Here is the second installment in my series inspired by Benbella Books’ “Star Wars on Trial” (2006), a collection of essays responding to eight charges against the “Star Wars” franchise. Sci-fi author David Brin, a critic of […]
In 2006, Benbella Books put out “Star Wars on Trial,” a collection of essays responding to eight charges against the “Star Wars” franchise (plus a ninth, overriding charge: Considering all the factors above, ‘Star Wars’ has been […]
In my re-read of the Bantam novels, I thought I was saving the worst for last with “Planet of Twilight” (1997). My 18-year-old self hated this novel, and I remember why: This is the final chapter […]
Vonda N. McIntyre’s “The Crystal Star” (1994) often appears on lists of the worst “Star Wars” novels, so I went into this re-read with low expectations and a sense of dread. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to […]
Roger McBride Allen wraps up his “Corellian Trilogy” with “Showdown at Centerpoint” (1995), another installment that’s padded despite leaving a lot of interesting ideas on the table, but can’t totally be dismissed since it introduces a lot […]
“Assault at Selonia” (1995) has the same attributes as the first book in Roger MacBride Allen’s “Corellian Trilogy.” While it’s a brisk and easy read, not a lot happens here aside from a final-act space battle […]
Drawing from my memory of reading Roger MacBride Allen’s “The Corellian Trilogy” 19 years ago, I recalled Han’s nasty cousin Thrackan Sal-Solo (leader of the Human League, not to be confused with “Seinfeld’s” Human Fund), […]
As Bantam navigated its way through the post-“Return of the Jedi” timeline in the 1990s, not every writer they hired turned out to be a Zahn or a Stackpole. Some of them were one-and-done. The […]
The final installment in Michael P. Kube-McDowell’s “Black Fleet Crisis” trilogy, “Tyrant’s Test” (1997), achieves a curious combination. Like the first two books, it’s quite readable, and I’d venture to say it’s unfairly lumped in with […]
The first thing you’ll notice about “Shield of Lies” (1996), the second book in Michael P. Kube-McDowell’s “Black Fleet Crisis” trilogy, is that it’s split into three parts: Lando, Luke and Leia. This is a little intimidating, […]