STAR WARS: EMPIRE AND REBELLION: RAZOR'S EDGE by Martha Wells Cover Art

First revealed by io9, the cover art for Martha Wells' new novel in the Empire and Rebellion (fmr. working title "Rebels") series has been revealed.

The cover looks pretty sweet.  I am a bit surprised that it looks like they did some slight Photoshop adjustment to an existing head shot from Empire.  A little too cut and paste for my taste, but alas everyone is a critic.

Many female fans and some male fans may also be thrilled to see that Leia didn't end up borrowing Mara's catsuit for the cover.  Instead we get the more practical cargo pants, a black sleeveless top (a little less practical) and what looks like a utility belt/suspender combo.  Of course there is the giant blaster rifle which is why you always want to be on your best behavior around Leia, she don't play around.

It is interesting to note that in the novel side of the expanded universe there has been very little done in and around the 2 ABY time period where this novel will be set.  The two closest novels timeline wise are Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine (~1 ABY) and Splinter of the Minds Eye (~2 ABY). With the events of The Empire Strikes back occuring at 3 ABY there is a little bit of time for the authors to play with if all three Han, Luke and Leia novels are set during the time in between Episodes IV and V.  This time period is particularly compelling for character reasons as you have a young Luke Skywalker still unsure of his abilities and seeking his way as a Jedi and a Rebel.  It must have been even more complicated for Luke once the legend of his deeds in destroying the Death Star got around and he becomes a Rebel celebrity and the expectations from his higher ups that he can simply repeat that performance.  We also get to see the romantic tension build between Han and Leia which we see erupt in Empire.

Along with the big three I hope we see a nice mix of new and existing back ground characters from politicians to generals that will be a treat to EU fans young and old with this series.


Razor's Edge: Star Wars (Empire and Rebellion) is due out October 15, 2013 in Hardcover, audiobook and ebook formats from Del Rey/Random House.


SOURCES: io9 and Star Wars Books