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Delusions Of Grandeur

By: Emily Gadek & Kelly Jones
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  • Summary

  • Emily and Kelly grew up before Star Wars returned to the big screen—when novels were fans' only hope. Now, they're re-reading them with fresh eyes for plot twists, new characters, and surprisingly apt socio-political themes. Delusions of Grandeur is a podcast about the good, the bad, and the truly bizarre stories of the Star Wars novels.

    delusionspod.com
    Emily Gadek & Kelly Jones
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Episodes
  • Shadows of the Empire Ch. 10-14

    Shadows of the Empire Ch. 10-14
    May 1 2024
    Some things happen in these chapters! Vader stares down a midlife crisis, wondering why being an all-powerful middle manager is not sparking more joy. Xizor and Vader engage in a battle of wits both IRL and over Zoom. Our hosts wonder if schemes are indeed like plants. We find out the basis of the Emperor and Xizor’s friendship (competing over weird rich guy shit and murdering skilled tradespeople). Lando uses the power of spreadsheets and charisma to advance the plot and win a ton of credits. Luke is exiled on Tatooine and manages to build a lightsaber that doesn’t explode with all his free time. And Dash Rendar may be able to fly, but he can’t outrun his own cringe.

    And as always, we want to hear from you! Drop us a line over at the Han Mail, or come find us in the "book of the month club" chat over at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DelusionsofGrandeurPod
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    1 hr
  • Shadows of the Empire Ch. 5-9

    Shadows of the Empire Ch. 5-9
    Apr 24 2024
    We start off with some very important Han Mail as we defend the honor of a woman who definitely did NOT write us a nuanced and thorough review on Audible. And after a digression into the net worth of two of literature's greatest manic pixie dream bosses (Talon Karrde and Mr. Darcy), we dive into Shadows again. We get some insight into our villains as they both take some time for self care: Vader spends the day in the med spa getting incandescently angry at Obi-Wan and his own lungs, and Xizor grabs a spontaneous dinner after his sex/murder droid dumps his mistress. Meanwhile, the gang heads off to try and steal Han back from Boba Fett before he can get to Tatooine. Wedge Antilles does all the work and pays his taxes on time while Han Solo stand-in Dash Rendar does all of the quips. A Mara Jade knock-off tries and fails to kill Luke. And we are left asking for justice for Lando, who is *clearly* the best home cook in the EU.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Shadows of the Empire Ch. 1-4

    Shadows of the Empire Ch. 1-4
    Apr 17 2024
    We are finally diving into Shadows of the Empire, by which we mean Lucasfilm's Death Star sized 90's marketing machine. For this is no mere book: it is a weird conglomerate of a novel, several comic books, a video game, collectable figurines, an original soundtrack (!) and probably something else we missed.

    Before we dive into the book itself, Kelly reports back on the first level of the N64 game. We also learn a little about the process of writing it, and the unbelievably specific inspiration for Shadow's sexy villain, Prince Xizor.

    Ok, now for the actual book! We flash between flashbacks of Empire Strikes Back, incredibly bitchy Imperial brunches, Leia hanging out in a dive bar, and Luke's post breakdown residency in Sedona (complete with circus training and jewelry making). Plus, we confront the eternal questions of the EU: how many people know Vader and Luke are related, and when will the rebellion finally court martial a man who has spent most of his time in army stealing equipment and going on vacation?

    Most of our fun facts on the processes of making Shadows came from Stephen Harber's article How Shadows of the Empire Became A Gritty 90s Epic. It's full of great tidbits and also SPOILERS for a thirty year old book most of us have already read.

    And we have a whole new book chat for Shadows over at our Patreon, stop on by: https://www.patreon.com/DelusionsofGrandeurPod
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    1 hr and 4 mins
Art Literary History & Criticism Science Fiction
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