Taral Books and Comics

I've read all published Star Wars Legends stories taking place in the days of the Old Republic and even earlier, depicting ancient wars between the Jedi and Sith.  I've read the stories of the Sith transformation, permitting them to survive extinction and build their strength for an ultimate return.  I've read the stories that set the stage for the first of the Star Wars movie prequels.  Now: I start the movie era. Movie poster for Episode I .  Image from Wookieepedia. Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out in mid-May 1999, less than two weeks before my 13th birthday.  I don't remember the exact date I saw it, but I believe it was late June, just after school ended.  I seem to remember seeing it with my older sister when I spent a week visiting her after school was over.  Unlike many Star Wars fans I only ever saw it in theatres once (seeing a movie multiple times in theatres wasn't something I did back then, though I did see the theatrical re-r...

Dear readers, my Episode I coverage represents a major point.  Episode I is the first movie being viewed in my chronological read-through of Star Wars Legends material, and represents renewal of Star Wars in my youth.  The original trilogy movies were all released before I was born, and in my childhood I did not suspect that George Lucas would ever make the prequels.  The release of Episode I (shortly before my thirteenth birthday) marked a point when new Star Wars was being made, and we found ourselves in a time when novels and comics could explore a whole new era (first that of the training of Obi-Wan and Anakin, and later the Clone Wars first mentioned in passing in the original movie and the rise of the Empire).  This feeling of renewal came back in 2014, when we learned of Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm and the promise of new Star Wars movies (something that we could have never predicted in 2005, when Episode III was released and we all believed the movie ...

After having finished my coverage of the prelude to Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace , I'm taking a pause to look at some New Canon stories.  Specifically, I am looking at the stories that are tied to the 2016 movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story . Movie poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story .  Image from Wookieepedia. This was the first of the "Anthology" films that would tell stories on the margins of the main Star Wars saga.  Since then, a second anthology film, Solo: A Star Wars Story , was released, and rumours abound about a potential movie about Boba Fett or Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Rogue One,  as the first, would set the tone for what these movies might be like. For this post, I have consumed the following material: Rogue One: Catalyst (novel by James Luceno , 2016) Rebel Rising (young-adult novel by Beth Revis , 2017) Rogue One: Cassian and K-2SO Special (comic one-shot by Duane Swierczynski , 2017) Guardians of the Whills (young-rea...

Having covered the adventures of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and then the adventures of Sith Lord Darth Maul, I am now in the final stage of my "Prelude to Episode I: The Phantom Menace " coverage.  In this post, I will cover a handful of stories that did not fit elsewhere, specifically: Darth Plagueis  (novel by James Luceno , 2012) Jedi Council: Acts of War 1-4 (comic by Randy Stradley , 2000) Republic  1-6 (comic arc by Jan Strnad , 1998-1999) Prelude to Rebellion parts 1-6 Vow of Justice parts 1-3 Starfighter (video game by LucasArts , 2001) I read the two comics in Omnibus: Rise of the Sith .  I read Darth Plagueis in hardcover and played Starfighter on my PC, having just purchased it from GOG.com.  It is worth noting that, at the time " Republic " was simply called " Star Wars "; it was renamed Republic in its 46th issue in 2002.  I will be referring to it as Republic in all of my posts, to differentiate it from other co...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am dividing all stories leading up to Episode I: The Phantom Menace into three parts, the first two thematic and the third a bit arbitrary.  I've already covered all stories pertaining to Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi.  For this, my second post, I will cover Darth Maul.  Specifically: Restraint (short story by James Luceno , 2011) Darth Maul: Saboteur (short story by James Luceno, 2001) Maul: Lockdown (novel by Joe Schreiber , 2014) Darth Maul 1-4 (comic by Ron Marz , 2000) Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (novel by Michael Reaves , 2001) End Game (short story by James Luceno, 2014) I read the comic miniseries in  Omnibus: Rise of the Sith .  I read paperback editions of Maul: Lockdown and Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter , the latter of which contained both Restraint and Darth Maul: Saboteur .  I read End Game in the second edition paperback of the Episode I novelization.  I'd like to note that this was t...

I recently finished watching The Clone Wars TV series, and knowing what I do about the show, I opted to consume what other Canon material was available pertaining to the cartoon. The Clone Wars began airing in 2008 following the theatrical release of a tie-in movie.  It aired for five seasons until Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 (the deal was completed during the fifth season).  All Lucasfilm projects were stopped at that time, including work on The Clone Wars and several other TV shows in development.  At this time, a sixth season was partly completed, and seasons seven and eight were almost completely written. Lucasfilm agreed to put the finishing touches on 13 season six episodes and release them on Netflix.  Furthermore, two four-episode arcs whose audio work had been completed but had only been loosely animated were put on Youtube.  Four unrecorded episodes were adapted into the Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir comic miniseries by Dark Horse ...