Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Book Review: An overview of the works of Timothy Zahn

"Hello, My name is Abigail Lane, and I thoroughly enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy. So I intend to started writing Blogs on the books that I read and shows I watch."

"Finally, a Star Wars book I want from an author I admire." This is what I thought a year ago when I bought Thrawn, and then proceded to buy the other two new books of his as well, and instead of just reading them and enjoying them as I had done hundreds of times before with other books I thought I should start a reviewing blog of all the Star Wars Books I have read so far.  


One of my favourite authors to be found writing novels for the old EU of Star Wars and the new Canon is Timothy Zahn. Focusing on the political views within the galaxy and giving the reader the opportunity to see the villain as much as we are used to seeing our heroes enables us to visualise the galaxy through a fresh pair of eyes, and prevents the staleness growing from the much repeated science fiction cliches. 
 
So, a little about Timothy Zahn. He is a famous novelist from the United States of America, who likes to write novels based on the fantasy and science fiction genres. He is known for his work on Star Wars, the Blackcollar trilogy, the Cobra series, other novels and short fiction stories. He has been successful, and won the Hugo Award in 1984 for 'Cascade Point'. He started off his writing with a bang and in the 90's he inspired the Star Wars expanded universe with his trilogy and has continually written Star Wars books every one to three years.



Here is a list of all the other different works by Timothy Zahn,  and the highlighted books are the few that I have read.



Publication Order of Blackcollar Books

The Blackcollar(1983)
The Backlash Mission(1986)
The Judas Solution(1983)

Publication Order of Cobra Books

Cobra(1985)
Cobra Strike(1986)
Cobra Bargain(1988)

Publication Order of Star Wars: Thrawn Books

Heir to the Empire(1991)
Dark Force Rising(1992)
The Last Command(1993)

Publication Order of Conqueror Books

Conquerors' Pride(1994)
Conquerors' Heritage(1995)
Conquerors' Legacy(1996)

Publication Order of Star Wars: The Hand Of Thrawn Books

Specter of the Past(1997)
Vision of the Future(1998)

Publication Order of Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi Books

Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand(1999) 
Survivor's Quest(2004)
Outbound Flight(2006)
Allegiance(2007)
Choices of One(2011)

Publication Order of Quadrail Books

Night Train to Rigel(2005)
The Third Lynx(2007)
Odd Girl Out(2008)
The Domino Pattern(2010)
Judgment at Proteus(2012)

Publication Order of Cobra War Books

Cobra Alliance(2009)
Cobra Guardian(2011)
Cobra Gamble(2012)

Publication Order of Terminator Salvation Books

From the Ashes(2009)
Trial by Fire(2010)

Publication Order of Star Wars: Legends Books

Winner Lose All (not read yet)(2012)
Scoundrels(2013)

Publication Order of Cobra Rebellion Trilogy Books

Cobra Slave(2013)
Cobra Outlaw(2015)
Cobra Traitor(2018)

Publication Order of Manticore Ascendant Books

A Call to Duty(2014)
A Call to Arms(2015)
A Call to Vengeance(2017)

Publication Order of Wayward Pines Short Stories

Tree of Life(2014)

Publication Order of Basil & Moebius Adventure Short Stories

Of Biblical Proportions(2015)
Knife's Edge(2015)

Publication Order of Heroes Reborn Books

A Matter of Trust(2015)

Publication Order of StarCraft Books

Evolution(2016)

Publication Order of Chronicle Of The Sibyl’s War Books

Pawn(2017)
Knight(2019)
Queen(2020)

Publication Order of Star Wars Books

Thrawn(2017)
Thrawn: Alliances(2018)
Thrawn: Treason
Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising
(2019)
(2020)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

A Coming of Age(1985)
Spinneret(1985)
Triplet(1987)
Deadman Switch(1988)
Warhorse(1990)
The Icarus Hunt(1999)
Angelmass(2001)
Manta's Gift(2002)
The Green and the Gray(2004)
Soulminder(2014)
Cloak(2015)

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Distant Friends and Others(1983)
Alien Stars(1985)
Cascade Point(1986)
Time Bomb and Zahndry Others(1988)
Star Song and Other Stories(2002)
Pawn's Gambit and Other Stratagems(2016)


Dragonback Series: 

Dragon and Thief           (2003)

Dragon and Soldier        (2004)

Dragon and Slave           (2005

Dragon and Herdsman   (2006)

Dragon and Judge          (2007)

Dragon and Liberator     (2008)


    Friday, September 13, 2019

    Book Review: Norse Mythology

    Book Review
    Norse Mythology
    by Neil Gaiman


    "Before the Beginning there was nothing - no earth, no heavens, no stars, no sky: only the mist world, formless and shapeless, and the fire world, always burning." 


    I enjoyed reading this book, the words flowed off the page in waves, and it felt that I was getting to know many of the characters as realistic legions as real as legions can be. This feels like the way the Norse Gods had always been told, in small bits with ancient ideas and bizarre creatures. 

    I enjoyed the sad tale of the master builder, and liked the tale behinds Sif's golden hair and the mead of the poets. 

    The Frost giants, dwarfs, the magic and the treasures beautifully described, but having been a long reader of Tolkien's work the clunky rude humour made it pale in comparison and I felt myself longing for a more serious story teller that wasn't trying to make a joke out of every scene. However, it felt strong and creative, and I finished it quickly. It became evident the further I read that Loki was the most intelligent and cunning of all the Gods, and the author regarded him as the catalyst to all the God's problems. I felt that there was too much focus on him in almost every story, and not enough ramblings and adventure on the other Gods.

    The books feels like it is similar Peter Pan, or Alice in Wonderland, but something cuts it short for me, maybe I just don't get the humour or his style of story telling, I found the book Stardust a strange read as well. I enjoyed the plot, but felt a few of the scenes should have been edited. The book will make a good gift to my brother and sister in law, to read to my nephew when he grows up a bit. I know I can't see this as a treasure for me to have I definitely won't be keeping this.


    by Abbs