Adult Coloring Night: 

We provide the space, beautiful patterns, and coloring utensils to enjoy a peaceful hour of coloring. This program is free to anyone who would like to attend. This is an adults-only event, so please leave the children at home.

This month's theme is flowers. If you joined us last month & didn't get to finish your mandala, please feel free to bring it!

This is a drop-in event; no need to register & stay as long as you want.

Thursday June 23, from 7:30-8:30 in the Couper Room

SF Review: Battlefront: Twilight Company, by Alexander Freed (Lucas Books, 2015)
James Taber


The destruction of the Death Star plunged the galaxy into a full-blown civil war, and the Rebel Alliance is trying to press every advantage it has to win against the seemingly insurmountable Galactic Empire. Twilight Company is part of that advantage: a group of rag-tag soldiers with years of combat experience under their collective belt. However, when organizing a retreating action, the men, women, and aliens of Twilight Company accidentally find themselves with an Imperial defector who claims she can turn the tide of battle and bring down the Empire once and for all.

I've written before about the benefits and drawbacks of so-called "tie-in fiction," and Alexander Freed's Twilight Company certainly qualifies. However, what I wrote for a Halo novel several months ago doesn't really apply to this, as Star Wars is its own beast. Who doesn't know about the struggle between good and evil as begun by the 1977 classic film? Really, all you need as background material for this book is to know that the Rebel Alliance is (ostensibly) the good guy and the Galactic Empire represents the villain.

As a work of prose, it's solid military SF. The narrative never devolves into an obsession with details, which is for the best-the equipment and technology on display here is wholly fictional. Any attempt to achieve Tom Clancy levels of "gun porn," as you might call it, would ring pretty hollow. Even descriptions of violence and battle are thankfully understated, leaving all the focus on the characters.

Though the protagonist, Hazram Namir, is a solid baseline for the reader, coming from a backwater planet that knew nothing of the greater galaxy, the real enjoyment comes from the characters surrounding him. The silent but compelling Brand, the new recruit and fierce mouse Roach, the four-armed and heavily philosophical Gadren, and even the enigmatic Everi Chalis all shine brightly. As a whole they're something of a cliché, but Freed's handling of the character types is deft enough to keep everything entertaining.

Despite looking intimidating by its size, it's a quick read and should be attractive to anyone who's a fan of Star Wars (or the video game this novel ties into, Star Wars Battlefront) and might encourage some reluctant readers. There are plenty of other Star Wars books out there for anyone who enjoys this and wants more, including Claudia Gray's new novel Bloodline which ties into The Force Awakens.