From Vicente Guerrero, Mexico (Updated in the U.S. on 8/19/16):
All of this week’s mini-reviews feature new canon Star Wars
books. See February’s post about why I’m reading the new canon Star Wars novels (link), as well as the difference
between Star Wars canon and non-canon (now called “Legends”) material from the
old Extended Universe.
I’m taking a short
break from my usual theology and outdoor skills books. The mini-reviews below will also be featured
on my Goodreads page soon.
Star Wars: Aftermath, Pt. 2: Life Debt
by Chuck Wendig
I wasn’t prepared for how thrilling Aftermath 2: Life Debt would
be. I pre-ordered a copy for delivery on
release date and waited, with modest expectations. Aftermath # 1 was a bit of letdown, even
amidst the excitement of reading the sample snippet on Kindle before the film
premiere of Episode VII: The Force
Awakens. That first book of the
trilogy was a stylistic and narrative mess, although I gave it a generous review
on my Blogspot page. It introduced a
bunch of new characters whom, despite their involvement the Battle of Endor
from Return of the Jedi, I simply
didn’t care about as much as I cared about Han, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, etc.
from the original film trilogy.
In contrast, Aftermath
2: Life Debt may be one of the best canon Star Wars novels yet! Is
this the same Chuck Wendig who wrote Aftermath #1? The writing flows much more smoothly, the pace
is zippier, there are some crackerjack action sequences, the Star Wars humor (and
emotional impact, on occasion) is right on, the story and “interludes” don’t jump
all over the place, and most surprisingly… The plot and characters are tied
into both the new films (including scenes on Jakku and Maz’s castle) AND the
original trilogy. Within minutes of
opening the book, I literally did a double take when I realized that Han, Leia,
and Chewbacca would be major characters.
Disney’s Star Wars Story Group apparently gave Wendig a longer leash
this time around, since obvious spoilers for the The Force Awakens are now fair game. And even more importantly… After starting out
with a bang, it also became apparent that this sequel would have a more coherent
storyline(s) than the first book.
Oh, and about that parade of new characters whom I just complained
about from Aftermath #1… They are
much more welcome this time around, now that they’re familiar to readers. After all, despite the spotlight-stealing exploits
of Han/Leia/Chewie, author Wendig writes from the POV of the Endor war veterans
from Aftermath and makes it clear
that this IS their story.
I won’t spoil the story here, other than to say that Aftermath’s
main characters finally cross paths with Leia Organa, Han Solo, and
Chewbacca. Norrra, her son Temmin, Jom, ex-Imperial
officer Sinjir, Jas the bounty hunter,
and Dr. Bones have been hunting down war criminals and the remaining
leadership of the mostly-defeated Empire (including my new favorite character, the
multi-layered Grand Admiral Rae Sloane). Leia recruits Norra and co. when Chewie
gets kidnapped and Han goes missing during an attempt to liberate Kashyyyk. And of course, the aforementioned surviving
war criminals who were spared the destruction of the second Death Star are secretly
hatching big plans to regroup and recapture the former glory of Palpatine’s
Empire. The rise of the military junta First
Order of The Force Awakens is just
around the corner.
There are too many fan-pleasing moments to count. One of many examples include a revelation about
Boba Fett’s armor, hilarious twists on classic lines from the original film
trilogy, and even a swipe at George Lucas’ controversial “Special Edition” film
alterations: Jas, while calculating the
odds of getting the draw on Han Solo in a barroom blaster fight, assures
herself that Han would most definitely
shoot first.
Not-so-hidden Easter
egg: While reading Life Debt
(Aftermath #2), it finally dawned on me that the Aftermath in the trilogy’s title refers to the aftermath of Return of the Jedi’s climactic Battle of
Endor, which precedes this story arc. Apparently,
I’m a little slow.
Star Wars movie fans-- If you’re looking for the perfect place to
jump into the new canon novels, this is it!
I literally lost sleep from the excitement of reading this book on
opening week. The Star Wars: Aftermath novel trilogy
concludes on January 31, 2017 with Aftermath:
Empires End. The wait is gonna be
unbearable.
Verdict: *****
(Out of 5 stars) for Star Wars fans, **** for non-fans
Star Wars: Bloodline
by Claudia Gray
Though this story takes place after the Aftermath novel trilogy, this novel feels like it’s missing some
key backstory from that time period. The
obvious reason: Author Gray didn’t have access to the events of Aftermath (or alternately, was forbidden
by the Story Group to reference them).
The downside of this limitation is that Leia Organa, the main character,
is constantly reminiscing about scenes from the Star Wars original film trilogy, as though nothing else had
happened in the years that have passed.
Had I read it as a non tied-in standalone novel (or had I not started
reading the Aftermath trilogy first),
I would have enjoyed Bloodline more.
Another barrier I had to enjoying this book was that the plot
was more political than action-oriented.
Had I known that from the start, I would’ve approached this novel with
different expectations. The action set
pieces may have seemed less disappointing… Particularly the boss battle (with
an unremarkable villain) clocks in at barely 2 ½ pages long.
That being said, this book won me over by the final
chapters. I naturally started caring more about the fate of the characters when
it finally dawned on me that this is more of a character-driven novel than an
action yarn. And Leia’s political motivations for concealing her true heritage
(read: secretly being the daughter of the deceased Darth Vader) made for some
engaging reading.
This story certainly has its moments. My motivation to resume reading my Kindle
copy of Christie Golden’s previous Star
Wars novel, Lost Stars, has been
restored.
Parental advisory: In
addition to a higher volume of PG rated language than I’m accustomed to in Star Wars novels, Bloodline depicts more alcohol consumption than any book in recent
memory. Not that this would offend many
people, but it’s excessive to the point of seeming lazily repetitive. For what it’s worth.
Star Wars: A New Dawn
by John Jackson Miller, Narrated by Marc Thompson
This review is
primarily of the reading/production of the audio version only, not the book
itself.
As an audio book, A
New Dawn is top notch. The story is
less impressive, though a decent diversion.
Fans of Kanan and Hera from the Star
Wars Rebels TV show on Disney XD will especially love this.
Narrator Marc Thompson has quite a knack for making a merely
okay story engaging, and also at creating a sense of urgency and excitement
during the action scenes. He is a genius
at making each character come alive. The
voice renderings of Count Vidian and Zeluna are a little over the top and a bit
annoying, respectively, but the other characters are unique in a good way.
The action sequences are enhanced with occasional flourishes
of John Williams’ orchestrated Star Wars musical
themes and realistic sound effects. The
zip-lining scene is one of many standouts.
The best part of the story for me is the introduction of a
young Rae Sloane, my favorite character/villain (so far) of the Aftermath novel trilogy. The to-be Grand Admiral Sloane even
references Count Vidian’s “Forget the old way” line during an introspective
moment of Aftermath: Life Debt. If anything, this book may be worth a
read/listen if only to learn more about Sloane’s early military career.
This isn’t a solid recommendation. But overall, this audiobook makes for an
entertaining listen.
Verdict: *** (Out
of 5 stars) for Star Wars fans, *** for non-fans
Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin
By Charles Soule, and illustrated by Marco Checchetto
Other than the beautifully illustrated long shots, there are
few reasons to pick up this pre-Episode III, standalone graphic novel. The main story is of little consequence. The Anakin/Palpatine flashbacks are a bit more
interesting, but they don’t add anything significant to Anakin’s backstory than
what we already know from the films.
And I realize that this is a comic book, but it’s too
comic-booky for my taste. For example… It’s
downright bizarre to see recognizable Star Wars film characters like Jar Jar Binks
and that albino horn-scarf dude from Jabba’s palace wandering aimlessly around a
seedy bar in “Coruscant, Sub-Surface Level 2685,” like a bunch of distracting background
extras.
Verdict: This isn’t
the Obi-Wan comic you’re looking for. You can go about your business. Move
along.
** (Out of 5 stars) for Star Wars fans, *
for non-fans
