Star Wars Bookworms Book Club discussion

Last week please feel free to discuss the whole book here and the last 6 chapters

Well I finished it. Finally. I love Star Wars, this book did not feel like Star Wars. It felt all over the place. In fact aside from Luke moving a fork and some noodles nothing of importance happened at all. This books legacy is look learning to move small objects with the force. His love interest evaporated, which we all knew would happen, and even Luke managed to really have no depth.

I had much higher expectations for this book and I just don't feel it lived up to what it could have been. 2 stars for me.

I finished this book a few days ago and have been thinking about it quite a bit. I truly enjoyed the novel. This is the first first person novel that I have ever read (if memory serves me correctly). This brought about a unique perspective that I truly enjoyed.

I have since read a number of reviews from a number of different sites. It really seems that this novel ends up being hit or miss with the reader. For me it was a hit because it didn't need to be a book that was huge with action and adventure. Certainly I will concede that it was light in that department, but what it did have was well done. This book was always meant to be centric to Luke and what was going on with him. I believe that it hit the mark well and in a more intimate fashion than what I have every experienced in a Star Wars novel to date. Where I would mainly fault the story comes when Luke's thoughts read like a diary or journal entry from time to time.

This book appears to be set essentially immediately after the destruction of the Death Star. Luke is so young & naive here both mentally and in his understanding of the Force. We get to see his worries, his concerns, his self doubt vividly displayed in this novel. We also are treated to attempts to figure things out on his own. We receive just the slightest hints and frankly his difficulty at connecting to the Force. Yet we see genuine growth by the end of the book. He is beginning to connect easier without the struggle or concentration previously needed.

We also begin to see how he deals with the suddenness of how everything has gone down. It's quite a bit to deal with being a farmer who learns that he's to become a Jedi, losing the only real family you know, leave your home, lose the only person you know of to teach you how to be a Jedi...well you know the story. He begins to deal with all that his life has become, and begins to really process it all.

One character that quickly seems to be the focus of readers who dislike the book is Nakari. It seems that most lump her into the realm of another disposable female love interest that ultimately only boosts the male hero in the end. Indeed if you look at her simply as that the reader would be correct.

However I believe better questions to ask are: Was she a necessary character? Did Luke need a love interest? I think the answer is yes and no. Certainly the character was necessary. Luke needed someone to whom he related at that point in time. He needed to see that there were others that were dealing with the same types of things that he was (grief, loss, anger, frustration, you name it). That had history and reasons for joining the Rebels. More to the point, he needed someone to encourage him during a time of self doubt; someone who believed in him. Did she need to be a woman and someone he began to "fall for"? No. It made it obvious to the reader that she couldn't last. We know she wasn't around for any of the movies so it never looked good for her long term (even if she survived this book). Would Nakari have been better written as a male friend, a father figure, a mother figure, a teacher, a mentor? Who knows, but we needed the character to aid in Luke's growth.

Finally, Drusil was a fun character. I never really knew much about Givins before this. I loved the expansion of the Givin culture and how it was mathematically based. She always seemed to see things slightly different from everyone else, and her dialogue throughout the book was often captivating. Ultimately her role in the book was not grand. Her story simply provided the backdrop for the meat of the story to occur. I really enjoyed this book. I listened to about half of it on the audiobook version and truly loved the voices for each. My favorite minor character was Nakari's father..."Minion!". I think this has become one of my most favorite Star Wars books. 5 stars!

Scott wrote: "I finished this book a few days ago and have been thinking about it quite a bit. I truly enjoyed the novel. This is the first first person novel that I have ever read (if memory serves me correctly..."

Wow that was really insightful.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this one. The story and missions felt like a video game story to me. The dialogue felt like cutscenes between pointless missions and most of the characters felt one dimensional. I also gave the story only two stars. So far I have enjoyed Star Wars: Tarkin the most out of the canon novels.

Just finished this one. A little behind right now. I thought this book was the best so far (comparing to new dawn and tarkin). I really enjoyed hearne's first person view of Luke.

What I am interested in is since this novel took place 2 years after Star Wars, when does the marvel comic take place?

Definitely not a must read but it was one that brought you into the action fast and kept it up throughout the novel.

Has anyone read his iron Druid novels? Wondering if they are like that.

Thanks!

The Star Wars comic takes place essentially immediately after IV finishes. When they attack the weapons depot moon, they are looking to keep the pressure on.

The Marvel comic is after Heir to the Jedi, and the Iron Druid novels use the same first person style. Hope that helps.