Book Review: ‘Rise of the Empire’

October 20, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Books, Random House, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Books | Leave a comment
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Rise of the Empire is two books for the price of one with three new short stories to boot. So is it worth getting? Click here to read our full review and find out.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

New Release: ‘Rise of the Empire’

October 6, 2015 at 4:27 am | Posted in Books, Random House, Star Wars, Star Wars Books | Leave a comment
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Rise of the Empire is out today in paperback. This collection combines John Jackson Miller’s A New Dawn with James Luceno’s Tarkin along with three all new short stories by Melissa Scott, John Jackson Miller and Jason Fry. If you haven’t picked up A New Dawn or Tarkin yet, this one is definitely worth getting with 703 pages of Star Wars goodness.

Official Product Page including excerpts and purchase links.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

‘Rise of the Empire’ Update

August 13, 2015 at 4:48 pm | Posted in Books, News, Random House, Star Wars, Star Wars Books, Star Wars News | Leave a comment
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StarWars.com has revealed the names of the three new short stories that will be appearing in the Rise of the Empire collection along with some details on each.

MERCY MISSION by Melissa Scott

Years before she led the crew of the Ghost, Hera Syndulla was a young pilot looking to make a difference in the galaxy. Hera sets out with Goll — a close ally of her father, Cham Syndulla — on a dangerous mission to help the citizens of her homeworld, Ryloth, now languishing under the might of the Empire.

BOTTLENECK by John Jackson Miller

When Grand Moff Tarkin is tasked by Emperor Palpatine to investigate a dispute slowing Imperial production on a backwater planet, he expects an easy mission. Instead, Tarkin must forge a tense alliance with Count Vidian, the Empire’s newest rising star and a most capable rival. Matching wits and risking betrayal at every turn, the two powerful Imperials duel to gain the upper hand…and elude, at all costs, the price of failure.

THE LEVERS OF POWER by Jason Fry

As Imperial and Rebel forces clash on and above the Forest Moon of Endor, Admiral Rae Sloane commands from the bridge of the Star Destroyer Vigilance. At a time where the stakes could not be higher, Sloane works to protect the Death Star and ensure Imperial victory, all too aware of the uncertain future for the Empire that may lie in the aftermath of the battle.

Rise of the Empire will be out October 6 in paperback and digital formats.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

Celebration Anaheim Interview with James Luceno

April 30, 2015 at 12:02 am | Posted in Books, Celebration, Conventions, Fantasy, Interview, Random House, Star Wars, Star Wars Books | 2 Comments
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Here is our Star Wars Celebration Anaheim interview with author James Luceno covering his latest book Tarkin, his novel Hunt for the Mayan Looking Glass, as wells as topics such as travel and villains.

Right click and save as for audio download.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

Podcasts in Review

April 30, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Audiobooks, Books, Interview, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Books | Leave a comment
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Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Bombad Radio: Episode 194 includes several guests. The first guest is Star Wars autograph collector Frank D. Rich who talks about collecting autographs and Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, giving some tips for first timers and some discussion of pricing. Then they play a clip of a James Arnold Taylor interview from Celebration VI where James talked about faith and Star Wars before seguing to their second guest, Greg, who is behind the Celebration of Worship events. Then they cover some news and jump to their third guest, voice actor Stephen Stanton. They talk about Life Itself, Star Wars Celebration, Starlight Foundation, the 501st Bash, Tarkin, Peter Cushing and Doctor Who. But that’s not all as they have one more guest in this episode, Noah Tarnow, who talks about Big Quiz Thing, what type of questions they’ll be doing at Celebration, and they break into some general fan discussion on Marvel, DC, comics, films and the Star Wars movies. It’s kind of a lengthy discussion, and puts this episode at a few minutes shy of two hours, so be prepared for a long one. Still, they have some good guests and some good discussions.

Episode 196 begins with some TFA trailer discussion then breaks to their interview with voice actor Bob Bergen, most recognizably known for voicing Porky Pig since Mel Blanc’s passing. While Bob is not much of a storyteller, and he doesn’t share his voices, he does give out a lot of advice and insight for voice actors looking to break into the business. He also shares how he got the role of Porky Pig, how he Mel Blanc as a kid, and some of the other work he’s done.

Episode 197 has an interview with Ultimate Star Wars author Adam Bray who talks about the project, working with canon and legends, how much of Star Wars Rebels he knew about when working on the book, and his contributions. Then they interview the voice actors for the Star Wars audiobooks: January Lavoy, Marc Thompson and Jonathan Davies. They talk about working on Star Wars books, the challenges of doing audiobooks, as well as the perks. With four interviewees in this episode, it’s jam packed with Star Wars goodness and all of the interviews are top notch. Continue Reading Podcasts in Review…

Podcasts in Review

February 19, 2015 at 12:00 am | Posted in Interview, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Television, Video Games | 1 Comment
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Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Assembly of Geeks:A-Force, Walking Dead, Star Wars Battle Pod & The Marvel Experience” covers a lot of stuff. First up, the announcement of an all female Avengers team called A-Force, discussion on whether John Diggle is John Stewart aka Green Lantern on Arrow, Teen Titan news and rumors and finally some coverage of The Marvel Experience (an interactive Marvel exhibit/roleplay). They also talk about The Walking Dead and Star Wars Battle Pod and throughout the episode they are joined by Pat Loika, Tony Kim, and Lauren Galloway.

Sci-Fi Psychology, Geeky Answers & Blood Elf Selfies” …goes into a pretty heavy discussion on Star Trek vs. Star Wars psychology. In this case they’re pulling a lot of stuff from an article on Yahoo News which in turn is based off a panel that was at Wondercon 2013. They give the panel and the panelists a bit of a rough time. Having heard Dr. Andrea Letamendi talk more in depth about the panel, and in general the psychology of different aspects of fandom, it’s actually a lot better than what they make it out to be. Aside from that, this episode dives into some planned Arrow books (though I wish they would have mentioned the authors involved), some comments Joss Whedon made about taking a break after Avengers: Age of Ultron, and some news on Supergirl and more.

Coffee With Kenobi: Rebels Reactions “Vision of Hope” episode includes guest Joe Tovano as they talk a little about his Padme article before heading into their thoughts on the show. They talk about Ezra’s training at the beginning of the episode and his acting on instinct, Senator Trayvis and the trap, the significance of Ezra trying to reveal his real name to Zare, Chopper taking out another droid and the success of Kanan and Ezra versus Obi-Wan and Anakin. Capping off the episode is their five questions for Joe. Good episode. Continue Reading Podcasts in Review…

Podcasts in Review

November 27, 2014 at 12:01 am | Posted in Books, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Books, Star Wars Rebels, Television, The Clone Wars | Leave a comment
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Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Bombad Radio: Episode 175 features another one of their outstanding interviews, this time with Star Wars author Sean Williams. They talk with Sean about some of his last Star Wars books like Fatal Alliance and The Force Unleashed I and II. However, the real fun kicks in when Sean talks about his ideas for books he didn’t get to write. More than just sharing the pitch, Sean actually goes over a bunch of the ideas he and a fellow co-writer had in mind for a book called Jedi Asylum. He also touches on his thoughts for The Force Unleashed III which he is still hoping might happen, and gets into a fun brainstorming session. It’s a very fun episode and one EU fans might get a big kick out of. I certainly enjoyed it a lot.

Coffee with Kenobi: Book Chat with James Luceno focuses on the author’s latest Star Wars book, Tarkin. Now James has been doing the circuit on various podcasts, so you may have heard him interviewed elsewhere. Some of the questions and answers covers some familiar ground–his approach to the character, working with the story group, unveiling Palpatine’s name–but Jim also talks about focusing on the relationships. On one hand, there’s Tarkin’s relationship with Vader, and on the other is his relationship with Palpatine. He also talks about the Emperor and his ultimate goals. Overall it’s a very fluid discussion with good questions and enlightening conversation. If you’ve heard him on other podcasts, this one is still worth checking out.

Episode #26 kicks off with news, The Force Awakens title, Dave Filoni talking about Luminara, theme park news, and the Bearded Trio chimes in with their usual news segment. For the main discussion, they have special guest James Schron from Bombad Radio on to talk about the Jedi Order. They cover the significance of family and passion, bringing balance to the Force, and of course Anakin. What’s really fun is how they weave it altogether with the original trilogy, the prequels, TCW and Star Wars Rebels. It was also very amusing to hear James keep bringing up elements from the EU and the hosts constantly reminding him that none of that is canon. Us EU fans are a diehard bunch, and I have to admit it’s hard to let go of all that lore, especially when chances are high that authors will weave it back in with the upcoming novels. Aside from the Jedi Order, they also discuss lightsabers, the importance of their colors, and who welded what color blade. Ending the show off is some listener feedback, most of it focusing on Padme, which provides a nice examination of her character. Great show. Continue Reading Podcasts in Review…

Tarkin Roundup

November 7, 2014 at 12:01 am | Posted in Books, Interview, Random House, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Books | Leave a comment
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Here’s the roundup of Tarkin reviews and interviews. See what you missed out on.

Reviews

Interviews

Misc.

And if you have a review or interview you would like us to add, just leave a comment.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

The Tarkin Gallery

November 4, 2014 at 12:02 am | Posted in Art, Star Wars, The Roqoo Depot Galleria | Leave a comment
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the-tarkin-galleryThe man. The myth. The legend. Tarkin started off as one of the major villains in first Star Wars movie. Yet with his untimely death, he sort of slipped away into the background. Stories of Tarkin have been few and far between. It wasn’t until Tarkin’s reappearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars that he became an active character again in the galaxy far, far away. Now with James Luceno writing an entire novel dedicated to the character, Tarkin is back in the spotlight.

To help highlight his character even more, we combed the internet in search of artwork depicting the man himself. Of course one cannot look at Tarkin without seeing the actor who played him on screen, the legendary Peter Cushing. While not every artist has endeavoured to capture Cushing’s likeness, they’ve all played a part in shaping his legacy. From his skeletal features to his iconic hand gestures, Cushing’s affectations have become an inseparable part of the character itself.

It is without further ado that we present the Star Wars art of Tarkin. Continue Reading The Tarkin Gallery…

New Release: ‘Tarkin’ by James Luceno

November 4, 2014 at 12:01 am | Posted in Books, Interview, Random House, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Books | Leave a comment
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Tarkin by James Luceno is out today in hardcover, audiobook and eBook formats.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . .

Bestselling Star Wars veteran James Luceno gives Grand Moff Tarkin the Star Wars: Darth Plagueis treatment, bringing a legendary character from A New Hope to full, fascinating life.

He’s the scion of an honorable and revered family. A dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator. Loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order. Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks, enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly . . . and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion.

Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself, he advises his Emperor. Under Tarkin’s guidance, an ultimate weapon of unparalleled destruction moves ever closer to becoming a terrifying reality. When the so-called Death Star is completed, Tarkin is confident that the galaxy’s lingering pockets of Separatist rebellion will be brought to heel—by intimidation . . . or annihilation.

Until then, however, insurgency remains a genuine threat. Escalating guerrilla attacks by resistance forces and newfound evidence of a growing Separatist conspiracy are an immediate danger the Empire must meet with swift and brutal action. And to bring down a band of elusive freedom fighters, the Emperor turns to his most formidable agents: Darth Vader, the fearsome new Sith enforcer as remorseless as he is mysterious; and Tarkin—whose tactical cunning and cold-blooded efficiency will pave the way for the Empire’s supremacy . . . and its enemies’ extinction.

Official Product Page

Our Review of Tarkin

Our Interview with James Luceno

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.
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