When Artists Go to War

This story is fantastic, primarily because it is true. Reading this article, one can see where George Lucas may have acquired at least some of his ideas for the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, which fans can visually explore in games such as Knights of the Old Republic* and The Force Unleashed*. Gamers who enjoy a …

Review – Galen’s Way: A Starquest Novel of the 4th Age by Richard Paolinelli

Well! That was quite the ride, readers. I received this book as a free eARC in order to review it, and it was enormous fun. It felt like going to see a film you think you will recognize, only to find that there is a new movie on and you like it! From the blurb: …

The History Behind Star Wars’ Special Effects

Check out this article, which describes in loving detail how George Lucas created his bombshell blockbuster in 1977: The Real Aerial Battles That Inspired Star Wars Born one year before the end of World War II, George Lucas turned a boyhood fascination into a space epic. By Cory Graff AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2020 In …

Reposted: What Cost for the Hero?

Check out this insightful piece by Frank Luke, readers! After much thinking about Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth, I concluded it was incorrect. The problem is that there are too many exceptions. In his many-step journey, he states that many stories will have these out of order or skip steps entirely. “Ah, Frank,” I hear you say, “You …

Ben-Hur – On a Motorcycle?!

Have you ever wondered how one might operate a modern vehicle like an ancient chariot? This author has contemplated the concept from time to time throughout her life. George Lucas did too, apparently. His famous (infamous?) podracers in The Phantom Menace* are based on chariots like those seen in Ben-Hur*. Mr. Lucas and I are …

Plant a Standard….

          You cannot choose your battlefields,           The gods do that for you.           But you can plant a standard           Where a standard never flew. – Nathalia Crane, 1913 One of the most pernicious movements of our time may be the idea that artists can change the world. For decades …

Is Subverting the Audience’s Expectations the Best Way to Go?

Writers today are often told that they absolutely have to subvert audience expectations in order to tell a compelling story. Notably, those who insist that authors do this never give a truly compelling case for why this has to be done with every single tale they tell. Most disturbingly, these advisers never say just where …

Star Wars in the Land of the Rising Sun

This author has discovered many benefits in listening to various, untranslated media from other countries. While I only know only two languages, I find there is a great deal to learn about the craft of fiction while viewing and/or listening to stories or songs from other countries. Siervas’* albums are one example. Despite being written …

On the Subject of Prequels: The Bad, the Good, and the Better

Over at Amatopia, Alexander Hellene published this post on a dreaded – and occasionally dreadful – aspect of modern fiction. This is the “prequel,” the story that takes place before the original tale audiences have already come to love. In his article Alex asked whether or not a prequel can do more than take the …

“In My Experience there’s No Such Thing as Luck.”

Seventy-five years after World War II, we take a great many of its results for granted. One of these is the number of entertainers and actors who not only dropped everything and volunteered to enter the war, but who survived it and came back to continue making films. Rarely were they drafted into the conflict; …