Between Books - Star Wars: The High Republic Tempest Breaker

War crimes are not cool. I’m sorry if you find that controversial, but they are horrible, truly evil, and require justice. Did Star Wars decide that redemption is more important than justice?

Star Wars: The High Republic Tempest Breaker by Cavan Scott is an audiobook with production to really provide a radio play. There is a script version available for those who prefer to read. The story follows forearm Nihil leader Lourna Dee as she works with a group of Jedi to track down a possible cure to the Blight. The story is full of adventure and danger, while we witness Lourna Dee transform from truly evil to at least gray.

I’m sorry. Lourna Dee has been a participant in truly evil mass casualty events. Scott allows us to dive deep into her personality, with the hope of finding sympathy from the reader, allowing us to accept a character transformation and redemption. But the fear for the reader is that the Jedi and the Republic will forget the horrible, atrocious acts of terror she has at times masterminded. I just need to remind everyone, Anakin Skywalker was redeemed, but he died before the next steps. Could he have moved forward with no punishment? Also, Lourna Dee isn’t even the most evil character that Scott builds sympathy for. I get that it’s enjoyable to redeem villains, but let’s not go so far as to make them heroes. Lourna Dee is not Han Solo! Their crimes were not at the same level of terror.

I also continue to struggle with the High Republic setup. Here in this book, I keep being told that Marchion Ro promised to cure the Blight. But I can’t remember when and where in everything I’ve read so far. There is a section that is a recap of other books and comics in the series. There is a pretty large plot point that I keep thinking, well, we can’t resolve this here because how many readers have picked up this audio first volume? And here, this is the moment where the High Republic attempts to more fully connect the different phases of the High Republic? I just think there are too many moving pieces, it’s too big, and disconnected in a way that keeps readers from being connected.

Okay, I like radio shows. So I love the production elements of this audiobook that makes it feel like I am listening to an action-packed story.

Yoda gets a moment.

I still can’t get past the fact that war crimes and many other horrendous acts cannot be ignored. Star Wars: The High Republic Tempest Breaker by Cavan Scott frames Lourna Dee in the language of Star Wars as a Han Solo type. Perhaps, we need to acknowledge that redemption and regret do not mean one can escape from judgment and justice.

 

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Between Disney - Animating the Victorians

 

I find myself on a ledge between two worlds of Disney between books. I have academic training, have written academic pieces to those standards of citation and scrutiny, and I teach history while not actually doing research at the moment. But I do put a lot of examination of sources into my teaching. I also love to read Disney books that come from a number of publishers that don’t require citation or peer review, as they are meant for the general public or Disney fans. It’s been one of my stated goals to support the increase of academic study of Disney history (and culture), mostly due to my own background and interests.

And I feel like the floodgates on this movement are opening with an increase in university presses publishing Disney-focused books. There is now an academic conference out there for the study of Disney. And what’s this 2025…an academic journal!

As academic Disney studies spreads, I ask myself, can the regular Disney fan who has been entertained by books from corporate, independent, and general audience presses still be entertained and informed?

Animating the Victorians: Disney’s Literary History by Patrick C. Fleming investigates the connection between Disney's animated films and shorts, largely but not exclusively under Walt Disney’s production, and literary works and authors from the 19th-century Victorian Period. The book is connected through chapters covering four large themes: Disney and the Victorian Tradition, Disney and connections to Alice in Wonderland, the impact on Disney content by Hans Christian Anderson and his works, and finally, Victorian influences on Disney depictions of princesses and pirates, including in recent films. Each of these large chapters go beyond just discussions on actual literary works and the threads connecting them to on-screen adaptations, but also investigate how these works would have been seen by Walt Disney and his animators, the lives of Charles Dickens and Anderson in the public eye and parallels to Walt Disney himself, and how modern views of princesses conflict with historical and literary Victorian ideals on the big screen in films like Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Fleming provides a serious, well-researched, cited, and reviewed literary academic review. He weaves a story about how the Victorians impacted the Disney content that fans love. As a history guy and not a literary criticism fan, I was worried that I would be out of my depth. I view myself in this arena as a Disney fan and not a scholar, as I opened the academic monograph. I am thrilled to say that Fleming held my attention, made the literary review portions of his text accessible to me, and others. And Fleming provided a large amount of history, both 19th-century English and Disney, to engage this history lover. For example, his discussion on princesses describes the key archetypes of Victorian literary princesses, and then uses the real examples of Queen Victoria and her daughters to illustrate expectations, including how they fulfilled the models and pushed against social ideals. 

Animating the Victorians: Disney’s Literary History by Patrick C. Fleming is a serious academic study of Disney's creative endeavors and how Victorian literature helped form, I think one could say even inspired, some of the most important Disney films of numerous Disney eras. It is also an interesting study of entertainment archetypes and history. And best of all, as academic study of Disney grows, it is the type of book that most Disney history fans will find accessible while finding something new…like a discussion on the history of international copyright laws before the creation of Mickey Mouse! 

 

Review Copy Provided for Review

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Between Books - Deadpool: Blood Bond

It’s time to play everyone’s favorite game, or at least mine…is it good Deadpool?

This one had me worried! As I’ve read only a few Cody Ziglar comics and I was not a fan. Has my beloved Deadpool been handed over to someone who fails to follow my essential Deadpool rules?

Deadpool: Blood Bond by Cody Ziglar follows Deadpool as he takes his next steps as a businessman and parent. Deadpool is now a part-time father sharing his daughter/symbiote/dog with his ex-girlfriend. And being a dad is a lot! So why not add businessman as he attempts to start up a very small mercenary business? Despite working small, Wade catches the attention of Death Grip, part Dr. Strange part ninja (ninja’s make everything better) whose death cult looks to teach Wade his final lesson. Can Wade survive this threat as he manages his startup and not just one daughter but two when Ellie returns to his circle? Let’s all cheer all of Wade the Girl Dad!

• Community: You can’t help but cheer on Wade the small business owner because he hires good people. First and foremost, we have Anthony Masters, Taskmaster, who really is the best non-Deadpool merc out there. I love their interactions and it makes we want to go back reread Fred Van Lente’s classic run on this anti-hero. But don’t forget, Doug! Doug the IT guy is just, what we all needed in this team which has no Weasal or Hydra Bob. He may be my newest favorite to the Deadpool family, if we believe Princess having debuted one run earlier is old news.

• BetterUp: Wade is a girl dad! And he wants to be a better dad, not just for Princess but for Ellie too. He goes through a reflection with friends and Agent Preston debating is his presence good or bad for his girls and lands where we want him to be, Dadpool is the Deadpool fans want to see. I also love the fact that Ellie has no concerns about a symbiote dog sister and Princess is just excited to have a sister.

• Laugh Away the Pain: There is violence and there are quips. Quips hide the very real and emotional pain Wade carries.

• Your Pal Wade: Is he my pal. He makes several comments that I think are for me, about editors and pages and stories. But he typically makes them to very confused on set characters. I mean, I want him to look right at me and say, “Hey Between Disney, I see you!” But at least he is acknowledging my world.

Honestly, I liked Ziglar’s Deadpool: Blood Bond even if I didn’t expect to. Ziglar gives his readers what we hope for with Deadpool while both creating new in Doug and Death Grip while also taking some of the best of the old in Tasky and Ellie. I liked it and hope to see more soon!