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Weekly Book Buzz: Star Wars: The Old Republic Fatal Alliance
Transformers: Exodus By
Tim Janson
July 18, 2010
The latest Star Wars Novel is out this week
© Del Rey
Out this week is the latest Star Wars novel : Star Wars: The Old Republic : Fatal Alliance, By Sean Williams who has written several previous Star Wars novels.
…The Harvey Award nominations have been announced. The awards, named for Harvey Kurtzmann, recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. The awards will be presented on August 28 at the Baltimore Comic Con. You can see the complete list of nominees here: Harvey Nominations
Here are a few of the highlights:
Best Original Graphic Album:
Asterios Polyp, by David Mazucchelli
Book of Genesis, by Robert Crumb
George Sprott (1894-1975), by Seth
Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco
Stitches, by by David Small
Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? by Brian Fies
Best Writer
Scalped, by Jason Aaron
Blackest Night, by Geoff Johns
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney
Irredeemable, by Mark Waid
Best Syndicated Strip or Panel
Cul-de-Sac, by Richard Thompson
Foxtrot, by Bill Amend
Get Fuzzy,”by Darby Conley
Mutts, by Patrick McDonnell
Pearls Before Swine, by Stephan Pastis
Best New Series
Batman and Robin
Chew
Irredeemable
Sweet Tooth
Unwritten
New in Fantasy
Revolver Matt Kindt [Vertigo Hardcover]
REVOLVER is a tale of two worlds, and how the both test a man to his limits... Almost thirty and living in Seattle, Sam shuffles to his bed after a night out at the bars. The next morning he wakes up and catches the bus into the city, starting another day of his dead end life. But today on the radio he hears that the stock market has crashed, news of a bird-flu epidemic erupting in Asia pushes past a report of "radioactive-material-gone-missing-in-Russia." Did Sam really wake up this morning? The world has gone crazy--turned on its head. Sam thinks about riding the bus full loop, going home and pretending that the day hadn't started.
This terrible day is capped with the destruction of Seattle ... But when Sam wakes up in his small studio apartment the next morning he's confused. On the bus ride to work he listens to the radio. The world is fine... Realities begin to bleed into one another as Sam jumps between his dull-drum, everyday life and a dark apocalyptic society...but which is the real one and which one will he have to live with forever? And the most important question: does he have a choice?
Imager's Intrigue: The Third Book of the Imager Portfolio L. E. Modesitt Jr [TOR Hardcover]
In Imager, the first book of the Imager Portfolio, we met Rhennthyl, an apprentice portrait artist whose life was changed by a disastrous fire. But the blaze that took his master’s life and destroyed his livelihood revealed a secret power previously dormant in Rhenn; the power of imaging, the ability to shape matter using thought. With some trouble, he adapts to the controlled life of an imager.
By Imager’s Challenge, Rhenn has become a liaison to the local law forces. He finds himself in direct conflict with both authorities and national politics as he tries to uphold the law and do his best by the people of his home city.
Now, in Imager’s Intrigue, Rhenn has come into his own. He has a wife and a young child, and a solid career as an imager. But he has made more than one enemy during his journey from apprentice painter to master imager, and even his great powers won’t allow him to escape his past.
Dark and Stormy Knights P. N. Elrod [ St. Martin ’s TPB]
It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders embarked upon a most perilous quest….They’re the ultimate defenders of humanity—modern day knights who do dark deeds for all the right reasons. In this all-star collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of supernatural knights that are brimming with magic mystery and mayhem.
John Marcone sets aside his plans to kill Harry Dresden to go head-to-head with a cantrev lord in Jim Butcher’s Even Hand. Kate Daniels is called upon for bodyguard duty to protect Saimen, a shifter she trusts less than the enemy in Ilona Andrews’ A Questionable Client. Cormac must stop a killer werewolf before it attacks again on the next full moon in Carrie Vaughn’s God’s Creatures. And in Vicki Pettersson’s Shifting Star, Skamar gets more than she bargained for when she goes after a creature kidnapping young girls—and enlists the aid of her frustratingly sexy neighbor.
The Bird of the River Kage Baker [Tor Hardcover]
In this new story set in the world of The Anvil of the World and The House of the Stag, two teenagers join the crew of a huge river barge after their addict mother is drowned. The girl and her half-breed younger brother try to make the barge their new home. As the great boat proceeds up the long river, we see a panorama of cities and cultures, and begin to perceive patterns in the pirate attacks that happen so frequently in the river cities. Eliss, the girl, becomes a sharp-eyed spotter of obstacles in the river for the barge, and more than that, one who perceives deeply.
A young boy her age, Krelan, trained as a professional assassin, has come aboard, seeking the head of a dead nobleman, so that there might be a proper burial. But the head proves as elusive as the real explanation behind the looting of cities, so he needs Eliss’s help. And then there is the massive Captain of the barge, who can perform supernatural tricks, but prefers to stay in his cabin and drink.
All That Lives Must Die: Book Two of the Mortal Coils Series Eric Nylund [TOR TPB]
Eliot and Fiona Post are twins caught up in an epic custody battle between their mother's and father's families. Their mother is the immortal goddess Atropos, the eldest Fate, and their father is Lucifer, Lord of the infernals, a diabolical fallen angel. The families have put them through rigorous, life-threatening challenges, and together they've risen to combat them in amazing ways. But now they are facing the greatest trial of all—high school.
Paxington Unviersity is no normal high school—it's a place where gods and goddesses, warriors and socerers learn to harness their power, where a debate in class can end in a duel, and your classmates aren't simply friends or enemies, but allies in battle or threats to your life. To flunk is to die--only the toughest graduate. As Fiona and Eliot struggle to keep up their grades by surviving the rigorous training, both families are watching.
High school is bad enough, but imagine being caught in the midst of an immortal/infernal war...
Conan: The Spear and Other Stories (Dark Horse Graphic Novel)
Collecting all of the Conan and Conan the Cimmerian comic-book collaborations between acclaimed storyteller Timothy Truman (Scout, Grimjack, Jonah Hex) and veteran artist Paul Lee (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spider-Man), Conan: The Spear and Other Stories is a tribute to Robert E. Howard's tenacious King Conan. Beleaguered by attempts at his crown and sickened by political maneuverings, Conan is the sort of king who takes matters into his own bloody hands. Truman and Lee's "They Shall Be Lords Again" and "Silent to the Sea" - from Conan issues #35 and #36 - work together as a sequel to "The Phoenix on the Sword," a beloved Howard story. "The Tale of the Head," from Conan #40, immediately follows Howard's "The Scarlet Citadel" and pits Conan head-on against the powers of evil wizard Thoth-Amon. In "The Sorrows of Akivasha," Lee fully paints and Truman fleshes out the sad plight of a seductive, centuries-old vampire from Robert E. Howard's only Conan novel, The Hour of the Dragon. This collection also includes the Truman/Lee Conan short from the Free Comic Book Day 2006 Special, a Paul Lee sketchbook section, and colors on most stories by Eisner Award-winner Dave Stewart. Brutal battles on Pictish soil, scheming sorcerers, false prophets, a lust-filled vampire, and a little bit of humor - this is an excellent introduction to Dark Horse's Conan universe for both entirely new fans and well-read, seasoned fans!
New in Sci-Fi
Dead Space: Martyr B. K. Evenson [Tor TPB]
We have seen the future. A universe cursed with life after death. It all started deep beneath the Yucatan peninsula, where an archaeological discovery took us into a new age, bringing us face-to-face with our origins and destiny. Michael Altman had a theory no one would hear. It cursed our world for centuries to come. This, at last, is his story.
Slant Greg Bear [ORB TPB]
In the sixth decade of the 21st century, the world has been transformed. Nanotechnology has been perfected, giving humans the ability to change their environment and themselves on the cellular level. And the study of the mind has brought about a revolution in both human psychotherapy and artificial intelligence.
It’s a sane and perfect world. Almost.A man called Jack Giffey is planning to break into the Omphalos, the most secure building in all of separatist Green Idaho. Rumor says that the Omphalos houses the not-quite-dead, the very wealthy deceased who are still alive, their brains connected directly into Thinkers, Artificial Intelligences that provide a virtual reality. Data is the great treasure of the new millenium, and Giffey plans to tap into the Omphalos datastream, to steal the knowledge gathered by the inhabitants of the Omphalos.
In the offices of Mind Design, Inc., the most advanced Artificial Intelligence in the world has had a unique experience. She has received a request for contact from a new AI, one she does not know and did not help to design. Jill has never met a stranger of her own kind before; is it an alien Thinker, or the offspring of some vast conspiracy?
Star Wars: The Old Republic : Fatal Alliance Sean Williams [Lucas Books]
Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that’s drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic’s elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic’s envoy is not what he seems, the Empire’s delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing and terrified that he can’t, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone.
None of these guests—invited or uninvited—have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world.
But the truth about the treasure is dangerous and deadly. And in the end, Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, must do something they’ve never done before, something that all the agents of good and evil could never make them do: join together to stop a powerful threat that could destroy the galaxy.
Star Trek: SCE: Out of the Cocoon William Leisner [Star Trek Books]
When something in the galaxy needs to be fixed, tweaked, investigated, or repaired, the Federation sends in the best: the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Traveling throughout the quadrant on the Sabre-class U.S.S. da Vinci, Captain David Gold, former Starship Enterprise™ engineer Commander Sonya Gomez, and the crack S.C.E. team solve the problems of the galaxy, one disaster at a time.
Whether dealing with the legacy of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s decision regarding the Mariposa colony, stopping an alien predator from destroying a pre-warp culture, fixing a planet-wide power outage, or repairing the damage done by the Dominion to a former ally, the Corps of Engineers is on the case!
But not all problems are technical: Dr. Elizabeth Lense deals with the consequences of her unexpected pregnancy, Security Chief Domenica Corsi encounters a Prime Directive crisis, Dr. Bart Faulwell faces a personal crossroads, and Chief Vance Hawkins must try to lay the ghosts of the Dominion War to rest.
Reviews
Transformers: Exodus The Official History of the War for Cyberton Alex Irvine (Del Rey Hardcover)
Transformers: Exodus is a book that could have been good, should have been good, but is ultimately a blah disappointment, especially to hardcore Transformers fans. The main problem is that it doesn’t aspire to be anything special like you’d expect from a hardcover novel. Alex Irvine doesn’t use the opportunity to shoot for greatness but rather just the ordinary. The book deals with the relationship between Optimus Prime (or rather, Orion Pax) and Megatron who began as friends and allies in a rebellion in Cybertron’s long past. But while Optimus is the diplomat and seeks a peaceful resolution to Cybertron’s rebellion, Megatron is a violent revolutionary, stemming from his years as a pit gladiator.
Irvine delves deep into Cybertron and Transformer history. We’ll learn that The Fallen’s true name is Megatgronus, and that is from where Megatron took his name. Irvine covers the backgrounds of Primus, Unicron, Alpha Trion, and Vector Sigma. The references to Transformers lore comes fast and plentiful…Velocitron and Gigantion…two of the lost colonies of transformers as seen in the animated series “Transformers: Cybertron” are mentioned. There are even more obscure Transformer references to be found in the book and the legion of characters who make appearances or who are mentioned is legion, and I do mean LEGION! You’ve got combiners, Insecticons, Omega Supreme, Ultra Magnus, Soundwave…the list goes on and on…
As a Transformer history book, Irvine does a great job although he does kind of take the stance of throwing as much as he can on the wall to see what sticks. Unfortunately the narrative isn’t nearly as compelling. This underscores the feeling that this is really a reference book disguised as a novel. Had it went straight forward as a non-fiction book to setup future novels, it would have been vastly superior. Still, there’s a lot of info here to cause any Transformer fan to Geek out. Grade B-
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