by Matthew Wilson
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.
Rating: This book receives a B+
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm was written by Cavan Scott. Scott has written several Star Wars stories such as the audio-drama script for Dooku: Jedi Lost, comics, and young reader books.
The Rising Storm seriously has one of the greatest openers in a Star Wars book to date!
SUMMARY: Marchion Ro, The Eye of the Nihil, demands that the raiders stay hidden in the shadows to ease the tension in the galaxy before making their next move. Since the events of the first High Republic novel, Light of the Jedi, the Republic and the Jedi have been on the lookout for the vile group. Although the galaxy is still recovering from the damage the Nihil have caused, the Chancellor has prepared a Republic Fair on the world of Valo, to celebrate the Republic and its cultures.
Tension stirs within the Nihil! The raiders are anxious to get back to work, to emerge from the shadows to pillage and kill. Marchion Ro eases the tension by ordering the Nihil to crash the Republic Fair. This is their time to strike, to spread the storm over Valo, to bring destruction and death!
This story is gripping from page one! Just… wow!
CHARACTERS: The High Republic characters continue to impress! Here’s a breakdown of a few before getting to my overall thoughts.
Bell Zettifar, the former Padawan of Loden Greatstorm, struggles to accept the loss of his old master. Loden had told Bell that he was ready for the Jedi trials, to rise up from Padawan to Knight. However, Bell feels he isn’t ready. He has remained a Padawan, under Master Indeera. Indeera also believes Bell is ready for the trials, but Bell feels so empty, a piece of him is missing. In this novel, Bell attempts to overcome his fears, to reconnect and trust the Force.
Tia Toon, the Sullustan Republic senator, is an annoyance to Chancellor Soh. He is dead set on the creation of a Republic Defense Force Program, and any time he has the opportunity to speak his mind to the chancellor and challenge her decisions and actions, he does. While the Chancellor and some of the Jedi find his tactics annoying and rude, Toon certainly proves valid points. While billions have died throughout the galaxy and planets work to rebuild their cities, Toon is furious that the Chancellor would rather fund a giant party with the Republic Fair, than establish a defense program that could potentially prevent the galaxy from suffering at the hand of the Nihil.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Cavan Scott, well done sir! This book knocked me off my feet! The Rising Storm is a sequel to Light of the Jedi and ties in with other High Republic material such as Young Adult novels, Junior Reader books, and comics. I highly recommend that you read that other material from the first wave of The High Republic before diving into this book.
I seriously did not want to put The Rising Storm down! Each chapter kept building up tension, mystery, or awesome revelations were spilled. A real page turner for sure! The Rising Storm seriously has one of the greatest openers to a Star Wars book to date!
Star Wars politics is a touchy subject for some… but really, what part of Star Wars do folks not complain about? The politics were handled wonderfully! I love how it was a recurring theme in the book. The Republic is under the leadership of Chancellor Soh, some like that, others don’t. The conflict taking place between members of the Republic Senate was just as tense as all the other action and drama taking place throughout the story.
Scott handles each character so well. It really feels like I’ve been reading about most of these characters for a long period of time now, knowing their traits and how they’ll react. In my opinion, that is excellent character development. The dialogue is fantastic as well! The relationships between characters are mostly great, I do have a few issues with a few, which felt a bit unnatural and awkward. However the friendship and banter between Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios is absolutely fantastic.
Honestly, I do have a few issues with the story. I mentioned some of the relationships felt odd, but the other issue I have, is that some teases at the end of a chapter really didn’t pay off in the next or following chapter(s).
The plot of the story is great, yet extremely dark. The book is loaded with destruction and death. Scott explores new areas of the Force and how the Jedi can manipulate it for the greater good, and also abuse it. The Nihil are disgusting, geocidal maniacs. Yet, Scott creates a unique power struggle within the group that somehow leaves you routing for one of the villains in a strange twisted way. I really enjoyed The Rising Storm. The plot was driven forward by familiar characters while many new characters are also introduced.
RATING: I give Star Wars: The Rising Strom, an A!
by Matthew Wilson
The novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong, was written by Greg Keyes, and published by Titan Books. It’s based on the screenplay by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein. The story was by Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty, and Zach Shields.
SUMMARY: A few years have passed since the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, when the Titans battled over the earth for dominance. For three years, the Titans have gone silent once again. That is until something lures Godzilla up from the depths of the sea to storm the beaches of Pensacola Florida. Something has awakened the Titan and causes him to feel threatened! Godzilla attacks an area of the city, which happens to have an Apex Cybernetics facility. This sudden attack on the city causes people to panic and believe that Godzilla is no longer a friend of man.
Sometimes, the book based on the film is just so much better!
This Apex Cybernetics, aims to complete two tasks; retrieve a power source from the hollow earth, and create a titan of their own (for “safety and security” but really… a weapon to get whatever they want). Apex funds Monarch to transport Kong from the destroyed Skull Island to Antarctica, where there is a gateway to hollow earth. They put their faith in Kong to guide them to the center of the earth, where Apex will then attempt to extract the power source they seek.
A few individuals, don’t buy into the idea/reports that Godzilla has become an enemy of mankind. They believe Apex is up to no good and will do anything and everything they can, to pull the curtain back on Apex Cybernetics to reveal the sinister truth behind the company walls.
Monarch attempts to keep Kong and Godzilla from meeting, but the beasts sense each other… and the fight for dominance begins.
CHARACTERS: There are many characters in this story, so much more time was spent with characters that were hardly seen in the film, which is awesome. I’m going to mention my two favorites.
Bernie: He’s host of the the Titan Truth (conspiracy) podcast. He also works for Apex, which he believes holds dark secrets that tie them into weapons manufacturing that could potentially kill or control the massive Titans, especially Godzilla. His goal is to discover the truth about the company he works for and expose Apex Cybernetics of corporate conspiracy. His initial discovery of the darker side of Apex came about after the death of his wife. The relationship built up between Bernie and another main character, Madison, is both comical and trusting. They have an unspoken understanding of what drives the Titans and fully believe that there is an organization(s) out there, willing to cause chaos by destroying, or controlling the Titans. Bernie and Madison’s journey together was fun to follow, and their curiosity puts them in great risk.
Ren: He’s an engineer/tech genius that works for Apex. His father was mostly absent from his life while he was growing up. Ren’s father was obsessed with Godzilla, which caused Ren to despise the Titan greatly. Ren knew that his father favored the beast over his own family. Because of this, Ren vowed that he would destroy Godzilla, the beast that robbed him of a father and happy childhood.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I really, really enjoyed this book. Of course, with a novelization for a film like Godzilla vs. Kong, you’re not going to get all the cool special effects, vibrant visuals and intense audio. However, the story was more emotional with the addition of character histories and inner thoughts, making this form of media far superior to the film.
What I loved most about this novelization, is the amount of backstory added to the characters. I was surprised just how well Keyes managed to balance out all the characters while adding so much more to them. Such great additions pushed the plot forward in a way that made way more since than how the film progressed. The leading characters were great, but the secondary characters are expanded upon in such wonderful detail that it adds so much more emotion to the overall story.
The novelization added quite a bit of new material beyond that of just characters. There are plenty of new action scenes with Titans that weren’t even mentioned or seen in the movie. These additions were unexpected, but welcome! They explained a lot of little missing details that the film left out. A lot of the science fiction elements in the story didn’t make much since in the film. The book elaborates a bit more on the technology, making the HEAVs and other forms of tech more believable and less silly.
Greg Keyes does a wonderful job with descriptions and gives even gives us a point of view by the Titans. The action was written out very well, making it easy to visualize the intense Titan fights. The book is a lot of fun and has me craving more Titan action with Kong and Godzilla.
Do I recommend Godzilla vs. Kong? Yes! I believe reading the book before watching the film is ideal.
Rating: I will give this novelization an A!
by Matthew Wilson
The novelization of Gemini Man, was published by Titan Books. It’s based on the film by Ang Lee, with the story by Darren Lemke and David Benioff. The screenplay was by Darren Lemke, Billy Ray, and David Benioff.
SUMMARY: The DIA or Defense Intelligence Agency serves to protect the nation from terrorists and to keep its secrets within its borders. Henry Brogan is on a mission to assassinate a Russian spy, who has vital intelligence on national security. After the mission is complete, Henry knows in his bones that it’s time to retire. The DIA really wants to keep him on board, most in his line of work would die on duty, it’s the preferred form of retirement for the agency, as the secrets held by the agents, would also die.
The DIA isn’t in favor of loose ends. So, a watchful eye shall be kept on Henry. The lies and deception of the agency come to fruition when Henry meets up with an old pal. This friend reveals that the “Russian spy,” wasn’t a spy at all. He was employed by the US government, and his assassination was just a precaution, to assure that whatever secrets he had, couldn’t fall into enemy hands. (the watchful eyes of the DIA, know Henry has learned of this.)
Agents have been sent to silence/assassinate Henry, but he’s ready, and unstoppable. On his attempt to break free, he faces a new enemy, an agent of Project Gemini – a clone of his younger self. Henry has a personal mission to bring justice to those in charge of the DIA and to put an end to Project Gemini (the future military of superior soldiers).
CHARACTERS: For this review I picked two characters to briefly mention, the main protagonist and antagonist.
Henry Brogan is a sharpshooter. He promised himself the exact date of retirement, and stuck to his word no mater what the DIA would do to keep him on board. He want’s to kick back, relax, and make birdhouses. He’s got a sense of humor but also rather serious. He’s a fighter, but also very kind.
Clay Verris is the man behind Project Gemini. He raised the first clone of Henry as a son, giving this clone the name Junior. He’s a horrible father figure, who raised junior as a soldier since his youth. Junior is in his mid-twenties, but Verris treats him like he’s still a child. Verris is selfish, brutal, and greedy. He doesn’t feel what he’s doing is wrong, proving he has no morals whatsoever.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: The novelization for Gemini Man was fun. Was it incredible? No. Was it absolute trash? No. It was a cheesy – decent read, and I’m glad I read the novel. It’s a fast paced story packed with action and has some pretty cool science fiction elements.
A lot of the descriptions are written out very well, including the characters thoughts and emotions. There is also quite a bit of humor sprinkled throughout, mostly coming from our main character, Henry. (Note: I didn’t see this film, but I could hear Will Smith’s voice clearly through the writing.) So, I’d have to say the dialogue was written well.
The problem I had with the story, is that it was a bit too choppy. Time passes rapidly, the characters move around the globe with no timeframe really explained at all. The villain’s motivations were clear, but rather silly. Though, I don’t blame the author for this one bit.
Sometimes it really comes across as goofy that there is this secret defense agency that has these secret assassins that are far superior to any other human warrior in any military service… well maybe that is legit, but the idea to clone one of these assassin warriors to breed an army of this one man’s DNA… that’s the silly part of it.
Do I recommend this book? As someone who has not seen the film but has heard that it has pretty bad CGI, I would say yes – read the book over watching the film.
Rating: This book receives a C+
by Matthew Wilson
Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Timothy Zahn. The book was published by Del Rey (thank you for the advanced material). Greater Good is the second installment of the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy.
SUMMARY: Thrawn is tasked with finding out if the Vagaari Pirates are returning to Ascendancy space to cause havoc or if they have possibly allied with the Paataatus. During this investigation, Thrawn has a run-in with a group of refugees who believe their world and/or its inhabitants have been destroyed. The leader of these people has the authority to order the rest of her race, to end their life to join the “beyond,” to be one with their world once again, in a different form. Thrawn takes it upon himself to prevent these people from killing themselves and to find their world.
Elsewhere, a rare/expensive material is given to a member of the Xodlak family as a gift. The after affects of this gift brings the Xodlak family to call its members together, withdrawing warriors and officials within the Ascendency to report in to a family “emergency.” The Xodlak find the origins of this material and want to claim it for themselves, this could potentially bring them back into a ruling family status.
Will Thrawn save the alien race from committing mass suicide? Will the Xodlak family bring about civil war? Will Jixtus get the answers he’s seeking? You’ll have to read the novel to find the answers to those questions!
CHARACTERS: There are so many characters in this tale that push the plot forward. I’m going to mention just a few.
Thrawn, as always seems to have the upper hand. He’s a problem solver, a leader, and an artist. He still has an issue with authority. Ba’kif (the General of the Chiss Defense Force) lets Thrawn know that the Ascendency is hesitant in allowing Thrawn to venture too far out of known space. Thrawn’s confrontation with Yiv the Benevolent brought unwanted attention by the Syndicure. As a result, the Syndicure doesn’t want the Expansionary Defense Fleet to be spread out too thin across space. Thrawn… disagrees. Thrawn has to be reminded of the Ascendancy policy – no military action should be taken unless Ascendancy territory is attacked first!
Likinda, Commander of the Chiss warship, Grayshrike, has an interesting conflict that arises between her morality and the Xodlak family. With the events that she faces, it gives us deeper insight as to how the families operate.
Jixtus was mentioned briefly in The first book, Chaos Rising. In this tale, he is brought into the story a lot more, but still just a mysterious robed figure with a spy gathering intel on the Chiss. He’s very interested in how the Chiss navigate through space. He believes the Chiss have a navigational device from the people in lessor space, taken from the people long ago when the Chiss had taken part in their wars. Jixtus wants this device.
Quote of the book comes from one of the Chiss upon receiving a gift:
“If one wants the joy of giving, one must in turn except the humbleness of receiving, as to allow others their own joy.”
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I was pleased with book one, Chaos Rising. Was I pleased with part two, Greater Good? Yes! This book offers an excellent story. It’s widely known as the second book in a Thrawn trilogy, but it’s so much more than just a Thrawn story. There are many characters in this book that play a critical role in pushing the plot forward.
There is a lot of conflict in this story, and it’s handled so well. Zahn brings in a whole new level of drama in this book involving differences in alien species, Chiss families, and authoritative conflict within the Ascendancy itself. Thrawn is usually predictable in that, he’s perfect… he knows how to resolve everything – always. While that’s mostly true, the other characters ground the story, making the novel so interesting and unpredictable. I can’t wait to see how Timothy Zahn concludes the Thrawn Ascendency trilogy.
Timothy Zahn creates his own corner of the galaxy… so unique, fresh, yet familiar!
There are a few things I have to say about the Audiobook production. First, the positive – Marc Thompson does an excellent job narrating the story. He’s highly entertaining and puts in a lot of effort with each character of the book.
The negative, I feel that in some parts the music was misplaced and/or too loud. the narration was a little too slow for my taste, which made it a little difficult following along with the story.
Rating: This book receives a B+
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: The Approaching Storm Book Review
Star Wars: The Approaching Storm was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Alan Dean Foster. This novel is set during the Rise of the Empire Era, taking place just before Attack of the Clones, 22 years before A New Hope.
SUMMARY
The world of Anison is at a crossroads. They must chose to remain with the Republic, or fall out to join the growing Separatist movement. If Anison does leave the Republic, many other worlds would be influenced by this action and follow suit. The Jedi Council has sent two teams of Jedi to attempt to keep the leadership of Anison happy, and to win them over in order to keep them from leaving the Republic.
With the arrival of the Jedi, the Separatists hire Soergg the Hutt to interfere with the Jedi mission of keeping the peace. Will the Jedi succeed in keeping Anison with the Republic or will the Republic continue to crumble with the loss of not just Anison… but many other worlds?
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I believe this book started off strong. Foster did a great job bringing in our heroes and giving us some good action moments. However, the story did become a bit of a chore to get through. The story certainly had it’s good moments and was a great concept. Yet, the execution of the story is rather dull and the story drags out so much! The novel could have easily been 100-150 pages less. I feel that a lot of the story was filler material, just fluff to meet a page or word count.
Our main characters are met with obstacle after ridiculous obstacle. We meet several locals on Anison, some were decent, while others were just far too silly to be taken serious.
The villains in the book are pretty dull. The situation/temptation of Anison leaving the Republic is far more interesting than the villains. At one point, Barriss is taken by two of the villainous natives, they are absolutely dumb. How she managed to be taken by these two idiots… is beyond me. However, she is able to open up their minds and cleanse them of their stupidity. They had a bit of a reawakening you could say. I didn’t mind this, because I just couldn’t handle the stupidity of these guys.
The dialogue between the characters is mostly good. I’ve never been a fan of the way many authors make natives or lower intelligent life forms speak so silly, with that typical caveman talk (Me no like you, you dumb dumb). However, the communication between the Jedi is more natural. I found the following quote from Luminara to be a really good line of dialogue when speaking to her padawan. Not only does it apply to just Star Wars or a Lightsaber, but in the real world with real weapons or threats:
“Anyone can handle a weapon. Reason is much more difficult to wield. Remember that, the next time you’re tempted to settle an argument with a lightsaber.”
Luminara and Barriss worked well as a team. They are good Jedi, but they did need saving often by Kenobi and Anakin. It was nice seeing how other Jedi and padawn view not just the relationship between Kenobi and Anakin, as they are a bit of an unusual duo; but how they see Anakin. Anakin has so much potential, but he’s cocky and is always questioning everything. The moments between Barriss and Anakin are all wonderful as well.
So, do I recommend that you read The Approaching Storm? Well, it’s certainly not the best story, but to get an idea on how others view Anakin and Kenobi, yes, read it.
Rating
This book receives a C+
