Angry Robot Books 2012 Publishing Calendar

Angry Robot Books publisher of Science Fiction, Fantasy and bits of oddity has released it's full publishing calendar. If you like me have run out of Star Wars books to read, perhaps give some of these titles a shot.

We’ve finalised our publication schedule for the rest of 2012, folks. Without further ado or preamble, here’s what you can look forward to seeing from Angry Robot over the course of rest of the year:

April 2012: 

The Alchemist of Souls (Night’s Masque I) by Anne Lyle [World: Apr 2012]  

Omega Point (A Richards & Klein Investigation) by Guy Haley [World: Apr 2012] 

Costume Not Included (To Hell and Back II) by Matthew Hughes [World: Apr 2012] 

May 2012: 

Blackbirds (a Miriam Black novel) by Chuck Wendig [World: May 2012] 

Evil Dark (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation II) by Justin Gustainis [World: May 2012] 

The Nekropolis Archives (3 volume omnibus) by Tim Waggoner [World: May 2012] 

June 2012: 

Strangeness and Charm (Courts of the Feyre III) by Mike Shevdon [World: Jun 2012] 

Night’s Engines (The Night-Bound Land II) by Trent Jamieson [World: Jun 2012] 

 July 2012:

The Hammer and the Blade (the first tale of Egil and Nix) by Paul S. Kemp [World: Jul 2012] 

Suited by Jo Anderton (The Veiled Worlds II)[World: Jul 2012] 

Obsidian and Blood (3 volume omnibus) by Aliette de Bodard [World: Jul 2012] 

August 2012: 

vN (The Machine Dynasty I) by Madeline Ashby [World: Aug 2012] 

The Crown of the Usurper (The Crown of the Blood III)by Gav Thorpe [World: Aug 2012]

September 2012: 

Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher [World: Sep 2012] 

Mockingbird (a Miriam Black novel) by Chuck Wendig [World: Sep 2012] 

The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby [World: Sep 2012]

October 2012: 

The Wrong Goodbye (The Collector II) by Chris F. Holm [World: Oct 2012] 

Crown Thief by (A Tale of Easie Damasco) David Tallerman [World: Oct 2012] 

The Knights of Breton Court (3 volume omnibus) by Maurice Broaddus [World: Oct 2012] 

November 2012: 

The Dead of Winter by Lee Collins [World: Nov 2012] 

The Death of Light (Forever Twilight II) by Peter Crowther [World: Nov 2012] 

By our reckoning there are no fewer than six debuts amidst that stellar line-up of saga-continuations, stand-alones and series-closers, plus those three bargain-priced omnibus editions. That means there’s plenty of hot new talent to check out as well as the welcome return of a few firm favourites to look forward to. It’s all happening in 2012! Set your wishlists to ‘Must Have’…

SOURCE: Angry Robot Books

Book of Sith Review: Malevolent Manifestos

Dan Wallace returns to the Star Wars universe with this eagerly awaited companion to last years Jedi Path book.  Book of Sith provides a collection of six malevolent manifesto's from key figures in the history of the Dark Side, along with comments from other denizens of the galaxy far, far away.

Like it's predecessor, Book of Sith features a electronic plastic case that features sound effects and contains some in-universe "artifacts."  Book of Sith's Sith Holocron facsimile case is much more visually appealing then the Jedi Path's rather boring looking case.  However, it appears that the internal mechanisms won't hold up well over time and I am afraid to leave the book in the case for fear I'll have to break into the case at some point if it stops working.  The "artifacts" are neat, but on the whole have feel of something you would find in a Happy Meal instead of a book that costs upwards of $60.  I really enjoy the visual look of the case, but perhaps a few less "artifacts" of slightly higher quality would make more sense given the book's price point.


All that being said, I didn't buy the book for the case or the trinkets, I bought it for what is on the written page.

The book itself comes with a nice faux leather cover, and includes sections which are "written" by the Sith Lords Sorzus Syn, Darth Malgus, Darth Bane, Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious, as well as the Nightsister leader Mother Talzin. Each section of the book contains a different paper and a different font, this is a nice way of re-enforcing the idea that the book has different authors from different periods of time.

Wallace does a great job giving each of these Sith a different voice and provides a great deal of insight into the history of the Sith Order.  The written comments in Book of Sith seem to fit better, though there seems to be less of them then there was in the Jedi Path.

The Mother Talzin's section entitled "Wild Power" is particularly revealing and has some very interesting ties that will have implications not only in The Clone Wars animated series, but also in the Expanded Universe.

This is a fun read, but it does leave me wanting another tome written purely by Palpatine.  I enjoyed the first-person narrative approach that this book employs and it has me wondering if such an approach could be employed in other ways.  Perhaps a first-person Han and Chewie account or a first-person Rogue Squadron campaign diary.

In the end I would probably rather have the much cheaper trade edition release that comes without the case (likely released later this year) then this release, but if you are a Expanded Universe junkie like myself, this is a book you want to get your hands on as soon as you can.

Star Wars: Expanded Universe Publishing Calendar Update February 2012

Del Rey's official Facebook page for their Star Wars publishing line, Star Wars Books has revealed a great deal of information and specifics regarding the Star Wars publishing calendar.

First coming out next Monday (March 5th) is John Jackson Miller's Lost Tribe of the Sith #8: Secrets for free digital download across various platforms.

The Complete Calendar update from Del Rey Editor Frank Parisi:

We have a few announcements to share with you today. 

Theron Shan

First, DARTH BANE and REVAN author Drew Karpyshyn is cranking away on his next novel, STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC: ANNIHILATION. Republic agent Theron Shan and his Twi’lek compadre, Teff’ith (from Dark Horse Comics’ STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC: THE LOST SUNS) must contend with a Sith Empire counter-attack against the Republic, spearheaded by the lethal apprentice of Darth Malgus. Satele Shan and Jace Malcolm co-star in what will be a fast-paced and tension-fraught tale based on the award-winning video game from BioWare and LucasArts. 

The previously planned Nomi Sunrider novel (to be written by Alexander Irvine) has been cancelled due to changes in direction and concepts in the overall publishing plans. However, look for some exciting new announcements about 2013 (and beyond) in the coming months.  

Teff'ith

Here is our new release schedule for the rest of the year (this does not include mass market reprints):
STAR WARS: FATE OF THE JEDI: APOCALYPSE by Troy Denning goes on sale MARCH 13.
STAR WARS: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO WARFARE by Jason Fry goes on sale APRIL 3.
STAR WARS: SCOURGE goes on sale APRIL 24.
STAR WARS: LOST TRIBE OF THE SITH: THE COLLECTED STORIES by John Jackson Miller goes on sale JULY 31.
Aaron Allston’s STAR WARS: X-WING: MERCY KILL goes on sale AUGUST 7.
Pablo Hidalgo’s STAR WARS: THE ESSENTIAL READER’S COMPANION goes on sale AUGUST 21.
STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC: ANNHILATION by Drew Karpyshyn goes on sale NOVEMBER 13. 

Lastly, Timothy Zahn shared a few details about his upcoming classic-era Han Solo heist novel on his Facebook page last week, but what he didn’t say is that we’ll be publishing it in Winter 2012. A firmer release date and title will be forthcoming very soon.
May the Force be with ya’ll!
(FP)

The biggest news is the cancellation of the Nomi Sunrider novel, that we get a title and release date for Drew Karpyshyn's next The Old Republic novel, now titles Annhilation and scheduled to be released on November 13, 2012.  We also got a tentative date for Timothy Zahn's new Han Solo novel, that we learn will be a heist caper and is due out Winter of 2012.



Source: Star Wars Books on Facebook

No More Nomi: Nomi Sunrider Novel Cancelled

Del Rey Editor Frank Parisi gave us a big update on the Star Wars publishing calendar today, including the cancellation of the Nomi Sunrider novel, which was to be written by Alex Irvine.

Alex Irvine

Irvine's novel had a working "title" or nickname of Mandorla and if it reached publication the actual title of the book could not contain Nomi's last name of "Sunrider" because of a legal dispute with the Jeep automobile company.

Mr. Parisi's comments regarding the books cancellation:

The previously planned Nomi Sunrider novel (to be written by Alexander Irvine) has been cancelled due to changes in direction and concepts in the overall publishing plans. However, look for some exciting new announcements about 2013 (and beyond) in the coming months. 

I am interested to learn more about why this book was scrapped and what new books are in the works.

UPDATE: Reached via Twitter, Alex Irvine had the following to say regarding my condolences on the canceled book.

@Alexirvine: It was a cool story. Ah well.

After reading one of Irvine's other novels Transformers: Exodus, I enjoyed his writing and hopes he gets another at bat in the GFFA.

Source: StarwarsBooks on Facebook

My first Star Wars Fan-fic: The Emperor's Artwork

Please head over to The Star Wars Book Report and check out my ham handed attempts at fiction writing.  My short story features Grand Admiral Thrawn, Emperor Palpatine and a cameo by Kinman Doriana.

LINK to the story.