Waru Express

Waru Express: Attack of the Clones

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I took a few days off for Thanksgiving (and so I won’t completely kill Brian with my fast reading speed) (Editor’s Note: No seriously. I was concerning people.) but we’re back with more Prequel Era books!  This time, half of the books were obvious tie-ins to books from much further down the timeline and two of them were, well, Attack of the Clones based.  This one’s a bit more of a mixed bag than before.

Rogue Planet
Okay so you know how some people hate Boba Fett and get annoyed by how fans adore him and he gets all these appearances etc etc?  Yeah, that’s me except with Tarkin and the building of the Death Star.  Honestly, what is this obsession that EU authors have with him and the Death Star?  I mean, I know it was a cool looking space station that blew planets up but can we not credit everyone and their mother with its construction? (Editor’s Note: This is funny given how much I enjoyed reading James Luceno’s Tarkin. Not that it was my favorite but…)

Overall, the book’s okay but it’s so obviously there for the New Jedi Order that it feels far too much like an extended short story sometimes.  Character-wise, it’s good.  I actually really enjoyed getting some insight into the early years of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s Master/Padawan relationship.  (Editor’s Note: I think this could fit well with Charles Soule’s Obi-Wan and Anakin comic.)  I also rather enjoy Thracia Cho Leem because anyone who can out sass Mace Windu and still have his respect deserves your respect.  It’s too bad that she leaves the Jedi Order because wow is he going to need her in about a decade when Shatterpoint happens…  The only thing I’m really not fond of is getting beaten over the head with “Oooo Anakin’s going to fall to the Dark Side one day!”  I get what Greg Bear was doing but at times, it felt like a bit too much.  Also, I will be forever sad that Anakin didn’t get to keep his ship.  Poor baby. Continue reading →

Waru Express: The Phantom Menace

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I finally gained a better grip on my sanity and decided to break these reviews into slightly smaller chunks so next up are the Phantom Menace related books!   The good news is that not only did I not hate any of them but I actually loved one of them.

Darth Plagueis
I have Sith Fatigue and apparently the only cure is more Sith!  (They’re like cowbell.)  Seriously though, I loved this book!  Granted, I’m a bit of a political junkie but there really wasn’t anything I disliked about this book except that I wanted another hundred pages of it.  (Editor’s Note: Much like that business on Cato Neimoidia, that doesn’t count.)  I positively loved how James Luceno took everything that happened in the Prequel Trilogy and wove together a background that not only made sense but helped flesh out the story.  It’s the Long Con, folks, and it pays off so gosh darn beautifully.  After reading this book, all of the questions I had about how Palpatine worked both sides of the Clone Wars were answered.

It wasn’t just the story line and the writing that I liked.  I was also rather intrigued by getting to see the characters we know from different angles.  In particular, I enjoyed the parts with Dooku and how his departure from the Jedi Order came about.  Palpatine himself was another character that I enjoyed getting to know better, much to my surprise.  What can I say?  I’m a sucker for a good descent into darkness tale.  (Editor’s Note: Sheeeeeeeeeeeeev!)  Continue reading →

Waru Express: The Really Old Republic

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It took slightly longer than anticipated thanks to some difficulties with the library but I’ve finally finished the first leg of my Expanded Universe reread. (Editor’s Note: There was a two week gap between the opening post and this first one.)  The short version?  There were certainly some ups and downs and WOW am I glad to be getting out of these eras and away from these old school Sith.  (Sith Fatigue is a real and dangerous disease, folks.  It claims hundreds of readers every year.)

The Old Republic: Revan
I’ll freely admit to being a HUGE KOTOR fangirl back in the day.  Somewhere, buried on a hard drive, is probably a lot of half-written fanfic about the characters.  I was obsessed with Revan and had slightly ridiculous crushes on both Carth Onasi and Atton Rand.  (That was totally my right as a 14 year old girl.)  If you’ve never played either of the Knights of the Old Republic games, the one thing you should know is that your character (Revan in the first game and the Exile in the second) is essentially a blank slate.  You decide their gender, their looks, and their personality.  Therefore, I spent most of the first half of the book trying to reconcile the Revan in my head (a very snarky lady) with the canon Revan who is decidedly not her and is, in fact, a man.  (Curse you, canon!)  Also, I insist that Natalya Donn is totally a better name for the Exile than Meetra Surik.  I mean…. Meetra?  Really? Continue reading →

Woo Woo, All Aboard the Waru Express!

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Back in the fall of 2012, I was unemployed and had a very bad idea that Brian, the editor over at Tosche Station, encouraged.  I had a little under 100 Star Wars books sitting on my bookshelf and hadn’t gotten the chance to reread them in ages so obviously the best course of action was to read all of them again.  I also let myself be bribed into adding The Crystal Star to the list.  SOMEONE STILL OWES ME A REREAD OF REVENGE OF THE SITH.

Thus the Waru Express was born.

The goal of the project was never to pull a Pablo Hidalgo and reread everything although it is tempting to do a sequel project one day and reread all the rest of the Legends books.  The rules were thus: I started chronologically and read my way through my own personal Star Wars book collection.  I also be reread and read some books for the first time that I am able to get from the library and/or also interested me. Every two to six or so books, I posted my thoughts on them.  The original project lasted seven months but I’ll be reposting them (with some minors edits and probably a touch of modern day commentary) once a week. On the list below, the ones marked with a * were ones I’d previously read but didn’t own while those marked with a ~ were ones I hadn’t read before.

To those of you who experienced the Waru Express when it originally happened… enjoy the trip down memory lane.  For those of you who have never had the pleasure… buckle up because it’s going to be a wild ride.  Feel free to tweet me any thoughts you may have along the way @chaosbria. 😉

THE LIST: Continue reading →