So for those who do not know, there are a bunch of novels, comics, etc being released leading up to ep7. So I figured I would start this thread so we could collectively gather the pieces and clues that fill in the gap between ep6 and ep7.

There will be spoilers. So if you don't want to accidentally read something, you shouldn't be in this thread.

Aftermath - novel by Chick Wendig (part 1 of 3, but the other 2 probably won't be released until much after ep7)

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I just finished the audio version yesterday. All in all it was a decent read/listen. It takes place pretty much right after the battle of endor and does not span very far past that point. I initially thought it would span the 30 years, but just a warning to anyone thinking that... it does not. A few months maybe.

I won't go into the details of the novel itself, just the takeaways the build the SW universe out as a whole.

Here are main characters (spoiler tag just to save space)

Most of Imperial command (the talented ones at least) were either on the Death Star or in the Endor Fleet. To fill the ranks, officers and soldiers are either being pulled from retirement or early promoted. The story in Aftermath revolves around some of the remnants of the Imperial high command having a meeting to decide what to do. The only thing they can agree on is that the Empire needs an Emperor. Not another Palpatine, but a single person to make the decisions and not be crippled by the indecision a council gives. They can't, however, decide who should be Emperor. The entire meeting is moot anyways, but more on that later.

Mon Mothma is head of the New Republic senate. Her main stance is that the New Republic isn't going to replace the Empire, so she calls for a 90% reduction in military to show the people they are different.

Boba Fett is potentially alive. In the wake of Jabba's death, there is a power grab taking place on tatooine. A bunch of psudo-legit mining companies are moving in. A buyer for one of these companies is picking through the Jawa's choice selection. Nothing is specific, but it is heavily implied. In the collection, there are pieces to a sail barge (jabba's) and more importantly, a whole suit of Mandalorian armor that looks as if it was soaking in some kind of acid.

Vader's lightsaber may have been bought by a group of people calling themselves 'Acolytes of the Beyond'. It was bought from a shady dealer, but the only thing that is truly known is that it is a red lightsaber.

Speaking of Vader, there seems to be a bit of a cult growing under the slogan 'Vader lives'.

One of the overall themes was that even though the Empire was brutal, they brought order. In the wake of the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire as a whole is in bad shape. Some of the people (civilians) miss the Empire because they provided stability. There was one interlude that said that when the Empire withdrew, the gangsters came in and made things worse. The New Republic answer was: join to senate so was can solve these problems.

The Empire has just 1 super star destroyer left, likely the one that ends up on Jakku. It is supposedly under the command of Admiral Rae Sloane (the main Imperial character of the novel).

There's a salvaged battle droid... one of the crappy ones from ep1 and his name is Mr. Bones. While most of the reviews for the book absolutely hated him, the audio book version of him painted a far different picture of him for me. He's named Mr. Bones because he has animal bones tied to his body. They clatter when he moves, and he is built from salvaged parts. One of his arms is a leg of an astromech droid with vibroblades. His programming is a blend of martial arts and 'a general from the clone wars' (grievous). In one scene he ripped apart (literally) a small contingent of storm troopers, cleaving one's head clean off. He still says 'roger roger', but the voice Marc Thompson (the narrator) gave him was maniacal. After which, he proclaimed 'I performed violence' in a proud tone.

One of the Emperor's old advisers, Tashu, had a lot of little tidbits about the Sith, Jedi, and the Emperor. He spoke of the Emperor's reasoning to take power was to create order in the galaxy and free it from the rule of the Jedi. The jedi ruled with their lightsabers under the guise of peace. While the dark side would stab you in the front, the jedi would stab you in the back. He was specific that the dark side is not evil, just the forceful direct approach to solving problems. There is always a cost that must be paid. Tashu also mentions that the Emperor believed that the source of his power came from the outer regions of the galaxy noting countless research stations and expeditions sent out to the edge. He also suggests to the Imperial council that the Empire should retreat to the outer edges and return when much stronger. The council members laugh at this notion and generally dismiss him as a cultist to the parlor tricks of the Emperor.

Han and Chewie are heading to kashyyyk to end wookie slavery there, even though they're supposed to be on a mission for the New Republic.

Jakku is mentioned once in the novel. It is described as a place no one goes to by choice and is essentially where you go to get as far away from the galaxy as possible.

At the end of the novel, the New Republic finally sends a fleet and most of the Imperials end up captured or dead. The whole Imperial meeting is a bust. Sloane, who is turning out to be very clever and talented, escapes back to the super star destroyer in another system. It is then revealed that she doesn't command it, but is working for someone else who remains unnamed. It is a man though. It is let known that Fleet Admiral has been leaking information to Akbar (Grand Admiral now) to remove his rivals and plans to rebuild the Empire.

So, did it feel like Star Wars, or was it just a book that has Star Wars trappings? What about the witing style, is it as odd as the previous leaked chapter indicated?

It felt like the other star wars audiobooks I've listened to. Marc Thompson does a pretty good job and like other SW audios, it is moderately dramatized. Maybe a little more narrowed in scope as it doesn't have any of the big characters like Luke and nothing galaxy changing takes place. It's more about how some of the non-key players are dealing with the power shift after Endor.

It jumps around to multiple characters, which is pretty normal. Throughout the book there are a number of 'interludes' that talk about whats happening around the galaxy, like the Boba Fett part.

As per the writing style, I can't personally comment too much on that as I listened to the narrated version and couldn't tell a difference. From what I've read in reviews though, it can be a deal breaker if you can't get used to it.

I wouldn't rate it in my top list by any means, but it definitely is not a 1-star novel as half the amazon reviews are giving it. I was able to binge the audiobook (12 hours) in 2 days, which I typically can't do... so that says something, but overall SW story progression fascinates me.

I finished reading it today and loved it. The new characters are fun and interesting and will make for a good trilogy. Every interlude was awesome seeing what was going on out in the universe. I'm really interested in the mystery fleet admiral who I think is Thrawn or a Thrawn like character being made canonical.

Wait so the New Republic forces are going to be reduced to ten percent of what? Ten percent of those maintained under the Empire? Ten percent of the existing military? Ten percent of the military strength of the old Rebel Alliance?

And what will happen to the deactivated forces?Will they be returned to local system and sector defense forces like in the EU/Legends? Or will the excess hardware be scrapped or mothballed while the extra personnel are discharged, AKA fired and told to get new jobs? If the latter I bet there will be a lot of new pirate groups arising and existing ones gaining new strength as discharged New Republic officers, NCOs, and enlisted soldiers who have no skills for non-combat jobs, and no interest in learning such skill or holding them go independent.

I'm about 85% into it (thanks Kindle!), and the writing style is _weird_. Third person present tense. It works for a script, but is _not_ something I've run into throughout an entire novel.

Also: the author had some turns of phrase that were simply incorrect. It was quite jarring, and not the first time I've noticed it with the recent Star Wars canon. I think the writers are on a strict deadline and the editors aren't catching everything they should.

The story feels like a Star Wars story, though.

I will say this about Mr Bones: the picture of him in my head is pure horror movie. Something by Sam Rami, maybe, where you are laughing until something horrific happens and you realize this isn't actually funny, the laughter is the last bit of your sanity running away. I keep expecting Mr Bone's brain to be Temmin's dad's. It doesn't seem like I'm right, but I _expect_ it.

And I'm down with that level of creepy.

Let's see.

He sure loves his punctuation. As Punning Pundit points out, it reads like an audiobook script. There are also some odd things that should have been caught in editing. In general the whole thing has a very flat tone, from start to finish. Slapstick and humour is described with the same flat tone as combat and horror.

The characters are ok. The story feels rather Star Warsy, with random stuff happening that would work well in a movie.

A prequisite for galactic leadership seems to be a lack of understanding on how to run anything. Then again, this was also the case in the prequels and originals. The Empire is as incompetent as the Old Republic and the New Republic is as incompetent as the Empire.

I liked the little snapshot vignettes. Perhaps the book should have been a novel collection of expanded versions of those?

Wait so the New Republic forces are going to be reduced to ten percent of what? Ten percent of those maintained under the Empire? Ten percent of the existing military? Ten percent of the military strength of the old Rebel Alliance?

I'm assuming Mon Mothma meant 90% of the current forces that were used to defeat the Empire. They didn't go into any details, the only time it was mentioned was in a single conversation.

Page 12 of the first issue of Shattered Empire:

While reading Shattered Empire today, I noticed this ship. I've never seen it before. I'm putting it under the spoiler tag because the image is huge.

Page 12 of the first issue of Shattered Empire:

Sergeant Dameron?!

Page 12 of the first issue of Shattered Empire:

Sergeant Dameron?!

Father is special forces. Mother is an ace (well.... good pilot at least). That's the makings of a hero alright.

punning pundit brought up a lot of my same reactions to Aftermath.

It was ok....I definitely enjoyed the twenty paged Shattered Empire MUCH more than Star Wars Aftermath. The characters in Shattered Empire seemed to be far more relevant to the progression of

The one redeeming thing about Aftermath, was Mr. Bones, I really loved his psychotic quirks. I listened to the audio version rather than reading it because I can sculpt and work on my art as I visualize the story being told. The sound effects and scoring throughout the book do add a whole new level to imagining what's taking place.

I had a hard time having any empathy toward temmin, whining and snarky throughout the novel. At times he seemed to be playing to the audience.

This could be due to Mark Thompsons choice for the characters voice. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to him narrate Star Wars, just not Temmin.