X Wing, The Bacta War by Michael A. Stackpole; 1997; 349 pages; Bantam Books, New York, NY; 0-553-56804-3; 9/25-9/28

No longer an official part of the Rebel Alliance, Rogue Squadron fights a guerilla war against Ysanne Isard  who has taken control of Thyferra, the center of Bacta production for the galaxy.  Central to the story here are the interactions among the members of Rogue Squadron and the interactions between Isard and her few followers.  The book is character driven than action driven, the way all the different members of the two groups in central, not to say that there is not lots of action in this book.   It is another great addition to the Star Wars canon.  RRRR

My Soul to Keep by Davis Bunn; 2007;395 pages; Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, MN; 978-0-7642-0435-7; 9/22-9/25

Davis Bunns’ books are so compelling and gripping that I have trouble putting them down to do those that I get paid to do or that need doing around the house.  I have to pick up a book by someone else that I can easily put down.

Brent Stark is an Oscar winner who watched someone else accept his Oscar because he was in prison for driving drunk and almost killing someone.  While he is in prison he comes to faith in God which dramatically changes who he is.  After he gets out he starts a landscaping business and acts in community theatre, never taking the main role and making those he is working with look exteremly good.  He is approached by a group who want him to direct and star in a movie, this group wants to make uplifting family movies of high quality.  After seeking out two people who he had hurt immensely and seeking their forgiveness and participation in the project, he decides to carry on.  Their is a major Hollywood Studio coming out with a similar project at the same time and they do everything in their power to derail the project Brent is involved in.  It is the power of God versus the power of the World, and you can guess who wins.  A real page turner, that was incredibly difficult to put down, I always want more of the story when I am done.  There are two passages in here that I will never forget, one about how a good director galavanizes his crew and the image of the production companys name and logo.  RRRR

Heartland by Davis Bunn; 2006; Westbow Press, Nashville, TN; 391pages; 978-1-5955-4203-8; 9/20-9/22

Cowboy JayJay Parsons unexpectedly arrives in Hollywood and becomes the star of a TV show that seems to be a dramatization of his life.  Here is a hero for today, knows he is not perfect but has a strong moral compass.  As he lives his life the only way he knows how he exposes the corruption around him and enables those who wish to find the best in themselves.  Throughout the story there are portions that caused goosebumps and even moved me to get choked up.  JayJay is not sure why he is where he is but he gets advice from a pastor who reminds him to lean on his faith.  That faith enables JayJay to deal with what is going on around him and spreads to those around him.  This isn’t preaching but faith being lived out in a natural way on a day to day basis.  I didn’t think I was going to like this after the first two chapters and the plot device used to get JayJay to Hollywood, but the writing is so good that I didn’t to want to put the book down after that.  I believe that I stayed up too late reading and took some extended breaks to read this.  I am now on a Davis Bunn reading binge. RRRR

X Wing, The Krytos Trap by Michael A. Stackpole; 1996; Bantam Books, New York, NY; 355 pages; 0-553-56-803-5; 9/18-9/20

Reading this I would have thought it was written in the last couple of years.  I heard echoes of Ben Franklins’ remark that those who are willing to sacrifice freedom to have security deserve neither. There were sections that made me think of the Patriot Act, which is interesting since it was written 5 years before 9/11.

Corran Horan is presumed dead and Rogue Squadrons’ executive officer Tycho Celchu is on trial for murder and Treason.  The Empire is waging a guerilla war against the Alliance, and Rogue Squadron is running all over the galaxy fighting all the little battles.  Corran is being tortured to become a weapon of the Empire, and trying to escape from the prison where he is being held.  Rogue Squadron tires of the political games and offically becomes a Rogue Squadron. RRRR

Controversy Creates Cash by Eric Bischoff with Jeremy Roberts; 2006; 389 pages; Pocket Books; New York, NY; 978-1-4166-2729-9; 9/15-9/18

In Controversy Creates Cash you get the autobiography of two men,  Eric Bischoff on camera in the WCW and the WWE and Eric Bischoff, family man and creative guide of WCW.  Bischoff more or less falls into wrestling and then slowly climbs the ladder of responsibility in wrestling circles as Vince McMahon did in the WWE.  When Bischoff takes the reins of the WCW it is a lowly part of Ted Turners’ corporate empire, in a few years Bischoff has made it into one of the most profitable pieces of the pie in the Time Warner-Turner-AOL pie.  What happens when you get too many cooks in the kitchen, especially people who have no idea how to cook?  Everything starts to fall apart and whatever is served is no longer appetizing.  That is what happened to WCW, people from other divisions starting Bischoff how things were going to be done, people who had no idea what wrestling was about and no idea about it’s audience.  Bischoff brought many things into pro wrestling that hadn’t been tried before, things that are taken for granted now.  Things like the luchadore style of wrestling, long term storylines, storylines based in reality (saw Triple H and Jeff Hardy do a promo like this last Monday on RAW) and many other innovations.  In a interesting development after WCW went bankrupt and was bought by WWE the McMahons have used Bischoffs’ character in some of their storylines.  An interesting insight into the Monday Night Wars.  RRR