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jaredkwheeler 's review for:
Scoundrels
by Timothy Zahn
Star Wars Legends Project #228
Background: Scoundrels was written by [a:Timothy Zahn|12479|Timothy Zahn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1215545810p2/12479.jpg] and published in January 2013. Zahn is the author of over a dozen Star Wars novels, spanning both the Legends continuity and the new official canon, most of which feature the popular characters he introduced in his Thrawn Trilogy, which also launched a new beginning for the Expanded Universe.
Scoundrels takes place a few weeks after the Battle of Yavin. The main characters are Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian, along with a whole team of, well, scoundrels which includes Winter. There is another major character who plays a role throughout, but whose identity isn't revealed until the end of the novel, so I'll forego spoilers by including that information here. The story takes place on and around the planet Wukkar.
Summary: Han Solo is a newly-minted hero of the Rebellion, but thanks to some bad luck he still has debts to pay. But then a job drops right into his lap, with one of the biggest payouts he's ever had a shot at on the other end. It's an opportunity too good to pass up, but Han and Chewie can't do it alone. He'll need a whole crew of specialists from among his most skilled underworld contacts. And with Black Sun and maybe even the Imperials involved, there's no guarantee of success, or even that all of them will walk away alive.
Review: The pitch for this novel is so strong: A classic trilogy-era, Ocean's 11-style heist starring the most beloved scoundrels in Star Wars and penned by the most celebrated EU writer. I guess it's almost inevitable that it wouldn't quite live up to those expectations. This book is . . . fine. It's enjoyable. It's a bit like a mediocre Pixar film: Not amazing by comparison to some of their masterpieces, but still better than what almost everyone else is doing. I think, ultimately, the plot of this just ended up feeling a bit overengineered to me, like I could see the way Zahn was setting up challenges and complications but also see the way they were tweaked to be surmountable. Either that, or I just didn't follow it as well as I thought I did because there was a LOT going on, and the twists and surprises start to come thick and fast towards the end.
Now, far be it from me to complain too much about the inclusion of characters I like in a good story, but I did kind of question the use of both Winter and Lando here. Winter's appearance in this story felt like an insane coincidence, and I wasn't sure why it was necessary that it be a coincidence. I kept waiting to find out that it wasn't really, but not only did that never happen, Han and Winter never had a moment where they both realized that they have a mutual connection in Princess Leia (who Winter believes dead at this point). It's possible that this is because of some scene in an upcoming novel or comic that I'm just not aware of, but . . . I don't know. It was a little odd. As for Lando, this is now the SECOND time between his MAJOR falling out with Han and their reunion on Bespin when they've worked together as allies on a job, and . . . that just doesn't feel like it makes sense on a character level. Both of these roles felt like they could have been as easily filled by other characters.
But overall, this is a fast and engaging read with less substance than I'd prefer, but lots to like and plenty of entertainment.
A-
Background: Scoundrels was written by [a:Timothy Zahn|12479|Timothy Zahn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1215545810p2/12479.jpg] and published in January 2013. Zahn is the author of over a dozen Star Wars novels, spanning both the Legends continuity and the new official canon, most of which feature the popular characters he introduced in his Thrawn Trilogy, which also launched a new beginning for the Expanded Universe.
Scoundrels takes place a few weeks after the Battle of Yavin. The main characters are Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian, along with a whole team of, well, scoundrels which includes Winter. There is another major character who plays a role throughout, but whose identity isn't revealed until the end of the novel, so I'll forego spoilers by including that information here. The story takes place on and around the planet Wukkar.
Summary: Han Solo is a newly-minted hero of the Rebellion, but thanks to some bad luck he still has debts to pay. But then a job drops right into his lap, with one of the biggest payouts he's ever had a shot at on the other end. It's an opportunity too good to pass up, but Han and Chewie can't do it alone. He'll need a whole crew of specialists from among his most skilled underworld contacts. And with Black Sun and maybe even the Imperials involved, there's no guarantee of success, or even that all of them will walk away alive.
Review: The pitch for this novel is so strong: A classic trilogy-era, Ocean's 11-style heist starring the most beloved scoundrels in Star Wars and penned by the most celebrated EU writer. I guess it's almost inevitable that it wouldn't quite live up to those expectations. This book is . . . fine. It's enjoyable. It's a bit like a mediocre Pixar film: Not amazing by comparison to some of their masterpieces, but still better than what almost everyone else is doing. I think, ultimately, the plot of this just ended up feeling a bit overengineered to me, like I could see the way Zahn was setting up challenges and complications but also see the way they were tweaked to be surmountable. Either that, or I just didn't follow it as well as I thought I did because there was a LOT going on, and the twists and surprises start to come thick and fast towards the end.
Now, far be it from me to complain too much about the inclusion of characters I like in a good story, but I did kind of question the use of both Winter and Lando here. Winter's appearance in this story felt like an insane coincidence, and I wasn't sure why it was necessary that it be a coincidence. I kept waiting to find out that it wasn't really, but not only did that never happen, Han and Winter never had a moment where they both realized that they have a mutual connection in Princess Leia (who Winter believes dead at this point). It's possible that this is because of some scene in an upcoming novel or comic that I'm just not aware of, but . . . I don't know. It was a little odd. As for Lando, this is now the SECOND time between his MAJOR falling out with Han and their reunion on Bespin when they've worked together as allies on a job, and . . . that just doesn't feel like it makes sense on a character level. Both of these roles felt like they could have been as easily filled by other characters.
But overall, this is a fast and engaging read with less substance than I'd prefer, but lots to like and plenty of entertainment.
A-