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I knew I was in trouble from the first chapter, when Wedge reflected on that thing that Han "always said": fly casual. He "always" said that, did he? Are you sure it wasn't just a random line he happened to say once in one of the original movies, regurgitated here for the dopamine hit certain fans seem to get when they can turn to each other and crow, "He said the thing!"?
This book was everything I find annoying in Star Wars(TM). Repetition of OT lines was of course rife; poor Admiral Ackbar has never said the word "trap" so often and so meaninglessly. The characters were boring; the good guys were especially bland, with even the bounty hunter unable to muster a bit of moral ambiguity, and with several instances of the most egregious plot armour I've ever read. The dialogue was more interested in being pithy than in sounding like a person spoke it. Worldbuilding mostly amounted to name-dropping creatures and places with which we were already familiar, or repurposing things that exist in the real world.
But the worst thing wasn't any of that. It was Wendig's writing. I don't mind present tense in theory, but it needs to be used judiciously and with skill, and that is not done here, so it's just off-putting. The same can be said for Wendig's use of similes, but even more so. To put it lightly, they were excessive. Worse, they totally failed in their purpose. Similes are meant to paint an extra-strong picture, but that is impossible when Wendig insists on comparing things with other things we've never seen before. It makes my face look like that of a hundak that just lost its goopah. Can you picture that? No? Me neither, but I guess it sounds all Star Wars-y, which we all know was really the point, wasn't it?
I guess I shouldn't complain. When Wendig makes his occasional forays into similes that make sense, they're truly terrible, so perhaps it's for the best that he stays in the realm of indecipherable nonsense.
I should also note that I listened to the audiobook. That was both a blessing and a curse. The enhanced experience with all the sound effects and voices etc were good fun, very immersive. On the other hand, Marc Thompson was irritating as hell. He's obviously a talented voice actor, but he made some extremely annoying choices with some major characters, and the way he intensified his narration was often jarring and sometimes completely out of place. Unfortunately, I think he only highlighted a lot of Wendig's failings, particularly the poor dialogue and occasionally clunky pacing.
Why two stars, after all this? Probably just because of the production, to be honest. Also, I liked Mr Bones. Yeah. One star just for him.
This book was everything I find annoying in Star Wars(TM). Repetition of OT lines was of course rife; poor Admiral Ackbar has never said the word "trap" so often and so meaninglessly. The characters were boring; the good guys were especially bland, with even the bounty hunter unable to muster a bit of moral ambiguity, and with several instances of the most egregious plot armour I've ever read. The dialogue was more interested in being pithy than in sounding like a person spoke it. Worldbuilding mostly amounted to name-dropping creatures and places with which we were already familiar, or repurposing things that exist in the real world.
But the worst thing wasn't any of that. It was Wendig's writing. I don't mind present tense in theory, but it needs to be used judiciously and with skill, and that is not done here, so it's just off-putting. The same can be said for Wendig's use of similes, but even more so. To put it lightly, they were excessive. Worse, they totally failed in their purpose. Similes are meant to paint an extra-strong picture, but that is impossible when Wendig insists on comparing things with other things we've never seen before. It makes my face look like that of a hundak that just lost its goopah. Can you picture that? No? Me neither, but I guess it sounds all Star Wars-y, which we all know was really the point, wasn't it?
I guess I shouldn't complain. When Wendig makes his occasional forays into similes that make sense, they're truly terrible, so perhaps it's for the best that he stays in the realm of indecipherable nonsense.
I should also note that I listened to the audiobook. That was both a blessing and a curse. The enhanced experience with all the sound effects and voices etc were good fun, very immersive. On the other hand, Marc Thompson was irritating as hell. He's obviously a talented voice actor, but he made some extremely annoying choices with some major characters, and the way he intensified his narration was often jarring and sometimes completely out of place. Unfortunately, I think he only highlighted a lot of Wendig's failings, particularly the poor dialogue and occasionally clunky pacing.
Why two stars, after all this? Probably just because of the production, to be honest. Also, I liked Mr Bones. Yeah. One star just for him.