“Dark Empire” (1991-92) has always been in the shadow of the “Thrawn Trilogy” novels (1991-93). Both came out about the same time, and both are spot-on continuations from “Return of the Jedi” — but in different […]
Jabba the Hutt’s palace in “Return of the Jedi” was George Lucas’s “faster and more intense” answer to the cantina in “A New Hope.” Also benefiting from a second chance was “Tales from Jabba’s Palace” (1996), the […]
In this “Star Wars” re-reading project, I encounter some stories that are exactly as I remembered them and some that offer pleasant surprises. As I worked through the “Tales of the Jedi” series, I was […]
Like so many “risky” concepts, “Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina” (1995) ultimately proved to be a brilliantly obvious one. Up to this point on the “Star Wars” publishing schedule, every adult book had featured at least […]
Although the four-part “droids in the void” arc was by far the worst in the series’ run, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Season 5 (8:30 a.m. Central Saturdays on Cartoon Network) nonetheless ranks as the best season […]
Similar to following evolutionary theory backward to the Big Bang, “Star Wars” stories always seem to have a backstory, no matter how far back on the timeline they take place. 1993’s “Tales of the Jedi,” […]
“Rebel Dawn” (1998) wraps up the best and most essential “Star Wars” trilogy outside of the classic films. Honestly, although its difficult to make a cross-media comparison, I think A.C. Crispin’s telling of Han Solo’s backstory […]
A.C. Crispin’s “The Hutt Gambit” (1997), the second book in the “Han Solo Trilogy,” does the best job of tying together disparate aspects of the Expanded Universe of any “Star Wars” work before or since. The author […]
When I first saw “Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” I was a bit disappointed that the Emperor was already, for all intents and purposes, the Emperor — he was already evil. As the prequels […]
By lucky coincidence, I wrapped up re-reading “The Paradise Snare” (1997), the first book of A.C. Crispin’s “Han Solo Trilogy,” just as Disney announced plans for a young Han Solo movie. If the film is going to be a […]