SPOILER Chuck Wendig - Aftermath (Journey to The Force Awakens)

We all have our own styles.

The repeated phrase told me that this was a surreal moment for her, and that she needed to keep reminding herself the reality of the situation. Although my old English teachers might mark this book up with a lot of red (especially for punctuation), the effect for me was greater understanding of these characters, and greater emotional impact during key passages. I have some complaints about this book that I'll post eventually, but that emotional connection is where this book succeeds while books like Lords of the Sith fail.

But that's just me. I wasn't put off by his writing style, so it worked. If it irritates you, it won't work.

 

I was really excited for this new canon when it was announced but as I've read them all, up until these new releases they've been kind of dull. I'm still reading Dark Disciple, which to me flows a lot better than the others. But so far my favorite is Heir of the Jedi. Probably because I'm a Luke fan and that is who I want in my stories. It all comes down to what we like in our own opinions and not having read the Luke, Han,Leia and the Aftermath books yet I can't form my own opinion. Which I will but I've come to learn from the past to not listen to a critic(s) because their job , it seems, is to be negative about a book/movie no matter what. Present company excluded. When I get done reading Dark Deciple I'm going to read these in order. Anyway, what it all comes down to is an opinion of the reader.

 

I'm really really digging "Lost Stars." I think it has the potential to be my favorite NC title so far!!! The relationship and the character development flows very naturally and their view on the empire makes a lot of sense.

 

I am actually enjoying that book a great deal as well, and I didn't think I would, characterization is definitely king in that one. I've been avoiding looking at the thread for that one so I don't get any spoilers. If the ending is as satisfying as the book has been so far, it will probably be my favorite of the novels set in the new canon as well.

I agree with you on those points, I hope my post didn't make it seem like I'm one of those EU fanboys who is crying about it being made Legends. I honestly expected it as soon as Disney bought Star Wars, because you can't expect most moviegoers to catch up tons of backstory explained in novels to enjoy a film(finding out Chewie died in a book probably would have been a sore point for many ). So I understand perfectly why they wiped the canon.

I'm glad you mentioned comic books. As a comic book fan I am definitely familiar with line wide reboots, not to mention soft reboots on characters. As an example, Batman Year One is my all time favorite comic book story, but I still really loved the recent Year Zero reboot to Batman as well, not to mention several other alternate universe tellings of the tale. I feel storytelling should always come first, canon second.

My post was more about my concerns about how they are handling things right now, namely as to attracting and keeping new readers, I honestly can't say that they have yet produced any book series that are must reads at this point. As a Star Wars fan I definitely enjoy them, and would recommend them to other hardcore fans, however they are not novels that I see appealing to casual readers as much. One of the reasons I contrasted the EU was because I thought the way they started out when they started the EU in earnest was much more welcoming of new readers and casual Star Wars fans at that point.

Basically, I just want the new canon to attract plenty of readers and grow into something just as great if not better than the EU of old. At least until they reboot it as well in a couple of decades .

 

Unlike many here, I purposely waited for a thread like this before starting the read.

When I read SW books, NC or EU, I read them like I am watching a movie. A thread like this is much like a trailer in that it prepares me for the adventure.

I read a lot, both for pleasure, and professionally, and your mindset going in colors the read in many ways.

If I have to scrub a 150 page contract, I put on one hat when I sit down, or glasses with another color lens, so to speak.

Reading hard history is done another way, as is popular science or biography. This book is brain candy, nothing more, I'm sure of that much.

From what I've heard in this thread, Wendig's cinematic writing will make for an immersive experience, and when I'm done I will have the flavor of it. I'll shut my brain off to the outside world for 4 or 5 hours, stuff the relevant bits of information into the star wars trivia section of my head, and will stick the book on my library shelf where it will likely never be read again by me, and I will have only a general impression of it.

It has been that way for me with virtually the entire EU, of which I have gotten through about 75% of it. This isn't literature, and it isn't meant to be.

A New Dawn was fun and interesting social commentary in the age of Edward Snowden. Tarkin was good as color commentary when rewatching ANH. Jedi was forgettable except for Luke's unrequited love and loss. Lords of the Sith was a blast, and very visual.

Meh....

SW books are like pizza or sex: Even when they're bad, they're still good.

I'll drop my 2¢ on Aftermath into this thread when I'm done. To the rest of you, thanks for the heads up

 

I wasn't disappointed in the book, because I wasn't expecting much to it. All I was hoping for was to get a sense of the post Battle of Endor Galaxy, and to see what seeds were planted for the Galaxy as it is in The Force Awakens.

I think it delivered on that, even if I was hoping for even more. And even as I fully acknowledge the lackadaisical prose.

So what? Honestly. I am not a Star Wars fan for it's poetry.

I'm surprised that there hasn't been more discussion about the "revelations" from Aftermath. These were huge to me. And I believe they were ultimately the entire point of this story.

-Palpatine believed the dark side flowed from somewhere beyond the known Galaxy.

FROM AFTERMATH
"(Palpatine) sent men and woman beyond known space. They built labs and communication stations on distant moons, asteroids, out there in the wilds... out beyond the veil of stars."

This is a big indication of what to expect from the Villains of the ST. Not only did the Nazis (Empire) flee to Argentina, they found a resource there that strengthened them.

-Dark side "Acolytes" hunt down Sith artifacts, including what they hope and believe is Vader's Sith lightsaber. They intend to destroy it, so that it may rejoin it's master in the afterlife.

Does this have implications for Anakin's blue Jedi lightsaber?

-Mon Mothma is the new Chancellor. But she gives up the "emergency powers" that Palpatine was awarded during the onset of the Clone Wars in Attack of the Clones. She commits to reducing "The New Republic" army by 90%.

In addition, the new home of the Galactic Senate is on Mothma's home planet of Chandrila.

And perhaps the biggest "reveal" of all was the following...

-Some mysterious scavenger recovers what seems to be Boba Fett's Sarlacc (acid) scarred Mandalorian armor. This suggests that Boba Fett surely died in ROTJ. But it is left just vague enough to allow for numerous conspiracy theories.

Considering how little was ultimately revealed in this first Aftermath book, the Boba Fett chapter looms larger. I'm personally a fan of the notion that "Boba Fett" is a "Dread Pirate Roberts" character, whose reputation and mythic stature is ultimately more important than who actually resides within that Mandalorian armor.

What do you all think?

 

You're right. There's a lot to say about the actual revelations that were made in this book. And me with my broken down computer. It's just too hard to type longer posts on the iPad.

I thought Mon Motha's actions were interesting. First of all, it's interesting that they didn't start fresh with the new government, but began where the Republic left off. But the key to understanding what the Resistance is is tied to that 90% military reduction figure. It's back to guerrilla fighting because the Republic has no army.

 

Just based on this guys really horrible attitude and intolerance to opposing views I will not be buying this rag of a book. Disney should be ashamed of hiring this guy. Of course the comments that set him off is intolerant but it's how you handle yourself. Personally straight or gay I do not want to see any sex in SW at all. Why do we have to have to sexual desires tied to homosexuals anyway? And what I mean by this is if they are gay ok fine press universe still works. But hetero or home keep it out most do not want to hear about it. Never heard once Han wanted to get with Leia or vice versa or how his loins burned. Anyway it's just a book and to be honest the books no matter have never been canon in the films.

http://www.out.com/art-books/2015/9/10/star-wars-author-shuts-down-homophobic-commenter

 

Finished part one last night:

In addition to the other revelations mentioned in this thread, I caught a very interesting little tidbit that may be nothing...or something.

Of course, this could be a throwaway line, or it could be foreshadowing something later within this book.

When describing the things on the shelves in Temmin's "real" shop, there is a reference to "...mysterious patina darkened vases depicting images of men in dark robes with red faces."

Is Temmin dealing in the funerary urns of long dead sith?

I also noted that the Imperial remnant summit on Akiva was not Sloane's idea alone, but that the others thought it was. Again, this could just be foreshadowing a reveal later in this book, but is still interesting.

The writing style is appropriate for an action adventure sci-fi novel and I don't have any problems with it so far. Again, this was never intended to be literature.

I'll follow up when I get through part 2. Hopefully tonight

 

This is a spoiler thread, but since people are still reading I'll keep them to a minimum. But that reveal really confused the heck out of me. I honestly didn't have a clue as to what was going on for a short while, and kept going back to try and pick up what I'd missed. Instead of "WHOA" I was more like "WHA???" Without re-reading the whole thing I'm not sure if it's because I was tired, or missed something earlier, or if it was the writing.

It wasn't enough to sour my feelings about the writing, but did anyone else have the same reaction I did? Utter confusion?

 

I submit the Amazon reviews. 40% are 1 star rating. Please read others take on this.

http://www.amazon.com/Aftermath-Sta...l_formats&filterByStar=one_star&pageNumber=19

 

I wasn't happy with this book--but don’t let that get your hopes down! It’s just one book in a whole new line of Star Wars books, comics, movies and media. This is a great time to be alive for any Star Wars fan!

I started the weekend off reading Smugglers Run and it was a fun, quick read. Then I eagerly jumped right into Aftermath hoping to learn what happened to our heroes in the Aftermath of the Battle of Endor…and that’s not what I got. I got an Aftermath story but one told from the point of view of various characters I didn't know or care about. Wish that didn't embitter me but it does and perhaps I am having a childish temper tantrum, but its my dollar

p.s. has the author written any Star Wars material before?

 

I wondered about that is well, seemed an awful lot like he was hinting about the Sith Species from the old EU stories, although it could be something brand new as well.

Well said, as for Wendig, this is indeed his first Star Wars novel.

 

I actually thought the top 5 star review was best.

It didn't get 5 stars because it was high literature. It got that rating because the reviewer got what he expected out of it.

It is really all a matter of taste and opinion. I hated a couple of books that are considered cultural milestones:

Kerouac's On The Road and Salinger's Cather In The Rye

Not necessarily because they were bad but because they are held up as these transformative experiences. To me both were views into the mind of someone with very real psychological issues, issues that I just couldn't relate to.

Kerouac describes being overwhelmed by the Big Sur coast, frightened and feeling small. That shouldn't be surprising from someone who died drunk in their mother's basement. Holden Caulfield was way too concerned about his pee-pee.

Was Kerouac's writing better than Wendig's? Salinger? The answer is unquestionably yes.

The difference is that I didn't enjoy the experience of reading those books. So far, I am enjoying this, but only because I am not expecting anything from it other than a chance to let my mind go to AGFFA for a few hours.

I have said this elsewhere but it bears repeating here. We all have, sometimes, an unrealistic appraisal of just what SW is, owing to our long association with it and our collective memories over a number of years. I get a thrill out of every excursion I take into this universe, but when I set back and appraise pieces of it objectively, most of it isn't all that good.

HOWEVER, SW is an emergent property, the sum being much greater than the parts. Ask me how I feel about Ewoks or midichlorians and you won't get any glowing praise. Ask me how I feel about AGFFA and I have a hard time putting in words just how great it is.

Anyhoo.. this was a fun side conversation for me and I can't wait to get my kids to bed so that I can dive into Aftermath for a few more hours

 

I would say I enjoyed about half the books content in the end. If you don't like the writing style or main story(as I was not a big fan) I would suggest at least reading the "Interludes" before giving up in the book as a whole. I thought that while some of them were not very interesting, the majority were the best part of the book. The Acolytes of the Beyond, the Han and Chewy mission, and the set up of Jakku being my favorites right now.

I did NOT like most of the A story here however. I believe Wendig was trying to set up Norra as a sympathetic character, but I just found her to be whiny and annoying most of the time. And talking about annoying, Temmin has to be my least favorite character in all of the new canon so far. I wanted to slap the you know what out of him almost overtime he spoke. The rest of the characters were alright for the most part. Jas wasn't great or awful and Sinjir was probably my favorite member of the main group of heroes(I kept hearing Robert Downey Jr. voice when I read his lines).

The Imperial summit was intriguing for the most part. The back and forth between Sloan and the other leadership was generally interesting and I especially liked when Tahsu would go on his Dark Side rants. They added nice context and back story to some of Palpatines motivations brought in the much needed Force element in my opinion. With the new film focusing heavily on the Force, it was strange to me we got almost no story around it, though it could be said that is by design since it has presumably been dormant during this era.

However, I do have to say that my least favorite aspect of this book is that there are no stakes whatsoever. The only time I felt any of the heroes were in danger was maybe the first fifty pages or so. By the third or fourth fake death or every character having a Deus Ex Machina moment( some several), I found myself hoping some of them would die by the end if for nothing else than breaking the repetitive story telling. I also thought there were way too many call back to lines from the movies, i.e. the several references surrounding Akbar and traps, Norra telling the fighters to "stay on target", and various other I can't think of off the top of my head

All in all I did enjoy more of the book than not, especially the expanding of our knowledge of the galactic situation at this time through the Interludes, a lot of the main story and characters fell flat for me and the book seemed to keep getting in its own way with receptive story points and cliches. I would recommend to the hardcore fans, but this is not the book to use to introduce anyone to the new canon.

6.5/10

 

That was a nicely thought out and presented review of the book

 

Anyone here getting the feeling that if you throw the Interlude titles for Tatooine and Jakku, it really seems is talking about the same planet?



Tatooine interlude sets up a back-end water-farming planet with no rule. A planet that is changing, pointing to "a new day", as the Hutts are fighting for the power. In the meanwhile, quote-unquote mining companies are swooping in. One of them referred as The Red Key.



The location we visit in Jakku's interlude has red dunes in the horizon, and when Corwin asks the bartender about what's up in the planet, the bartender says "mining in the far side or being a barman, but that place is taken.". Seems like a planet in which things has gone pretty bad. The only "solid" business sems to be mining afterall.

Corwin states that he went to Jakku looking for "the farthest-flung nowhere rock I could find on a star map.", at what Luke Skywalker would answer: "Well, if there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest"