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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
First off, as much as it pains me to say this, you really do need to read Aftermath before reading Life Debt. Think of it like you're eating your vegetables so that you get to enjoy that tasty dessert later. Even though the first book is a chore at times, it's a necessary setup for Life Debt and [b:Aftermath: Empire's End|30213123|Aftermath Empire's End (Star Wars Aftermath, #3)|Chuck Wendig|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469404967s/30213123.jpg|47282998].
For all the criticism lobbed at [b:the first Aftermath book|25131600|Aftermath (Star Wars Aftermath, #1)|Chuck Wendig|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426620007s/25131600.jpg|44828548], this one is a big improvement. There's considerably more stuff happening in Life Debt, as Wendig isn't spending a bunch of time to introduce all the characters and the setting, political climate of the galaxy, etc. The main characters that we just begin to get to know in Aftermath are fleshed out in Life Debt, and they're actually really fun to read. In addition to Wedge, and a dash of Ackbar, this time there's a bit of Leia, and Han Solo gets a good-size chunk of page-time as Nora and her team assist him on a special assignment. I got through Life Debt a lot quicker and enjoyed it a lot more than the preceding book.
In my review of Aftermath I mentioned that Wendig seemed a little heavy handed with the quantity of LGBT characters written into the book. While only one of those characters (Sinjir - who is VERY well written and quickly becoming a favorite character of mine) is in Life Debt, this time my "Wow" moment/issue was in an entire chapter that is told from the perspective of a pirate captain whose personal pronouns are zhe/zher. I really never would have guessed that my first encountering of gender-neutral pronouns in a novel would be in a Star Wars book. Putting aside my personal feelings about gender-neutral pronouns, it was strange how this was shoehorned into the book. This lone "Interlude" chapter about 100 pages in didn't really service the story in any meaningful way. The whole thing could have been cut and it wouldn't have adversely affected the book. Again, the way Wendig went about this seems strange to me - was this chapter his way of trying to be edgy and/or create controversy? Enough about pronouns...
My bottom line is this: Wendig does a phenomenal job here of striking the perfect balance between drama, action and comedy that makes Star Wars so great, and I'm starting Empire's End TONIGHT.
For all the criticism lobbed at [b:the first Aftermath book|25131600|Aftermath (Star Wars Aftermath, #1)|Chuck Wendig|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426620007s/25131600.jpg|44828548], this one is a big improvement. There's considerably more stuff happening in Life Debt, as Wendig isn't spending a bunch of time to introduce all the characters and the setting, political climate of the galaxy, etc. The main characters that we just begin to get to know in Aftermath are fleshed out in Life Debt, and they're actually really fun to read. In addition to Wedge, and a dash of Ackbar, this time there's a bit of Leia, and Han Solo gets a good-size chunk of page-time as Nora and her team assist him on a special assignment. I got through Life Debt a lot quicker and enjoyed it a lot more than the preceding book.
In my review of Aftermath I mentioned that Wendig seemed a little heavy handed with the quantity of LGBT characters written into the book. While only one of those characters (Sinjir - who is VERY well written and quickly becoming a favorite character of mine) is in Life Debt, this time my "Wow" moment/issue was in an entire chapter that is told from the perspective of a pirate captain whose personal pronouns are zhe/zher. I really never would have guessed that my first encountering of gender-neutral pronouns in a novel would be in a Star Wars book. Putting aside my personal feelings about gender-neutral pronouns, it was strange how this was shoehorned into the book. This lone "Interlude" chapter about 100 pages in didn't really service the story in any meaningful way. The whole thing could have been cut and it wouldn't have adversely affected the book. Again, the way Wendig went about this seems strange to me - was this chapter his way of trying to be edgy and/or create controversy? Enough about pronouns...
My bottom line is this: Wendig does a phenomenal job here of striking the perfect balance between drama, action and comedy that makes Star Wars so great, and I'm starting Empire's End TONIGHT.
One of the worst Star Wars books I have ever had the displeasure of taking in. At least I listened to it, and the narrator was top notch. Otherwise it would have been in the garbage on page 30. I won't be finishing this particular series or reading any more from Mr. Wendig.
The pace of this book is so slow for the first 300 pages. It took me so long to get through it. I like the overall story, and the last third of the book, but I don't look forward to going through another book in this trilogy.
I gave [b:Aftermath|25131600|Aftermath (Star Wars Aftermath, #1)|Chuck Wendig|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1426620007s/25131600.jpg|44828548] three stars. This book is not notably worse than Aftermath, but I was excited about the Star Wars universe when I read Aftermath, and I am not now. I'm in the minority of people on the entire planet: I did not like The Force Awakens, and reading this book, which is a direct prequel to the new films, I find myself missing the old Extended Universe so much. The EU was hopeful. It was optimistic. It promised friendship and cooperation and new adventures ahead! Now, I know that for the original series characters -- the characters that I love -- things are just going to end up being shitty. Where's the fun in that?
These issues with the Star Wars universe as a whole are obviously not Wendig's fault, but even beyond them, this book has problems. It takes until about halfway through to really get going, and even then, Wendig seems to do whatever he can to avoid major dramatic moments. Heck, this is a book where a main character -- well, supposedly a main character; he's so dull I actually had no memory of what he even did in the first book -- In place of this, oh yeah, I definitely want more dregs of the Empire politics. Oh, and a cameo by the father of everyone's favorite Nazi Imperial, Hux. OH WAIT EXECPT ACTUALLY I WANTED THE OPPOSITE OF THAT.
Look, the one good thing about these books -- and the one reason I went back for a second round after Aftermath -- is Sinjir. I love Sinjir -- he is the drunk gay asshole of my dreams. But this is supposed to be an ensemble piece and I don't care about the rest of the ensemble at all. Call me when Sinjir gets his own solo series -- or better yet, his Solo series, which involves him being stuck on a book-long adventure with Han, at whom he is angry the entire time for being so handsome. If the new Star Wars universe goes in that direction, I might finally be able to get on board.
These issues with the Star Wars universe as a whole are obviously not Wendig's fault, but even beyond them, this book has problems. It takes until about halfway through to really get going, and even then, Wendig seems to do whatever he can to avoid major dramatic moments. Heck, this is a book where a main character -- well, supposedly a main character; he's so dull I actually had no memory of what he even did in the first book --
Spoiler
loses an eye to torture -- and it happens offscreen. OFFSCREEN!Look, the one good thing about these books -- and the one reason I went back for a second round after Aftermath -- is Sinjir. I love Sinjir -- he is the drunk gay asshole of my dreams. But this is supposed to be an ensemble piece and I don't care about the rest of the ensemble at all. Call me when Sinjir gets his own solo series -- or better yet, his Solo series, which involves him being stuck on a book-long adventure with Han, at whom he is angry the entire time for being so handsome. If the new Star Wars universe goes in that direction, I might finally be able to get on board.
This book actually made me cry a little and I was not expecting it.
I really love these characters! I honestly cared more about our new ragtag band than the old heroes, though I loved every moment with Leia and appreciated the author’s loyalty to Han’s personality. I still love Sloane, and it was great to see further evolution in Jas and Sinjir. Also, can we talk about the genderfluid space pirate? There’s a genderfluid space pirate! And they are fantastic.
There’s an amazing thematic tension throughout this book between different methods of securing peace/order—this is touched on in the first book, but it goes even deeper here. There are the pragmatic peacekeepers (Mon Mothma) seeking to demilitarize and consolidate and negotiate whenever possible. Then there are the heroes (Norra and Co., Han) seeking to do more, liberate all the planets they can regardless of cost or material benefit, prioritizing protecting more innocents from harm and also their personal debts. And then there are the iron fists (Sloane) seeking to impose order and safety through clear, calculated might, ensuring everyone knows and stays in their place. But even Sloane is in for a surprise when she discovers others willing to sacrifice all honor and decorum to seize absolute power.
This is my favorite of the book’s themes, and we aren’t necessarily led to conclude that any one path is best. For even ruling out those pursuing tyranny, it seems that both the pragmatic and the heroic need each other to accomplish their unified goal. It seems a balance must be struck. On top of this, the book delves into the Empire’s discrimination against and enslavement of aliens, what it means to do terrible deeds in the name of good, how that’s different from evil (or if it is at all), and the complexities of many types of love and allegiance. This is subtitled “Life Debt” and the subtitle is apt: debts are a motif in the book, whether they are monetary or social, inherited or incurred. Everyone’s trying to pay off their debts, trying to keep track of what they owe to whom. It’s actually almost annoying how much the word “debt” pops up.
But everything else is so good I have to overlook that. Chewy really shines in this book, too, which is very special. I can’t wait to talk to my little cousin about this one and borrow the next in the series.
I really love these characters! I honestly cared more about our new ragtag band than the old heroes, though I loved every moment with Leia and appreciated the author’s loyalty to Han’s personality. I still love Sloane, and it was great to see further evolution in Jas and Sinjir. Also, can we talk about the genderfluid space pirate? There’s a genderfluid space pirate! And they are fantastic.
There’s an amazing thematic tension throughout this book between different methods of securing peace/order—this is touched on in the first book, but it goes even deeper here. There are the pragmatic peacekeepers (Mon Mothma) seeking to demilitarize and consolidate and negotiate whenever possible. Then there are the heroes (Norra and Co., Han) seeking to do more, liberate all the planets they can regardless of cost or material benefit, prioritizing protecting more innocents from harm and also their personal debts. And then there are the iron fists (Sloane) seeking to impose order and safety through clear, calculated might, ensuring everyone knows and stays in their place. But even Sloane is in for a surprise when she discovers others willing to sacrifice all honor and decorum to seize absolute power.
This is my favorite of the book’s themes, and we aren’t necessarily led to conclude that any one path is best. For even ruling out those pursuing tyranny, it seems that both the pragmatic and the heroic need each other to accomplish their unified goal. It seems a balance must be struck. On top of this, the book delves into the Empire’s discrimination against and enslavement of aliens, what it means to do terrible deeds in the name of good, how that’s different from evil (or if it is at all), and the complexities of many types of love and allegiance. This is subtitled “Life Debt” and the subtitle is apt: debts are a motif in the book, whether they are monetary or social, inherited or incurred. Everyone’s trying to pay off their debts, trying to keep track of what they owe to whom. It’s actually almost annoying how much the word “debt” pops up.
But everything else is so good I have to overlook that. Chewy really shines in this book, too, which is very special. I can’t wait to talk to my little cousin about this one and borrow the next in the series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Han and Chewie plot is cool, twist is well done
What a fast paced and well written book. I love how Wendig is able to keep a huge cast of characters moving forward without losing the reader. I can't wait for the next installment!
medium-paced
10 times better then the first book in the trilogy
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A sequel that immensely improves upon its predecessor and includes huge high stakes as well as good character development for our core cast.
I was willing to give up on this Trilogy after reading and rereading Aftermath but Life Debt for the most part easily improved on the flaws of Aftermath and created a very emotional and action packed sequel. I now have high hopes that Empires End has the potential to be even better. It was much more easier to follow the three main plot narratives and as a result it turned out less messier than the last book's attempt. Another thing I appreciated is that it breaks the middle trilogy and it actually did all the world building Aftermath should have done.
Despite it being a major improvement I do believe there's still something that majorly let it down. The pacing was absolutely atrocious, like Aftermath tons of plotline is crammed into the very last third of the book and as it results it minimises the impact of the twist and ending of the book. Life Debt could have easily done with at least 100 more pages to let the sudden twist settle and so the narrative plot could develop and shift without being hindered. A part 6 would have really helped raise my enjoyment of the story and it's quality. I'm hoping Wending took fans feedback and actually made Empires End a decent pace.
The pacing links into the factor that apart from Han and Mon Mothma, most of the orginal trilogy cast were done dirty in this novel. Leia and Wedge didn't get anything proper to do until the last third of the novel and although it was exciting it was also very annoying. I like Wedge but Leia is one of my favourite characters and I didn't get how she didn't go with the crew as it would have in small ways benefited the character dynamics and upped the stakes at the very beginning. Wedge just only seems to be there as a plot device for the Wexley family. I hope our og cast get treated better in Empires End if they are in it.
Now with the negatives out of the way it's time to finally get onto the main positives for this novel. First I have to praise the fact that the series is finally doing what it was meant to do. Life Debt truly takes us into the heat of the Aftermath of ROTJ and not only shows how fractured the Empire are but also how easy it is to crumble the New Republic. The politics are truly the most fascinating part of this normal as it blurs the lines on the pacism vs war debate. It shows us the importance of being peaceful but also what happens when you don't have anything to defend yourself. We fully get to understand in this novel what a fractured Empire and a peaceful New Republic really means for the galaxy and I love that. It approached the politics in a really thoughtful, philosophical way.
Next I have to praise the incredible story arcs for all the characters that were absolutely worth caring about. In the first one I felt like the character arcs were very shallow and basic but here in life debt they're expanded on and are absolutely relatable. Norra fears change and if full of guilt but its also worried about her son becoming like her, Jas is conflicted about her purpose as a bounty hunter and making friends and 😘, whilst Temmin is still haunted by what happened to his Dad and Sinjir is of course conflicted about his morality after betraying the Empire. I won't spoil but even Han, Leia and Chewy get good arcs. Jom being a new addition to the cast faired really well too. Each character for the most part is done very well and it's a major improvement that I actually sympathise with the struggles are characters are facing. The character development and arcs are worth it for picking up this novel alone.
Finally the stakes. The first book felt pretty basic in terms of trying to make the imperial reminisce a major threat but in this book they absolutely are. I found Sloane a really interesting villian but I felt like she was more a Vader level threat and that we needed more of a Palpatine level threat and we get one through Gallis Rax. Rax is perfect and his role in the novel as the puppet master ups the stakes of the whole novel. He's in the novel like a slow virus ready to infect and he definitely poses a huge challenge for our cast of hero's even Sloane. I can't explain myself without spoilers but the action is dialed up and there's more urgency to fix everything. It's aesthetic is very Empire Strikes back lack. Despite the terrible pacing I felt like there was actually more to loose thanks to how well developed the threat of the imperial reminisce was. I was actually invested and scared for all the characters. The fake out deaths generally had me fooled. The Empires plan creates a Winter Solider like twist that will leave you reeling.
Overall it's a much better sequel and a very good middle trilogy book. It does the job of what the first novel should have done even better. It shows the chaos of transitioning political power and the consequences of war. It also sets up the finally perfectly. Despite its pitfalls I highly recommend this book and promise reading Aftermath to get to it is a hundred percent worth it. This book proves Wending style can work if he takes on the right feedback.
I was willing to give up on this Trilogy after reading and rereading Aftermath but Life Debt for the most part easily improved on the flaws of Aftermath and created a very emotional and action packed sequel. I now have high hopes that Empires End has the potential to be even better. It was much more easier to follow the three main plot narratives and as a result it turned out less messier than the last book's attempt. Another thing I appreciated is that it breaks the middle trilogy and it actually did all the world building Aftermath should have done.
Despite it being a major improvement I do believe there's still something that majorly let it down. The pacing was absolutely atrocious, like Aftermath tons of plotline is crammed into the very last third of the book and as it results it minimises the impact of the twist and ending of the book. Life Debt could have easily done with at least 100 more pages to let the sudden twist settle and so the narrative plot could develop and shift without being hindered. A part 6 would have really helped raise my enjoyment of the story and it's quality. I'm hoping Wending took fans feedback and actually made Empires End a decent pace.
The pacing links into the factor that apart from Han and Mon Mothma, most of the orginal trilogy cast were done dirty in this novel. Leia and Wedge didn't get anything proper to do until the last third of the novel and although it was exciting it was also very annoying. I like Wedge but Leia is one of my favourite characters and I didn't get how she didn't go with the crew as it would have in small ways benefited the character dynamics and upped the stakes at the very beginning. Wedge just only seems to be there as a plot device for the Wexley family. I hope our og cast get treated better in Empires End if they are in it.
Now with the negatives out of the way it's time to finally get onto the main positives for this novel. First I have to praise the fact that the series is finally doing what it was meant to do. Life Debt truly takes us into the heat of the Aftermath of ROTJ and not only shows how fractured the Empire are but also how easy it is to crumble the New Republic. The politics are truly the most fascinating part of this normal as it blurs the lines on the pacism vs war debate. It shows us the importance of being peaceful but also what happens when you don't have anything to defend yourself. We fully get to understand in this novel what a fractured Empire and a peaceful New Republic really means for the galaxy and I love that. It approached the politics in a really thoughtful, philosophical way.
Next I have to praise the incredible story arcs for all the characters that were absolutely worth caring about. In the first one I felt like the character arcs were very shallow and basic but here in life debt they're expanded on and are absolutely relatable. Norra fears change and if full of guilt but its also worried about her son becoming like her, Jas is conflicted about her purpose as a bounty hunter and making friends and 😘, whilst Temmin is still haunted by what happened to his Dad and Sinjir is of course conflicted about his morality after betraying the Empire. I won't spoil but even Han, Leia and Chewy get good arcs. Jom being a new addition to the cast faired really well too. Each character for the most part is done very well and it's a major improvement that I actually sympathise with the struggles are characters are facing. The character development and arcs are worth it for picking up this novel alone.
Finally the stakes. The first book felt pretty basic in terms of trying to make the imperial reminisce a major threat but in this book they absolutely are. I found Sloane a really interesting villian but I felt like she was more a Vader level threat and that we needed more of a Palpatine level threat and we get one through Gallis Rax. Rax is perfect and his role in the novel as the puppet master ups the stakes of the whole novel. He's in the novel like a slow virus ready to infect and he definitely poses a huge challenge for our cast of hero's even Sloane. I can't explain myself without spoilers but the action is dialed up and there's more urgency to fix everything. It's aesthetic is very Empire Strikes back lack. Despite the terrible pacing I felt like there was actually more to loose thanks to how well developed the threat of the imperial reminisce was. I was actually invested and scared for all the characters. The fake out deaths generally had me fooled. The Empires plan creates a Winter Solider like twist that will leave you reeling.
Overall it's a much better sequel and a very good middle trilogy book. It does the job of what the first novel should have done even better. It shows the chaos of transitioning political power and the consequences of war. It also sets up the finally perfectly. Despite its pitfalls I highly recommend this book and promise reading Aftermath to get to it is a hundred percent worth it. This book proves Wending style can work if he takes on the right feedback.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Torture
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Blood, War
Aftermath : Life Debt is the star wars novel i've been looking for in the new canon. It fulfilled all pieces to my checklist:
1 - Appearances from my favorite characters
2 - Revelations about The Force Awakens and what we may expect in the upcoming movies/canon.
3 - Lots of awesome humor and action.
I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for Empire's End.
"That ending though!"
1 - Appearances from my favorite characters
2 - Revelations about The Force Awakens and what we may expect in the upcoming movies/canon.
3 - Lots of awesome humor and action.
I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for Empire's End.
"That ending though!"