The Starbird Files

  The Queen’s Bloom - Zoraida Córdova   Everyone’s favorite Phase II character (except mine), Axel Greylark is the focus of the first story of the anthology, and he is at university causing trouble and skiving off work using his status (there’s a surprise!). Despite this, he takes time to make friends with the lower paid staff and even helps a janitor with money - do I like Axel now? When a swish party is attacked by a gang of thieves Axel has a telling first meeting with a pivotal person a character in his life. The most interesting part of the story for me was meeting Axel’s father Lexxir who was clearly a very good influence on his son, and shows just how much his death would affect Axel in the future. 🌕🌕🌕🌘🌑 /5 A Closed Fist Has No Claws - Tessa Gratton The second story sees Marda Ro traveling the galaxy, looking for more Evereni, all the while gathering followers and feeding the occasional Jedi to the Leveler. She finds Evereni twins on the planet Siquay, and a possib...

Race To Crashpoint Tower by Daniel José Older (Disney Lucasfilm Press) Race to Crashpoint Tower is the second junior novel in the High Republic era, and comes from Daniel José Older, writer of the High Republic Adventures comic series. The story is set at the same time as The Rising Storm and also on Valo at the Galactic Fair, making it a story within a story almost. In The Rising Storm we briefly meet Ram Jomaram when Ty Yorrick and Mantessa are in jail and the Nihil attack starts, here we find out why Ram was also in the cells and what happens to him afterwards, with the scene mirrored and told from his perspective in this book. Ram Jomaram is a padawan assigned to the Jedi outpost on Valo, and he reminds me of Reath Silas a little, but where Reath doesn’t like adventure and prefers to be in the library, Ram finds social interactions difficult and likes fiddling with mechanics and his droid V-18, this makes him very likeable and relatable to introverts and people on the spectrum alik...

Star Wars Visions Trailer Released Excitement for the Star Wars Visions project went up several notches this month when the First Look trailer was released at the LA Anime Expo on 3rd July, watch the trailer here . The trailer featured a stunning variety of styles, graphics and concept art, and revealed that the series will begin streaming 22nd September along with the episode titles and studios working on them. Studios & Story titles: Kamikaze Douga “The Duel” Geno Studio (Twin Engine) “Lop and Ochō” Studio Colorido (Twin Engine) “Tatooine Rhapsody” Trigger “The Twins” & “The Elder” Kinema Citrus “The Village Bride” Science Saru “Akakiri” & “T0-B1” Production IG “The Ninth Jedi” Also this month the cover art and synopsis for Emma Mieko’s Candon’s tie-in novel, Ronin: A Visions Novel was revealed by Del Rey and starwars.com . The Mandalorian Receives 24 Emmy Nominations   On 13th July The Mandalorian received an amazing 24 Emmy nominations including Outstanding Drama Se...

  Writer: Daniel José Older Art: H. Tolibao, P. Rodrix, M. Bracchi, R. Nalty, JM Wood Issue 4 left us on a cliffhanger, with the padawans following Zeen to Quantxi as she tries to meet Krix, who shoots down the Vector she is flying, thinking it is a Jedi. The two have a confrontation and Zeen in anger chokes him, but Lula arrives to stop her and Krix escapes with Marchion Ro. The masters also arrive on Quantxi and stumble upon Elder Tromak who has escaped, he speaks with Yoda, and tells him the Nihil are seeking a ancient artifact only he knows the location of, and asks for Yoda’s help but only if he goes alone. Marchion searching for a mysterious artifact links heavily to The Rising Storm novel, and if like me you have finished that book you’ll know just what that link is, yet another example of the way these stories intertwine to such great effect. Mirroring the two youngsters contrasting experiences is something Daniel José Older has used to great effect throughout this run ...

I have loved getting to grips with a different style of Jedi Order, new villains in the Nihil and Drengir and finding out about the state of the Galaxy in this new era of the Star Wars universe. And with the second wave of The High Republic publishing project just around the corner I thought now would be a great time to see what people have been making of this new era so far; It's been amazing so far seeing how the galaxy operated in a time not really explored. Jedi also seem like what they should be guardians of peace and justice not tied to the politics of the Republic. Can't wait for more and more content. Daniel Hales @danalexhales17 (Twitter) Absolutely love it and I really appreciate how clear it is that all the different authors are communicating and workin well together. It feels like a very cohesive era so far. Brandon @brandon.aka.jarjar (instagram) I absolutely love how all the books and comics are connected.  I really enjoy getting small bits and pieces about the tw...

  Writer: Daniel José Older Art: H. Tolibao, R. Nalty, J.M. Wood The 4th chapter of High Republic Adventures opens with Lula leading Zeen in a Jedi meditation, I really appreciated this, as even though she isn’t being trained to be a Jedi, helping her understand the force and not be overwhelmed by it is important. It paints the Jedi as more caring and open, even if this was Lula’s decision alone. The difference between where the two kids find themselves is stark, Zeen likes the Jedi but questions what they want her to do, which they seem perfectly accepting of, whereas Krix is afraid of the Nihil and feels he must do the things they want to stay safe with them. Each time he still seeks to avoid doing them, we see him hoping to avoid having to lure Zeen in with his message, and he tries to give the Mavenzz a chance to surrender - not something you would imagine Marchion Ro would do. In this issue we finally meet  Lula’s master,  Kantam Sy properly, as they join the oth...