The following Expanded Universe novels have been issued reprints in the Trade-Paperback sizing, which is larger than the Mass-Market paperback. The list below is based onfact, notrumors or speculation.
WAVE ONE
Reprint Release: 6/15/21 Rise of the Empire Era – cover art by Jeff Manning. Plus, Unabridged audio narrated by Sullivan Jones.
Reprint Release: 6/15/21 New Republic Era – cover art by Tracie Ching
WAVE TWO
Reprint Release: 9/7/21 New Republic Era – cover art by Tracie ChingReprint Release: 9/7/21 New Republic Era – cover art by Tracie ChingReprint Release: 9/7/21 The Old Republic Era – cover art by Simon Goinard
Reprint Release: 4/5/22 New Republic Era – cover art by Doaly. Plus, Unabridged audio narrated by Marc Thompson.Reprint Release: 4/5/22 Rise of the Empire Era – cover art by Qistina Khalidah.Reprint Release: 4/5/22 Rise of the Empire Era – cover art by Gregory Manchess.
Star Wars: Shatterpoint was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Matthew Stover. Shatterpoint takes place during the Rise of the Empire Era, it is the 27th book on the Expanded Universe timeline . The tale takes place 22 years before the events of A New Hope.
SUMMARY
Mace Windu is irritated with himself, he had the opportunity to rid the galaxy of Count Dooku, but failed to execute the Separatist leader. Windu is living with that failure daily, his living nightmare, as the galaxy is now in a full scale war. Master Yoda and Mace Windu meet with Chancellor Palpatine to discuss some disturbing evidence that was discovered involving Master Windu’s former Padawan, Council Member Depa Billaba.
Depa Billaba is on Haruun Kal (WIndu’s homeworld) to train natives how to fight as a guerrilla resistance force against the Separatists. An audio file was found at a massacre on Haruun Kal with Depa’s voice. It appears, that she has turned potentially turned to the dark side. Mace will take it upon himself to go to Haruun Kal to investigate matters on the planet, to find out if this is true.
The planet is an absolute warzone, Windu is met by violence and betrayl. He’s captured by militiamen, but let go, in order to find the “Jedi problem in the wilderness” Windu has a lot to learn about Haruun Kal, not just about the war taking place between the Republic and the Separatists, but the war that’s taking place between the Haruun Kal people, the Balawaii and Korunnai. This war, is known as the Summertime War.
Will Mace Windu find Depa Billaba? Has his former Padawan, a member on the Jedi Council, turned to the dark side? Well the book has been reprinted and is now available in an unabridged audiobook, I suggest you give it a read or listen to find out!
CHARACTER
Mace Windu, Jedi Master on the High Council, is guided by the force to see shatter points. He’s able to see weaknesses/breaking points of people or events, and how they can effect everything around them. (for example, Dooku is a shatter-point for the civil war. If he could be broken, the war could potentially crumble away.) Windu is lean, intense, intellectual, and very strong willed. It’s why he had become a council member before the age of 30. The Jedi Master had been on the council for more than 20 years before the battle of Geonosis. He’s tempted many times to go against what is right, he’s even got a temper, but he does have excellent self control.
Kar Vaster: He’s the leader of the Upland Liberation Front. The man is a creepy mystery. He’s got an aura about him that’s shrouded in darkness. In his youth, he witnessed the death of his family, which changed him for the worse. As a child, he had to survive on his own in the jungle. He’s now a witch doctor, a fierce warrior, and a manipulator. People fear him. When he walks through the jungle, it’s as though the trees and brush move aside.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I enjoyed this book, mostly. The first half was very strong, Stover was clear in all that was happening. I found the characters interesting and true to how I’ve seen them on screen and how I imaged they would be in another story. I felt that the second half of the story was weighed down heavily with far too much action. Yes, I know – Star WARS, but it was just too much at times. That said, I was still fully engaged in the story, even if some details escaped me.
Mace Windu is basically dropped in the Vietnam War of the Star Wars universe. His birth planet, Haruun Kal is such a brutal place with constant war and lush jungle full of danger. Militiamen, nasty insects, a dark force, a rogue Jedi… it’s not a fun place to be. Mace has a full arc that was satisfying in the end. He had to fight not just the enemies around him, but he had to fight the darkness creeping within.
There are sections in the book labeled, “From the Private Journal of Mace WIndu” I think it’s an interesting way of getting in Mace’s head, to know what he’s thinking. I enjoyed the entries – Mace giving his thoughts and recording facts about what he’s witnessing and experiencing. These journal entries are encrypted immediately, and uploaded to the Jedi archives, so they can’t be altered or deleted. A cool touch.
There is one thing I found a bit too silly, it’s implied that Mace Windu flips up the middle finger to a couple bad dudes. It was humorous, but it wasn’t that funny.
The ending of this book without spoiling anything, is one of my favorite types of endings in a book. I’ll just say, I love a good tragedy. That’s not a spoiler… because you don’t know what I find tragic. The outcome of the characters and the results of what plays out on Haruun Kal, is fantastic.
Do I recommend Star Wars: Shatterpoint? The answer, is yes. I like Mace Windu, and I’m glad we have novel with him as the main character.
Moonraker, the third James Bond story, was written by Ian Fleming in 1955.
SUMMARY: M is fascinated by the man named Hugo Drax, a millionaire and idol of Britain. Hugo Drax has dedicated his money and life to the construction of an atomic defensive weapon, called the Moonraker. For M, the most fascinating and peculiar thing about this “man of the year” type fellow, is that he cheats at cards. M calls on Bond to take a closer look at Drax, to find out what hidden motives the man may have. Does the millionaire cheat for thrills or is there something a tad more sinister going on?
The SIS is also investigating a murder/suicide at Drax’s Moonraker facility. Typically this wouldn’t be a job for the SIS, but because they cleared the man that did the killing to enter the county, they have to take a closer look. Especially when such violence breaks out around the Moonraker site, with just four days remaining until its first test launch.
As expected in a James Bond spy thriller, things get crazy and the plot gets wild! Bond can feel the dark intentions lingering in the air around the incredible presence of powerful Moonraker. The clock is ticking, and the countdown has begun – for millions of lives.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Moonraker is such a good book! The story unfolds nicely, it’s full of surprises, drama, and action! I really enjoyed how the book starts, with James Bond doing petty office work. Little details Fleming throws in are fantastic, such as Bond attempting to open a door, but it’s locked, so he has to make the inconvenient walk around to another door.
The story progression has excellent pacing. I thought the way things unraveled to expose the villain was fascinating. There are bits and pieces dropped along the story that keep you guessing and theorizing who certain people are.
In this story, we get insight on what James Bond’s job is like most of the time. It’s just mundane office work, looking at files and reading over reports. Usually he has only one major assignment a year, the rest of the time is boring office work. Bond makes good money, he loves women, has no family, and he likes to drive fast.
Gala Brand is an under cover agent for the special police force, Vallance. She’s been working as a secretary for Hugo Drax, keeping an eye out on the mysterious man and the whole Moonraker operation. She knows that Bond is an SIS agent and is very annoyed that he was sent in – why would he be able to find something that she couldn’t? She can’t stand Bond, however, as usual, Bond mages to break the ice, cooling her bitterness towards him.
There’s this wonderful moment between Bond and Brand. after some intense action, Fleming places the perfect human reaction between the two. Each character was a bit sick, they left each other alone with privacy, they came back together and sat in silence for a moment. Then Bond lights a cigarette. They soak in the remaining sunlight on a beach, then they spoke of business.
Hugo Drax seems to have a clean record, a man of the year type of personality. His past is shrouded in mystery, he came out of World War II with severe wounds to his face, which resulted in plastic surgery and altered his face. He later invested in a metal, called Columbite, and got rich off of it. He gave his entire holding of the mineral to Britain, to build the super atomic rocket, Moonraker. Turns out, behind closed doors, he’s a pretty bad dude.
Do I recommend Moonraker? Yes! The book is fantastic, a must read for the spy/thriller fan.
Live And Let Die, the second James Bond story, was written by Ian Fleming in 1954.
SUMMARY: Gold coins from the lost treasure of Bloody Morgan, are being shipped from a secret location in Jamaica, to New York. These coins are being sold on the streets to fund the Russian organization, Smersh. James Bond has a heavy burden on his shoulders in this big city and tropical adventure. He must find the source of the secret of the treasure to uncover a communist spy ring in New York, run by a voodoo criminal mastermind; and continue his personal mission to cripple Smersh.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed the second James Bond story just as much, if not more so than the first book. Live & Let Die was thrilling from start to finish. The threats James Bond faces were dire and sometimes horrifying. Ian Fleming did great work with the second installment of James Bond, expanding the spy adventure to the streets of New York City, and to the tropics of Jamaica.
There are many characters in this book that were written extremely well. Some characters from Casino Royale come back for the second book, such as Felix Leiter and M. Some of my favorite characters from this book would have to be ‘The Robber’ and Quarrel. The Robber was an excellent henchmen, he was hard edged, not easily pushed around and was full of surprises. Quarrel, was a helpful friend to Bond.
It appears that James Bond has evolved a bit since Casio Royale. In the previous book, he viewed women as a burden, especially on the job. In this book, his attraction for Solitaire was immediate, and felt a connection with her as soon as they made eye contact. Who is Solitaire? She’s a voodoo psychic medium, who was taken by the villain of the story, Mr. Big. She was to marry him against her will. Bond also has a solid friendship with Felix Leiter, an agent of the CIA. Something happens to Leiter in this novel that enrages Bond further into his hatred of the Russian organization, Smersh.
The villain, Mr. Big, was written so well. His presence was overreaching, he was everywhere. He is an intimating force, even though he isn’t present through much of the story. The fear that he instills in the streets with tales of Voodoo magic, plays to his advantage. He has people/goons everywhere, eyes and ears that watch and listen to the happenings in the streets. He’s an extension of Smersh, though we don’t get into those connections too much at all. He appears to be his own man, his own boss, with his own goals.
The tension between Mr. Big and James Bond is great. Mr. Big, really lays down the law, telling Bond how things are going to be. Much of the conversation in the book is well written. The only dialogue that has potential to be a little cheesy, would be some of the conversations between Bond and Solitaire. Overall, the dialogue was good. Fleming did very well with descriptions of people and locations.
The Voodoo aspect of the story was very interesting and worked well. The book basically has two parts, the big city, and the tropics of Jamaica. I’m not much a fan of the tropics, but Fleming had me hooked with the oceanic climax of the story, full of sharks and barracuda. Live & Let Die is a fun James Bond adventure for sure.
Do I recommend Live And Let Die? Yes! However, if your sensitive to cultural differences and historical events, you’ll probably be offended.
Star Wars: Race to Crashpoint Tower was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Daniel Jose Older. Older is also writing the Star Wars Adventures High Republic series.
Summary: The Republic is getting ready to celebrate its accomplishments on the planet Valo, at the Republic Fair. Chancellor Soh will be present, along with many Jedi, to celebrate the unity and power of the Republic.
A security alert reaches a young Padawan, Ram, there seems to be an issue at Crashpoint Tower (a communications tower). Ram takes it upon himself to go check out the tower. It’s the Nihil! Ram does his best to fight them off, to see what it was they were doing to the tower.
When Ram attempts to reach his master or any other Jedi to inform them of what he’d witnessed but he has no luck! Somehow, Ram must reach out to Starlight Beacon, to inform them that the Nihil have been spotted on Valo, and have tampered with the communications tower.
Disaster strikes at the Republic Fair!
Characters: Ram Jomaram is a Padawan in Lonisa City on the planet Valo. He loves tinkering with machinery, breaking them down, understanding how they work, and putting them back together. His love and understanding of machines, such as droids, speeders, etc. really helps him attune to the force. He’s a peaceful young man with hopes of remaining on the quiet and peaceful Valo. He’s slightly fearful and a intimidated by the thought of battle. However, he knows fear is all in the mind, he just needs to learn to control himself.
Lula Talisola, from the High Republic Adventures comic series plays a large roll in this book! She knows that her attachment to things and people are a great weakness. Not only is her attachment a weakness, but she fears it could bring her down, into darker places of the force. Lula wants to break away from her attachments, it’s the only way she could possibly achieve her life long goal of becoming one of the greatest Jedi Masters. Vernestra Rowh becomes somewhat of a mentor to Lula, helping her through this emotional set back.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Race to Crashpoint Tower was pretty good! I wasn’t a big fan of Older’s previous Star Wars book, Last Shot. But my dislike for that story, will stay with that book, not the author. I open each book with an open mind, ready for adventure. I’m pleased to say I enjoyed this story.
The event that takes place in this book is one that, once again, knocks the galaxy off its feet. The execution of this event was a little muddled down, but after I let it marinate in my brain for a bit, it’s better off that way. After all, this is a kids book and shouldn’t be graphic, besides, the event on Valo is the primary focus of the adult novel, The Rising Storm, I recommend reading that book before this one to get a better understand of what’s happening on Valo. This story doesn’t focus too much on all that is happening during the tragedy. It’s focused on certain characters being pushed to their limits, and the tasks they needed to accomplish to help resolve the tragedy at hand.
I only have a few issues with the story, mostly with the dialogue. Some of the names of people and creatures are far too goofy. The Nihil are a vicious bunch, but the other villains that show up, the Drengir, are just far to silly to be taken serious. However, it is a book designed for kids, so it’s fine, the Drengir are a decent fit for this age group.
It’s quite fun to see familiar characters from the other books and comics weave through the multiple stories in the High Republic era. In this young reader book, we have several characters and locations that make an appearance, and they’re handled so well. I really enjoy how the characters each have a personal conflict or set back that they must overcome. The challenges they face are both interesting and risky.
I highly recommend reading The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott before diving into this book. Race to Crashpoint Tower is a fun junior reader book, and it reads really fast.
