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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Books Journey to TFA: Moving Target by Cecil Castellucci and Jason Fry

Discussion in 'Literature' started by GrandAdmiralJello , Jul 8, 2015.

  1. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    [​IMG]



    love love love the Phil Noto cover art here (especially the Leia one -- cool to see her in a Rebel uniform for once!) and am totally thrilled about the authors we have for these. Cannot wait!

    This thread used to be about all three books -- now it's about one.
     
  2. The_Forgotten_Jedi

    The_Forgotten_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 12, 2010
    Huh, Leia and Nien Nunb are teaming up again? That's interesting.
     
    Sadie Erso likes this.
  3. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Jello keeps saying Rae Sloane is the new Pellaeon but it's really Nien Nunb.
     
    JoinTheSchwarz likes this.
  4. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Yeah, I really like the selective red on the covers. Cool look. They all sound interesting, but especially the Luke and Leia ones.
     
  5. Cynical_Ben

    Cynical_Ben Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2013
    This is a dynomite trio of authors. Jason's been on fire with his books lately, Rucka's a great writer for just about anything, and I've heard good things about Cecil Castellucci. I'm probably going to have to pick up all three of these at some point.
     
    GrandAdmiralJello likes this.
  6. The Positive Fan

    The Positive Fan Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2015
    Indeed. Looks like those hoping for a continuation of / sequel to the Princess Leia comic series might be getting their wish. I wonder if we'll find out what became of Evaan, Jora, and the other Alderaanians.
     
  7. lowell

    lowell Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Sep 11, 2014
    Wait, why didn't Amazon revealed there were two authors for Moving Target? I thought there was only one for each novel. Except the author of Smuggler's Run, he's also writing the Shattered Empire comic.
     
  8. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Yes, Jason Fry's co-credit is news.
     
    SateleNovelist11 likes this.
  9. Darth_Henning

    Darth_Henning Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2007
    Soooooo....are these actual novels? Kids books (ala Jedi Apprentice etc)? Comic Digests?

    What?
     
  10. The_Four_Dot_Elipsis

    The_Four_Dot_Elipsis Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2005
    I'm surprised that more attention wasn't paid to the design of the babykiller saber for the cover of the Luke one.
     
  11. Aphra

    Aphra Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2015
    That cover art is fantastic. Phil Noto + Star Wars makes me incredibly happy, every time. I'm really excited for these!
     
  12. iucounu

    iucounu Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2014

    Novels aimed at kids 9+, running to around 30K words each.
     
  13. jasonfry

    jasonfry VIP star 4 VIP

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Forgive me if I sound cranky about this, but the question about kids' books vs. adult novels comes up a lot, and this seems like a good place to weigh in.

    Disclaimer: No one should ever tell anybody what to like. Our tastes are our own, and thank goodness -- that's what makes discussions fun.

    That said, from the perspective of an author who's written fiction for adult audiences and fiction for younger audiences, here are the differences between the two:

    1) Books for kids are shorter.
    2) The protagonists tend to be kids.

    That's it. And note Pt. 2 doesn't even apply to these titles.

    When a book aimed at kids is done right, the themes are just as big, the stakes just as high, the language just as evocative. And hopefully the reading experience is just as enjoyable.

    Them's my two credits pitched into the fray. Sorry if I got cranky, and thanks for listening!
     
  14. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    It needed to be said. I just wish you didn't have to!

    In my personal opinion, the best books of the NEU so far are for ages 8-12. That's the three Servants of the Empire books. Based on samples, I will probably add The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farmboy to that list.

    Based on that, it's honestly the adult novels that have to prove themselves to me rather than the young reader ones. I already know those will be good.

    As for length, I'd include the short stories in Insider with the young reader stuff as my favorite in the NEU. Orientation, Zero Angle, End of History... actually just all of them. So good.

    These young reader books are written by a trio of great authors. That's all I need to know, the target age range is irrelevant. Folks should not skip the young reader books for that, because they're really, really missing out if they do.


    Missa ab iPhona mea est.
     
  15. Vthuil

    Vthuil Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 3, 2013
    Honestly, I've always thought the whole "Young Adult" thing is basically a marketing scam, because in general there's no real difference in quality or anything else that actually matters.

    And yeah, the nucanon young reader stuff has been really good so far.
     
  16. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Also to be considered: Greg Rucka is a guy whose books usually look like this:

    [​IMG]
     
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  17. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    You've clearly missed out on a swath of Rucka books Coop!
     
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  18. Zorrixor

    Zorrixor Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 8, 2004
    What in the world is that picture of the girl surrounding by the demon possessed rats? Because I like it and want to know more. :cool:

    And I totally agree with jasonfry and the rest of you. "Young Adult" is such a meaningless label really-- what's an "adult?"-- and there are soooo many good books that are labelled "children's stories" but just as enjoyable (if not more so!) than "adult" fiction.

    I mean, heck, Lord of the Rings was a kids book.
     
  19. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
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  20. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Well, technically these aren't YA. YA is teens and up, which would be Lost Stars.

    Jason's books, Kogge's books, these books, and the OT adaptations are listed as 8-12. I've been calling them young reader because I think that's the term, but the stuff I know about publishing could fit on a thimble so there you go.


    Missa ab iPhona mea est.
     
  21. jasonfry

    jasonfry VIP star 4 VIP

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2003

    The marketing term is "middle grade," but I've never liked that. It just sounds odd.
     
  22. Darth_Henning

    Darth_Henning Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2007
    That's a fair point. And I certainly didn't mean to imply anything else with my post.

    I was more interested in clarification of book size/shape and length. A Jedi Apprentice book is much faster to read than, say, Heir to the Empire (and oddly costs more)
     
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  23. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Yeah, that's a terrible term. Middle grade? Who wants to be middle anything? Except Middle Earth or the Middle Kingdom, I guess. Everything else just sounds middling.
     
  24. starfish

    starfish Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 9, 2003
    All those middling kids, it's all their fault :p

    But yeah I agree these all look like top quality. Very exciting.
     
  25. iucounu

    iucounu Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2014

    It's what we're stuck with, I'm afraid, to describe that category. I believe it comes from the US (the 'grade' bit) and we've picked it up in the UK because we didn't have a comparable term. It's mostly something that is used by the book trade rather than by consumers, and like many similar terms it's by no means perfect, and we could do with something better.