What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Wars: Aftermath #2
STAR WARS - Dívida de honra
O imperador está morto, e os vestígios de seu derrotado governo estão recuando. Na emocionante continuação de STAR WARS: Marcas da guerra, a Nova República luta para instaurar uma paz estável na galáxia após a destruição da segunda Estrela da Morte. É um momento de novos começos e novos destinos e, para Han Solo, isso significa pagar uma última dívida, ajudando Chewbacca a libertar seu mundo natal, Kashyyyk. Enquanto isso, o grupo de Norra Wexley persegue agentes imperiais remanescentes pela galáxia, levando-os à justiça. Mas ainda não conseguiram capturar a grã-almirante Rae Sloane, a nova líder do Império, uma mente ardilosa e disposta a tudo para restaurar a antiga ordem política. A caça a Sloane é interrompida quando Norra recebe um pedido de ajuda urgente da princesa Leia Organa. Em sua tentativa de libertar Kashyyyk, Han e seu grupo de contrabandistas caíram em uma emboscada, que resultou na captura de Chewie e no desaparecimento de Han. Agora, alguém precisa resgatá-los; e quem melhor que esse desajustado time, que inclui agentes rebeldes, um ex-imperial, uma caçadora de recompensas, um aspirante a piloto e um droide psicopata, para trazer Han Solo de volta para casa? Ao aceitar a missão e seguir para a última localização da Millenium Falcon, Norra e sua equipe se preparam para qualquer desafio que possa dificultar essa busca. Mas eles nem imaginam a verdadeira dimensão dos perigos que os aguardam – ou a crueldade implacável do inimigo que os está encurralando.
436 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2016
1054 people are currently reading
11733 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Wendig
183 books7,276 followersChuck Wendig is a novelist, a screenwriter, and a freelance penmonkey.
He has contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP).
He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is a fellow of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter's Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, will show at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producer Ted Hope.
Chuck's novel Double Dead will be out in November, 2011.
He's written too much. He should probably stop. Give him a wide berth, as he might be drunk and untrustworthy. He currently lives in the wilds of Pennsyltucky with a wonderful wife and two very stupid dogs. He is represented by Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
You can find him at his website, terribleminds.com.
He has contributed over two million words to the roleplaying game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP).
He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is a fellow of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter's Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, will show at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producer Ted Hope.
Chuck's novel Double Dead will be out in November, 2011.
He's written too much. He should probably stop. Give him a wide berth, as he might be drunk and untrustworthy. He currently lives in the wilds of Pennsyltucky with a wonderful wife and two very stupid dogs. He is represented by Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
You can find him at his website, terribleminds.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,399 reviews
March 27, 2025
I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first book. It definitely boasts much more star power character wise from the original Star Wars trilogy. Leia, Han, and Chewie play a big part in this book. The book is divided into 5 parts. The first 3 parts are quite slow and more of a setup for the final two parts. These are extremely fast-paced and well done.
Norra, a decorated Rebellion ere pilot (who was one of the survivors of the attract on the second Death Star), has been leading her mismatched team to hunt down Imperials This team consists of
Sinjir, a former Imperial loyalty officer who (as far as I know one of the first homosexual characters in Star Wars), finds a different kind of prejudice in the New Republic
Jas a bounty hunter who worked mainly for the Rebellion during the Empire's era. However, many still see her as a "dirty bounty hunter." She does not help her case by doing things own way, despite the plan.
Jom an by the book Rebel/New Republic commando. He plays the straight man on the team.
Temmin, who is Norra's son, talent for engineering, and possibly piloting but need practice and focus.
Mr Bones, a psychopathic, reprogrammed, and modified battle droid. Who is ferociously loyal to his creator Temmin.
Dispite the teams mismatched members or because of all the different skill sets they get results. However, to a few of the doing the right thing, or doing it for free is new. When they get a mission from mission/call for help from a certain princess who is know not to play by the rules herself this brings them in conflict with not only the New Republic, but eachother as well.
This book is great character development. If the first 3/5 of the book was a little bit faster paced, I would have definitely given this 5 stars. I also like the way the original is used, I love one of the lines used to describe Leia: "There is more rouge in her, the in him." There is also some of the background framework leading to the Force Awakens as well. Trust me, you will know it when you read it.
Norra, a decorated Rebellion ere pilot (who was one of the survivors of the attract on the second Death Star), has been leading her mismatched team to hunt down Imperials This team consists of
Sinjir, a former Imperial loyalty officer who (as far as I know one of the first homosexual characters in Star Wars), finds a different kind of prejudice in the New Republic
Jas a bounty hunter who worked mainly for the Rebellion during the Empire's era. However, many still see her as a "dirty bounty hunter." She does not help her case by doing things own way, despite the plan.
Jom an by the book Rebel/New Republic commando. He plays the straight man on the team.
Temmin, who is Norra's son, talent for engineering, and possibly piloting but need practice and focus.
Mr Bones, a psychopathic, reprogrammed, and modified battle droid. Who is ferociously loyal to his creator Temmin.
Dispite the teams mismatched members or because of all the different skill sets they get results. However, to a few of the doing the right thing, or doing it for free is new. When they get a mission from mission/call for help from a certain princess who is know not to play by the rules herself this brings them in conflict with not only the New Republic, but eachother as well.
This book is great character development. If the first 3/5 of the book was a little bit faster paced, I would have definitely given this 5 stars. I also like the way the original is used, I love one of the lines used to describe Leia: "There is more rouge in her, the in him." There is also some of the background framework leading to the Force Awakens as well. Trust me, you will know it when you read it.
July 16, 2016
Yawn.
That’s all I’ve got to say about this book. Well, I’ll squeeze in a little bit more. I mean it’s the least I could do considering how this book is packed full of filler material and worthless storytelling. So I might as well do the same in my review when one word would serve as a conduit of my opinions. Read on if my single word wasn’t enough to convince you.
This was terrible. The plot is practically non-existent. It’s like the author had a one chapter situation, two at best, and he milked it for an entire excruciatingly dull novel. This barely felt like Star Wars. Star Wars is supposed to be exciting. It’s supposed to be about light verses darkness and the struggles of those that full between the boundaries of morality; it is supposed to be about those that struggle to find a sense of self in a galaxy torn between chaotic freedom and totalitarian control: it is supposed to be dramatic and conflicted with emotion and power. Instead, Wendig gives us a load of bantha fodder: he gives us some watered down semblance of the Star Wars universe. And it tastes most bitter.
This really doesn’t have a lot going for it. The Empire is crumbling, we got that from the first book, and its survivors are pushing it into something else: the First order. That’s pretty much it. It’s all bureaucracy and administration without the flair that makes the politics dramatic and detrimental to the galaxy. We see very little of the characters. We’re vaguely aware that Han Solo is trying to liberate the wookie home world, but see very little of it until the end. The story is driven heavily by dialogue, and it fails to create a sense of inner turmoil or decision making. The narration is almost like stage directions. It’s bare, expressionless, and rather odd in a novel format. It needed some life in the writing, and some cohesion within the story. This should have been Solo’s adventure.
And that’s one of the main problems. The book is all over the place with random interludes and brief character entrances. It’s was difficult to tell which direction the story was going in or which part of the story was most significant. After the first hundred or so pages, I wasn’t entirely sure what had actually happened. It’s like we have be given brief glimpses of a random selection of characters that aren’t important in the whole plot. A story needs some sense of focus early on to bring everything together. At times, I felt like this relied on presumptive knowledge in the readers mind. What this needed was a sense of focus because most of it was waffle.
I won't be reading the third book.
That’s all I’ve got to say about this book. Well, I’ll squeeze in a little bit more. I mean it’s the least I could do considering how this book is packed full of filler material and worthless storytelling. So I might as well do the same in my review when one word would serve as a conduit of my opinions. Read on if my single word wasn’t enough to convince you.
This was terrible. The plot is practically non-existent. It’s like the author had a one chapter situation, two at best, and he milked it for an entire excruciatingly dull novel. This barely felt like Star Wars. Star Wars is supposed to be exciting. It’s supposed to be about light verses darkness and the struggles of those that full between the boundaries of morality; it is supposed to be about those that struggle to find a sense of self in a galaxy torn between chaotic freedom and totalitarian control: it is supposed to be dramatic and conflicted with emotion and power. Instead, Wendig gives us a load of bantha fodder: he gives us some watered down semblance of the Star Wars universe. And it tastes most bitter.
This really doesn’t have a lot going for it. The Empire is crumbling, we got that from the first book, and its survivors are pushing it into something else: the First order. That’s pretty much it. It’s all bureaucracy and administration without the flair that makes the politics dramatic and detrimental to the galaxy. We see very little of the characters. We’re vaguely aware that Han Solo is trying to liberate the wookie home world, but see very little of it until the end. The story is driven heavily by dialogue, and it fails to create a sense of inner turmoil or decision making. The narration is almost like stage directions. It’s bare, expressionless, and rather odd in a novel format. It needed some life in the writing, and some cohesion within the story. This should have been Solo’s adventure.
And that’s one of the main problems. The book is all over the place with random interludes and brief character entrances. It’s was difficult to tell which direction the story was going in or which part of the story was most significant. After the first hundred or so pages, I wasn’t entirely sure what had actually happened. It’s like we have be given brief glimpses of a random selection of characters that aren’t important in the whole plot. A story needs some sense of focus early on to bring everything together. At times, I felt like this relied on presumptive knowledge in the readers mind. What this needed was a sense of focus because most of it was waffle.
I won't be reading the third book.
August 12, 2016
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/08/12/...
To kick off this review, I just want to say that I actually didn’t think the first Aftermath was all that bad. As you’d recall all the hubbub, the criticism over that book was harsh, perhaps more so than I thought was warranted. That said, for a Star Wars novel I also thought this book’s predecessor was mediocre to okay at best—especially when compared to such gems in the new canon like Lost Stars by Claudia Gray or Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. While flavorful and entertaining, the story of Aftermath and its characters were completely forgettable. This was evidenced by my chagrin when, as I started reading the first few pages of Life Debt, I realized I could barely recall anything that happened in the first book, or remember any of the main characters’ names.
The good news though, is that Life Debt is a much better book. In my opinion, this sequel improves upon many of the problems that plagued the first novel, giving me a lot more reasons to care about the story and what happens to these characters.
Taking place in the “aftermath” of Aftermath, Life Debt follows the adventures of Norra Wexley and her band of mercenaries across the galaxy, as they continue to doggedly hunt down the remnants of Imperial leadership. The main prize is Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, with whom the team has had run-ins with before. Sloane, however, is trying to hatch up a plan of her own, keeping a low profile as she tries to rally the remaining Imperial forces who regard her as the new de facto leader of the Empire. But behind the scenes, there is another shadowy operator pulling the strings, manipulating both the Imperials and the fledgling New Republic, and his agenda is a lot less clear.
Meanwhile, Princess Leia receives a disturbing message from Han Solo before the transmission was cut off, making her fear the worst for her husband. She beseeches Norra and her crew to track him down, which leads them to a prison complex on Kashyyyk where the Wookiees are currently locked in conflict with the Empire over their home world.
I’ve long been a fan of Chuck Wendig’s urban fantasy, a genre which perfectly suits his raw, gritty writing style. But when it came to Star Wars, the fit did not seem quite right. This was made obvious in Aftermath with his use of short, bursty sentences and tendency to include many modern colloquialisms and awkward terms that jolted me right out of the immersion. Thankfully, he’s a lot more sparing with these in Life Debt, which was only the first of many other steps in the right direction. When Wendig isn’t trying so hard to force Star Wars to match his style, instead making it the other way around so that he adapts his writing to the Star Wars universe, the results are actually much, much better.
Another issue I had with the first book was how far removed it felt from the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, especially when the publisher was pushing it as the “bridge novel” between the two movies. To be fair, I don’t really fault the book for the hype created by marketing, but I was a little disappointed by the bare-bones structure of Aftermath, with its fluffy story and what felt like throwaway characters that had no impact on the universe whatsoever. Going into Life Debt, I didn’t have that many expectations, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised. We no longer have to sit through any more origin stories for the characters, so we’re diving straight into the action and getting more opportunities to learn about their personalities and relationships.
The inclusion of original trilogy characters, both major and minor, also helped. For example, Leia and Han were only bit players in this book, but their presence created a palpable connection between Norra Wexley, Temmin Wexley, Jas Emari, Sinjir Rath Velus, Jom Barell, and Mr. Bones with the rest of the Star Wars universe. Watching Wedge Antilles try to romance Norra was also hilarious. The point is, the Aftermath team has finally made their mark on the New Republic through their actions, and it’ll be harder to forget them now. The story on the Empire side was also a lot more interesting this time around, with Admiral Rae Sloane fighting her own secret war within the Imperial ranks. She is the sole beacon of competence amidst the remains of a weakened and crumbling Empire, but she probably has less authority than anyone, including herself, realizes. Her character has come a long way for me since she was first introduced in A New Dawn, and now she’s one of my favorites.
There were some lingering issues, of course. These pesky interludes continue to vex me, packing on a lot more bulk than was necessary without really adding much substance. Clearly, they’re meant to be a defining feature of this trilogy though, so I had suspected that they weren’t going to go away. Certain characters are also very derivative of other Star Wars personalities we’ve seen before. The villain revealed here feels like a new Thrawn, for instance, and reading parts of this book gave me flashbacks to certain episodes of Star Wars Rebels, with their team dynamics being somewhat similar, right down to the mother figure, bounty hunter, a boy and his crazy droid, etc. Not all of these parallels were necessarily bad though, especially when they actually helped me get into the story.
All told, I’m glad I gave this trilogy another chance, though in truth, I probably would have read it anyway, considering my ongoing quest to read and review all the adult novels in the new Star Wars canon. No surprise then that I would recommend this to other Star Wars completionists. But now, I would say even if you don’t consider yourself a hardcore Star Wars fan, but maybe you’re still interested in checking out some the tie-in fiction, then you might wish to take a look at this series. I don’t think I would have said the same after reading just Aftermath, but Life Debt has shown me there is going to be more to this trilogy, and I find myself looking forward to see how everything will play out in book three, Empire’s End.
To kick off this review, I just want to say that I actually didn’t think the first Aftermath was all that bad. As you’d recall all the hubbub, the criticism over that book was harsh, perhaps more so than I thought was warranted. That said, for a Star Wars novel I also thought this book’s predecessor was mediocre to okay at best—especially when compared to such gems in the new canon like Lost Stars by Claudia Gray or Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. While flavorful and entertaining, the story of Aftermath and its characters were completely forgettable. This was evidenced by my chagrin when, as I started reading the first few pages of Life Debt, I realized I could barely recall anything that happened in the first book, or remember any of the main characters’ names.
The good news though, is that Life Debt is a much better book. In my opinion, this sequel improves upon many of the problems that plagued the first novel, giving me a lot more reasons to care about the story and what happens to these characters.
Taking place in the “aftermath” of Aftermath, Life Debt follows the adventures of Norra Wexley and her band of mercenaries across the galaxy, as they continue to doggedly hunt down the remnants of Imperial leadership. The main prize is Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, with whom the team has had run-ins with before. Sloane, however, is trying to hatch up a plan of her own, keeping a low profile as she tries to rally the remaining Imperial forces who regard her as the new de facto leader of the Empire. But behind the scenes, there is another shadowy operator pulling the strings, manipulating both the Imperials and the fledgling New Republic, and his agenda is a lot less clear.
Meanwhile, Princess Leia receives a disturbing message from Han Solo before the transmission was cut off, making her fear the worst for her husband. She beseeches Norra and her crew to track him down, which leads them to a prison complex on Kashyyyk where the Wookiees are currently locked in conflict with the Empire over their home world.
I’ve long been a fan of Chuck Wendig’s urban fantasy, a genre which perfectly suits his raw, gritty writing style. But when it came to Star Wars, the fit did not seem quite right. This was made obvious in Aftermath with his use of short, bursty sentences and tendency to include many modern colloquialisms and awkward terms that jolted me right out of the immersion. Thankfully, he’s a lot more sparing with these in Life Debt, which was only the first of many other steps in the right direction. When Wendig isn’t trying so hard to force Star Wars to match his style, instead making it the other way around so that he adapts his writing to the Star Wars universe, the results are actually much, much better.
Another issue I had with the first book was how far removed it felt from the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, especially when the publisher was pushing it as the “bridge novel” between the two movies. To be fair, I don’t really fault the book for the hype created by marketing, but I was a little disappointed by the bare-bones structure of Aftermath, with its fluffy story and what felt like throwaway characters that had no impact on the universe whatsoever. Going into Life Debt, I didn’t have that many expectations, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised. We no longer have to sit through any more origin stories for the characters, so we’re diving straight into the action and getting more opportunities to learn about their personalities and relationships.
The inclusion of original trilogy characters, both major and minor, also helped. For example, Leia and Han were only bit players in this book, but their presence created a palpable connection between Norra Wexley, Temmin Wexley, Jas Emari, Sinjir Rath Velus, Jom Barell, and Mr. Bones with the rest of the Star Wars universe. Watching Wedge Antilles try to romance Norra was also hilarious. The point is, the Aftermath team has finally made their mark on the New Republic through their actions, and it’ll be harder to forget them now. The story on the Empire side was also a lot more interesting this time around, with Admiral Rae Sloane fighting her own secret war within the Imperial ranks. She is the sole beacon of competence amidst the remains of a weakened and crumbling Empire, but she probably has less authority than anyone, including herself, realizes. Her character has come a long way for me since she was first introduced in A New Dawn, and now she’s one of my favorites.
There were some lingering issues, of course. These pesky interludes continue to vex me, packing on a lot more bulk than was necessary without really adding much substance. Clearly, they’re meant to be a defining feature of this trilogy though, so I had suspected that they weren’t going to go away. Certain characters are also very derivative of other Star Wars personalities we’ve seen before. The villain revealed here feels like a new Thrawn, for instance, and reading parts of this book gave me flashbacks to certain episodes of Star Wars Rebels, with their team dynamics being somewhat similar, right down to the mother figure, bounty hunter, a boy and his crazy droid, etc. Not all of these parallels were necessarily bad though, especially when they actually helped me get into the story.
All told, I’m glad I gave this trilogy another chance, though in truth, I probably would have read it anyway, considering my ongoing quest to read and review all the adult novels in the new Star Wars canon. No surprise then that I would recommend this to other Star Wars completionists. But now, I would say even if you don’t consider yourself a hardcore Star Wars fan, but maybe you’re still interested in checking out some the tie-in fiction, then you might wish to take a look at this series. I don’t think I would have said the same after reading just Aftermath, but Life Debt has shown me there is going to be more to this trilogy, and I find myself looking forward to see how everything will play out in book three, Empire’s End.
August 7, 2016
Executive Summary: Now that's more like it. This book is so much better than the first one, that I almost want to drop my rating of that book further. If like me you were pretty underwhelmed by Aftermath, you might want to consider giving this one a shot anyways.
Audiobook: Marc Thompson is phenomenal. I likely wouldn't have read this book if I didn't get a free review copy of the audio book. All the Star Wars books are high production value with sound effects and music (stuff that normally annoys me in other books incidentally). Marc Thompson is so good though that nothing else really compares. I don't know how many voices the guy can do, but he's a one man radio play. Do this book in audio, you won't regret it.
Full Review
So I'm still pretty new to the Star Wars EU. This is only the seventh Star Wars book I've read, and four of them are no longer cannon. I found Aftermath to be the most underwhelming of those I've read. I'm not sure if it's that so few of the characters I knew/loved were largely absent, or if Mr. Wendig was handcuffed by his book coming out before the Force Awakens rather than after. Either way, this book was a vast improvement to me over the first.
The story still largely focuses on the characters introduced in the last book. I originally found them mostly uninteresting, but that seemed to change with this book. I'm not sure if it's because their story no longer felt small/unimportant in the grand scheme of the larger Star Wars universe, or because I liked them more than I realized. Jas continues to be my favorite of the bunch, but I found myself happier to Nora, Sinjir, Temmin and Mr. Bones than I expected to be.
Finally though, we see some of the big players in the Star Wars universe. There are no longer on the periphery, but important to the story of Mr. Wendig's original characters. The first book did a lot to set things up I guess, but I found myself largely uninterested. Initially I was thinking this book was going to be more of the same, but somewhere around the 25-30% mark this book really ramped things up. Now I couldn't wait to listen, and really wanted to know what came next.
In this world of media overload, it's a lot to ask someone to "get through 1.25 books for the story to be worth it", however for anyone whose already read the first book, I think it's more than worth it to give the series another shot with this book.
We finally get to see some of the ties this book has to not only the original series, but to the Force Awakens. It's possible (likely?) there were some things in the first book I just overlooked because I had yet to see the movie, but even in this book I found them just the smallest connections so far. Like what's so great about Jakku?
I suspect in the third book we may get more clarification on things that have been set up so far. At least I hope so. I probably hate spoilers more than most people, but I hope Mr. Wendig's third book won't feel like it's been handcuffed by episode 8, much like the first one did by The Force Awakens.
I wasn't planning to pick this one up until a review copy fell in my lap, but now I can't wait to see what happens next. This one is definitely up there as a possibility of my favorite Star Wars book (as short of a list as that may be). I don't really expect to dive deep into the vast chasm of the Star Wars books, but I'm glad I gave this series a second try. I'll definitely be picking up the third one when it comes out.
Audiobook: Marc Thompson is phenomenal. I likely wouldn't have read this book if I didn't get a free review copy of the audio book. All the Star Wars books are high production value with sound effects and music (stuff that normally annoys me in other books incidentally). Marc Thompson is so good though that nothing else really compares. I don't know how many voices the guy can do, but he's a one man radio play. Do this book in audio, you won't regret it.
Full Review
So I'm still pretty new to the Star Wars EU. This is only the seventh Star Wars book I've read, and four of them are no longer cannon. I found Aftermath to be the most underwhelming of those I've read. I'm not sure if it's that so few of the characters I knew/loved were largely absent, or if Mr. Wendig was handcuffed by his book coming out before the Force Awakens rather than after. Either way, this book was a vast improvement to me over the first.
The story still largely focuses on the characters introduced in the last book. I originally found them mostly uninteresting, but that seemed to change with this book. I'm not sure if it's because their story no longer felt small/unimportant in the grand scheme of the larger Star Wars universe, or because I liked them more than I realized. Jas continues to be my favorite of the bunch, but I found myself happier to Nora, Sinjir, Temmin and Mr. Bones than I expected to be.
Finally though, we see some of the big players in the Star Wars universe. There are no longer on the periphery, but important to the story of Mr. Wendig's original characters. The first book did a lot to set things up I guess, but I found myself largely uninterested. Initially I was thinking this book was going to be more of the same, but somewhere around the 25-30% mark this book really ramped things up. Now I couldn't wait to listen, and really wanted to know what came next.
In this world of media overload, it's a lot to ask someone to "get through 1.25 books for the story to be worth it", however for anyone whose already read the first book, I think it's more than worth it to give the series another shot with this book.
We finally get to see some of the ties this book has to not only the original series, but to the Force Awakens. It's possible (likely?) there were some things in the first book I just overlooked because I had yet to see the movie, but even in this book I found them just the smallest connections so far. Like what's so great about Jakku?
I suspect in the third book we may get more clarification on things that have been set up so far. At least I hope so. I probably hate spoilers more than most people, but I hope Mr. Wendig's third book won't feel like it's been handcuffed by episode 8, much like the first one did by The Force Awakens.
I wasn't planning to pick this one up until a review copy fell in my lap, but now I can't wait to see what happens next. This one is definitely up there as a possibility of my favorite Star Wars book (as short of a list as that may be). I don't really expect to dive deep into the vast chasm of the Star Wars books, but I'm glad I gave this series a second try. I'll definitely be picking up the third one when it comes out.
July 13, 2016
Everyone is allowed to make at least one monumental screw up in their life. Really, so many creators tend to primarily learn from their mistakes that second chances have almost become expected to allow a series to grow and develop. Even if an initial installment was a complete disaster, failing in such an inexplicable way you have to wonder if the creative force behind it was perpetually drunk throughout the whole thing, there's still hope they'll listen to criticism and improve. Star Wars: Aftermath Life Debt is the first book which has not only made me genuinely regret keeping such an open mind, but genuinely question how someone like Chuck Wendig can maintain a successful career as a writer.
Not only does Life Debt fail to improve upon almost any of Aftermath's failings, but it manages to invent a few entirely new ones along the way. While readers won't be treated to him openly pissing on the Thrawn trilogy in the introductory pages, the poor direction, awful characterisation, meandering plot and inhumanly bad prose manage to hit rock bottom and still somehow keep sinking. Yes, we're looking at a book so excruciating to read that, were someone to inform me that Beelzebub were involved in its creation, it would only answer several burning questions.
The plot is the sort of thing we would normally go into next, but like Aftermath the blub is a complete and utter lie. The very title itself is an obvious reference to Chewbacca's long standing debt to Han Solo, and the story even references an attempted liberation of Kashyyyk going horribly wrong. This is supposed to be the core focus here, with the series' merry band of personal heroes trying to hunt down the missing Captain Solo and recover him. Instead, the book drags out this plot, shoving it into the background and forcing the spotlight squarely onto Wendig's creations, trying to force the audience to love them. It becomes so bad that, by the halfway point, there has been so little headway that you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a two-parter plotline.
Once again the structure here is abominably bad, almost thrown together rather than truly planned out. While Aftermath at least had some vague reason for this thanks to being churned out in a scant few months, but here there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever. The story will jump around seemingly at random, trying to build the idea of a bigger plot or universe, but it is so wildly disconnected and downright unwieldy that it becomes merely confusing as a result. While many other authors can and do succeed in pulling off a multitude of semi-connected stories across a book, Wendig fails to leave the spotlight on anything long enough to actually let it develop. Many scenes are often so rushed, so sped up and pushed past so quickly, it robs all drama or tension from the bits the book is trying to cut between. At one point Wedge (yes, he's in this and we'll get to that in a minute) is jumped by a very large and hostile assailant in a traditional dramatic closing moment. Barely two pages later, and the book cuts back, instantly resolving the whole problem in a matter of seconds. Congratulations, you almost managed to hold the tension long enough to make the reader actually care.
If it seems as if this whole point of structure is being harped upon, consider this for a moment - Were Wendig to write A Song of Fire and Ice (or Game of Thrones if you wish) novel, he would be bouncing back and forth between characters continents apart every five paragraphs. Were he to write a Gaunt's Ghosts novel, moments such as the build-up to Bragg's death or Cuu's rampage would be skipped entirely, and the murders involved likely listed offhand by a character later on. It doesn't just destroy any sense of pathos, it annihilates it, crushing down any broken remains which might leave the reader engaged in the book or reasons to give a damn. This sort of thing almost ruins it from the very start, as it doesn't even take the time to explain who the hell anyone is, where they are, describe many scenes or reintroduce the heroes before it speeds off into the plot. Even the inciting incident, the moment which drives Leia to task the heroes with finding Han is pushed past so quickly there isn't even time to properly reintroduce the character within the book.
Even if you were holding out for halfway decent descriptions, you're sadly out of luck. Wendig seems to treat details as an unnecessary bonus to scenes, and never stops to actually try and paint an image within the reader's head. Like a child forced to write an essay about the subject they hate, he does the absolute bare minimum, bereft of any enthusiasm or even engaging language. So many scenes are are nebulous, non-descriptive and bereft of atmosphere that the hanger of a Star Destroyer, tropical atoll, and even a full on space battle feel exactly the same as one another. Rather than doing enough to create the idea of a varied universe, or even broad vibrant environments, he just leaves so many scenes bereft of detail that you'll likely end up wondering where in the hell everyone is at one time or another.
Worse still, this trend once more bleeds into the battle scenes, which prove to either be incredibly sub-par or are skipped over entirely. The opening dogfight is so badly paced and put together that it's almost a non-entity within the book, and even the act of a small corvette being chased by an Imperial Star Destroyer carries all the weight and drama of an average stroll in the park. Oh, and for those briefly interested in that latter bit, the book skips both the chase and following battle scene between chapters. Even the very act of taking down seemingly all but two Super Star Destroyers is left to little more than an offhand mention, and big battles are skimmed past at every turn. Yes, the author is actively trying to avoid the very thing Star Wars is most known for.
Wendig tries to make up for the poor descriptions and lack of real world-building with an incredibly scattershot approach to things. Details are dropped at random relentlessly spammed throughout the book, until they overwhelm any real sense of immersion. It's one thing to have the book bring up bacta, compare certain descriptions with common in-universe items or even draw up comparisons with certain species, in order to create a sense of this being another world. It's another thing entirely to effectively drop them at every single opportunity, until it stops being subtly immersive or engaging, and becomes so frustrating you'll end up desperately trying to mentally edit out those details in order to make the book tolerable. There is also this odd obsession with scent and taste which quickly becomes the author's primary focus above all else. Really, skipping basic details which would stem from sight or sound, Wendig seems to use this as his fallback method of trying to flesh out a scene. The problem is that the descriptions are equally as sparse, and they often become little more than yet another method for him to throw in a few more in-universe details to try and make the book seem more alike, so this effort fails as well.
Still, all that could be saved with great characters, right? My friends, you are dead out of luck on that front as well. Let's start with the official characters first, given they are those hardest hit here. While the likes of Mon Mothma, Ackbar and a few other big names are thrown in, they might as well be listed as "Important Person X, Y, and Z" for all the impact they have. Sure, it tries to use them well as a sense of building a bigger and broader universe, but they are so firmly pushed into the background, so often out of the limelight that their existence seems like a concession more than something planned for the book. It should also go without saying that each is so bereft of any real personality that they might as well be anyone.
The only big name exceptions who stay anywhere near the spotlight are Wedge and to a much lesser extent Leia, for all the good it does them. Leia is tied up with New Republic operations and is used as little more than an excuse to try and better show off the universe with very mixed results, becoming almost a turmourous lump within the story. Chewbacca is also in this as well alongside Han, but like the others they are pushed well into the background, only emerging when the plot has absolutely no way to get around their involvement.
As for Wedge though? He's the one who suffers most here. Rather than actually involve or do these characters any kind of justice, Wendig wants to push his personal creations as hard as possible. As such, Wedge - a character who benefited the most from the original Expanded Universe - becomes little more than a joke, and a pale shadow of the heroic pilot people loved. As with Aftermath, he's beaten down at every turn, easily defeated, pushed about and turned into an utter joke for the villains and heroes to prove themselves as being badass around. Upon truly, physically, getting involved in any action, he's almost run over and crushed by a droid, forcing another character to quickly rescue him, and then play second fiddle to someone else as they perform dogfights against near impossible odds. Oh, and then out of nowhere he's turned into the love interest of said Wendig made character in order to make them more important. While it's one thing to prove a new character can hold their own in a book, it's quite another to throw existing and beloved heroes under the bus to try and prove they're worth reading about.
It doesn't help that Wendig's creations are insanely one dimensional and fueled by a toxic mix of cliches and attempted fan pandering. By the end, you'll likely be remembering them by their role rather than actual names, listing each off as "the former Imperial" "the bounty hunter" "the kid" and "that sodding droid again". When it does push for actual character development or inner thoughts, it registers on the Frank Miller scale of banal inner dilemmas. Well, minus the whores of course. Here's one such example of a mother thinking of her son:
"Is that what she wanted for him?
He's young. He's only fifteen. (Though she's reminded: His birthday is coming up soon. Time moves fast, and it only gets faster when you have children.) He just took out two TIE fighters. No - he killed two pilots. Two lives, snuffed out. The problem isn't whether they deserved their fates; those pilots signed up for war and knew what came with it. The problem is what that makes Temmin. It haunts her, suddenly. Will it haunt him? Is he too young to understand what's happening? Will one day he awaken to ghosts in his head, or will he toughen to it too quickly - will it kill the kindness inside him and make him mean like Jom Barell?"
Yes, this is an entire book of that. Are you beginning to understand just why this review is so negative? In small doses this sort of thing can work, but it's an unending torrent of navel gazing, barging into scenes and disrupting their flow. The above example? That was thrown in right in the middle of a supposed fighter battle, for what little we actually saw of it anyway.
There is also a stab at developing the Imperial side of things via a viewpoint character, seeing how it is sliding into anarchy, but this quickly becomes almost hilarious. Many of the stabs at a cloak and dagger tale of varied political elements, betrayals and power plays are so laughably obvious that the characters seem like cartoon villains. These are the sorts of foes He-Man would have been fighting in the 80s, not the kind of foe you would expect to be serving at Vader's beck and call.
All this is, of course, made infinitely worse by the present tense approach Wendig has taken to the book. This was a big criticism of Aftermath as well, and many readers complained this made the novel downright unreadable as a result. However, present tense in of itself isn't the problem. While certainly extraordinarily hard to nail down, some novels such as Know No Fear have succeeded in pulling it off, presenting engaging novels and details through it. Here though, combined with the awful descriptions, bad characterization and poor plotting, it serves as a kind of multiplier, making every shortcoming seem all the worse as a result. Combined together, it makes Aftermath: Life Debt seem like an extraordinarily poorly penned young reader's novel, the kind which relentlessly talks down to its audience; not the supposed flagship trilogy intended to kickstart a new universe.
"Terrible" doesn't do this book justice. There is likely no word in the English language which can wholly describe its unmitigated failure, and sheer lack of any redeeming quality. While it might not fall fully to the levels of certain other tales, this is the kind of story bound for that special literary hell usually reserved for Gloria Tesch creations and the Gor novels. Having assisted in murdering the old Expanded Universe, Wendig now seems to have set his sights upon maiming the new one while it is still in the crib. If the future is being forged from these novels, Star Wars will become a malformed, broken thing worthy only of a mercy killing.
If you have any love for Star Wars, any hope for a good future at all, do not buy this novel. In two decades of reading science fiction of all forms, from the works of children to the Dune saga, I have rarely encountered a book so inept as this creation. If you honestly want to see a good Star Wars novel set in the new universe, Twilight Company is still out there and is more than worthy of your hard earned cash. If you want a better one besides that, the old Expanded Universe is still there and damn near every novel - even Darksaber - is leagues above this book in terms of good storytelling. Each and every one of you reading this could have crafted a better novel than Wendig, and honestly I actually encourage you to do so. Try practicing your own skills for a bit, try experimenting with your prose or to craft a short story, then apply to Disney for work. If they're allowing a trilogy so poorly crafted as Aftermath to be their flagship release, they'll likely accept damn near anyone for future books.
Not only does Life Debt fail to improve upon almost any of Aftermath's failings, but it manages to invent a few entirely new ones along the way. While readers won't be treated to him openly pissing on the Thrawn trilogy in the introductory pages, the poor direction, awful characterisation, meandering plot and inhumanly bad prose manage to hit rock bottom and still somehow keep sinking. Yes, we're looking at a book so excruciating to read that, were someone to inform me that Beelzebub were involved in its creation, it would only answer several burning questions.
The plot is the sort of thing we would normally go into next, but like Aftermath the blub is a complete and utter lie. The very title itself is an obvious reference to Chewbacca's long standing debt to Han Solo, and the story even references an attempted liberation of Kashyyyk going horribly wrong. This is supposed to be the core focus here, with the series' merry band of personal heroes trying to hunt down the missing Captain Solo and recover him. Instead, the book drags out this plot, shoving it into the background and forcing the spotlight squarely onto Wendig's creations, trying to force the audience to love them. It becomes so bad that, by the halfway point, there has been so little headway that you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a two-parter plotline.
Once again the structure here is abominably bad, almost thrown together rather than truly planned out. While Aftermath at least had some vague reason for this thanks to being churned out in a scant few months, but here there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever. The story will jump around seemingly at random, trying to build the idea of a bigger plot or universe, but it is so wildly disconnected and downright unwieldy that it becomes merely confusing as a result. While many other authors can and do succeed in pulling off a multitude of semi-connected stories across a book, Wendig fails to leave the spotlight on anything long enough to actually let it develop. Many scenes are often so rushed, so sped up and pushed past so quickly, it robs all drama or tension from the bits the book is trying to cut between. At one point Wedge (yes, he's in this and we'll get to that in a minute) is jumped by a very large and hostile assailant in a traditional dramatic closing moment. Barely two pages later, and the book cuts back, instantly resolving the whole problem in a matter of seconds. Congratulations, you almost managed to hold the tension long enough to make the reader actually care.
If it seems as if this whole point of structure is being harped upon, consider this for a moment - Were Wendig to write A Song of Fire and Ice (or Game of Thrones if you wish) novel, he would be bouncing back and forth between characters continents apart every five paragraphs. Were he to write a Gaunt's Ghosts novel, moments such as the build-up to Bragg's death or Cuu's rampage would be skipped entirely, and the murders involved likely listed offhand by a character later on. It doesn't just destroy any sense of pathos, it annihilates it, crushing down any broken remains which might leave the reader engaged in the book or reasons to give a damn. This sort of thing almost ruins it from the very start, as it doesn't even take the time to explain who the hell anyone is, where they are, describe many scenes or reintroduce the heroes before it speeds off into the plot. Even the inciting incident, the moment which drives Leia to task the heroes with finding Han is pushed past so quickly there isn't even time to properly reintroduce the character within the book.
Even if you were holding out for halfway decent descriptions, you're sadly out of luck. Wendig seems to treat details as an unnecessary bonus to scenes, and never stops to actually try and paint an image within the reader's head. Like a child forced to write an essay about the subject they hate, he does the absolute bare minimum, bereft of any enthusiasm or even engaging language. So many scenes are are nebulous, non-descriptive and bereft of atmosphere that the hanger of a Star Destroyer, tropical atoll, and even a full on space battle feel exactly the same as one another. Rather than doing enough to create the idea of a varied universe, or even broad vibrant environments, he just leaves so many scenes bereft of detail that you'll likely end up wondering where in the hell everyone is at one time or another.
Worse still, this trend once more bleeds into the battle scenes, which prove to either be incredibly sub-par or are skipped over entirely. The opening dogfight is so badly paced and put together that it's almost a non-entity within the book, and even the act of a small corvette being chased by an Imperial Star Destroyer carries all the weight and drama of an average stroll in the park. Oh, and for those briefly interested in that latter bit, the book skips both the chase and following battle scene between chapters. Even the very act of taking down seemingly all but two Super Star Destroyers is left to little more than an offhand mention, and big battles are skimmed past at every turn. Yes, the author is actively trying to avoid the very thing Star Wars is most known for.
Wendig tries to make up for the poor descriptions and lack of real world-building with an incredibly scattershot approach to things. Details are dropped at random relentlessly spammed throughout the book, until they overwhelm any real sense of immersion. It's one thing to have the book bring up bacta, compare certain descriptions with common in-universe items or even draw up comparisons with certain species, in order to create a sense of this being another world. It's another thing entirely to effectively drop them at every single opportunity, until it stops being subtly immersive or engaging, and becomes so frustrating you'll end up desperately trying to mentally edit out those details in order to make the book tolerable. There is also this odd obsession with scent and taste which quickly becomes the author's primary focus above all else. Really, skipping basic details which would stem from sight or sound, Wendig seems to use this as his fallback method of trying to flesh out a scene. The problem is that the descriptions are equally as sparse, and they often become little more than yet another method for him to throw in a few more in-universe details to try and make the book seem more alike, so this effort fails as well.
Still, all that could be saved with great characters, right? My friends, you are dead out of luck on that front as well. Let's start with the official characters first, given they are those hardest hit here. While the likes of Mon Mothma, Ackbar and a few other big names are thrown in, they might as well be listed as "Important Person X, Y, and Z" for all the impact they have. Sure, it tries to use them well as a sense of building a bigger and broader universe, but they are so firmly pushed into the background, so often out of the limelight that their existence seems like a concession more than something planned for the book. It should also go without saying that each is so bereft of any real personality that they might as well be anyone.
The only big name exceptions who stay anywhere near the spotlight are Wedge and to a much lesser extent Leia, for all the good it does them. Leia is tied up with New Republic operations and is used as little more than an excuse to try and better show off the universe with very mixed results, becoming almost a turmourous lump within the story. Chewbacca is also in this as well alongside Han, but like the others they are pushed well into the background, only emerging when the plot has absolutely no way to get around their involvement.
As for Wedge though? He's the one who suffers most here. Rather than actually involve or do these characters any kind of justice, Wendig wants to push his personal creations as hard as possible. As such, Wedge - a character who benefited the most from the original Expanded Universe - becomes little more than a joke, and a pale shadow of the heroic pilot people loved. As with Aftermath, he's beaten down at every turn, easily defeated, pushed about and turned into an utter joke for the villains and heroes to prove themselves as being badass around. Upon truly, physically, getting involved in any action, he's almost run over and crushed by a droid, forcing another character to quickly rescue him, and then play second fiddle to someone else as they perform dogfights against near impossible odds. Oh, and then out of nowhere he's turned into the love interest of said Wendig made character in order to make them more important. While it's one thing to prove a new character can hold their own in a book, it's quite another to throw existing and beloved heroes under the bus to try and prove they're worth reading about.
It doesn't help that Wendig's creations are insanely one dimensional and fueled by a toxic mix of cliches and attempted fan pandering. By the end, you'll likely be remembering them by their role rather than actual names, listing each off as "the former Imperial" "the bounty hunter" "the kid" and "that sodding droid again". When it does push for actual character development or inner thoughts, it registers on the Frank Miller scale of banal inner dilemmas. Well, minus the whores of course. Here's one such example of a mother thinking of her son:
"Is that what she wanted for him?
He's young. He's only fifteen. (Though she's reminded: His birthday is coming up soon. Time moves fast, and it only gets faster when you have children.) He just took out two TIE fighters. No - he killed two pilots. Two lives, snuffed out. The problem isn't whether they deserved their fates; those pilots signed up for war and knew what came with it. The problem is what that makes Temmin. It haunts her, suddenly. Will it haunt him? Is he too young to understand what's happening? Will one day he awaken to ghosts in his head, or will he toughen to it too quickly - will it kill the kindness inside him and make him mean like Jom Barell?"
Yes, this is an entire book of that. Are you beginning to understand just why this review is so negative? In small doses this sort of thing can work, but it's an unending torrent of navel gazing, barging into scenes and disrupting their flow. The above example? That was thrown in right in the middle of a supposed fighter battle, for what little we actually saw of it anyway.
There is also a stab at developing the Imperial side of things via a viewpoint character, seeing how it is sliding into anarchy, but this quickly becomes almost hilarious. Many of the stabs at a cloak and dagger tale of varied political elements, betrayals and power plays are so laughably obvious that the characters seem like cartoon villains. These are the sorts of foes He-Man would have been fighting in the 80s, not the kind of foe you would expect to be serving at Vader's beck and call.
All this is, of course, made infinitely worse by the present tense approach Wendig has taken to the book. This was a big criticism of Aftermath as well, and many readers complained this made the novel downright unreadable as a result. However, present tense in of itself isn't the problem. While certainly extraordinarily hard to nail down, some novels such as Know No Fear have succeeded in pulling it off, presenting engaging novels and details through it. Here though, combined with the awful descriptions, bad characterization and poor plotting, it serves as a kind of multiplier, making every shortcoming seem all the worse as a result. Combined together, it makes Aftermath: Life Debt seem like an extraordinarily poorly penned young reader's novel, the kind which relentlessly talks down to its audience; not the supposed flagship trilogy intended to kickstart a new universe.
"Terrible" doesn't do this book justice. There is likely no word in the English language which can wholly describe its unmitigated failure, and sheer lack of any redeeming quality. While it might not fall fully to the levels of certain other tales, this is the kind of story bound for that special literary hell usually reserved for Gloria Tesch creations and the Gor novels. Having assisted in murdering the old Expanded Universe, Wendig now seems to have set his sights upon maiming the new one while it is still in the crib. If the future is being forged from these novels, Star Wars will become a malformed, broken thing worthy only of a mercy killing.
If you have any love for Star Wars, any hope for a good future at all, do not buy this novel. In two decades of reading science fiction of all forms, from the works of children to the Dune saga, I have rarely encountered a book so inept as this creation. If you honestly want to see a good Star Wars novel set in the new universe, Twilight Company is still out there and is more than worthy of your hard earned cash. If you want a better one besides that, the old Expanded Universe is still there and damn near every novel - even Darksaber - is leagues above this book in terms of good storytelling. Each and every one of you reading this could have crafted a better novel than Wendig, and honestly I actually encourage you to do so. Try practicing your own skills for a bit, try experimenting with your prose or to craft a short story, then apply to Disney for work. If they're allowing a trilogy so poorly crafted as Aftermath to be their flagship release, they'll likely accept damn near anyone for future books.
December 27, 2017
Everything Aftermath got right, the sequel gets wrong.
While I am still completely okay with Wendig's style (apparently most people are annoyed by it), there was nothing to enjoy here. An extreme case of second book syndrome at best.
While I am still completely okay with Wendig's style (apparently most people are annoyed by it), there was nothing to enjoy here. An extreme case of second book syndrome at best.
April 26, 2017
The first Aftermath book was the best argument for scrapping the Disney-verse and going back to the classic EU I've ever read.
I would love for every Star Wars fan to read the Wendigo's terrible books to understand the new septic tank level of self wank fan fiction the New DU is. Hiring the Wendigo to vie with Zahn's books (A Star Wars founding father), will be the Awaken-Verses ultimate undoing.
I invite everyone to read the Wendigo's trilogy (if you can stomach it) and compare it to The Thrawn trilogy.
I would love for every Star Wars fan to read the Wendigo's terrible books to understand the new septic tank level of self wank fan fiction the New DU is. Hiring the Wendigo to vie with Zahn's books (A Star Wars founding father), will be the Awaken-Verses ultimate undoing.
I invite everyone to read the Wendigo's trilogy (if you can stomach it) and compare it to The Thrawn trilogy.
July 26, 2016
Is this better than the first Aftermath novel? Yes. Perhaps it deserves 2.5 stars.
The good: This novel provides information that's genuinely necessary to understanding the unfolding of the Star Wars 'verse. You're not wasting your time reading it. There's payoff, not only with details about the main characters and evolution of the Aftermath-specific characters, but also with big arcs such as the enslavement of Kashyyk.
The bad: Some of the characterizations don't ring true. When contrasting the two characters, for example, I wouldn't say that Leia "I've been a politician since my mid-teens" Organa is the idealistic one and Mon "Let's demilitarize the exact moment we win" Mothma is the practical one. They're both far more complicated than that. For that matter, Leia comes across as genuinely shrill in several scenes. Yes, she's upset, but the woman who could handle watching her adoptive family and entire home planet be destroyed, take over her own rescue, and then come up with a stoic "We have no time for our sorrows" would not whinge and storm out of rooms in an emotional whirlwind when things don't go her way. (See Claudia Gray's Bloodline.)
The ugly: Chuck Wendig's writing style continues to underwhelm. I'm being kind here. He's graduated to using more complete sentences now, but his diction is often odd, as if he's grasped for a word and settled on one that sounds a bit like it, and several times his errors in agreement (subject/verb, noun/pronoun) jarred me out of the story. He confuses "imply" and "infer." Furthermore, in this single book he uses up his entire lifetime's supply of "labyrinthine." He never gets to use that word again. Ever. I appreciate that Lucasfilm is trying new things, but I don't understand how Wendig landed a three-book deal. I waded through this for the relevant information, but I wouldn't call it an enjoyable experience. That's a shame, when so many capable and skilled Disney-era Star Wars authors like Claudia Gray and John Jackson Miller and James Luceno and Jason Fry, to name just a few, regularly delight.
The good: This novel provides information that's genuinely necessary to understanding the unfolding of the Star Wars 'verse. You're not wasting your time reading it. There's payoff, not only with details about the main characters and evolution of the Aftermath-specific characters, but also with big arcs such as the enslavement of Kashyyk.
The bad: Some of the characterizations don't ring true. When contrasting the two characters, for example, I wouldn't say that Leia "I've been a politician since my mid-teens" Organa is the idealistic one and Mon "Let's demilitarize the exact moment we win" Mothma is the practical one. They're both far more complicated than that. For that matter, Leia comes across as genuinely shrill in several scenes. Yes, she's upset, but the woman who could handle watching her adoptive family and entire home planet be destroyed, take over her own rescue, and then come up with a stoic "We have no time for our sorrows" would not whinge and storm out of rooms in an emotional whirlwind when things don't go her way. (See Claudia Gray's Bloodline.)
The ugly: Chuck Wendig's writing style continues to underwhelm. I'm being kind here. He's graduated to using more complete sentences now, but his diction is often odd, as if he's grasped for a word and settled on one that sounds a bit like it, and several times his errors in agreement (subject/verb, noun/pronoun) jarred me out of the story. He confuses "imply" and "infer." Furthermore, in this single book he uses up his entire lifetime's supply of "labyrinthine." He never gets to use that word again. Ever. I appreciate that Lucasfilm is trying new things, but I don't understand how Wendig landed a three-book deal. I waded through this for the relevant information, but I wouldn't call it an enjoyable experience. That's a shame, when so many capable and skilled Disney-era Star Wars authors like Claudia Gray and John Jackson Miller and James Luceno and Jason Fry, to name just a few, regularly delight.
July 13, 2016
No lessons have been learned. The writing is still frustrating and juvenile. The author's behavior is still frustrating and juvenile. I looked at the writers Twitter page this morning and, despite receiving better reviews than Aftermath, Mr. Wendig has once again chosen to focus all the attention on himself and his narcissistic rage. I am forced to believe the author is too invested in the current grievance culture to evolve and advance. Disheartening. Like watching a fly repeatedly bash itself against a window when all it has to do is fly just a little bit higher and it will be free.
Please Mr. Wendig, choose to fly just a little bit higher.
Please Mr. Wendig, choose to fly just a little bit higher.
March 4, 2019
O. M. G. Here. we. go. agein.
Chuck... let me help you out... if I can... Star Wars was a long, long time ago... in a galaxy... far. far. away. SOOO there is absolutely NOOOO Earth! We do not have earth animals, music, termanology, technology, pop phrases or idioms! NONE!!
oh and spend more time actually developing your characters and also brush up that writing style and plotline.
Chuck... let me help you out... if I can... Star Wars was a long, long time ago... in a galaxy... far. far. away. SOOO there is absolutely NOOOO Earth! We do not have earth animals, music, termanology, technology, pop phrases or idioms! NONE!!
oh and spend more time actually developing your characters and also brush up that writing style and plotline.
January 28, 2018
Shit man, this trilogy is SO GOOD and I need Empire's End yesterday, please
Ok so Sinjir totally gets a boyfriend in this book and there's also a badass genderqueer pirate (pronouns zhe/zher/zherself) who will hopefully show up again in the next book. A+ work, Chuck Wendig. These two books are queerer than some whole series and it makes my heart really happy. I am finally, explicitly included in a franchise that I love and it feels so nice. 4.5/5 stars.
Ok so Sinjir totally gets a boyfriend in this book and there's also a badass genderqueer pirate (pronouns zhe/zher/zherself) who will hopefully show up again in the next book. A+ work, Chuck Wendig. These two books are queerer than some whole series and it makes my heart really happy. I am finally, explicitly included in a franchise that I love and it feels so nice. 4.5/5 stars.
July 29, 2016
The level of failure required to screw up a book titled "Life Debt" with a gigantic Millennium Falcon on the cover and a promo blurb that promises to be about the liberation of Kashyyyk, homeworld of the Wookiees, from the yoke of the Empire that's enslaved it for decades, is substantial. I mean, you have to go beyond run-of-the-mill failure into something that is so bad it transcends the concept of merely striving for something and not succeeding in reaching it.
This would be handily the worst Star Wars book ever written in either the new or the old canon if not for the first Aftermath book. Just about everything that was present in the first book that made it horrible, that made it frankly unbelievable that any person who was responsible for either selling books or overseeing the creation of at least an average quality book might have ever read any words ever written by the author, Chuck Wendig, and said to themselves, "Yes, this is the guy we need to contract to write three books."
Here is one sentence from the novel that probably sums up everything that it is about:
Norra straight punches her in the face.
Present tense writing is just not for me. I will never like any book that features it as much as one that did not, with maybe a couple of exceptions, like in Guy G. Kay when he does it because he's a cool dude, and in Empire Falls where I think it had some literary merit. Otherwise, authors, stop that stuff. And that's all I'll say about that.
The problem of the book not feeling like a Star Wars book remains. This is largely a function of tone, not merely that it doesn't feel like the old EU did, but that it feels like it's trying to be something that's not Star Wars. That's partly a result of going heavy on original characters that just seem to have something... off... about them, like the entirely too meta battle droid robot named "Mister Bones" who just... no.
But like, seriously, how do you have a book that claims to be about the liberation of Kashyyyk with the title LIFE DEBT and Han Solo and Chewbacca are basically sideshow characters in the narrative? Yeah, they show up (Han not really sounding like Han) but they don't matter. How does this happen? Who thought this was a good idea? This is absurd. It's an easy slam dunk of a book. You get Han and you get Chewie and they go on a guerrilla campaign against a bunch of Imperial scum. The best version of this book would have been like what the end of Return of the Jedi might have been if George Lucas had actually made it the Wookiee home world rather than throwing a bunch of Ewoks in there. That would have been so badass! Wookiees rising up and tossing off the shackles of oppression, blasting and roaring and tearing people's arms out of their sockets! That's all you have to do! And in the maybe 20% of the book where this actually happens they aren't the main characters at all.
It drives me crazy how bad these two books have been because I remain quite convinced that the powers that be could have trawled fanfiction.net for like, the 100 best-rated Star Wars fanfics or something and approached those writers and they would have surely done a better job than Wendig did here. This unfocused mess is such an unforced error.
Not gone from the narrative are the pathetic attempts to pander to either longtime Star Wars fans or particularly EU fans. No, but seriously, when you have Wedge Antilles be like a tertiary character in the story and you talk about how he's created a squadron of "washouts, burnouts, and capable freaks" and then you roll up in that story and this is called PHANTOM SQUADRON, like, honestly. Phantom, really? Dude, I read Wraith Squadron, and you are no Aaron Allston, Wendig. This is not an homage; it's just insulting. When I was like 13 I read Rogue Squadron and I thought they were cool and I made up a little squadron using my friends and I decided we were Renegade Squadron. That's the level that Phantom Squadron has reached. The nerdiest and worst ideas of a 13-year-old.
Anyway, new canon seems alright from my other experience reading Star Wars: Bloodline. Not great, but alright. It's just this particular author whose books are really bad. Hopefully the people in charge realize he's terrible and never hire him to do any work again once his initial contract runs out.
This would be handily the worst Star Wars book ever written in either the new or the old canon if not for the first Aftermath book. Just about everything that was present in the first book that made it horrible, that made it frankly unbelievable that any person who was responsible for either selling books or overseeing the creation of at least an average quality book might have ever read any words ever written by the author, Chuck Wendig, and said to themselves, "Yes, this is the guy we need to contract to write three books."
Here is one sentence from the novel that probably sums up everything that it is about:
Norra straight punches her in the face.
Present tense writing is just not for me. I will never like any book that features it as much as one that did not, with maybe a couple of exceptions, like in Guy G. Kay when he does it because he's a cool dude, and in Empire Falls where I think it had some literary merit. Otherwise, authors, stop that stuff. And that's all I'll say about that.
The problem of the book not feeling like a Star Wars book remains. This is largely a function of tone, not merely that it doesn't feel like the old EU did, but that it feels like it's trying to be something that's not Star Wars. That's partly a result of going heavy on original characters that just seem to have something... off... about them, like the entirely too meta battle droid robot named "Mister Bones" who just... no.
But like, seriously, how do you have a book that claims to be about the liberation of Kashyyyk with the title LIFE DEBT and Han Solo and Chewbacca are basically sideshow characters in the narrative? Yeah, they show up (Han not really sounding like Han) but they don't matter. How does this happen? Who thought this was a good idea? This is absurd. It's an easy slam dunk of a book. You get Han and you get Chewie and they go on a guerrilla campaign against a bunch of Imperial scum. The best version of this book would have been like what the end of Return of the Jedi might have been if George Lucas had actually made it the Wookiee home world rather than throwing a bunch of Ewoks in there. That would have been so badass! Wookiees rising up and tossing off the shackles of oppression, blasting and roaring and tearing people's arms out of their sockets! That's all you have to do! And in the maybe 20% of the book where this actually happens they aren't the main characters at all.
It drives me crazy how bad these two books have been because I remain quite convinced that the powers that be could have trawled fanfiction.net for like, the 100 best-rated Star Wars fanfics or something and approached those writers and they would have surely done a better job than Wendig did here. This unfocused mess is such an unforced error.
Not gone from the narrative are the pathetic attempts to pander to either longtime Star Wars fans or particularly EU fans. No, but seriously, when you have Wedge Antilles be like a tertiary character in the story and you talk about how he's created a squadron of "washouts, burnouts, and capable freaks" and then you roll up in that story and this is called PHANTOM SQUADRON, like, honestly. Phantom, really? Dude, I read Wraith Squadron, and you are no Aaron Allston, Wendig. This is not an homage; it's just insulting. When I was like 13 I read Rogue Squadron and I thought they were cool and I made up a little squadron using my friends and I decided we were Renegade Squadron. That's the level that Phantom Squadron has reached. The nerdiest and worst ideas of a 13-year-old.
Anyway, new canon seems alright from my other experience reading Star Wars: Bloodline. Not great, but alright. It's just this particular author whose books are really bad. Hopefully the people in charge realize he's terrible and never hire him to do any work again once his initial contract runs out.
December 8, 2022
3 Stars for Life Debt: Star Wars Aftermath Series, Book 2 (audiobook) by Chuck Wendig read by Marc Thompson.
I’m trying to like the new Star Wars stories. This one felt more political instead of action and adventure. It just didn’t do much for me.
I’m trying to like the new Star Wars stories. This one felt more political instead of action and adventure. It just didn’t do much for me.
August 16, 2016
Better than the first book, because it felt like more was happening. It's still very heavy on Wendig's original characters, as opposed to already established, screen canon was. I'm not against this in principle. My favorite Star Wars books are the X-Wing series, and the only established character to get considerable time on the page in that series was Wedge. But I don't love any of these characters the way I loved my Wraiths, nor is this story quite as good as Stackpole and Allston's.
January 30, 2019
“ALL ARE WELCOME. (NO FIGHTING.) That rule is simple on the surface, but not easy in the execution, because Maz Kanata’s castle has been a meeting place since time immemorial– a nexus point drawing together countless lines of allegiance and opposition, a place not only where friend and foe can meet, but where complex conflicts are worn down flat so that all may sit, have a drink and a meal, listen to a song, and broker whatever deals their hearts or politics require. That’s why the flags outside her castle represent hundreds of cities and civilizations and guilds from before forever. The galaxy is not now, nor has it ever been, two polar forces battling for supremacy. It has been thousands of forces: a tug-of-war not with as ingle rope but a spider’s web of influence, dominance, and desire. Clans and cults, tribes and families, governments and anti-governments. Queens, satraps, warlords! Diplomats, buccaneers, droids! Slicers, spicers, ramblers, and gamblers! To repeat: ALL ARE WELCOME. (NO FIGHTING.)”
In a galaxy far, far away.. I once read Aftermath and then didn’t continue on with the series like a goddamn SAVAGE. What in actual fuck? I blame Miriam Black. And the fact that there is a new Star Wars release approximately every 23 seconds. It’s hard for a fan to keep up on ALL THE STAR WARS!!
That’s neither here nor there. What truly matters is that I’m baaack! I enjoyed Aftermath. A lot. But goddamn. I fucking LOVED Life Debt!
The remnants of the Empire are now under control of Grand Admiral Rae Sloane. Han Solo and Chewbacca tried to free the Wookiees of Kashyyyk from enslavement by the Empire, but Chewie gets captured. Han goes to save him and ends up missing. Norra and her team (Temmin, Sinjir, Jom, Jas and Mister Bones) are asked by General Leia Organa to find them.
Any storyline that involves Han and Chewie is pretty much guaranteed to make my soul happy and my eyes brim with tears. This did not disappoint!
“Yeah, pal. I know.” He sighs. “I love you, too.”
Wendig knows how to write well-rounded female characters, without a doubt. Miriam Black, Norra Wexley, Rae Sloane, Jas Emari. I love Jas so damn much! She’s essentially Miriam Black, but in Star Wars.. AND I AM HERE FOR IT ALL DAMN DAY!! Then there is Leia, my beloved Leia. For me, this was the best written characterization of Leia in recent memory. Wendig captured her essence, her strength, which is so hard to replicate. Oof.
Of course another standout character is Mister Bones. ROGER-ROGER! A delightfully violent, bonkers battle droid that has been reprogrammed by his master Temmin Wexley and is now supporting the good side! Much like L3-37 in Solo, he completely stole each scene he was in. I appreciate his dark and twisted personality, most definitely!
If you are looking for unbiased opinions on Chuck Wendig, you may want to just stop reading. I am an unabashed fan of Wendig’s writing, his politics, sense of humor.. the fact that he is an ally (and a vocal one!) He has taken risks with this series and made it his own, while still keeping it decidedly the war of the stars!
More than any other in the franchise, his series appears to be the most polarizing. Is it because of his social media presence? His political rants? Do they just not get his writing? Or.. and this is almost too much to comprehend, do they have something against apples?! THOSE GODDAMN MONSTERS!!
Perhaps because he has included the first ever openly queer protagonist. Not only that, multiple queer secondary characters as well. But Wendig’s just a SJW, trying to force diversity in a fandom that doesn’t want politics waved in their face. The PC culture is killing Star Wars, y’all! Or so I’ve been told ::eye roll:: It’s not like Star Wars hasn’t always been political or anything.
Listen. I’m getting sidetracked. But it’s hard not to when talking about my absolute favorite fandom, something that means the fucking world to me. I’m a lifelong fan and will continue to be. I’ll never let the toxicity take that away from me. It’s just exhausting. And disheartening.
But I digress!
I believe that Wendig just completely delivered with Life Debt. It’s engaging, unique and packs a powerful punch. Breathless action, diverse characters and compulsively readable. This is such a brilliant installment, cover to cover.
Yoda best, Wendig. Yoda best.
In a galaxy far, far away.. I once read Aftermath and then didn’t continue on with the series like a goddamn SAVAGE. What in actual fuck? I blame Miriam Black. And the fact that there is a new Star Wars release approximately every 23 seconds. It’s hard for a fan to keep up on ALL THE STAR WARS!!
That’s neither here nor there. What truly matters is that I’m baaack! I enjoyed Aftermath. A lot. But goddamn. I fucking LOVED Life Debt!
The remnants of the Empire are now under control of Grand Admiral Rae Sloane. Han Solo and Chewbacca tried to free the Wookiees of Kashyyyk from enslavement by the Empire, but Chewie gets captured. Han goes to save him and ends up missing. Norra and her team (Temmin, Sinjir, Jom, Jas and Mister Bones) are asked by General Leia Organa to find them.
Any storyline that involves Han and Chewie is pretty much guaranteed to make my soul happy and my eyes brim with tears. This did not disappoint!
“Yeah, pal. I know.” He sighs. “I love you, too.”
Wendig knows how to write well-rounded female characters, without a doubt. Miriam Black, Norra Wexley, Rae Sloane, Jas Emari. I love Jas so damn much! She’s essentially Miriam Black, but in Star Wars.. AND I AM HERE FOR IT ALL DAMN DAY!! Then there is Leia, my beloved Leia. For me, this was the best written characterization of Leia in recent memory. Wendig captured her essence, her strength, which is so hard to replicate. Oof.
Of course another standout character is Mister Bones. ROGER-ROGER! A delightfully violent, bonkers battle droid that has been reprogrammed by his master Temmin Wexley and is now supporting the good side! Much like L3-37 in Solo, he completely stole each scene he was in. I appreciate his dark and twisted personality, most definitely!
If you are looking for unbiased opinions on Chuck Wendig, you may want to just stop reading. I am an unabashed fan of Wendig’s writing, his politics, sense of humor.. the fact that he is an ally (and a vocal one!) He has taken risks with this series and made it his own, while still keeping it decidedly the war of the stars!
More than any other in the franchise, his series appears to be the most polarizing. Is it because of his social media presence? His political rants? Do they just not get his writing? Or.. and this is almost too much to comprehend, do they have something against apples?! THOSE GODDAMN MONSTERS!!
Perhaps because he has included the first ever openly queer protagonist. Not only that, multiple queer secondary characters as well. But Wendig’s just a SJW, trying to force diversity in a fandom that doesn’t want politics waved in their face. The PC culture is killing Star Wars, y’all! Or so I’ve been told ::eye roll:: It’s not like Star Wars hasn’t always been political or anything.
Listen. I’m getting sidetracked. But it’s hard not to when talking about my absolute favorite fandom, something that means the fucking world to me. I’m a lifelong fan and will continue to be. I’ll never let the toxicity take that away from me. It’s just exhausting. And disheartening.
But I digress!
I believe that Wendig just completely delivered with Life Debt. It’s engaging, unique and packs a powerful punch. Breathless action, diverse characters and compulsively readable. This is such a brilliant installment, cover to cover.
Yoda best, Wendig. Yoda best.
March 14, 2017
My original STAR WARS: AFTERMATH: LIFE DEBT audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
I read and enjoyed the print (well, ebook) edition of Chuck Wendig’s prior Star Wars: Aftermath novel, but after hearing good things about the production qualities of the Star Wars audiobooks decided I would give this format a shot for the second go-round. Holy moly, have I been missing out! It’s safe to say that from here on out, any Star Wars titles I dive into will be in audio format, especially if narrated by Marc Thompson.
The audio production of this novel is absolutely superb. Random House Audio, in conjunction with Lucasfilm Ltd., put together a fully engaging and visceral listening experience. In print, Wendig’s writing style is short and punchy, but as read by Thompson it takes on a wonderfully dramatic effect. Thompson excels at giving each of Wendig’s characters unique voices, and combined with sound effects and a musical score, this audiobook is more like a one-man radio drama. Listeners are thrust into the heart of each battle (and boy, are there ever some battles!), with the whizzing hum of laser bolts blasting by, the thrum of ship’s engines beneath their feet, and the familiar notes of John William’s score overlaying it all. It’s quite a remarkable work all around.
On the story side of thing, Life Debt picks up a short while after the close of Aftermath, and brings a story element teased in the prior novel straight to the center stage. Serious Star Wars fans will know immediately that the title refers to the bond between rogue scoundrel and smuggler, Han Solo, and his co-pilot and friend, the Wookie Chewbacca. After Solo goes missing, Princess Leia presses Norra Wexley and her band of rebels into service to find them. Wexley and her crew, now hunting down fugitive Imperial officers for the New Republic, find themselves embroiled in a battle to wrest Kashyyyk from the Empire’s control and free the enslaved Wookies.
Life Debt is an epic Star Wars tale, filled with political intrigue within both the fledgling New Republic’s ranks and the Empire itself, as Admiral Rae Sloane squares off against a new opponent vying for control of the Emperor’s throne, and battles large and small. While there are plenty of wars among the stars, it’s the story’s heart and sense of fun that really makes this production so enriching.
Listening to Life Debt reminded me what it was like to be a kid again, lost in these stories of the heroes of the rebellion and the insidious forces of darkness within the Empire. This sucker is just flat-out enjoyable, and while I enjoyed the first Aftermath novel quite a bit, Life Debt is significantly better. Wendig has found his feet with his original characters, and he does a great job bringing in old favorites like Leia, Solo, and Chewie (there’s a series of wonderfully heartfelt moment between these three late in the book that are just sublime). And with Wendig’s occasional Interludes, to show how the war between these opposing forces has affected and disrupted day-to-day life for the galaxy’s citizens, there’s an epic and expansive feel that gives the narrative a much wider context. This is Star Wars at its grandest, and I’m eager to see how Wendig’s story culminates in Aftermath: Empire’s End.
[Note: This audiobook was provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com.]
I read and enjoyed the print (well, ebook) edition of Chuck Wendig’s prior Star Wars: Aftermath novel, but after hearing good things about the production qualities of the Star Wars audiobooks decided I would give this format a shot for the second go-round. Holy moly, have I been missing out! It’s safe to say that from here on out, any Star Wars titles I dive into will be in audio format, especially if narrated by Marc Thompson.
The audio production of this novel is absolutely superb. Random House Audio, in conjunction with Lucasfilm Ltd., put together a fully engaging and visceral listening experience. In print, Wendig’s writing style is short and punchy, but as read by Thompson it takes on a wonderfully dramatic effect. Thompson excels at giving each of Wendig’s characters unique voices, and combined with sound effects and a musical score, this audiobook is more like a one-man radio drama. Listeners are thrust into the heart of each battle (and boy, are there ever some battles!), with the whizzing hum of laser bolts blasting by, the thrum of ship’s engines beneath their feet, and the familiar notes of John William’s score overlaying it all. It’s quite a remarkable work all around.
On the story side of thing, Life Debt picks up a short while after the close of Aftermath, and brings a story element teased in the prior novel straight to the center stage. Serious Star Wars fans will know immediately that the title refers to the bond between rogue scoundrel and smuggler, Han Solo, and his co-pilot and friend, the Wookie Chewbacca. After Solo goes missing, Princess Leia presses Norra Wexley and her band of rebels into service to find them. Wexley and her crew, now hunting down fugitive Imperial officers for the New Republic, find themselves embroiled in a battle to wrest Kashyyyk from the Empire’s control and free the enslaved Wookies.
Life Debt is an epic Star Wars tale, filled with political intrigue within both the fledgling New Republic’s ranks and the Empire itself, as Admiral Rae Sloane squares off against a new opponent vying for control of the Emperor’s throne, and battles large and small. While there are plenty of wars among the stars, it’s the story’s heart and sense of fun that really makes this production so enriching.
Listening to Life Debt reminded me what it was like to be a kid again, lost in these stories of the heroes of the rebellion and the insidious forces of darkness within the Empire. This sucker is just flat-out enjoyable, and while I enjoyed the first Aftermath novel quite a bit, Life Debt is significantly better. Wendig has found his feet with his original characters, and he does a great job bringing in old favorites like Leia, Solo, and Chewie (there’s a series of wonderfully heartfelt moment between these three late in the book that are just sublime). And with Wendig’s occasional Interludes, to show how the war between these opposing forces has affected and disrupted day-to-day life for the galaxy’s citizens, there’s an epic and expansive feel that gives the narrative a much wider context. This is Star Wars at its grandest, and I’m eager to see how Wendig’s story culminates in Aftermath: Empire’s End.
[Note: This audiobook was provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com.]
July 17, 2016
I've never had a problem finishing Star Wars books and I could probably read 300 pages about Jawas tinkering with scrap metal and I'd be entertained, but.....this book sucks!
And that's another thing, I understand the world of an author because I have several friends that are authors so I generally try to stay away from being so critical and crapping all over a work that one has put so much time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into, but I sincerely feel that this author is killing the series! They need to get this guy away from writing anymore Star Wars books!
I read the first book in the series and didn't make it through it and though I knew I might be in for more of the same I decided to tackle it anyway. Turns out it was just more of the same: boring, confusing, gratuitous name dropping, irrelevant, dumb, and bad writing. This author has a certain style that mimics the worst of fan-fic writing and I can't take him serious! I'm ashamed of Disney for handing over the reins of their new canonical Star Wars universe!
And that's another thing, I understand the world of an author because I have several friends that are authors so I generally try to stay away from being so critical and crapping all over a work that one has put so much time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into, but I sincerely feel that this author is killing the series! They need to get this guy away from writing anymore Star Wars books!
I read the first book in the series and didn't make it through it and though I knew I might be in for more of the same I decided to tackle it anyway. Turns out it was just more of the same: boring, confusing, gratuitous name dropping, irrelevant, dumb, and bad writing. This author has a certain style that mimics the worst of fan-fic writing and I can't take him serious! I'm ashamed of Disney for handing over the reins of their new canonical Star Wars universe!
July 14, 2016
If I could I'd give a 0 rating here. I really hoped this second book in the series will be better than the first one, but it wasn't meant to be.
What I didn't like most is how dialogues are written. Character speech doesn't sound natural because that's just short boring sentences. There is absolutely no conflict or tension in the plot where I would worry and sympathize with main heroes. Main villain deserves a special mention though. He is a dull copypaste from Zahn's trilogy starting from his manner of speech (raising an eyebrow anyone?), appreciation of opera music and unexplained brilliance. To sum up Aftermath novels have a feel of badly written fanfiction rather than a canon saga trilogy.
This book could definitely be used by Galactic Empire instead of interrogation droids.
What I didn't like most is how dialogues are written. Character speech doesn't sound natural because that's just short boring sentences. There is absolutely no conflict or tension in the plot where I would worry and sympathize with main heroes. Main villain deserves a special mention though. He is a dull copypaste from Zahn's trilogy starting from his manner of speech (raising an eyebrow anyone?), appreciation of opera music and unexplained brilliance. To sum up Aftermath novels have a feel of badly written fanfiction rather than a canon saga trilogy.
This book could definitely be used by Galactic Empire instead of interrogation droids.
July 16, 2019
It’s really hard for me to review this book, I really enjoyed it but it’s hard to put into words why. Wendig really captures the Star Wars universe perfectly, as soon as I opened the book to read, it felt like I was watching it as a movie in my head. He has the characters and everything else down pat, he really knows how to bring it all to life in an amazing way. This series is a definite must read for Star Wars and Wendig fans!
July 16, 2016
I finished Aftermath: Life Debt in two days. I am the slowest reader alive, but I read this thing like the pages were disappearing. There's nuance to the Aftermath series I don't find in the films, a complex and uncomfortable understanding of war and the suffering it brings. The Clone Wars delved deeper into this and I see its reflection in the Aftermath series. PTSD, trauma, survivor's guilt, broken relationships... still it's hopeful. It isn't grimdark. There is love and beauty, friendships and found families forged in difficult times. I needed these books. I needed to see someone understand that even doing the right thing can feel awful and have consequences, but it's still the right thing to do. We're broken, and imperfect, but we can still win. That's a message I can get behind.
In so many ways this book and its predecessor pay clearly loving tribute to the works that came before, but add to them, and bring something entirely new. Mr Bones and Sinjir Rath Velus were instant new faves, and they continue to warm my heart. Seeing Kashyyyk in its struggles, the difficult birthing pains of the New Republic, the complexity of motivations and actions on both sides of the conflict... there's just so much meat here, even outside of the revelations along the way.
In short, absolutely remarkable. Strongly recommended for old fans and new.
In so many ways this book and its predecessor pay clearly loving tribute to the works that came before, but add to them, and bring something entirely new. Mr Bones and Sinjir Rath Velus were instant new faves, and they continue to warm my heart. Seeing Kashyyyk in its struggles, the difficult birthing pains of the New Republic, the complexity of motivations and actions on both sides of the conflict... there's just so much meat here, even outside of the revelations along the way.
In short, absolutely remarkable. Strongly recommended for old fans and new.
July 16, 2016
I found this less enjoyable than the first book. With the novelty of the series worn off, the relatively unexciting main cast becomes more aggravating. The interludes also seemed less fun. I suppose the lack of the pre-TFA hype I had with the first book doesn't help.
Even standouts of the first book Sloane and Sinjir fell fairly flat for me here. There were certainly some good moments; off the top of my head the deranged Imperial remnant on Kashyyyk comes to mind. For the most part, though, the book lacks a strong payoff.
And, to my great dismay, the Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax was tremendously disappointing. His repetitive smugness does not sustain interest or enjoyment throughout the book.
I'll be looking forward to book 3 to see the Battle of Jakku play out and so on, but I now feel like it's gonna be a rather perfunctory affair. Like I just wanna read it and be done with the series. Maybe Gallius Rax will seem like a halfway worthwhile character when the conclusion rolls around, but I doubt it.
Even standouts of the first book Sloane and Sinjir fell fairly flat for me here. There were certainly some good moments; off the top of my head the deranged Imperial remnant on Kashyyyk comes to mind. For the most part, though, the book lacks a strong payoff.
And, to my great dismay, the Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax was tremendously disappointing. His repetitive smugness does not sustain interest or enjoyment throughout the book.
I'll be looking forward to book 3 to see the Battle of Jakku play out and so on, but I now feel like it's gonna be a rather perfunctory affair. Like I just wanna read it and be done with the series. Maybe Gallius Rax will seem like a halfway worthwhile character when the conclusion rolls around, but I doubt it.
July 16, 2016
I only gave this two stars because it is better than the first book (which I gave one star.) I do not have the time or patience to articulate all of the problems with this pile of bantha dung. Instead just read the reviews by Goodreaders Callum Shephard, Chris Evans, that dude Mike, and Julie. I'll just say this: read any other new canon novel....they are all better. Imagine what this trilogy could have been in the hands of James Luceano or Claudia Gray. Chuck Wendig is an objectively bad writer.
July 13, 2016
I enjoyed the first Aftermath book well enough but Life Debt really kicked into a second gear and just worked for me on so many levels. Full review to come on Tosche Station on release day.
Editing on 7/13 to link to my full review: http://tosche-station.net/review-afte...
Editing on 7/13 to link to my full review: http://tosche-station.net/review-afte...
November 20, 2016
Somewhat better than the first book, but still not Star Wars as I've come to expect it.
August 19, 2016
The good news is this book is better than the first one. The bad news is . . . well, there isn't really any bad news. This book is better than the first one. The end.
Most of the stuff that annoyed me in the first book (the style being so omnipresent it pulled me out of the story, the occasional colloquialism that shouldn't be in Star Wars, etc.) is gone. Either that or I didn't notice. Either way, same result. The POV is still in first person present tense, and Wendig's voice is still very much present, but as long as it doesn't overwhelm the story, that's no bad thing. I like when authors have voices, but those voices shouldn't make me stop reading to go, "Really?" as it occasionally did last time. With Life Debt, Wendig seems to have sunken comfortably into the Star Wars universe, and you can see it in the writing.
Life Debt picks up several months after the first book. Norra, her son Temmin, Jas, and Sinjir are now a crew, and they've picked another guy, Jom, who's knocking boots with Jas. They track down Imperials in hiding and deliver them to the fledgling New Republic for a bounty. They've got a good thing going, so of course events occur to shake that up. Two things happen: Han Solo, having resigned his commission and gone on a rogue mission to free Chewie's home planet of Kashyyyk, has gone missing, and the New Republic refuses to sanction time or troops. And behind the scenes of the fracturing Empire, a new player has made himself known and is very carefully and deliberately pulling the puppet strings of a great many people, who of course have no idea they are puppets. And nobody, not even Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, the nominal head of the Empire, knows what he's up to.
Like Aftermath, the book starts out a little fractured, with multiple POVs in addition to interludes every second chapter or so with snapshots of what's going on across the galaxy. As long as you know it's all going to come into focus, this works well. We get our characters' journeys, and we get a real idea of the global galactic scale of what's going on. We're not just told that the Empire is splintering, that the New Republic is still scrambling to bring order to the galaxy and yet retain its identity as a fair government entity, we're shown it, and we're also shown things that plant the seeds for eventual conflict. The acolytes of a strange new order, dedicated to the memory of Darth Vader. An independent government, free of both Empire and Republic, growing slowly on Tatooine. And a strange something or other buried in the deserts of Jakku . . .
Wendig also handles existing characters nicely. His Han and Chewie and Leia are pretty spot on, although to be fair I would have praised them more had I not just read Bloodline which absolutely nails Leia and Han as characters. I thoroughly enjoyed everything to do with Kashyyyk here. His own characters add something to the narrative as well, and don't feel out of place, particularly Sinjir, who makes me laugh, and who needs a hug.
All in all, a success.
Most of the stuff that annoyed me in the first book (the style being so omnipresent it pulled me out of the story, the occasional colloquialism that shouldn't be in Star Wars, etc.) is gone. Either that or I didn't notice. Either way, same result. The POV is still in first person present tense, and Wendig's voice is still very much present, but as long as it doesn't overwhelm the story, that's no bad thing. I like when authors have voices, but those voices shouldn't make me stop reading to go, "Really?" as it occasionally did last time. With Life Debt, Wendig seems to have sunken comfortably into the Star Wars universe, and you can see it in the writing.
Life Debt picks up several months after the first book. Norra, her son Temmin, Jas, and Sinjir are now a crew, and they've picked another guy, Jom, who's knocking boots with Jas. They track down Imperials in hiding and deliver them to the fledgling New Republic for a bounty. They've got a good thing going, so of course events occur to shake that up. Two things happen: Han Solo, having resigned his commission and gone on a rogue mission to free Chewie's home planet of Kashyyyk, has gone missing, and the New Republic refuses to sanction time or troops. And behind the scenes of the fracturing Empire, a new player has made himself known and is very carefully and deliberately pulling the puppet strings of a great many people, who of course have no idea they are puppets. And nobody, not even Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, the nominal head of the Empire, knows what he's up to.
Like Aftermath, the book starts out a little fractured, with multiple POVs in addition to interludes every second chapter or so with snapshots of what's going on across the galaxy. As long as you know it's all going to come into focus, this works well. We get our characters' journeys, and we get a real idea of the global galactic scale of what's going on. We're not just told that the Empire is splintering, that the New Republic is still scrambling to bring order to the galaxy and yet retain its identity as a fair government entity, we're shown it, and we're also shown things that plant the seeds for eventual conflict. The acolytes of a strange new order, dedicated to the memory of Darth Vader. An independent government, free of both Empire and Republic, growing slowly on Tatooine. And a strange something or other buried in the deserts of Jakku . . .
Wendig also handles existing characters nicely. His Han and Chewie and Leia are pretty spot on, although to be fair I would have praised them more had I not just read Bloodline which absolutely nails Leia and Han as characters. I thoroughly enjoyed everything to do with Kashyyyk here. His own characters add something to the narrative as well, and don't feel out of place, particularly Sinjir, who makes me laugh, and who needs a hug.
All in all, a success.
July 30, 2016
To say that Life Debt is better than its predecessor, Aftermath, is not to say that it is a good book. It's just that it would be hard for another book to be as bad as Aftermath. I'm less inclined to believe that Chuck Wendig has become a better author in the intervening months, instead assuming that Disney/Lucasfilm went into crisis mode last year when Aftermath received such a scathing reception from eager Star Wars fans. The first line of the new canon of Star Wars books was extremely disappointing, and Wendig's novel was the most disappointing of the lot. I believe that Disney/Lucasfilm frantically started putting more effort into their publications, and the results are slowly starting to show--though the Star Wars canon is still far from high art.
Life Debt was obviously handled by better editors than Aftermath. The present-tense writing style is still bad, but it's not as distracting as in the previous volume. Gone are absolutely ridiculous moments, such as Admiral Ackbar rubbing moisturizer into his skin. The result is a little more engaging, with a little more forward momentum.
What's left, however, is the nagging sense that this is a novel-length movie trailer, and that Wendig is not allowed to do anything more than tease little pieces of information that may or may not ever be relevant. It's hard to imagine, for example, how the Rancor keeper from Tatooine is going to be important later on, but there he is in his own little vignette that has nothing to do with anything in the book. (And I really didn't need the Rancor that Luke kills in Return of the Jedi to have a name: Pateesa.)
Wendig is able to shift nicely between a couple of different time periods, however, and one of the best parts of the book is the brief glimpse into something Emperor Palpatine (or "Sheev," as his young friends call him) was up to 30 years before the main events of this novel. Almost against my will I am interested to know what Palpatine was doing on Jakku. I'm prepared for disappointment, but I'm mildly curious.
As for the other characters in the story, things are not good. When I began the book, I found that I had no memory whatsoever of the new team that Wendig created in the first volume: Norra Wexley and her son, Temmin; Jas Emari; Sinjir Rath Velus; Jom Barell; Mister Bones the Battle Droid (man, it hurts to have to type that name). If you're also struggling to recall anything about these characters when you begin Life Debt, I'll let you in on a secret: it doesn't matter. Wendig repeats any information about those characters that's important, and it just barely matters what they did in the first book. Each of the characters has two or three defining traits and motivations, and they're repeated often enough that you'll get it fairly quickly. Please don't re-read Aftermath in preparation for Life Debt.
The movie characters Wendig is allowed to use in this book are really disappointing. It's one thing if Mon Mothma is dull and lifeless, or if Wendig can't ever capture quite the right tone for Han Solo, but it's entirely wrong to make Leia into a complete idiot. And Leia is a complete idiot in this book. She is wrong, unwise, thoughtless, and stupid. If I thought it wasn't possible to have a worse Leia than Claudia Gray's version of her in Bloodline, I have been proven wrong. This was embarrassing.
The narrative is odd and disjointed, and the big set-piece of the final third of the book--the liberation of the Wookiee home planet--feels like it comes out of nowhere. I really didn't care about it at all, and it didn't help that this was the focus of most of Leia's brainless decisions.
One of the most laughably bad parts of Aftermath was the dialogue and word choices. It's not quite as bad in Life Debt, but it's occasionally terrible. A couple examples:
The inclusion of a grungy, pessimistic kind of sexuality throughout the story didn't help to endear me to the book. There's a drunken one-night-stand (I guess more than that, but it doesn't feel that way at the time) between a couple of men, and an ongoing and kind of disgusting sexual relationship between a couple of the main characters, in addition to another main character who, it's strongly implied, is cheating on her husband. It doesn't feel Star Wars-y, and I'm sad that authors like Wendig and Gray are charting the course of the mythology. That galaxy deserves better.
Anyway, I won't be sad if the third volume of this trilogy is canceled. If it is published, I will be very happy that it's only a trilogy and not anything longer. As for the Star Wars canon, I hold out hope for James Luceno's Rogue One novel; he's one of the only Star Wars authors I trust, and I'm more interested in the Rogue One film than I am in Episode 8.
As a postscript: in my review of another recent Star Wars novel, I praised Pablo Hidalgo for no longer requiring that every single book include the phrase "I have a bad feeling about this." I spoke too soon. Page 236.
Life Debt was obviously handled by better editors than Aftermath. The present-tense writing style is still bad, but it's not as distracting as in the previous volume. Gone are absolutely ridiculous moments, such as Admiral Ackbar rubbing moisturizer into his skin. The result is a little more engaging, with a little more forward momentum.
What's left, however, is the nagging sense that this is a novel-length movie trailer, and that Wendig is not allowed to do anything more than tease little pieces of information that may or may not ever be relevant. It's hard to imagine, for example, how the Rancor keeper from Tatooine is going to be important later on, but there he is in his own little vignette that has nothing to do with anything in the book. (And I really didn't need the Rancor that Luke kills in Return of the Jedi to have a name: Pateesa.)
Wendig is able to shift nicely between a couple of different time periods, however, and one of the best parts of the book is the brief glimpse into something Emperor Palpatine (or "Sheev," as his young friends call him) was up to 30 years before the main events of this novel. Almost against my will I am interested to know what Palpatine was doing on Jakku. I'm prepared for disappointment, but I'm mildly curious.
As for the other characters in the story, things are not good. When I began the book, I found that I had no memory whatsoever of the new team that Wendig created in the first volume: Norra Wexley and her son, Temmin; Jas Emari; Sinjir Rath Velus; Jom Barell; Mister Bones the Battle Droid (man, it hurts to have to type that name). If you're also struggling to recall anything about these characters when you begin Life Debt, I'll let you in on a secret: it doesn't matter. Wendig repeats any information about those characters that's important, and it just barely matters what they did in the first book. Each of the characters has two or three defining traits and motivations, and they're repeated often enough that you'll get it fairly quickly. Please don't re-read Aftermath in preparation for Life Debt.
The movie characters Wendig is allowed to use in this book are really disappointing. It's one thing if Mon Mothma is dull and lifeless, or if Wendig can't ever capture quite the right tone for Han Solo, but it's entirely wrong to make Leia into a complete idiot. And Leia is a complete idiot in this book. She is wrong, unwise, thoughtless, and stupid. If I thought it wasn't possible to have a worse Leia than Claudia Gray's version of her in Bloodline, I have been proven wrong. This was embarrassing.
The narrative is odd and disjointed, and the big set-piece of the final third of the book--the liberation of the Wookiee home planet--feels like it comes out of nowhere. I really didn't care about it at all, and it didn't help that this was the focus of most of Leia's brainless decisions.
One of the most laughably bad parts of Aftermath was the dialogue and word choices. It's not quite as bad in Life Debt, but it's occasionally terrible. A couple examples:
Solo leans in. "Spiders don't frighten you because most spiders are no bigger than your hand. These spiders, webweavers? Big as you and me. . . . The Wookiees eat 'em. Chewie says they're, well, chewy." (315)
They rage. Fur and fangs and swiping limbs. Men screaming. In the distance, something explodes. (321)Along with that, we get the adjective "swimmy" (twice!), and the fiercest, most terrifying character in the galaxy saying to a subordinate, "When I give the say-so . . . " "Say-so"?? Also, Wendig finds corny ways to actually write the movie titles "the empire strikes back" and "revenge of the sith" into the novel. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, did you get it? Ugh.
The inclusion of a grungy, pessimistic kind of sexuality throughout the story didn't help to endear me to the book. There's a drunken one-night-stand (I guess more than that, but it doesn't feel that way at the time) between a couple of men, and an ongoing and kind of disgusting sexual relationship between a couple of the main characters, in addition to another main character who, it's strongly implied, is cheating on her husband. It doesn't feel Star Wars-y, and I'm sad that authors like Wendig and Gray are charting the course of the mythology. That galaxy deserves better.
Anyway, I won't be sad if the third volume of this trilogy is canceled. If it is published, I will be very happy that it's only a trilogy and not anything longer. As for the Star Wars canon, I hold out hope for James Luceno's Rogue One novel; he's one of the only Star Wars authors I trust, and I'm more interested in the Rogue One film than I am in Episode 8.
As a postscript: in my review of another recent Star Wars novel, I praised Pablo Hidalgo for no longer requiring that every single book include the phrase "I have a bad feeling about this." I spoke too soon. Page 236.
June 1, 2017
I suspect this is more what many of the people who hated the first book in this series were looking for. We got to characters familiar from the movies as well as the people who were introduced in book 1. I especially liked Han Solo, and how he was torn between helping Chewbacca and staying with Leia. But my favorite character in the book has got to be Mister Bones.
I listened to this on audio - Marc Thompson is a such a good narrator and makes the Star Wars books extra enjoyable.
I listened to this on audio - Marc Thompson is a such a good narrator and makes the Star Wars books extra enjoyable.
November 19, 2019
Good Star Wars fun! 3.75 🌠
July 4, 2024
This series easily ranks as one of the best I 've read. The Star Wars Universe is rarely really engaging. There's plenty of fan service, no doubt about it, but the stories are often secondary and don't change the universe in the slightest.
Whereas this early transition offered between episodes 6 and 7 has a real purpose, namely to set up the pieces of the First Order and the situation in a few years' time. Without sacrificing action, plot twists and fan service - hello Han!
I still enjoy the style - first tense or not - the characters and their development - predictable, admittedly, but still - and the dialogue.
A must for fans
Whereas this early transition offered between episodes 6 and 7 has a real purpose, namely to set up the pieces of the First Order and the situation in a few years' time. Without sacrificing action, plot twists and fan service - hello Han!
I still enjoy the style - first tense or not - the characters and their development - predictable, admittedly, but still - and the dialogue.
A must for fans
May 31, 2024
I still think Star Wars novels really lack something. I can't understand why, for instance, the novels insist on adding 'space slang' to the dialogue: words like 'frag' or phrases like 'stay frosty' are just stupid. 'Hell' and 'damn' are used in the films, when any slang or related language exists at all, and the books shouldn't introduce anything different.
The characters, especially the main ones from the films, usually demonstrate no development: in the later 'Legends' novels, Han, Luke, and Leia are old enough to be grandparents, but still run and fight like they're in their early 30's. In this novel, at least, Han's character and dialogue are generally spot on: except the author converts him into a heart-throb of the first (ahem) order. You'd think a young Brad Pitt had played Han, the way this character is described. Leia undergoes the 'Padme treatment': a strong, capable female character inexplicably turned helpless, almost weepy damsel in distress.
In Ep. VII, it was said (by an older less 'heart-throbby' Han) that Luke went missing after Kylo Ren killed all the Jedi. However, Luke has gone missing in this novel at a very early stage: before 'Ben' Solo is even born and apparently within a very short time after the Battle of Endor. This plot hole has no explanation, and appears to be a glaring mistake.
I keep reading these, because I want the gaps filled in and who doesn't love being exposed to these characters in any way possible? But I'm always left disappointed, and this was no different. The main characters are generally wrong, and the new characters just don't 'have it'.
The characters, especially the main ones from the films, usually demonstrate no development: in the later 'Legends' novels, Han, Luke, and Leia are old enough to be grandparents, but still run and fight like they're in their early 30's. In this novel, at least, Han's character and dialogue are generally spot on: except the author converts him into a heart-throb of the first (ahem) order. You'd think a young Brad Pitt had played Han, the way this character is described. Leia undergoes the 'Padme treatment': a strong, capable female character inexplicably turned helpless, almost weepy damsel in distress.
In Ep. VII, it was said (by an older less 'heart-throbby' Han) that Luke went missing after Kylo Ren killed all the Jedi. However, Luke has gone missing in this novel at a very early stage: before 'Ben' Solo is even born and apparently within a very short time after the Battle of Endor. This plot hole has no explanation, and appears to be a glaring mistake.
I keep reading these, because I want the gaps filled in and who doesn't love being exposed to these characters in any way possible? But I'm always left disappointed, and this was no different. The main characters are generally wrong, and the new characters just don't 'have it'.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,399 reviews