Q & A Wednesdays

Sorry, we are behind on the Q&A's. We had technical difficulties and family business to take care of. We promise it won't happen again. Remember, ask anything you want and we will research it for you and try to answer it by Friday (saturday morning the latest).

KG asked..

I heard Chewbaca dies in one of the books, how does that happen?

Our response:
In the words of the Almighty Billie Wheelz " they dropped a moon on him. He got to be a brother!" Which of course is very close to the truth. During the early stages of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, while the New Republic Senate pussyfooted around the issue and actually blamed the antagonism of the Yuuzhan Vong on the Jedi, Han Solo, Chewie, and Anakin Solo headed to the planet of Sernpidal to help out. The Yuuzhan Vong used a "device" that would take a planet's moon and smash it against it. So literally, a moon was dropped on Chewie. Solo went into a state of depression afterward and blamed Anakin Solo for Chewie's death (Anakin was flying the Falcon and did not go back for him). Chewie went out like a trooper saving total strangers and defiant until the end.


Jdid asked:

oh just realized i had another question. drop some science on this whole 'lost twenty' business

Our response:

The Lost Twenty were Jedi who left the Order voluntarily. They did not do it because they went to the Dark Side but because they were dissatisfied with the Republic Senate and the Jedi's subservience to them. Dooku was one of them. The others have yet to be revealed. We do know that they were all highly respected throughout the galaxy. Check "Jedi Rendezvous" to see how Dooku was highly respected throughout the galaxy.

Star Wars: The Joiner King by Troy Denning Review

WARNING: there are SPOILERS in this review. If you do not want to know what goes on, PLEASE skip this review...

Four and a half out of Five Stars...

Troy Denning, the author of the Star Wars novels Recovery, Star by Star, and Tattooine Ghost, delves further into the New Jedi Order with Star Wars Dark Nest: The Joiner King. Denning is already familiar with several of the major characters outside of Luke Skywalker, Leia and Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Wedge Antilles, and several other of SW fan favorites.

The story takes place 35 years ASW, and 5 years after the war against Yuuzhan Vong. Ben Skywalker, Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker's first son, is now 8 standard years old. There is a new Jedi Council consisting of Luke Skywalker, Kenth Hamner, Corran Horn, Kyp Durron, and the Jedi healer Cilghal. Jacen Solo, one of Han and Leia's twins, is a traveling Jedi hermit who is studying with various Force sensitive adepts around the galaxy. The galaxy is in shambles after the war. Several races have been displaced because of the destruction the Yuuzhan Vong have caused with their terraforming.

The story focuses on the survivors of the ill fated Myrkr mission in which several young Jedi headed by the late Anakin Solo plan a suicide mission on a worldship (sort of like a Yuuzhan Vong capital ship) orbiting Myrkr to destroy a labratory that creates the Jedi killing Voxyn. Several Jedi including Anakin are killed in the process. In the beginning of Joiner King, several of the survivors are summoned via the force to the outskirts of Chiss space. Jaina Solo, Alema Rar, Lowbacca, Zekk, Tekli the Chandra Fan, Tezar (one of the few surviving members of his race), Tenel Ka (the current queen of the Hapes Consortium) and later Jacen Solo all head out to the Chiss border withouth consulting the Jedi Council.

There is a race of insect like beings, the Killik, who are infringing on the outskirts of Chiss territory. So the Chiss, who are a military race of beings which the infamous Admiral Thrawn hailed from, are forced to push the Killiks back. The Killik are joined as one by a Jedi thought killed during the Myrkr mission. There are also dark jedi who were thought dead after being rescued by Anakin and the others. This leads to the discovery of a Dark Nest. Luke, Mara, Saba Sebatyne, Han and Leia all head out to the Chiss frontier to investigate. They later return with several members of the Jedi council to avert a war with the Chiss.

The book is well written by a veteran of the SW Expanded Universe (EU). Unfortunately, a reader unfamiliar with the New Jedi Order series, particularly with the Myrkr Mission, would be lost. If one did not read Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn would be missing out in certain cultural tidbits about the Chiss. So it is important that they read at least a few books centered around the Myrkr Mission and the last few books of the New Jedi Order.

Denning throws several surprises at us like the re-emergence of Raynar Thul, a jedi knight who was kidnapped by two dark sider Jedi's during the Myrkr mission and many thought was shot down. Ben Skywalker is strong in the force but because of the trauma he felt during the Yuuzhan Vong war, he has cut himself off worrying his parents. Luke Skywalker gives a delegate of the Chiss a tour of the new Jedi temple which has been relocated to Coruscant (which still shows evidence of the Vong terraforming). This gives insight to how the Jedi run things much differently than the Jedi of the BSW era. Jacen Solo's concept of the force continues to develop.

The only reason why the book does not get a full 5 stars is because much of what happens to the galaxy after the war is left out. The Yuuzhan Vong destroyed several worlds, killed billions, and displaced billions more. Denning does discuss the plight of the Ithorians, one of the first race of beings to lose a planet to terraforming but thats about it. He also leaves out characters such as Lando (even though his company, which is raking in millions of credits is mentioned several times) , Wedge Antilles, and Gavin Darklighter. Yet it is only part one of a three part series. The Jedi are also grappling with thier new approach to the Force. People are beginning to notice. I have no beef with the latter part but the Jedi are slipping into the same problem their predesscors did in the Old Republic era. That's wack

Overall the book is a dope read.

Terms and concepts...

Before we go any further, Billie Wheelz and I felt it was important that we go over some terms. Of course, we will explore many things outside of the six movies. The movies will be our reference points.

SW -- Star Wars
ASW -- After Star Wars: A New Hope, or Episode IV
BSW -- Before Star Wars: A New Hope
SE -- Sith Era, takes place 5,000 BSW
RE -- Republic Era, begins 1,000 years BSW and ends in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
NJO -- New Jedi Order, many argue when this happens but in our case, it begins 30 Years
ASW
Jedi vs. Sith -- a battle between the Jedi and the Sith... it began 1,004 years BSW
and ended with the destruction of the Sith except for Darth Bane and his apprentice. Here is
where Darth Bane began the concept that there should only be one Sith Lord and his/her
apprentice.

For more information, you can check Dark Horse comics for a timeline. You can also check The Force.net, they have a timeline as well.

Force Sensitive -- someone who is sensitive in the Force. this may not mean that they are learned. There have been incidents of people who could feel the force but not 'utilize' it in anyway. Some races are force sensitive due to evolution such as the indigenous people of Haruun Kal or some folks from Kiffex.

Sith -- Dark sider Jedi's that study Sith lore. Not all dark siders are Sith. One of Dooku's henchwomen, Asajj Ventress, was a dark sider but not a sith. Sith magic was kept a secret when Darth Bane came to power.

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Primero: big up to Jdid... that brother asks some really good questions. Thanks for the love. What we decided to do with questions is to handle them on Friday night. So that way, EVERYONE will see the answer and won't ask the same question twice (as a veteran blogger, I realized that heads don't read comments...). Plus, it gives us more ideas. THanks Jdid, for being a true Jedi.

Here was his question:

how many lightsaber forms are there or rather are there more than 7?

at this point just 7... i am sure that in the future, heads will make more and say its always been that way. FOr more information check here on the 7 lightsaber forms. We hope that helps.

KG asked :

My only question is was he really whippin Darth Sidious ass, or was Sidious just bluffing so he could get Anakin to get closer to the dark side. The three Jedi who accompanied Mace should have been working in the Jedi mail room becasue they didn't get a whiff of action before they got chopped up.

Our initial response:

Mace Windu was really giving sidious a beat down, what the movie does not tell you is that vaapad is not just a lightsaber style, it is a state of mind, so when sidious is attacking, mace is absorbing his dark side enegy and throwing it right back at him, this is one of the advantage of vaapad. A person has to have the discipline of the highest level, so far there has been only one to master vaapad and as for the other two, vaapad mastered them.

Our update:

About the other Jedi Masters that accompanied Mace Windu: Kit Fisto (the green one with all the brain tails), Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin (with the two long horns on the side of his head). Kit Fisto is a formidable fighter with the lightsaber. Of course, he should not have been taken out. Master Tiin is a telepath and he could not even read Palpatine. Yet the former Senator turned Emperor was able to kill them with ease.

As Billie Wheelz discussed before, the dark side (which we will discuss later) was clouding everything. Even Yoda could not see the paths the future laid for them. Since Episode I, he made references on how the Sith had clouded everything (actually since the Stark Hyperspace War which took place about 40 years BSW). So that coupled with the element of surprise was how Palpatine was able to defeat at least one Jedi Master with one swipe.

Remember that Palpatine/Sidious is very powerful in the Force. There have only been a handful of Jedi/Sith throughout the entire history of adepts who can actually 'remove' themselves from the Force meaning they can not be detected by Jedi/Sith as 'Force sensitive.' One would also have to be very powerful to do this. THe most recent has been Vergere, an Old Republic Jedi who lived well up until the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. He actually lived and worked a few kilometers from the Jedi Temple. So that says alot.

He watched the Jedi for decades and probably knew what forms each of the Masters he fought knew and practiced. The only one he did not know much of was Vaapad, which we peeped in Star Wars: Shatterpoint. We also know that Sith such as Dooku master Form II which is used to battle other lightsaber wielders. That can explain more.