See last month’s post about why I’m reading the new canon Star Wars novels (link). I’m taking a short
break from my usual theology and outdoor skills books. The min-reviews below will also be featured
on my Goodreads page soon.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
by Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austin, Tony Lee, and Cliff Richards
Stay with me here: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a
graphic novel adaption of a zombified bestseller spoof/tribute novel of Jane
Austin’s romance classic Pride and
Prejudice, which has also recently been adapted as a horror/comedy film. The story itself is essentially an abridged version
of Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice,” with zombie references thrown in at
every possible opportunity. Britain is
overrun by zombies, Lizzy, Jane, and Lydia are zombie slayers, etc. The artwork is not great. The concept is occasionally
amusing, though I’m unsure whether Jane Austin fans will be laughing,
recoiling, or ambivalent. I have not seen
the 2015 film adaption, nor do I plan to.
Verdict: *** (Out of 5 stars)
A Clash of Kings (Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2)
by George
R. R. Martin
My friends are constantly tweeting about HBO’s Game of Thrones TV series. For those of us who don’t subscribe to HBO,
reading library copies of George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire high fantasy book series may be the closest we’ll
get to seeing what all the fuss is about.
Like Book 1, Game of Thrones, this one is a rough read. Brutal violence, ludicrously lusty behavior,
and general unpleasantness must be waded through to appreciate the rich
storyline.
And what a story. Martin’s
ability to weave together so many complex characters, motivations, and separate
plot threads is unparalleled. Sadly, I’m
hooked.
Here are a few Star Wars novels I’ve read recently, sorted by descending order of interest:
Star Wars: Aftermath
by Chuck Wendig
There are two reasons that Aftermath is #1 on this month’s Star Wars list, and neither quality nor broad appeal are necessarily either of them.
- It's the first Star Wars book that I’ve ever read. That’s right… Although I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was a little kid, I’ve never read a Star Wars novel prior to 2016.
- It's the first “canon” Star Wars story to take place in the time period after the film Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and before Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Of course, this distinction was a LOT more buzzworthy before The Force Awakens was released in December 2015, which dispelled a few of the mysteries surrounding that era of Star Wars history.
For the two reasons above, I admittedly was so excited to read Aftermath that I was not examining it critically. As such, I was able to overlook Wendig’s unconventional writing style that so many other readers loathed. It’s written in present tense, from a third person point of view. The prose didn’t flow as smoothly as the next Star Wars novel I would read, Dark Disciple (mini review below).
However, this story of the New Republic’s uprising was
engrossing enough to warrant a read for Star Wars fans looking for Easter eggs
that tie in to the story of The Force
Awakens film [SPOILER: The “Taris” interlude has a potential origin story
for the Knights of Ren. Kubaz sells a
red lightsaber which allegedly belonged to Darth Vader to three strangers, who
claim they plan to destroy it]. As in
the Taris mini-story referenced in the spoiler above, there are also several
short, hit-or-miss “Interlude” segments that feature concurrent events from
other locations around the Star Wars galaxy.
As a huge fan of the original Star Wars film trilogy, there
were many elements that floated my boat:
- The climactic events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi were recalled from the new characters’ POV: Norra had flown with her squadron inside the Death Star to destroy it, bounty hunter Jas Emari had targeted a wounded Princess Leia from a tree on Endor, and Sinjir Rath Velus (who randomly comes out of the closet as a homosexual for no apparent reason, plot-wise) had been hiding in the Endorian bushes as the Ewoks celebrated the Rebel Aliance’s victory.
- B-list fan favorites from the films such as Admiral “It’s a trap!” Ackbar, Wedge Antilles, and Mon Mothma play crucial roles in the story. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Lando Calrissian are mentioned and even appear in holographic form (in Leia’s case). Even Boba Fett is referenced [Spoiler: It’s revealed that Boba’s suit may still exist and can be worn by anyone… so who exactly WAS that who got swallowed by the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi?]
- Characters mock some of the sillier elements of the Star Wars film prequel trilogy era (fanboy points for the hilarious smack talking of George Lucas’ lame “Roger roger” battle droids).
- Most excitingly… [Minor spoiler- Han Solo and Chewbacca get their own interlude, setting up a Solo adventure (pun intended) to free the Wookies of Kashyyyk]
·
[7/28/16 Update: After reading Aftermath: Life Debt, I learned I was dead wrong about the following, which I originally included as a speculative "bonus spoiler"]: Could Admiral Rae Sloane’s
mysterious boss at the very, very end of the novel be the legendary (these Star
Wars EU puns keep getting worse) Grand Admiral Thrawn from the enduringly popular
but now non-canon Thrawn book trilogy? Just a theory.
Verdict: **** (Out of
5 stars) for Star Wars fans, *** (Out of 5 stars) for non-fans
Star Wars: Dark Disciple
by Christie Golden
Dark Disciple, the
second Star Wars canon novel I’ve ever read, was a pleasant surprise. Prior to reading, very little of what I knew
about this book appealed to me: The cartoonish cover, the Clone Wars TV show reject origins, etc. But THIS is the book I should’ve read as an
introduction to Star Wars lit.
Golden’s writing style is engaging, and she invites readers
to truly empathize with the budding romantic relationship between the
rebellious Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos and former evil foe/Nightsister/assassin Asajj
Ventress. Even non-Star Wars fans may
find themselves caring about the fate of these two.
The storyline pairs unlikely duo Vos and Ventress in a
secret mission by the Jedi Council (Obi Wan, Yoda, and the rest) to assassinate
Ventress’ former master, Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus. Most readers have seen Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and already know
whether or not Count Dooku survives the assassination attempt. However, there is still plenty of excitement
and suspense surrounding the action set pieces.
Characters’ meditations on the potential power of Jedis leveraging the
Dark Side of the Force to save the lives of millions blur the line between good
and evil in interesting ways. And the will
they or won’t they? developments provide a nice emotional grounding to the
plot.
There are a couple of gaping plot holes that are necessary
to maintain continuity with the films (no specific spoilers… but let’s just say
that our two flawed heroes go out of their way to NOT accomplish a couple of
key objectives, with at least two memorably flimsy excuses spelled out). These illogical but necessary concessions to
Star Wars canon barely diminish the storyline at all.
Highly recommended, albeit unexpectedly.
Verdict: *****
(Out of 5 stars) for Star Wars fans, **** (Out of 5 stars) for non-fans
Star Wars Omnibus: Quinlan Vos: Jedi in Darkness
After reading Star
Wars: Dark Disciple, I checked out this Quinlan Vos graphic novel
compilation for a little more background on this complicated and morally
flexible Jedi Knight. There are some
very cool revelations about Order 66 (Palpatine’s largely successful plan to
slaughter of the Jedi in Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith). Other than
that, this collection is mostly for Quinlan Vos completists. And it’s “Legends” now, not canon.
Verdict: *** (Out of 5 stars) for Star Wars fans, ** (Out of 5 stars) for non-fans
Verdict: *** (Out of 5 stars) for Star Wars fans, ** (Out of 5 stars) for non-fans
Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
by James Luceno
The non-canon (I’m pretty sure this novel is now downgraded
to “Legends” status) Darth Plagueis novel provides a deeper backstory for the tale
that Palpatine tells Anakin Skywalker in 3rd person about his former
Sith master in the film Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith. As dry as
George Lucas’ scripts for the film prequels were, hearing this story told
onscreen via straight up exposition was somehow more intriguing than reading
this often boring book.
The prologue starts out in fascinating fashion as we learn
about the fate of Darth Plagueis’ master, Darth Tenebrous. Disappointingly, the momentum screeches to
halt by Chapter 2. And later, when the
spotlight switches to Palpatine, the proceedings devolve even further to become
mired in the political superfluity that made the prequel film trilogy so dull.
On the plus side, there are appearances by Darth Maul,
Qui-Gon Jinn, Count Dooku, and Sifo-Dyas.
And Star Wars fans can get their fill of Sith history dating back to the
Old Republic, the dismantling of Darth Bane’s “Rule of Two,” a cool lightsaber
fight with Darth Venamis, and occasionally cool insight on the nature of the
Dark Side of the Force. Whether or not
this “Legends” novel’s worthwhile contributions to Star Wars lore will be
preserved in an upcoming canon novel or film remains to be seen.
