Star Wars Canon Novels Archives - Page 5 of 7

Star Wars: Battlefront II Inferno Squad Book Review

Star Wars: Battlefront II Inferno Squad

SPOILER FREE

Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad is written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Christie Golden. This story takes place after the events of A New Hope.

SUMMARY: Inferno Squad is an elite group of imperials who were placed together to weed out some “bad eggs” in the Empire. The elite group was put together after discovering, that an imperial scientist was ultimately responsible for creating the very weakness that caused the Death Star to be a vulnerable target. Therefore, the Empire needs to clean house, and that’s exactly what Iden Versio and her team will do.

The team is tasked with a dangerous mission, different than their previous missions., Inferno Squad is to infiltrate the extremist rebel group known as the Dreamers. This particular cell has direct ties to Saw Gererra’s Partisan group. With their intelligent/elite minds, they devise a risky plan to be naturally adopted into the rebel cell. If successful, they will put an end to the extremist rebels and save many within the Empire.

CHARACTERS: As always I like to briefly mention a character or two. For this novel, I’ll mention three.

Iden Versio: The leader of Inferno Squad. She was a military child from Vardos, now grown, we meet her as a senior lieutenant in the Empire. She’s smart and tactic, that’s why she holds such high rank and climbing, for such a young woman. Iden is loyal and hard edged. She won’t hesitate to complete her task.

Gideon Hask: He’s an imperial, also a part of Inferno Squad. He’s always been a good friend to Iden. In the past, they would challenge each other in many areas, to excel, to become the best of the best. Gideon’s roll within the Dreamers is pivotal to Inferno Squad’s success or failure. He must instill doubt within the cell, to turn them against each other.

Staven: He’s a Dreamer, determined to bring drown the Empire. He’s aggressive, fueled by the passion of the loved ones lost. His quest for justice against the Empire is cruel and extreme. Is tactics would be seen as vile to both the Rebel Alliance and the Empire.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Wow… this book is a must read. Christie Golden, just knocked it out of the park! The book is a tie in to the upcoming video game, Battlefront II. Inferno Squad sets the new bar in Star Wars literature. It’s so captivating… so surprising! This novel is reminds of some mafia/FBI films. It’s Star Wars meets Donnie Brasco, or Star Wars meets The Departed.

Why is this novel so short? I want more! There are some time jumps that I think could have been fleshed out, to add a few pages. The characters were outstanding, the chemistry between them, outstanding. I was so invested in the story and the characters. This novel made my heart race. I haven’t stayed up late to read in a long time… I was up past midnight reading this treasure.

Thank you DelRey and Christie Golden for putting this story out. I honestly didn’t expect that much. I’ve learned to tame my expectations with the Star Wars books. We’d get one good book, followed by some mediocre books, a stinker, and then another decent read. This novel is top notch! I highly recommend you pick up this book. It’ll keep your blood pumping and keep you on the edge of you seat!

Battlefront II – Inferno Squad was an absolute treasure. A must read for anyone who enjoys Star Wars.

Rating: I give this book a 5 of 5

Star Wars: Thrawn Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

SPOILER FREE

Star Wars: Thrawn is written by New York Times Bestselling Author Timothy Zahn. Zahn is no stranger to the Star Wars galaxy, he is the mastermind behind the Legends canon epic known as the Thrawn Trilogy: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. I’ll provide links to amazon below so you can pick those up if dont already have them!

Summary: The empire takes a mysterious alien into custody. Due to the rarity of the individual, the officer in command decides to deliver the alien directly to the Emperor as some sort of trophy. The bond is formed immediately between the Emperor and this alien, a Chiss named Thrawn. Thrawn swears his loyalty to the Empire. His impressive background and military expertise leads Thrawn to many successes in the Empire, climbing the ranks faster than anyone else. Because of his alien species he does face adversaries which brings him some strife, but there isn’t much he can’t handle.

The antagonist in the novel is brilliant, only Thrawn stands a chance at piecing the puzzles together that are laid out by this individual, called Nightswan. He’s responsible for theft of a strong material that is being used by the Empire to build a certain military space station. The side story involves a young woman, Arihnda Pryce and her struggle with power and success. I want to tread lightly and not reveal spoilers, so moving on.

Characters: Because Thrawn was loaded with so many fantastic characters, I’m going to mention three of them.

Thrawn: calculated, well spoken, and well trained. The mains a military genius. He is a strange being to the known galaxy, only myths exist of the alien species, the Chiss. Thrawn is the man you’d want on your side. I found myself routing for him… I should be, because he’s a filthy imperial. To better understand his foes, he studies their art. Thrawn is one of the most elaborate and impressive character we’ve been gifted in the new canon.

Pryce: A woman from Lothal. I was actually impressed by this character, she was secondary, and somewhat disconnected from the story of Thrawn, but her story was just as fun and interesting. Her path is a crazy one. I liked this character but by the end of the book, I hated her. Not because she was poorly written, but because of her personality and what she does. Only after this book did I find out she’s in the Rebels TV show.

Finally, Eli Vanto: The character I feel a lot of us regular guys can relate to, you have plans, you can see your success paying off, then crap just hits the fan and you wind up in places or situations you never expected. I routed for Vanto from page one.

Overall Thoughts: This book is absolutley amazing! If you are a Legends fan who can’t bring yourself to read a canon book… but your watching or reading this review anyway, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. Timothy Zahn can seriously write a novel. I’ve heard folks complain that there wasn’t enough action in the book, I found just the right amount. The perfect balance of action and politics. This novel focuses on thing that is very very important, that a lot of books on both the new canon and Legends lack. STORY!

As of now, I’m going to claim that Thrawn is definitely in my top 3 canon novels. I think this is the first book I’ve read that demands a trilogy. I hope Thrawn survives season 4 of Rebels… a show I don’t watch, so we can get more books focuses on his character.

Rating: I give this book a 5 out of 5

Star Wars: Rogue One Novelization Review

by Matthew Wilson

SPOILER FREE

Rogue One the novelization, it was written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Alexander Freed. This is his second novel in canon, his first book was Battlefront Twilight Company.

Alexander Freed… can do no wrong!

Summary: The Empire successfully constructs the ultimate battle station! The oppression and tyranny of the Empire expands as an underground alliance is built on hope. It’s purpose, to strip power from Emperor Palpatine and reinstate the Republic. As intelligence unveils a secret planet killer, it’s realized that a peaceful transfer of power is unlikely. The transition may very well have to be executed through rebellious force!

Intelligence reports that an imperial pilot has defected! He contains highly classified imperial information regarding the Empire’s new battle station. Jyn Erso, a rebellious young lady, is intercepted by the rebel alliance. She may be the key to extracting more information on the dreaded space station. It is known that her father has played a role in its construction.

We go on a wild chase to put an end to the planet killer, meeting a few new characters and landing on new unfamiliar planets! This tale leads right up to the moments just before A New Hope.

Characters: There are several characters that I could talk about from this book, but Im only choosing two.

Jyn Erso, the daughter of Galen Erso, the man responsible for constructing the Death Star’s powerful weapon by order of the Empire. Jyn is strong willed, she’s held onto hatred for those who have abandoned her over the course of her life… even though her father was taken against his will. Saw Garrera, a rebel who is known as an extremist amongst the alliance and the Empire, also left her behind. As she is forced into an explosive force of events, she must either free herself of the mental and emotional prison she is trapped in… or close herself off to reality and remain behind her personal prison.

The other character to mention is Bodhi Rook. He was the imperial shuttle pilot who defected from the Empire. It took a lot of courage to pull off what he had to do. In the book we find out a more about his past. He’s pretty rattled by his actions… from imperial pilot to full blown rebel. The man was tortured during his transition but overcame the pain. He’s got a conscience, he’s honorable, a true hero of the rebel alliance.

Overall Review: This novelization… is phenomenal! So I saw the film a few times in theater. This book doesn’t take away anything, it actually adds a few things that are completely necessary. As expected there was added dialogue that wasn’t in the film. It’s not distracting at all but adds to the story. Between some chapters are “Supplemental Data” logs. Documents of various sorts such as messages between imperials or journal entries of the rebel alliance.Alexander Freed perfected the dialogue and development of each character. We get into their minds and discover who they are psychologically and emotionally. He paints amazing visuals with his words.

I loved this book so much! If this wasn’t a novelization but just a standalone novel, I’d probably have to put this as number one on my list. It’s debatable, but as of now, I will not rank the novelizations along with the other novels.

Rating: I give this book a 5 out of 5

Star Wars: Catalyst Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

Star Wars Catalyst, a Rogue One novel is the 12th novel released in canon. It was written by New York Times Best Selling Author, James Luceno. Luceno is no stranger to the Star Wars universe. He’s written several books in the Legends canon and recently wrote Tarkin as part of the new canon.

Summary: The tale takes place between the events of episode 2 through 4. The battle between the separatists and the republic, the Clone Wars, tears the galaxy asunder. A brilliant scientist, Galen Erso and his family are held captive. He wants his work to be used for the good of the galaxy… not for the military.

Characters: This is a great introduction to some of the characters we are to see in Rogue One. Every character fits in to the universe. Some characters we already know, Luceno actually spiked my interest with some of the old characters we’ve met before. I always like to mention at least two of my favorite characters from the book. One of them was introduced to us through marketing for Rogue One.

Orson Krennic: He’s an imperial officer who’s somewhat obsessed with rank and title. He’s overseeing the construction of the a massive space-station/super-weapon. The man is sly, a trickster and a smooth talker. An excellent villain, the best I’ve read yet.

Galen Erso was fantastic, but I’d rather talk about Has Obitt. Has is a smuggler. Has is a smuggler who’s been mixed up with the separatists, republic, and then the empire. He’s a humanoid with some morals. He gets caught up in the lies and web of some imperials before making a drastic decision.

Overall Review: I absolutely loved this novel. James Luceno knocks it out of the park with characters, dialogue, plot and even the subplot. The pacing of the story was fast and entertaining. Not a single moment did I think, “pick up already!” In my opinion, some events/characters from the prequels were polished, having them make more since and fit into the overall saga a lot better. There is plenty exploration into the Jedi. Creating new lore and myth for them, the Force, and for the power source of light sabers… kyber crystals. We get s look into the empire like we haven’t seen before. Luceno paints the devastation taking place on so may worlds in great detail. Thank you Luceno, for this awesome book.

Rating: I give this book a 5 out of 5

Star Wars: Aftermath Life Debt Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

SPOILER FREE

Aftermath – Life Debt is the 10th novel released in Star Wars canon. It’s the second installment of the Aftermath trilogy and was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Chuck Wendig

Summary: We have a rag tag team of characters that we were introduced to in the first book. The soldier, the pilot, bounty hunter, the imperial, and a droid sidekick. This team works for the New Republic, combing the galaxy for high ranking officials of the empire. Though the Empire suffered a major blow from what we witnessed in Return of the Jedi and read about in the first Aftermath installment, they haven’t completely fallen yet. This team is also tasked with an important mission, to find the missing Han Solo. Han Solo and Chewbacca both went missing on their quest to liberate Kashyyyk from the empires grip.

While the Empire is struggling for control of not just the galaxy but control within itself, Admiral Sloane is on a personal mission to uncover the true identity of the man calling all the shots throughout “her” Empire.

Characters: Only a few new characters are introduced including the high ranking antagonist, Gallius Rax. He somewhat interesting, manipulates those around him to his will. Some may speculate he may actually be Supreme Leader Snoke, I think not. The main characters such as Norra Wexley and SInjir, are okay, I still don’t care about these characters. The pet droid, Bones, hate him! “Roger roger.” Han Solo and Leia, written poorly… too whiney and absent of the voice have in other books and especially the films. I’d say he did a bad job with Mon Mothma, but because we don’t have her much in the films, we don’t know who the character really is, nothing to compare to… so that said, I don’t like Mon Mothma. Not the way she was written, but just as a character in general.

Overall Review: Alright, I hated Aftermath. My expectations were too high for the book. So upon the release of Aftermath Life Debt, I lowered them greatly and accepted the story being told. This book wasn’t my favorite. It wasn’t horrible either. I didn’t connect with the characters of the New Republic, I found Rax and Sloane interesting – I think it’s because Wendig did a better job writing the Empire, the New Republic coverage was tiring. The book has a lot of sexual content, still odd to have in what’s supposed to be a family friendly story. I lost count of how many characters pinched their brow. The writing style is still not my thing, there were a lot of predictable and convenient moments. The end of the book was indeed the best book, not because it was over! But because that’s when it got really interesting. I can’t believe I’m going to say it, but I’m looking forward to January’s release of Aftermath: Empire’s End.

Rating: I give this book a 2.5 out 5

Star Wars: Bloodline Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

SPOILER FREE

Bloodline is the 9th “adult” novel released in the new Star Wars canon. It was written by New York Times Best-Selling Author, Claudia Gray.

After reading Lost Stars, which Claudia Grey also wrote… I really looked forward to this book, and that day has finally arrived!

Summary: This story takes plaice nearly two decades after return of the Jedi. The New Republic is finding itself divided. Two factions have formed, the Centrists – who believe the galactic government should be stronger and have a more powerful military throughout the galaxy. Then there is the Populists, who believe individual planets should retain authority over their own. So we basically have big government ideology versus small government. The book is loaded with politics that change the course of the galaxy.

Leia is getting tired of the banter in the senate, she’d like to retire… that is until the senate is approached with a seemingly serious problem. In the absence of the Empire, a criminal organization is flexing its muscle in the galaxy. You may or may not remember, in the Aftermath novel by Chuck Wendig, Mon Mothma pretty much demilitarized the New Republic. So… not such a good idea Mon. Leia shoves aside her retirement dreams and steps up to investigate the problem. In the senate, during this distraction, a motion is made to create a definitive leader of the New Republic, called the First Senator.

Characters: Claudia Gray does an excellent job introducing us to several new characters and expands slightly on some of the newer worlds. One character with a fascinating backstory and arch is Ransolm Casterfo. Ransolm is a young Centrist who is fascinated by the fallen Empire, he understands why things went wrong, but the idea of what could have been possible, fuels his political aspirations. Leia, a Populist, has never been written better! She’s older, wiser, and a born leader. Another great character would be Greer Sonnel, Leia’s pilot.

Overall Review: Gray was able give me goosebumps on several occasions with this book. There are moments when something was brought up that we had already known about from the previous films. However, the emotion expressed within and from a different perspective, makes it seem likes it’s the first time we hear about it! Like I mentioned in the summary, the book is political and I know some folks would turn their nose at that. You don’t want to do that… this is the type of Star Wars I like to read, there are consequences to be paid in full by the actions of the senate. Here’s a negative – the action came off a little weak and rushed. Some issues weren’t so much predictable, but a little too convenient. Yet, the book is loaded with story, with character, emotion, and the direction brings us closer to The Force Awakens than any other book has. Star Wars Bloodline gets two thumbs up from me.

Rating: I give this book a 4 out of 5

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