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caaleros's review against another edition
5.0
Let me just begin this review by saying that every Star Wars fan should read Bloodline.
Not only was the characterization of Leia fantastic, the politics of the time (5 years before Episode VII) were completely believable, interesting, and sounded a little too familiar. I was hooked from the first chapter, which rarely happens to me. As fans of the movie we only see the surface of everything that’s going on, Claudia Gray digs into the world and makes it work logically while giving it diversity and flavor. I will never stop being impressed.
One of the most important things to me as a SW fan and a booklover is that I could hear the voices of beloved characters like Leia, Han, and C-3PO while reading. Not only did the author capture this, she helped to develop Leia’s character more by presenting a whole new story in which the stakes were both political and personal. We get to see inside her mind and understand the heartbreak of losing Alderaan, the tumultuous feelings she has towards Vader, the frustration she feels at being trapped in a political process that no longer works, and her determination to take action to get something done. This is the Leia we know and love and, with all the benefits that the novel form of storytelling has, we get to know her better than ever before.
On a side note, with novels it’s so much easier to add in backstory and explanations of things that the movies should have addressed. For example, the fact that Leia and Han are married. THANK YOU! Obviously Bloodline also deals with much more than this small detail since it has the freedom and the time to, but their marriage was something that was not established in the new canon until now and I am thankful for it, no matter how small of a detail it may be.
I was a bit surprised that the story followed more than just Leia’s POV and I thought I would get bored reading the “extra” characters’ chapters, but it was great seeing the universe through their eyes and learning more of their stories. I came to love the side characters like Greer, Joph, and Ransolm; it was amazing to watch each of them grow and change over the course of the novel. Especially the young Senator Ransolm Casterfo (who I imagine looks like Loki). I started off hating his guts and by the end of the book he was my favorite character, second only to Leia. Because he belongs to the political opposition he and Leia get off to a rocky start, made worse by the fact that he has a thing for collecting Imperil artifacts for fun. If you can’t imagine Leia’s horror, just imagine a WWII veteran meeting a young punk who collects Nazi memorabilia. It was like that. But over the course of the book Leia (and the reader) begins to understand his character, which is so interesting and layered! I would love to see a companion novel that focuses on Ransolm after the events of this book. There are brief cameos and occasional mentions of established SW characters besides Leia, but they aren’t used as a crutch. This makes the appearance/reference of said characters *cough* Han *cough* even more rewarding.
Bloodline managed to balance political games with high stakes action while also slowing down just long enough to delve deep into the minds and backstories of beloved characters, both old and new. It is a great novel by its own merit, but the fact that it is a great SW novel makes me love it even more. This has been my favorite book of the year. I literally loved every page. I hope the future is filled with many more Star Wars books written by Claudia Gray.
Not only was the characterization of Leia fantastic, the politics of the time (5 years before Episode VII) were completely believable, interesting, and sounded a little too familiar. I was hooked from the first chapter, which rarely happens to me. As fans of the movie we only see the surface of everything that’s going on, Claudia Gray digs into the world and makes it work logically while giving it diversity and flavor. I will never stop being impressed.
One of the most important things to me as a SW fan and a booklover is that I could hear the voices of beloved characters like Leia, Han, and C-3PO while reading. Not only did the author capture this, she helped to develop Leia’s character more by presenting a whole new story in which the stakes were both political and personal. We get to see inside her mind and understand the heartbreak of losing Alderaan, the tumultuous feelings she has towards Vader, the frustration she feels at being trapped in a political process that no longer works, and her determination to take action to get something done. This is the Leia we know and love and, with all the benefits that the novel form of storytelling has, we get to know her better than ever before.
On a side note, with novels it’s so much easier to add in backstory and explanations of things that the movies should have addressed. For example, the fact that Leia and Han are married. THANK YOU! Obviously Bloodline also deals with much more than this small detail since it has the freedom and the time to, but their marriage was something that was not established in the new canon until now and I am thankful for it, no matter how small of a detail it may be.
I was a bit surprised that the story followed more than just Leia’s POV and I thought I would get bored reading the “extra” characters’ chapters, but it was great seeing the universe through their eyes and learning more of their stories. I came to love the side characters like Greer, Joph, and Ransolm; it was amazing to watch each of them grow and change over the course of the novel. Especially the young Senator Ransolm Casterfo (who I imagine looks like Loki). I started off hating his guts and by the end of the book he was my favorite character, second only to Leia. Because he belongs to the political opposition he and Leia get off to a rocky start, made worse by the fact that he has a thing for collecting Imperil artifacts for fun. If you can’t imagine Leia’s horror, just imagine a WWII veteran meeting a young punk who collects Nazi memorabilia. It was like that. But over the course of the book Leia (and the reader) begins to understand his character, which is so interesting and layered! I would love to see a companion novel that focuses on Ransolm after the events of this book. There are brief cameos and occasional mentions of established SW characters besides Leia, but they aren’t used as a crutch. This makes the appearance/reference of said characters *cough* Han *cough* even more rewarding.
Bloodline managed to balance political games with high stakes action while also slowing down just long enough to delve deep into the minds and backstories of beloved characters, both old and new. It is a great novel by its own merit, but the fact that it is a great SW novel makes me love it even more. This has been my favorite book of the year. I literally loved every page. I hope the future is filled with many more Star Wars books written by Claudia Gray.
bookschaosnart's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed getting to see Leia's diplomatic skills at work and see some of her life with Han. I also really enjoyed the character development of her nemesis and the trust she placed in her people.
super_doxie15's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
amblygon_writes's review against another edition
4.0
This is maybe more of a 3.5, but it was fun so I'm rounding it up! Lockdown has been filled with tons of Star Wars material and I thought I should sample some in written format. Although this isn't the first Star Wars book I've read (hello Bane trilogy), it's the first canon book I've read.
I'm impressed with how Leia is portrayed in this book. I sometimes struggled to remember her age (despite the constant reminders) because she definitely comes across as young at heart and quite youthful in this - but that's probably accurate. She's probably one of those people who says that age is just a number. I enjoyed the POV characters (mostly) and in particular I liked that all of the characters had some kind of secret or deeper layer that wasn't obvious at first glance.
Although this helped to fill some of the holes, it also opened up a lot of new holes. What were they all doing up until this book? What was/is her relationship like with her husband and son? With her brother? One small nitpick: I wasn't a huge fan of how Han was portrayed in this - he came across a bit flat (and it gave me some Ron/Hermione vibes - i.e. how are they still together?! They're so different!).
It was an enjoyable read (finished it on a lockdown holiday spent sitting in the sun in the garden!) and it was nice to get into Leia's head for a while. She definitely doesn't get as much attention as she deserves.
I'm impressed with how Leia is portrayed in this book. I sometimes struggled to remember her age (despite the constant reminders) because she definitely comes across as young at heart and quite youthful in this - but that's probably accurate. She's probably one of those people who says that age is just a number. I enjoyed the POV characters (mostly) and in particular I liked that all of the characters had some kind of secret or deeper layer that wasn't obvious at first glance.
Although this helped to fill some of the holes, it also opened up a lot of new holes. What were they all doing up until this book? What was/is her relationship like with her husband and son? With her brother? One small nitpick: I wasn't a huge fan of how Han was portrayed in this - he came across a bit flat (and it gave me some Ron/Hermione vibes - i.e. how are they still together?! They're so different!).
It was an enjoyable read (finished it on a lockdown holiday spent sitting in the sun in the garden!) and it was nice to get into Leia's head for a while. She definitely doesn't get as much attention as she deserves.
lee_bean's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
If I had read this book with just my eyes alone it probably would have been a 2 star read for me; however, the audiobook was BANGING. I have tried listening to audiobooks multiple times and hated them every time, but decided to give audiobooks one more chance with Bloodline to help me finish it. Mind blown.
bdingz's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I love the way Claudia Gray writes Leia—and she introduced a number of compelling characters in this story. I saw some of the plot points coming but there were still a handful of surprises.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Slavery, Murder, Vomit, War, and Suicide
austex_93's review against another edition
3.0
I gotta say...this was not a page- turner, BUT there were moments here and there that kept the book going. I love Princess Leia's character, and that's what I appreciate the most about this book. From her senator/peacekeeper side, to the warrior/spy escapdes. Overall, it was a very political yet thrilling novel. Would recommend for Princess Leia fans.
mkpatt's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good Leia story. I haven't read a lot of the new Star Wars books lately and this one was set to give some back story to the whole First Order storyline. I do prefer the ones that have a little more action and more Jedi type stories, but all in all this one wasn't bad and was pleasant listening to while I was driving.
jloganr's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Storyline was interesting, audiobook production was top notch as always. Just thought some of the writing/prose was pretty amateur. Lot's of head scratching word choices and sentence structures. Needed one more draft and it would've been a 4 or 4.5. It also was a bit slow at the start but once things get to the second half of the book it really picks up, and the revelation to the rest of the galaxy that her and Luke are the children of Darth Vader was cool. Also that means people now know that Anakin became Vader and it seems like a bigger deal should've been made of that too. Maybe that's covered in a different book though.
Weirdly enough I wish there was more political maneuvering and we saw more of that side of things, and less of the espionage side missions with the other characters. Gimmie Leia being a master politician like we always hear about.
Also the very end was rushed, and the whole Resistance thing felt pretty shoehorned in.
Weirdly enough I wish there was more political maneuvering and we saw more of that side of things, and less of the espionage side missions with the other characters. Gimmie Leia being a master politician like we always hear about.
Also the very end was rushed, and the whole Resistance thing felt pretty shoehorned in.
hom's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0