The final entry in E.K. Johnston’s Padme Amidala Trilogy, Queen’s Hope, received its cover and a very short excerpt, while Del Rey announced the latest additions to their Essential Legends Collection: Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Darth Bane: Rule of Two, and Rogue Squadron, which will receive a new, unabridged audiobook. Check out the spiffy new covers below!
Queen’s Hope, out November 2, takes place after Queen’s Shadow, the opening novel of the trilogy, explores an unseen Padmé adventure during the Clone Wars and puts Sabé in the Senator’s hot seat while she’s away. The first excerpt is not only very short, but it seems like such an odd choice, as it doesn’t make much sense out of context, so it might be best not to bother and wait for the full release later this year. My hope for the novel is it’s more like Shadow than Peril, which felt too disjointed and repetitive, though with its Clone Wars setting I feel like it’s very possible it’ll be a fine way to end the trilogy.
With the first batch of Essential Legends novels releasing on June 15, Del Rey of course announced the next batch of beautiful new artwork for classic Legends books. Since the first book of The Thrawn Trilogy was part of the original batch, I’m not surprised to see Dark Force Rising (Book 2) and The Last Command (Book 3) as part of the next batch. It’s neat to have some new Mara Jade artwork in the year 2021, while beyond the30th Anniversary of Thrawn’s first appearance this year making these books a must add to this line, I’m sure his first live-action appearance won’t be far behind. Tracie Ching finishes off the Trilogy’s artwork thankfully and, once again let me just say, I’m really glad Mara Jade made it on there, somehow. At the Manor, our Sous Chef (see: writer) Chris has been exploring Legends novels with his Legendary Adventures series, so check out his thoughts on the Thrawn Trilogy here!
With Book 1 of the Darth Bane trilogy also included in the original batch of Essential Legends, it’s great to see Book 2, The Rule of Two, getting the treatment next. With artwork by Simon Goinard again, this time Bane’s apprentice Darth Zannah is front and center, another delightful surprise to have new artwork of her character in 2021. I’m assuming the next batch of Essential Legends will include the final book at this point. Check out Chris thoughts on Path of Destruction, The Rule of Two, and Dynasty of Evil!
A new Legends book enters the Essential Legends Collection ring, and it’s a doozy of a contender: Rogue Squadron! Not only does this seminal novel, which launched a 10 book series, gain a new and gorgeous cover from Doaly, it’ll also receive a new unabridged audiobook narrated by Marc Thompson. I don’t believe we’ll get the entire X-Wing series in this line, though completists who like their shelves uniform would happily eat them all up, but with the Rogue Squadron movie coming in 2023, maybe they’ll keep releasing them (or at least the first book to introduce Wraith Squadron) to help build some hype. They are now calling this Book 1 of the “Rogue Squadron Series,” not the X-Wing series anymore…. Either way, check out Chris’ Adventures through the X-Wing series here!
This next batch of Essential Legends books drop September 7, with new additions slated for Spring 2022. What do you want to see added next?
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.