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Showing posts with the label William Shakespeare's Star Wars

Christmas Wish Lists Across the Decades: 2010s Edition

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Recently, novelist Harry Turtledove, the acclaimed author of Ruled Britannia, The Guns of the South, and many other alternate history stories, shared a whimsical Tweet with his followers which he titled #70sChristmasList: Harvest gold refrigerator Avocado stove Betamax Quadraphonic sound system English Leather, or maybe Brut Cargo pants for the guys Hot pants for the women Platform shoes A leisure suit A case of Miller Lite Or of US-brewed (aka ruined) Löwenbräu Taking inspiration from Mr. Turtledove and his amusing Tweet, I decided that I'd revisit the past four decades' worth of Christmases past and share my typical wish lists for each, starting with the 1970s and ending with the 2010s.  As I've pointed out in my previous posts in this series, these aren't real Christmas lists that I wrote and passed around. Indeed, I often bought most of the items herein, although on occasion I did get a few of them as presents during the holidays or for my birthday.  ...

Book Review: 'William Shakespeare's Jedi the Last: Star Wars Part the Eighth'

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Cover art by Nicolas Delort (C) 2018 Quirk Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  On July 10, 2018, Philadelphia-based Quirk Books published Ian Doescher’s William Shakespeare’s Jedi the Last: Star Wars the Eighth, a literary mashup of writer-director Rian Johnson’s Star Wars – Episode VIII: The Last Jedi and the works of William Shakespeare. The Force,   The Force, My kingdom for the Force! ­– from the dust jacket blurb, Jedi the Last Once again, the geeky, witty, and talented author of the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars series takes readers on a delightful journey to the space-fantasy universe created 41 years ago by writer-director George Lucas – with a twist that is in turn radical and logical. He takes a 21 st Century film – The Last Jedi – and presents it as an Elizabethan age stage production from the quill of the Bard of Avon, rendered in authentic iambic pentameter and, in the case of Yoda’s famously inverted dialogue, haikus. Is this a lightsaber which I...

Book Review: 'William Shakespeare's The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh'

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Cover illustration by Nicolas Delort. (C) 2017 Quirk Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) TO BB-8 OR NOT TO BB-8? THAT IS THE QUESTION! The curtain rises on a galaxy-wide drama! New characters take the stage as Rey, Finn, BB-8, and Poe Dameron clash with Kylo Ren and the vile First Order. Star-crossed lovers reunite, a lost knight is found...and tragedy befalls the house of Solo.  The fault, dear Brutus, is in our Starkiller...What's past is prologue! A new chapter of the Star Wars saga begins, with The Force Awakens reimagined as a stage play from the quill of William Shakespeare - featuring authentic rhyme and meter, woodcut-style illustrations, and sly asides that will delight pop culture fanatics and classic-literature lovers alike, Join the adventure in a galaxy far, far away, penned in the style of the Bard of Avon. There has been an awakening in the verse! - Dust jacket inner flap blurb, The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh On October 3, 2017, Qui...

'Star Wars' Book News: Ian Doescher's 'Jedi the Last' Due Out in July 2018

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Cover art by Nicolas Delort. (C) 2018 Quirk Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Zounds! Fans of the William Shakespeare's Star Wars series, rejoice. The eighth book in the series of Shakespearian plays set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" will hit bookstores in our galaxy this summer.  Long-time Shakespeare buff (and life-long Star Wars fan) Ian Doescher has taken writer-director Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi and re-imagined it as a four-act play written in the Elizabethan era by none other than the Bard of Avon himself.  Quirk Books of Philadelphia will release the resulting book, Jedi the Last: Star Wars, Part the Eighth on July 10, 2018 in hardcover, e-book, and audio editions. The Star Wars saga continues, with adventure and surprises galore! In the aftermath of Han Solo's death and the return of Luke Skywalker, what secrets will be revealed, what mysteries will deepen, and who will join the struggle to bring peace and ...

Audiobook Review: 'William Shakespeare's Star Wars Collection'

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(C) 2014 Random House Audio, Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL), and The Walt Disney Company. Illustrations by Nicolas Delort The year 2017 marks the 40th (Ruby) Anniversary of the theatrical debut of writer-director George Lucas's space-fantasy film Star Wars, aka Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope. In honor of the occasion, many of the storied franchise's licensees have released enough 40th Anniversary merchandise to fill a Star Destroyer's cargo hold.  As a result, Marvel Comics, Del Rey Books, and even smaller publishers like Quirk Books have published new Star Wars books, including Star Wars: Thrawn, Star Wars: From A Certain Point of View, and the long-awaited William Shakespeare's The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh, the latter two being published in October.  The Force Awakens gets the Ian Doescher treatment in   William Shakespeare's The Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh (C) 2017 Quirk Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Random Hou...

Box Set Review: 'William Shakespeare's Star Wars Trilogy: The Royal Imperial Box Set'

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(C) 2014 Quirk Books and Lucas Books/Lucasfilm Ltd.  What if William Shakespeare had created Star Wars a long time ago in Elizabethan England far, far away? What would George Lucas’s late 20th Century techno-myth be like if his classic trilogy had been written in iambic pentameter - and for wooden stage sets? Most of us who have experienced Star Wars as a cultural phenomenon know that Lucas’s six-film saga, (not to mention the more recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the forthcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi )  were created in the Age of Cinema. From 1977, when Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope premiered, to the 2005 release of Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,  millions of moviegoers saw Lucas’s space fantasy depicted on film and home video as ultra-modern special effects extravaganzas. Because Lucas’s films are written for modern audiences in casual American English, the notion of Luke Skywalker, Princess...

Book Review: 'William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First'

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(C) 2015 Quirk Books and Lucasfilm Ltd.(Lucas Books) THREEPIO, THREEPIO, WHEREFORE ART THOU, THREEPIO? Join us, good gentles, for a merry reimagining of Star Wars: Episode I as only Shakespeare could have written it. The entire saga starts here, with a thrilling tale featuring a disguised queen, a young hero, and two fearless knights facing a hidden, vengeful enemy. ’Tis a true Shakespearean drama, filled with sword fights, soliloquies, and doomed romance . . . all in glorious iambic pentameter and coupled with twenty gorgeous Elizabethan illustrations. Hold on to your midi-chlorians: 
 The play’s the thing, wherein you’ll catch the rise of Anakin! - From the dust jacket blurb, William Shakespeare’s The Phantom of Menace Star Wars. Since its premiere on May 25, 1977, the title of George Lucas’s space-fantasy set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” evokes futuristic images of speedy starships, flashing laser swords, and snappy dialogue written in modern Ame...