That writing is just.... bad.

And I don't even have anything against present tense.

Yes, I'm relieved to say I can skip these books. The author can't even decide if the name of the person Wedge is impersonating is Hessan or Hassan (it flips back and forth several times).

And this character is supposed to have helped Lando build Cloud City? I could've swore that "Lando must've conned somebody out of it"...

Well, Lando did build it, from a certain point of view.

From which point of view, exactly?

Build could be metaphoric, like improving the economic and industrial structures and increasing business.

Exactly. Wasn't the previous Baron Administrator kind of running the place into the metaphorical ground?

Well it sure doesn't read like a metaphor (and the previous Baron Administrator isn't 'canon' anymore), so I still call sloppy writing.

Well it sure doesn't read like a metaphor (and the previous Baron Administrator isn't 'canon' anymore), so I still call sloppy writing.

No argument there...

But at the same time, I think the point of metaphor is that it doesn't look like a comparison at face value. "His hair was long grass and his skin was tree bark," isn't me describing Groot if I am using metaphor. Again though, I would agree that it wasn't really an effective use if that is what the author was going for.

That whole excerpt read like crap.

Hunter... Oh, ****. There goes my last shreds of hope. Oh well, if I take it like a Syfy movie maybe I can laugh at how bad it's going to be.

I'm just going to hate everything about the new star wars, except the ffg games.

So what you're saying is despite the canon wipe, the novels (the their impact on the overall continuity) are still going to be a hot mess with the occasional gem that will ultimately make wookieepedia entries so convoluted they could be read aloud and used as a kind of weapon, destroying the logic centers of the listeners brains?

Agh I could not actually read this. I have a natural distaste for novels written in the present tense (it works great for short stories, but there are few authors who can stay consistent with 400 pages of it), but I can appreciate it when it's done well. It is not done well here. On top of that, the author arbitrarily shifts between PoV in the middle of scenes, sometimes in the middle of paragraphs. I can't even tell what's going on at points.

I can't really say how I'd compare this with other Star Wars novels. I don't think I've ever read a Star Wars novel all the way through. I've tried, but Star Wars is such a visual and audible medium for me that books just haven't done it for me. I listen to them on tape when I go running, and they've got music and sound effects so I can kind of just tune out and be happy about Star Wars. Listened to Lords of the Sith and Dark Disciple that way recently. Enjoyed LotS, but DD was just okay.

Well, just picked up Aftermath from the library. Lets see if it's as bad as the preview makes it out to be!

Okay, five chapters into it and I've run into a major problem (above and beyond the writing style, that seems pretty consistent with the sneak preview): there's no narrative. It seems to be nothing but jumping around the galaxy establishing a Day In The Life after Endor. That's fine for a RPG supplement, but it's terrible for a novel.

Compare it to Heir to the Empire, another soft reboot that had to do a lot of world building. By chapter 5 we had a bad guy, a bad guy's goals (at least at the high level), the good guy and a clear objective for them. Here, I couldn't pick a main character out of a line up (aside from Wedge) to save my life.

Yeah, I'm thinking the whole "there is no new republic" line was in reference to the new film only. So I'm guessing we'll see a period of new republic before things going the direction needed for the whole first order/resistance thing gets going.

I was really looking forward to this book but then the author boasted that he wrote the entire book in 45 days, my expectations dropped off a cliff. Now I'm going to wait for reviews and so far it's not looking good.

45 days? Yeah, I can totally see that. This thing is riddled with typos and grammar errors. Some of that is on him, but where the hell are the editors and their red pencils?

Enjoying it so far (about 1/3 in). I think the characters are more interesting than most of the standard SW fare, a little darker and more seedy. And the action is a refreshing change from the usual "3 pages of description for 3 seconds of activity". Also getting a kick out of the TCW references...

It's not up to Miriam Black standards, but it's better than 90% of the EU.

Enjoying it so far (about 1/3 in). I think the characters are more interesting than most of the standard SW fare, a little darker and more seedy. And the action is a refreshing change from the usual "3 pages of description for 3 seconds of activity". Also getting a kick out of the TCW references...

It's not up to Miriam Black standards, but it's better than 90% of the EU.

Considering your frequently voiced condemnation of all of the EU, that's faint praise at best.

45 days? Yeah, I can totally see that. This thing is riddled with typos and grammar errors. Some of that is on him, but where the hell are the editors and their red pencils?

Bound and gagged by mouse commandos on a plane to a black site prison in central Asia.....

Well, 108 pages into the book and I think I'm safe in calling this mediocre. I know it's unfair to compare it to Heir, but 100 pages into Zhan's book I couldn’t wait to find out more about Thrawn and Karrde, what the hell was up with Mara Jade and her back story, what was going on with C’Baoth. Here, there's no character development to speak of, there's nobody here worth caring about.

Perhaps this will change - there's still 260 pages left to go. But somehow I doubt it.

(and yeah, better than 90% of the other Star Wars books is an easy goal to beat when the bar is set so low.)

Good or bad it's going to be the canon baseline between OT and TFA. I'm curious if FFG was given a draft or copy or outline to begin sourcebook development prior to its release?

Is the prose as choppy as I've heard?

(And how do you do the thing with the link?)

I'm reading Aftermath right now, and enjoying it. It's not the most epic prose of all time, but it is quite serviceable for a Star Wars novel (and light years better than some of the trash compactor sludge in The New Jedi Order books). The characters are engaging and interesting, and I really like how one of the featured characters is the previously unknown, unnamed Y-wing pilot who participated in Lando's Death Star run. The Imperial characters are not all sneeringly evil, most have nuance and personality. The best addition is a droid named Mister Bones, who is both amusing and terrifying. Don't write the book off based on the preview alone, it's well worth checking out.

I finished the book last night, and enjoyed it. It had a few typos, but nothing unforgivable (although they should've done a better job on Jom Barell/Barrel's name). I liked the new crew they brought together for future adventures, and I was particularly pleased that the mother/son relationship in the story seemed natural and normal, despite the circumstances. I was really hoping to learn more about the mysterious person Sloane speaks to at the very end, but no reveal was forthcoming. Perhaps in the next book. I also liked the tantalizing hints of the goings-on in the greater galaxy in the interludes, although I think there were too many of those in the latter half of the book.

I can't go so far as to say this is a must-read novel, but it is significant for being the first canonical book covering events after ROTJ, and sets the stage for events to come.

I am enjoying it. Yeah I would have preferred a story based around the big three of Han, Luke, and Leia but I will take what I can get.

I think I am enjoying the interludes more than the main story. These give little snippets as to the state of the galaxy shortly after RotJ.

That writing is just.... bad.

And I don't even have anything against present tense.

Yes, I'm relieved to say I can skip these books. The author can't even decide if the name of the person Wedge is impersonating is Hessan or Hassan (it flips back and forth several times).

And this character is supposed to have helped Lando build Cloud City? I could've swore that "Lando must've conned somebody out of it"...

Well, Lando did build it, from a certain point of view.

Here's the thing in Empire Strikes Back Cloud city was implied to be a small out of the way mining operation that the Empire didn't even know about until Han fled there and Fett figured out where he was going then led Death Squadron there, like it was one of the uncharted settlements mentioned earlier in the movie. If they stick close to what was implied in ESB Lando could have easily built it. But for some reason the EU/Legends authors turned it into an ancient mining colony and resort that was one of the min centers for mining a vital resource for starship weapon construction.

I am enjoying it. Yeah I would have preferred a story based around the big three of Han, Luke, and Leia but I will take what I can get..

After so many post-RotJ stories that focused on the those three, I'm glad that the new books aren't centered around those three.

Honestly, under the old EU it seemed like every little crisis that cropped up could only be solved by those three, making the galaxy feel much smaller than it should have.

That the first of the new post-RotJ books barely features two of the three is a much needed breath of fresh air, as it allows the authors to demonstrate that the galaxy is a big place and that not every crisis requires the attention of those three individuals. I really do hope it stays that way, and that appearances by Han, Leia, and Luke are rare things.

There are some interesting small bits in here, particularly things that are now official canon:

1) The planet Taris

2) Jawas smell terrible

3) The existence on Tatooine of a complete suit of Mandalorian armour, with "a helmet, pitted and pocked, as if with some kind of acid". Make of that what you will...

I am enjoying it. Yeah I would have preferred a story based around the big three of Han, Luke, and Leia but I will take what I can get..

After so many post-RotJ stories that focused on the those three, I'm glad that the new books aren't centered around those three.

Honestly, under the old EU it seemed like every little crisis that cropped up could only be solved by those three, making the galaxy feel much smaller than it should have.

That the first of the new post-RotJ books barely features two of the three is a much needed breath of fresh air, as it allows the authors to demonstrate that the galaxy is a big place and that not every crisis requires the attention of those three individuals. I really do hope it stays that way, and that appearances by Han, Leia, and Luke are rare things.

Yeah, it's one of my pet-peeves with the EU.

I am enjoying it. Yeah I would have preferred a story based around the big three of Han, Luke, and Leia but I will take what I can get..

After so many post-RotJ stories that focused on the those three, I'm glad that the new books aren't centered around those three.

Honestly, under the old EU it seemed like every little crisis that cropped up could only be solved by those three, making the galaxy feel much smaller than it should have.

That the first of the new post-RotJ books barely features two of the three is a much needed breath of fresh air, as it allows the authors to demonstrate that the galaxy is a big place and that not every crisis requires the attention of those three individuals. I really do hope it stays that way, and that appearances by Han, Leia, and Luke are rare things.

I understand the sentiment but in my opinion Star Wars of this era is primarily about the big three (and the next four). I would have preferred starting the new post-RotJ fiction with a heavy dose of those characters and then having them fade into the background over time.

It's not up to Miriam Black standards, but it's better than 90% of the EU.

Considering your frequently voiced condemnation of all of the EU, that's faint praise at best.

Well, I have enjoyed Medstar, Legacy, and most of John Jackson Miller's stuff.

But now that I've finished, let me revise that upwards to 98%. It was a thoroughly enjoyable romp with more character development in single chapters than some whole EU series. The saucy descriptions, like "...the wires dangled into his face like the tentacles of a Quarren dentist...", had me laughing outright, and I really enjoyed the grittier "lived in" locations he describes.

I have no idea who the manipulator is at the end, but it must be the tie-in to the main villain in E7...

Just finished the book myself.

It was a fun read, and the fact that the main protagonists weren't characters from the new movies added a level of suspense in the points where it looked like one or more of them might come a bad end. Being written in present tense wasn't a bother for me, and I think the author did a nice job with fleshing out the various protagonists, to the point I wouldn't mind reading more stories centered around them.

Personally, I found the side-chapters/interludes to be far more interesting than the main plot, as they helped paint a picture of what the galaxy was like in the wake of the second Death Star's destruction as the New Republic tries to liberate the galaxy from the Empire. In fact, I got several potential adventure ideas from reading those chapters for games set in the wake of the Battle of Endor during those tumultuous several months after the Alliance's victory.