Star Wars Lost Stars Book Review: It’s all from a Certain Point of View

Romeo and Juliet for the Star Wars universe. The book isn’t quite as tragic, but it has elements of star crossed lovers. Above all else this book feels like Star Wars. It captures what is the essence of the Star Wars universe. Author Claudia Gray weaves a magical masterpiece through the events of the original trilogy. She is able to give a fresh and different perspective on what happens during this time. I can’t help but marvel at how she introduced two new characters into the Star Wars universe and placed them effortlessly into all of the major aspects of the original movies.

The story starts with two kids on an outer rim world who come from vastly different backgrounds. Ciena comes from a lower income segment of society on the world Jelucan whose traditions are steeped with honor and loyalty. She dreams of making her family proud by becoming a pilot in the Empire. Thane on the other hand comes from the upper crust of Jelucan society. All he dreams about is escaping from his abusive parents and getting as far away from them as possible. The Imperial Academy offers both of them this opportunity. They befriend each other at a young age and work together to get off the planet and become Imperial Officers.

The story takes them through their time at the Imperial academy, The Battle of Yavin, Hoth, Endor and one new battle. What’s fantastic about the story is how Gray is able to switch the perspective to the Imperial point of view. Ciena has nothing but praise for the Empire. They gave her Mother a higher paying job and afforded her the opportunity to make something of herself. She pledged an oath to the Empire and has to keep it. The Rebels through her eyes are nothing but terrorists. Ciena has friends on the Death Star when the Rebels destroy it, which cements her hatred for the Rebellion. She is blinded to the Empires evils for a long time not wanting to believe the stories, or just simply not knowing about them. She even finds ways to justify the destruction of Alderaan. They aren’t great justifications and she sees the evilness behind the Death Star and “thinks” the Empire will have learned its lesson after the first was destroyed.

Thane on the other hand is more of a cynic. He sees the corruption of the Empire at every turn. He just accepts that all forms of government are going to be corrupt. He would rather serve and do something that he loves than worry about the overall politics of what he is doing. Gray presents and excellent character study about the people who serve a totalitarian regime. Not everyone living under or serving for that regime would be evil. Not everyone who served in the German army was a Nazi, but I’m sure many saw things they did not agree with and still did not act. Is this right? No, but it can at least be understood.  Thane sees enough of the Empire to know he can’t serve with a clean conscious and leaves the Empire. He eventually finds his way to the Rebellion and our two heroes must fight against each other.

This is where the star crossed lover aspect of the story comes into play. Both Thane and Ciera have been attached to each other since they were children. They were close friends which blossomed into a passionate romance. They love one another and have a strong connection because of their deep friendship. I don’t mind a love story when it’s done well (Empire’s Strikes back good: Clone Wars very very bad). This love story is excellent and very believable. We care about each of these characters and want to see them together. Gray paints a picture were both characters are justified in their decisions they make because of who they are. They want to be together, but have opposite ideals about what each is fighting for. She did a fantastic job of fitting this story into the current framework of the galaxy far far away.

The only extremely small nitpick I have of the book is the way Thane reacts to Luke Skywalker. Thane acts jealous of the hero of Yavin. This is the only aspect were I think Thane acts out of character. I don’t think Thane would act jealous, I think Thane would be Luke’s friend. He would want to pick his brain. I understand Thane lost friends on the Death Star, but he also understood the necessity in destroying it. Maybe he still couldn’t get over Luke being the instrument who destroyed the Death Star.  I just found the jealous aspect out of character. I’m guessing Gray might not have been allowed to use Luke in her story, and had to find a way to mention him without any direct interaction with Thane. This would make more since than how Thane acts in the book anytime he hears Luke’s name.

Noting else negatively sticks out in the book for me. We get some great tidbits about things we have already seen in Force Awakens footage, and a great story to go along with it. I did not hate Aftermath as much as others, but I still didn’t love it. The first half of that book was hard to get through. This is not the case with Lost Stars. It was engrossing from the first few pages. Claudia Gray wrote an excellent addition to the New Cannon and it is my favorite of anything published to date. Lords of the Sith was great, this was just a bit better. If you have not picked this book up and you are a Star Wars fan this is a must read. If you are picking and choosing sparingly from the new cannon this is a must. Personally three things have been essential reading from the new cannon. Lost Stars, Shattered Empire (comic book) and Lords of the Sith. Other things have been great, but these are the gold standard for now.

Let me know what you think if you have finished Lost Stars. Do you think my list of essintal new cannon reading material is right? What did I miss?  Comment, like, share, and all that other fun jazz. Thanks for reading. 

Star Wars Rebels S2E4 Always Two There Are Recap/Review (Spoilers!!): Wait, Buffy is Bad Now??

Should Star Wars Rebels be expanded to an hour long show?  Half the season down from 22 to 12 and let them tell more engrossing stories for an hour. This episode just felt rushed. There seemed to be more story to tell, and not enough time to tell it in. This is still a children’s show, so having it be an hour might make some kids tune out after a period of time. Personally I don’t think this would be the case and it would allow the showrunners to expand each episode. The first two episodes with the clone troopers was truly one episode with two story arcs. The episode tonight was exciting, but it felt shoehorned into a thirty minute time slot.

Sabine, Ezra, and Zeb go on a supply run to an old Republic base to obtain medical supplies. The episode started off very light hearted. There was great banter between Zeb, Ezra, and Chopper the droid.  Here is my big problem with the episode. How did the Inquisitor make it to the base so quickly? There was a probe droid, but was the Seventh Sister already on the base, or get notified and show up? If this was the case why was there a probe droid on the base? If this wasn’t the case, why was the Inquisitor on the base? They didn’t answer either of those questions. We saw the other Inquisitor leave from the Star Destroyer, but nothing from the Seventh Sister voiced by Sarah Michelle Geller. I think with more time to tell the story they could have shown how the Inquisitors knew the Rebels would come to the base, or how they were able to arrive so quickly.  

Even though I took issue with how she got on the base, the Seventh Sister was a fantastic character to introduce in tonight’s episodes. She was menacing with a touch of sweetness. She was polite while torturing Ezra for information. While also enjoying it immensely. I almost wish they would have left her introduction a complete mystery until tonight. It would have been a great reveal for us only to see the Fifth Brother (Pirate Inquisitor) go to the base, and then her jump out and ambush the Rebel crew. The Inquisitor’s relationship seems interesting and very strained. Since they are Sith they want to eliminate one another, but also see the need to corporate grudgingly. It should make for a fascinating dynamic. Another great tidbit of information dropped tonight is the fact the Inquisitors know about Ahsoka. I would assume this means Vader let them know who she is and that they must take her out.

This of course upsets Ezra and Sabine. Ezra had an intriguing episode tonight. He kept his cool in the face of great danger and was willing to sacrifice himself for Sabine. His story arc could go one of two ways: 1. He buckles down and becomes a staunch disciple of the Jedi ways and ends up getting killed this season or next. 2. Sabine gets killed this season which causes Ezra to take a turn for the darkside and he becomes a main antagonist for season 3 or 4. From the way he was able to handle himself tonight it seems like the former, but I could still easily see it being the latter. I’ve enjoyed his character more since the end of last season, but he still seems the weak link.

The escape sequence was well done. I liked how Zeb was able to orchestrate a plan. He doesn’t get much screen time, and it was nice for him to be the hero of the episode. They seem to use him and Chopper as comedic relief most of the time. The usual screw-ups of the team were able to save the day and it made for a nice change of pace. Then the episode took an unexpected dark turn once the team got back to the base. We saw for the first time how worried Kanan truly is about what they are up against. The Emperor’s theme playing to close out the episode was a nice touch to heighten the mood. The show is starting to prepare us for a more menacing tone.  

This was a fun thirty minute episode with major implications. Our merry band of Rebels now know about two new Inquisitors. It would have been nice to see the Inquisitors get a bit more screen time tonight as they tried to get more information out of Sabine and Ezra. It seems they would have liked to give them more time if the episode was a bit longer. This would have been a nice two episode story arc if nothing else. Still an entertaining half-hour of Star Wars television and I am excited to see the Clone Wars favorite Hondo back in action next week. 

The Flash S2E4 The Fury of Firestorm (Spoilers!): Ummm Where’s Jay Garrick??

CW’s The Flash is simply fun television. It has action, great characters, and is starting to throw in some well-acted drama. This episode was thoroughly enjoyable and started thinning down Team Flash to a manageable number.  There was a noticeable absence tonight, Earth’s Two Flash, Jay Garrick. Where did he disappear too tonight? It was a full episode without Jay in it, but they could have at least mentioned that he was up to something and couldn’t help. Other than this absence it was a fun filled filler episode with some great teases to the overall season story arc.

The overall focus tonight was getting Dr. Stein stable again. Caitlyn did some voodoo science and determined two candidates who could possibly merge with Dr. Stein and become Firestorm.  This would have been a good place for Jay to make an appearance. The man helped stabilize a singularity to another dimension. I think he would have been useful in helping with Dr. Stein.  Just a minor nitpick in storytelling, but I thought his absence was strange. Two candidates are found, one a former football star, and another who is a scientist.  They obviously gravitate to the scientist, but Barry wants to make sure they check out both options.

Barry is starting to grow into a team leader, and he started to step forward in this regard tonight. This would be a reason why Jay was not shown tonight. They want to set Barry up as a leader, and didn’t want Garrick confusing this message. Barry wants to be cautious about being all gung-ho for one candidate for the Firestorm Matrix over the other. He makes sure they go and talk to both candidates. You can see Barry is a bit perturbed at Caitlyn when he gets back and she has already told Dr. Hewitt about Star Labs and all he could do after he becomes Firestorm. When it doesn’t work Dr. Hewitt is upset and walks out.  The team has to convince the former football star to become Firestorm. Barry again steps up and helps Caitlin realize not everyone is eager and willing to become a super-hero at a drop of a hat. This is the second week in a row where Barry has given great advice to his team. This week to Caitlin and last week to Joe about Iris and her mom.

The Iris’s Mom storyline still doesn’t seem to add anything of value to the overall arc of the season. I get where they are going with it now, the son they mentioned in the episode is Wally West. It just is taking an extremely long time to get to the payoff. Francine keeps hiding things from both Joe and Iris. First she just wants to be a part of her life, then she’s dying. Iris is the one who discovers the existence of a possible brother. Having Wally West being introduced to the show will be great, but I just wish they would get to the conclusion. The acting and scenes have all been well done for the show, but it doesn’t seem necessary. Francine should have started with: Joe I’m dying and I want to get to know my daughter, and by the way you have a son. We are going to get there, just wish the pace would pick up.

The pacing for the other aspects of the episode was great. Jax Jackson, the football star, decides to merge with Dr. Stein and become Firestorm. They have to quickly team up and fight Dr. Hewitt who has become a literal hot head. It was a great fight sequence, and the special effects for this episode were fantastic. The fire around Dr. Hewitt and Jackson as Firestorm was fantastic. We didn’t get much of Barry running tonight, but what we did was still well done.  Barry’s quipping and verbally jabbing at Hewitt was extremely effective and funny. I want to see more of Barry making fun of the villains and teasing them.  They should have him do this more to the main villains of the weak. Hopefully as Barry grows more as the team leader and in his own confidence we will get this.

Barry’s confidence with women is another area where the show could move quicker. He got some sage advice from Joe about going after Patty, and by the end of the episode he is finally ready to make his move. The chemistry between the two has been great and I would like to see a good relationship develop between Patty and him this season. I think eventually tragedy will strike, which will force the eventual union of Barry and Iris. Before Barry can go and try and start something with Patty, a killer Man Shark shows up and decides to take down Barry. The special effects for the shark were great. It looked fantastic. We finally get Dr. Wells revealing himself in the episode as he takes down the shark with tech he stole from another lab.

I’m still of the mindset that this Dr. Wells isn’t evil. He is just simply a brilliant scientist here to help. This is going to be a bitter pill for the team to swallow, but I’m looking forward to having Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Wells back on the show. We saw a bit of what next episode will be about in the tease for next week. It seems he will just be a scientist from Earth Two, but he also knows about Zoom, and wants to stop him. I wonder if Jay will be able to shed light on Dr. Wells and if he is the real deal. I’m also curious if the fact Joe hid Dr. Wells arrival back from Barry will affect their relationship. It would in Arrow, but hopefully it is minor plot point or one not even brought up next episode.

This episode was more of a filler episode with no true movement in the search for Zoom. We did get a new Firestorm, and Barry stepping up as the team leader of the group. It will be interesting to see what happens when Dr. Wells starts to help and how much Jay will step in. This season has been excellent so far, with no major missteps. The show is just fun and entertaining, and you can’t ask for more than that ever week. 

The Walking Dead S6E3 Thank You Review/Recap (Spoilers!): Gut Punched

This recap/review is going to be more cathartic than fun this week. I’m not sure I have lost a character on the show who I have generally loved watching. Glen was that character for me. He was someone who I could relate too on the show. One of the only people in the group who hadn’t totally lost his humanity. He was a pillar of dependability, someone who could always be relied on.  His love for Maggie drove him to grow as a person.

The first thirty minutes of the episode was a bit of a drag for me. I thought I knew exactly where the episode was going. We were going to get a plethora of zombie kills, and a few deaths from the inexperienced Alexandrians. For the first half hour that is exactly what we got. A few of the town people did meet an unfortunate end. The guy Sturgis who ran off, got what he deserved for leaving the group. The poor chick who hurt her ankle also met a brutal end. I didn’t really understand why the others in the group didn’t spare them getting eaten alive by shooting the unlucky ones in the head. I can see maybe not being able to help the girl, but not helping the guy who got dragged down by the fence made no sense. Michonne could have ran him through with the sword, or someone else could have shot him. These deaths where brutal and gruesome, and I’m surprised the others didn’t help them out.

This of course was all in preparation for the death of Glen. Even typing that hurts. I know it’s just a character on a television show, but even a few hours after watching I’m still in shock. His death really shocked and hurt. Now if you watched talking dead you herd one of the showrunners say we will see Glenn in one form or another again in the show. This left some to speculate that Glenn wasn’t eaten, and that Nick’s body fell on top of him and this is what the Walkers were tearing through. I don’t really think this is the case. It truly looked like he was sadly being ripped apart. Man that really hurts to type, and really hurts to think about. They say we could get a flashback or a walker shot. I’m not sure how I feel about either of those scenarios, but at least we might get a proper goodbye. I watched the replay of the episode up until the killing of Nick, and stopped after that point. I couldn’t get through it again. Maggie’s reaction when we get back to Alexandria is going to be brutal. She has lost everyone and it could finally break her.

I had originally speculated in my last review that I thought Maggie and Glenn could be a bridge between the two groups. This idea is right out the window. Not just because of Glenn being killed, but because it will destroy Maggie. She won’t be able to bring the two groups together. So either Rick will have to regain some of his humanity, or Deanna is going to have to step up in a big way. I’m not sure either situation is likely, but I don’t see Rick being able to lead the entire community in his current state. Deanna is going to have to deal with her grief so she can handle Rick and the rest of the citizens of Alexandria. This has to be the case with the mounting threats to everyone involved.

The episode didn’t end with Glenn though, we still had another extremely tense filled sequence with Rick. I honestly thought they may have killed him off too when the wolf broke into the camper and fired at him. I was on the edge of my seat the entire commercial break until they went back to him dealing with the threat. Rick proved again just how capable a person he is in this savage world. He was able to quickly dispatch the wolves who Morgan let get away twice. No quarter or mercy from Rick Grimes. He seems to always kill first and ask questions later. Who can blame him with all of the events he has had to go through during the past five years.

Michonne pointed this fact out to Heath in a great scene during the first half of the episode. She let him know just how far her group had come and what they had to go through to survive in the world they all now live in. Even though Heath seems to be one of the more capable members of the community, he still fails to grasp just how much everything has changed. I loved this scene and the slow realization on Heath’s face as he started to grasp what Michonne was saying. This was an incredibly well acted scene and hopefully we will get more interaction between these two actors. They seem to play well off one another.

This was a hard episode to watch Losing Glenn hurt, but it was also because they threw us a huge curveball. They almost lulled us to sleep in the first thirty minutes and then hit us with a huge sucker punch. We thought we knew where the show was going tonight, and not seeing it coming added to the pain.  The first three episodes of this season have been extremely strong. Last year after the first few episodes the story split to Beth and we had to catch up with her. This year it looks like we are going to get more information about Morgan, and how he was able to pull himself together after the events of the Clear episode. I hope we get some knowledge about what is happening during the current timeline, but I desperately want to know how Morgan came to use his staff.

Hopefully reading my recap helped with the pain, that sounds silly, but typing helped me process it. Again I know it’s just a silly character on a show, but it still hurt. I was yelling on my couch and my wife and son who don’t watch with me ran down to see what was wrong. Knowing we will get some other closure helps, but not knowing when is maddening. Let me know what you think of tonight’s episode. What are your theories about how Glenn will show back up?  Do you think he is still alive? Comment, share, and discuss. 

SuperGirl Movie Review: Campy Comic Book Movies at it's Finest.... Well maybe not.

In honor of the new SuperGirl Television show starting, I busted out the "classic" SuperGirl movie and decided to review it. Let me know what you think of my video review and if you have seen SuperGirl before.

Star Wars Shattered Empire #4 Recap/Review (Spoilers): Finally LUKE!

A fantastic conclusion to a great four issue run of comics. Shattered Empire #4 showcased Shara Bey again, but this time she got to tag along on an adventure with everyone’s favorite Jedi, Luke. Okay maybe he’s not everyone’s favorite, but he’s mine dammit. Luke has been suspiciously absent in everything to do with the journey to the Force Awakens. Yes he has been in the main marvel comics, and has had one young adult book, but that all takes place before the Battle of Endor. They are starving us with the lack of information on Luke, and the fourth issue of Shattered Empire seemed like a small feast when he finally showed up.

Luke recruits Bey to go with him on a mission to an Imperial base. He wants Bey to impersonate an Imperial officer so they can infiltrate the base and take back something the Emperor stole form the Jedi. Simple adventure plot, but the execution is exquisite. The artwork again in this comic stands apart. The battle sequences with Luke felt like I was watching a show instead of reading a comic. The comic had me wanting to speed through and to find out what happened next, but also stay on each page and marvel in the art work. I can’t believe a comic can have you on the edge of your seat, but this issue did.

Once Luke and Shara make it to the Imperial base they are able to get to the room where what Luke is after is being held. The Imperial Commandant knows something is up because the Imperial Bey is impersonating only has one eye. He tries an ambush and the action picks up, and our heroes have to escape with the relics Luke came for. The relics are trees from the Jedi temple on Coruscant. Now I can see how some would think the trees are a bit lame, but I loved it. The fact that they introduced these relics from the Jedi Temple opens up many more questions which need to be answered.

How did Luke learn about the trees? What special things can these trees do? Will they have any impact on Star Wars The Force Awakens? Just by creating this one issue of the comic there are now numerous new story possibilities, and it’s fantastic. The first I think can be answered in the main Star Wars comic story line. Since Luke has found many Jedi artifacts with the Hutt crime lord who has captured him, he could have learned about these trees from some of this information.  The next is the interesting question, what can these trees actually do? Luke says they are of the force in the comic. The fact the Emperor had them so heavily guarded means they can do something. Hopefully other comics or books will explore what they are.

The biggest question the force trees open up, is if they will affect The Force Awakens. I’m guessing they will. The Emperor was guarding them, and Luke wanted them. They must have some meaning and power. The interesting thing is Luke gave one to Shara to plant on whatever world she decided to settle down on. I could be mistaken, but it looked like Yavin. So the one of the force trees is on Yavin, and the other is with Luke.  Did Luke have a reason for splitting them up? Will Poe have some interaction with them in the movie? So many questions and so few answers!!

Hopefully we will get another special set of comics or books to find out more information about what happens to the special trees. Yes even as I’m typing this, force trees sound lame, but the whole comic is done so well it doesn’t bother me. I want to find out more information and know how they will affect the story going forward.  I don’t think we will get any more information before The Force Awakens, so the next time we see the trees could be in the movie.

The fourth installment of this short run of comics was fantastic. It is exciting, expertly drawn, and opens up multiple other story lines to explore.  All of the Star Wars comics have been great, but this one stands above the rest. This short four issue run would be the one I would recommend for any Star Wars fan to pick up. Three things of the new cannon are must reads for fans: Lords of the Sith, Lost Stars and Shattered Empire. Other things have been fun and entertaining, but these are essential if fans are picking and choosing what to read.  

Let me know what you thought of the 4^th issue. Did you think the trees are lame, or where you just excited for what it possibly means for The Force Awakens? Comment and let me know. 

Star Wars Rebels S2E2 Relics of the Old Republic (Spoilers!): Tank Chase

Relics of the Old Republic finished the quick two episode story arc of Kanan and the crew going to find clone troopers who could provide intelligence on new Rebel base locations. It provided good insight on Kanan and showcased some great action sequences. The episodes were a good way to kick off the season and bring in fans of Star Wars The Clone Wars who may have not watched the Rebels.

This episode is basically a slow chase sequence for the Rebels to get away from the Empire.  Wolfe had to report in and try to cover for his previous mistake of turning the Jedi in. He tried, but failed because the probe droid caught a glimpse of the Rebels. After a great dig by Rex at the Stormtroopers, the Empire comes after clones and rebels. The fight between the Tie Fighter and the tanks was well done, and the clone trooper Gregor made me chuckle. I like the crazy old clone, and he added some great levity to the episode. Ezra again made a point that the two groups work better as a team. Teamwork is good, and is a good message to promote for a show for kids

Once the clones and the rebels enter the sandstorm Kanan and Ezra must use the force to avoid the Imperial walkers. It was a well done sequence, with Ezra having to trust in the force to shoot down the Imperial Walker. We knew Ezra could shoot the canon by him getting some instructions earlier in the episode from Rex. It was a good use of callback for the show. We saw him being trained how to shoot, and then he was able to use that teaching and the force to take down a walker.

The end sequence was well fantastic, and I wasn’t sure if the clones were going to make it out alive. I really thought they may give themselves up since the show is supposed to have a darker tone this year. Kanan with the prodding of Ezra made the right call and went back to help the clones and take out the other two walkers. It was interesting to see just how much pride the clones still had in following a Jedi. I wonder if we will meet some clones later in this season who don’t hold the same sentiment. It would make for a good story arc for Rex and the other clones to have to go up against some of their brothers.

The ending of the episode was extremely touching. The reunion between Rex and Ahsoka was the best moment of the episode.  The voice actors Dee Bradley Baker and Ashley Eckstein should be highly commended for their ability to add so much emotion to this scene. The animation is great, but if the actors behind the characters don’t buy into the weight of the situation it doesn’t have any impact. You felt the emotion from each character jump off the screen. You felt Ahsoka and Rex where generally happy and touched to be finally seeing each other again. It was a fantastic way to end the second episode.

The only issue I had with the tonight was some of the dialogue used. The “Great Shot Kid” line after Ezra took out a walker seemed forced. You don’t have to put in former Star Wars lines to make the show feel like Star Wars. I felt the show did this a bit too much in the early episodes last season, and when they went away from this is when the season hit its stride. They made these characters their own people, and not individuals who rehashed old bits of jargon.  It was only done a couple of times tonight and just it took me out of the show. It probably didn’t for others, and is probably because I have every bit of dialogue from the original trilogy memorized. It’s a small nitpick in an otherwise good episode.

The first two episodes were a good start to what is going to be a longer second season of Star Wars Rebels. They did enough to tie up the loose ends from the Siege of Lothal and introduce us to one of the new inquisitors. Ezra is progressing in the force with Kanan growing into his teaching role. It will be interesting to see were the story goes and how the Empire starts to deal with the new Rebel threat.