Wednesday, March 11, 2015

I Know the Force is Real. I've Felt It.

Kevin Hearne “Heir to the Jedi: Star Wars” (Del Rey Spectra, 2015)
Since the decision to do a soft reboot on the EU, I’ve been selectively checking out the new novels.  The fact that they’re hiring some high profile writers to play in their sandbox is intriguing to me. Kevin Hearne, in case you don’t know, is the author of the popular Iron Druid urban fantasy series.  They’re fun, snarky action oriented books.

Heir to the Jedi is set after the destruction of the Death Star, but before the events in Empire.  Luke knows some stuff, but he’s still a kid fumbling around and trying to learn about Jedi lore.  

With books like this, it’s important to get your expectations correct before you start.  We already know stories before and after this one, so there’s no point pretending that Luke will die, for example.  But does the author get the voice of the character?  Is the book entertaining?  Those are the important questions.

And I have to answer in the affirmative.  Hearne does a good job with an unsure, YA protagonist in Luke (that’s what he is, after all).  Luke runs around & has adventures, and a fine time is had in the SW universe.

So far all of these rebooted novels have been fun.  I’m looking forward to checking out some more!
 

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