The Early Adventures (Classic Star Wars, Volume Four) Review

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(More customer reviews)One of my fondest memories of Star Wars--fonder even than watching the first movie--is coming upon Russ Manning's "Star Wars" during its run in newspapers. While I can't really quibble with the other reviewers opinions, I think he's being a bit harsh; the style in this volume is classic newspaper story telling, although somewhat redited for the Dark Horse volumes as were all the reprints of the newspaper strips.
Yes, I can't argue that the Al Williamson/Archie Goodwin run on the strip was more in line with the overall thrust of the LFL expansion of their Star Wars property. However, there is a charm and an excitement in the Manning strips that is not present in the slicker, longer storylines that followed.
The tale of Leia and Luke struggling to convince a planet that specialized in the manufacture of starfighter weapons components and the ultimate space battle against Darth Vader and a Star Destroyer, not to mention the mysterious Blackhole who had been charged by Vader to hunt down the Rebels, were among the elements that made up my first long-form writing efforts, fan fiction. I can trace a line directly back to those efforts and that strip and my current career as a writer. Boba Fett's appearance in the final section of the book--created by Alfredo Alcala and another artist after Manning left the strip for health reasons--also sparked my imagination and inspired a love for the character that exists to this day. Boba Fett's appearance here remains my favorite in the Expanded Universe.
I recommend others take a look at these classics. Who knows? Maybe you'll be inspired as I was.

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Even with less than twenty minutes of "screen time" to his credit, the most popular character from the Star Wars trilogy is Boba Fett. Dark Horse offers a number of comics featuring the merciless bounty hunter, but it all starts here, in this trade paperback collecting Russ Manning's Star Wars newspaper strips. It was in these strips, which originally ran in 1979 and 1980, that Boba Fett made his very first appearance in print, making this a true must-have item for anyone looking to become a Jedi Master! The artwork has been colored, reformatted, and expertly retouched by Rick Hoberg, who worked with Manning on the original strips. Relive the adventures that thrilled readers seventeen years ago! Experience the very first comics appearance of the infamous Boba Fett (dated prior to his motion-picture debut)! And delight in Star Wars legend Al Williamson's new color cover, dedicated to Manning!

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Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 5: Fool's Bounty (v. 5) Review

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(More customer reviews)To me, this book is like a time machine. When I read it, I'm 12 years old again and eagerly awaiting the theatrical release of Return of the Jedi. What happened to Han Solo? Who is this mysterious bounty hunter named Boba Fett? How will Luke get ready for his inevitable showdown with Darth Vader?
None of these questions are directly answered by this series, but they're alluded to as Leia, Lando, and Luke go on all-new adventures. Like the stupendous volume 4, the art is excellent -- Tom Palmer and Walt Simonson aren't afraid to put our heroes in different clothes, and writer David Michelinie is capable of fleshing these archetypes out into real characters.
Despite the technical differences (the coloring process used in the 80s is crude compared to today's comics), these remain my favorites for Star Wars "graphic novels." If you're into Star Wars and have an open mind, don't miss this run of wonderful stories.

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Dark Horse Comics presents the latest volume of Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... featuring classic Star Wars stories not seen in over twenty years! Originally printed by Marvel Comics, these stories have been meticulously re-colored and are sure to please both new and old Star Wars fans. Fool's Bounty collects issues 68 to 81 of the original Marvel run, along with Star Wars Annual #3. Most of these stories take place after The Empire Strikes Back, as Han Solo's friends continue to search for their lost scoundrel, and this volume ends with Marvel's first story set in the Return of the Jedi era -- "Jawas of Doom." Lando Calrissian is hilariously disguised in "The Big Con," a captured Princess Leia must escape torment in "Death In The City Of Bone," and C-3PO gets his mechanical heart broken in "Ellie." Also highlighted are several rare Star Wars pinups, and an introduction by James Kochalka!

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Star Wars: Tales from the New Republic (Star Wars (Random House Paperback)) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are like me when a new Star Wars book appears you buy it. There have been other "Tales From, Tales Of" all of which are better than this particular group of stories. The other collections dealt with characters that were either known to the Star Wars Fan, or could be placed in context once the story had begun. I believe this was very well done with "Tales From Jabba's Palace". Even if a specific character went barely noticed or even unnoticed, the events allowed you to re-experience familiar events from characters that were present at an event, although they played no known role in it from the point of view of the moviegoer. Previous short story collections gave you the ability to listen in through a variety of characters. And if you were not looking through another's eyes at a familiar event, the story was still tied to familiar places, known characters, and time frames. I read all of these books as they generally are quite good, and fill in bits of History that were never shown in the movies. After the book is read, the movie can again be viewed and there are a whole new group of characters you "know" from a story in their life. There is a teaser at the top of the cover that speaks of a short novel by Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole. However you only have to get to "The Foreword and Acknowledgements" to learn these stories, with the Zahn/Stackpole exception, were put together after, and primarily from contributions to "the now-defunct Official Star Wars Adventure Journal". To be fair, some stories are taken from the role-playing games, so those stories may appeal to the Role Playing Gamer. Yes there are some references to places and people that are familiar, but they are generally a few words that clue the reader as to when a particular story is happening, and in some stories, remind the reader where he/she is supposed to be. The exception to this is the short novel produced by the two mentioned Star Wars Authors. If you like to read about Star Wars and need a book to hold you over to the next full-length book, buy this with modest expectations. Actually most fans, will find something they like but will not come away thrilled. The Collection can be enjoyed, just moderate your expectations and do not let 2 familiar names guide you as to the quality of this particular collection.

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Volume 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)As this is told through the eyes of Boba Fett - being my favourite character - and the hype from the Lucasasts guys saying this story is their Empire Strikes Back, I was hoping for something pretty special. Further to this, I found the first GN for the original Force Unleashed, a solid translation of the game. Sadly, however, this is a second rate, boring, lifeless, bordering on silly, story.
One good note; the artwork is superb. Other than that it is essentially a five scene story. Everything feels long winded, trying to fill the pages rather than projecting the story forward.
I was worried the game would be this lame, but apparently this is designed to compliment the game story (and hopefully this will be better once you've played the game - but I don't see how).
Personally, I loved this first game, it's story and all the associated books/merchandise. This one, so far, is feeling like they're cashing in on the first ones success...
:(

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The Fight to Survive (Star Wars: Boba Fett, Book 1) (A Clone Wars Novel) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book was way better and more interesting to read than the other books about Boba Fett. It has more depth than the Boba Fett Dark Horse Comics. If you have not read this book, let me tell you that you are missing out on a lot!
The story speaks of relationships and the circle of life. You can relate to Boba Fett as you read about his relationship with his father, Jango Fett. It reminds you of young Anakin Skywalker who has a mother but no father. You get the opposite where Boba has a father and wished he had a mother. But it draws more from that. Witness Boba grow from an innocent wishful boy into the fearsome bounty hunter he becomes. It was very saddening to read about how Boba took the death of Zam Wesell, the sea-mice, and eventually his own father. Even the scene with Boba's only friend, Whrr touched me.
Boba is not the brutal killer as you think he is. This is a man who goes through many life experiences and valuable lessons. This is what made him stand out among the bounty hunters. Read this book!

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Crossfire (Star Wars: Boba Fett, Book 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the second book in the Boba Fett series. I highly recommend this book, and I recommend the other books in this series, too:
-The Fight to Survive (#1)
-Maze of Deception (#3)
-Hunted (#4)
-A New Threat (#5)
-Pursuit (#6)

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Alone in the world, young Boba Fett must go forth on his path to become a bounty hunter -- even if it means escaping from the evil Count Dooku and getting caught in the midst of the famous Clone Wars.

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Pursuit (Star Wars: Boba Fett, Book 6) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Boba Fett series comes to a thrilling conclusion with Boba, now a warrior and bounty hunter in his own right, seeking revenge on Mace Windu, the jedi who murdered his father at the start of the Clone Wars.
There is a twist ending I won't give away, but I will say Chancellor Palpatine makes a sudden appearance and there IS an actual confrontation between jedi and bounty hunter.
Readers might experience sympathy with the Boba character as he is basically a boy who grows up to be a cold warrior because of what happened to his father.
Having said that, while this series was primarily for younger readers, adults will get something out of it as well. I know I did.

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Maze Of Deception (Star Wars: Boba Fett, Book 3) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the third book in the Boba Fett series. Young Fett teams up with fellow bounty hunter Aurra Sing to get money from his father's bank acount. In the book, most of Fett's money is stolen and he runs into Jabba the Hutt's nephew. Later, after being chased by Sing, Fett gets his ship back and flies off the planet with very little money. (...)

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Boba Fett must regain his fortune -- and battle against both other bounty hunters and Jedi foes -- in this action-packed adventure.

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Tales of the Bounty Hunters (Star Wars) (Book 3) Review

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(More customer reviews)Every heroic saga, whether it is Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or George Lucas' Star Wars series, succeeds or fails on the cunning and sheer "stage presence" of the antagonists faced by the heroes of the story. Let's face it, Lord Darth Vader is more imposing, and more interesting, than Luke Skywalker, the farmboy-turned-Jedi Knight who, by the way, is also Vader's offspring. The fact that Vader was so obviously evil and menacing in the first two Episodes of the Classic Trilogy had already made him one of the most popular movie villains; the revelation that the Dark Lord had once been Anakin Skywalker made him even more interesting, and by extension, Luke also became more complex and heroic.
Star Wars also has a secondary set of villains that dwells in the shadowy corners under the metal and plastic surfaces of the Galactic Empire: the bounty hunters. Every Star Wars film, including Episode I: The Phantom Menace, has a scene with at least one of these amoral, relentless, and resourceful villains, but their role as foils to the Heroes of the Rebellion came to the fore in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. In this perennial fan favorite, both Lord Vader and crime boss Jabba the Hutt hire a diverse group of bounty hunters in an all-hands effort to capture the Millennium Falcon, her captain Han Solo, and all his companions, including Luke Skywalker.
Although the film only showed this band of ruffians only in one scene that takes place aboard Vader's flagship, Star Wars: Tales of the Bounty Hunters fleshes out this particular part of the saga with five short stories compiled and edited by Kevin J. Anderson (The Jedi Academy Trilogy).
Readers of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina will recognize all five contributors, including Anderson, whose "Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88" adds depth and menace to an assassin droid seen only for a flash in the Vader's flagship scene in Episode V. Think of this story as "The Terminator Meets Star Wars," with a frighteningly self-aware droid that "comes alive," overwhelms its puny human creators, and begins to devise a plan to conquer the galaxy itself. (Readers will notice that parts of this story will not only be echoed in Kathy Tyers' "The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk," but also in Dark Horse Comics' adaptation of Shadows of the Empire.")
Of course, "The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett," by Daniel Keys Moran, features the Star Wars galaxy's most famous -- or infamous -- bounty hunter. Although its status as an "origins of" story is now rather questionable, since readers now know the genesis of Boba Fett, the story is well-written and captures the nuances of its protagonist. Of the five stories in the anthology, this one covers nearly three decades of Fett's "career," including the bounty hunter's long-standing and relentless pursuit of smuggler-turned-Rebel-Hero Han Solo, not only for Vader and Jabba, but for other crime lords as well. (Star Wars artists working on 2002's Episode II: Attack of the Clones may have had this and other Boba Fett "origin myth" stories when they decided on the design for the clone troopers; Fett supposedly had been a stormtrooper before switching over to bounty hunting; the design of the clone trooper armor was an homage to this notion.)
This anthology, like the others in the Tales series, is entertaining, especially for fans of the original film trilogy who want to know more about those hissable and fearsome villains...the bounty hunters.

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A New Threat (Star Wars: Boba Fett, Book 5) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've found this series (recommended by my 10 year old) to be interesting. It shows the transformation of a 10 year old boy into the bounty hunter who delivers Han Solo to Jabba the Hut. It shows that no one is all bad and depicts Boba in a sympathic light. It's got some good morals, as all Star Wars stories do, without sugar coating some of the not so nice human emotions and actions. Overall a good book for kids. I don't have any complaints about the language or names used--most Star Wars fans won't be phased by them even if they are kids.

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The next action-packed installment in the New York Times best-selling Boba Fett series.

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Hunted (Star Wars: Boba Fett, Book 4) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is about Boba and his adventures with Jabba the Hutt!
If you want to read it, I suggest that you read #1 (The Fight to Survive), #2 (Crossfire), and #3 (Maze of Deception) first!
I recommend the whole series!


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In the Classic Star Wars movies, Boba Fett works for the legendary Jabba the Hutt, tracking down bounties (including Han Solo).Fans have never known how this partnership began . . . until now. Young Boba Fett has nowhere to go -- and is being hunted for what he knows about the evil Count Dooku.Before Boba's father died, he left instructions for his son to find Jabba the Hutt.Now Boba tracks Jabba down -- and must pass the ultimate test in order to prove he is truly a bounty hunter for the ages.

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Hard Merchandise (Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars, Book 3) Review

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(More customer reviews)This was a great conclusion to the series. I really was enthralled with this book. It had a lot of surprises which kept the story line interesting and suspenseful. I think that this trilogy was a good portrayal of boba Fett and for those who think not, Stop reading those stupid comics!! I have a point to make regarding these books. I am a blind reader who relys on the audio version of books to stay on top of current titles. Though the audio version of Star wars books are usually abridged, they usually come with sound effects and music which turns the book into a kind of audio movie. I think the trade off is worth it and would rather listen to an abridged version which basically tells the main story rather then read a full version with additional yet unnecessary passages. I say this because I find when listening to these books they really put you in the Star Wars universe and you don't get bored! Take my advise and listen to a few, you'll be glad you did!! Maybe then you wouldn't find some of SW books too long or boring!

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Slave Ship (Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars, Book 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book continues the {mis}adventures started in Book 1 of the Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy, The Mandalorian Armor with varying success. Neelah is still on her quest to piece together her past, Fett and Bossk are still up to same old, same old, Xizor and Mub'at are still plotting, and on it goes. This book also follows the same storylines - one right after A New Hope and one during Return of the Jedi - started in the first one.
First off I'd like to recommend not reading this book immediately after finishing Mandalorian Armor. I tried to do that twice, and was utterly unable to get into it. The author assumes the reader hasn't read the first book, and thus does too much recapping of previous events. Jeter is almost Lumley-esque in this regard. An author should assume that when a reader starts the second book in a trilogy that the reader is intelligent enough to have read the first one.
The most annoying thing about this book is what made the first book so difficult - many of the familiar characters and very misrepresented. Dengar is and emotional, cowardly idiot-wimp, Fett is very talkative, prone to giving `idiot-sheet' speeches, Vader doesn't have enough control over his emotions, etc... However, there is some very good character development in the new characters, which is overshadowed by their mere boringness.
Whereas the assembler Kud'ar Mub'at was interesting in the first book and Kuat unutterably boring, in this book their roles have changed. The arachnoid in this book is predictable, and boring, while Kuat has many interesting thoughts and foresights. Too many in fact. This is another problem with the book. It is hard to read conversations when there are two pages of though between each line of spoken dialogue, for some reason it just doesn't flow that way.
The author also makes the mistake of assuming the readers are inept. He has to have the characters spell out every vestige of every plan, and the dialogue often is overlong and rather speechy. The writer's writing style itself is quite basic, but he covers that up with a lot of adjectives and big thesaurus words. Another filler that he uses is that he repeats physical descriptions and names over and over again, as if afraid that the reader will forget basic stuff from paragraph to paragraph.
Despite all its flaws, however, this is still a pretty good and interesting tale, raising a lot of interesting points, questions and views, while answering other which were opened in the first book. This should be read by fairly serious Star Wars fans, but it's not `necessary' reading.

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The Mandalorian Armor (Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars, Book 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)This could be one of the worst books in the SW Universe. The plotline tries to be complicated and interesting, but it continues falling in a very deep pit, and the author does not know how to bring it back. While the author tries to give you some insight on the characters what he really does are boring and endless introspectives, that even make you hate some characters since they are so dull and boring. The plot pace gets stuck from time to time and I found myself rereading some paragraphs as Jeter made them extremely complicated and so boring that my attention wandered away. Just one more thing, I am not saying that the author has to read EVERY Star Wars book, but he should have had the consideration of keeping some characters as they were developed in previous masterpieces, not putting them as dumbfools just to uplift his own, newly-introduced, puny feeble bantha-fodder characters. There are a lot of SW books out there, and I bet 90% of them are better than this yarn, so better spend your money in something else.

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Bloodlines (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)This second installment in the new 9-volume Legacy of the Force series proves one thing - even a good writer can't make up for a silly plot.
Legacy started poorly in the first volume with a premise for which there is no evidence, namely that the Galactic Alliance (GA) is now more like the old Empire than the New Republic, running roughshod over member states, creating a general air of mistrust and indirectly fomenting ideas of rebellion and secession. When Corellia decides it's had enough, Luke Skywalker suddenly looses his good sense and sends a Jedi snatch-squad to kidnap Corellia's leaders so that they can then be bullied into not leaving the GA. How's that for implausible?
But it gets even worse in Bloodlines. Not only aren't we given any additional background information about why now everyone suddenly despises the GA, the characters start to act even more out of character, especially Luke and Mara, who despite the very obvious evidence that their nephew Jacen Solo is turning to the dark arts, do nothing to secure their son Ben Skywalker from training with the budding Sith Lord. They're also complicit in continuing to support the GA in bullying the Corellians. In the story's other major thread, Jacen is appointed colonel of an antiterrorist unit and spends his days rounding up and interrogating Corellians living on Coruscant. All the while he continues to explore his new powers, killing a "terrorist" while interrogating her and traveling through time to meet his grandfather, none other than Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader. Perhaps in the next volume he'll be able to visit Corellia by flying through space.
Fortunately, we've got Karen Traviss writing Boba Fett into the story and for a time at least diverting us from the improbable main plot.
Now 71-years old, the dying mercenary needs the help of the Kaminoan scientists to arrest a fatal condition. But the cloner who can help him has fled Kamino and if Boba is to ever to get help, he's going to have to first find him. Which is made all the more difficult when the new president of Corellia, Thrackan Sal-Solo, makes Boba an offer he can't refuse, a huge pile of cash to assassinate his cousin and chief political rival, Han Solo.
As regular readers of the Star Wars novels are aware, Traviss is the new authority on all things Mandalore, having written quite an extensive back history and even the rudiments of a language for her two Republic Commando novels and her Boba Fett novella. The former military journalist's command of detail in this world of clone warriors and mercenaries imparts a certain depth and confidence that makes these sections more compelling than the palsied main plot. They also have a sad charm about them, as Boba begins to reflect of his mortality and experience for the first time regret for having long ago abandoned his family.
Besides a well-drawn Fett, Traviss provides some clues as to what happened in the intervening years to some of the characters in her Republic Commando series, and she also gives us for the first time a partially developed Ben Skywalker. Until now he's been just a kid and mostly Luke Skywalker's kid. But Traviss here for the first time makes Ben into a young man with his own personality, who begins to come into his own as an apprentice in Jacen's antiterrorist unit, using his Force powers on raids to sniff out people and munitions. This is one character I'm now interested in seeing how Troy Denning will handle in the forthcoming volume, Tempest.
I don't expect, however, no matter how well he writes Ben, that Denning will be able to rescue us from a poorly developed premise. I think we're now too far in to see any hope of saving what has revealed itself as a thinly disguised and poorly conceived retelling of the film saga, a story about a boy of enormous talent, trained as a Jedi and lured to the dark side in the belief that only the power he can find there will prevent his loved ones from suffering.

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A new era of exciting adventures and shocking revelations continues to unfold, as the legendary Star Wars saga sweeps forward into astonishing new territory.Civil war looms as the fledgling Galactic Alliance confronts a growing number of rebellious worlds–and the approaching war is tearing the Skywalker and Solo families apart. Han and Leia return to Han's homeworld, Corellia, the heart of the resistance. Their children, Jacen and Jaina, are soldiers in the Galactic Alliance's campaign to crush the insurgents. Jacen, now a complete master of the Force, has his own plans to bring order to the galaxy. Guided by his Sith mentor, Lumiya, and with Luke's young son Ben at his side, Jacen embarks on the same path that his grandfather Darth Vader once did. And while Han and Leia watch their only son become a stranger, a secret assassin entangles the couple with a dreaded name from Han's past: Boba Fett. In the new galactic order, friends and enemies are no longer what they seem. . . .

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