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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
This was fun enough but I could have used a bit more action, and a bit less angsty worry over feelings in my Star Wars adventure. This is a book which would have benefitted from more plot propulsion and less descriptive passages.
The story is good but I listened to the audiobook. Normally I really love the Star Wars audiobooks because they do sound effects and he voices are well done. However, this book was read by 3 different readers and it really bothered me. Hearing 3 different Lando and 3 different Han impressions was really distracting and irritating. The Ben Solo voice was the worst impression of a child I have ever heard. I dropped my rating almost 2 stars because of those 2 issues.
**As per all of my reviews, I like to preface by saying that I listened to this book in audiobook format. This does indeed slightly skew my rating. I have found that audiobooks, give me a better "relationship" with the characters if done well, but also kills the book for me if narrated poorly. Also due to the nature of listening to the text, names and places may be spelled incorrectly here as I often do not have the physical volume in front of me.
Also, I have written this review in a "rolling updates" style. In that I basically chronicle my reading as I progress. This may make for a jarring and spoilery review so be warned.**
So I've been hearing about this one for a while. I usually have my ear close to the ground in terms of Star Wars books and comics and try to keep up with them. This one, Last Shot, I did hear about, but I blew it off as just a YA novel and would be a trivial adventure with Young Han and young Lando. While that would indeed be a fun read in it's own right, it wasn't terribly high on my list to take in. And this is someone who really enjoyed the movie Solo, and someone who really enjoys the non force non lightsabers side of Star Wars. My last preface is that I think that the movie The Last Jedi, is one such that falls woefully short and lacking when it comes to providing solid backstory into two key relationships. Han and Leia…and the parental upbringing of Ben Skywalker with Han and Leia as parents.
So from what I kept hearing this book would touch on both of those topics. As this was something that I felt was a huge miss in the movies, I actually felt disappointed first that these key topics are portioned off to a book instead of playing out on screen. Anyway that being par for the course, I finally started it, and I can tell that this is going to be a split book for me. Right out of the gate we have a 'killswitch' red button story here that is ultimately a device that is causing droids to go all "Matrix" and are able to be controlled and adopt a desire to kill. We see a protocol droid belonging to Lando succumb to this and he makes attempt on his life.
While I can tell that this story line (unless it throws me for one hell of a curve ball) is going to be the "B side" for me. Plots like this, I get it, are very fun, serialized, and innocent, they come off as just a bit too much. Of course I always try to put aside that grouchy, old man voice and just enjoy it and have fun and toss out this notion that it must all be realistic and connecting. What I do however see myself really loving is the Han and Leia moments and Lando for that matter. Right from the start we get a very cleverly written scene of Lando being woken up by his droid who was intending to kill him in his sleep… Lando stumbles from the bed room only in a towel. There's a scene and then moments later a few Twi'lek then stumbles from the room also in a towel… This is later brought up by Leia and Han when questioning Lando, leading to an akward scene that's perfectly written, as Lando in that cool demeanor basically says "Yea I was totally getting some". And I'm not saying I want sex and mature and explicit content in my star wars, far from it. But I want moments of characters….not of big plots and super weapons and plans to destroy galaxies etc…
We also get or first glimspe and in text reasoning for the crack between Han and Ben… Han is shown to be someone who ran first and looked back later. Even in A New Hope, Han ran off with the money at first leaving Luke to go on his "suicide mission". So it's clearly being set up that raising a child, scares him. And it seems as though Leia who is still very much in the thick of the Post Empire wrap up, is leaving Han to do a lot of the parenting. We even have a literally painful scene of Han stepping on Ben's space lego bricks…I love it. So yea this side of the story is going to keep me into this.
The book jumps around a lot, and I'll admit it doesn't work with great finesse as it's dealing with the same exact characters just in two different time periods. And it further doesn't help that both stories revolve around the same plot. Both are going under cover and searching for something. So it's a bit of a jumble. But…I will say this, and this probably leans more into the narration of Marc Thompson, but damn, can this guy voice act. He's voicing a pretty funny Toydarian character that Han and Lando must get some information from. And by jove it's like listening to the actor who voiced Watto. So yea it's definitely a boon to the audio book listeners and it really adds a bunch.
Opposite this though, the other narrator…literally sounds like he's reading from a post card. It's actually… not horrible, but it's so scripted sounding. He has a style to his reading, but it's very very stiff.
I'm actually surprised a bit how 'mature' this book is and some of the stuff that is mentioned…Lando getting a girl out of a dress is one such…Now speaking of which, I love Lando, but I think the author here may be leaning a bit too much into the womanizing..What should be a funny, and charming character trait is turning to becoming a bit too heavy handed and annoying. Not the point where it's ruining anything yet, but I think they can lay off the gas on it a bit.
Anyway the main antagonist as it were, a medical student it seems, is actually a pretty unique take on a villain. We haven't really seen a 'scholarly villain'. We meet him 15 years in the past so we don't exactly know what he's like present day. Han and Lando have left Leia to her Senatorial and government building practices. I'll say this, I know they are trying to set up Han 'going back to his routes' and this does make sense, but in this specific context, I'm not seeing why Han is even involved in this…I suppose literally just to help Lando.
Anyway they gather a bunch of other characters and the main slicer seems to be a cliché hacker kid, who sounds like he's voiced by what I can only describe as a Ted from Bill and Ted's…
The boo has a very authentic vibe. Not sure what I even mean, but all of the characters seem precisely as they would be written ( again with Lando being a bit over written…) The auxiliary characters, which include a slicer Ewok, seem okay enough, if a bit forced into the story. I like that we got some Maz actually, which surprised me, as I never had a fascination with Maz, but it's good to see the connective tissue..
I do however feel there's a lot of fight/action scenes for little purpose..
Reading on, I must credit here, the author really has a way of making interesting characters..The Gungan supplier who is fed up with people stereotyping them and using their dialect in mockery. Hearing Han try to start talking like "Mesa so sorry.." and then have the gungan in a much more refined voice, throw it back at Han and totally tell him off is classic..
The story actually has a pretty gruesome concept…Han and Lando are visiting Chewie to track down whoever was after Lando…and find that Wookie children are being captured and chopped up and their body parts
Okay! It's official, I believe this book has one of the best supporting characters in star wars novels… The Gungan who has this cynical and deadpanned demeanor is a real fun addition. His apathy towards others and his slightly sarcastic comments are perfect. There's a great line from him..one of the best, he gets swept up with Han and Chewie and the ewok and trapped by this hypnotizing creature.
Han asks Aro N’Cookaala (the Gungan) about how the hypnotism works…and he just stares back at Han and tells him "I'm a freaking middle manager on a Substation" He pretty much says what most people should say in movies during these scenes. And what's better, I love it when Han first met him, He complains about having Naboo undergoing this big housing explosion and now he can't afford to buy an apartment…I had to stop mid run..and just laugh. It's stuff like this, that I love. Not to get off on a tangent, but I hear it from many that Star Wars doesn't have the force or light sabers and it doesn't feel like star wars etc… Well, moments like this to me, silly, but surprisingly world building moments are really great. So Naboo is being gentrified and the housing market is seeing a boon, post Empire.
So we eventually lose our very colorful cast of characters and the story settles on Han, Lando, and Sassha with the Ewok and Slicer kid as support.. You know if the story didn't jump around so much, and we got a more straight forward narrative of the antagonist..I think this would have been one hell of a big bad… I love the background of the fact that our main villain is a medical student.. And him becoming so obsesed with mechanics and biomechanical union is really different..and actually kinda freaky. The body horror in this book is pretty 'extreme' for a star wars book. Generally in Star Wars, our villains are people who just want to rule the galaxy…and I'm pretty sure that this is the ultimate goal of Fyzen Gor as well…but his obsession and madness actually give him a far greater level of depth than the run of the mill bad guy in star Wars.
So I finished this..and I gotta ask..did this book actually put me in a worse position than before? I was hoping for, (and yes I use that nasty word 'wanted') a book that was going to ease the transition of what we were left with in Han and Leia's relationship at the end of RotJ, to where we see them in TFA where they're broken up, defeated and down on life and they pretty much have been defeated by Snoke. Unfortunately…the book gives us a foundation as to why they could have split…but actually reverses that idea at the end, with Leia giving Han this inspirational speech about just trying your best and always being there. Now to me this feels even worse because Leia was acknowledging this fear and Han acknowledged his deeper need to run off…and he faced it, admitted to it..but yet obviously we still get it in the movie. I gotta ask, and this really falls on JJ, was splitting Han and Leia up really needed? Again, yea I know, it's realistic. We got it… Game of Thrones this is not. It seems like such a tall task..Splitting up Han and Leia in a way that is pretty much making both of them look like dead beat parents, and having been pretty much manipulated by this new rip off villain "Snoke"..(who I always…always hated in almost every way). Now let me stop and say these are all negatives against the movie, and in no way a result of the book. The book did it's job…I felt like it could have answered some more questions and left us in a more realistic spot…the happy ending here doesn't really lend well to where we see them. Anyway I'll stop there, there are some really good things about this book, including Lando. I feel like they went a bit too far with some of the stuff and his 'stereotype' but by the end, him taking on the Phalanx Redux Transmitter and pretty much having to succumb and sacrifice (to his knowledge) himself is quite a step for him. Of course he doesn't end up biting it, and we have a thought provoking scene of him being rescued by two very L3- reminiscent droids. And then the end is oddly 'poetic' in that L3 (in the past) found about about this Phalanx device and was secretly working on a way to stop it her whole life. It's really interesting to see that a Droid would think that because Lando is so wrapped up in himself, that she would want to take this pretty vital burden on herself and internalize it. L3's work ended up being the 'anti virus' for the droid kill switch. Which again I say that this whole story of a secrete droid protocol to kill all organics is too out there for me personally, but I will admit it was written in a way where it wasn't too goofy, but it was very…simple. Not a lot of outside factors, no political fall out from this, or steps taken after to remedy the matter…you think Han or Lando would want to buy some new appliance droids.. The story is good, if basic, and I'll admit I wish we got more from Han and Leia and Ben together, but the fun overall serial nature of the book is a fun read. The side characters really helped this one as well for me. The slicer kid was a bit annoying, but generally that stereotypical young hacker type will always be.. I feel like these characters we could see more of, and I LOVED seeing Sinjir and Condor picking up from Wendig's Aftermath series. While I've been loving the current SW books it seems like each book tasks the author with just shoveling new characters onto our laps with no returning characters. While yes I enjoy new characters, but there's such a high turn around that it's getting hard to learn to care for many of them. So liked the book, liked the story, liked the idea, but some things were missed…and I think it may have missed a big opportunity to put some things in order..
Also, I have written this review in a "rolling updates" style. In that I basically chronicle my reading as I progress. This may make for a jarring and spoilery review so be warned.**
So I've been hearing about this one for a while. I usually have my ear close to the ground in terms of Star Wars books and comics and try to keep up with them. This one, Last Shot, I did hear about, but I blew it off as just a YA novel and would be a trivial adventure with Young Han and young Lando. While that would indeed be a fun read in it's own right, it wasn't terribly high on my list to take in. And this is someone who really enjoyed the movie Solo, and someone who really enjoys the non force non lightsabers side of Star Wars. My last preface is that I think that the movie The Last Jedi, is one such that falls woefully short and lacking when it comes to providing solid backstory into two key relationships. Han and Leia…and the parental upbringing of Ben Skywalker with Han and Leia as parents.
So from what I kept hearing this book would touch on both of those topics. As this was something that I felt was a huge miss in the movies, I actually felt disappointed first that these key topics are portioned off to a book instead of playing out on screen. Anyway that being par for the course, I finally started it, and I can tell that this is going to be a split book for me. Right out of the gate we have a 'killswitch' red button story here that is ultimately a device that is causing droids to go all "Matrix" and are able to be controlled and adopt a desire to kill. We see a protocol droid belonging to Lando succumb to this and he makes attempt on his life.
While I can tell that this story line (unless it throws me for one hell of a curve ball) is going to be the "B side" for me. Plots like this, I get it, are very fun, serialized, and innocent, they come off as just a bit too much. Of course I always try to put aside that grouchy, old man voice and just enjoy it and have fun and toss out this notion that it must all be realistic and connecting. What I do however see myself really loving is the Han and Leia moments and Lando for that matter. Right from the start we get a very cleverly written scene of Lando being woken up by his droid who was intending to kill him in his sleep… Lando stumbles from the bed room only in a towel. There's a scene and then moments later a few Twi'lek then stumbles from the room also in a towel… This is later brought up by Leia and Han when questioning Lando, leading to an akward scene that's perfectly written, as Lando in that cool demeanor basically says "Yea I was totally getting some". And I'm not saying I want sex and mature and explicit content in my star wars, far from it. But I want moments of characters….not of big plots and super weapons and plans to destroy galaxies etc…
We also get or first glimspe and in text reasoning for the crack between Han and Ben… Han is shown to be someone who ran first and looked back later. Even in A New Hope, Han ran off with the money at first leaving Luke to go on his "suicide mission". So it's clearly being set up that raising a child, scares him. And it seems as though Leia who is still very much in the thick of the Post Empire wrap up, is leaving Han to do a lot of the parenting. We even have a literally painful scene of Han stepping on Ben's space lego bricks…I love it. So yea this side of the story is going to keep me into this.
The book jumps around a lot, and I'll admit it doesn't work with great finesse as it's dealing with the same exact characters just in two different time periods. And it further doesn't help that both stories revolve around the same plot. Both are going under cover and searching for something. So it's a bit of a jumble. But…I will say this, and this probably leans more into the narration of Marc Thompson, but damn, can this guy voice act. He's voicing a pretty funny Toydarian character that Han and Lando must get some information from. And by jove it's like listening to the actor who voiced Watto. So yea it's definitely a boon to the audio book listeners and it really adds a bunch.
Opposite this though, the other narrator…literally sounds like he's reading from a post card. It's actually… not horrible, but it's so scripted sounding. He has a style to his reading, but it's very very stiff.
I'm actually surprised a bit how 'mature' this book is and some of the stuff that is mentioned…Lando getting a girl out of a dress is one such…Now speaking of which, I love Lando, but I think the author here may be leaning a bit too much into the womanizing..What should be a funny, and charming character trait is turning to becoming a bit too heavy handed and annoying. Not the point where it's ruining anything yet, but I think they can lay off the gas on it a bit.
Anyway the main antagonist as it were, a medical student it seems, is actually a pretty unique take on a villain. We haven't really seen a 'scholarly villain'. We meet him 15 years in the past so we don't exactly know what he's like present day. Han and Lando have left Leia to her Senatorial and government building practices. I'll say this, I know they are trying to set up Han 'going back to his routes' and this does make sense, but in this specific context, I'm not seeing why Han is even involved in this…I suppose literally just to help Lando.
Anyway they gather a bunch of other characters and the main slicer seems to be a cliché hacker kid, who sounds like he's voiced by what I can only describe as a Ted from Bill and Ted's…
The boo has a very authentic vibe. Not sure what I even mean, but all of the characters seem precisely as they would be written ( again with Lando being a bit over written…) The auxiliary characters, which include a slicer Ewok, seem okay enough, if a bit forced into the story. I like that we got some Maz actually, which surprised me, as I never had a fascination with Maz, but it's good to see the connective tissue..
I do however feel there's a lot of fight/action scenes for little purpose..
Reading on, I must credit here, the author really has a way of making interesting characters..The Gungan supplier who is fed up with people stereotyping them and using their dialect in mockery. Hearing Han try to start talking like "Mesa so sorry.." and then have the gungan in a much more refined voice, throw it back at Han and totally tell him off is classic..
The story actually has a pretty gruesome concept…Han and Lando are visiting Chewie to track down whoever was after Lando…and find that Wookie children are being captured and chopped up and their body parts
Okay! It's official, I believe this book has one of the best supporting characters in star wars novels… The Gungan who has this cynical and deadpanned demeanor is a real fun addition. His apathy towards others and his slightly sarcastic comments are perfect. There's a great line from him..one of the best, he gets swept up with Han and Chewie and the ewok and trapped by this hypnotizing creature.
Han asks Aro N’Cookaala (the Gungan) about how the hypnotism works…and he just stares back at Han and tells him "I'm a freaking middle manager on a Substation" He pretty much says what most people should say in movies during these scenes. And what's better, I love it when Han first met him, He complains about having Naboo undergoing this big housing explosion and now he can't afford to buy an apartment…I had to stop mid run..and just laugh. It's stuff like this, that I love. Not to get off on a tangent, but I hear it from many that Star Wars doesn't have the force or light sabers and it doesn't feel like star wars etc… Well, moments like this to me, silly, but surprisingly world building moments are really great. So Naboo is being gentrified and the housing market is seeing a boon, post Empire.
So we eventually lose our very colorful cast of characters and the story settles on Han, Lando, and Sassha with the Ewok and Slicer kid as support.. You know if the story didn't jump around so much, and we got a more straight forward narrative of the antagonist..I think this would have been one hell of a big bad… I love the background of the fact that our main villain is a medical student.. And him becoming so obsesed with mechanics and biomechanical union is really different..and actually kinda freaky. The body horror in this book is pretty 'extreme' for a star wars book. Generally in Star Wars, our villains are people who just want to rule the galaxy…and I'm pretty sure that this is the ultimate goal of Fyzen Gor as well…but his obsession and madness actually give him a far greater level of depth than the run of the mill bad guy in star Wars.
So I finished this..and I gotta ask..did this book actually put me in a worse position than before? I was hoping for, (and yes I use that nasty word 'wanted') a book that was going to ease the transition of what we were left with in Han and Leia's relationship at the end of RotJ, to where we see them in TFA where they're broken up, defeated and down on life and they pretty much have been defeated by Snoke. Unfortunately…the book gives us a foundation as to why they could have split…but actually reverses that idea at the end, with Leia giving Han this inspirational speech about just trying your best and always being there. Now to me this feels even worse because Leia was acknowledging this fear and Han acknowledged his deeper need to run off…and he faced it, admitted to it..but yet obviously we still get it in the movie. I gotta ask, and this really falls on JJ, was splitting Han and Leia up really needed? Again, yea I know, it's realistic. We got it… Game of Thrones this is not. It seems like such a tall task..Splitting up Han and Leia in a way that is pretty much making both of them look like dead beat parents, and having been pretty much manipulated by this new rip off villain "Snoke"..(who I always…always hated in almost every way). Now let me stop and say these are all negatives against the movie, and in no way a result of the book. The book did it's job…I felt like it could have answered some more questions and left us in a more realistic spot…the happy ending here doesn't really lend well to where we see them. Anyway I'll stop there, there are some really good things about this book, including Lando. I feel like they went a bit too far with some of the stuff and his 'stereotype' but by the end, him taking on the Phalanx Redux Transmitter and pretty much having to succumb and sacrifice (to his knowledge) himself is quite a step for him. Of course he doesn't end up biting it, and we have a thought provoking scene of him being rescued by two very L3- reminiscent droids. And then the end is oddly 'poetic' in that L3 (in the past) found about about this Phalanx device and was secretly working on a way to stop it her whole life. It's really interesting to see that a Droid would think that because Lando is so wrapped up in himself, that she would want to take this pretty vital burden on herself and internalize it. L3's work ended up being the 'anti virus' for the droid kill switch. Which again I say that this whole story of a secrete droid protocol to kill all organics is too out there for me personally, but I will admit it was written in a way where it wasn't too goofy, but it was very…simple. Not a lot of outside factors, no political fall out from this, or steps taken after to remedy the matter…you think Han or Lando would want to buy some new appliance droids.. The story is good, if basic, and I'll admit I wish we got more from Han and Leia and Ben together, but the fun overall serial nature of the book is a fun read. The side characters really helped this one as well for me. The slicer kid was a bit annoying, but generally that stereotypical young hacker type will always be.. I feel like these characters we could see more of, and I LOVED seeing Sinjir and Condor picking up from Wendig's Aftermath series. While I've been loving the current SW books it seems like each book tasks the author with just shoveling new characters onto our laps with no returning characters. While yes I enjoy new characters, but there's such a high turn around that it's getting hard to learn to care for many of them. So liked the book, liked the story, liked the idea, but some things were missed…and I think it may have missed a big opportunity to put some things in order..
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Was almost a four star, but the jumping between timelines was smooth in some areas yet not in others. A few times it felt more disruptive to the narrative than adding to it, for me at least.
I personally don’t love stories that go back & forth throughout different years as I find it a little hard to follow along. That’s where this book lost me a bit.
Sweet, fun, and action-packed portrait of post-ROTJ life for Han and Lando (and to a lesser degree Leia and Chewie) in a similar vein to Claudia Grey's "Bloodline" and a solid read for those who enjoy the Sequel trilogy. Older's writing was vibrant and fun and I loved what he brought to the Star Wars universe. From gender non-binary pilots to stereotype-breaking Gungans discussing real estate, his voice was really potent in bringing some new dimensions to the galaxy we all know and love. His characterization of "aging scoundrel" Han and settling down Lando were really charming and delightful. The glimpses of Han's family life punctuated by adventurous flashbacks were the perfect balance of sweet and explosive.
Also, I don't know how much credit we give Older specifically or the Star Wars writing team at large for this, but I thought there were some interesting references that tied together the prequels, the OT, and the sequels. Ewoks? Utapau? Ben Solo throwing tantrums? It's all there. And I loved that about this book; the Legends EU always felt very remote from the Star Wars on screen; this was written to be a tie-in, and I felt it accomplished that well. (Was it better than Solo: ASWS? Can't say.)
The ending felt a bit abrupt; some of the character arcs weren't as easily resolved as the main plot was, but still a lot of fun.
I liked the audiobook's use of multiple narrators to take full advantage of the multiple perspectives. However, I don't recommend the audiobook for those who are otherwise occupied. I had to rewind constantly because the action is so intense at parts that to stop and look both ways at an intersection would have me missing important events while driving. But Older's actual voice was cool as hell, and Thomson's character impersonations are always good for a laugh.
Also, I don't know how much credit we give Older specifically or the Star Wars writing team at large for this, but I thought there were some interesting references that tied together the prequels, the OT, and the sequels. Ewoks? Utapau? Ben Solo throwing tantrums? It's all there. And I loved that about this book; the Legends EU always felt very remote from the Star Wars on screen; this was written to be a tie-in, and I felt it accomplished that well. (Was it better than Solo: ASWS? Can't say.)
The ending felt a bit abrupt; some of the character arcs weren't as easily resolved as the main plot was, but still a lot of fun.
I liked the audiobook's use of multiple narrators to take full advantage of the multiple perspectives. However, I don't recommend the audiobook for those who are otherwise occupied. I had to rewind constantly because the action is so intense at parts that to stop and look both ways at an intersection would have me missing important events while driving. But Older's actual voice was cool as hell, and Thomson's character impersonations are always good for a laugh.
I thought that the moving between the past and present wasn't as smooth as it could be. My favorite part of the book was the wrap up, where the real reason for the success of the mission was noted. Several times, there were lines that I couldn't imagine the characters saying. Han specifically wasn't always the normal consistent character that we've come to expect him to be.
I don't love the trend that is happening all too often in fiction of jumping between past and present storylines and this book does that as it's main thing. It does give some background to the "Solo" movie, although I didn't love that story so it probably affects my perception of this one. There are also things that I feel are a poor fit with the timeline and universe as a whole, specifically the droid rights and freedoms in this one. Also, the new Expanded Universe, although more coherent, almost feels too streamlined (that is the expansions are limited and there are not a lot of new places or aliens) and often seems to be ripping off the original Expanded Universe. This book reminded me of a slightly gruesome version of "The New Rebellion". I get why they had to nix the old storylines, but it frustrating too see them recreated as a pale reflection of their former self.
This was the most juvenile nonsense I've ever read. I mean, I knew it from the very first chapter, but I kept hoping it would improve and it never did.
Any book that seems to revel in the 'excitement' of Lando having to fight off a killer droid in nothing but a towel, accompanied by his Twi'lek (but of course) love interest in a similar state of undress, is definitely a write-off for me. This book was never able to transcend its high school nudge-nudge phase. Everyone seemed weirdly obsessed with Lando and his girlfriend's relationship, while Han is battling what all male characters in juvenile books do - the inability to be a dad. Leia, though, is a perfect mom, but Han is just itching for adventure and filled with doubts. Uh, has it occurred to the author that Han and Leia would have discussed for a long time before starting a family and they would both be in it as partners-in-crime? Nope.
This book relies heavily on 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' as its inspiration for the characters, and that's where it fails dismally. Some people like 'Solo', and that's ok, but the reason many don't is because the film was filled with tired tropes and characterizations that belonged in the 80s. Even the original Star Wars films became better at portraying characters than 'Solo'.
The backwards and forwards in time didn't help - I think it's mostly because the author just leaned into the philandering sides of both Han and Lando when that was never their most appealing characteristic. Han had eyes for Leia and Leia only from the moment they met - no one cares if Han had other romances, because they don't have any impact on his character. This book proves it.
Lando may be a scoundrel, but the reason he's a fan favourite is that he does the right thing despite the possible cost to his own life and livelihood. Those are the aspects we wanted to see in the characters, but the author writes this book for an audience of imaginary teenaged boys, who probably won't like this book either.
The body horror was another annoying aspect. It's there for shock value but there's no commentary on how many characters in the Star Wars universe use prostheses. The new trilogy is the only one where none of the main characters use them, but Luke and Anakin both spent an entire film each with prosthetic limbs. It just won't do to sensationalize that by making the story about some crazed droid takeover.
Some Star Wars books do a wonderful job of adding to the canon - be it the extended live-action canon, or the alternate universe book canon - others, like this book, are little more than silly outtakes that no one cares for.
Any book that seems to revel in the 'excitement' of Lando having to fight off a killer droid in nothing but a towel, accompanied by his Twi'lek (but of course) love interest in a similar state of undress, is definitely a write-off for me. This book was never able to transcend its high school nudge-nudge phase. Everyone seemed weirdly obsessed with Lando and his girlfriend's relationship, while Han is battling what all male characters in juvenile books do - the inability to be a dad. Leia, though, is a perfect mom, but Han is just itching for adventure and filled with doubts. Uh, has it occurred to the author that Han and Leia would have discussed for a long time before starting a family and they would both be in it as partners-in-crime? Nope.
This book relies heavily on 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' as its inspiration for the characters, and that's where it fails dismally. Some people like 'Solo', and that's ok, but the reason many don't is because the film was filled with tired tropes and characterizations that belonged in the 80s. Even the original Star Wars films became better at portraying characters than 'Solo'.
The backwards and forwards in time didn't help - I think it's mostly because the author just leaned into the philandering sides of both Han and Lando when that was never their most appealing characteristic. Han had eyes for Leia and Leia only from the moment they met - no one cares if Han had other romances, because they don't have any impact on his character. This book proves it.
Lando may be a scoundrel, but the reason he's a fan favourite is that he does the right thing despite the possible cost to his own life and livelihood. Those are the aspects we wanted to see in the characters, but the author writes this book for an audience of imaginary teenaged boys, who probably won't like this book either.
The body horror was another annoying aspect. It's there for shock value but there's no commentary on how many characters in the Star Wars universe use prostheses. The new trilogy is the only one where none of the main characters use them, but Luke and Anakin both spent an entire film each with prosthetic limbs. It just won't do to sensationalize that by making the story about some crazed droid takeover.
Some Star Wars books do a wonderful job of adding to the canon - be it the extended live-action canon, or the alternate universe book canon - others, like this book, are little more than silly outtakes that no one cares for.