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!

 

I Call It a "Laser"

James Luceno  “Tarkin:  Star Wars” (Del Rey, 2014)

OK, I THINK this one is actually canon.  I know that all the earlier novels were expelled from the Council of Nicaea or whatever.  But they’ve started writing new novels, & so this is one of the new, now canonical works.  It would be so much easier if they just threw away canon like Doctor Who fandom.

Tarkin is focused on Grand Moff Tarkin, the evil commander from the first Star Wars movie.  There’s a burgeoning rebellion that needs to be crushed & Tarkin is building a huge base that will do some destroying.

This was a fun, if slight novel.  Unfortunately I put its flaws right at the feet of James Luceno.  First, it feels as if Luceno never met exposition that he didn’t like.  Wow.  The amount of talk:show is seriously out of balance.

And what unfortunately makes this imbalance even worse is that it is so mired in continuity.  I’m not a huge Star Wars geek.  I’ve seen the movies.  I’ve read some books.  I’ve read some comics.  I’ve watched a few cartoons.  But wow!  I was really having trouble keeping up with all the names etc that were batted around without any references.

This is not a book for someone interested in getting involved in the SW book universe.  This is a book for those already invested in the peripherals.  If you’re new to this, check out the James SA Corey novel from earlier this year, that one was much more newbie friendly.

Embrace Your Inner Nerd, Luke!

James SA Corey “Honor Among Thieves” (LucasBooks, 2014)

In the past I’ve not been a big fan of tie-in fiction, but when I saw this I was very excited.   I’m a big fan of the Expanse series (Corey’s space opera series) & thought that their aesthetic could do very good things in the Star Wars universe.  So what’s the deal and how did it work out?

The setup is simple and fairly small for a galaxy spanning universe.  It’s after the destruction of the Death Star, but before the Rebels have created much infrastructure of their own.  Han is sent on a mission to smuggle a rebel spy from an Empire world.  One thing leads to another and it’s a battle for technology that makes the Death Star look like a pop gun.

How does Corey do?  I was blown away.  The characters from the movies seemed to be spot on in their depictions.  The new creations were fitting to what we know of the SW universe.  The plotting was tight and action packed.  I flew through this novel.

I’m not a hard core SW fan.  So if you are then YMMV.  But for the casual fan, Honor Among Thieves is a blast.