Shadowed Souls
Paperback | Kindle Edition
Edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes
Roc Books, an imprint of Penguin Group
Release Date: November 1, 2016

Now this is my wheelhouse, folks. Dark and twisted, verging on the edge of being considered horror fantasy; full of magic, monsters, and mayhem. Yep, Shadowed Souls has it all. It’s made up of not just one tale, but eleven, all of which are loosely connected through the title of the book. If spooky and abnormal is up your alley, then your alley must look a lot like mine. Edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes, this anthology covers a wide range of fantasy sub-genres, including some I didn’t even realize existed!

I won’t go through every one of the shorts, but there are a few that stand out to me, such as the first story from Butcher himself, Cold Case. While it is part of the Dresden Files, it focuses on Molly Carpenter and her new position as one of the Queens of Winter. Only a week into her gig as the new Winter Lady, she finds herself in scenario that isn’t as cut and dry as what she might like. There are lessons here, but none she will enjoy. She seemed to forget that she was on a mission for Winter; one that was meant to harden her, I presume.

May the Force be with you all! Geeks of Doom will be posting a couple of Star Wars articles today, May 25, for Universal Day of the Jedi, which celebrates the anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie.

This year, Universal Day of the Jedi also celebrates the anniversary of Timothy Zahn‘s novel, Heir to the Empire. The initial release of this novel 20 years ago this month is significant, because it was quite literally groundbreaking: its impact would open the floodgates for an amazing deluge of Star Wars novels and comics – turning the Expanded Universe into an EXPANDING Universe.

Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, of which Heir to the Empire is the first part, is widely regarded by many fans as one of the best series of Star Wars books to ever have been released. Some fans even consider the trilogy to be the equivalent of the closest we may ever get to a Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. Timothy Zahn has continued his journeys into the Expanded Star Wars Universe through the years – exploring deeper into the history and legacy of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the continual growing relationship between Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, and also the mysteries behind the enigmatic Outbound Flight.

I figured with this month being the anniversary of Zahn’s masterpiece, and also with today being Universal Day of the Jedi, it would be a good opportunity to take a look back at some of the finer examples of Star Wars novels over the years.