Tarkin's Top Shelf

In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, your hosts take a closer look at Leia Organa, the Jedi Padawan of her brother, Master Luke Skywalker. Mark and Becca question why Leia decided to put down the saber and hop back on the political bandwagon again? They discuss foreboding dreams of losing Ben, history repeating itself, and possibly, knowledge obtained from the "restricted section" of the old Jed...

Tarkin's Top Shelf takes a break from the books in episode 142. Your hosts explore possible continuity connections between The Bad Batch animated series and the upcoming live-action series, The Book of Boba Fett. Ok, so taking a break from Star Wars books is true, but not in the figurative sense. You see, Mark and Becca take a closer look at Omega and try to discern if her character may or may not...

Tarkin's Top Shelf welcomes Amy Ratcliffe , the author of Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy and The Jedi Mind , back to the show to talk about her latest book, Star Wars: The Art of Galaxy's Edge . Your hosts sit down with Amy and go over the creative process, both behind the scenes and with hands-on, on-site research. It's quite the conversation that hits all the personal notes and tones for every S...

Tarkin's Top Shelf welcomes, Kristin Baver the Associate Editor of StarWars.com and Author of Skywalker: A Family At War, to the show! In this episode, Mark and Becca sit down with Kristin to talk about the Skywalker family and their legacy in a galaxy far, far away. Come to find out. We don't know everything there is to know about this fictional family. So buckle up, baby. There's a lot of Skywal...

In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, Mark and Becca take another look at tie-ins between on-screen and literature mediums. Your hosts revisit Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron's, Victory's Price , and how it connects to The Bad Batch in "Cut and Run." As they continue their "Tie-In" discussion, they find other similarities between Thrawn's Greater Good and certain characters and their characteristics...

Tarkin's Top Shelf celebrates Star Wars Day with Clayton Sandell! In this episode, Mark and Becca welcome Clayton Sandell to the show to talk about May the Fourth , The Bad Batch , Star Wars memories, and a brief look at one of Clayton's favorite canon novels, Star Wars: Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. Thank you so much for listening and for supporting the show over the years. May the Fourth be with...

Tarkin's Top Shelf reviews the second novel of the Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy, Star Wars : THRAWN Ascendancy: Greater Good . In this episode, Mark and Becca take a closer look inside the Nine Ruling Families of the Chiss, their political background, and where exactly Thrawn stands within both. But first, your hosts discuss the latest in Star Wars news. Help us spread the word about the show Click h...

In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, your hosts go a bit off the rails with Skywalker rants and Kenobi tangents. Mark and Becca go over the recent Twitter discourse about Chris Terrio's comments regarding the "A New Home" sequence from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , and then they follow up their discussion by revisiting the Lords of the Sith novel by Paul S. Kemp and how it may or may not co...

In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, your hosts' review Skywalker: A Family At War by Kristin Baver and DK Publishing . Skywalker: A Family At War is a historical biography of the fictional Skywalker family and the turbulent story surrounding their family dynasty. But first, Mark and Becca go over the latest in Star Wars news. Help us spread the word about the show Click here to subscribe via iT...

Tarkin's Top Shelf takes a closer look at Qui-Gon Jinn and Palpatine (the top two influencers of the Skywalker family) in preparation for the upcoming Star Wars family biography by Kristin Baver, Skywalker: A Family At War. Your hosts discuss the recent excerpt for Skywalker: A Family At War and revisit the Aftermath Trilogy by Chuck Wendig. But first, Mark and Becca talk about the latest in Star...

Last week Tuesday, Del Rey Publishing and DK Publishing took to their Twitter accounts. Both announced that Due to the ever-expanding world of The Mandalorian, they are no longer publishing The Mandalorian Ultimate Visual Guide or the Original Novel at this time, as the story continues to unfold on-screen. In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, Mark and Becca discuss those announcements and do the...

In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, Mark and Becca review the finale to the Alphabet Squadron trilogy, Star Wars: Victory's Price by Alexander Freed. Your hosts kick-off the show by chatting about the latest in Star Wars news, then they deep-dive into the meat and potatoes of Victory's Price . Ok, it's more like an emotional meat grinder than a meal, but it's still one helluva hero's journey! A...

Tarkin's Top Shelf welcomes author Alexander Freed to the show to talk about Star Wars: Victory's Price .  Alexander Freed is the author of the  Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron  trilogy,  Star Wars: Battlefront: Twilight Company , and  Star Wars: Rogue One  and has written many short stories, comic books, and videogames. In this episode, Mark and Becca sit down with Alexander Freed to talk about a St...

Padme' and Geode, and Sith, Oh My! In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, Mark and Becca take a moment to discuss what's coming to our Star Wars bookshelves in a galaxy not so far, far away. That's right! Your hosts talk about the upcoming Padme' book, "Queen's Hope" by E.K. Johnston, and "The Secrets of Sith" by Marc Sumerak. Then, your hosts wrap things up with some sedimentary nonfiction talk....

Tarkin's Top Shelf takes a break from book reviews and spends an entire episode going over some listener feedback. That's right, Mark and Becca take the time to respond to their listeners' emails and dive deep into those ideas and questions. And yes, Mark does take the conversation down some longwinded tangents, so you've been warned. Help us spread the word about the show Click here to subscribe...

Tarkin's Top Shelf reviews Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray and Disney Books. "Into the Dark" is a Young Adult novel by Disney Books and is the third novel (so far) from The High Republic series.  In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, Mark and Becca go over the latest novel from The High Republic series, "Into the Dark." Your hosts take a deep dive "Into the Dark" as th...

Tarkin's Top Shelf welcomes author Amy Richau to the show! In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, your hosts sit down with Amy Richau to discuss the lessons in love and friendship in a galaxy far, far away; Star Wars: I love you. I know. Thanks to DK Publishing for providing advanced copies for review. Help us spread the word about the show Click here to subscribe via iTunes Click here to subscrib...

In this episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, Mark and Becca review The High Republic: A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland . Your hosts take a deep-dive into the second story from The High Republic Era that follows a young Vernestra Rwoh on her very first mission as a Jedi Knight. They discuss how A Test of Courage expands the story by adding more mystique to the ominous Nihil and the Noble Jedi of The...

Tarkin's Top Shelf welcomes one of the  lead story architects on the Star Wars cross-platform initiative The High Republic and New York Times Bestselling author, Daniel José Older to the show! In this episode, Mark and Becca sit down with Mr. Older to talk about all things Star Wars and the collaborative creative writing process behind The High Republic.   Help us spread the word about the show Cl...

In review: Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule and Del Rey Publishing. In this episode, Mark and Becca sit down to discuss the most anticipated novel of the year! Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule is the introduction to The High Republic, the golden age of the Jedi. Your hosts go over the format of how the novel is structured, plus the core plot for both the Jedi and the Nihi...

Tarkin's Top Shelf takes a moment from reading to discuss the season finale of season 2 of the Disney Plus series: The Mandalorian. In this episode, Mark and Becca go over how the series has successfully incorporated literature into its live-action narrative. But first, your hosts talk a bit about some recent Star Wars News. Help us spread the word about the show Click here to subscribe via iTunes...

Tarkin's Top Shelf is back with Part 3 of their review of Star Wars: From A Certain Point Of View: The Empire Strikes Back . In this episode, Mark and Becca discuss chapters 28 through 40 and talk about how each one changes or enhances The Empire Strikes Back. But first, your hosts go over the latest chapter of Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Tragedy on Disney Plus. Help us spread the word about t...

Tarkin's Top Shelf welcomes author Cole Horton to the show! In this episode, your hosts' review "The Star Wars Book" by DK Publishing and co-authored by Cole Horton , Dan Zehr , and Pablo Hidalgo. Mark, Becca, and their special guest Cole Horton discuss the writing process, concept planning, and all the makings that went into crafting this wonderous exploration of the galaxy far, far away that is...

Tarkin's Top Shelf is back with Part 2 of their review of Star Wars: From A Certain Point Of View: The Empire Strikes Back . In this episode, Mark and Becca discuss chapters 15 through 27 and talk about how each one changes and uniquely enhances the film. But first, your hosts go over the latest chapter of Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Siege on Disney Plus. Donate to 2020 Hyper Toy Drive!   Help...

In this Episode of Tarkin's Top Shelf, Mark and Becca sit down to discuss the first fourteen of forty stories from Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. Your hosts take a close look at each of the first fourteen short stories and talk about how each one changes and uniquely enhances the film. But first, they go over the latest chapter of Star Wars: The Mandalorian on Di...