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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Arc provided by the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
So I couldn’t not request this the moment I saw it, and honestly I didn’t expect to actually get accepted for this.
I’m glad I did though, because I love Star Wars! Ok I don’t just love Star Wars, I’m 100% obsessed with Star Wars.
I really wanted to know more about Poe and Zorii, especially after The Rise of Skywalker.
This story was the perfect action packed adventure that showed off Poe’s awesome personality and worked well as a backstory of how he joined the rebellion. I loved seeing his relationship with Zorii grow and then ultimately fail, to where it then leads to the movie where you first meet her on screen.
I would say this is one of the better Star Wars books I’ve read recently, I found the story gripping and easy to put down and pick back up again (I say that because reading e-books is hard for me since I only have my phone to read them on).
Overall, fun story! Can’t wait to pick up a copy of the physical book.
4/5
So I couldn’t not request this the moment I saw it, and honestly I didn’t expect to actually get accepted for this.
I’m glad I did though, because I love Star Wars! Ok I don’t just love Star Wars, I’m 100% obsessed with Star Wars.
I really wanted to know more about Poe and Zorii, especially after The Rise of Skywalker.
This story was the perfect action packed adventure that showed off Poe’s awesome personality and worked well as a backstory of how he joined the rebellion. I loved seeing his relationship with Zorii grow and then ultimately fail, to where it then leads to the movie where you first meet her on screen.
I would say this is one of the better Star Wars books I’ve read recently, I found the story gripping and easy to put down and pick back up again (I say that because reading e-books is hard for me since I only have my phone to read them on).
Overall, fun story! Can’t wait to pick up a copy of the physical book.
4/5
My second Star Wars book in two months. Who am I? I really enjoyed learning about Poe Dameron's past in this book. We learn about how he became involved with Kijimi, Zorii, and the smugglers (all mentioned and shown in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). I also liked seeing Poe's reckless and brave personality as a teenager. But the plot itself of the book is pretty lacking. It's one smuggling run after another, patched together without any smooth transitions. But the backstory is still pretty interesting.
Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 2
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3
Thank you, Disney Lucasfilm Press and NetGalley, for the review copy!
Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 2
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3
Thank you, Disney Lucasfilm Press and NetGalley, for the review copy!
***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was a quick, fun read. The writing style was compelling, and the pacing was excellent- it really captured that classic Star Wars high-adrenaline feel. Alex Segura did a really good job at showing us the Poe we know, but at an age while he is still forming. You can really see the hints of his full personality coming through. I was really excited to learn more about about the backstory between Poe and Zorii. I was not disappointed! All in all, this is a fun young adult SW adventure.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was a quick, fun read. The writing style was compelling, and the pacing was excellent- it really captured that classic Star Wars high-adrenaline feel. Alex Segura did a really good job at showing us the Poe we know, but at an age while he is still forming. You can really see the hints of his full personality coming through. I was really excited to learn more about about the backstory between Poe and Zorii. I was not disappointed! All in all, this is a fun young adult SW adventure.
I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
After the let down of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (in terms of Poe’s character development) I approached Poe Dameron: Free Fall with excitement and wariness. His life, I had thought, was pretty mapped out in the Dameron comics and in the Skywalker spin-off with Poe’s parents. The casual mention of Poe being a spice runner in the last sequel movie seemed random and out of place, yet Alex Segura stepped up to the plate and wove together a fun adventure that fit with the universe I thought I had known.
Poe Dameron, a rowdy 16 year old, struggles with the knowledge of the heroic achievements of his parents, while he lives a monotonous life on Yavin 4. Yearning for some stories of his own, he takes his first opportunity off-world and runs away from home. Learning after the fact that he threw in his lot with The Spice Runners of Kijimi, we are abruptly put into the seedy underbelly of the New Republic which comes with gnarly piloting and fast shoot-outs. His friendship with the Spice Runners blossoms as he struggles between his morals and his short-term goals. You find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering how far Poe will compromise his values to maintain his loyalty to the Spice Runners. What will be the last straw that sends him down the path to becoming a rebellion hero?
Segura does a fantastic job with creating a young Poe. You can see that he still has a lot of growing to do before he becomes the man we grew to love in the movies, yet his passion and drive are there. For any interested in a more fully fleshed out Poe Dameron, I’d highly recommend Poe Dameron: Free Fall.
After the let down of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (in terms of Poe’s character development) I approached Poe Dameron: Free Fall with excitement and wariness. His life, I had thought, was pretty mapped out in the Dameron comics and in the Skywalker spin-off with Poe’s parents. The casual mention of Poe being a spice runner in the last sequel movie seemed random and out of place, yet Alex Segura stepped up to the plate and wove together a fun adventure that fit with the universe I thought I had known.
Poe Dameron, a rowdy 16 year old, struggles with the knowledge of the heroic achievements of his parents, while he lives a monotonous life on Yavin 4. Yearning for some stories of his own, he takes his first opportunity off-world and runs away from home. Learning after the fact that he threw in his lot with The Spice Runners of Kijimi, we are abruptly put into the seedy underbelly of the New Republic which comes with gnarly piloting and fast shoot-outs. His friendship with the Spice Runners blossoms as he struggles between his morals and his short-term goals. You find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering how far Poe will compromise his values to maintain his loyalty to the Spice Runners. What will be the last straw that sends him down the path to becoming a rebellion hero?
Segura does a fantastic job with creating a young Poe. You can see that he still has a lot of growing to do before he becomes the man we grew to love in the movies, yet his passion and drive are there. For any interested in a more fully fleshed out Poe Dameron, I’d highly recommend Poe Dameron: Free Fall.
ARC provided by Disney Worldwide Publishing/Disney Lucasfilm Press and Alex Segura via NetGalley. All opinions are mine and freely given.
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08-04: 'Poe Dameron Free Fall' by Alex Segura is more than just a story of a young man coming of age under the rule of the New Republic.. more than the story of one of the greatest pilots to grace the stars. The title to me.. sometimes referring to a very literal sense.. but also in the midst of an emotional free fall.
At sixteen, he's already full of hunger for adventure and challenge.. but after numerous arguments with his father, former Pathfinder.. Kes Dameron and a close friend of the family.. L'ulo L'ampar, he's desperate to get out and see what he can do. Happening across a group of scoundrels at a local bar who are in even more dire need of him than he thinks he is of them, he takes a leap of faith that will change the course of his life completely.
With his mother, A-Wing pilot Shara Bey, already lost to him.. he's a boy on the verge of adulthood who feels little more than distance between he and his father. He's struggling to decide what kind of man he's going to be.. what kind of man he wants to be.. torn between the memories of a woman he sees as a hero and the realities of his farmboy life on Yavin 4.
It's hard to say I blame him for taking the kinds of chances he does. In his position, anyone might strike out on their own with little thought to the cost of their actions.. yet deep down there's a consistent pull visible within him to do the right thing. Even caught up as he becomes, fearful at times, he makes an effort to be a good man.. and the decisions that so much as walk that morally gray line, are choices he revisits. He makes second guessing himself into a hobby at times, but I got that. The uncertainty in his own ideals.
There are definitely glimpses here in his youth.. of the man he would yet become. The seemingly fearless pilot and hero in his own right known for pulling half-baked plans out of thin air that actually usually work.. is already beginning to develop in this story.
I enjoyed getting to know how he found himself amongst the Spice Runners of all things, since they certainly don't hold the same moral codes he obviously does. Though, what I love about Poe is he isn't afraid to get a little gray if need be.. there are just limits to how far he's willing to go.
He's already a hothead and that gets him into more than his fair share of trouble, but it also just further endears him to me. After all, he's not so unlike that 'other' famous pilot in the Star Wars universe.
During his adventure, we get to meet a young Zorii as well. A character who clearly had some kind of serious history with Poe when she appeared in The Rise of Skywalker, it was exciting to get to experience her backstory firsthand. I loved learning not only where she came from.. and how she came to be who she was.. but also what they were to each other and what her motivations might have been in the film.
The book is filled with page-turning action, vividly described space chases, and battles great and small. Segura did an amazing job of allowing the reader a peek behind the misdeeds of the spice runners to the people beneath.
What a great addition to the Star Wars canon. I can't wait to read more..
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DNF 150pgs--a little too telenovella for me, but I can see it appealing to teen readers.
Crime writer Alex Segura turns back the clock to add another layer of backstory for fan favorite Poe Dameron and takes a swan dive into the galaxy’s vast and complicated criminal underbelly. Sixteen-year-old Poe is a gifted pilot and is desperate to get off his home planet of Yavin 4. He yearns for adventure and since the death of his mother a riff the size of a parsec has grown between Poe and his father as they both continue to grieve in their own ways. Poe’s desperation leads him to volunteer to help a group of travelers escape Yavin 4, only to learn later that they’re actually the infamous Spice Runners of Kijimi.
Free Fall is nothing short of an action-packed adventure that’s driven by the tongue-and-cheek dialogue Star Wars fans have come to know and love. Characters like Zorii Bliss and Babu Frik also make an appearance. And overall it’s the kind of wild backstory one would expect from Poe Dameron. The downside to the plot-driven storyline is that Poe is forced to be more reactionary than acting with a sense of purpose and agency, which at times can leave his character feeling a little two dimensional. Nevertheless, given his own writing background, Segura doesn’t shy away from the gritty and often horrifying consequences that comes with a criminal lifestyle, which offers Poe multiple opportunities to reflect not just on the mess he’s gotten himself into, but also further explore his moral values and define his ethical code––a journey that many of today’s young readers will certainly find relatable .
Free Fall is nothing short of an action-packed adventure that’s driven by the tongue-and-cheek dialogue Star Wars fans have come to know and love. Characters like Zorii Bliss and Babu Frik also make an appearance. And overall it’s the kind of wild backstory one would expect from Poe Dameron. The downside to the plot-driven storyline is that Poe is forced to be more reactionary than acting with a sense of purpose and agency, which at times can leave his character feeling a little two dimensional. Nevertheless, given his own writing background, Segura doesn’t shy away from the gritty and often horrifying consequences that comes with a criminal lifestyle, which offers Poe multiple opportunities to reflect not just on the mess he’s gotten himself into, but also further explore his moral values and define his ethical code––a journey that many of today’s young readers will certainly find relatable .
I requested this book on NetGalley and never expected to actually receive a copy - thanks so much to Disney/Lucasfilm for the opportunity!
Poe Dameron: Free Fall has got everything you could want from a Star Wars story - action, adventure, cool starships and a fun cast of characters. Zorii is a major player, of course, and it's great to see her again here. (She's such a fascinating character here, I wish the book were about her instead of Poe!) And Babu Frick absolutely steals the few scenes he's in.
That being said, this wasn't my favorite Star Wars novel, by far.
It's doesn't have an epic story to tell and doesn't expand the galaxy the way some other books do, which can be fine, but isn't going to ever get top billing from me.
My main issue, though, is not necessarily with this book, but rather, the way it fits into the larger Disney canon. The Rise of Skywalker's retconning of Poe's backstory as an ace New Republic pilot to a spice runner. Rather than the fun romp it should've been, this book just felt like an attempt to bend over backwards to justify a poorly-executed plot twist. If I hadn't been so invested in Poe's former backstory, I think I would've enjoyed it much more. Poe's characterization here is solid and believable but I just don't think it meshes especially well with his other appearances, not significantly later in the timeline, which I personally prefer.
Verdict: 3.5*
Recommended for: Star Wars fans eager to learn more about Poe's time with the Spice Runners of Kijimi, especially those who aren't already familiar with Poe's comics and novels.
Poe Dameron: Free Fall has got everything you could want from a Star Wars story - action, adventure, cool starships and a fun cast of characters. Zorii is a major player, of course, and it's great to see her again here. (She's such a fascinating character here, I wish the book were about her instead of Poe!) And Babu Frick absolutely steals the few scenes he's in.
That being said, this wasn't my favorite Star Wars novel, by far.
It's doesn't have an epic story to tell and doesn't expand the galaxy the way some other books do, which can be fine, but isn't going to ever get top billing from me.
My main issue, though, is not necessarily with this book, but rather, the way it fits into the larger Disney canon. The Rise of Skywalker's retconning of Poe's backstory as an ace New Republic pilot to a spice runner. Rather than the fun romp it should've been, this book just felt like an attempt to bend over backwards to justify a poorly-executed plot twist. If I hadn't been so invested in Poe's former backstory, I think I would've enjoyed it much more. Poe's characterization here is solid and believable but I just don't think it meshes especially well with his other appearances, not significantly later in the timeline, which I personally prefer.
Verdict: 3.5*
Recommended for: Star Wars fans eager to learn more about Poe's time with the Spice Runners of Kijimi, especially those who aren't already familiar with Poe's comics and novels.
Poe Dameron is my favourite Star Wars character and sadly this book did nothing for me. I felt like most of the time it wasn't even Poe being written about. He bore very little resemblance to the character we know and love from the films and comic books. And the plot was very thin and I found it quite contradictory to what we know already. Also the 'love story' aspect felt so forced and I just couldn't believe in it.
Such a shame as I was looking forward to something fun with my fave.
I was sent this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Such a shame as I was looking forward to something fun with my fave.
I was sent this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It has enough good material in it to be worth reading one time. If Poe, Zorii, Babu, or Star Wars scoundrels are your jam, then you may latch on to the book more than I did.