Finally, Sophie has been making her way through the Star Wars: Aftermath series by Chuck Wendig. This trilogy of books is set over the year following the destruction of the second Death Star at the end of Return of The Jedi. The Empire is in chaos, the newly formed New Republic is trying to find its feet as it takes on the overwhelming responsibility of establishing a new government for an entire galaxy, and criminal groups sensing a power vacuum are vying for control of outlying regions. Taken together, this creates a galaxy filled with uncertainty, disorder, and an enormous desire for vengeance from every direction.

The books center around an unlikely bunch of heroes that reminded Sophie in many ways of the Guardians of The Galaxy thanks to their “rag-tag bunch of a-holes here to save the galaxy” way of doing business. There’s former rebel pilot Norra Wexley, her estranged fifteen-year-old son Temmin and Temmin’s insane droid Mister Bones (easily Sophie’s favorite new Star Wars character), former imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus (a very close second in the favorites stakes), bounty hunter Jas Emari, and New Republic commando Jom Barell. Book one sees the group coming together and learning to work as a team in the face of an Imperial threat, while the second novel in the trilogy, Life Debt, sees the established team facing new challenges.

Sophie read these books as part of her hope to read all the new canon Star Wars books (yes, she knows how insane that is given how fast new material is being released) but she propelled the trilogy to the top of her must-read list after several friends praised it highly. During the first two books, she found herself somewhat underwhelmed. Although the characters are all interesting, she found the storyline itself lacking. Book one was filled with short cutaway scenes from other parts of the galaxy which, although adding flavor to the chaotic feel of this galaxy in turmoil struggling to find its political feet, kept jolting Sophie away from the main plotline for what felt like unnecessary reasons – even if many would become relevant much later on. Book two featured fewer of these cuts but had an annoying tendency to skip ahead just when the action seemed to be getting good. A particularly irksome moment was when the team was preparing a liberation effort. The book followed the run-up, planning, and emotions of the team as they prepared for this epic-scale attack, yet as soon as it began, the book leaped forward several weeks – skipping over most of the events entirely and moving on to the aftermath – admittedly fitting considering the series’ title. However, Sophie was advised to reserve judgment until she had finished the third book – a fellow GeekMom advising that the story is more of “a long view thing.”

Sophie’s problem was that even after finishing the third book, she still came away feeling rather, “meh” about the books. Despite the excellent characters, the story fizzled out without shaking her world the way she had hoped such a well-praised book would. Sure, there’s some pretty evil scheming going on, but one of the most dramatic situations at the finale is permanently dampened because (assuming the reader has watched The Force Awakens) you know how it will play out from the beginning. If you want insight into the galaxy during the year following the Battle of Endor and would like to meet characters who may well become some of your Star Wars favorites then you will love this trilogy, anyone looking for a story that will leave you wide-eyed with new revelations is liable to be disappointed.

Poor old Chuck Wendig has been battered over these books. And let's face it he was always going to be up against it. When Disney said the literally 100's of books that had been previously published were now non canon. I witnessed the full on rage of one work colleague that had read everyone of them. If he could have he'd have shot Mickey Mouse. Now me I love the Star Wars movies, and did read The Trawn Trilogy, Courtship of Princess Leia and The Truce at Bakura. But then I kind of lost track and by the time I went back there was literally a wall in my local bookshop dedicated to Star Wars books. I didn't know where to start so slunk away. So for me when they announced it it was great - a do-over - Yay! Selfish? Maybe. Exciting? Definitely!
And then I read the first part of Aftermath.....and I must admit I was disappointed. It just wasn't great. Too many new characters, who I just didn't care about.....or so I thought. Curiosity took me back for Life Debt but this time I went for the audiobook option. Narrated by Marc Thompson the world that Wendig had created came to life...but again there was just something lacking. So I came to the final installment not really knowing what to expect. What I wasn't expecting was genuine tears and laughter. I loved this book. Everything that Wendig set up came together beautifully. His main cast of characters are now familiar enough to be fond of, especially Mr Bones and Sinjia....Sinjia may now be one of my favourite characters. We find out what happened to Jar Jar, visit Lando and even find out how that big old ship Rey is scavenging in The Force Awakens ended up there. For an original Star Wars geek like me (I was there in '77) it was a treat of a book. As a trilogy I don't really think this works, it's a great story but was a bit stretched over three novels. This one definitely made it worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy of this novel.

I have to admit I haven't yet read life debt so I'm a little out of sequence in this trilogy. However I l9ved seeing the advent of familiar characters from the films and the expanded star wars universe. Wendig pulls no punches in his story telling and while occasionally I personally find his dialogue a little flat, the overall result is a great installment.

no review as I could not easily read my ARC based on formatting.