Wild Space Covered

Upcoming Clone Wars novelization Clone Wars: Wild Space, by Karen Miller, has been given a cover:

They’ve also provided a cover blurb:

The Separatists have launched a sneak attack on Coruscant. Obi-Wan Kenobi, wounded in battle, insists that Anakin Skywalker and his rookie Padawan Ahsoka leave on a risky mission against General Grievous. But when Senator Bail Organa reveals explosive intelligence that could turn the tide of war in the Republic’s favor, the Jedi Master agrees to accompany him to an obscure planet in the Outer Rim to verify the facts. What Obi-Wan and Bail don’t realize is that they’re walking into a deadly trap concocted by Palpatine… and escape may not be an option.

Looks good. Stay turned for more from TUCWS and Karen Miller! Wild Space is due out on November 25th, 2008. Preorder the trade paperback here.

Karen Traviss to Pen 501st Novel

This according to Starwars.com:

Summer brings the second installment of Fate of the Jedi — Enigma by Christie Golden. Karen Traviss returns with the third novel in The Clone Wars series, No Prisoners, as well as the start of a new paperback series: Imperial Commando. The first book will be Star Wars: Imperial Commando: 501st.

Starwars_EU, a livejournal community also chimes in:

“Karen Traviss’ Imperial Commando series will be in paperback, and the first book is 501st, also due next summer.”

EEEEE!

Obviously, this is still rumor, but MAN! This will be a really fun book to read, when/if it comes out. Obviously, it’ll be about the in-universe guys, and not us. More as it comes in.

Imperial Commando Novels

Looks like Karen Traviss isn’t done with the Republic Commando novels after Order 66. In a recent interview with Randomhouse, she mentioned that she will be writing a couple Imperial Commando novels, and a Boba Fett novel:

Q: What other projects are you working on, both Star Wars—related and in your own fictional universe?

KT: I’m concentrating wholly on military and political fiction for the foreseeable future. I’m having a wonderful time working on Gears of War, which is a profoundly intelligent and well-created universe about a squad of soldiers in a post-apocalyptic world — yes, there are chainsaw rifles, but it’s also very smart stuff – and I’m continuing the Republic Commando series in Imperial Commando books. There are a few other SW books in the pipeline too, including a Boba Fett one. In my creator-owned work, I’m writing a political thriller series about mercenaries, set in the very near future . I’ll also be doing some comics work, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. So, no vacation for a few years….or sleep….!

Looks like she won’t be able to put her armor together any time soon…

Review: The Clone Wars

[This review contains spoilers for The Clone Wars]

Earlier this year, the Star Wars Lit community was abuzz with the news of a couple of things – that there was an untitled Karen Traviss novel coming, and that there was a Clone Wars movie coming out. A couple of months ago, fans learned that they were both connected, as Karen turned out to have been writing the novelization.
The release of The Clone Wars brings about the first book released in the time frame since Traviss’s last Republic Commando novel, True Colors, which was released last year, and once again shows that Traviss is one of the better writers for the Clone Wars.

This novelization isn’t the best work that Karen has released. The book is a very short one, and plotwise, has a bit to be desired. In a nutshell, the Seperatists have kidnapped the son of Jabba the Hutt, hoping to anger the Hutts enough to ensure that the Republic can’t utilize their space lanes.

The book is rife with action, which is Karen’s strong point, especially when it comes to Clones. the main characters are introduced with a battle, where Karen puts her expertise gained from the Republic Commando books. What I really enjoyed was seeing an author put a level of military realism to this – the Clones talk and act like soldiers.

Karen leaves a lot of nods to the 501st, helping to further explain the role of Vader’s fist, the battalion seen in Revenge of the Sith, named for the 501st Legion. One of the more interesting characters in the book is Captain Rex, whom a number of Legion members are building in anticipation of the film’s release. Karen pushed these guys to a particular prominence in the book, which is a great nod to the group, of which, she’s an honorary member. There weren’t any mentions of Republic Commandos, which surprised me a little.

The plot of the book leaves more to be desired beyond the military sections. There are some interesting political ideas here, but the idea that the Republic would send two of their most highly regarded Jedi after a Huttling is somewhat ridiculous. While this is addressed somewhat at points, I found it hard to believe.

More so, I found the notion that the Hutts, or more particularly, Jabba, would completely base foreign policy on a kidnapped child a ridiculous notion. Granted, this is a novelization based off of an animated movie, so expecting something on the level of Karen’s other books or other Clone Wars novels such as Shatterpoint is somewhat expected.

Unfortunately, the book is short, clocking in at around 250 pages, taking me a total of five or so hours to read. Fortunately, Del Rey seems to have realized this, and as a result, I only paid $12 for the book (yay for a 40% discount at Borders).

Overall, this is a decent enough read, despite the fact that it is short and not as good as her other books. However, with four more books to go in the series, there’s plenty of room for more improvement and Clone action.

7/10

Changing Hands to Host Star Wars Author Karen Traviss

This article just popped up regarding the Dune Sea Garrison:

July 15, 2008
Author: Kathee Austin

In celebration of Star Wars’ Clone Wars (the movie) release, Changing Hands Bookstore presents Karen Traviss, author of seven Star Wars novels, who will read from and discuss her latest Star Wars adventure, The Clone Wars.

And yes, of course, Storm Troopers will make an appearance.

In The Clone Wars and across the galaxy, the Clone Wars are raging. The Separatists, led by Count Dooku, the onetime Jedi and now secret Sith Lord, continue to press forward, and more and more worlds are either falling, or seceding and joining the cause. Under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the Republic heroically battles on, championed by its huge army of cloned soldiers and their Jedi generals.

Anakin Skywalker, believed by some to be the prophesied “Chosen One” destined to bring balance to the Force, is now a Jedi Knight under the tutelage of his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Death is a constant possibility—but there’s no time for Anakin to question his latest orders: He and Obi-Wan have been assigned a new mission, and failure is not an option. Jabba the Hutt’s infant son has been kidnapped, and the vile gangster has sought to enlist the Jedi for help. Much is at stake: A grateful Jabba might allow the Republic access to the Hutt-controlled space lanes that the Grand Army desperately needs in order to beat the Separatists into submission.

It’s up to Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Anakin’s new apprentice Ahsoka, a brash and inexperienced young Padawan to track down the evidence and retrieve the missing Huttlet. But the Republic is not the only power that craves access to those space lanes. Count Dooku, determined to win the prize for the Separatists, has set a trap for the Jedi. When they find the Huttlet, they will also find Dooku’s master assassin, Asajj Ventress, and countless legions of battle droids waiting to spring a trap.

On Monday, July 28th at 7pm Jedi Knights of all ages are welcome to visit with Karen Traviss–who will be joined by the Members of the 501st Legion’s Dune Sea Garrison– as she signs and discusses The Clone Wars at Changing Hands Bookstore.

Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 South McClintock Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283
480.730.4828

Source

Upcoming Book Releases

This is mainly to keep things straight in my head…

July 26 – The Clone Wars, Karen Traviss (HC)
August 19 – The Force Unleashed, Sean Williams (HC)
August 26 – Coruscant Nights, Michael Reaves (PB)
September 16 – Order 66, Karen Traviss (HC)
October 21, Millennium Falcon, James Luceno (HC)
November 18 – Star Wars Encyclopedia, Stephen Sansweet (HC)
November 25 – Untitled Clone Wars Novel, Karen Miller, (PB)
December 30 – Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, Matthew Stover (HC)
January 27 – Patterns of the Force, Michael Reaves (PB)
March 24 – Fate of the Jedi, Aaron Allston (HC)

Of these, I’m guessing that we’ll see book tours for Karen Traviss and Matthew Stover.

Clone Wars Novelization Cover and Updates!

Theforce.net has posted up this cover for the upcoming Clone Wars novelization:

And, Karen has posted up this news about the book, which is apparently a 5 book series. Can you hear squealing? Yeah, that’s me.

NEWS – new series, new books, new covers

Yes, there is a NEW SERIES out this month, and judging by the mail I’m getting, folks don’t seem to realise what it is. There’s a NEW FIVE-BOOK STAR WARS SERIES for adult readers based on the Clone Wars movie and TV cartoon show, and I’m writing three of them. But because the movie and the TV show are for the youngsters, and I write adult fiction, then you can deduce that the novels will show you stuff you won’t see on screen. (This is separate from the young adult books that are also being published. ) With me so far? Good.

CLONE WARS, the hardcover based on the movie – loosely based, so no griping that it’s different, please, because that’s the whole point – is out on July 26. Full of the gritty, off-message, character-testing, question-raising, grey-area, military-oriented stuff you’ve come to expect from me. And clones. Plenty of clones. And familiar characters from the movies that you won’t see quite the same way ever again.

My good buddy Karen Miller is writing the other two novels. She doesn’t write predictable, lightweight stuff either, so stand by for a challenging series that will make you take another fresh look at the Clone Wars.

I‘ll be pimping the books at Comic Con in San Diego, July 24 – 27, with a short book tour immediately afterwards. I’ll post cities and dates when they’re all confirmed.

YAY! Can’t wait to read them. Or this one. First book is out July 26th.

New Book Covers!

A couple of our honorary members are publishing new Star Wars books!

This summer, Karen Traviss’s latest, Order 66, will be released as a hardcover, due out this September, 9-16-2008. No plot has been released yet, but expect Clones, clones and more clones. And oh yeah, some Mandalorians and quite possibly some dead Jedi. This is one sick cover.

Next up is Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor. Looks like it’s a bit in the older style of Star Wars books, and it’s by Matthew Stover, who’s an absolutely fantastic author. This book’s out in Hardcover on October 21st.

Finally, after something like 10 years, we’re getting a second Star Wars Encyclopedia. This time, it’s two volumes, and is written by Stephen Stansweet and Pablo Hidalgo. This one’s due to be released on November 4th at $75. I can’t wait.

Which one are you looking forwards to the most?