Catching up with Star Wars: X-Wing Mercy Kill Mini-Excerpts 2-4

Time to catch up on some recent mini-excerpt releases that Del Rey's Facebook Page: Star Wars Books has been giving out in advance of the release of Aaron Allston's return to the cockpit in X-Wing: Mercy Kill.

Since I am such an awesome guy, I have already read Mercy Kill and it is pretty awesome including the focus on a very interesting main character.  But enough teasing for now, my full review will be out the Tuesday before it's August 7th release.

Without further ado, we have three more excerpts from Mercy Kill:

#2:

A young human woman in clothes styled to resemble a starfighter pilot’s jumpsuit and jacket but made of crinkly gold cloth, her hair a more striking and unnatural red than Face’s, bumped into Face, made a vague noise of apology, and hurried past, continuing onward toward the exit.
Voort scowled at Face. “I saw that.”
“Of course you did.”
“What did she slip you?”
Face reached into a suit coat pocket and drew out a datapad. It was small, its once-gleaming surface scratched and dull. “This. It’s wired to overheat and ignite in about three minutes.”
“Well, then, don’t hold it in your mouth.”

#3:

Face’s approach was so silent that neither noticed until he was almost at the table. Both turned to look at him and, seeing the expression on his face, fell silent.
He turned to Dia. “I promise I will never make you so mad that you borrow an X-wing, take it up, and use it to burn me to a cinder.”
“Smart of you.” She gestured at the third chair. “Whose turn is it to cook?”
“Yours.”
“We’ll order something.”
He sat and turned to his daughter. “And you, young lady . . . Beware of older military officers who chase you when you’re a teenager. They’ll just dump you when you turn thirty.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Dad, I hate it when you bring work home.”

#4:

“Myri, I thought you were making your living gambling. Nice and safe on the Errant Venture. Making a fortune, from what I heard.”
She nodded, her attention on her rifle.
“So? Why this?”
She smiled. “You must be so proud.”
“What? Of whom?”
“That’s what they tell me. Mostly about Daddy. ‘Wedge Antilles’s daughter? You must be so proud.’ And I am. Some people know about Mom’s career. ‘You must be so proud.’ And I am. Some people know about my sister’s record in the last war. ‘You must be so proud.’ Yes, yes, I am. But maybe it’s time for someone to be proud of what I do. Maybe even me.”

Random House Fan Fiction Audio Contest at San Diego Comic-Con

Ladies and Gentleman start your keyboards.  Random House Audio is holding a really cool contest at San Diego Comic-Con this year.

Do your write Fan Fiction?

Are you a fan of Star Wars, The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, or Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer?

Would you like the chance to have your work recorded in a professional recording studio by a narrator and published on RandomHouseAudio.com?

If the answer is yes, then I have the contest for you. The details are below:

Random House Audio Invites Fan Fiction Authors to Record Their Stories at Comic-Con International in San Diego

One story will be selected by RH Audio producers to be recorded professionally and streamed online

NEW YORK, NY (July 2, 2012)—At this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA, Random House Audio will be recreating an audiobook studio right on the convention floor--inviting authors of fan fiction to record a sample of their work for a chance to have their story recorded and released as a digital audiobook.

Stories from the following fandoms are eligible for the contest:

Star Wars®

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Aspiring authors (who must be legal residents of the U.S. and 18 years or older) can sign up for a time slot to record their five-minute sample during the convention, July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. Random House Audio producers will listen to the entries (no mashups, please) and select one to be professionally recorded and mixed by Random House Audio for streaming atwww.randomhouseaudio.com. The grand prize winner and five runner-ups will have clips from their stories featured on the Random House Audio weekly podcast.

Sessions will be available Thursday through Saturday, July 12-14, from 10am-12pm and 1pm to 4pm at the Random House Audio booth #1515. Registration for morning slots is open now through July 10 at www.randomhouseaudio.com, and afternoon slots will be available for same-day sign ups beginning at 9am the first day of the con on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Don’t see your fandom included on the list above? Sunday, July 15 is Open Mic Day! Fans of other series will get their chance to record their stories as well from 11am to 3pm and enter to win a collection of audiobooks.

Even if you’re not a writer, be sure to stop by the Random House Audio booth (#1515) for exclusive Comic-Con giveaways, including buttons, posters, headphones and mini microphone recorders.

For complete contest rules, click here.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Complete Season Four Blu-ray Release Date and Cover Art.

Clone Wars: Season Four is headed to home video on October 23, 2012, keeping in the tradition of releasing the previous season after the new season begins airing.  I am sure some marketing expert knows why they do it this way, but my confusion continues.

The set will feature a style similar to the Season Three set and different then the original Season One and Two releases.  This time we get Darth Maul on the cover.

SOURCES: IGN and Blu-ray.com Forums

Star Wars Want: Blu-ray Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars Series

There is a gap in my Star Wars Blu-ray collection that is just screaming to be filled.  We have Blu-ray releases for the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, the Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace special, and each season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, yet one of the most recent Star Wars video releases has yet to get the Blu-ray treatment.

Genndy Tartakovsky's micro-series premiered on the Cartoon Network in 2003 and subsequently saw a two-volume DVD release in 2005.

Currently these DVD's retail on Amazon.com for $38.02 for Volume 1 and $45.94 for Volume.

Transitioning this series to a single Blu-ray disc release simply makes to much sense to be ignored and seems like a simple way to make a few bucks for Lucasfilm.

Volume 1 contains 20 3-minute episodes and has a run time of 69 minutes, while Volume 2 contains 5 12-minute episodes and has a run time of 64 minutes.

I can understand not wanting to confuse kids and parents regarding the current Clone Wars series, but fans should be able to purchase this series without having to go the "used" copy route.

I am sure that many of my fellow fanboys and fangirls would agree, can we have the Tartakovsky series in Blu-ray? Pretty please?

Where are the Bothans in The Clone Wars?

The climactic battle of the Star Wars films is preceded by one fateful line that introduced us to a species that we never had a chance to see.

"Many Bothans died to bring us this information." ~ Mon Mothma

The Clone Wars animated series has introduced and re-introduced us to numerous alien species in animated form, but there is a rather large and glaring admission in terms of the Bothans.

If like me you grew up re-watching the original trilogy repeatedly, whenever Mon Mothma mentioned the Bothans, my imagination always wondered who where these guys, what did they look like, how did they die.

I wanted to know more.

In the EU we have a very interesting culture built up for the Bothan species, but the most famous Bothan is someone that you would probably want to punch in the muzzle if you ever had to spend five minutes in a room with him.  In fact I am sure Ackbar spent more time during the early days of the New Republic thinking how ways to inflict pain on Borsk Fey'lya then a Hutt thinks about dinner.

How have we gotten four seasons of The Clone Wars series without the Bothans?  

I am rather perplexed.

It is interesting that according to Wookieepedia, the Bothans took a line of neutrality during the Clone Wars.

Whilst a longtime member and support of the Republic, the Bothans remained neutral during the period known as the Clone Wars. In this time, the Bothan Senator Polo Se'lab abstained from politically charged votes leading up to the conflict. Though not playing one side against the toher, the Bothans serve each one in a professional but not exclusive manner. Their reasoning for helping both the Separatists and Republic was in the belief that furnishing each side with intelligence would hasten the end of the war. This stance on neutrality did not stop both the Confederacy and Republic from courting Bothan aid to their respective side though this only increases their stance at supporting neither faction in the Clone Wars.

With the Clone Wars rapidly approaching Episode III and their conclusion, I have to wonder if the Bothans will once again be left off the screen.

SOURCE: Wookieepedia