Author: M. Dean Cooper

Ezra’s Parents: On Destiny Versus Duty

Posted on November 18, 2014by , and

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Mike: Last week Ben talked about Rebels‘ efforts to begin laying the groundwork for its “big picture” story. In addition to Fulcrum, though, another character with a lot of potential to expand the show’s horizons is Brent Spiner’s Gall Trayvis—an Imperial Senator who appears to be actively undermining the Empire’s authority via rogue HoloNet transmissions. Like Fulcrum, though, his efforts haven’t been entirely helpful to our heroes, and his true motives remain unclear.

Another element “Out of Darkness” and “Empire Day” have in common is the delicate peeling back of the curtain obscuring the main characters’ backstories; Sabine’s in the former and now Ezra’s in the latter. The latest episode “reveals” Ezra’s parents for the first time, by name, voice, and deed if not by sight. For those of us who were lucky enough to see “Empire Day” online, the past week has produced lots of speculation regarding the identities and fates of Ephraim and Mira Bridger; some suspect that Ephraim might be a rogue clonetrooper, while the timing of Ezra’s birth and his high Force-sensitivity also leave room (though not much) for him to be the child of a Jedi. Read More

Jason Fry Keeps Talking To Us: Wired For The Classics

Posted on November 17, 2014by Interviews

Last Friday, I spoke with Servants of the Empire author Jason Fry about what goes into good Star Wars technobabble, and he hinted at the larger plot of his own ongoing young-adult series The Jupiter Pirates. This time we’ll get a little more in-depth on Edge of the Galaxy; how it portrays the Empire, what elements it shares (and doesn’t) with the Rebels TV series, and what it’s been like developing the series with the Lucasfilm Story Group. Oh, and I asked him about “Sheev”, because of course I did.

 

 

There’s been, suffice it to say, a lot of interest in post-reboot depictions of the Empire and its treatment of aliens and women. While the latter situation is much improved to my mind, the continuation of Imperial xenophobia—a major theme in Edge of the Galaxy—was surprising to some people. When it’s speculated in the book that anti-alien prejudice is more an Outer Rim mindset in contrast with the more cosmopolitan Core, is that just the people of Lothal talking, or is that a reliable OOU perspective? And either way, do you see this matter as having evolved in the past year, or is it the same as it was in the EU? Read More

Jason Fry Keeps Talking To Us: “World-Building is Like a Matte Painting”

Posted on November 14, 2014by Interviews

sote-eotgWhen we last spoke with our good friend Jason Fry, Writer of Things, it was a dark time for the Expanded Universe—at least insofar as there wasn’t one anymore. Jason was already hard at work on Edge of the Galaxy, the first book in his four-part Servants of the Empire series (available now—just click the link above), but he was gracious enough to chat with me at length about the then-breaking reboot news, that whole Wookieepedia “breast” kerfuffle, and his own young adult series The Jupiter Pirates.

Now that things have relaxed a bit and the Galaxy Far, Far Away looks to be pretty much the way we left it, Jason was free to speak with me in a lot more detail regarding Edge of the Galaxy, Story Group, and where both of his series are heading. Take a look!

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Escape Pod: Ossus

Posted on November 10, 2014by Scotch Tape and Popsicle Sticks

As I’ve previously noted, I pretty much checked out of Episode VII rumors—ah, I’m sorry, make that The Force Awakens rumors—a month or two ago. Before that, the rumors were coming so fast and wild that I was happy to glance through them without taking anything so seriously as to feel like I’d been spoiled. But one thing seemed to come up pretty consistently (spoiler alert, I guess): at the start of the film, Luke is out of the picture. Maybe kidnapped, maybe in exile. Maybe for ten years, maybe for thirty.

Indeed, it’s possible we have a clearer picture of this situation now than the last time I looked, but one possibility that was being entertained was that Luke was off either on a Force pilgrimage of his own or training new Jedi recruits. Another consistent rumor was that there isn’t really an active New Jedi Order when we start off, and to my mind Luke having gone off the radar to start an academy feels nicely in line with both of those scenarios. Read More

On Tarkin, and the Novel as Reference Material

Posted on November 3, 2014by Scotch Tape and Popsicle Sticks

—–WARNING, MILD SPOILERS AHEAD—–

tarkin-head

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a shocking and terrible confession: I have never read an Essential Guide.

Oh, I own them—every single one. Even at their blandest, they’ve given me hours of amusement from aimlessly flipping around, admiring the artwork, and back in the dark ages, actually using them for reference. At their best, they transcend matters of fiction and continuity and become simply interesting books to leave out on one’s coffee table, as the Essential Atlas is in my home.

But I’ve never actually made it through one from cover to cover. And as I neared the end of Tarkin, right around the time a character stops what he’s doing to give an extemporaneous three-page summary of a piece of the title character’s backstory, it occurred to me that this must be what it feels like. Read More