A few years back I
decided to finally embrace the idea of April Fools Day albiet with my
own twist. Instead of basic pranks and gags I aim for something
closer to public art. We're talking the kind of thing that will make
someone stop in their tracks and scratch their head. Something of
both a perk and issue with this is that it may take weeks or months
for the project to be discovered. This makes it so the day itself
isn't necessarily so important though the usual advent of good sprin
weather tends to spur me on. Sadly this past week has been something
of a rollercoaster veering wildly from sunny and pleasant to snowy
and wet. Unable to set up my projects thus far I've taken time to
catch up on some reading which means it's time to tell yall about
more Star Wars.
For nearly the
entirity of this feature one book has sat comfortably atop the
quality rankings. Of course I'm talking about Lost Stars by
Claudia Gray, the star crossed lovers epic of the new expanded
universe. Despite the books own flaws such as some overdrafts and a
flabby ending no other novel in the franchise has found such a solid
a balance of scope, world building, characterization etc. It didn't
seem like anyone stood a chance of dethroning that work, until the
same author took another shot at the galaxy far far away. I mean who
better to take down Claudia Gray than Claudia Gray?
The setting for
Bloodline is six years before the force awakens. Our focus is
Princess Leia and her service for the new republic senate. Things
aren't so good in the senate as very little is accomplished other
than bickering between the two primary political parties. Leia
belongs to the populist party, a group that believes in individual
planets rights to oversee their own affairs. On the other side is the
centrist party that hopes to restore a more centralized powerful
government that impose it's will throughout the galaxy. Does that
sound familiar?
Summing up the
story cleanly would prove to be something of a challenge though the
core of it revolves around Leia's growing yet difficult friendship
with centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo. Initially disgusted by the
man when she discovers his hobby of collecting Imperial artifacts the
two soon forge a bond while investigating a large criminal
organization with deeper ties to something far more sinister. The
scenes between these two characters are easily the strongest element
of the book with Casterfo proving to be one of the finest new
personalities from these books. He's a completely three-dimensional
being whose flaws are never too outlandish nor are his positives too
garish.
On that
aforementioned investigation into the criminal underworld, it really
kickstarts a story unlike most others in the franchise so far.
There's bombings, assassinations, secret armies, and since it all
plays out from a political perspective it comes across as a more
unique adventure than the usual planet hopping antics we're
accustomed too. Frankly it's a nice change of pace from the basic
adventure tales that have so far made up the majority of new cannon.
Think of it this way. If novels like Heir to the Jedi and
Ashoka equivalent to Flash Gordon or Zatoichi
than this is The Pelican Brief.
Two other key
characters throughout this tale are Joph Seastriker and Greer Sonnel
both of whom are decent additions though neither can match up to Leia
or Casterfo. Greer in particular sticks out like a sore thumb due to
a strange health subplot that doesn't show up until late in the game.
Joph on the other hand is more of the typical Luke Skywalker stand
in. He's young, craves adventure, blah blah blah. He's not a bad
character by any means, might even qualify as good if he weren't
sharing the spotlight with more interesting personalities.
One odd problem
through this book comes from the writers background as a young adult
author. By nature of her usual genre, Claudia Gray is used to
inserting small bits of overemotional asides. In a book like Lost
Stars where the cast was made up of teenagers this was
acceptable. Bloodine however is about a middle aged politician
so such outbursts come across as odd. It's an issue that fades away
as the book goes on but a notable problem all the same.
There is another
annoying element to this book that probably isn't the fault of the
author. Obviously by this point in the timeline Leia has given birth
to her son Ben. At this point the kid is off training with his uncle
but that relationship between mother and son which would seem pretty
important is hardly touched on. I'm thinking this is most likely due
to the higher ups in the Star Wars story group advising Gray to steer
clear of this major plot until more of it has been properly hashed
out during the movies. It's just sad to read the first book about
adult Leia and have it largely ignore one of the biggest developments
in her life.
One more weakness
is the villains. Simply put, they're not the best though that's not
as big an issue here as it is in a book like Ashoka as this is
more of a character driven drama than that more outright adventure.
Cutting to the
chase, was Claudia Gray able to topple her long standing winner? No,
not at all, but she did give it a damn fine shot. Having read so many
of these books, there are very few I would call out as quality
reading, but this is a legitimately good book. There's so much
information about the state of the universe and the formation of the
resistance to make this a must read for Star Wars nuts. Beyond that,
there's enough quality storytelling to make it a worthwhile venture
for more casual fans. Let's put it in the rankings.
1. Lost Stars by
Claudia Gray
2. New Dawn by
John Jackson Miller
3. Bloodline by
Claudia Gray
4. Ashoka by
E. K. Johnston
5.
Tarkin by James Luceno
6. Battlefont
Twilight Company by Alexander Freed
7. Moving Target
by Cecil Castelluci and Jason Fry
8. Before the
Awakening by Greg Rucka
9. Smuggler's
Run by Greg Rucka
10. Heir to the
Jedi by Kevin Hearne
11. Aftermath by
Chuck Wendig
12. The Weapon
of a Jedi by Jason Fry
That's all for
today, folks. I'm trapped in yet another extended work weekend. On
the downside that means you won't hear from me for a few days, on the
upside it gives me time to work through the next novel in the series.
While on the subject, how many of you out there are keeping up with
these books? Any major favorites thus far? Are my rankings absolutely
crap? Drop me a line, it'll keep me company at the guard shack.
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