Delusions Of Grandeur Podcast By Emily Gadek & Kelly Jones cover art

Delusions Of Grandeur

Delusions Of Grandeur

By: Emily Gadek & Kelly Jones
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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.

Join the Patreon for early episode releases, a chat full of spicy takes, and infrequent but invaluable giveaways!Emily Gadek & Kelly Jones Art Literary History & Criticism Science Fiction
Episodes
  • Specter of tbe Past Ch. 19-21

    Specter of tbe Past Ch. 19-21
    Mar 24 2026
    Lando gets hustled: first at sabacc, and then by Flim and co. New Republic C-SPAN gets juicy as they debate whether or not Imperial warlords can come back from the dead. We get a crash course Alderaniaan design philosophy. Shada D'ukal phones customer service and asks TO SPEAK WITH A REPRESENTATIVE. And Talon Karrde sips some fine brandy while inviting you to get comfortable in your own conversation pit.
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    55 mins
  • Specter of the Past Ch. 16 - 18

    Specter of the Past Ch. 16 - 18
    Mar 18 2026
    We rejoin Pellaeon, sippin' some brandy on his galactic frenemies tour. He starts to realize that Moff Disra is probably up to worse shenanigans than money laundering, but can't quite figure out what it could be. No time to linger for a second brandy, though: he's late for a meeting with Bel Iblis (...who has not yet accepted the cal invite).

    Luke Skywalker trusted the Force and it rewarded him with some kick ass architecture. Unfortunately, the splendor of Bridge World and its philosophically-minded peaceful protesters weren't enough to convince him to stick around. Instead of popping into a tapcafe to speak with their local Enjolras, Luke decides to fly off and rescue Mara from that cave (and reluctantly agrees to take more than just his X-Wing).

    Bel Iblis and Rogue Squadron skip dessert and engage in entrapment — never forget that ACAB. Even in space. And especially your favorite Corellians.
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    56 mins
  • Specter of the Past Ch. 13 - 15

    Specter of the Past Ch. 13 - 15
    Mar 11 2026
    [Extremely Ron Howard Voice] "Now the story of a wealthy Empire who lost everything...and the one Captain who had no choice but to keep them all together..."

    While your man Pellaeon can't sleep well, he sure can scheme. His investigations into Imperial corruption are going swimmingly and he's plotting an elaborate library heist. Meanwhile, Han and Leia get caught between a mob and a Bothan staircase. C3P0 is blasted to smithereens but apparently, "he'll be alright" (WTF?! Droids' rights!). Mara Jade is trapped in an ugly ass cave, going cuckoo bananas and yelling about Skywalkers to any bats who will listen. And Lando has unwittingly become a pawn in Disra's latest plot to blue the Imperial remnant.
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    42 mins
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Though they have a mild tendency to gloss over smaller scene details and give silly(er) names to the galaxies odds and ends, what you most get from them is a real love of the old cannon. They spend precious little time tying things back to the pre- and sequels, and though I've never watched Andor or any of the new shows, the references there are a similarly light touch. Mostly they deal with what's in front of them; the sometimes absurd texts, the wild machinations of the galaxy, the choices of the authors, and of course, the bonkers cover art.

Instead of strictly going though and parsing the text for technical details and inaccuracies, they joyously and with a great amount of humor point out that Lando tricked Luke into drinking Hot Chocolate as his fancy drink. That Wedge is a gawd awful spy from "Space Skokie". That you can't just mind meld with nine week old embryos. Things I never picked up on twenty years ago, and that I'm having an absolute ball discovering a new.

Only caveat to my ironclad recommendation: if you read these for the lightsaber duels and space dogfighting, they summarize fights and battles. Kelly (I think) doesn't follow these actions scenes very well, but they are recapped completely and, as with all other things here, with humor and a clear love of the books*.

It's a blast and I've already made a brother and a few friends into listeners as well.

*Except Courtship of Princess Leia.

Somehow, the EU returned...

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