annathepiper | Entries tagged with han solo

There’s been a lot of dubious buzz over the last several months about Solo: A Star Wars Story. A lot of folks have been concerned about the change in directors, and about whether the movie would deliver a cohesive story. It’s only been out a week, and there’s buzz now about OHNOEZ DID IT FLOP, apparently because it hasn’t made quite as gigantic a pile of money as The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi have done.

With all this negative buzz going around, you could easily conclude that the movie sucks. I am delighted to report, Internets, that this is not the case.

As y’all know I’m a lifelong fangirl for Harrison Ford in general, and for Han Solo in particular. So I was absolutely expecting to come into this movie all Judgy McJudgypants. Because of my Ford fangirldom, but also because of my longstanding love of the Han Solo backstory novels by Brian Daley and A.C. Crispin. The Crispins in particular are near and dear to my heart, as I relied upon them heavily for inspiration when playing Han on Star Wars MUSH back in the day.

Happily, while this movie’s story is of course different in the minor details (while getting the major ones generally right), its spirit felt entirely like those novels. It was just generally fun in a way we don’t usually get with Star Wars flicks. By which I mean, we’re not dealing with galaxy-shaking stakes here. This is an origin story, a heist-flick-in-space, with the Empire only a background presence rather than the main point.

And while Alden Ehrenreich isn’t Harrison Ford, I am now happy to accept his take on Han. Also, Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian is absolutely glorious, and so is the droid L3.

All in all, if you’re a Star Wars fan–and especially if you’re a Han fan–go see it!

Now let’s have a swing past the Spoiler Mines of Kessel, shall we?

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Dara and I, accompanied by friends Mimi and Layna, have finally seen The Force Awakens.

YOU GUYS. That? That right there? That was a goddamned Star Wars film. And let me put this in perspective for you: do you all know the last time I would have walked out of a movie theater entirely emotionally satisfied with a Star Wars film? That would have been 1980–the year The Empire Strikes Back came out.

And I can say this. Even having had a major plot point spoiled for me (and I am STILL cranky at the player on Dungeon Boss chat who blew that for me, grr), I was still full of the feels. And I have many, many thoughts on what I just witnessed, and I shall now share them with you all!

Needless to say, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS OMG SO MANY SPOILERS YOUR FLEET CANNOT REPEL SPOILERS OF THIS MAGNITUDE AND DID I MENTION SPOILERS? If you’re coming over from one of the social media networks or from LJ or Dreamwidth to read this, I beg you: please stay right on angelahighland.com if you want to drop comments. Because there will be spoilers and I want to minimize their presence anywhere this post gets mirrored. If I see you drop a spoiler-related comment on any of my social media networks where this post goes up, I WILL DELETE THAT COMMENT. Do not make Han cranky!

Han says NO.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding! Let’s get to it, shall we? And did I mention OMG SPOILERS?

Read the rest of this entry »

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Crossposts: http://annathepiper.livejournal.com/1330371.html

We interrupt my ongoing coverage of PuppyGate for this critical, and I mean, CRITICAL, report that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has just dropped a new trailer.

BRB I appear to be eight years old again, and something's in my eye. :~)

Current Mood: hopeful
Crossposts: http://annathepiper.livejournal.com/1294346.html

Because I got no brain, pretty much, and because I want to get this draft file out of my queue.

Picked up from Kobo:

Razor’s Edge, by Martha Wells. First of a Star Wars trilogy set between A New Hope and Empire, grabbed on that grounds and also because of Leia looking badassed on the cover. Giving me new Rebellion-era adventures IS a pretty damned good way to get me to pay attention to Star Wars again, I gotta say!

(Also, I noted with glee that Book 2 has a Han-centric cover. Yum.)

And, picked up from B&N:

The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch, which I still haven’t read. I actually have a copy of this in paperback as well, but I grabbed the ebook because it was available for only .99. (Still is as of me checking this evening, so if you don’t have this book already, check fast! You may be able to snag it for cheap!)

156 for the year.

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Because I got no brain, pretty much, and because I want to get this draft file out of my queue.

Picked up from Kobo:

(Also, I noted with glee that Book 2 has a Han-centric cover. Yum.)

And, picked up from B&N:

156 for the year.

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

The SF/F genre has taken a heavy blow today. Just a few scant days after her post to Facebook that she was doing battle with cancer, Ann Crispin, who wrote under the name A.C. Crispin, has passed away. I’m seeing the news going all over Twitter, and Making Light has a post up here.

For me, her impact was heaviest with her amazing Han Solo trilogy in the Star Wars universe: The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn. I adored the HELL out of those novels, and found them critical reference material for when I played Han on Star Wars MUSH. She did such a fabulous job as well utilizing what was established in the previous Han novels by Brian Daley as well.

I even wrote to her about those novels, way back when, and I remember having had a lovely conversation with her by email about them.

Dara has a copy of her excellent Trek novel Yesterday’s Son as well, and while it’s been a while since I’ve read that, I quite respected that book too.

Many, many condolences to her loved ones and fans.

ETA: Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware calls upon Ann’s fans to honor her memory by reading her work, and by continuing to spread the good word to writers about how to watch out for themselves. Strauss says Writer Beware WILL continue operations.

Tor.com has posted an obituary.

ETA #2: The Mary Sue has a post up now about Crispin over here.

ETA #3: SFWA’s obit for her is here.

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

I even wrote to her about those novels, way back when, and I remember having had a lovely conversation with her by email about them.

Dara has a copy of her excellent Trek novel Yesterday’s Son as well, and while it’s been a while since I’ve read that, I quite respected that book too.

Many, many condolences to her loved ones and fans.

Tor.com has posted an obituary.

ETA #2: The Mary Sue has a post up now about Crispin over here.

ETA #3: SFWA’s obit for her is here.

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Clearing out a few more items off the wishlist backlog. Picked up from Carina:

Stellarnet Prince, by J.L Hilton. This is book 2 of her series with Carina, and since I liked the first one, I’m proceeding on to the second!

And, picked up from Kobo:

Gaming for Keeps, by Seleste deLaney. Seleste deLaney is a fellow Carina author, but this is one of her non-Carina releases, and I had to grab this one for being chock full of geekery. The heroine is a gamer and there’s action at a con! Awesome!
Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey. SF novel that’s been on my radar for a bit and I grabbed it while it was available for $2.99.
Six-Gun Snow White, by Catherynne M. Valente. Grabbed this for being generally quite impressed by the excerpt that got posted to tor.com a while back, and because this promises to be one of the more entertaining fairy tale retellings I’ve encountered in a while.
The Gaslight Dogs, by Karin Lowachee. A fantasy that also has been on my radar for a while, and I wanted to give it a look for a) a pretty neat cover, and b) some alternate-history action going on that featured an Inuit-like culture.
The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn, by A.C. Crispin. This is the awesome Han Solo origin story trilogy Crispin did a while back, and while I’ve already got these in paperback–in fact, they’re among the few Star Wars novels I’m keeping in paperback–I wanted them in ebook too. Because they’re just. That. Awesome.
The Han Solo Adventures, by Brian Daley. Same notation as previous. This is the omnibus edition of the much older Han Solo adventures that Daley did, and which were in turn referenced by Crispin in her works. Great fun.
Before the Storm, Shield of Lies, and Tyrant’s Test, by Michael P. Kube-McDowell. A Star Wars trilogy I didn’t retain in paperback but which I wanted again in ebook. Liked this one for high Han-related action.
Still Life, by Louise Penny. Mystery. This is the first of Penny’s series of mysteries set in Quebec, which I want to read for reasons that should be obvious to anybody who’s seen me rhapsodizing about Quebecois trad for more than two seconds in a row.

122 for the year.

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Clearing out a few more items off the wishlist backlog. Picked up from Carina:

Stellarnet Prince, by J.L Hilton. This is book 2 of her series with Carina, and since I liked the first one, I’m proceeding on to the second!

And, picked up from Kobo:

Gaming for Keeps, by Seleste deLaney. Seleste deLaney is a fellow Carina author, but this is one of her non-Carina releases, and I had to grab this one for being chock full of geekery. The heroine is a gamer and there’s action at a con! Awesome!
Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey. SF novel that’s been on my radar for a bit and I grabbed it while it was available for $2.99.
Six-Gun Snow White, by Catherynne M. Valente. Grabbed this for being generally quite impressed by the excerpt that got posted to tor.com a while back, and because this promises to be one of the more entertaining fairy tale retellings I’ve encountered in a while.
The Gaslight Dogs, by Karin Lowachee. A fantasy that also has been on my radar for a while, and I wanted to give it a look for a) a pretty neat cover, and b) some alternate-history action going on that featured an Inuit-like culture.
The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn, by A.C. Crispin. This is the awesome Han Solo origin story trilogy Crispin did a while back, and while I’ve already got these in paperback–in fact, they’re among the few Star Wars novels I’m keeping in paperback–I wanted them in ebook too. Because they’re just. That. Awesome.
The Han Solo Adventures, by Brian Daley. Same notation as previous. This is the omnibus edition of the much older Han Solo adventures that Daley did, and which were in turn referenced by Crispin in her works. Great fun.
Before the Storm, Shield of Lies, and Tyrant’s Test, by Michael P. Kube-McDowell. A Star Wars trilogy I didn’t retain in paperback but which I wanted again in ebook. Liked this one for high Han-related action.
Still Life, by Louise Penny. Mystery. This is the first of Penny’s series of mysteries set in Quebec, which I want to read for reasons that should be obvious to anybody who’s seen me rhapsodizing about Quebecois trad for more than two seconds in a row.

122 for the year.

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

spazzkat pointed me at this last night, and I am obliged by two and a half years of playing Solo on Star Wars MUSH to share this with you all. <3 The creator did an awesome job, and apparently even won a fan film contest with it! Particular props for the voice work for Han channeling Ford quite nicely, as well as his banter with Chewie.