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tapestry100 (306 KP) rated Star Wars: Lords of the Sith in Books
Aug 8, 2017
Contains spoilers, click to show
I've been a huge Star Wars fan since I was a kid (I can remember going to see the very first Star Wars film in the theater), but I have never read one of the novels before. By the time that I realized there were SW novels out there, there were already so many published that I didn't know where to start to get caught up on them, so I just let them slide, and continued on enjoying the movies. With the establishment of the new Lucasfilm official canon, I decided to try giving some of the new books a try, as it seemed much more manageable this way, and Lords of the Sith had recently been released, so it seemed as good a place to start as any.
The planet of Ryloth is integral to the Empire as both a source of slave labor and the substance known as "spice" (this does bug me a little bit - come up with something that a little more original that doesn't sound like you lifted it directly from Dune), but the inhabitants of Ryloth want to be free. The "Free Ryloth" movement is created for that purpose; led by Cham and Isval, the movement has simply been trying to be a thorn in the Empire's side, but when they learn that both the Emperor and Darth Vader are personally coming to the planet, they see an opportunity to assassinate them both and watch the Empire dissolve as a result.
Of course, without even reading the book, you know that the Emperor and Vader are going to survive this story since they appear in Episodes IV-VI, so it's no surprise that they do survive the attack. What makes this book interesting is seeing their relationship and how they deal with being thrust into a situation that neither were anticipating. It's also interesting seeing a book written more from the point of view of the villains that the heroes. Kemp does a great job in fleshing out all of the characters, tho; Cham, Isval, and the other freedom fighters are just as realized as the Emperor and Vader, even tho they are not the main focus of the story. However, it's the relationship between the Emperor and Vader that is the real highlight of the book; seeing their interactions throughout the book and how that relationship is tested, it the real essence of the story, and Kemp does a great job making that relationship feel real.
The only true drawback that I would have to the book is actually getting to the main action of the book. We know that the Emperor and Vader are going to be trying to survive on Ryloth (this isn't spoilers, it's the whole point of the book), but actually getting them to the planet seems to take way too long. Practically half of the book is taken up with explaining aspects of the resistance unit, getting the Emperor and Vader to the planet, and finally the battle that forces them to crash land on the planet. I just kept wanting to jump ahead to when they finally arrive on the planet, as I knew that's when the story would really start moving. Once the action finally got going, however, the book was fantastic. It was interesting to see the Emperor and Vader's relationship in Vader's early days as a Sith.
I know a lot of people are discouraged by the decision to basically do away with the previously established Extended Universe books, but if this is what the future of the Star Wars fictional universe is going to look like, I'm OK with it.
Recommended, especially for Star Wars fans!
The planet of Ryloth is integral to the Empire as both a source of slave labor and the substance known as "spice" (this does bug me a little bit - come up with something that a little more original that doesn't sound like you lifted it directly from Dune), but the inhabitants of Ryloth want to be free. The "Free Ryloth" movement is created for that purpose; led by Cham and Isval, the movement has simply been trying to be a thorn in the Empire's side, but when they learn that both the Emperor and Darth Vader are personally coming to the planet, they see an opportunity to assassinate them both and watch the Empire dissolve as a result.
Of course, without even reading the book, you know that the Emperor and Vader are going to survive this story since they appear in Episodes IV-VI, so it's no surprise that they do survive the attack. What makes this book interesting is seeing their relationship and how they deal with being thrust into a situation that neither were anticipating. It's also interesting seeing a book written more from the point of view of the villains that the heroes. Kemp does a great job in fleshing out all of the characters, tho; Cham, Isval, and the other freedom fighters are just as realized as the Emperor and Vader, even tho they are not the main focus of the story. However, it's the relationship between the Emperor and Vader that is the real highlight of the book; seeing their interactions throughout the book and how that relationship is tested, it the real essence of the story, and Kemp does a great job making that relationship feel real.
The only true drawback that I would have to the book is actually getting to the main action of the book. We know that the Emperor and Vader are going to be trying to survive on Ryloth (this isn't spoilers, it's the whole point of the book), but actually getting them to the planet seems to take way too long. Practically half of the book is taken up with explaining aspects of the resistance unit, getting the Emperor and Vader to the planet, and finally the battle that forces them to crash land on the planet. I just kept wanting to jump ahead to when they finally arrive on the planet, as I knew that's when the story would really start moving. Once the action finally got going, however, the book was fantastic. It was interesting to see the Emperor and Vader's relationship in Vader's early days as a Sith.
I know a lot of people are discouraged by the decision to basically do away with the previously established Extended Universe books, but if this is what the future of the Star Wars fictional universe is going to look like, I'm OK with it.
Recommended, especially for Star Wars fans!
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
If it’s not one of the most anticipated movies of all time, it is certainly way up there. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the thing that every Star Wars fanboy, including myself, fears. Will it be as good as the original trilogy, or will Disney and Bad Robot drop a deuce like many believe Lucas did with the prequel trilogy. Well, here is a spoiler free look from someone who has these fears.
Fret not, everyone. Abrams has done a magnificent job of continuing the Skywalker saga in Episode VII. And great news, there are no lens flares, at least none that I noticed. As I mentioned, this is spoiler free, but I will give you an idea of the overall plot.
Episode VII picks up 30 years after the end of Episode VI. The Emperor is dead, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) began training a new generation of Jedi. But something went wrong and one of his students turned against him and destroyed the school. Blaming himself, Skywalker went into isolation. With Luke out of the picture, risen from the ashes of the Empire, the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), is trying to reclaim the power of the Empire. Knowing that Skywalker is their only threat, they are attempting to find him to eliminate him before he can join the Resistance’s fight against them. Daring Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is attempting to find a map to Luke’s location, but is quickly interrupted by the First Order. He hides the map on his droid, BB-8, before being captured by the menacing force. And so sets off a chain of events to find Luke Skywalker by the Resistance and the First Order alike.
It’s no secret that many of the main cast is returning, including Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), See-Threepio (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). We also have a slew of new characters such as the aforementioned Poe Dameron, Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), General Hux (Domnall Gleeson), and Supreme Leader Snoke. The cast, both returning and new, blended really well together and had a great amount of charisma on the screen. There was the right amount of comedy, drama, and action in this movie, and the interaction between the characters just felt genuine. This movie definitely felt more like the original trilogy than the prequels did.
The soundtrack and effects were amazing. Right in line with what you would expect from a Star Wars movie, but as I mentioned to the studio rep as I was leaving the theater, the film didn’t try to go overboard with everything. So there was no feeling of over production as some felt from the prequels. And with John Williams doing the score again, you know it will have the same sound. He did a great job of blending in little melodies, or snipits of songs, that made reference to the previous movies at just the right moments.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic film that did not leave me disappointed. It shouldn’t leave you disappointed either. Now, it’s not without a few plot holes, and suspension of belief will help, but they are, for me any way, forgivable and I will leave it for you to discover them. At the end of the day, this is definitely the Star Wars film you are looking for. Go see it. See it multiple times. Give Disney and Bad Robot more reason to continue not only with the Skywalker saga, but also the other stories like next year’s Rogue One, young Han Solo and Chewie, or, one can only hope, the story of everyone’s favorite bounty hunter/orphan, Boba Fett.
Fret not, everyone. Abrams has done a magnificent job of continuing the Skywalker saga in Episode VII. And great news, there are no lens flares, at least none that I noticed. As I mentioned, this is spoiler free, but I will give you an idea of the overall plot.
Episode VII picks up 30 years after the end of Episode VI. The Emperor is dead, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) began training a new generation of Jedi. But something went wrong and one of his students turned against him and destroyed the school. Blaming himself, Skywalker went into isolation. With Luke out of the picture, risen from the ashes of the Empire, the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), is trying to reclaim the power of the Empire. Knowing that Skywalker is their only threat, they are attempting to find him to eliminate him before he can join the Resistance’s fight against them. Daring Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is attempting to find a map to Luke’s location, but is quickly interrupted by the First Order. He hides the map on his droid, BB-8, before being captured by the menacing force. And so sets off a chain of events to find Luke Skywalker by the Resistance and the First Order alike.
It’s no secret that many of the main cast is returning, including Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), See-Threepio (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). We also have a slew of new characters such as the aforementioned Poe Dameron, Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), General Hux (Domnall Gleeson), and Supreme Leader Snoke. The cast, both returning and new, blended really well together and had a great amount of charisma on the screen. There was the right amount of comedy, drama, and action in this movie, and the interaction between the characters just felt genuine. This movie definitely felt more like the original trilogy than the prequels did.
The soundtrack and effects were amazing. Right in line with what you would expect from a Star Wars movie, but as I mentioned to the studio rep as I was leaving the theater, the film didn’t try to go overboard with everything. So there was no feeling of over production as some felt from the prequels. And with John Williams doing the score again, you know it will have the same sound. He did a great job of blending in little melodies, or snipits of songs, that made reference to the previous movies at just the right moments.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic film that did not leave me disappointed. It shouldn’t leave you disappointed either. Now, it’s not without a few plot holes, and suspension of belief will help, but they are, for me any way, forgivable and I will leave it for you to discover them. At the end of the day, this is definitely the Star Wars film you are looking for. Go see it. See it multiple times. Give Disney and Bad Robot more reason to continue not only with the Skywalker saga, but also the other stories like next year’s Rogue One, young Han Solo and Chewie, or, one can only hope, the story of everyone’s favorite bounty hunter/orphan, Boba Fett.
QuietlyBookish (65 KP) rated Turtles All The Way Down in Books
Nov 2, 2017
Plot (5 more)
Characters
Dialogue
Fandom Representation
Use of Fanfiction
Honest Portrayal of Mental Health Issues
This book blew me away, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The way John Green portrayed mental health was brutally honest. It was hard to read at some points but it was refreshing not to have a YA book romanticize mental illness but instead to show it from all sides: the way it affects familial relationships; the way it affects friendships; the way it affects romantic relationships and how easy and scary it is when your thoughts spiral out of control.
I loved reading about Aza and how she navigates through her friendships, new relationships and dealing with OCD. I have so much respect for John Green after reading this. It was very well done, and the Star Wars references were an added bonus!
I loved reading about Aza and how she navigates through her friendships, new relationships and dealing with OCD. I have so much respect for John Green after reading this. It was very well done, and the Star Wars references were an added bonus!
Andy K (10823 KP) rated STAR WARS Battlefront in Video Games
Dec 16, 2017
Graphics are incredible (1 more)
Sounds and characters are beautiful
Much has been said about the original "reboot" of the classic Star Wars Battlefront. They wanted to rush its release to coincide with the release of "The Force Awakens" in 2015 and the game suffered mostly through lack of content.
A lot of people felt ripped off as the online gameplay was really the only feature everyone really liked.
Having said all that, I have found as I have gotten older, most newer games are too complicated or face-paced for me now being an adult. I felt I was still able to handle this one and keep up with the 10-year-olds online who would normally smoke me every time.
I bought this game way after the fact, so the price was lower and my expectations were already in check. Very much enjoyed.
A lot of people felt ripped off as the online gameplay was really the only feature everyone really liked.
Having said all that, I have found as I have gotten older, most newer games are too complicated or face-paced for me now being an adult. I felt I was still able to handle this one and keep up with the 10-year-olds online who would normally smoke me every time.
I bought this game way after the fact, so the price was lower and my expectations were already in check. Very much enjoyed.
David McK (3791 KP) rated The Star Wars in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Based on George Lucas' original rough-draft for 'Star Wars', this is an interesting read not so much for the (somewhat disconnected) story, but to see how the movies grew out of the original rough draft: this is very different from those movie(s), albeit with some of the characters and place names still showing up but in a different manner - most noticeable, perhaps, in the characters of Han Solo and Darth Vader (and 'May the Force of Others be with you' just doesn't sound right, does it?).
Having read this, it's also now VERY clear that Lucas was to re-use elements of his original rough draft in the Prequel trilogy, particularly in the whole Princess-in-hiding section(s) that are included in both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
The art is impressive, but the dialogue/story? Not so much.
Having read this, it's also now VERY clear that Lucas was to re-use elements of his original rough draft in the Prequel trilogy, particularly in the whole Princess-in-hiding section(s) that are included in both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
The art is impressive, but the dialogue/story? Not so much.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) created a post
Dec 20, 2019 (Updated Dec 29, 2019)
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Colin O'Donoghue recommended Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) in Movies (curated)
