Podcast appearances and mentions of Timothy Zahn

Recorded live at Comic Con Revolution in May, this special Geekscape panel recording brings together legendary Star Wars author Timothy Zahn, creator Christian Gossett, and acclaimed voice actor Jim Cummings for a wide-ranging conversation about their contributions to the galaxy far, far away! From Zahn's groundbreaking Thrawn novels and the expanded universe to Gossett's work in comics and Cummings' iconic voice performances, the panel explores the enduring legacy of Star Wars, the creative process behind the franchise, favorite characters and stories, and what keeps the galaxy's mythology alive for generations of fans! Plus! Jim gives us some Darkwing Duck!!! You can also subscribe to the Geekscape podcast on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://spoti.fi/3H27uMH⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://apple.co/3BVrnkW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, we take a look at some of the common scams targeting indie authors and offer tips on how to detect and avoid them. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Blood, Book #3 in The Ghosts series, (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store: CAINASUMMER The coupon code is valid through August 31, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 316 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is August the 14th, 2026, and today we are discussing common scams targeting indie writers. We also have a Coupon of the Week and a update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Blood, Book #3 in The Ghosts series (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store. That code is CAINASUMMER. As always, the coupon code and the links to my Payhip store will be available in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through August the 31st, 2026, so if you need a new audiobook for this summer, we have got you covered. Now let's head on to a progress update. As I mentioned last week, Cloak of Frost is done and it's published and you get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Smashwords, and my own Payhip Store. It is doing quite well. Thank you all for that, and people seem to be enjoying it. So if you haven't checked out Cloak of Frost yet, you can get it at your favorite ebook store. Now that Cloak of Frost is done, my next main project is Blade of Visions, which will be the sixth book in the Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series. I am 28,000 words into that. I think the rough draft will be about 100,000 words, but we will see. Might be a little more, a little less. I'm hoping to wrap it up early in September so that the book can be out to you sometime in the second half of September, if all goes well. In other news, my secondary project now is Elven-Warlock, the seventh Rivah book, and I am 1,500 words into that. If all goes well, I hope to have that out in October. In audiobook news, we have three things coming your way. The first one is Blade of Thieves, which Brad Wills is currently narrating and should be wrapped up before too much longer. Hollis McCarthy is narrating Cloak of Worlds, and I believe we'll be able to start proof listening to that soon, so that should be available before too much longer. I just finished uploading Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete LitRPG trilogy in audiobook form. So, the entire trilogy in one audiobook comes to about 32 hours long. So hopefully that will get through ACX processing before too much longer, and then you can listen to it. So that is where I'm at with current writing and publishing and audiobook projects. 00:02:22 Main Topic: Common Scams for Writers Now let's move on to our main topic, common scams to avoid for writers. Authors, especially new ones, but to be honest, all of us are hungry for praise, recognition, and professional opportunities. They also have a hunger to be the big new publishing phenomenon, ideally as fast as possible. Unfortunately, scammers are very aware of this and use it to prey upon authors. An example I use for this is if you've read the Heir to the Empire books by Timothy Zahn, the villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn, makes a habit of studying his opponent's artwork to discover their psychological blind spots. Then he tailors his strategies around those psychological blind spots. Now, the reason I mentioned this is that scamming or falling victim to a scam is not necessarily an indication of base intelligence or savviness. Everyone has their psychological weak spots. If a scam hits your psychological weak spot at the right time when you're in the right state of mind when you're tired or sick or have had some additional bad news recently, that might hit. For myself, the scams I've nearly fallen victim to have been ones based around bad news because I'm essentially a very pessimistic personality, so I always kind of half expect bad news. One example was I got a fake email allegedly from Spotify saying that my tax information was wrong for my Spotify audiobooks and that needed to be fixed immediately. This was one I could have fallen for because it arrived during tax time. As we know, tax time is often very onerous and unpleasant and involves a lot of work and digging through papers. So I was inclined to believe it, but still, fortunately, I didn't click on any links in the emails. I went directly to the portal, double checked, and then realized it was a scam. Another example was that recently I got a phone call purporting to be from my local police department. I was thinking, "Oh man, this is going to be a mess." I was listening to it and then thankfully before I gave out any information, I realized that it was in fact a scam and then hung up. Just to be thorough, I called the actual local police department and double checked that it was a scam. But again, that played out my psychological weak point of being a pessimist and expecting bad news. I mention this because if you're aware of your psychological weak spots, like many writers, as we mentioned, are hungry for praise or quick opportunities, then you're more likely to be aware of scams. The other thing I should mention in sort of the introduction here is that thanks to the rise of ChatGPT and Gemini and Claude and all the other LLM slop machines, it's become a lot easier to scam people than it used to be before. I heard it said that Web 1.0 was a static content. Web 2.0 was interactive content like social media. Web 3.0 is scams in the forms of NFTs, cryptos, and LLMs. For example, as I mentioned, I just recently published Cloak of Frost. Since I published Cloak of Frost, I've gotten like 20 scam emails that for the most part read like this: "Dear Jonathan, I'm Stephanie Davis and the thing that caught my attention about Cloak of Frost was how quickly an obligation Nadia would rather avoid turns into a situation where the fate of earth is suddenly on the line. She's supposed to be attending the Winter Frost Games. Then an old friend arrives being chased by clone soldiers with a mysterious magical artifact and suddenly this isn't just another duty for the Marshall of the High Queen of the Elves. The fact that losing the game can mean earth burns gives the whole premise a wonderfully sharp sense of consequence. I partner with Around the World in 80 books, a vibrant community of readers who enjoy discovering books from different authors." It goes on and on in this vein. Since Cloak Frost came out six days ago, I've gotten 20 different emails along those lines, all of them clearly generated by LLMs. In fact, I didn't have to save that email. I just opened up my inbox, picked the most recent one, and that was it. Of course, if I responded, what would've happened would've been a few more emails and eventually they would ask for payment for attending their book festival and I would provide payment and then they would promptly disappear off the face of the earth and go on to target someone else. So you can see how that kind of scam would be dangerous. Imagine you're a brand new author who's just published your first book and doesn't know all that much about ChatGPT and the other LLM slop generators out there and you get an email like that, you'd think you'd won the lottery and you'd be very susceptible to giving payment to the scammer. So today, that's why we're going to go over a few of the more common scams out there and provide some general tips for spotting a scam. #1: Publishing Packages You will frequently be contacted by scamming companies offering to help you publish, market, and work on social media for your book. Some of them will even have official sounding names like Amazon Author Hub or Amazon Book Publisher, which are using the Amazon name but not affiliated with Amazon. It's very, very important to be skeptical of these types of publishing companies in general. At best, most of these publishing services companies greatly overcharge for basic services. At worst, they're outright thieves and scammers. David Gaughran has written about these types of publishers if you're interested in learning more. Writer's Weekly's website keeps a running list of confirmed scam publishers and publishing services, but even if they're not on a list and you find reviews that seem to be good, it's best to be extremely skeptical. It's very easy to accumulate fake Google reviews. For example, without naming names, a local business that I used to frequent recently changed owners a couple months ago. And before that, the local business had two five-star reviews. Since the new owner came in, suddenly there's like 500 five-star reviews popping up, all of them having a variety of names that do not seem like they come from the geographic region in which I live. So what he probably did was use a ChatGPT type service to automatically write a bunch of fake reviews for his business. A lot of these scammy companies can do that as well, so it's best to be very skeptical about this kind of thing. #2 Fake conference/book festival/book club speaking invitation This scam is incredibly common, but comes in a variety of types. You will be contacted by a book club/conference/book festival coordinator saying that they love, love, love your book and offer some praise or comments about it and then invite you to their event. The scam part will also come in after you accept when they will want money for this privilege. It's bad to work for free, but it's also very foolish to pay money to show up for a professional event, especially one located outside your immediate area. The email I read earlier in the show is a good example of one of these. You notice the danger of these comes in because they're using ChatGPT for these. ChatGPT can ingest your book or the book description and then spit out some seemingly plausible praise that makes it seem like the scammer has read your book, but they actually haven't. So I'd be very, very, very wary of any unsolicited conference or book festival invitations, especially ones that are fulsome in their praise for your book. #3: Fake or scammy beta readers/editors/agents Many people will cold email you asking to be hired. They might cite actual typos they can fix in your book, specific connections they can make for you, and praise your book as the next big thing. In reality, reputable and established people in these positions usually have long wait lists for their services. They're not wandering the Internet for just-established authors to add to their client lists. It's far more effective to find reputable and established people in these areas and contact them yourself instead of taking up offers from whoever randomly emails you. One thing I've found both as a writer and as a homeowner is that really good contractors don't need to cold call people to look for business. Really good contractors are so busy that you have to call them and try and get on their schedule. The same thing can be said of beta readers, editors, and agents. #4: Impersonation of famous authors John Grisham, Brandon Sanderson, and your favorite romance writers are not actually randomly emailing random minor authors, telling them that their book shows real promise and might be the next big thing. Don't let praise from a famous name take down your guard. Anyone can pretend to be anyone on the internet and is increasingly easy for pretending to look very real. For example, earlier this year I received an email from British author Hilary Mantel praising one of my books. This is especially remarkable because I got the email, I believe in March of 2026, and Hilary Mantel died in 2022. So while my ego would like to believe that my book was so good that Hillary Mantel returned from death to praise it, I think it is more likely instead that a scammer was impersonating Hilary Mantel using a Gmail account. There have been frequent examples of this over the past year or so as ChatGPT and LLM usage becomes more widespread. People will occasionally receive emails purporting to be from Brandon Sanderson offering to work together on a project. However, if you watch Brandon Sanderson's social media, you'll know that he is busy writing the screenplay for the Mistborn movie from Apple. I think it is safe to say he probably does not have time to email random strangers on the Internet asking to work on their books. So if you get an email from a big name author purporting [to say] that they love [your] book and want to work on it with you, it is almost 100% certain that it is a scam. Since scams are constantly evolving and mutating and developing new forms, I'm going to focus the rest of the episode on some general principles of what to watch out for when people are contacting you as an author. #1: Cold emails or cold calls Legitimate editors, agents, cover designers, and even library event coordinators are absolutely inundated with unsolicited emails and most tend to dismiss or ignore what isn't submitted through proper channels (or depending on their position, might even be required to ignore it as part of their job). The hard truth is they're not going to spend their busy workdays hunting around the Internet for authors with 10 reviews or someone writing an obscure topic. Although it's flattering to think that you've been discovered at random, it really, really doesn't work this way, especially as staffing at publishing houses and libraries has been cut down quite a bit due to corporate consolidation and tax cuts. Reputable publishers are not crawling the Internet to find authors unless they have a jaw-dropping sales record (like Dungeon Crawler Carl level sale records). Publishers and agents want guarantees of success and so it doesn't make sense to turn away from their usual group of celebrities, influencers, and blockbuster authors to go out and spend countless hours actively recruiting unknown authors with only a handful of reviews and a sales rank so low that more than one comma is needed to display it. As your following grows, the number of cold emails or messages you get will grow. Like I mentioned before that when I published Cloak of Frost, I've gotten at least 20 of those scam emails so far, and I will probably get at least another dozen or so more before the initial sales spike of the release week dies off. These messages might be more sophisticated, but they'll use the same general tone of ChatGPT flattery to try and lure you into their schemes. Don't let your excitement at being praised or recognized as the next great American novelist or the next BookTok sensation cloud your judgment. #2: Urgency As with any internet scam, urgency is a major part of the strategy. There will probably be a short deadline to accept their offer, a limited number of available spots, or some alleged deep discount for acting quickly. In reality, if people are contacting you because they want something in good faith, they rarely make this type of demand in the initial request because that is a terrible way to get someone to do what you want. For example, in my previous example about the call from the fake local police department, I became increasingly aware that it was probably a scam once it sounded like they were going to offer me the opportunity to pay my fine over a payment portal they would provide for me, in which case it became obvious that it was a scam. Though just to be sure, I still did call the local police department to double check. Now that kind of urgency is used to force you into a decision. Take a step back, look for more information online, contact someone with more expertise than you, and don't respond just because of a time limit or the fear of missing out on a request or offer. And remember, as I said before too, actual contractors, whether you're a writer or a homeowner, are usually so booked up that they don't go around looking for clients. You have to contact them to get on their calendar. #3: Request for payment This is the big one. At no point should you be paying someone unless you have an established relationship with them and have signed a contract with them such as a cover designer or a social media manager. Do not pay random companies or individuals to do absolutely anything. The best defense against companies that offer publishing services is to get educated on what services you actually need and what a reputable person actually charges for them instead of paying for a package with all sorts of grandiose promises attached. In no universe should it cost tens of thousands of dollars to format your books, create a cover, and make a website from a generic template. It's better to pay reputable people individually for these services once they've been vetted than to trust a company to do it, especially if they're primarily using AI generic templates. You'll receive higher quality services this way and it should be cheaper as well. There are no, none whatsoever reputable book clubs, libraries, or conferences that ask for money for a writer to speak or present. A key exception is paying for vendor tables at events and conferences. A community group, library, or nonprofit organization might ask you to speak for free, but no reputable organization will ever ask to pay for the privilege of showing up and doing something for them. #4: Gmail/non-organization emails A big thing to watch out [for] with a lot of these LLM scams is if the email is coming from a Gmail account or not. For example, in the fake author ones I mentioned with Hillary Mantel or Brandon Sanderson, these emails are coming from a Gmail account. Even if Hillary Mantel hadn't died four years ago, I'm pretty sure she would not be emailing random people from a Gmail account. The same goes for Brandon Sanderson, John Grisham, Matt Dinneman, and the other well-known authors who've been targeted by this kind of scam. John Grisham's favorite editor or the hottest new literary agent are not conducting their business out of random Gmails or accounts that look like domains that are named after alphabet soup. Although accounts can easily be spoofed, a blatantly unprofessional looking account is an easy way to weed out scammers. The flip side of this is unfortunately, if you are a reputable cover designer, editor or so forth, you're probably going to need your own domain email the same way I have jonathanmoeller.com, given how it is increasingly common for scam emails to come from Gmail accounts. #5: Praise that could fit any book or has nothing to do with your book Authors love being praised and the scammers can feed into that easily by throwing your book or a bunch of your book reviews into an LLM to create some targeted compliments. Once you see an example of this type of writing, it becomes extremely easy to spot. For example, this isn't what I've saved. This is literally one that came in as I was recording this episode: "Dear Jonathan, I recently discovered Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete LitRPG trilogy and was immediately drawn to its exciting blend of epic fantasy, virtual reality, gaming, and mystery. The trilogy's fast-paced adventure and immersive world could strongly appeal to LitRPG and fantasy readers." Now, I published the ebook of Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete Trilogy two days ago. It is 290,000 words long. There's absolutely no way anyone could read it that fast and have cogent opinions about it. But if you just throw the book description into a LLM, it can cough up some sincere sounding praise and flattery for you. Likewise, flowery comments that have nothing to do with your book are a great way to spot scammers. Your horror novel should probably not be making anyone think about an important and timely reminder about the importance of being organized during the holidays. So that kind of overwrought praise is usually a good sign that something has been LLM generated. Weirdly, one thing I've noticed is that when I get emails from actual readers who are sincere about what they're saying, there'll usually be typos or bad grammar or so forth. Another telltale spot of LLM-generated scam emails is the utter grammatical perfection of them, not a word or a punctuation mark out of place. whereas if you're getting an email from a real person, there are more likely to be some mistakes. So in general, as scams get more sophisticated, you'll have to be a lot more skeptical than you already are in the internet. As an author, you can eliminate a lot of the scams by taking the time to learn the industry well. Once you know what an average keynote pays at a small bookselling conference, no obscure conference coordinator can convince you to pay $5,000, not including travel expenses, for the privilege of agreeing to do one. Once you know how to format your own book (and I should mention that I formatted Cloak of Frost on a laptop on my couch using a $150 piece of software), no one can convince you to pay them $12,000 to do it. Once you self-publish your first book, you realize that you never need an agent, much less one that wants $40,000 to make you the next J.K. Rowling. Education, caution, skepticism, and a healthy sense of one's place in the greater universe are strong weapons against the most common schemes writers are facing. I hope this episode will have given you greater tools to defend yourself against scams. So that's it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy, and we'll see you all next week.  

Today we discuss Hutt and Seek, the next short story in Tales from the New Republic. Fenig Nabon and Ghitsa Dogder are a pair of smugglers and con artists. Their latest target, Durga the Hutt. And to pull the con off, they will enlist the help of the Mistryl, but the Mistryl have no idea what's going on. Surely nothing will go wrong.

Grand Admiral Thrawn is back, and he's playing 4D chess while the New Republic is still figuring out checkers. In this episode of Echoes of War, Craig and Gaurav dive deep into Timothy Zahn's "Dark Force Rising" to analyze one of Star Wars' most brilliant military strategists. As Thrawn consolidates power and expands his remnant fleet, the New Republic faces its greatest threat since the Emperor's fall. But this isn't just a story about starships and battles—it's a masterclass in psychological warfare, political manipulation, and the art of war itself. We break down Thrawn's ingenious strategies as he hunts for the legendary Katana fleet and navigates the treacherous politics of the Empire's leadership. How does he stay two steps ahead of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa? What are his true ambitions, and how far is he willing to go to achieve them? Plus, we examine Mara Jade's pivotal role in this unfolding conflict and what her mysterious past reveals about Thrawn's inner circle. From the Chimera's command bridge to the corridors of Coruscant, "Dark Force Rising" showcases some of the most compelling character development and strategic brilliance in the Expanded Universe. Whether you're a hardcore Star Wars fan, a Thrawn enthusiast, or simply love stories of cunning adversaries and high-stakes conflict, this episode reveals why Grand Admiral Thrawn remains one of fiction's greatest antagonists. Echoes of War continues our journey through the legendary Thrawn trilogy. Subscribe for deep dives into the tactical minds, political intrigue, and unforgettable moments that made the Expanded Universe essential Star Wars reading. Part of the Kings and Generals family, bringing you the stories that matter.   Don't forget I have a Youtube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp8JMZizR4zak9wpM3Fvrw/join or my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel where you can get exclusive content like "What if Japan invaded the USSR during WW2?"

Hace mucho tiempo... en una galaxia muy lejana, Star Wars perdió su popularidad tras el estreno de El retorno del Jedi. Hasta el estreno de La amenaza fantasma, vivimos una época de transición y bastante ninguneada, tras la adquisición de Disney. Sin embargo, fueron 15 años que dieron de todo. Series de animación de Droids y Ewoks, tv movies de estos últimos, novelas de Timothy Zahn, tebeos de Dark Horse, el mítico juego de rol de West End Games y nuevas figuras y videojuegos como Rebel Assault o X-Wing. Unos años que redescubrimos con un invitado especial: Benjamín Bruña de La fosa del Rancor y Poliplasticómanos Descarga , que la Fuerza te acompañe. y disfruta de una buena porción de pizza con Domino's. Usa este cupón, KR8PT9N, para pedir 3 medianas de hasta 2 ingredientes por 8,99 euros c/u, vía web o app a domicilio. Las Deluxe llevan un suplemento de 3 euros, las Clazzica’s, 2 euros, y si se quiere masa Croizzantísima o borde relleno por 1.99 euros Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Today, we continue Tales from the New Republic with Jade Solitaire. Ja Bardrin needs both his daughter and her ship recovered. To make sure that happens, he threatens Talon Karrde's crew, forcing Mara Jade to step up and do the dirty work.

We are wrapping up the week by catching up on how we have been enjoying Star Wars, discussing a new deluxe edition of Thrawn, and more.   In this fully armed and operational episode of Podcast Stardust, we discuss: What we have been doing related to Star Wars lately, A new deluxe edition of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn, An audio book that slipped through the cracks from Cavan Scott, A new gameplay trailer for Zero Company, Another trailer for Galactic Racer, Star Wars Celebration Los Angeles merch going back on sale, and RIP Marcia Lucas. Thanks for joining us for another episode! Subscribe to Podcast Stardust for all your Star Wars news, reviews, and discussion wherever you get your podcasts. And please leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts.   Find Jay and her cosplay adventures on J.Snips Cosplay on Instagram.   Follow us on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube. T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, masks, and posters are available on TeePublic. Find all episodes on RetroZap.com.

Thrawn, Expanding the Galaxy, and Building Worlds Beyond the Empire In this vintage conversation recorded at a 1990s convention, Tony and Ernest Lilley of SF Revu sit down with acclaimed author Timothy Zahn, whose groundbreaking Thrawn Trilogy helped revive global interest in Star Wars long before the prequels arrived. Zahn reflects on crafting new corners of the galaxy, developing one of the franchise's most iconic villains, and balancing tie‑in storytelling with his own original universes. SAVE 17% ON PLUS  

We're getting into a memorable yet nowadays still criminally underrated portion of STAR WARS history: The Dark Empire Comic Book Trilogy!   How do the official audio books compare?   Why couldn't Disney just make something else prior to writing these out of the Expanded Universe?   What ideas and other originality are strikingly memorable?   What famous comic book writers & illustrators assembled this stunning good vs. evil tale?   Plus, for the 2nd part of the episode, I get to breakdown all the issues for you in as epic a summary as possible!     GUESTS: Oreo Brewer   AUDIO INTRO: Mark Hamill Talks Dark Empire Trilogy and gives a message to Timothy Zahn (1996 Ad)   MUSIC USED: "The Destruction of Xizor's Palace" by Joel McNeely (Shadows of the Empire OST)

Today we begin the Tales from the New Republic short story collection, starting with Interlude at Darkknell, written by both Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole, their second collaboration together. Information about the Tarkin Project has leaked. Senator Garm Bel Iblis and Field Operative Ysanne Isard both travel to Darkknell to retrieve it. Meanwhile, inspector Hal Horn has chased Moranda Savich to Darkknell. Their lives all intersect when Moranda is the first one to find the datacards.

Today we have the pleasure of discussing the true sequels to the Original Star Wars films with the writer himself, Timothy Zahn! That's right, we're talking about the legendary Heir to the Empire trilogy. And not just that, but we're asking Zahn to confirm a few highly contested Star Wars theories! Find out if Thrawn is really just Sherlock Holmes in Space, and was the old Luke Skywalker we saw in the sequels actually just a clone named Luuke?! Do you like what we do? You can support us at Patreon and get access to exclusive behind the scenes outtakes: https://www.patreon.com/thepopcornisntreal

This is a unique book within the Honorverse. Mostly it's a companion to the stories we've read, but it also contains a novella written by David Weber. The first third of the book is essentially a biography of King Roger III told through a story, beginning with his time as a young officer in the Royal Manticoran Navy and running through his reign. The story is titled “I Will Build My House of Steel”, from which the name of the book is derived. The remaining two-thirds of the book is the detailed companion full of history, military information, political / governmental information, ship classes, and so much more. It's a must-read!While published in May 2013, we decided to cover it out of publication order and when we reached the end of discussing all the books that have already been published and available. While that sets the novella out of order, the book really is primarily a companion volume with a lot of reference and background information on a host of topics. In this episode we discussed the novella like we would any other story or novel, then each of us highlighted a favorite section from the companion. Of course, we'd love to hear from all of you with your thoughts on the novella and which section or sections of the companion were your favorites.Your hosts rated “House of Steel” with a trio of 4s (out of 5), resulting in an overall rating of 4.Back to what was mentioned above: there are currently no more already published books in the Honorverse, but don't fear! The next book is scheduled to be published in July 2026—just a few months from when this episode was recorded and hits the feed. We're going to cover that book, “A Call to Deception”, a month after it hits the streets. The book is titled “A Call to Deception”, written by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope, and it's the fifth novel in the Manticore Ascendent series. We're excited to read it and hope you are, too!You can preorder “A Call to Deception” at the time this episode releases. As always, grab a copy, invite a friend, get to reading and join us again (after a short delay) on our continuing voyage through the Honorverse! Also, please stay tuned for an announcement about another project we're cooking up!You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let's be about it!

The epic conclusion after Ben returns from getting that seltzer!Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

It's a double header! We wrap up the comics' adaptation of the first Timothy Zahn trilogy, “The Last Command,” and then hop into the first 2 episodes of the new Disney + series MAUL - SHADOW LORD. (spoiler warning for these episodes - you've been warned!)News from StarWarsNewsNet.com TV, Comics, Movie, Merch, Game news and more! THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU Final Trailer Drops, Tickets now on Sale! Drop us a line at secretfriendsunite@gmail.com and let us know what you're enjoying in the ‘world of nerd' and we might feature your comments on one of our shows! Find us online at secretfriendsunite.com for ALL of our episodes, additional content and bios of our SFU Network stars!Hit us up at Secret.Friends.Unite on Threads, BlueSky & Instagram and @TheCeeThree on Threads, BlueSky and Instagram.Secret Friends Unite LinktreePlease support Pancreatic Cancer Research at https://pancan.org/Join our Secret Friends Unite Discord for great geek discussions of all kinds! https://discord.gg/AX9qwErUWebsite: Chaotic Good Coffee, Comics, and GamesSubscribe to our YouTube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/c/SecretFriendsUniteGet all your SECRET FRIENDS UNITE merch at our Redbubble store! Click here

Vuelve a rugir desde las sombras, La Fosa del Rancor. Seguimos el rastro de Maul en su nueva trayectoria  como señor del crimen, con los nuevos episodios de la serie de Star Wars en Disney+, Darth Maul: Shadow Lord, Señor de las Sombras. Pero la Fuerza ha querido que podamos disfrutar de más Star Wars y nos ha traído el último tráiler de The Mandalorian and Grogu. Por lo que este programa viene cargado de mucho Star Wars. Como no podía ser de otra manera, antes de meternos en harina, os traeremos las noticias más relevantes de nuestra galaxia favorita. En primer lugar, le dedicamos unos minutos a las recientes novedades de la próxima Star Wars Celebration de Los Angeles. A continuación, compartimos con vosotros una noticia relevante para los amantes del Universo Expandido. Según cuentan Claudia Gray y Timothy Zahn, en la MegaCon, Lucasfilm no permitirá que Mara Jade salga de nuestra isla del Universo Expandido al canon actual. Dave Filoni, mantendrá el criterio del Hacedor y al parecer el querido personaje no verá la luz en ninguna de las nuevas historias. Le dedicaremos unos minutos a comentar esta noticia. Nuestro compañero Kiko Cerro, también nos contará su experiencia en el Krunch! Festival de Alcalá de Henares y su encuentro con nuestro querido amigo, el gran Kenny Ruiz. No podemos dejar de recomendaros nuestro especial junto a este gran artista, dedicado a su última obra "Path of the lightsaber" y el recorrido que hicimos a toda la historia de los mangas de Star Wars. Por último recordaros que en unas semanas nos vamos a Alemania para asistir a la convención Power of the Force, en Colonia. Un equipo de Foseros viajeros se desplazará hasta allí para traeros todas las noticias y novedades que se produzcan en este encuentro fan. Y ahora sí, tras estas novedades, le dedicamos un buen análisis a los episodios 3 y 4 de Maul Shadow Lord. En estos capítulos seguimos el proceso de atracción de la padawan Devon hacia el Lado Oscuro. También el intento de Maul de vengarse de los demás señores del crimen. Y la complicada situación que se le está creando al responsable de la ley, Brander Lawson. La historia fluye hacia las sombras y la inevitable intervención del Imperio, cada vez está más cerca. Tras comentar estos capítulos, nos metemos de lleno en el último tráiler de The Mandalorian and Grogu. Dos minutos de pura magia de Star Wars, que darán para un nuevo análisis y teorías. Si bien este último tráiler no aporta muchas novedades a lo ya visto anteriormente, en la Fosa le dedicamos un buen repaso como marca la tradición Fosera. Como sabéis, podréis encontrar en nuestros análisis, todos los guiños, curiosidades, referencias a otras historias del canon, por supuesto al Universo Expandido y siempre con el humor que nos caracteriza. Aquí os dejamos un vídeo oficial que comentamos en nuestro análisis y que es una buena muestra del cariño que está poniendo el equipo de la película en esta historia. Pero cuidado, si no queréis saber demasiado de la película, porque puede ser muy relevante: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_MGZcXowTA Grabado en la noche del sábado 18 de abril, montado y editado por Paco Villa, para este programa reunimos a una mesa con auténtico poder en el reverso tenebroso. Rosa Campoy, Ferran Lloret, Kiko Cerro (desde @cineycomics Tik Tok) y Ángel de Jorge. Conducido por los acólitos de Maul: Paco Villa y Josemi. Esto no es un análisis cualquiera. Esto es La Fosa del Rancor hablando de Maul. Un podcast hecho por fans para fans. Que lo disfruéis No dejéis de soñar con galaxias lejanas y que la Fuerza os acompañe siempre. ♥¡Dale, Pacoto!♥ Comunidad Únete al canal de WhatsApp de La Fosa del Rancor para seguir todas nuestras novedades. En LaTostadora.com puedes llevarte nuestro merchandising oficial. Síguenos en redes:  Twitter: @lafosadelrancor  Facebook: Fosa del Rancor  Instagram: @lafosadelrancor  YouTube: La Fosa del Rancor TV Timeline: 00:00:00 Introducción y presentaciones. 00:08:30 Últimas noticias y novedades SW. 00:37:00 Análisis capítulos 3 y 4 Maul Shadow Lord. 01:34:45 Análisis trailer final The Mandalorian & Grogu.

This week Nate reads and discusses another Thrawn book. This is for us. Also Ben's brain leaves his skull like Homer Simpson listening to Flanders' talk about cider and juice.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

In today's Daily Fix:Fan-favorite Star Wars character Mara Jade is apparently stuck in the non-canon Legends universe, as Lucasfilm apparently isn't ready—or doesn't want—to bring her back. Veteran Star Wars authors Claudia Grey and Timothy Zahn (who created Mara Jade in the 90s), have repeatedly asked Lucasfilm about finding a way to bring her into the new Disney-era canon, but they've been turned down. In other news, Karl Urban is having another banner year, with the highly-anticipated final season of The Boys set to premiere on Amazon, and a starring role as Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat sequel. But there's another adaptation he's ready to tackle: Red Dead Redemption. And finally, Ralph Fienness won't be returning as Lord Voldemort in the HBO Harry Potter series, but he does have a suggestion as to who should take up the noseless role, and it's a pretty good one.

It's the beginning of the end of more of the beginning in the post-Marvel STAR WARS comicsverse with the first three issues of Dark Horse Comics' adaptation of the famous Timothy Zahn novel “The Last Command.”Drop us a line at secretfriendsunite@gmail.com and let us know what you're enjoying in the ‘world of nerd' and we might feature your comments on one of our shows! Find us online at secretfriendsunite.com for ALL of our episodes, additional content and bios of our SFU Network stars!Hit us up at Secret.Friends.Unite on Threads, BlueSky & Instagram and @TheCeeThree on Threads, BlueSky and Instagram.Secret Friends Unite LinktreePlease support Pancreatic Cancer Research at https://pancan.org/Join our Secret Friends Unite Discord for great geek discussions of all kinds! https://discord.gg/AX9qwErUWebsite: Chaotic Good Coffee, Comics, and GamesSubscribe to our YouTube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/c/SecretFriendsUniteGet all your SECRET FRIENDS UNITE merch at our Redbubble store! Click here

Today we discuss Side Trip, the final short story in Tales from the Empire, and the first Star Wars collaboration between Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole. Grand Admiral Thrawn has commandeered a civilian ship to make a delivery to Corellia. He accompanies the ship disguised as the bounty hunter Jodo Kast. On Corellia, they run into a pair of CorSec agents, Hal and Corran Horn. The Horns and Thrawn team up to take on the Corellian Black Sun contingent.

We know we've been enjoying this Honorverse adventure for a while when we realize the book we're discussing this time wasn't published when we began the podcast. David Weber keeps writing and we're happy to have more content to read, enjoy, and discuss with you, our co-adventurers! What Price Victory is the seventh book in the Worlds of Honor anthology and brings us five short stories written by six authors: Timothy Zahn, Thomas Pope, Jane Lindskold, Jan Kotouč, Joelle Presby and David Weber. We have some familiar faces and a few new folks, too.What Price Victory is 320 pages (hardcover), published in February 2023. The first story in the book is Traitor, by Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope.It takes place sometime around 1528 PD and focuses on events surrounding a significant challenge to Andermani Emperor Gustav. What initially appears to be quiet and professional concern that Gustav may not be fit to lead the Empire, as the concerned parties assemble, it becomes clear that the real intent is to stage a coup. Things get wild!Your hosts gave this story three ‘thumbs-up”. The second story, Deception of Gryphon was written by Jane Lindskoldt. The last book we discussed was A New Clan which featured Stephanie Harrington and her friends. This short story brings us back to Stephanie and Karl shortly after the events in A New Clan, but now these two heroes are on Gryphon with Stephanie's parents. While there, they find themselves involved in what initially looked like a suicide, but quickly questions surface about whether or not it may have been a murder. As a credentialed law enforcement officer, Karl gets involved along with Probationary Ranger Harrington and the story unfolds.We gave this story three “thumbs-ups”, as well. The Silesian Command was the third story, written by Jan Kotouč. Now we find ourselves early in the days of what is usually called the Second Manticoran-Havenite War, probably in 1919 or 1920 PD. The Star Kingdom of Manticore is growing and we're seeing some of the struggles of the war spilling over into Manticore's efforts to manage new territory gained when the Silesian Confederacy was split between the Star Kingdom and the Andermani Empire. There's intrigue, nuclear weapons, a rogue People's Republic of Haven State Security officer, and pirates!Your hosts scored this one with two “thumbs-up”, and a “neutral” vote. If Wishes Were Space Cutters, written by Joelle Presby, was our fourth story.Joelle takes us back to Grayson and a character named Noah Bedlam. This young man dreams of bigger things in the future, then finds himself with a new job helping to build a space station. He takes the job and leaves his mom (who he lives with) behind—hopefully the new work will pay him enough to improve both his and her standard of living. High drama ensues when space debris hits the ship (a cutter) he's stationed on, causing critical damage. With the help of a new acquaintance, he works to stem the unfolding catastrophe and save many lives. As a result, he's recommended to attend pilot training.We struggled with this one, scoring it with a “neutral” vote and two “thumbs-down”. The fifth and final story is written by the man himself, Mr. David Weber, titled First Victory.The events in the story unfold across a significant period of time between March 1846 and December 1877 PD. Most of the story is at the front end of this window culminating with Honor's birth, then there's a leap forward to when she's 17.Lots of tension and love in this story. Tension that is the relationship between Jennifer (Allison's mom) and Allison (Honor's mom)...

Suddenly we're here to talk about the fourth novel in the Manticore Ascendant story arc: A Call to Insurrection.As before, this novel is co-written with Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope and published by Baen in January 2022. We're back in the fight with Travis Long, his wife Lisa and on an adventure following a recent attack on the young Star Kingdom. What rests behind the recent attack is the speculation that the small and insignificant Star Empire might be sitting on something extremely valuable in the context of trade and commerce. With the potential for a significant increase in economic power, someone is trying to ensure that increase is theirs and not Manticore's. However, Queen Elizabeth I and her government aren't completely ignorant of what might be behind the attacks. If they're right, there is a real threat to the Kingdom looming, and therefore a real need for a stronger and more capable navy. Enter the well-timed diplomatic contact by the Andermani Empire, and quickly we find Travis, Lisa and our other friends on what could be a well-timed adventure. Or possibly a disaster. There's drama, tension, a bunch of mercenaries, and definitely some combat! As always, your hosts share their thoughts about the book, and in this case the story arc we know as “Manticore Ascendant”. We even refer back to things David Weber shared with us about what may lie ahead for this part of the Honorverse (could there be more?), and a few thoughts and hopes of our own as the overarching Honorverse adventure continues. Our ratings for A Call to Insurrection were a 4.5, 5 and 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.7 from your hosts.As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with other like-minded adventurers. We always love your feedback and thoughts. Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew! Next time we're shifting back to the Star Kingdom arc and looking at the fourth book there: A New Clan. If you like seeing the development of the treecat-human partnership, the early years on Sphinx for humans, and the further adventures of Stephanie Harrington, don't miss this one! Grab your copy, invite a friend, and please join us again next time. You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let's be about it!

Here we are, finishing the Crown of Slaves series with the fourth book: To End in Fire, once again co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint.Consistent with the title, this story arc ends with a lot of fire. For the Babylon 5 fans who are also here with us, we can say there's lot's of BOOM. It's another hefty book, coming in at 704 pages if you read the print version, so there's definitely room for a lot of fire (or boom), and a lot of action overall. The focus of the story is tied to the continued dealing with the Mesan Alignment, with action taking place in several locations including Mesa and Earth. Lots of threads from previous books are pulled together, and we get to watch the workings of the defeated Solarian League's Constitutional Convention. We also see the establishment of significant governmental reform on Mesa, with some pretty cool time and attention paid to several of our former Ballroom members, including Saburo X.We continue to see Honor in action as combat ops have ended (paused?) and follow-on operations occur. Oh, and Honor's mother Alison (one of our favorite characters) gives birth to twins. For those who read it, you know this is only a summary and there's SO much more going on as well.Your hosts rated “To End in Fire” with a 4, a 4 and a 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.17 from your hosts.We hope you never get tired of hearing it because we don't get tired of saying it: thank you for listening and especially to those of you who take the time to interact with us, like and follow us on social media, and share this podcast with others.Next, we're back in the Manticore Ascendant series, looking at the fourth and final book: A Call to Insurrection co-authored by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope. As with the others in this series/arc, we're making a final trip back to the early years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore. As we wrap this series up, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let's be about it!

Fan favorite writer Timothy Zahn is a Star Wars legend! As the author of the original Thrawn trilogy in the early 90s (and numerous subsequent Star Wars novels), Zahn helped keep the Star Wars flame lit during the franchise's post-Return of the Jedi slumber. And at GalaxyCon San Jose, I had the honor of moderating the Spotlight on Timothy Zahn panel, where he shared stories about the creation of Grand Admiral Thrawn and other characters, how he first got the chance to write for Star Wars, what he thinks of his Extended Universe novels becoming Star Wars Legends, and much, much more! And now you get a chance to hear the conversation for yourself! Enjoy! To see when you can attend a GalaxyCon for yourself, visit the GalaxyCon website at: ⁠https://galaxycon.com You can also subscribe to the Geekscape podcast on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://spoti.fi/3H27uMH⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://apple.co/3BVrnkW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bryan Young was on hand at Dragon Con to bring you one of our favorite treats every year: the authors of Star Wars. The panel this year consisted of authors Timothy Zahn, Delilah Dawson, and Jonathan Jackson Miller, and they talked about their time in the Star Wars trenches, what they have coming up, and new anecdotes about a galaxy far, far away. Also jizz wailing.

Send us a textThis Week on the show author David Boop stops by the show to discuss, writing, editing, Star Wars & Star Trek and much more. *******David Boop is a Denver-based speculative fiction author & editor. He's also an award-winning essayist, and screenwriter. Before turning to fiction, David worked as a DJ, film critic, journalist, and actor. David's novels run the gamut, such as the sci-fi/noir She Murdered Me with Science and the Weird Western, The Drowned Horse Chronicle. David edited the bestselling and award-nominated Weird Western anthology series beginning with Straight Outta Tombstone, followed by a trio of Space Western anthologies starting with Gunfight on Europa Station. He's edited several pulp anthologies, including Gentlemen Prefer Domino Lady, Domino Patrick: Daughter of the Domino Lady, and Green Hornet & Kato: Detroit Noir. Most recently, he edited the Jack L. Chalker's Well World tribute mosaic novel, Permutations. David is prolific in short fiction, writing across many genres including sci-fi, fantasy, horror, weird western, and superhero. Some of his shorts include media tie-ins for Predator (nominated for the 2018 Scribe Award), Kolchak the Night Stalker, The Green Hornet, and Veronica Mars. He's a Summa Cum Laude Graduate from UC-Denver in the Creative Writing program. He tutors and teaches Creative Writing, collects Funko Pops, and is a believer. You can find out more at Longshot-Productions.net.********If you would like to contact the show about being a guest, please email us at Dauna@bettertopodcast.comUpcoming guests can be found: https://dmneedom.com/upcoming-guest Follow us on Social MediaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_d.m.needom/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bettertopodcastwithdmneedomIntro and Outro music compliments of Fast Suzi©2025 Better To...Podcast with D. M. NeedomSupport the show

In this week's episode, I take a look back at the challenges of finishing my STEALTH & SPELLS ONLINE LitRPG trilogy. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobooks in the Malison series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: MALISONSUMMER50 The coupon code is valid through August 18, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 262 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is August 1, 2025, and today we are looking at how I finished my LitRPG trilogy at long last. Before we get into that, we will have Coupon of the Week, a progress update on my current writing and audiobook projects, and Question of the Week. First up is Coupon of the Week. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobooks in the Malison series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: MALISONSUMMER50. And as always, we will include the coupon code and the link to my Payhip store in the show notes. And this coupon code is valid through August 18th, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook this summer, we have got you covered. Now let's take a look at where I'm at with my current writing projects. As I mentioned in previous episodes, Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest, the final book in the Stealth and Spells Online trilogy, is finished. You can get that at Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. It is doing slightly better than the previous two in the trilogy, which makes it the bestselling book in the trilogy so far. So thank you all for that. My next main project is Ghost in the Siege, which will be the sixth and final book in the Ghost Armor series. I am 53,000 words into that as of this recording, which puts me about halfway through, give or take. I'm also 6,000 words into Blade of Flames, which will be the first book in my new epic fantasy series that I will begin once Ghost in the Siege is out. In audiobook news, Shield of Power--recording for it is underway. That will be excellently narrated by Brad Wills and hopefully that will be out in probably towards the end of September sometime, if all goes well. 00:01:49 Question of the Week Now let's move on to Question of the Week, which is designed to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's question: what is your favorite book you've read in 2025 so far? No wrong answers, obviously. The inspiration for this question was that June 30th was the halfway point of the year, which naturally inspires both reflection and some mandatory bookkeeping. Mary says: Witch Hat Atelier Volume 13 by Kamome Shirahama (which I probably mispronounced). After having read the rest of the series, of course. Juana says: Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts. Jonathan T. says: The Genesis Enigma: Why the Bible is Scientifically Accurate. This book is like my favorite nonfiction book so far of the year, while my favorite in the fiction category is likely Hardy Boys Casefiles: Dead On Target. Roger says: Just finished the latest in the Magelands Series, The Lost Ascendant. Really good, but a long series-even longer than yours, Jonathan. Gary says: It wasn't published in 2025 (I'm tragically behind the times) but Murtaugh by Christopher Paolini. Lynda says: Sunset by Sharon Sala. Denny says: Not sure if Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives: Wind and Truth counts. It was released in December of 2024, but it's the newest book I've read. John K. says: My favorite book so far is by new indie author, J.L. Odom, By Blood By Salt. It's in line with apparently my favorite genre of MC called (I can't tell if this is disparaging or not) “competency porn” where the main character is well, uber competent. For myself, I think my favorite book of the year so far for 2025 would be The Icarus Coda by Timothy Zahn, which wraps up his excellent Icarus sci-fi mystery series after 25 years. So I definitely recommend you check out the Icarus series if you get a chance and if you're looking for other interesting things to read, apparently we have a few recommendations for you as well. 00:03:29 Main Topic: How I Finally Finished the Stealth and Spells Online Trilogy Now let's move on to our main topic this week. How I finally finished the Stealth and Spells Online trilogy with the last book, Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest. I'm very grateful to everyone who read the trilogy and enjoyed it. All told, it took about 10 months to write Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest, from September of 2024 to July 2025, when I finally published it. So that's a lot longer than it takes for me to usually write a book. So what took so long? Well, a lot of things went wrong. Let's look back. Towards the end of 2022, I decided I wanted to try something a little different, so I settled on LitRPG, which seemed promising because it's pretty popular. For the story, I had an idea of a software developer who was fired from a virtual reality MMORPG once he realized it was dangerous and how he starts playing the game to uncover the proof he needs of the corporation's evil plans. I also had why I thought would be a clever idea. The game would be based on my Frostborn books. Like, it's set 700 years in the future and some interstellar scout discovered the Frostborn books on a wrecked colony ship, and then the evil corporation built the game around them. I decided the game would be called Sevenfold Sword Online, which meant it was the logical name for the series. So I wrote Sevenfold Sword Online: Creation and published it in February of 2023. And alas, it didn't do particularly well. A couple of problems became immediately apparent. First, and perhaps foremost, the title was causing confusion. People assumed it was connected to my Sevenfold Sword series and was in some way a sequel to that series, which it wasn't. Second, people were confused and wondered if the Ridmark Arban and Calliande Arban NPCs in the game were the actual characters from the Frostborn, Sevenfold Sword, and Dragontiarna books. They weren't. But in comedy, there's a saying that if you have to explain the joke you've already lost. I suppose a parallel conclusion would be that if you have to explain the characters are NPCs in the game world based on your books 700 years in the future, then the concept of the book is probably a bit too abstract. Second, the book didn't really appeal to a majority of my regular readers who prefer epic fantasy from me. Case in point- when I published Half-Elven Thief in December 2023, in its first month it did 66% of what Stealth and Spells Online: Creation has done in the entire three and a half years it has been available, and I'm recording this on August 1st, 2025. So in its first month, Half-Elven Thief did two thirds of what Creation did the entire three and a half years it's been published. In its lifetime, Half-Elven Thief has sold 250% more than Stealth and Spells Online: Creation, and it's been out for ten and a half fewer months than Creation. Clearly, the majority of my regular readers prefer epic fantasy over LitRPG. Despite these setbacks, I continued onward and published Sevenfold Sword Online: Leveling in February of 2024. It did slightly worse than Creation. So for the rest of 2024, I on and off tried a bunch of things to improve how the series fared. To avoid confusion, I changed the title from Sevenfold Sword Online to Stealth and Spells Online, which it currently is. I redid the cover art, I changed the description, all the usual things for improving a series, and none of it ever really worked. I could never quite turn a profit when advertising the book. During these experiments, I realized I had fundamentally misread the LitRPG market because the three most popular kinds of LitRPG are: 1. Portal fantasy, when the protagonist falls through a portal and ends up in another world that runs on MMORPG style rules for whatever reason. 2. Isekai. The character dies and is reborn in a world that runs on MMORPG style rules. You'll see this in books with titles like I Died and was Reborn as a Level One Healer, something like that. 3. System Apocalypse. The world ends and is recreated as a living MMORPG, usually overseen by an all powerful “game system” (hence the name). The system can be created by gods or incomprehensibly powerful space aliens and is often malevolent. Dungeon Crawler Carl, where Earth is destroyed and remade into an MMORPG system as part of a sadistic alien game show is probably the most well-known example of this particular subgenre. The problem is that Stealth and Spells Online fits into none of these popular subgenres. I joke that I tried to write a LitRPG, but it ended up as a sci-fi thriller. I mean “software developer fighting sinister corporation's evil plans” is a sci-fi cyberpunk story, not a LitRPG. So I was trying to tell a story ill-suited for that particular genre, like attempting to write a cozy contemporary mystery in the format of an epic Arthurian fantasy quest. Like that idea could potentially work, but it probably wouldn't. With that realization, I had three choices about how to proceed. 1. Leave Stealth and Spells Online unfinished and never speak of it again. 2. Unpublish Stealth and Spells Online and never speak of it again. 3. Find a way to finish Stealth and Spells Online in a satisfactory fashion with a single book because I didn't want to write a long series that sold poorly. I disliked Options One and Two, partly for reasons of professional pride and partly because it's bad to get a reputation in the fantasy genre for leaving series unfinished. You don't want to leave readers hanging longer than is necessary. The tricky part for Option Three was I had originally planned Stealth and Spells Online to be like seven or eight books, and I was only two books into what I had outlined for the story. An additional, potentially major real life problem was that the Stealth and Spells Online books sold badly enough to seriously tank book sales in the month they were released. Like both February 2023 and February 2024 were some of my weakest sales months in the past decade. So that meant I needed an outline for the final book that would discard all the planned subplots and focus entirely on the main plot. I also needed to write the book as a side project and not a main project because I knew it probably would not sell well. Ideally, it would come out in the same month as a much stronger seller like one of the Shield War books. So in October of 2024, I started chipping away at what would become Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest at 500 words a day. I would write 250 words before going to the gym in the morning and then 250 more words after dinner. During the normal workday, my main focus was on whatever book in the Shield War, Ghost Armor, Cloak Mage, and Half-Elven Thief series I was writing at the time. (As I've said before, having five unfinished series at the time is way too many, which is why I spent summer 2025 trying to get that number down.) But I did my 250 words in the morning and my 250 words after dinner almost every day. I just kept chipping away at it. Finally, in July of 2025, I was very nearly to the end of the book. After I published Shield of Power, I decided I was far enough along to make Final Quest my main project. Turns out I actually was pretty far along, since I only needed to write 3,000 more words to finish the book. Two rounds of editing and some new scenes later (I added a bunch of stuff since I thought the original ending was incomplete) and I published the book in July of 2025. It turned out reasonably well. People seemed to like the ending and find it satisfactory (at least those who read it). Final Quest sold slightly better than its predecessors. But to be honest, Shield of Power has generated sales in its first three days equal to what Final Quest did in its first two weeks. So I'm grateful for everyone who read the trilogy or listened to the two audiobooks. I'm really grateful that you read it or listened to it and enjoyed it. But in all honesty, I'm glad to be done with the trilogy. I've always been kind of sad when I finished my other series, especially the big ones, but with Stealth and Spells Online, I'm just relieved to be done and that I don't have to think about it very much anymore. It's easier to promote a finished trilogy than an unfinished series. Probably I'm going to make the first book free every three months, run some ads to it while it's free, and that will be that. I just signed up with C.J. McAllister a few days ago to do the audiobook version of Final Quest (and he did a very good job on the first two books in the trilogy), so eventually we'll probably have a Stealth and Spells Online: The Complete Trilogy audiobook, since audiobook bundles always do well and I expect a complete trilogy audiobook bundle would likewise do well. Amusingly, I realized that to finish this book, I essentially followed my own advice that I've been giving for years. I always say on this podcast and my blog that you can finish a novel if you just keep chipping away at it and small efforts add up over time. Final Quest turned out to be about 117,000 words, and I mostly got there 500 words at a time. Do I regret writing Stealth and Spells Online? No. But obviously if I had to do it all over again, I would definitely do some things differently. Will I ever return to writing in the LitRPG genre? Probably not. I listed all the popular subgenres of LitRPG earlier, and while I don't have anything against any of those subgenres, I just don't have any particular interest in writing a story that revolves around those tropes. For all that my books tend to be escapist, I always need to have at least a touchstone of reality in them so they make sense to me. Characters like Wire, Admiral Winterholt, and Alexander Maskell could definitely have their real-life (even contemporary) equivalents. LitRPG story tropes in general seem to be about a flight from reality. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it's not something I'm really interested in writing. I mean, I designed the Andomhaim setting in Frostborn around people who traveled from Sub-Roman Britain in the 500s A.D. to a world where magic is real, so that way I could make real-world historical references. I think if pressed, I could write a pretty good novel in the genres of epic fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, and romance. But I'm not at all sure I could write a good book in the LitRPG subgenres I listed. Honestly, maybe I'm just too old for it. I don't think I encountered an MMORPG for the first time until I was, I think 24 or 25 years old, and I've never actually seriously played one, so it definitely wasn't a formative experience for me the way it was for many LitRPG authors. In fact, if I'm remembering it right, my first serious encounter with an MMORPG was in fact at work when I got an IT support ticket about network throttling, complaining about how long a World of Warcraft update was taking to download. So that is how I finally finished the Stealth and Spells Online trilogy. And once again, thank you to everyone who read and listened to these Stealth and Spells Online trilogy. I hope you found it enjoyable. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Welcome to the most karabast filled episode Star Wars Reactions to date!This week, hosts Aaron “Karabast” Harris and David Modders sit down and discuss each other's picks as they share their top 5 Disney era books. These are books they consider must reads for Star Wars fans that have been released since the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm. From A New Dawn through Trials of the Jedi, their picks cover novels from The High Republic to the Prequel era, to the Sequel era. Which ones have you read? Plus, Aaron makes what could be a record setting amount of karabast moments, can you count them all?As always, we end this episode with Aaron's all new Star Wars Dad Joke of the Week!Talking Points:Episode 218 IntroTop 5 Disney Era Books#5#4#3#2Honorable Mentions#1ClosingStar Wars Dad Joke of the WeekStar Wars Reactions: Elegant discussions for a more civilized age!Click here to leave us a voicemail via SpeakPipe!Email us here!Follow us on X!Follow us on Facebook!Follow us on Instagram!Follow us on  TikTok!Follow us on Threads!Follow us on Bluesky!Follow us on Pinterest!Subscribe on YouTube!Follow Aaron and David on X!Follow Aaron and David on Instagram!

"When you understand a species' art, you understand that species."And now for something completely different. We talked about Timothy Zahn's HEIR TO THE EMPIRE! Years after RETURN OF THE JEDI there was no TV shows, no movies, no nada. That all changed with this book babyyyyy!Support the 70mm Patreon to join our VHS Village Discord and access exclusive episodes in the 70mm Vault like the 1990s Batman movies, Harry Potter, The Matrix, SHIN Godzilla, and over 70 others. Signing up for the Patreon also get your own membership card, member-only discounts on merch, and the ability to vote on future episodes!Don't forget you can visit our website to shop our storefront to buy prints and merch, follow us on Letterboxd, email the show, and much more.70mm is a ⁠TAPEDECK⁠ podcast, along with our friends at ⁠BAT & SPIDER⁠,  ⁠The Letterboxd Show⁠, Austin Danger Pod, ⁠Escape Hatch⁠, ⁠Will Run For...⁠, ⁠Lost Light⁠, ⁠The Movie Mixtape⁠, and ⁠Twin Vipers⁠.(Gone but not forgotten; ⁠Cinenauts⁠ + ⁠FILM HAGS⁠.) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It's time for the third novel in the Manticore Ascendant story arc: A Call to Vengeance.Co-written with Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope and published by Baen in March 2018, this is another of David Weber's lengthier novels, but with good reason. We're watching a more mature Travis Long (and colleagues, including Lisa Donnelly) participate in operations of the maturing Royal Manticoran Navy. The Manticoran government continues to struggle with the roles, relationships and funding competition between the RMN and MPARS. In a subplot we see the establishment of the Special Intelligence Service (known quietly but openly as Delphi) and an associated struggle in terms of roles, responsibilities and authorities between the Office of Naval Intelligence and Delphi. As those pots simmer (or boil), Elisabeth works through a potentially significant political fight that manifests as a “Constitutional crisis”. This all sounds serious, right? It is, but there are definitely a few very funny events that occur within the pages within both plot lines.Our ratings for A Call to Vengeance were a 5, 5 and 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 5.As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with others. Don't forget, it's never too late to comment on previous episodes either. We love your feedback and thoughts. Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew!Next time we're stepping back into the main story arc as we dive into Uncompromising Honor as things get very heated between Manticore and Mesa. As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let's be about it!

Star Wars Summer begins after the original trilogy with “Heir to the Empire”, a graphic novel adaption of Timothy Zahn's celebrated novel series.

This time, we dive right into the final book in the Saganami Island series: Shadow of Victory.This chunky novel weighs in at 756 pages and hit the streets in November 2016. The story covers a date range from February 1921 PD through October 1022 PD. For those tracking dates, you'll realize this is one of those times when David covers events we've already seen, but from a different perspective. There's also some new info in here, too.The major things that happen reflect the continuing exposure of, or for some, the revelation of, the Mesan Alignment. These include the sneak attack on Manticore itself, destroying a significant segment of their economy and military infrastructure. We also see Operation Janus, the Alignment's effort to discredit Manticore by making false promises of military support to oppressed segments of other start nations if they decide to rebel. Then there's the horrific Operation Houdini. These plans are diabolical, especially when taken together. The false promises might embolden revolutions, causing the division and downfall of many when Manticore never shows up with the “promised” support. It would also drain resources from the governments experiencing those revolutions. Additionally, when Manticore appears to renege on promised support (that they never made), it paints them in a light that they can't be trusted to keep their word internationally. Finally, in the context of the hostilities between Manticore and the Solarian League (actually provoked by the Alignment!), Manticore looks like they're acting consistent with the propaganda that paints them as improperly seeking to expand their empire by force, employing their military to engage the Solarians directly and indirectly. There's certainly a lot going on here. We'll warn you now: your hosts didn't particularly enjoy this book. Tune in to find out why and let us know if you agree or not. We rated Shadow of Victory with a 2.5, a 2 and a 3 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 2.5.As always, thank you for listening. Special thanks to those of you who take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.Next time, we're excited to discuss A Call to Vengeance, book three in the Manticore Ascendant story arc. That's right: we're going to see what happens next with Travis Long, Lisa Donnelly and others as the young Royal Manticoran Navy continues to struggle against emerging mercenary threats to the Star Kingdom while the government struggles with how well to fund the Navy in light of possibly decreasing funds for the navy while increasing funds for the Manticoran Patrol and Rescue Service. Yes, we're about to enjoy some more great storytelling from the dynamic trio of David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope! As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.

Today we discuss Survivor's Quest. The Chiss have found the remains of Outbound Flight. The Skywalkers journey to the Unknown Regions to see its remains and are joined by the Chiss, a New Republic ambassador who isn't, and a species who owe their survival to Outbound Flight. But none of them are prepared for what they find within the wreckage of the ship.

May the Fortnite Drop with you fanoners! A long time ago in a discontinued timeline, Luke, han and Leia find themselves embroiled in a fight against the Empire's best tatictian.This is our review of Heir to The Empire by Timothy Zahn.

Today we discuss Fool's Bargain, a novella prequel to Survivor's Quest. The Empire of the Hand has come to Kariek to capure the Warlord, but some of the soldiers wonder why they are trying to capture him and not just destroy the fortress he's hiding in.

One of the most dangerous threats from Star Wars' Legends has had an interesting history after his initial introduction in Timothy Zahn's trilogy/. From the page to animation to live action, the Chiss known as Grand Admiral Member-Berries... errr... THRAWN has had a lasting impact on fans young and old.Join the WOTS crew as we dive into our Character Counts discussion focused on the only Imperial commander to ever say no to both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader and walk away unscathed..

As promised, in this episode we discuss the second novel in the Manticore Ascendant series: A Call to Arms. Written by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope, the story of Travis Long continues after he's completed his training to become a commissioned officer. We join him back in the fleet with a few years of commissioned time under his belt and wearing the bars of an ensign.In many ways Travis has grown and matured through the passage of time, the challenges of training, and more years under his belt as an officer. Even so, we can still see the core of his ethical framework visible through the way he wrestles with the problems that life presents to him in naval service. We also see his giftedness continue as someone who can think outside of his own personal boundaries. While we've seen this result in some very positive ideas that allowed his ships (current and past) to successfully navigate some pretty difficult situations, thankfully he hasn't become the one-man silver bullet that seems to be the magical solution to horrible problems. In this regard, we were happy that the authors kept the story believable. As this book ends, we found ourselves looking forward to the next book in this series.Our ratings for A Call to Arms were a 5, 5 and 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.8.As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with others. Don't forget, it's never too late to comment on previous episodes either. We love your feedback and thoughts. Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew!Next time we're stepping away from the Manticore Ascendant series and returning to the Saganami Island series to read and discuss Shadow of Victory. If you've been missing seeing the dark and sinister ways of the Mesan Alignment—they're back! As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let's be about it!

We jump back in time and discuss Outboud Flight. Jorus C'baoth is determined to get Outbound Flight off the ground, while Palpatine plans to destroy it and all the Jedi on board. In the Unknown Regions, Jorj Car'das comes into contact with an unknown species, the Chiss. The group he meets is led by a young commander named Thrawn. And for some reason, Obi-Wan and Anakin are in this book for the first two-thirds of it.

Jeremy Comeaux interviews Timothy Zahn, on The Icarus Coda and the complete series of Icarus books; and One Jump Ahead by Mark L. Van Name, Part 8. View the podcast in video form at https://www.baen.com/podcastfiles/mp3/https://rumble.com/embed/v6pgvpl/?pub=1jib3s and the Baen YouTube Channel.

Today we start discussing Tales from the Empire with First Contact. Talon Karrde is investigating a safari on Varonat. The safari is run by Gamgalon, a Krish who Karrde knows is up to something. While there, he meets a young hyperdrive mechanic with red hair who instantly makes an impression on him.

When Marvel let their license to produce Star Wars comics lapse in 1986, Return of the Jedi was three years in the rear-view mirror and it seemed possible there would never be any further installments in the franchise. But Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy's 1991 miniseries Dark Empire would begin Dark Horse Comics' 23-year run of Star Wars comics and help launch the Expanded Universe. Set six years after the Battle of Endor, Dark Empire sees Luke Skywalker tempted to the Dark Side by the newly revived Emperor, Han Solo and Leia Organa fleeing bounty hunters, and a new Imperial doomsday weapon threatening the galaxy. We'll look at the long and rocky development of the series, how involved (or not) Lucasfilm was in the story, and how it compares to its prose sister project, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy. This is the only podcast where you can hear two grown men arguing (politely) about Star Wars!Support the podcast at patreon.com/ironageofcomics

Voicing Star Wars and Other Galaxies Long-time voice actor and book narrator Marc Thompson joins us to talk about his career voicing the Galaxy Far, Far Away and many other nerd universes as well. We talk about how he got his start with a MTV animated show called Daria, a spin off from Beavis and Butthead, and how that helped him spring into other work as well. Find out what Marc loves about Comic-Cons and why they are still so special to him. Find out what books in the Star Wars universe he just narrated and that you can soon listen to - oh, and don't miss his voicing Grand Admiral Thrawn in our episode - AMAZING! He discusses meeting Timothy Zahn and Lars Mikkelsen and tells us what Star Wars means to him and what his favorite Star Wars film is too. For more on Marc Thompson, please visit the following - Instagram - @captainehud_marcthompson_vo Facebook - Marc Thompson IMDb - Marc Thompson For more on our show partners - Bones Coffee - http://www.bonescoffee.com/FSFPOPCAST and use code FSFPOPCAST Idea Farm - www.ideafarm.store - use discount code FSF15 Level Up Sabers https://bit.ly/FSFLevelUpSabers Win free loot - sign up here - www.fsfpopcast.com/contact For more on our Show - Join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/fsfpopcast Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/cpry4fCDTq Visit our website: https://www.fsfpopcast.com FSF PopCast on BlueSky, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook - @fsfpopcast This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Lately there are times it seems we're getting close to the end of our adventure through the Honorverse and then a little reminder like this happens: we're discussing the first book in another four-book story arc! In this episode we're talking about A Call to Duty, kicking off the Manticore Ascendant series. This novel was authored by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope.You'll remember a while back we read a story by Timothy Zahn that took place early in the life of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, revolving around an interesting character named Travis Long. In this series of books we finally get to read the rest of Travis' story, beginning right here. We also get a very interesting glimpse into the early and formative years of the RMN—essentially watching Travis and the Navy grow up together.Travis' military life begins, almost in desperation as a group of his friends use him as an unknowing wheel man while committing a crime. Travis realizes too late that he's going to be guilty by association and takes refuge in an RMN recruiting office. The recruiter sees goodness and promise in Travis, revealed by his conscience, and signs him up for an enlistment. As we follow him through training and his initial time in the operational fleet, his story reveals a lot about Travis' ethical code, which is both a strength and a potential weakness in terms of his service. The Navy causes Travis to realize and then begin to deal with the fact that while there may be moral absolutes and certain black and white issues, much of the world operates in a very gray space where problems are more complicated than he expected. While he's still immature, certain leaders in his chain of command realize he shows potential to become a commissioned officer and is selected to become a “Mustang”.Your hosts rated A Call to Duty with a 5, 5 and another 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 5 from your hosts.Once again, thank you for listening and to those of you who take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.Next, we're picking up the next book in this anthology set called A Call to Arms, where we get to see what happens next with Mr. Long. Without interruption, we get to continue to enjoy the masterful storytelling of David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope. As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let's be about it!

What A Piece of Junk Episode 162: Star Wars Nostalgia with the original Heir to the Empire trilogy!   Watch the video version on Fandom Podcast Network YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FandomPodcastNetwork Listen to the audio podcast version here: https://fpnet.podbean.com/category/what-a-piece-of-junk-a-star-wars-podcast Picture this - it's 1991 and Star Wars has been out of the cultural spotlight for quite some time as the fervor over Star Wars: Return of the Jedi has died down and even the cartoons like Star Wars: Droids and Ewoks have been consigned to the history books. Is it really over for the Galaxy Far, Far Away? Maybe not...there's always A New Hope - and in May of 1991 that new hope took the form of a series of novels by acclaimed military sci-fi author Timothy Zahn who had penned his masterwork, the Heir to the Empire trilogy. This series of books gave us the first looks at now legendary Star Wars characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade! Join the crew of the Drunken Gungan as they take a trip down memory lane to last century and the release of the books that saved Star Wars and still influence the stories of it today. What A Piece of Junk is THE podcast on the Fandom Podcast Network dedicated to covering everything Star Wars. From the original Star Wars trilogy movies, prequels, sequels, Legends canon, Disney's acquisition of Star Wars and its products, and all the fan favorite content out there, we have you covered. So please make sure to stop on over at your local cantina, grab a drink, cozy on up to your favorite alien (or droid), and get ready to talk Star Wars!   What A Piece Of Junk / Fandom Podcast Network Contact Information:   -What A Piece Of Junk a Star Wars Podcast audio podcast master feed: https://fpnet.podbean.com/category/what-a-piece-of-junk-a-star-wars-podcast… - What A Piece Of Junk a Star Wars Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WhatAPieceOfJunk/ - Email: whatapieceofjunkpod@gmail.com - Twitter: @WhatWars   Fandom Podcast Network Social Media links.   - Fandom Podcast Network Audio Master Feed: https://fpnet.podbean.com/ (The FPNet is on Podbean app) - Instagram: @FandomPodcastNetwork  - Twitter: @FanPodNetwork - Fandom Podcast Network is on all major podcast platforms. - Facebook: Fandom Podcast Network: https://www.facebook.com/Fandompodcastnetwork/   Fandom Podcast Network Tee Public Store: Please support  the What A Piece Of Junk podcast and the Fandom Podcast Network by visiting our TeePublic store, while wearing your favorite show logos with pride! Tee Public Store: https://www.teepublic.com/user/fandompodcastnetwork

Now it's time to dive right into the third book in the Crown of Slaves series: Cauldron of Ghosts, co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint. It won't be a surprise to any of our regular listeners, but this book ties to the previous book we covered based on publication order. That said, this is a particularly tight coupling as this book is often considered a literal and direct continuation of the story in Shadow of Freedom.As a result, we're still seeing events occurring in 1922 PD, now featuring our two super-spies: Victor Cachat and Anton Zilwicki and dealing with what's next for (and with) the Mesan Alignment. Furthermore, we're seeing the reality of the post-war alliance between Manticore and Haven. The reality of this alliance seems to still be almost unbelievable to leadership within the Mesan Alignment as this wasn't a part of what they were trying to orchestrate. It sure seems one lesson in this regard we can apply to the real world is the “law of unintended consequences.” This becomes acute as the new Manticoran-Havenite alliance strives to bring the Alignment out of its comfortable place in the shadows. The overall storyline link here is that our heroes Cachat and Zilwicki are running around on Mesa, trying to help reveal the Alignment. The book is definitely action-packed!Your hosts rated Cauldron of Ghosts with a 5, a 5 and an unusual 4.75 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.92 from your hosts.Once again, thank you for listening and to those of you who take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.Next, we're turning our attention to the Manticore Ascendant series, diving into the first book, A Call to Duty co-authored by David Weber and Timothy Zahn. This book and the associated series take us back to the early years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore and a character we were previously introduced to named Travis Long. We've been looking forward to this series! As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let's be about it!

On today's episode, Chris shares his thoughts on an early interaction between Grand Admiral Thrawn and Joruus C'baoth in Heir to the Empire a novel by Timothy Zahn. Their conversation reveals much about their personalities, how they view power, and what it means to be sovereign.  Chris also dives into the reality of hybrid work and how it relates to Joruus C'baoth!   Want more energy and essential vitamins for your day but want to limit your caffeine intake? Get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle with our link: https://www.magicmind.com/swlcjan.  

This week, we crack the spine on the final book of Timothy Zahn's franchise-extending Thrawn trilogy, and wow, what a doozy it is. The Dark Force is no longer Rising, it's risen, and that means the pedal is down and the plot is going full speed. Talon Karrde is meeting with smugglers. Luke bounces all across the galaxy. Lando's walking city is in ruins. Han and Leia's kids are here, and they have visitors, invited and otherwise? And Mara Jade? Well, she's wide awake and getting ready to do the things she does best: Pout and kill people. Support the show by going to Patreon.com/civilized! Next Time: The Last Command Ch. 11-18 Follow us on Bluesky   Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Ricardo Contreras (@a_cado_appears) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)      

We return on this... historic... day... to wrap up the second entry in Timothy Zahn's franchise redefining Thrawn Trilogy. And when you hit the final third of a Star Wars story, you know what that means: Revelations! Compelling heart-to-heart confrontations! And, of course, a giant space battle to put a button on everything.  Will Thrawn take another L, or have his ships finally come in? NEXT TIME: The Last Command Ch. 1 - 10 Show Notes   Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Ricardo Contreras (@a_cado_appears) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)  

Bryan Young got to share the stage with Michael A. Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, Delilah S. Dawson, E.K. Johnston, and John Jackson Miller to talk about their history in the world of writing Star Wars and answering questions from the crowd. Recorded at Dragon Con 2024.

Our coverage continues on Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, deeper into Thrawn's devious web of manipulation and galactic dominance. How do our trio of heroes fare, divided across the galaxy, facing down their own unique conflicts? Well, uhhh unfortunately kinda sauceless! And don't even get us started on the dinner plans!! Or, well, we do get started and talk about it at length--that's podcasting, baby!! And for those at home who hoped we'd listen to the audio books for more context: you're in luck! Did we fix our pronounciation of names as a result? Sure didn't!! Oh, and we also chat a little bit about Star Wars: Outlaws!   NEXT TIME: Heir to the Empire Chapters 23-32 Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Ricardo Contreras (@a_cado_appears) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo) A More Civilized Age is an ad-free, listener supported podcast. If you like what we do, you can support us over at www.patreon.com/civilized to hear Q&As and more. Remember to send your questions into amorecivilizedage AT gmail DOT com.  

PIVOT! With Natalie on a short medical leave, the crew here at AMCA has made a decision. We've revisited your requests for what non-mainline content we could cover and decided to cover the second place candidate for what became our KOTOR series. That's right: It's THRAWN TIME baby! (That's his catchphrase, right?) So join us as we kick off our run through the Timothy Zahn trilogy that ushered in the old EU. First up: A depressed Luke, a galactic government that fits in a high school classroom, an Alien with a cat-lizard boa, and a new (well, old) take on the Clone Wars. NEXT TIME: Heir to the Empire Chapters 11-22 Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Ricardo Contreras (@a_cado_appears) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)