I need to stop forgetting to cross-post these things.  If you've come here from my blog on starwars.com, leave an anonymous comment.  If not, leave a comment anyways, if you wish.

This entry was to advertise and celebrate Serenity Day, which tool place on the twenty-third day of June, to honour and support the great (yet short-lived) television series Firefly, and its continuation on the big screen in the form of the movie Serenity.  I posted it on my Star Wars blog as part of the Serenity Day effort to get the word out, but forgot to post it here.  Well, here it is....

Firefly has a great amount of appeal to it. It's accessible to almost anyone, even those who aren't fans of science fiction. The Firefly universe (or "the 'verse," as those who are in-the-know would say), a blend of the past and the future, never feels foreign in the slightest to the viewer. Besides, Firefly is more about characters than outrageous special effects, epic space battles, and astounding visuals anyway. Having been informed of said television series by Star Wars fans, I found that I could identity with the characters and conflicts of Firefly both on a personal level and because it contained elements of the only science fiction that I knew and loved -- Star Wars.

Firefly has, in a nutshell, everything I loved about The Empire Strikes Back.

This is not to say that Firefly is simply a re-hash of one of the greatest movies of all time. On the contrary, it is refreshingly unique and unlike anything else on television or on the big screen.

Whereas Star Wars chronicles the exploits of the son of the Chosen One and a Princess with a prominent role in the Rebel Alliance, Firefly follows the lives of rather ordinary people. While Luke, Han, and Leia fight to restore freedom and democracy to the entire galaxy, Malcolm Reynolds, having been on the losing side of a war that is now long over, simply wants to travel the skies, free from the grip of the Alliance, taking jobs as they come. In the words of Joss Whedon, "this show isn't about the people who made history; it's about the people history stepped on." The crew of Serenity may not overthrow an empire or save the galaxy, but each character's struggle makes this show fascinating. They are always the underdogs, and their adventures are never epic; if they get paid at the end of the day to keep Serenity in the air, that's all that matters. Firefly is definitely not a futuristic piece of mythology, nor is it a textbook example of the hero's journey. Firefly breaks the typical science fiction and space opera mold by focusing on everyday people who were given the short end of the stick, and tried to make the best of it. In the immortal words of Jayne Cobb, "you took that end and you...well, you took it. And that's...well, I guess that's somethin'."

Despite these differences, Firefly contains the very same fundamental elements that made The Empire Strikes Back such an excellent movie.

From a military standpoint, the events of The Empire Strikes Back are relatively insignificant in the great scheme of galactic history. Call in the fleet junkies and the number-crunchers -- they'll agree. Did the rebels achieve any military victories over the Empire during this time? At the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, viewers learn that the rebels have been driven off of Yavin IV, and are now hiding from the Empire in a base on Hoth. From this point until the credits roll, the rebels have done no obvious damage to the Imperial war machine. They have not wrested any planets from Imperial control, nor have they destroyed any superweapons. In the final moments of the movie, the Rebellion has simply regrouped, and they are in roughly the same situation as the one in which they began the movie. Likewise for the Empire. Sure, they managed to chase the rebels from Hoth, but the rebel fleet is largely intact, and Vader failed to capture both Luke and Leia. On a military and statistical level, the events of The Empire Strikes Back could be omitted completely from the history books.

Yet on a personal level and in terms of characterization, The Empire Strikes Back consists of the most important turning points in the entire saga. And, earth-shattering revelations aside, the second installment of the original trilogy contains brilliant and compelling character development.

Both the Millennium Falcon and Serenity provide fascinating settings for interaction between characters. Whether it's a YT-1300 or a Firefly-class transport, spending extended periods of time together aboard a spaceship brings out both the very best and the very worst in people. And the result can be anything from shipboard romances to ugly confrontations. Perhaps Mal best described this dynamic during his conversation with Simon in one of the first few scenes of Serenity: "So here is us, on the raggedy edge. Don't push me, and I won't push you." With tension between characters running high at times and nowhere else to go, relationships are tested and strained to their breaking points.

Han and Leia's storyline throughout the second act of The Empire Strikes Back deals with people and their reactions to being in dire circumstances and in constant danger. Cut off from the Rebel fleet, Han Solo desperately maneuvers the Falcon from one dangerous situation to another. At this point, Han and Leia aren't seeking to engage the Executor in an all-out space battle; their goal is escape and survival. They're taking on one challenge after another, each time narrowly escaping with their lives. And most importantly, they react to each situation like normal human beings. They aren't all-powerful superheroes who stay cool, calm, and collected every time they run into a dangerous situation. They get frightened, they make mistakes, they take it out on each other, and they fear for their own lives. These characters could easily be your next-door neighbours who managed to somehow stumble into a galaxy-wide conflict. The Empire Strikes Back succeeded in making a fantastical science fiction epic feel familiar by telling the stories of characters that the audience could relate to.

Firefly is compelling because the show centers on characters that we can relate to, as they face unique, yet familiar challenges. As Firefly creator Joss Whedon said, "It's about nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things. That to me is what's interesting." The crew of Serenity is faced with the challenge of struggling to get by, either in the strict and Alliance-controlled core, or on the lawless outer rim planets. Though they live in a futuristic setting, they must cope with the same problems human beings have today, and they react to these problems in the same way that normal people would.

Like in our lives, nothing ever goes according to plan in Firefly. And each character has their own way of dealing with this. Some express their discontent with sarcasm, some get frustrated, but most of the time, like everyone here on earth, they simply make do and keep going. Captain Malcolm Reynolds is never completely sure of himself and sometimes does a bad job of faking it. And yet he doesn't let this hinder him, and everyone else along for the ride had better hope for the best.

Situations such as these are very compelling, simply because we have emotion invested in the characters and we have no idea how it's going to turn out in the end. Plot twists, surprises, and complications meet these characters at every turn. And whether the characters meet these challenges with lightsabers, blasters, and thermal detonators or primitive slugthrowers and their sharp wit, I'll keep watching either way.

Brace for the fangirl squee.

I went to the bookstore today with the intent of picking up a book that I had ordered last Sunday. I had also just received a bunch of birthday money, and decided to browse the sci-fi section. Or, more specifically, the Star Wars section.

That's when I saw it. Betrayal, slated for release on May 30th. Sitting on the shelf ELEVEN. FRAKKING. DAYS. EARLY. In all it's shockingly bad CG cover glory.*



So I bought it, of course. Yep, I snagged that sucker off the shelf before an employee would realize their mistake. And I could barely contain myself.

I want to read it. Never mind that I haven't read nine books of the NJO, or any of the Dark Nest trilogy. Never mind that I promised myself that at least I had to read Traitor before I read Betrayal. I suppose I could read the chronology to get up to speed, but I'm not sure if I want the NJO and Dark Nest totally spoiled. Oh what is a fangirl to do?

In other news, Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television. I've seen five episodes and I am absolutely convinced.


* I say this because A) it looks awful, and B) Jacen (pictured on the cover) is supposed to be thirty at the time of the book. He looks about fourteen on the cover.

So today I turn nineteen. As of this day, I can legally get into bars or clubs to buy overpriced drinks and look like an idiot dancing! Hooray! I'm getting the feeling that everyone else in the world is a lot more excited about this than I am.

But what I'm actually excited about is the first season of Battlestar Galactica that I received! Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe this calls for a science fiction television marathon!

I also wrote a review of Star By Star, which was cross-posted to my starwars.com blog.

( The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage )

Reading Star By Star is, I must say, highly enjoyable but wholly upsetting. Seriously, it's turning me into an emotional basketcase. Is it bad that I'm getting this depressed because I know that a certain character is going to die in this book? I was crying last night as I was reading, not because the character had already died, but because he volunteered to go on the mission during which he will die. Me. Crying.

So in order to avoid reading the amazing yet depressing book, I wasted time making these icons!



That last one was Panic! at the Disco-inspired (which was inspired by Chuck Palahniuk). Oh Panic, why must I love thee so? You are my guilty pleasure.

OK, I've decided that if a book is titled Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, that's a bit ridiculous. Anyway, I didn't feel like writing a review, so instead I wrote one in limerick form, which was twice as much work.

Full of SPOILERS and I don't care!

There once was a book named Jedi Eclipse
It had a battle in space with ships
And a superweapon too
(Yeah, that's nothing new ...)
But this book is not one to skip

The Yuuzhan Vong came to invade
And the Hutts said "let’s make a trade"
The Republic fought on
Droma rode shotgun with Han
As planets fell to the Vong crusade

The New Republic forces were outmatched
So a clever scheme was hatched
But it all went snap!
And they cried "it’s a trap!"
As the planet Fondor was scratched

Though the yammosk scenes were quite weird
And Han Solo sported a black beard
It was an intricate story
And in the end, no glory
It had one hell of a climax, I cheered!

Luke and Mara were barely around
But it didn’t bring the novel down
With the Solo kids
And the Jedi order on the skids
There was plenty of fun to be found

And now a tribute to dead characters...or maybe just one...

There once was a Jedi named Wurth Skidder
And though Leia begged him to reconsider
He met a yammosk
What the hell rhymes with yammosk?!?
And now he’s dead and Kyp Durron is bitter

But seriously,

Perhaps it was Wurth Skidder’s fate
To make that weird yammosk irate
Of Wurth’s death I read
And a tear was shed
For a Jedi we all love to hate

So what’s next for our Star Wars crew?
It looks like Balance Point is the next in cue!
But Emperor’s black bones! and damn!
I’ve got a politics exam!
So I’ve probably got work to do...

NJO (+ Dark Nest) pre-Legacy release on May 30th marathon progress: 5/22
Exam progress: 2/5

As promised, in all its long, ranting, un-spoilerific glory...

What’s more controversial than the length of a Super Star Destroyer, hated nearly as much as Ewoks, and compared to a train wreck more often than Paris Hilton? Why, The New Jedi Order, of course! This nineteen-book (plus two e-books and one story in Star Wars Gamer) Star Wars series, set about twenty-five years after A New Hope, has been met by fans with mixed reviews. Speaking of reviews, I think I will write one about the first book of the series, Vector Prime!

Yeah, it's long, and it isn't behind a cut. So sue me.

Having read The New Essential Chronology and done a fair amount of browsing on various message boards, I knew many of the happenings of the period before reading this book. I think this may be good and bad. I have heard some comments about how The New Jedi Order is hard to get into because the first few books are confusing, yet I have a general idea of the direction in which everything is headed, and I am enjoying them. On the other hand, I have had some surprises of the series completely spoiled, some on purpose, and some by accident (thank you, official site FAQ).

Vector Prime, by R. A. Salvatore, kicks off The New Jedi Order book series, a Star Wars story arc that details the invasion of an extra-galactic species, the Yuuzhan Vong. The story begins by establishing that although the New Republic has made peace with the Imperial Remnant, there is unrest throughout the galaxy putting strains on the galactic government. Furthermore, there is conflict and a great difference of opinion within the Jedi Order over the role of the Jedi in the galaxy. When a scientific outpost discovers a comet-like mass headed towards the galaxy, all hell breaks loose. Yep, it ain’t no comet. The Yuuzhan Vong have come to take over the galaxy. And of course, it falls upon our heroes to fight the invaders.

I was happy to see the Solo children and other expanded universe characters at the forefront of this story. Jacen and Anakin Solo are both interesting characters, in conflict with each other over their role as Jedi and all the while never even entirely sure of themselves and their beliefs and opinions. Regardless, they are devoted to their duty to their family and the New Republic. We also meet Wurth Skidder, and an older Kyp Durron (a major character in The Jedi Academy Trilogy), two Jedi who have a very different idea of how the Jedi should counter this threat than that of Luke Skywalker. Kyp in particular is a great character; he is brash and arrogant, yet Salvatore manages to give him a sympathetic angle. In The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Kyp’s characterization was very weak, and many of his actions seemed too radical for the circumstances. In Vector Prime, Kyp may be a loose cannon, but his motives are easily understood, even though his methods are radically different from those of Luke or Jacen. I found myself rooting for him to survive, even though he was a character I loved to hate.

As for the movie characters, most of their characterizations were dead on. I could almost hear Leia lecturing Han in the original trilogy as she gave Wurth Skidder an earful for his “heroics.” And despite being a responsible family man, the Han we know and love is back. Salvatore pulls this off without having characters shamelessly quote their movie selves, something many Star Wars authors are guilty of. The real strength of Salvatore’s work in the novel lies in the character-driven conflicts of Vector Prime. Instead of simply throwing the characters of Star Wars into the middle of another crisis somewhere in the galaxy, Salvatore adds another dimension to the story through the characters’ interactions with one another, their perceptions of other characters, and their reactions to events. This may sound fairly basic, but these elements are either lacking or very weak not only in most Star Wars novels, but in a large number of science fiction stories. In Vector Prime, the major characters, whether they are movie characters or created by the expanded universe, must not only face this new threat to the galaxy, but also each other and themselves. In this sense, the characters of Vector Prime are very real and familiar. They act like normal human beings (most of them are human, anyway); they disagree, they unjustly blame others, they are frequently wrong, and they see their own weaknesses. And as a result, some of them lose hope, some become stronger, and some come into conflict with others, but most importantly, they change instead of remaining stagnant personalities. Salvatore does an excellent job of putting characters (mostly characters that aren’t his own) in compromising situations that shake them to their core. As a result, some among them emerge altered, but the change is logical, and readers are able to sympathize with the character along the way.

As for the villains, The New Jedi Order offers a departure from the typical Star Wars antagonists. The Yuuzhan Vong, a species from another galaxy, are very different than your average evil Imperial admiral or Remnant Moff on a power trip. They have different weapons and ships than anything readers have ever seen before. Their culture, although still something of a mystery, is completely antithetical to the New Republic and the order that they have built. These villains are ruthless, brutal, and downright scary. Needless to say, it won’t be an easy victory for our heroes.

Sadly, in constructing the plot of Vector Prime, Salvatore is guilty of something I like to call "the old family vacation standby," which, in this case, is also accompanied by "the old lament for our lost youth." This is overused in Star Wars stories (most recently in the Rogue Leader comic) to the point where it has become a tired plot device. The premise for the aforementioned plot device is the following: the major movie characters of Star Wars are getting old, as they reminisce about their glory days, they realize that they’ve done so much to save the galaxy, build a new government, and continuously save that government from the villain of the week, that they deserve a bit of a vacation. So they all head out to some planet, which in this case in on the outer rim, and surprise, all of the main characters manage to walk straight into the middle of an epic galactic conflict. It’s disappointing that Salvatore uses the formulaic and overused plot device. There has to be a more interesting way to get these characters involved in the action other than another family vacation gone amuck. Honestly, if I see any of this business in the upcoming Legacy series, I won’t be very happy. And the sad part is, during the Legacy series, the characters are probably old enough to actually do this (being sixty years old and all), but this plot device has been done so many times before that no one will want to see it.

Family vacations aside, this novel combines its many character arcs with the suspense and action of galactic warfare. As the Yuuzhan Vong enter the galaxy, observed by the scientists at an outpost on the edge of the galaxy, we feel the threat of an incoming force. Juxtaposed with glimpses into the plans of the enemy, this segment had a doomsday-like feel to it. The story is darker than much of what has been seen in Star Wars before, and for the first time since watching the original trilogy, I was worried that my beloved heroes of the Star Wars universe wouldn’t make it out alive.

Unfortunately, the battle scenes throughout this book were often tedious and redundant. Most of the action, especially the space battles, was very well done. However, some of the lightsaber fights were described in detail to the point where one’s eyes glaze over due to being sick of having to read about every movement someone makes while fending off an enemy. And it isn’t impossible to do; I think Michael Stackpole nailed it in the two Dark Tide books (the next two books in The New Jedi Order). The point is that it isn’t necessary to spend five pages describing a lightsaber duel that lasts about thirty seconds. Also, while most of the action was good, it was rather redundant in some places as certain characters basically go back to the same place to fight the same battle that took place only hours before.

In general, though, Vector Prime was a great start to The New Jedi Order. Yes, this book took a great number of risks, and not everyone will like them. But regardless, R. A. Salvatore has created the start of a new, original, and epic adventure in the galaxy far, far away. Vector Prime was an exciting read, and it left many threads hanging at the end. Not every mystery was solved, and the galaxy sure as hell ain’t safe anymore. But fear not! After all, our heroes have eighteen more books (or so) to sort out this mess. That’s provided that they all make it out alive.

I’ll try to express this in the most coherent and spoiler-free manner possible: I, for one, applaud the bold new direction in which Del Rey and the authors of The New Jedi Order have taken the expanded universe. The New Jedi Order, in my opinion, is not a train wreck, but a great triumph. Some may disagree with me, but I am very critical of the early post-Return of the Jedi novels, and see The New Jedi Order as a breath of fresh air. There are major changes in this book, and they are a welcome departure from the mediocrity that was the New Republic era. Finally, the expanded universe is a cohesive story, and not merely a set of separate and unrelated works of glorified fanfiction by authors with enough industry connections to get their work published. In this era, the heroes of the Star Wars movies are actually challenged. At last, they face real villains instead of the latest Imperial Remnant mop-up job, the latest superweapon, or yet another one of Luke’s students turned evil. Luke doesn’t have to be injured for an entire novel to be brought down to the level of his enemies. And most importantly, there is change in the galaxy far, far away. The Star Wars expanded universe is no longer a Saturday morning cartoon in which the characters defeat the villain of the week and proceed to return to their daily lives. People and worlds are changed by the events of the books, and they will never be the same again. Therefore, Vector Prime is the first expanded universe novel, in the true sense of the words. No longer are authors merely playing in George Lucas’ universe. They are truly expanding it. These aren’t the usual daily adventures of Luke, Han, and Leia, nor are they background stories to the films. The New Jedi Order is a series in which compelling characters and an extensive and fantastic universe must change. And like it or not, that’s great fiction.

R. A. Salvatore, I salute you!

In closing, I would like to note how my review turned into a rant about the Star Wars expanded universe. Also, if anyone reading this has actually read Vector Prime, you may notice that I neglected to mention a huge event that took place in this book. This was done in the interest of keeping this review spoiler-free, but I promise, there will be a rant about this in the future. And based on the previous few paragraphs, you can probably guess my stance on it.

Alright, I promised I would update more often, so here we go. Three book reviews and one movie review. You don’t have to take my advice, because most likely you know that I’m weird, and therefore, I like weird things.

( Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency )

( Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact )

( Star Wars: Children of the Jedi )

( Serenity )

Where have I been these days?

Over here, that's where. Specifically on this thread, discussing the upcoming Star Wars comic. Apparently some people don't like the idea of doing a comic 100 years after the Legacy era ends with the main character being a descendent of Luke Skywalker, and formerly a pirate.

So this is my response.

( A badly photoshopped comic! )

Wow, that was fun. I just spent the better part of the evening planning the story, again. Except this time it's really detailed. And I've written my first thousand words! And now it's bedtime. But I'm really confident that this fic will actually get written, and finished, unlike a certain Harry Potter tale that I believed had infinite potential. This parody had Mary Sues, slash, and a whole lot of musical numbers! Unfortunately, I got rather distracted by school and with only about three random chapters to write, I gave up on the thing. Maybe I will finish and post it one day. Or just extract the songs and post them somewhere.

( Random snippet (from the Harry Potter one)! )

That's enough of that. OK, I thought it was funny two years ago. I hope I haven't made any spelingg missteaks, that would be embarrassing.

Anyway, the Star Wars one will get finished. And it will only contain one musical number, I promise.

So it looks like Hasbro is bringing us a miniature Delta 62 (among other less exciting action figures) in early 2006! But why only make a Scorch action figure? What about the rest of Delta Squad? jedi_haiku gave a very plausible and entertaining explanation as to why Sev doesn’t get immortalized in plastic by the folks at Hasbro, but Delta Squad is a unit! Clone commandos are purposely kept together in ‘pods’ during their education and training so that they depend on each other and work as a cohesive unit. Sure, they’re each commando is pretty deadly working solo, but I can’t imagine Scorch without his squad mates for too long. The poor guy would have no one to crack jokes to! Come on Hasbro, give us the other 3/4 of Delta Squad! Nevertheless, I am excited to pick up my very own Scorch action figure.

On a slightly related note, while playing the game, Scorch’s voice really threw me off. In case no one else noticed (or no one who reads this cares, which is the more likely of the two options), 62 is voiced by Raphael Sbarge, the very same actor that did the voice of Carth from Knights of the Old Republic. And the voices are EXACTLY THE SAME, which left me expecting Scorch to start going off about his trust issues and how Saul Karath betrayed him and destroyed his home planet, killing his wife and possibly his son every time tell him to make something explode. Never mind the fact that Scorch is clearly a clone. The voice just jerked me out of my deep emersion into the game once and a while.

Now, most importantly, Hasbro also has a Fan Choice Poll! In other words, you can nominate, and later vote, for a Star Wars action figure you want to see! And this time, you can choose any Star Wars character from books, comics, games, and any other EU-medium!

Upon first viewing the site, I was overwhelmed with the possibilities. But upon seeing Knight of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords in the list of categories from which your character choice came, my pathetic fangirl obsessions immediately overrode any prior considerations.

How cool would it be to have an Atton Rand action figure?

Come on, you know you want one! Sure, there are those who dismiss Atton as another “extended universe Han Solo wannabe.” But this guy is seriously conflicted! And besides, you can “jedi-ize” Atton (I think that’s what the kids call it), so he could totally take Han down if he was so inclined. If all else fails, you can just completely mess with his head and corrupt his alignment (although he becomes increasingly ugly the farther he goes over to the dark side).

But seriously. Atton is emo. Atton is complicated. Atton is very sexy in fanart. I need an Atton action figure to stand beside my Anakin Skywalker on my shelf.

Time to back to studying. I finished my many pages of study notes, now I just have hundreds of pages of readings to go over again. I can’t sleep anymore either, but I don’t really want to read. And breakfast doesn’t open for another two hours.