My review of The Rise of Skywalker

Well … what did I think of this expensive fan fiction? It was way better than The Last Jedi. Still I like The Force Awakens a bit better. Only because the ending of The Rise of Skywalker was very long and drawn out. I was getting frustrated and looking at my watch. There were parts I enjoyed but there are some plot holes, in my opinion, and inconsistent aspects. I miss George Lucas. His films were consistent with each other. This Sequel Trilogy (I am calling it the Fan Fiction Trilogy) feels like a mish mosh of 3 different films. The makers should have sat down and planned it all out from the get go. Not each director/writer doing their own thing.  It truly feels like J.J. Abrams started his own movie, then Rian Johnson did his own thing completely off course, and then Abrams went back to finish his own story.

I am going to break this up into things I liked, things I disliked and things I hated it.

 

New York Comic Con 2019 – Saturday

New York Comic Con 2019 – Saturday, October 5

I was going to wear my Padmé green velvet costume that I wore at Celebration Chicago, but since I was not feeling well I decided against it. I just didn’t want to schlep around in a gown. I wanted to wear a comfy hoodie with pockets that I could put my tissues in.

So I wore my Her Universe Padmé hoodie. It’s the yellow, pink and purple ombré hoodie that I bought at Celebration Chicago.

I am bummed that I didn’t dress in cosplay, but it’s ok. I’ll wear my costume next year. I’ll also take even more vitamin C so not to get a cold.

My sister and I started our morning by going straight to the Penguin booth for The Starless Sea (by Erin Morgenstern) ARC giveaway.

Like I had said in an earlier post, the set up was super annoying and chaotic. I guess Knopf Doubleday were told they were not allowed to have people line up, which is stupid and ridiculous because A) every other booth at Penguin had lines, as did all the other booths on the show floor, and B) people will still loiter around until 11 and be in the way anyway.

The people loitering around the booth became a disorganized crowd of people just storming the booth at 11am sharp to get the free ARC. They would have been much better off counting the number of books the had, line people up and give them a numbered ticket after scanning their badges. Or first come, first serve, scan badge – hand out numbered tickets starting at 10am and then ask people to return anytime that day after 11am to get their guaranteed copy.

I think they totally underestimated the demand for The Starless Sea. This is the first book that Erin has written since the beloved The Night Circus ,which was published in 2011.

That is a big break, so of course people want this book. One girl told us that an ARC of the book was stolen right out of her hand at a giveaway at Book Con.

SO the fact that they didn’t line us up properly was a nightmare. The people working the table told the crowds not to loiter and come back at 11. But no one listens because they know if they do – they will miss out.

And they were really down to the second. It was at 11 sharp when they started scanning and handing out the books. The loitering crowd became a pushing mosh pit. You can say no pushing – but come on? How are people supposed to get out of the crowd once they got their book? At least when there is an ORGANIZED LINE there is an entry and exit point.

Utter ridiculousness.

My sister and I did manage to keep ourselves towards the front of the loitering crowd and were successful.

My sister and I also took the Book Wizard quiz. I got an ARC of Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie.

I forgot to mention in the previous post that we also tried to guess the number of books in this stack for Orbit Books.

We were guessing by the thickness and adding it up on the calculator.
We guessed 9,594 pages. The answer is 9,590 pages! Off by 4 pages! UGH!

New York Comic Con 2019 – Thursday and Friday.

New York Comic Con 2019 – Thursday, October 3

I don’t have much to say about Thursday. An important project had to be finished at work and so I had to sacrifice the panels I wanted to see. I ended up getting to the Con a little after 4PM and I only stayed a couple of hours.

I missed out on some of the ARCs the publishers were giving out but I did buy a mystery box from Penguin Random House.

 

I chose Ladies First in Sci-Fi and Fantasy and inside the box were two pins, a lined notebook, and these books.
– Trading in Danger (Vatta’s War 1) by Elizabeth Moon
– Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal 1) by Zen Cho
– Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Even though this book has already been released the book in the box is an ARC.

Besides buying those books I walked around the floor and checked out the Hallmark Pop-Minded booth. There are some ornaments that I will want to buy when they come out. I didn’t buy any of their NYCC exclusives this year. There were none that interested me.

The panels I sacrificed were:

Star Wars Audiobooks: A Behind-the-Scenes Conversation at 11:15 am-12:15 pm.
Get the inside scoop on how the Star Wars audiobooks are recorded and produced with some of the biggest Star Wars authors, voice actors, and producers in the business! You’ll hear from narrators Marc Thompson, Saskia Maarleveld, and Euan Morton in a tell-all panel moderated by Nick Martorelli (PRH Audio producer) about the new Star Wars titles they’ve worked on, how they create the characters, what it’s like in the recording booth and how production builds different layers of voice narration, sound effects, and music into the final track.

Rotten Movies We Love: Critics and Fans Reflect on the Stinkers that Stole our Hearts at 12:30 pm-1:30 pm. (Such a shame I missed this one because these Rotten Tomatoes panels are always a fun time.)

Ever been crushed to learn your favorite movie – or a new one you’re dying to see – has been given the infamous green splat from Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer? Inspired by the upcoming book, Rotten Movies We Love, comedian and movie lover, Mark Ellis hosts Rotten Tomatoes Editor-in-Chief Joel Meares, RT editor Jacqueline Coley, and a number of critics in a lively discussion about films that are so bad they’re good, underrated gems, and iconic cult classics. An interactive experience, audience members are empowered to put on their critic hats and join the spirited conversation – and participate in RT’s fan-favorite Tomatometer guessing game, Street Vs. Elite. 

Part of Your World-Building at 2:30 pm-3:15 pm.
It’s our world. Just add monsters. And ghosts. And time travelers. Four acclaimed fantasy and science fiction novelists discuss bringing their books to life. Featured panelists include Kat Cho (Wicked Fox), Rebecca Roanhorse (The Sixth World Series), and Zoraida Cordova (the Brooklyn Brujas series).

This one was actually at the NYPL on 5th Ave. I thought, and was hoping, that even though I would definitely be missing the other two panels maybe I would be finished in time for this one. Zoraida Cordova was a part of this panel and so I brought with me Labyrinth Lost and Bruja Born for her to sign. But I didn’t even make it to this panel. Carried around the heavy hard covers with me for nothing.

The last hour of the day my sister joined me after she left work. She also bought a mystery box from Penguin. She picked my second choice which was Classic Sci-Fi. She also got two pins and these books:
– Hyperion by Dan Simmons
– The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
– Foundation by Isaac Asimov

When she saw the Asimov book she was like, “I knew it!”

New York Comic Con 2019 – Friday, October 4- Part I

Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn; narrated by Marc Thompson

Grand Admiral Thrawn faces the ultimate test of his loyalty to the Empire in this epic Star Wars novel from bestselling author Timothy Zahn.

“If I were to serve the Empire, you would command my allegiance.”

Such was the promise Grand Admiral Thrawn made to Emperor Palpatine at their first meeting. Since then, Thrawn has been one of the Empire’s most effective instruments, pursuing its enemies to the very edges of the known galaxy. But as keen a weapon as Thrawn has become, the Emperor dreams of something far more destructive.

Now, as Thrawn’s TIE defender program is halted in favor of Director Krennic’s secret Death Star project, he realizes that the balance of power in the Empire is measured by more than just military acumen or tactical efficiency. Even the greatest intellect can hardly compete with the power to annihilate entire planets.

As Thrawn works to secure his place in the Imperial hierarchy, his former protégé Eli Vanto returns with a dire warning about Thrawn’s homeworld. Thrawn’s mastery of strategy must guide him through an impossible choice: duty to the Chiss Ascendancy, or fealty to the Empire he has sworn to serve. Even if the right choice means committing treason.

 

I think this will be the last of the Thrawn books for a while based on the timeline. It is set right before the finale of Rebels. The third book of this trilogy was not my favorite of the three. I was a little bit bored in the middle of the story, and I thought the plot was a bit..weak.

That being said I will focus on some of the positive things.

I really liked the humor Marc Thompson brought to some of the characters. Such as his Sean Connery voice for Admiral Savit. That cracked me up. As did his pompous, snobby voice for Assistant Director Ronan.
Whenever Director Krennic made an appearance he was always yelling, but Marc’s voice work for him was spot on. Oh, and I was so amused by the jokes at his expense about his white cape. So pretentious.

I loved the voices Marc did for the Death Troopers and how they were just grilling Assistant Director Ronan, because he was so annoying.

This time Thrawn did not say “Perhaps” as much! What a relief!

I did enjoy the subplot with Eli Vanto, the Chiss and their navigators. He didn’t annoy me this time and it was interesting to see his role with the Chiss were he is an outsider. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them and learning more about the Force Sensitive girls who navigate their ships.

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!

Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray, narrated by January LaVoy

Witness the birth of the Resistance

When the Rebellion defeated the Empire in the skies above Endor, Leia Organa believed it was the beginning to a lasting peace. But after decades of vicious infighting and partisan gridlock in the New Republic Senate, that hope seems like a distant memory.

Now a respected senator, Leia must grapple with the dangers that threaten to cripple the fledgling democracy—from both within and without. Underworld kingpins, treacherous politicians, and Imperial loyalists are sowing chaos in the galaxy. Desperate to take action, senators are calling for the election of a First Senator. It is their hope that this influential post will bring strong leadership to a divided galaxy.

As the daughter of Darth Vader, Leia faces with distrust the prospect of any one person holding such a powerful position—even when supporters suggest Leia herself for the job. But a new enemy may make this path Leia’s only option. For at the edges of the galaxy, a mysterious threat is growing.

This is one of the top notch Star Wars novels. It’s my first Claudia Gray novel and she is an excellent author. (I plan to read more of her work. My sister is a fan of her Firebird series.)

Leia is so in character and it’s fantastic. Gray wrote her perfectly. She really got her intelligence, her heart, her temper and her sass so well.

There is some action and adventure in the story, but it is more political – and not in a boring way. The story takes place six years prior to Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Not an era I care for but after reading this I have more insight into how the First Order came to power.

January LaVoy’s narration was great. She sounded similar to older Leia’s voice. Her voice for Lady Carise Sindian was spot on because she sounded just like a prissy royal bitch. And I liked what she did for Ransolm Casterfo’s voice. It was great for his character development where he starts out as a stuffy ass and then by the end you are sympathizing with him.

I loved the development of the friendship between Leia and Ransolm. The turn around from enemies to friends to enemies to friends again was an emotional rollercoaster.

I can’t go further without going into some spoilers:

Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019 – Thursday, April 11

After missing Celebration in 2017 for the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars I said I wouldn’t miss the next one. And I meant it.

When they announced it was in Chicago I was a little disappointed. I never really had an interest in going to Chicago. Especially in April, when it is still cold and there is a possibly of snow. (And it did snow!) In the end I really liked Chicago and would like to visit again to see more of the sights and museums. Just not in April.

My sister, Victoria, and I flew in a day early to do some sightseeing. It was cold and it did rain quiet heavily so we didn’t get to see much. I’ll talk about that more in another post. Right now I just want to talk about Celebration!

Day 1 was a preview day, so no panels. The show floor opened at 1 pm so my sister and I spent the morning having breakfast at Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe. We had the Upside down pineapple pancakes. It was so delicious but so big we took the left overs to the hotel and it lasted us the whole week as our breakfast.

We then walked around Millennium Park to take better photos of The Bean and the sights in the sunlight. We also went to The Chicago Theatre.

After checking out the sights and buying some souvenirs we went back to the hotel so I could dress up as Barriss Offee. I made the costume myself. After getting to wear it I know some changes I would make. The cape needs a shrug underneath to keep it from shifting. I knew this would happen but I ran out of time. I would also like to add pockets to the skirt. As for the makeup, drawing on the diamonds was hard. I think I want to find/make little purple diamond studs to glue on with eyelash glue. I would also like to save up for a really nice lightsaber and not have the Toys R Us one (which I clipped to my belt and it mostly hid under my cape.)

I would also like to point out that I don’t like what was done to Barriss on The Clone Wars so I’m Legends Barriss- where she was Anakin’s peer and was not turned into a terrorist traitor. But that is a whole other discussion.

I did get many compliments and 2 guys took my photo when I was on E.K. Johnson’s book signing line. While I was taking a photo of an excellent Ahsoka cosplay (from the end of Rebels) she said to me, “Even after everything.” I chuckled but didn’t get into my Legends Barriss spiel.

My sister and I took the complementary shuttle from the hotel which was super convenient and not so crowded on a Thursday.

Something new this Celebration was that instead of overnight queuing for the main opening panels there was a lottery. I like the idea of that but I didn’t bother with the lotteries because the only one I really wanted was The Phantom Menace panel, but we were leaving Monday.

You could also reserve panels- if you got the crappie app to work. Which I never could for reserving panels, nor for the Lightspeed lane for the Celebration Store. The only thing I used the app for was reminders for the panels I wanted to see, my autograph and photo ops, and to map the room the panels were in.

There was an 8 hour wait on the queue for the Celebration Store. There were some t-shirts I did want. Mainly the badge art of Leia, Luke, Ahsoka, Anakin &Rex & Ahsoka, and  the Rebels mural.

But after that whole fiasco I gave up on it the first day. I don’t want to spend all day on a queue for just a bunch of t-shirts. And if the app had worked as it should have I wouldn’t have needed to wait and I would have had my shirts. They also didn’t tell anyone you needed to download the app update to get the Lightspeed Lane to even show up. I found that out from someone on a queue. But even so, when I did update it, the Lightspeed Lane still did not work for me. So: Celebration= FUN! Celebration App= Epic Fail!

Honestly, I don’t know why we can’t order this merchandise as part of the Road to Celebration and have it shipped to our home instead. Such B.S.

I ordered two things from the Road to Celebration: the Anakin and Padmé pins/t-shirt and the Hera and Kanan pins/shirt. I didn’t participate in any of the pin trading or buying. I kept my goodies at home.

Anyway, back to Thursday. As soon as we got to the exhibit hall I went straight to Del Rey to get the bracelet for the exclusive SWCC edition of Master and Apprentice by Claudia Grey. The bracelets were already gone for Thursday.

Next, and I knew it would be like this, the Her Universe queue was like a mile long. It snaked, with many line breaks to Artist Alley. At the very end of the day when my sister and I saw the line was short I did manage to buy from the Sisters of the Force collection Hera’s green sweatshirt and Padmé’s Lake Retreat dress. Everything else I wanted was sold out for the day.

So after checking out the line for HU we went to Anderson’s Books. The crowd was massive and getting into the store was a fight. I was looking for the SWCC exclusive edition of Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston. There were none to be seen so I was getting frustrated and was going to go ask the cashier. Victoria stayed on the check out line and thank goodness she did because they brought out a box with the edition I wanted. Vic grabbed one. I also bought a hardcover copy of Thrawn. I brought Thrawn Alliances from home for Timothy Zahn to sign but you had to have purchased something from Anderson’s to go to their signings.

Then we walked around to get the layout of the place. We went by Jason Palmer’s booth. He had been working on a giant mural that was unveiled at the convention that has the whole saga: The Prequels, The Clone Wars, Rebels, Rogue One, Solo, The Originals, and The Sequels. It is beautiful! If I had the money and a mansion, I’d get it.

Episode IX was covered the first day but I saw what it looked like on a iPad at the booth. You could buy the complete mural starting at $150 and it’s 10 inches by 7.5 FEET!

New York Comic Con 2018 – Saturday, October 6

First panel of the day was I’ll Take Dementors for $500, Obi-Wan: A Fan Game Show with Marc Thompson, Delilah S. Dawson, Sylvain Neuve, Ryan North, and Chuck Wendig.

Here is the gist: Do you know the whole DC universe by their legal names? ID a Star Wars villain from a single wicked line? Name every kind of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans? Test your knowledge, competing alongside bestselling authors in categories like The Dark Side, Bad@ss Chicks, Winter Is Coming and more, using clips from Star Wars, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter audiobooks. Narrator Marc Thompson hosts in character as Obi-Wan Kenobi and will select a few lucky audience members to compete onstage.

While Marc was dressed as Obi-Wan, he didn’t do his voice the whole time. The game was played like Jeopardy! and the categories were The Dark Side; Expecto Patronum; Winter Is Coming; Fierce Females; I Can Be Your Hero, Baby; and Nerd-Tastic.

It was really fun to watch. My favorite categories were The Dark Side and Expecto Patronum. For some reason they weren’t picking Winter Is Coming until nearly the end. If none of the players knew the answer the audience would shout it out and the first one to buzz in got to answer it. In the end Delilah’s team won.

There was a short Q&A afterwards. The part that interested me most was when Marc Thompson was talking about the process of recording an audiobook. He’ll get the book and make notes, and also record some new voices on his phone to refer to. As he gets more into the recording process he will be so used to doing the new voices he won’t need to refer to his voice memo.

Marc doesn’t talk to the authors because he has a director and doesn’t want to go over the director’s head by saying, “Well, the author said this.”

He was complemented on how great he sounds but Marc gave the credit to the editors who piece it together when he makes mistakes, as well as the music and sound effects they add when it’s a Star Wars novel.

As for the voice of Thrawn, I guess he did a different voice for the anniversary edition of the Thrawn Trilogy, because that was before Rebels. I still have to listen to it. But for the two most recent books he really captured the his voice from the animated series.

I can’t remember this other question or full answer now, but Chuck said that Palpatine’s first name “Sheev” is like “Steve” in AGFFA. That made me laugh.

After the panel there was a signing with the authors right outside the room, which was super convenient. We didn’t have to run and push our way to another part of the Javits.

This time I brought From a Certain Point of View with me. I told each author how I plan to slowly collect every author’s signature until I am old.