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Book News at StarWars.Com
This piece was going to be a quick entry about the feature on James Luceno's upcoming TPM era book, Cloak of Deception, posted last night at StarWars.Com. However, when I visited the Official site, I noticed several other recent articles that are more than worth a book fan's visit.
While you're there, make the time to read Approaching the Edge of Victory, a new article about Conquest, the first release in Gregory Keyes' New Jedi Order trilogy; The Art of Revenge, a Darth Maul book for younger readers that will please Sith fans of any age; the final entries in the first serialized fiction from StarWars.Com, The Starfighter Trap; and a recent interview with author James Luceno.
All good stuff...
Oops...
The "Not-So-Accidental-Tourist" dropped me a line to remind me that it's a new character named Jorallyn on the cover of Knightfall, not Ganner. That was my goof, friends... Sorry. I'd heard a rumor that it was Ganner some time ago, but I'll be the first to admit when I'm wrong.
However, Ganner or Jorallyn aside, the cover still raises some interesting thoughts about the NJO. If the plan was to introduce a new character into the NJO at this point in time, what purpose would it serve? Sure, part of the idea is to take the GFFA in new directions, and new characters are a necessary part of that, but would Jorallyn have significantly impacted the storyline in ways that couldn't have been accomplished by using existing, but underused characters? We may never know. This is just my opinion, but I think that's a shame those stories won't get told, and here's why...
Pure and simple, there is a large cast of characters in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (this site is evidence enough of that), but what is truly interesting is how those characters contribute to the overall fabric. I can't imagine Star Wars now without Mara Jade, Jaina Solo or Iella Wessiri just to name a few, and they weren't in the original movies.
So if anything, even if Friedman trilogy has now been cancelled, the Knightfall cover and NJO as a whole reminds us that there are plenty of stories still to be told in the GFFA. Some readers may want to see a return of the Imperials (personally, I cheered at Pellaeon's appearance in the NJO and look forward to a return), or may be disgusted with the Vong, but I see this as a reason to hang around a while and see where things go. Part of the reason, I believe, that the Imperials still hold such a fascination for Star Wars fans, is that we have been able to live with these characters in our heads for the last few decades. I'm not advocating we do that with the Vong, but I think they deserve the same chance. (I certainly wouldn't want to live with a Vong, that's for sure). But I certainly don't mind reading about them.
Balance Point Debuts on Best Seller Lists
In trading email with Kathy Tyers today, she shared with me her excitement at the news that Balance Point will debut on next week's New York Times Bestseller List at number 13 and is currently placed on B.Daltons Booksellers list at number 13. See, 13 can be a lucky number. Great news! Congratulations Kathy!! It's well deserved, and welcome back to Star Wars!
New Jedi Order trilogy cancelled?
For some time now various Star Wars websites such as JediNet Literature and TheForce.Net Books have been following the trevails of Michael Jan Friedman's New Jedi Order Knightfall Trilogy.
Today, TFN, passing along info from Coopra of the Unofficial New Jedi Order Homepage, reports that Terese Nielsen, the artist of the Knightfall covers has posted the artwork on her website. However, a little more surfing of Terese's website has turned up this bit of info:
Currently, I'm finishing up another Star Wars cover for Del Rey that is being written by Gregory Keyes. This duology fills in for the one they canned. It's been interesting to observe how Lucas will commission a painting before a manuscript is even started. It's up to the writer to make sure the painting is incorporated into the story.
Further, it is understandable in the case of NJO that the covers can be commissioned before the manuscripts are written. As part of the ongoing enterprise that is the NJO, the story arc and its pivotal events have been carefully mapped out in advance. While this explains how the cover could have been painted, it honestly raises questions about Friedman's work on Knightfall and the NJO in general. Why didn't Lucas (sic) like the direction the story was going? Did Friedman deviate from the outline? We may never know. More importantly, is this a sign that even with the novels planned as they are, there is an inherent flexibility to the approach to the NJO adopted by the various interested parties?
From a purely fan standpoint, with a cover featuring Danni Quee and Ganner Rhysode, it could have been an interesting story. I for one want to know what happened to restore Ganner's face. After Stackpole's Ruin, Ganner was determined to keep his hard earned scars, and with good reason. However, he's pictured here without them. It would also have been interesting to see how these two so far minor characters are given enough to do to carry three books. Hmmm...
October 30, 2000
Kathy Tyers' Balance Point hits bookstores in the United States tomorrow, October 31, 2000. I had the opportunity to read this a bit early, and it's great. Pick it up quickly! A review will be posted as soon as possible.
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