Just finished the book today. I woudl have finished it sooner but the writing style made it difficult for me to stick with. I often had to put it down after only a few pages, due to frustration. Once I hit the halfway mark though I was able to finish the rest of the book in 2 days.

I'll say this. It's the worst book I've ever read. Granted I have only started reading seriously the last few months, and have read amazing books like the Martian and Ready Player One. So it being the "worst" might not mean all that much.

My main complaints follow: There may be SPOILERS

1: Writing Style - Wedge tells Ackbar, Mon Monthma: "We have to do X,Y, Z" Things like that annoy me. The author uses a TON of colons and incomplete sentences. At one part there are two paragraphs contains entirely in parentesis. Consecutive paragraphs. And they were about the same topic. I don't see why they needed to be two separate paragraphs, nor why each of them needed to be completely enclosed in parentesis. Things like that distract me from the story and make me think about the grammar and syntax way too much.

2: Hollow Story - There is virtually no motivation for the people to do the things that they are doing. The only real motivation is money, a bounty hunter is going to share her bounty with everyone if they all team up and kill all the imperial bad guys.... It isn't "Believable". A Mother who's only motivation in the world is to be with her son and save him, abandon's her son at the drop of a hat and disregards her entire motivation multiple times in the story. The "Gay" character isn't gay until a single line in the last few chapters, and there's no reason for him to be gay, other than out of NOWHERE one of the female characters is like "Hey, do you want to have sex after this mission is complete?" and he says no. Hell he might not even BE gay, he might have been trying to let her down gently. Anyhow, it had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING and I would have rather him have a husband or something so that there was some reason to mention his orientation other than the sake of diversity.

3: Main Character X Dies. Next page you find out the author lied. - Author does this like 4 or 5 times in the book and it gets old quick. Explosion - and he lay there, dead. Next page :"Well I thought I was dead, but turns out I've just got a bump on the head". It it happened once I'd think it was clever. It happens TOO much. And when peopel DO die, it isn't even mentioned until MUCH later, "Oh yeah this person died 4 days ago BTW".

4: Doesn't feel at ALL like Star Wars .- Insert this story into any other setting and it's still a lame story that "works" anywhere. Nothing about it has much to do with "Star Wars" unless you consider people's backstory, which doesn't really matter.

5: Interludes - These blasted interludes are TOO MUCH. Almost every chapter ends with an Interlude after it. It is frustrating to feel like I have to read an entirely new story every 6 or 7 pages. And while one or two of the interludes are interesting, I found many of them to be forgettable or otherwise uninteresting. It would have been better to have maybe 2 or 3 interludes tops, instead of like thirty. (Don't have an exact count but it feels like thirty of them).

6: Lack of Legacy EU Tie-Ins - I was expecting at least one character from the EU to show up, or for them to name-drop someone. I know this is a weak gripe, but it's my last one.

Yeah matches the complaints I've read aswell, I've read some stinkers in the EU but they sound better than what you describe.

I disagree about the interludes. I am rather enjoying those.

Actually, I would rather read more about some of those stories than the actual plot of the book.

I'm a heterosexual with religious beliefs who finds homosexuality disgusting. You notice I said homosexuality not homosexuals. They're people too and deserve to be treat with dignity and respect. So if I was reading a book and there was a gay character I'd keep reading so long as there were no graphic love scenes. But I'd close a book if it had graphic loves scenes between a man and a woman too so again that makes little difference.

ALL the reviews and hate I've read, and I've read about twenty, have all criticized the bad writing, poor plot etc. Not one of them ever mentioned the one gay character. Probably because those reviewers are real people who live in the real world and don't see that as an issue. Like me. If most of the reviews berated him in a homophobic tirade, I'd believe this was biased by prejudice and get the book believing those people were blinded by their hate.

I could say the same regarding religous beliefs and perspectives on homosexuality.

There were actually three gay characters in the book. Objectively, they weren't written poorly and there was not much emphasis on any kind of sexual activity other than the bounty hunter's proposition (which was fairly PG in itself).

None of that bothered me. It is my opinion that the author's inclusion of multiple gay characters was pretty forced and is more of a real-life social commentary than a workable sci-fi narrative. But still this is not a book that I would caution my religious peers against on merit of those characters' sexual identity. If anything, I just thought it was poorly-written.

The book has some merit (I will admit that I enjoyed some of the interludes) and I tend to be very forgiving; I am a prequel fan, an OT fan, and a sequel fan. But still I believe this book proves that not-EU can be just as awful as old-EU.

Edit: brevity

the author's inclusion of multiple gay characters was pretty forced and is more of a real-life social commentary than a workable sci-fi narrative.

This is a pet peeve for me as well.

If anything, I just thought it was poorly-written.

This why it's a bad book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

The "Gay" character isn't gay until a single line in the last few chapters, and there's no reason for him to be gay, other than out of NOWHERE one of the female characters is like "Hey, do you want to have sex after this mission is complete?" and he says no. Hell he might not even BE gay, he might have been trying to let her down gently. Anyhow, it had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING and I would have rather him have a husband or something so that there was some reason to mention his orientation other than the sake of diversity.

As a practicing heterosexual, I thought that scene was kind of hilarious. She's just getting more and more frustrated until he's all "uhh, sorry! I'm gay."

It was possibly the only laugh out loud funny bit that didn't involve a robot.

Has anyone ever heard the theory of Indana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, that says Indy might as well not have been there and the story ends up unfolding the same way? That is kinda how I feel about some of the characters in this book.

Wedge - Has nothing to do with the story.

Spec-Op Commando - Has virtually nothing to do with the Story.

Bounty Hunter and Norra - Have very little to do with the story

The only characters who make an impact are Temmin and Sinjir. And the impact they have is deplorable - by making a FALSE propaganda film and broadcasting it to the city. Which leads me to another problem....

There has long been discussion about how the Empire is actually the force of GOOD and the Rebels are simple terrorists. This book makes the rebels look even more like terrorists. Rebels kill Imperials all the time like it's going out of style. Every. Single. Time and imperial has a rebel, he/she offers then the opportunity to stand down and takes them prisoner instead. And the only way for the rebels to convince the people to turn against the empire is to make a FALSE film with rebels in stormtrooper costumes KILLING people - because Stormtroopers don't do that. Honestly I HATED the characters in this book because they were pretty much pure evil.

Wasn't there a scene showing the Empire massacring people celebrating in the wake of Palpatine's death? I know it was mentioned in the previews.

There were police coming to arrest people who were destorying palpatines statue. A few stormtroopers shot into a violent crowd who was throwing rocks, but their commander reprimanded them and told them to stop. Honestly This book almost paints the Empire as a supremely GOOD force with like 3 or 4 mentally ill people who do some of the talking.

Ok that's insane. Did the author somehow miss the big words at the beginning of A New Hope stating that the Empire is evil or the long, long list of civilians summarily executed for no reason by the Empire other then being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the canon material? What is this guy a new form of Traviss only anti-Rebel and pro-Imperial rather then anti-Jedi and pro-Mandalorian?

I'm sure there are some good Imperials but not many in proportion to the evil ones, and the evils ones are probably being even harsher then normal at this point because they are scared of what is happening.

A few stormtroopers shot into a violent crowd who was throwing rocks, but their commander reprimanded them and told them to stop.

Ummm no, that's not what happened at all.

There comes no warning. No demand to stand down.

The laser cannons at the fore of each airspeeder open fire. Red bolts sear the air. The crowd is cut apart. Bodies dropped and stitched with fire.

I'm not sure what book you read, but what you said did not happen at the start of Aftermath. The Speeders, not stormtroopers fire on the crowd without warning, and they are never reprimanded for doing so.

The book does do IMO a decent job of making some of the Imperials somewhat more human, with some of them clearly interested in what they think is best for the Galaxy. But that's as far as it went. It did not however make the Empire as a whole seem like the good guys.

The opening for example you have Imperials open fire on civilians with no warning, no order to stand down, nothing. Just start blasting them.

There's plenty of other cases in the book where the Imperials are the clear aggressors and well fitting of the phrase "Evil Empire".

Yeah, I don't exactly remember the Coruscant stuff ending well from the previews we got.

2: Hollow Story - There is virtually no motivation for the people to do the things that they are doing. The only real motivation is money, a bounty hunter is going to share her bounty with everyone if they all team up and kill all the imperial bad guys.... It isn't "Believable". A Mother who's only motivation in the world is to be with her son and save him, abandon's her son at the drop of a hat and disregards her entire motivation multiple times in the story. The "Gay" character isn't gay until a single line in the last few chapters, and there's no reason for him to be gay, other than out of NOWHERE one of the female characters is like "Hey, do you want to have sex after this mission is complete?" and he says no. Hell he might not even BE gay, he might have been trying to let her down gently. Anyhow, it had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING and I would have rather him have a husband or something so that there was some reason to mention his orientation other than the sake of diversity.

3: Main Character X Dies. Next page you find out the author lied. - Author does this like 4 or 5 times in the book and it gets old quick. Explosion - and he lay there, dead. Next page :"Well I thought I was dead, but turns out I've just got a bump on the head". It it happened once I'd think it was clever. It happens TOO much. And when peopel DO die, it isn't even mentioned until MUCH later, "Oh yeah this person died 4 days ago BTW".

2: Are you sure you read the book? Like, everything you write in this paragraph is wrong. The bounty hunter's only motivation isn't money. Mom struggling to reconcile her duty to the rebellion with her duty to her son is kind of the point. It's frankly astonishing that you missed this, it wasn't subtle at all and was the source of all the son's teenage angst; she left to go fight a war. If you didn't pick up that dude wasn't straight prior to that exchange, you simply weren't reading very carefully (well, or you live in a culture in which it's normal for straight guys to talk about how beautiful other guys are).

3: sort of legit. The two fake-out deaths were bull, no question. But then you wildly exaggerate your complaint and it stops being legit.

And all that stuff about the book making the Imperials look good? Uh, no. No, it really ​ doesn't. It humanizes a few of them, sure, but that's as far as it goes.

Beyond that, if you guys didn't see any reviews that complained about "the gay thing," I dunno what to tell you. I certainly saw some.

It is my opinion that the author's inclusion of multiple gay characters was pretty forced and is more of a real-life social commentary than a workable sci-fi narrative.

"It's not about adding diversity for the sake of diversity, it's about subtracting homogeneity for the sake of realism."

"It's not about adding diversity for the sake of diversity, it's about subtracting homogeneity for the sake of realism."

Monks with laser swords fighting sorcerors with moon-sized space stations, in a universe where starfighters follow atmospheric physics and lasers make sounds in space sure is real, huh?

But really, there's a difference between "realism" and "defined purely by orientation for the sake of pandering to micropercent PC frats".

I mean, if that's who he wants to pander to, fine, just means I get an extra reason to personally not waste money on his book and advise others in that vein.

But who sets up the line. When is making a character gay just part of character creation, and when is it pandering? The same goes for minorities. John Boyega has gotten a sickingly amount of hate. I know Gwendolyn Christie/Capt. Phasma has as well. As I'm sure the Rogue One cast will once marketing turns to them.

My views have changed a lot about this, and fairly recently. A few years ago, I might also have not been pleased with the mention of the character being gay. But some shows and experiences have changed my mind, especially for when I am writing. It is backstory on the character, just as much as it would be if family, spouses, or former lovers were mentioned. Chuck Wending also has a young adult series staring a gay protagnist. So, I really don't think he is adding gay characters to pander.

Kathleen Kennedy wants Star Wars to be for everyone, and to have every kid to have someone to look up to. I fail to see how that is pandering.

A few stormtroopers shot into a violent crowd who was throwing rocks, but their commander reprimanded them and told them to stop.

Ummm no, that's not what happened at all.

There comes no warning. No demand to stand down.

The laser cannons at the fore of each airspeeder open fire. Red bolts sear the air. The crowd is cut apart. Bodies dropped and stitched with fire.

I'm not sure what book you read, but what you said did not happen at the start of Aftermath. The Speeders, not stormtroopers fire on the crowd without warning, and they are never reprimanded for doing so.

The book does do IMO a decent job of making some of the Imperials somewhat more human, with some of them clearly interested in what they think is best for the Galaxy. But that's as far as it went. It did not however make the Empire as a whole seem like the good guys.

The opening for example you have Imperials open fire on civilians with no warning, no order to stand down, nothing. Just start blasting them.

There's plenty of other cases in the book where the Imperials are the clear aggressors and well fitting of the phrase "Evil Empire".

Except that's not the scene I'm talking about. It's where they throw Temmin off the palace walls... somewhere before or after that. It's stormtroopers. They shoot and get scolded for it.

2: Hollow Story - There is virtually no motivation for the people to do the things that they are doing. The only real motivation is money, a bounty hunter is going to share her bounty with everyone if they all team up and kill all the imperial bad guys.... It isn't "Believable". A Mother who's only motivation in the world is to be with her son and save him, abandon's her son at the drop of a hat and disregards her entire motivation multiple times in the story. The "Gay" character isn't gay until a single line in the last few chapters, and there's no reason for him to be gay, other than out of NOWHERE one of the female characters is like "Hey, do you want to have sex after this mission is complete?" and he says no. Hell he might not even BE gay, he might have been trying to let her down gently. Anyhow, it had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING and I would have rather him have a husband or something so that there was some reason to mention his orientation other than the sake of diversity.

3: Main Character X Dies. Next page you find out the author lied. - Author does this like 4 or 5 times in the book and it gets old quick. Explosion - and he lay there, dead. Next page :"Well I thought I was dead, but turns out I've just got a bump on the head". It it happened once I'd think it was clever. It happens TOO much. And when peopel DO die, it isn't even mentioned until MUCH later, "Oh yeah this person died 4 days ago BTW".

2: Are you sure you read the book? Like, everything you write in this paragraph is wrong. The bounty hunter's only motivation isn't money. Mom struggling to reconcile her duty to the rebellion with her duty to her son is kind of the point. It's frankly astonishing that you missed this, it wasn't subtle at all and was the source of all the son's teenage angst; she left to go fight a war. If you didn't pick up that dude wasn't straight prior to that exchange, you simply weren't reading very carefully (well, or you live in a culture in which it's normal for straight guys to talk about how beautiful other guys are).

3: sort of legit. The two fake-out deaths were bull, no question. But then you wildly exaggerate your complaint and it stops being legit.

And all that stuff about the book making the Imperials look good? Uh, no. No, it really ​ doesn't. It humanizes a few of them, sure, but that's as far as it goes.

Beyond that, if you guys didn't see any reviews that complained about "the gay thing," I dunno what to tell you. I certainly saw some.

It is my opinion that the author's inclusion of multiple gay characters was pretty forced and is more of a real-life social commentary than a workable sci-fi narrative.

"It's not about adding diversity for the sake of diversity, it's about subtracting homogeneity for the sake of realism."

as for 2: Yes I read the book. I'm aware of the mom and son's issues. NONE of their issues force them to storm the palace on a mission to kill imperial officers and other civillians. Their motivation is to stay safe, yet they BOTH defy their entire reasoning to tag along with the bounty hunter for a "share" of the credits. It's weaksauce. So is Sinjir's motivation. He "Saw" Jas back on Endor, so naturally he has to risk his life to save her? Because he Saw her look at him? It's too far fetched even for fiction.

3: I can think of 3 fake deaths right away, and I'm pretty sure there were more than 3. 1-Wedge dead on the floor, 2 Temmin dead after being thrown, and 3 Nora dead in a TIE Fighter at the end. They were all written with finality - like this person is honestly dead. It got old, real quick.

As for the Gay aspect, my only criticism is HOW he included it. The "proposition" from the bounty hunter seemed contrived. I would rather they mention that Sinjir had a lover who died on Endor, or a Husband, or something that felt more natural. I'm all for inclusion, I just didn't like the exact way it was written. Minor complaint there though, not a huge deal.

But who sets up the line. When is making a character gay just part of character creation, and when is it pandering? The same goes for minorities. John Boyega has gotten a sickingly amount of hate. I know Gwendolyn Christie/Capt. Phasma has as well. As I'm sure the Rogue One cast will once marketing turns to them.

My views have changed a lot about this, and fairly recently. A few years ago, I might also have not been pleased with the mention of the character being gay. But some shows and experiences have changed my mind, especially for when I am writing. It is backstory on the character, just as much as it would be if family, spouses, or former lovers were mentioned. Chuck Wending also has a young adult series staring a gay protagnist. So, I really don't think he is adding gay characters to pander.

Kathleen Kennedy wants Star Wars to be for everyone, and to have every kid to have someone to look up to. I fail to see how that is pandering.

The way I see it, people are people. I might like or dislike them based on what they do, but I try not to based on what they are.

Fictional characters are trickier, because you have to factor in "production quality". "Does the author write this character well", "did this film cast someone who's capable of pulling off the part", that sort of thing.

Aftermath fails on that count. The characters are not IMO well-written. It does not at that point matter what they are except as descriptors of failure.

Yes, this is subjective. So is most media critique. But we can do this to fictional characters because they do not exist, where to do it to real people in the same way would be simply wrong.

Finished the book yesterday. It eas a struggle., so hard to read. The language, ever present Present Simple tense (no pun intended) . The plot, hard to say. It kinda made sense by the end. Space battle riritated me though. Some frigates managed to deafeat 3 SDs.

On the other hand. This misterious Fleet Admiral. I wanted so much to read... "and he returned to studing a piece of art".

This misterious Fleet Admiral. I wanted so much to read... "and he returned to studing a piece of art".

Wolf 359 by Picasso

This misterious Fleet Admiral. I wanted so much to read... "and he returned to studing a piece of art".

Well he WAS listening to music.... so you COULD interpret it that way. Music is, after all, art.

Except that's not the scene I'm talking about.

But this was the question that was asked...

Wasn't there a scene showing the Empire massacring people celebrating in the wake of Palpatine's death?

So you're talking about something completely different than what the person was asking. Besides, the book does not make the Empire seem like the good guys, at least not IMO. It does make Admiral Rae Sloane seem somewhat sympathetic, she is clearly doing what she believes is best for the Galaxy.

But there is a stark contrast between what the Empire wants, which is to reassert its rule over the galaxy, and Mon Mothma who wants to return power to the people.

Meanwhile you have a rebel spec ops on the ground killing every stormtrooper he sees, and then as soon as an Imperial gets the jump on him, the Imperial spares his life and says "freeze". Rebels don't take prisoners. Rebels murder Imperials all day for fun or credits. Imperials take prisoners. There is ONE crazy imperial who likes to cut prisoners, so clearly the system isn't perfect, but it's better than going on a murdering spree.

And the fake propaganda... These rebels in this book ought to all be shot. Even the boy. Especially the boy.

Space battle riritated me though. Some frigates managed to deafeat 3 SDs.

What's so bad about that? Hell I've taken on Three or Four ISD strong groups with Frigate and Corvette forces in Rebellion and EAW and won plus done similar things in the RPG many times.

2: Hollow Story - There is virtually no motivation for the people to do the things that they are doing. The only real motivation is money, a bounty hunter is going to share her bounty with everyone if they all team up and kill all the imperial bad guys.... It isn't "Believable". A Mother who's only motivation in the world is to be with her son and save him, abandon's her son at the drop of a hat and disregards her entire motivation multiple times in the story. The "Gay" character isn't gay until a single line in the last few chapters, and there's no reason for him to be gay, other than out of NOWHERE one of the female characters is like "Hey, do you want to have sex after this mission is complete?" and he says no. Hell he might not even BE gay, he might have been trying to let her down gently. Anyhow, it had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING and I would have rather him have a husband or something so that there was some reason to mention his orientation other than the sake of diversity.

3: Main Character X Dies. Next page you find out the author lied. - Author does this like 4 or 5 times in the book and it gets old quick. Explosion - and he lay there, dead. Next page :"Well I thought I was dead, but turns out I've just got a bump on the head". It it happened once I'd think it was clever. It happens TOO much. And when peopel DO die, it isn't even mentioned until MUCH later, "Oh yeah this person died 4 days ago BTW".

2: Are you sure you read the book? Like, everything you write in this paragraph is wrong. The bounty hunter's only motivation isn't money. Mom struggling to reconcile her duty to the rebellion with her duty to her son is kind of the point. It's frankly astonishing that you missed this, it wasn't subtle at all and was the source of all the son's teenage angst; she left to go fight a war. If you didn't pick up that dude wasn't straight prior to that exchange, you simply weren't reading very carefully (well, or you live in a culture in which it's normal for straight guys to talk about how beautiful other guys are).

3: sort of legit. The two fake-out deaths were bull, no question. But then you wildly exaggerate your complaint and it stops being legit.

And all that stuff about the book making the Imperials look good? Uh, no. No, it really ​ doesn't. It humanizes a few of them, sure, but that's as far as it goes.

Beyond that, if you guys didn't see any reviews that complained about "the gay thing," I dunno what to tell you. I certainly saw some.

It is my opinion that the author's inclusion of multiple gay characters was pretty forced and is more of a real-life social commentary than a workable sci-fi narrative.

"It's not about adding diversity for the sake of diversity, it's about subtracting homogeneity for the sake of realism."

as for 2: Yes I read the book. I'm aware of the mom and son's issues. NONE of their issues force them to storm the palace on a mission to kill imperial officers and other civillians. Their motivation is to stay safe, yet they BOTH defy their entire reasoning to tag along with the bounty hunter for a "share" of the credits. It's weaksauce. So is Sinjir's motivation. He "Saw" Jas back on Endor, so naturally he has to risk his life to save her? Because he Saw her look at him? It's too far fetched even for fiction.

3: I can think of 3 fake deaths right away, and I'm pretty sure there were more than 3. 1-Wedge dead on the floor, 2 Temmin dead after being thrown, and 3 Nora dead in a TIE Fighter at the end. They were all written with finality - like this person is honestly dead. It got old, real quick.

Norra "died" in a TIE fighter twice, actually. That makes it 200% more annoying.

OMG you're right! Two DIFFERENT TIE FIGHTERS!