The Starbird Files

  Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule (Del Rey, 2021) 5/5 Hi there, you may have already read my thoughts on Part One here , so I’ll try not to repeat myself too much. I love this book!!! Where Part One is a whirlwind of action, tension and new names to remember, Part Two is a dramatic change of pace, almost whiplash inducing! But the opportunity to breath is a welcome one, we get to know some of the characters a little more, particularly Loden and Bell’s group on Elphrona, I absolutely love Porter Engle, and of course we meet the Nihil, finding out how what they’re about and their heirarchy (Tempest, Storms, Clouds, Strikes). Meeting the San Tekkas was a great canon connection as I always liked Lor San Tekka and wanted to know more, and the reveal of their lost relative near the end of Part Two was a really interesting turn of events. Part Three immediately ups the pace and ante again with two battles taking place, one above Elphrona with the outnumbered Loden and Indeera tryin...

  I was originally only planning on writing a review of the Light of the Jedi when I finished the whole book, but I had to get my thoughts on Part One: The Great Disaster down, there are spoilers ahead! The tension of the Great Disaster is ratcheted up quickly and doesn’t let up, we’re introduced to a dizzying array of characters and locations, which adds to the anxiety of the events. The Jedi arrive (I want to see the Third Horizon), and it is immediately evident that they are different to the Jedi we know, more serene, more high minded and more connected to the force. At this point I already love the characters of Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm, Bell Zettifar and Captain Bright and want to know more, and I like the proliferation of species, in Part One alone we have had Duros, Ithorian, Trandoshan, Wookiee, Twi’lek and more.  I really like that lightsabers are more than just weapons, they are used to unlock the Jedi’s ships and are also integral to their connection to the forc...

  Normally I make several end of year lists, albums of the year, films I watched, books I read, but I didn’t see nearly as many films, read many books or buy much music this year, so I decided to create a list of the 10 best things from 2020 that helped me get through the madness. It’s in order but don’t pay too much attention to that. 1 - Gorillaz - Song Machine Vol1 (album)   Song Machine wasn’t just an album it was a regular occurrence that was something to look forward to during the course of the year, not to mention it was Gorillaz best album for quite some time. 2 - Beastie Boys Story (film) I watched the whole of this with a smile on my face. 3 - The Boys s2 (TV)   We finished binging season one for the first time right in time for season 2 and it did not disappoint. 4 - The Mandalorian s2 (TV)   A great second season of the adventures of Din & Grogu, plus getting to see some canon characters come to live action in Ashoka Tano, Bo Katan and Cobb Vanth plus...

  Let me start by saying I loved this episode.....just not as much as everyone else I don’t expect you to agree with me, this is me working through my feelings. Din vs Bo Katan I don’t want my boy at odds with my girl Bo Katan, but it does make for great storyline potential tension between the characters. It seems obvious that the future of the show lies on Mandalore and the Dark Saber which I kind of expected just not this soon. There are interesting parallels to be made with Din’s beliefs being challenged this season, where he bends his rules for Grogu, will Bo Katan be able to do the same? Will she have to consider what she really wants - is it power for herself or is it truly freedom and restoration for Mandalore? The Problem with Moff Gideon Moff Gideon has been built up to be a great villain with so much potential played a great actor who is fantastic at what he does, however in this episode he was let down. First he has the Dark Saber, he has connections to the Mandalorian p...