#benderreads

[softpadawan]

So I'm just a few chapters into Chaos Rising and this is my overall impression after the other Thrawn media I've consumed:

#amirite? #thrawn #mitth'raw'nuruodo #star wars #benderreads #heir to the empire #chaos rising #ascendancy #timothy zahn #grand admiral thrawn #star wars rebels #star wars books #harrison ford #baby boy meme #hjbedit #memes #i never finished ''heir to the empire'' #but so far i'm enjoying ''chaos rising'' #i know fuckall about thrawn but i'm trying to fix that please be gentle

[softpadawan]

Expectation: "Cool, the origin story of Darth Maul! This oughta be fun."

Reality:

#i’m like 70 pages in and just. agog. stupefied #the wrath of darth maul #i don't blame him #i'd be crazy mad insane too #after a childhood like that #darth maul #benderreads #star wars novels #ryder windham #star wars

[softpadawan]

I finished Chaos Rising

I get it now. I get it. I understand why people love Thrawn. I'm in the know now. I'm hip. I'm informed. I'm with it. I woke up and smelled the coffee. I have seen the light. I am on the frequency. I am tuned in.

#benderreads #thrawn #star wars #ascendancy #chaos rising #timothy zahn #mitth'raw'nuruodo #star wars novels #he's so kind to women and children #he doesn't patronize or insult people #others may interpret his 'prompting' as such but that isn't his intention #he's misunderstood because of the way his brain works #he's a tactical wizard with a poor grasp of politics #he's polite and respectful #he smiles and makes jokes #he's a genius and a disaster #he's my neurodivergent brother and i love him #i've already started 'greater good' #was lucky i had that one already checked out & ready

[softpadawan]

(Spoilers for Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil below)

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And then I almost threw the book across the room because I reached the part where every single minute detail from the previous two books came together to form a single interwoven plot that has been running in, like, 3-4 separate stories this whole time and I'm. I'm so fucking angryhappy at how good these books are

#benderreads #timothy zahn #star wars #lesser evil #thrawn ascendancy #thrass #thrawn #book quotes #spoilers #flashing gif #i'm gonna be ruined after this #i love all these blue people fml dnr #pray for me and my partner #he's one book behind me and we're both foaming at the mouth #also #zahn is coming to a nearby con next month #and i fully expect we're going to be there #so we can scream at the man in person #i'm not finished with the book yet so please hold all ending spoilers!

[softpadawan]

Woke up to this message on the fridge erase board this morning c/o my partner

He's worried about his homeboy ☹

#thrawn ascendancy #greater good #spoilers #benderreads #now i have to hurry up and finish 'lesser evil' so he can read it

[softpadawan]

I didn't plan to suddenly pick up the Jedi Apprentice series and start reading it tonight, but I did. So far The Rising Force is really cute, simple yet interesting, easy to follow, plenty to leer at*. It's like my brain is slipping into a warm bath with epsom salts and nice scented oils after a long hard day

*Like how every author I've encountered so far can't go 2 lines without mentioning how big and broad and L O R G E Qui-Gon is. I hope this trend keeps up

#i'm a firm believer that the right book will call at the right time #that said... i read more youth novels now than i did in my youth #lmao #benderreads #jedi apprentice #the rising force #obi-wan kenobi #qui-gon jinn #star wars books

[softpadawan]

I finished Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil

And launched immediately into Thrawn (2017)

#long-haired feral ninja outcast thrawn in furs #speaking broken basic to a bunch of imperials #💙💦 #benderreads #thrawn #timothy zahn #mitth'raw'nuruodo #chiss ascendancy #i'm glad i decided to read these books in chronological order #instead of publishing order #i'd be climbing the curtains in a frothing fit if i ended on 'lesser evil' #even knowing that thrawn (2017) comes after

[softpadawan]

***Spoilers for Claudia Gray's The High Republic: Into the Dark below ***

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I'm not quite finished yet, but I just reached the part where 17-year-old Reath Silas is confronted with a small army of flesh-eating plant people who have a bloodied, disoriented Dez Rydan in their captivity, caged, and repeatedly drugged through the use of "thorn" needles, which they inject fuck-knows-what into him. They call humans "meat", they're literally made up of slithery tentacle vines, and if Reath isn't careful, he's going to get violently fucked and/or vored by these guys, and quite frankly if this isn't right up my sick twisted alley, I don't know what is

#no two ways about it. i'm gonna draw reath silas getting chlorophylled #so help me george lucas #benderreads #star wars #claudia gray #the high republic: into the dark #the whump is ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #reath silas #dez rydan #cannibalism #sort of #naughty tentacles #it was kind of getting slow in the middle but this brought me into a full upright position again #hjbendergifs #darth maul #for the records

[softpadawan]

Since my first attempt at getting into Zahn's Thrawn novels failed with Heir to the Empire, I've decided to come in at another angle: reading in chronological order versus order of publication.

I picked up a copy of Chaos Rising at my library today. I hope this strategy works. I've heard nothing but good things about Zahn's works and really want to augment my Star Wars diet with some savory literature.

But first I'm going to read another of Claudia Gray's Star Wars novels, Into the Dark.

I really enjoyed Master & Apprentice (to mince words; I was ecstatic from start to finish) and I hope this one is just as enjoyable. I already like Reath Silas just from reading the summary on the book jacket. I do have one question though:

How do you pronounce Reath's first name? Is it Reeth? Rayth? Ray-ath? Ree-ath?

#benderreads #star wars novels #timothy zahn #thrawn #chiss ascendancy #chaos rising #claudia gray #into the dark

[softpadawan]

Those last three chapters of Greater Good

#chewing the edge of my seat #almost couldn’t take all the twists and turns #what a setup #and what a payoff #benderreads #thrawn ascendancy #greater good #timothy zahn #mitth'raw'nuruodo

[softpadawan]

I have begun reading Ryder Windham's The Wrath of Darth Maul. So far so sad good. I hope it's better than Ezra's Gamble

#idk how windham managed to take such an exciting concept #with SO much potential #(a peek at ezra's life before he meets the ghost crew) #and make it so mindnumbingly boring #but i have high hopes for this one #after all: it's maul #benderreads #star wars #hjbendergifs #ryder windham #star wars novels

[softpadawan]

MASTER AND APPRENTICE | Claudia Gray (2019)

#i was not prepared for this #ms gray how dare you #benderreads #master and apprentice #claudia gray #star wars #sw novels #star wars books #quotes #qui-gon jinn #obi-wan kenobi #spoilers #master and padawan #the fact that their entire relationship #reads like a 4-year marriage on the rocks #is giving me LIFE #sometimes i have to remind myself #i'm not reading a printed & bound jinnobi fanfic

[softpadawan]

22-year-old Kanan, kicking down the door to the bar:

I'VE COME HERE TO DRINK ASS AND KICK BEER AND I'M ALL OUTTA ASS *collapses face first onto the floor*

#star wars rebels #kanan jarrus #a new dawn #incorrect quotes #star wars #they live (1988) #benderreads

[softpadawan]

In the first ten chapters of A New Dawn, Kanan's drinking is mentioned either directly or indirectly 14 times.

The man had a fucking problem.

#and also a drinking problem #no i jest but seriously #when you subtract the number of chapters #in which kanan didn't have an appearance #the ratio is much more alarming #mentions of his violence & promiscuity are nearly equal #benderreads #john jackson miller really said #'here's the most dysfunctional jedi you will ever meet' #kanan jarrus #caleb dume #a new dawn #star wars rebels #meta #alcoholism #'get drunk & fuck & fight' #this man is a walking 3 days grace song

[softpadawan]

Book order 1 of 2 arrived today

Looking forward to reading about the galaxy’s most beloved couple (oh, and the book about Kanan and Hera too) 😏

#star wars books #obi wan kenobi #qui gon jinn #quiobi #star wars rebels #master and apprentice #claudia gray #a new dawn #john jackson miller #benderreads

[softpadawan]

Around the time Kanan was hauling high explosives for Moonglow Polychemical and drinking/brawling/fucking away his pain, little Ezra Bridger was trying to survive his first year on the streets of Lothal

#kanan jarrus #caleb dume #ezra bridger #star wars rebels #a new dawn #star wars novels #just star wars thoughts #i hurt myself today #benderreads