunt Leia’s spiceloaf.”
Luke: “You think the dark side is scary, you say that to her.”
Ben: “I won’t. I like my body intact, thank you very much.”
So in this book we have more psychotic Jedi, more great Luke & Ben banter, and a marriage proposal 14 years (in the Star Wars universe) in the making. I remember my roommate in college saying that Jaina and Jag would (or was it should?) get married. But like Luke and Mara, they danced around their relationship for many years before finally accepting, as Vader would say it, that it was their destiny.
Anyway, here’s the breakdown.
Characters
Luke and Ben are off in search of the super-elusive Aing-Tii, who view the Force as more of a rainbow, than Light and Dark. They also have some very interesting abilities; Force Teleport Object could be very useful. Meanwhile, Han & Leia are dealing with trying to raise Allana differently than their own kids were raised. Also, they have formally introduced the Lost Tribe of the Sith in this book, including an apprentice name Vestara Khai, whom I am guessing will be a big part of the series, based on the importance they’ve given her in just this book.
Story
This book actually contains two stories: one is what is happening now, and the other is what has happened over the past two years to the Lost Tribe of the Sith on their unknown planet. The Sith have been gaining power under the guidance of the Sith Meditation Sphere that Ben found on Ziost while working under Jacen. Now they have a small fleet and are hellbent on restoring the Sith to power. Meanwhile, Luke and Ben continue their search for the reasons behind Jacen’s fall and the Jedi are dealing with two more of their own falling to the mysterious psychosis.
It’s a good book, even though there is no real final battle as there is in most Star Wars books. It’s a set-up book, meaning that it is there to tell a necessary part of the story, even though there may not be much excitement. It sets up the next book, which I will be reviewing in June. Until then, be sure to read this if you get the chance.
*SoC Love
[HonorSoC: Hey guys, it looks like Ashley’s been down in the dumps lately.]
[CynicSoC: Sounds smelly. 
]
[SmellySoC: Did someone call me?]
[CynicSoC: HonorSoC did. ]
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From Outcast…
Luke:
What’s the first thing you learned in training to be a Jedi?
Ben:
Don’t cut off your own head with your lightsaber.
Luke:
After that.
Ben:
Your eyes can deceive you. Be mindful of your feelings. Girls are fun but dangerous. Lando has extra cards up his sleeve.
Luke:
Well, the truth is in there somewhere…
Outcast by Aaron Allston
Luke: “What’s the first thing you learned in training to be a Jedi?”
Ben: “Don’t cut off your own head with your lightsaber.”
Luke: “After that.”
Ben: “Your eyes can deceive you. Be mindful of your feelings. Girls are fun but dangerous. Lando has extra cards up his sleeve.”
Luke: “Well, the truth is in there somewhere…”
It is time for the fallout of Jacen’s fall to hit the fan. People are not liking the Jedi right now, since it was one of them that fell to the Dark Side and took the galaxy into a second civil war in 50 years. It was also their actions that led to a lot of battles and deaths. Also, Daala is not a big fan of Jedi and is fanning the anti-Jedi sentiment with an investigation into Luke. Her intent is to exile Luke from the Jedi Order, thus making it easier for her to attempt to control them.
Luke realizes this and exiles himself on the condition that if he can figure out what caused Jacen to fall, he gets to come back and resume his duties as Grand Master. Ben, being a trained investigator, Jedi knight and Lukes son/Padawan, comes along. The scenes between father and son are the funniest in the book, as my favorite quote above demonstrates. There’s another where Ben wins an argument with four one-word sentences. Luke complains that he doesn’t like that Ben can win arguments without verbs.
Also, in the “not helping the Jedi cause” side of things, Jedi knights are starting to randomly go crazy. It starts with Seff Hellin (which from what I gather started in the book Millenium Falcon). The first one in this book however is Valin Horn, one of my favorite characters. Daala’s solution? Freeze the afflicted Jedi in carbonite.
Here’s the breakdown.
Characters
The interactions between Luke and Ben were my favorites in this book. Everyone else seemed a bit flat in my opinion.
Story
As the set up for the entire Fate of the Jedi series, this is a good book. It sets up quite a few story arcs that will be interesting to read over the next few books. There is the Force Psychosis, Jedi Order vs. Daala, Luke and Ben’s journey and Han and Leia’s journey with Allana. I am excited to see where they will all lead.
It’s a great start to the series, even if it’s a bit short. From what I’ve read of the next two books, things start taking a very dark turn for everyone.
Invincible by Troy Denning
“I was just thinking of…of what Caedus sacrificed. At the end, there was a second when he just stopped fighting so he could warn Tenel Ka. I think he became Jacen again for a second before I…before I killed him.” -Jaina Solo
From the time I read Traitor and saw Jacen lose the traditional Light/Dark side view of the Force, I knew he would fall as his grandfather did. At the onset of the Legacy of the Force series, I knew that he would have to die. And knowing all the symbolism and importance the Star Wars universe has been putting on Twins since its inception (Luke & Leia, Jacen & Jacen, the Yuuzahn Vong view of twins, etc), not to mention Luke’s proclamation that Jaina would be the Sword of the Jedi, I figured that Jaina would be the one to kill Jacen. Still the journey to this point was fun to read.
Seeing Jacen use the Shatterpoint ability was fun, but the one that took the cake for Force power usage in my opinion was Luke. Not only did he make Jacen pretty paranoid by focusing himself on coming after Jacen, causing Jacen’s Force visions to all contain Luke attacking him thus hiding the fact that Jaina was the one coming after him, Luke also made Jacen think he was dueling himself when Jaina was the one fighting Jacen. This battle however wasn’t the final duel between brother and sister.
Here’s the breakdown.
Characters
The main characters in this one are Jacen and Jaina, obviously. Luke, Boba, Palleon and even Daala play important roles, but since this book is about the showdown between brother and sister, they are center stage.
Story
I like that, even though it was obvious that Jacen needed to be stopped and the only way to do that would be to kill him, it was still difficult for Jaina and it affected her greatly. Having her cradle her dead brother’s head until she was found was a nice touch. I also liked how they dealt with Allana, Jacen’s daughter. Being that it was announced that she was killed, the perfect cover for her was giving her to Han and Leia. I am glad that they will get to spend a lot of time with their granddaughter. When she was born, I didn’t think that would happen.
Overall, it was a great ending to the series. Daala is now in charge of the GA and Jag Fel is in charge of the Imperial remnant. With tensions as high as they are after this series, It should be interesting to see how the next few years of books will set up the Legacy comic series.
Revelation by Karen Traviss
“Fett, you can teach me to bring down Jedi. You’ve done it often enough.” -Jaina
Jaina goes off to find Boba and ask him to train her to fight Jedi with non-Jedi tactics, believing it to be the only way to have a chance against Jacen in her impending duel with him. He reluctantly agrees, but enjoys humiliating her with a few tricks while training her. Here he is an non-Force sensitive old man, and he is able to beat her in a few fights.
Ben, on the other side of the galaxy from Mandalore, decides to launch a true investigation into his mother’s death, using the training he received earlier in the series as a GAG soldier. He starts at the scene of the crime remembering a fact that he had unconsciously filed away when he found Mara’s body. He calls in some favors, including one from his old GAG mentor, who is now Jacen’s right hand man.
On the war side of the story, we see the return of the Imperial remnant as both the exiled GA and Jacen’s GA try to woo Palleon, former understudy to the late Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Here’s the breakdown.
Characters
Revelation sees the return of Palleon and the Empire, and Tahiri Veila, who has been missing from the series until now. I don’t like her new role, though. It seems a bit of a stretch for her to turn so far from the light side for a few more moments with Anakin. Palleon, on the other hand, acted in character and was just as intelligent as you would expect of someone who served under Thrawn.
Story
With the last book, you can see them trying to drag out the story a bit. With this one, you see the dragging end and the story begin to pick up again. It’s not great, but it is a necessary step in the overall arc. A good set up to the finale that is Invincible.
In the end, it is incomplete. What I mean is that, while it is a complete story in itself, it is still a preparatory step for a finale. It leaves you with the knowledge that there is a final showdown soon, just not in this book. Don’t get me wrong, though, it’s a good book.
Fury by Aaron Allston
C-3PO: “I say, sir, I might suggest a more gradual approach.”
Jag: “Good idea. I’ll pass it along to Han.”
C-3PO: “Why, thank you, sir. Though he’s always been reluctant to implement my suggestions.”
In this book we see how truly dense most of the Star Wars characters are. In the previous few books, Jacen has killed Mara, set fire to Kashyyk, tortured and tried to kill Ben Skywalker and taken over the Galactic Alliance. Somehow, most people haven’t realized that he’s a Sith yet. How exactly is that possible?
Then he goes and kidnaps his own daughter, who is also the heir to the throne of the Hapan Consortium, in an effort to bring the Hapans into the GA fold. Smartly, Tenel Ka withdraws from nearly all contact instead, denying Jacen the support he wanted. And people still don’t realize he’s a Sith. Either the people in the Star Wars universe are very forgiving of family/war heros or they are truly dense and refuse to see what he really is.
Anyway, here’s the breakdown.
Characters
I wasn’t all that impressed with the Jedi vs. Jacen characters in this book. The Jaina’s group vs. Alema Rar was marginally better as they actually seemed to learn something and grow a little. Jaina realized that going after Jacen with Jedi tactics wouldn’t work so she has to learn a whole new style of combat to fight him and goes the the one person in the galaxy that has experience hunting Jedi, Boba Fett.
Story
I was less impressed by the story than the characters. An attack on Jacen only to place a tracker? Jacen’s plan to kidnap his daughter seemed half-baked as did Tenel Ka’s reluctance to go against Jacen. One thing I did like was the foreshadowing when Kyle Katarn mentions that Centerpoint’s destruction left a void in the Force (according to spoilers I’ve read, this may have implications in the Fate of the Jedi books).
Overall, it wasn’t a great book. Good, but lacking too much quality to be great. At this point in the Legacy series I think they started having trouble with ways to extend it over 9 books and it started to drag a bit.
From Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Janson:
You look like some weird cross between a starfighter pilot and a Batravian gumplucker.
Hobbie:
Wes, I don’t even know what that is.
Janson:
Sure you do, Hobbie. A starfighter pilot is a guy who flies an X-wing without getting blown up. Check the Basic Dictionary. Though I can understand how you get confused.
Inferno by Troy Dennng
So apparently, not everyone likes Jacen’s way running things. The Wookiees are some of those people. So what does Jacen do to fix that? By burning their forest planet to a crisp, that’s how. Hence, the title Inferno.
So Luke’s lost his wife. He ran out and chopped the head off the person he thought was responsible, but found out afterwards that he was wrong. Then his son is kidnapped and tortured by Jacen. Luke does not like this and nearly kills Jacen. Hence, the title Inferno.
Things are really coming to a head. The Galactic Alliance that just rose from the ashes of the Yuuzhan Vong war is now fractured in another civil war. The Jedi have split from the GA and a Sith is now in control of the ruling power in the galaxy. Where have I heard this before…
Anyways, it’s a good book, like the rest of the series. Be sure to give it a read when you can.
Sacrifice by Karen Traviss
Part of the journey to become a Sith involves sacrificing something that means a great deal to you. For Jacen, he’s not sure what that is until the end of this book.
Ben has started to figure out that Jacen isn’t a good guy anymore, especially when Jacen orders him to assassinate Corellia’s newest leader. Luke and Mara’s relationship is strained because of their encounters with Lumiya. Mara, being the person she is, decides to hunt the Dark Lady of the Sith, and neither character survives this book, but not in the way you might immediately think.
If you really must know what Jacen has to sacrifice, it’s Ben’s love for him, but it’s the how and why that is really telling of Jacen’s character. He is one cold-hearted son of a motherless pygmy goat and only gets darker from here on out.
Despite many fans decrying Traviss for killing Mara, it probably wasn’t her decision and it was necessary for the story. Don’t malign her like many did Salvatore for killing Chewie.
It’s the midpoint book in the series and things are really starting to heat up.
Exile by Aaron Allston
Han and Leia are hunted. By their own son, no less. The Skywalkers are strained as Luke and Mara suspect Lumiya is behind Jacen’s new path and neither like that he wants Ben to follow him. All the while they are still working behind the scenes with Han and Leia.
This is the first book we really get to see Ben on his own. It’s a good side story that grows Ben’s character a lot. From this book on, Ben really begins to think for himself and not just lean on what Jacen or Luke and Mara tell him. It’s a hard path that starts in a dark place on Ziost, but it’s a necessary one.
Han, Leia, Luke and Mara gather with Wedge, Iella, Corran and Mirax on Booster Terrik’s red star destroyer and discuss what’s going on in the galaxy. They come to the conclusion that someone is manipulating the war for their own ends and instead of focusing on the war, they should focus on finding the manipulator.
There’s a lot more going on, but it’s been a while now since I read it. It’s a good book and fits well as part of the story of the Legacy of the Force series.
Tempest by Troy Denning
I see why this book is called Tempest. By the end of the book, there is a literal tempest of battles going on all over the Hapan Consortium. From space battles between capital ships to lightsaber vs. lightwhip to kidnapping attempts to the Falcon dodging through a battle while the passengers argue amongst themselves. Ooh… it’s so exciting I read it in about a day.
Han and Leia discover just how far their side of the war is willing to go to win. It just happens to be too far for them: killing the Hapan Queen, who is, unbeknownst to them, Jacen’s wife and mother to their granddaughter, Tenel Ka. They’re none to happy about it and by the end of the book, are no longer willing to help the new government they just helped set up.
Alema Rar is back from Tenupe with a grudge against Leia. She is the first person to figure out definitively that Jacen is going Sith and decides that there’sno better revenge against Leia than to help him along. So she teams up with Lumiya.
Jacen is still being stupid and going down the Sith path. Yes, he’s stupid. He fell for a simple misdirection. “Gee, I can save the galaxy by becoming Sith! That worked out so well for my grandfather! Wait! It didn’t! Let me time-walk a couple of times to see what he did wrong… Okay. I won’t make those mistakes. I’ll just alienate my entire family.” Idiot.
Jacen is exactly why it’s never good to justify the wrong actions by telling yourself it’s for the greater good. Luke figured that out in the first book of the Dark Nest Trlogy. Unfortunately, Jacen won’t figure it out any time soon if at all, since he’s been duped into listening to Lumiya and Vergere. Again I say, Idiot.
Also, Ben shows just how stupid he is for following Jacen. He tries to arrest Han, right after Han just pulled him into the Falcon from free-floating in space. Apparently, stupidity is contagious when your hanging around a Sith wannabe.
It’s a great book and a wonderful addition to the series. I’m loving this series. It’s the first time we’ve seen the family ties of the Solos and Skywalkers tested. The first time they’ve really not been on the obviously right side. The first time they’ve been on the opposie sides. It makes for excellent character development.
I’m off to read the next one!
Attack of the Clones by R. A. Salvatore
To be honest, I’m not impressed by this book. Definitely not Salvatore’s best work.
Basically, it’s the movie in written form with a little of the implied scenes added. The implied scenes being the scenes where Anakin’s mom is taken by the Tusken Raiders, a few extra moments on Naboo and a few extra thoughts to fill in the pages. Even the fights weren’t as good as his Forgotten Realms novels.
It’s okay and will look nice next to your other Star Wars books, but otherwise it’s not all that good. After hearing so much about Salvatore’s Drizz’t fights, I was expecting to see some of that in this book. No such luck. 
