Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Graphic Novel Adaptation by Jody Houser, et al.

 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Graphic Novel Adaptation by Jody Houser, et al.-176 pages

"Rogue One" is possibly my favorite of the new Disney Star Wars Canon films (it's right there with "The Force Awakens"). This graphic novel adaptation follows the movie plot closely, but a couple extra scenes are added in. A short story about how Cassian Andor and K-2SO meet follows the main story. I enjoyed reading this adaptation just as I enjoyed the movie. 

Dark Age by Pierce Brown

Dark Age by Pierce Brown - 776 pages
Red Rising Series Book Five

It's been ten years since Darrow took his dead wife's dream to the stars and broke the world.   As an outlaw trying to rescue the doomed Free Legions on Mars he faces insurmountable odds and the temptation to give into the darkness in order to achieve victory.  He is challenged by those within the Republic and the resurrection of the lost last heir to the empire, Lysander who is back to claim what he feels is rightfully his.

The first of this book is battle, battle and more battle which gets a bit wearying.  But the plot kicks in and the characters who have been so strong throughout the series bring their voices to the story and then things picked up for me.  It's not the best entry in the series but I'm still curious to see what happens next. 

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck - 176 pages

It's 1958 and there is a new family living next door to Mrs. Dowdel . . . a family that desperately needs her help whether they know it or not.  There's 12 year old Bob who is shy and being picked on by bullies.  There's 14 year old Phyllis who is obsessed with Elvis Presley.  There's 6 year old Ruth Ann who is looking for a larger than life role model.  And there are their parents, a young minister and his wife, who are adjusting to small town life.  As they go through the fall season from the start of school to Christmas, they'll realize just how special Mrs. Dowdel is and all the gifts she's given them.

This is a companion novel to Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder.  I really enjoyed listening to these books on audio.  The narration is wonderful.  The stories are fun, lively, and interesting.  I would highly recommend these to anyone looking for a fun read or listen.

Leia, Princess of Alderaan (Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi) by Claudia Gray

Leia, Princess of Alderaan (Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi) by Claudia Gray-409 pages

I read this because little had been written or said about Leia's childhood after her adoption by Bail and Breha Organa. I am glad that I read this because it did not disappoint. Claudia Gray has written other Star Wars novels (I have read both Lost Stars and Bloodline) and I really liked them, so that also factored into my reading this. This story is about Princess Leia becoming the official, vested heir to the throne of Alderaan at age 16. It is also about her time in the Imperial Apprentice Legislature and her finding out about her parents' planning/starting the rebellion. She is eventually allowed to join her parents in the rebellion (obviously). Anyway, I liked this book, though not quite as much as Gray's other Star Wars novels. 

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson - 310 pages

Verity Newton is new to New York City in 1888 looking for work as a governess.  She's lucky in finding a job her first day of interviews.  She thinks her luck is continuing when she meets a group of friends.  Turns out these friends are all involved in a rebellion against the British government trying to win their freedom.  She agrees to act a spy for these mechanics against the magisters (including her employer).  But is everything as it seems?

This is the first in a trilogy about an alternate America where British magicians kept the colonies from rebelling.  I really enjoyed this first book and can't wait to read the next two books in the series.

Star Wars: Rebel Rising (Star Wars Disney Canon Novel) by Beth Revis

Star Wars: Rebel Rising (Star Wars Disney Canon Novel) by Beth Revis-410 pages

Rebel Rising fills in the years of Jyn Erso's life between her rescue by Saw Gerrera at age 8 and her joining the rebels in her early 20's. It is a filler, but it is so much more than that as it gives more background as to why Jyn has become so jaded and apathetic. Overall, I really liked this book. It does have sad moments, so be prepared, but it is a good read.

Lost Stars (Star Wars: Journey to the Force Awakens) by Claudia Gray

Lost Stars (Star Wars: Journey to the Force Awakens) by Claudia Gray-551 pages

I read Bloodline, also by Claudia Gray, and enjoyed it quite a bit and I had read many good reviews of this so I wanted to read it. It was very interesting to see the events of the original Star Wars trilogy through the eyes of those who were in the lower positions and worked their way up. I also enjoyed the plot of this novel and Gray's prose is high quality. I enjoyed Lost Stars much more than Aftermath by Chuck Wendig (although I am not as harsh on Aftermath as some) as the plot and prose are so much better and more professional. Overall, I enjoyed reading about a boy and a girl from the same planet who both initially join the Imperial Fleet happily, but eventually take two different paths only to be reunited in the end.

Implant by J. Grace Pennington

Implant by J. Grace Pennington -- 173 pages

Gordon's life was rough enough as, orphaned and anemic, before he developed cancer. Now his life, sad as it is, is going to end. Soon. Unless an implant can save him.

This chip is supposed to cure any disease, but before he can get it, he is suddenly pulled into the future--a future where everyone has an implant, and that implant can kill a person with the push of a button. Because he was fetched before he got the implant,he might be a help the rebels who brought him here. Or maybe they want him for another reason.

Rebellion: the History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution

Rebellion: the History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution

By Peter Ackroyd
502 pages

The book follows the history of England from 1603 to 1688. This time frame included the reign of Oliver Cromwell. I enjoyed the book, however the author, at times, quoted profane and vulgar stories which was not appreciated by the reader. 

Rebellion by James McGee

Rebellion: A Thriller in Napoleon's Paris by James McGee --- 522 pages

A masterly historical thriller, fourth in McGee's series featuring former British Army officer now Bow Street Runner Matthew Hawkwood.  This is McGee's most ambitious attempt to insert his dark and sardonic hero into the midst of tumultuous historical events.

In October of 1812 the British and their allies have been fighting Napoleon a long time and everyone --- except the Emperor --- is tired of war and desperate for peace. Hoping to use this disenchantment to persuade the various factions among the French to unite against their common enemy, the British government quietly offers to finance a coup against Napoleon while he is two thousand miles away on the Russian Front with all his best troops and winter rapidly approaching.  Matthew Hawkwood is seconded to the Alien Office (a secretive government department responsible for undercover intelligence work) to become the agent provocateur on the ground in Paris responsible for advancing this plot. 

It's a challenge to plausibly insert a fictitious character playing a leading role into the very heart of a well-documented, complex historical event, but McGee is so convincing that at the penultimate moment you really do wonder if Hawkwood & Co. are going to pull off their coup --- even when you know what ultimately occurred.  Many of the characters and events in this novel are real; McGee brings them vividly and convincingly to life on the page and manages to maintain historical veracity at the same time.  It's a virtuoso performance, and it has whetted my appetite for the fifth Hawkwood novel, The Blooding, published in Great Britain at the beginning of this year, in which British agent Hawkwood is on the run in the United States in the middle of the War of 1812.  

Click HERE to read a review of Rebellion from Publisher's Weekly.

Click HERE to read a review from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Click HERE to read a review from the blog Reading the Past.

     

Star Wars: Allegiance by Timothy Zahn

324 pp. Set not long after Star Wars: A New Hope, this book follows the intersecting story lines of a group of rogue stormtroopers questioning their loyalties, a young Mara Jade on a mission to locate traitors to the Empire, and Luke, Leia, and Han Solo's missions for the Rebellion. An excellent SW novel.

Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller

367 pp.

Set a few years before Star Wars: A New Hope, this novel is a prequel to the new animated tv series Star Wars: Rebels. Former Jedi Kanan Jarrus has managed to escape detection from the Empire by keeping his head down and not sticking his neck out for others, but all of that changes when he meets the rebellious Twi'lek pilot Hera. I had a hard time putting this one down.

Planet Hulk by Greg Pak

Planet Hulk by Greg Pak, 416 pages

In a world ravaged by the Incredible Hulk, the only solution is to launch him into space towards a distant planet.  Well, at least that's what was decided in the Marvel universe.  After causing more harm than good, the Hulk is launched into space to an uninhabited planet where he can smash and frolic to his hearts content.  All was well and good, except for the fact that the Hulk got sucked into a space vortex, transporting him to a planet ruled by totalitarian emperor (man, I hate it when that happens).  So the Hulk does what any sensible person would do, become a champion gladiator, inspire a rebellion, and try to topple the emperor and establish a more free and unified government.

Overall, the story was good.  Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the Hulk's story should give this a shot.  I mean, the dialogue alone is worthy to challenge the likes of Shakespeare.  Plus, it's available at your local friendly neighborhood library.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth  525 pages

One choice can transform you - or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves - and herself - while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable - and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas, 449 pages (plus notes)

Boring would be the best word to describe this book. It has a promising storyline but maybe it's just that it has been done too many times. Prince Titus is told by his seer mother that he will die for an elemental mage that will take down the Bane and Atlantis (ruling tyranny). He is to guard said mage and protect them at all times so they can become what they were destined to be. The mage comes in the form of a young teen girl, Iolanthe, who has been raised by her guardian flitting from place to place as he loses job after job. He cautions her to not use her magic so freely but she doesn't heed his words. She draws lightning from the sky which in turn calls the attention of the prince and the inquisitor of Atlantis. Prince Titus rescues Iolanthe and, as he has already created a fictitious persona, "Fairfax" for her at his school, forces her to dress and behave as a boy and attend school with him. From that point on it is a slow dance as everyone at the school believes they know "Fairfax", who has been gone from school for 3 months to recover from an injury. Toss in games of cricket, reliving fairytales inside a book to develop Iolanthe/Fairfax's magic, and the constant threat of Atlantis discovering who Fairfax really is... and you pretty much have the whole book. Very slow moving and no satisfying end. I did enjoy the notes at the end of the book, however. I guess that's something.