upcoming novels...

feitonglong · Post by **feitonglong** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:40 pm

First Look: The Joiner King

Luke Skywalker is worried: A handful of Jedi Knights, including his nephew and niece, Jaina and Jacen Solo, have disappeared into the Unknown Regions in response to a strange cry for help that only they could hear. The isolationist Chiss have angrily lodged a formal complaint, accusing the missing Jedi of meddling in a border dispute between the Chiss and an unidentified aggressor.

Luke has no choice but to head to the Unknown Regions in an attempt to stem the growing tensions before they spill out of control. Han and Leia follow, intent on protecting their children from what could be grave danger. But none of them are prepared for what they find when they reach their destination.

A colony of mysterious aliens is expanding toward the edge of Chiss space. The leader of the alien nest is resolute. Adept in the Force, he is drawing old friends to his side, compelling them to join the colony and meld their Force-abilities with his, even if it leads to all-out war....

Thus begins the Dark Nest trilogy by author Troy Denning. Here's a first look at the cover art by Cliff Nielsen. Dark Nest I: The Joiner King is slated for paperback release from Del Rey Books on July 26, 2005. And included as a special bonus: the short story Ylesia by Walter Jon Williams, previously only available in ebook format.

feitonglong · Post by **feitonglong** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:42 pm

First Look: Outbound Flight

Since 1991, fans of Star Wars literature have wondered about the mysterious Outbound Flight project. This Fall, Del Rey and author Timothy Zahn will reveal all.

First briefly mentioned in the watershed novel, Heir to the Empire, Outbound Flight was an ambitious project that sent an expeditionary mission of six Jedi Masters, 12 Jedi Knights and 50,000 men, women and children beyond the borders of known space to make contact with intelligent life. It was the brainchild of Jorus C'baoth, but even so influential a Jedi Master had to navigate the cumbersome Republic bureaucracy to get this monumental proposal approved.

With the foiling of a murderous plot, C'baoth gained the influence he needed to get Outbound Flight underway. In truth, this turn of fortune was carefully engineered by Darth Sidious, the shadowy Sith Lord who wants Outbound Flight to begin, and ultimately, to fail.

The mission is doomed from the start, for lurking within Unknown Space is the Chiss Ascendancy, and the brilliant alien mastermind who will someday become Grand Admiral Thrawn. Not even the presence of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young Padawan learner, Anakin Skywalker, aboard the gargantuan vessel can avert disaster.

Star Wars: Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn is slated for a hardcover release on October 25. Here's a look at the cover art by Dave Seeley.

feitonglong · Post by **feitonglong** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:44 pm

After Episode III: Dark Lord

In Episode III you witnessed Anakin Skywalker succumb to the dark side and be reborn as the fearsome Darth Vader. To find out what happens next, you'll need to read Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader.

The Republic has become the Empire, ruled by the wicked Palpatine with order enforced by his new right hand agent, Darth Vader. The galaxy is reeling from civil war and the shocking elimination of the Jedi Knights. Some worlds are resistant to the New Order, and are determined to make a stand against these sweeping new changes.

One of Darth Vader's first tasks is to snuff out these early embers of resistance, and it is this mission that will lead him to discover his true strength and come into his own as the Emperor's iron fist.

Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader is a new novel by author James Luceno. Together with his previous book, Labyrinth of Evil and Matthew Stover's bestselling Revenge of the Sith novelization (which are now being combined into an omnibus, as described here), this new hardcover forms a trilogy of novels chronicling the collapse of the Republic and the emergence of the Empire.

Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader is due out in hardcover from Del Rey Books on November 22. Here's a first look at a solicitation version of the cover; the final cover may vary.

feitonglong · Post by **feitonglong** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:46 pm

Announcing Republic Commando: Triple Zero

Fans of hard-hitting specialty-clone military literary action have reason to cheer as author Karen Traviss is set to continue the Republic Commando adventures (inspired by LucasArts' Star Wars Republic Commando video game) in a new mass market paperback due for release in spring 2006.

Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple Zero - the sequel to Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact - is set a year after the battle of Geonosis, and follows the continuing missions of Omega Squad. As the Clone Wars casualties mount, the commandos find themselves deployed on increasingly dangerous missions that take them beyond the battlefield and further into sabotage and intelligence operations in the heart of Separatist territory. Newly-promoted Jedi Generals Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik are also catapulted into front line combat roles and find themselves identifying strongly with the clone soldiers under their command, who turn out to be anything but predictable cannon fodder.

Omega Squad survives a close brush with disaster to end up in the most potentially dangerous hot spot in the galaxy - pursuing a Separatist terror group in the skylanes and underworld of Coruscant itself, known as Triple Zero in the Grand Army's slang because its galactic chart co-ordinates are 000. And, as any soldier knows, urban operations on your own turf can be the most deadly of all. So it's just as well that Omega Squad find themselves working with Delta Squad, and teamed up again with Etain and Jusik - as well as their legendary training sergeant Kal Skirata, and his secret military intelligence unit of "Null" ARC troopers, the black ops team that even the Kaminoans thought were too dangerous to unleash. It's a critical mission unlike anything any of them have ever tackled - and it tests their friendship and courage to the limit.

feitonglong · Post by **feitonglong** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:48 pm

Behold The Unseen Queen (and a Dark Lord too!)

The epic Star Wars odyssey enters a new frontier as the heroes of The New Jedi Order confront a monstrous evil -- insidious, unseen and insatiable, as told in The Unseen Queen, the second book of the Dark Nest Trilogy by Troy Denning. Here's a look at its cover art by Cliff Nielsen.

Despite being given new worlds to populate, the insectoid Killiks have not found peace. An unknown enemy has been attacking the new nests -- and the Killiks hold the Jedi responsible. Traveling back to the Unknown Regions to unravel the mystery, the Skywalkers and Solos discover an evil far more familiar than they ever expected... and even more terrifying. Why does the Dark Nest want to kill Mara? Will Jacen's apocalyptic vision trigger another galactic war or prevent one? And perhaps most ominous of all, what deadly secret are the Killik's hiding?

To find out, Luke, Mara, Han and Leia must embark on a perilous journey into the uncharted void between right and wrong. The ferocious Unknown Terrors are only the beginning of the awesome challenges that lie ahead in their quest to fathom the unfathomable. For an obscure dispute is about to explode into chaos, pitting Jedi against Jedi -- and threatening the very galaxy itself.

Star Wars: Dark Nest II The Unseen Queen is scheduled for release in paperback on September 27, 2005 from Del Rey Books.

feitonglong · Post by **feitonglong** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:49 pm

The Swarm War Covered

First revealed at Comic-Con International, here is the cover to The Swarm War, the final book of the Dark Nest trilogy. In this explosive conclusion, Luke Skywalker summons the heroes of the New Jedi Order from near and far as the Star Wars galaxy teeters on the edge of eternal war. Yet even the combined powers of the formidable Jedi may not be enough to vanquish the deadly perils confronting them.

The Chiss-Killik border war is threatening to engulf the entire galaxy -- raising the awful specter of the Killik sweeping across space to absorb all living creatures into a single hive mind. The only hope for peace lies with the Jedi -- who must not only end the bloodshed between two fierce enemies but also combat the insidious evil spread by the elusive Dark Nest and its unseen queen.

Leia's Jedi skills will be put to the ultimate test in the coming life-and-death battle. As for Luke, he will have to prove, in a lightning display of Force strength and swordplay, that he is -- beyond a shadow of a doubt -- the greatest Jedi Master in the galaxy.

The Swarm War is scheduled for paperback release this December.

feitonglong · Post by **feitonglong** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:51 pm

looking forward to outbound flight, sure link up the prequel movies to the expanded universe created by zahn in the 90s...

Count Dooku · Post by **Count Dooku** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:52 pm

Wow, sounds like quite a few interesting novels will be coming out quite soon. I must say I am looking forward to Outbound Flight (love Grand Admiral Thrawn) and the Rise of Darth Vader.

masterjamous · Post by **masterjamous** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:34 am

Count Dooku wrote:Wow, sounds like quite a few interesting novels will be coming out quite soon. I must say I am looking forward to Outbound Flight (love Grand Admiral Thrawn) and the Rise of Darth Vader.

oh dear, Christmas comes too early, man. this year pok liao lah....

lhs1701 · Post by **lhs1701** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 10:34 am

I hate it when there are so many nice stories and they come in hard cover copies. I simply do not have the space to keep so many books. Paper back are a lot easier to keep.

Not sure if anybody keeps a library here. I do not mind paying a bit to purchase the books and we rotate it. I am a fast reader, a most a week, average 3 days should be sufficient. I read the Half Blood Prince and completed it on Monday and Tuesday despite still going to work.

SoloFalcon · Post by **SoloFalcon** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:11 pm

Can't wait for NJO Dark Nest II to come out. The boundries of light and dark force is becoming unclear to some of the Jedi Knights.

PS Hi Lhs, it's me techmech~

lhs1701 · Post by **lhs1701** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:30 am

Was at Borders, a couple of weeks ago, Dark Nest 1 and 2 are out. I am waiting for 3 to come out before I get all 3 at the same time.

I do hate reading 1 and then wait for 2, read 2 and then wait for 3.

Lord_Angelus · Post by **Lord_Angelus** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:37 am

Luke look evil in that cover

lhs1701 · Post by **lhs1701** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 1:01 am

Lord_Angelus wrote:Luke look evil in that cover

Hard to say after he met the Yuzhan Vong... after all this is a NJO trilogy.

Dr EMH · Post by **Dr EMH** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 1:13 am

Lord_Angelus wrote:Luke look evil in that cover

the line between Sith and Jedi is a fine thin line ...