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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
If you want sci-fi action, this book has plenty of it. We have more seeds on the background of Force Awakens and the new characters cement themselves well in this universe.
Going from the old EU (where everything was always about Luke, Leia, and Han) to the new canon (where the post-ROTJ adventures of these characters have thus far been pretty secret) has been a difficult transition. The first Aftermath novel struggled to make me care about the characters that were introduced and the seemingly minor events it told. I mean, we "lost" 25+ years of stories about battles and Jedi and Rogue Squadron, and in the new official canon we got... some Imperials having a fancy meeting? It couldn't possibly live up to the hype while also not giving away too much about the state of the Galaxy in The Force Awakens.
Life Debt is better than Aftermath for a few reasons: first, familiar characters are able to play significant roles in this story. No longer are they kept completely secret. It's so refreshing to finally see them playing a role in rebuilding the galaxy. Secondly, the events in this story feel significant! The plotting and scheming in the Empire, the battles and attacks... it all feels like it's going somewhere.
Can't wait to read the next one.
Life Debt is better than Aftermath for a few reasons: first, familiar characters are able to play significant roles in this story. No longer are they kept completely secret. It's so refreshing to finally see them playing a role in rebuilding the galaxy. Secondly, the events in this story feel significant! The plotting and scheming in the Empire, the battles and attacks... it all feels like it's going somewhere.
Can't wait to read the next one.
I enjoyed this more than the first book in the series - the characterisations were better and we saw more of the major characters that I had been hoping to read about in a series that was marketed as filling in the gaps between the end of Return of the Jedi and the start of The Force Awakens. Generally in fact this felt like a much more epic scope of story and the locations and characters involved (without giving too much away) were extremely satisfying for someone who has been a long term fan of the Star Wars books (both Legends and the new continuity).
If I have one continuing gripe, it is that there are still some jarring tense changes through the book which I do find take me out of the story and never feel like they are consistently used. But that is purely a stylistic point and one that I am increasingly happy to overlook as the story draws me in more and more.
Put it like this, it took ages for me to pick up this book after finishing Aftermath, but at the end of this I went straight on to book 3 and have already finished it!
If I have one continuing gripe, it is that there are still some jarring tense changes through the book which I do find take me out of the story and never feel like they are consistently used. But that is purely a stylistic point and one that I am increasingly happy to overlook as the story draws me in more and more.
Put it like this, it took ages for me to pick up this book after finishing Aftermath, but at the end of this I went straight on to book 3 and have already finished it!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"As he goes one and on, she nods gamely. All the while, Sloane feels like her boots are stuck in a mire, and the mud keeps pulling her down, down, down until her mouth is full of it and her lungs too, and all she can do is drownh in the much as the Empire she loves slips away"
And that is right where I am giving up on this novel at page 178. That paragraph pretty much sums up my feelings as I reach page 178 of 430 pages of "Star wars Aftermath: Life Debt".
I struggled through "Aftermath" scratching my head at the twitter-esque "writing" and new characters I didn't care about at all. Where were Leia, Luke, Han? Even when you got a glimpse of them, it sounded nothing like their familiar voices at all.
The premise that you have Han going AWOL from the Rebellion and rushing to save Chewbacca and liberate the planet Kashyyk from the Empire sounds exciting. To get that wrong, or make it dull seems next to impossible. Why then, is this the slowest most badly written Star wars novel i have ever laid eyes on?
After twenty years reading the EU novels that kept Star wars alive post-ROTJ for the fans, the EU that Disney have purchased and erased, these new ones sound and feel nothing like Star Wars, and Disney have made a serious error in judgement that these are the first of the new EU out of the gate. Lifelong fans are not going to buy something just because its "Star Wars", and new fans wont stick to this. That they gave this author THREE novels to churn out is astounding. So I'm skipping these two and going straight onto "Bloodline", which ten pages in grabs me far quicker than any of this dreck.
And that is right where I am giving up on this novel at page 178. That paragraph pretty much sums up my feelings as I reach page 178 of 430 pages of "Star wars Aftermath: Life Debt".
I struggled through "Aftermath" scratching my head at the twitter-esque "writing" and new characters I didn't care about at all. Where were Leia, Luke, Han? Even when you got a glimpse of them, it sounded nothing like their familiar voices at all.
The premise that you have Han going AWOL from the Rebellion and rushing to save Chewbacca and liberate the planet Kashyyk from the Empire sounds exciting. To get that wrong, or make it dull seems next to impossible. Why then, is this the slowest most badly written Star wars novel i have ever laid eyes on?
After twenty years reading the EU novels that kept Star wars alive post-ROTJ for the fans, the EU that Disney have purchased and erased, these new ones sound and feel nothing like Star Wars, and Disney have made a serious error in judgement that these are the first of the new EU out of the gate. Lifelong fans are not going to buy something just because its "Star Wars", and new fans wont stick to this. That they gave this author THREE novels to churn out is astounding. So I'm skipping these two and going straight onto "Bloodline", which ten pages in grabs me far quicker than any of this dreck.
Some books are too heady to listen to while you're driving in traffic.
Star Wars books are not.
Star Wars books are not.
Another enjoyable post-RotJ story.
I am really liking the approach they are taking with showing the slow formation of the New Republic and the parallel disintegration of the Empire.
I am also enjoying the more mature/adult tone of the stories; it makes the characters seem more real and also shows that SW has "grown-up" along with its original target audience.
I am really liking the approach they are taking with showing the slow formation of the New Republic and the parallel disintegration of the Empire.
I am also enjoying the more mature/adult tone of the stories; it makes the characters seem more real and also shows that SW has "grown-up" along with its original target audience.
It had been a bit since reading the first book of this trilogy and as such, had a hard time remembering some of the characters. Aside from that slow start, I really enjoyed this.
The crew from Aftermath is working for the Rebellion hunting down high value Imperial "war criminals" and is quite successful. This book threw Leia, Han and Chewbacca into the story, which I didn't mind much. After having established his characters in the first book, Wendig slowly folded in some icons of the universe which worked well.
Chewbacca has been taken prisoner by the Empire. Han has resigned his commission and left to find him. Leia, pregnant and worried engages Norah and her crew to go find him. They do, but end up joining his quest for Chewbacca instead of returning him. I'll leave the rest to readers.
I found the writing of the icons to be hit and miss. The adulation from the crew kind of made sense, but also somewhat annoyed me. I do love that the focus is mainly on Wendig's original characters and they are being used to deliver what I now realize/understand is the history leading up to "The Force Awakens". This becomes exceptionally clear as book closes.
Sinjir Rath Velus continues to be my favorite character.
The crew from Aftermath is working for the Rebellion hunting down high value Imperial "war criminals" and is quite successful. This book threw Leia, Han and Chewbacca into the story, which I didn't mind much. After having established his characters in the first book, Wendig slowly folded in some icons of the universe which worked well.
Chewbacca has been taken prisoner by the Empire. Han has resigned his commission and left to find him. Leia, pregnant and worried engages Norah and her crew to go find him. They do, but end up joining his quest for Chewbacca instead of returning him. I'll leave the rest to readers.
I found the writing of the icons to be hit and miss. The adulation from the crew kind of made sense, but also somewhat annoyed me. I do love that the focus is mainly on Wendig's original characters and they are being used to deliver what I now realize/understand is the history leading up to "The Force Awakens". This becomes exceptionally clear as book closes.
Sinjir Rath Velus continues to be my favorite character.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well, this book was decidedly better than the first book, though I did think the first one was *okay* -- just nothing special. This book, however, added gravity to the cast of characters in the first book (who I didn't really care for before) and added in the familiar faces of Han Solo, Leia Organa-Solo, Chewie, Mon Mothma, and Wedge Antilles. I felt their characterization was true to what we know from the movies, particularly Leia's navigating politics as well as dealing with her desire to always do what she feels is right for the situation at hand. That sets up some pretty interesting dilemmas for her, while Han is off doing Han things, following his "scoundrel" nature wherever it takes him.
The politics of the book are great, in my opinion, both on the side of the New Republic and also surprisingly in reference to the Empire. I would have read this book anyway, despite not liking the first, because I'm a hopeless completionist - but I'm glad I did because this one was quite enjoyable and I'm ready to jump into the next adventure with this "ragtag" team - Jas, Sinjir, Temmin, Mister Bones, Norra, and whoever decides to follow them.
The politics of the book are great, in my opinion, both on the side of the New Republic and also surprisingly in reference to the Empire. I would have read this book anyway, despite not liking the first, because I'm a hopeless completionist - but I'm glad I did because this one was quite enjoyable and I'm ready to jump into the next adventure with this "ragtag" team - Jas, Sinjir, Temmin, Mister Bones, Norra, and whoever decides to follow them.