Xepherus Reads

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Star Wars Fans!   I have sat down and absorbed yet another book in the Star Wars universe and I am happy I did. I love what Disney is doing with the new canon. As much as I miss certain elements from the old extended universe, I have to admit that all involved in creating the new canon have done an admirable job of keeping me entertained.   Star Wars: Smuggler's Run is written by Greg Rucka (Marvel's Shattered Empire) and features beautiful artwork by Phil Noto (Marvel's Chewbacca). It is the third book in Disney-Lucasfilm's young reader series that I have read. Like Weapon of a Jedi and Moving Target , this book runs about two hundred pages, and tells a tale set between the movie episodes. It stars Han Solo and Chewbacca in an all-new adventure, and elements that are featured in Star Wars: the Force Awakens.     In Smuggler's Run we first meet up with Han Solo in a bar named Serendipity. It is a time prior to the events...

Hello and Happy New Year, Fellow Bookworms! Last year I began a year-long reading challenge that began in August 2015 and ends 2016. In last part of 2015 I read eighteen books. Some good, some bad, some amazing. But each one had a purpose that enriched my life in one way or another. These are the five books that most affected me in 2015 and their reviews can be found on this blog: 5.                             Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag   This follow-up to the hit novel 9th Girl features the continuing story of Dana Nolan, sole survivor of a viscous serial killer. Damaged physically and mentally she embarks on a trip back to her hometown only to discover that a mystery long put to rest has resurfaced as women begin to be assaulted by a mysterious assailant. Who killed her best friend all those years ago? And is the same man back to take up hi...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms,   There it is. That pile of unread books that still haunt your bookcases. They taunt you, saying that you will never read them. Are they true? Or will you change your ways, and give them their due audience?    In 2016 I plan to be a bit strict with my reading habits. This will include the following: Take seven books that I began and never finished out of my bookcase. Set them next to my bed standing up between bookends on my nightstand. Make sure I have bookmarks paced in the last section I read. If these books have audiobooks, I will download them to my phone for easy access. I will take one book and promise to read at least thirty pages a night. I will take earphones with me in case I can read them traveling or walking. After I am done with the seven books, I will begin the process again.   It is so easy to want to do something, then not do it. We may have valid reasons, or we may have BS reasons. Either way, make the ...

   Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,   The next book I read in Disney-Lucasfilm's series of young reader selections was Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure. Written by Cecil Castellucci and Jason Fry with art by Phil Noto, this story takes places between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The book begins with Leia far in the future during the events of the Force Awakens. She is avoiding telling her memoirs to the protocol droid, PZ-4C0. But after relenting, she begins her tale.   Han Solo is in Carbonite taken by the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. Luke has survived his battle with Darth Vader, losing his hand and father's lightsaber. Alliance intel has Lando Calrissian setting off for Tatooine. And Leia is brought into a meeting with Alliance High Command only to discover that Emperor Palpatine has ordered the construction of a new Death Star. Could things get any worse for the Princess of Alderaan? The answer is ...of course! ...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms,   As you have seen in my latest reviews I have been on a Star Wars kick that has left me immersed in a galaxy far, far away. Disney-Lucasfilm has done a wonderful job taking their new canon material, and have managed to keep it very tight. Many elements of Lost Stars and Aftermath can be seen on the big screen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And new stories will be appearing between the films, such as next year's Rogue One. This new trilogy of young (adult) reader novels shows us some of what occurred between episodes of the original trilogy.   The new, strong canon is very evident in Star Wars: The Weapon of a Jedi by Jason Fry with art by Phil Noto and is published by Disney-Lucasfilm press. This book takes elements mentioned and seen in The Force Awakens and elaborates further on them.    The Weapon of a Jedi begins before the events of The Force Awakens with pilot, Jessika Pava, meeting up with C-3PO. Upon hearing that ...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms,    I have just finished a novel that not only entertained me, but also made me think about my life and my truths. We are all descendants of storytellers, and are told about life in the days before we are brought into this world. We let our fresh brains absorb the “truths” that we are told. We grow up holding onto our beliefs like a child’s safety blanket. This is because (in my opinion) we fear that deep down the “truth” had a bit more substance than we were led to believe. In the story of Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian we are introduced to a man, Orhan, who has suffered much for his beliefs, and soon uncovers a web of lies that he had based his life on.   Aline Ohanesian’s first novel is a triumphant blend of history and fiction, as she unfolds the story of a family forged from a devastating war in the early part of the Twentieth Century. I have always been one to love researching history, and sometimes I am drawn to a histor...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms!   Let me offer you a scenario:   It's the middle of the month, and you are in the worst reading slump of your life. You have no time to physically pick up a novel and read. Your TBR pile is stacked by the side of your bed, taunting you. Then you decide that if you cannot read a book visually, why not try an audiobook? You search for the audio production of the book you wish to read, and start it. But the narrator's voice annoys you. Their speaking is like nails on a chalkboard. You fear you are back to square one. What do you do?   I have been in this very situation many times. However all narrators are not bad. Here is my list of narrators that are, in my opinion, the best at bringing a book to life, with my all-time favorite saved for last: Marc Thompson:  currently narrating several of Del Rey's new Star Wars novels, including Dark Disciple, Aftermath, and A New Dawn. Thompson has a great knack for voic...