Book Review: 'Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt'
 |
| (C) 2016 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm, Ltd. |
Although Chuck Wendig’s Star Wars: Aftermath - the first volume in the Aftermath series - received mixed reviews from Star Wars fans, it was the first “new canon” novel to answer the question What happened in that galaxy far, far away after the Battle of Endor and the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader? Despite a few idiosyncrasies in style and use (or lack thereof) of Star Wars-like slang in some bits, Wendig’s 2015 Star Wars: Aftermath was a New York Times-bestseller because it still tells an exciting story about how Rebel pilot Norra Wexley and her team disrupt the plans of the Imperial Future Council and run into the gunsights of Imperial Grand Admiral Rae Sloane.
On July 12, 2016, Del Rey Books, an imprint of Random House, published Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt, which unites Norra, her teenage son Temmin and his refurbished battle droid Mr. Bones, former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, New Republic commando Jom Barell, and bounty hunter Jas Emari with Princess Leia Organa and her husband, Han Solo in a tale full of excitement, suspense, and danger.
It is a dark time for the Empire. . . .
The Emperor is dead, and the remnants of his former Empire are in retreat. As the New Republic fights to restore a lasting peace to the galaxy, some dare to imagine new beginnings and new destinies. For Han Solo, that means settling his last outstanding debt, by helping Chewbacca liberate the Wookiee’s homeworld of Kashyyyk.
Meanwhile, Norra Wexley and her band of Imperial hunters pursue Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and the Empire’s remaining leadership across the galaxy. Even as more and more officers are brought to justice, Sloane continues to elude the New Republic, and Norra fears Sloane may be searching for a means to save the crumbling Empire from oblivion. But the hunt for Sloane is cut short when Norra receives an urgent request from Princess Leia Organa. The attempt to liberate Kashyyyk has carried Han Solo, Chewbacca, and a band of smugglers into an ambush—resulting in Chewie’s capture and Han’s disappearance.
Breaking away from their official mission and racing toward the Millennium Falcon’s last known location, Norra and her crew prepare for any challenge that stands between them and their missing comrades. But they can’t anticipate the true depth of the danger that awaits them—or the ruthlessness of the enemy drawing them into his crosshairs. - from the jacket blurb, Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt
The novel begins with a prologue set 35 years earlier, when Galli, a 12-year-old orphan boy on the desert planet Jakku, stows away on the Imperialis, the Emperor’s luxury pleasure craft. Cunning and calculating even at an early age, Galli will grow up to become Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax, an Imperial officer selected by Palpatine himself to carry out “the Contingency,” a top secret plan to restore the Galactic Empire in the unlikely event that the Rebels defeat the Imperial forces and kill the Emperor.
Flash forward to the post-Battle of Endor era, when the Rebel Alliance has become the New Republic and the shattered Empire is apparently waning. Norra Wexley and her team of “Imperial hunters” is pursuing the Empire’s remaining leadership, including Grand Admiral Sloane, Grand Vizier Mas Ammeda, and Imperial Advisor Yupe Tashu. Ammeda is a virtual prisoner on the Empire’s former capital world Coruscant, but the others are on the run and plotting to restore the Empire to its former glory.
Meanwhile, Princess Leia Organa, one of the Rebellion’s most prominent leaders, is on Chandrila, worried about her husband, Han Solo. In a long-distance holo-message, Han tells Leia that he is searching for his friend and co-pilot. Chewbacca. Han and Chewie were on a mission to the Wookiee’s home planet, Kashyyyk to liberate it from Imperial domination. In the process, however, the two friends became separated. Now, Han has resigned his commission and gone off on his own to find Chewbacca - to pay back the life-debt that started their long friendship.
Meanwhile, Fleet Admiral Rax, the Galactic Empire’s de facto ruler, sets in motion a complex plan to self-destruct the Empire and lay the foundation for a new entity that will defeat the New Republic - and set in motion Palpatine’s posthumous scheme to rule the galaxy.
My Take
As with Star Wars: Aftermath, my reaction to Wendig’s Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt is a grab bag of mixed emotions. It is a fast-moving and often pleasurable Star Wars novel to read, and it does begin the process of filling in the gaps in the story between the events of 1983’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Once again, the novel is written in third-person, present tense, which is a style that few Star Wars authors use. As in Aftermath, Wendig uses a spare, almost minimalistic style that gets to the point fast; some readers may like this technique - Wendig has a witty, often irreverent style that is in turns interesting and amusing. Other readers may not praise the author’s stylistic decision to tell this story in this way. The tone is light and easy to take, but sometimes the writing has sudden stops and starts that some people will find annoying, even enervating.
The plot itself is riveting; who would have imagined that Sheev Palpatine would have conceived a Twilight of the Gods scenario reminiscent of Hitler’s scorched earth policies for Germany at the end of World War II? It is consistent with what we know of the Emperor/Dark Lord of the Sith from watching the Prequel Trilogy and the final chapter of the Original Trilogy, and it was cool seeing the devious Gallius Rax pulling off several double-crosses against both the New Republic and those Imperials who think they can save the old Empire.
It was also fun to see Wendig’s original characters interacting with the beloved cast of the Original Trilogy. Contrary to some of the snarkier reviews on Amazon, Wendig is a Star Wars fan who likes and knows the characters well. In Life Debt, where Han, Leia, and Chewbacca play a significant role in the story, Wendig captures some of the essence of the Original Trilogy’s “Heroes of the Rebellion” and injects it into the prose. He doesn’t quite pull it off as well as Timothy Zahn did in The Thrawn Trilogy, but Wendig puts a lot of effort into it - and it shows.
I really like Norra Wexley. Temmin, Mr. Bones, Jas, and Sinjir Rath Vallus and how they are now a cohesive team. They remind of the close-knit groups of freedom fighters seen in A New Hope, Star Wars Rebels, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Wendig also drops little references to people or places mentioned or seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No, not Supreme Leader Snoke or Rey’s parents, but we do meet a five-year-old Armitage Hux, who will grow up to be the First Order’s General Hux, commander of Starkiller Base. We also see Jakku itself, and Wendig hints that we’ll see what happens at the Battle of Jakku and why all that Imperial wreckage lies there 30 years later.
Product Details
|
Comments
Post a Comment