Mercy Kill cover updated

The Star Wars Books Facebook page announced that the cover of Mercy Kill received a bit of an update.

Old cover

 Even though the font looks a little odd, the artwork is stunning. It captures the essence of the X-Wing books. It feels open, like space. An enemy can approach at any angle.

New cover

The addition of the symbol makes the cover look a bit crowded. The space seems too closed off. The white/silver coloring makes it appear somewhat washed out at parts. It also reminds me of the anniversary edition of Heir to the Empire.

The question is why it was changed. Using a cover design that reminds fans of books they loved makes more sense marketing-wise. If someone quit reading the books for whatever reason, and then saw a cover at a bookstore that looked kind of like a set of books she liked, it seems more likely that she'd pick up a copy.

If anything, the new cover further separates the book from previous X-Wing novels.

Mercy Kill Excerpt (probably) in Apocalypse: Does it mean anything?

Erich Schoeneweiss of Del Rey announced on Twitter last night that the excerpt in Troy Denning's Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse comes from Aaron Allston’s Mercy Kill. Back in the summer, we were told that we would see a preview of the next Star Wars series. Long before that, Del Rey stated that another long series wasn’t in the near future. Of course, this could change.

The inclusion of the first chapter of Mercy Kill at the end of Apocalypse can mean a multitude of things. While it’s possible that we’ll see an X-Wing trilogy, the idea of previewing the next series could have been easily abandoned. We simply don’t know what book deals and ideas are discussed or thrown out.

It’s not a surprise that Mercy Kill is the excerpt. It’s the next major—and only—release in this era of the EU. If it’s not the sign of a new series, then perhaps it leads into the next. It's no secret that the fans desperately want this book. Building up as many sales as possible is vital.

Given that there has yet to be an announcement stating that Mercy Kill is the flagship book of a series or news of a new series in this era at all, I’m hesitant to believe it. It’d make sense, given the attitude of many EU fans, to publish a couple books that shy away from the Jedi v. Sith conflict. It adds a bit of variety, some breathing room. That said, I don’t want to wait years to find out what happens to the main players in FotJ.

No matter what it means, it great to hear that we will have a taste of Mercy Kill before August.

Mercy Kill Cover and SWTOR new early access date annoucement

Yesterday was a quite a Star Wars news filled day. Del Rey released the cover of Aaron Allston’s Mercy Kill and BioWare/EA announced that early access will start two days early. I think you can guess the reactions to each.

The Mercy Kill cover looks fantastic. It fits in well with the other X-Wing books even though it’s a standalone. The iconic X-Wings are on the front, locked in combat, giving the cover an exciting, adventurous feel. Even though I’m not crazy about the font used for the title (little too Microsoft Word Art for me), the overall appearance matches the subject matter.

Suvudu released this information yesterday:

Founded decades ago, Wraith Squadron was Wedge Antilles’s boldest creation: a covert-action unit of X-Wing fighters, its pilots drawn from the dregs of other units, castoffs and rejects that were once outcasts and misfits, spies and warriors, pilots and troublemakers given one last chance. After thrilling adventures during and after the Rebellion that destroyed the Empire, this elite intelligence unit was disbanded at the end of a catastrophic galactic civil war.

Now, reunited by former leader Garik “Face” Loran, Wraith Squadron must find out whether one of the galaxy’s most powerful military officers is a traitor… and whether anyone can stop him if he is. To succeed in their mission, the Wraiths must become thieves, pirates, imposters, forgers, and liars, staying just one step ahead of their enemies and the law!

Written by prolific Star Wars author Aaron Allston, Star Wars: X-Wing: Mercy Kill is a book sure to excite fans of the X-Wing series as well as readers who are new to Star Wars.

The plot sounds fun, exciting and different than what we've seen recently. A little skullduggery is always fun in Star Wars. I hope that we see a healthy mix of old and new characters in the story. August certainly seem far away!

BioWare alerted SWTOR players yesterday that early access now begins on Dec. 13 rather than the 15. As with every single other piece of news that comes from BioWare regarding this game, some people are happy and others are spewing out angry rants.
I understand the frustration of some. Those who took days off work for the release may find themselves stuck. It’s annoying; we all understand that, but is that really a reason to throw in the towel? You get to play the game you’ve been waiting to for years two days early (depending on when you put in the code, of course). So you hit level 50 two days later than planned. It’s not the end of the world.

Think about it this way. If JK Rowling announced that Deathly Hallows was being released two days early, would you have complained? Sure, you have to work and can’t spend all day reading like you planned, but you can’t say that you would have picked up the book on your lunch hour the day it came out and read it that night. It’s the same thing. Is it inconvenience for some? Sure, but that’s life. It’s impossible to schedule something that fits everyone’s schedule. Look at it this way, if you took off Thursday or Friday and have the weekend off, you still get a long TOR weekend.

It’s not all that surprising that BioWare moved up the date. Perhaps they looked at the preorder numbers and felt it would be more efficient to allow players to enter the game in smaller groups at a time for the sake of the servers. I admit I don’t know much about gaming servers, so maybe it wouldn’t make a big difference.

How they stagger the admission into the game remains a mystery. Will there be a cut of by hour? For example, if you entered your pre-order code by 5 p.m. CST on Day Two of ordering you are in on the Dec. 13?

Guess we’ll find out next week!