Not so long ago in our own galaxy, a novel by the name of Heir to the Empire was released. It was the first of its kind—the first time an author was allowed to “expand” the Star Wars universe and write a novel that took place the events of the original films. The novel and its sequels, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command, performed well beyond expectations, and the Expanded Universe was born.

The novels, as acclaimed as they are, suffer from a fatal flaw—certain topics, such as the identity of Luke and Leia’s mother, the Clone Wars, and Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side, were off limits, and they continued to be so until the prequel trilogy was released. Because of this, the galaxy far far away was shaped in a way that did not necessarily mesh with what we learned from the prequel trilogy. Even more, Luke and Leia were left in the dark for many years about their mother as well as the events surrounding Anakin’s fall (even though Obi-Wan Kenobi could have most certainly told Luke much more information about his past during their discussion on Dagobah during Return of the Jedi or even later visits).

Today, the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe is a very different place than during the New Republic era. This is somewhat understandable, as some 35 years have passed in the timeline since Heir to the Empire. But, even more, the landscape has been changed irrevocably by the knowledge gained from the prequel trilogy. The unique Jedi Order that Luke created, and the government that Leia helped shape, has given way to an almost  carbon copy of what was presented in the prequels.

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Transcript of James Luceno’s Facebook Fan Chat

Posted January 25th, 2012 by Austin

Author James Luceno took some time today to chat with Star Wars fans on Facebook. Using the official Star Wars Books Facebook page, Paul answered many questions, mostly about his recently released novel, Darth Plagueis. We’ve taken the questions and answers (leaving out the extra chatter) and collected them below! Please be aware that there are MAJOR spoilers for Darth Plagueis in the transcript. You can read the entire chat here.

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Weekly Column: Expanding The Clone Wars (Deception)

Posted January 25th, 2012 by Andy

By now most of you have seen Episode 4.15 of The Clone Wars: “Deception” and hopefully have read both reviews on EUCantina. Wondering where the events of this episode fit in with current Star Wars Expanded Universe lore? We will explore different elements of the episode and see how they fit with current continuity.

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Review: The Clone Wars – Deception (Guest Review)

Posted January 24th, 2012 by Paul

Season 4, Episode 15: Deception
Air date: 20 January 2012
Written by: Brent Friedman
Directed by: Kyle Dunlevy
Special Guests: Stephen Stanton (Moralo Eval), Daniel Logan (Boba Fett)

This review contains major spoilers. Caution is advised.

This week we are publishing a special guest review by Paul Depaola, who will be writing comic reviews for EUCantina in the future.

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