aftermath

My anticipation for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is astronomical yet guarded. We’ve all been here before – new Star Wars, it’s gonna be the best thing ever, holy fucking shit-balls! That didn’t work out for me too great the last time around so I’ve distanced myself from the majority of the hype. I’ll watch official trailers and that’s about it. I’m not buying any magazines with epic articles or watching any 30 second clips online. I want to go in as blind as possible so I’m mentally prepared to be either, blown away, or slapped in the nuts. Again.

Then they announced Aftermath, a book written by Chuck Wendig that will help bridge the gap between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS. More importantly, an officially licensed story extending the original timeline. I’m in. Then they announced it was going to be a trilogy. Wait, what? This is the story that happens between JEDI and AWAKENS right? So now it’s a three part arc with two of those parts coming out after AWAKENS comes out? What’s the point of that? It’s going to turn into a prequel one third of the way through? Fucking money hungry cocks. Whatever, I’m still reading it.

Of course, if you know me at all, you know that I listen to audiobooks. Sometimes it adds to the story and makes it a better experience overall – sometimes it ruins everything. There’s no doubt that any hardcore STAR WARS fan is going to want to listen rather than read here. Hearing John Williams’ score kick in at the beginning of this book was glorious. It’s presence throughout keeps you locked within the galaxy. The overall presentation of the book is like an old radio play. If a droid is talking it sounds like a droid, beeps and boops included. Space battle? Get ready to listen to the hum of tie-fighters and x-wings going at it in the background as the narrator continues the story. You can’t get this kind of atmosphere from the written word alone. The presentation here is incredible and would be worth the money alone if it wasn’t for the delivery of the somewhat over-the-top narrator, Marc Thompson. His cheesiness can make you cringe on more than one occasion and there’s a lot of work to be done on his Wookie impersonation. A lot.

As for the plot itself. To break it down to simplest terms – the Empire is trying to rebuild itself after getting their asses handed to them on and off Endor. The New Republic (what the Rebels are going by these days) are trying to tighten the noose. There’s a top secret meeting of some of the top surviving Imperial diplomats on a outer rim planet named Akiva. A small group of strangers (a rebel, her son, a bounty hunter, an Imperial turncoat, and a battle droid [yes, a fucking battle droid from the prequels]) join forces to try and stop them. That’s it. Aside from some minor interludes, (which I’ll talk about below) there’s no continuing adventures of Han and Chewie. Luke is nowhere to be seen. Leia, Lando, R2, and C3PO are apparently off doing much more important things. I even kept an ear out for some of the new characters. There’s no mention of a Poe, or Kylo, or Captain Phasma. Maybe this is because they’re saving them for later in the trilogy, when we’ve already met them and know some of their fates. Which doesn’t make sense to me in the least.

The book as a whole comes off no better or no worse than the majority of the one-off extended universe novels. It sparked my interest more than those because it’s supposed to be “official”. J.J. Abrams must have signed off on this at one point or another as it is leading into the film. By those standards it’s disappointing. While the ramifications of what happens in this book might be felt throughout the universe, it seems too small to matter overall. The main kid, Temmin Wexley, is as cliched and annoying as the worst child character in the worst action movie. His battle droid is sold as a badass Jar Jar Binks but fails to matter when it counts. The most interesting part of the main plot line is the inclusion of Wedge Antilles, the heroic fan favorite from the original trilogy. It’s Wedge that first comes across the Empire’s intentions but he quickly fades into the background as we’re forced to care about a handful of new characters.

The most interesting thing about these new characters is their connection to the original films. The Imperial Loyalty officer and the Bounty Hunter first meet through flashback during the battle on Endor. Temmin’s mother, Nora, was in the second Death Star seconds before it exploded. Another fact we get through flashback. It’s these memories that hit home the most and on more than one occasion I was wishing we could get more versions of these different perspectives of iconic events in the past.

As for familiar faces within the present story (SPOILER ALERT FOR CAMEOS IN AFTERMATH) we get Admiral Ackbar all worn out and, in the funniest moments of the book, intentional or not, constantly worried about traps. Mon Mothma drops by to set some people straight. Leia shows up in one of those aforementioned flashbacks and a Galactic issued hologram, describing the events of Endor and the second Death Star to the general public. Han and Chewie have an extended appearance as they struggle to do their job for the New Republic. Boba Fett is mentioned during a battle between bounty hunters and it has to be considered a slap in the face to all those fans that insist he’s still alive. Lando is mentioned, as is Luke, Vader, and The Emperor. R2 and C3PO pop in during a flashback. There’s Stormtroopers aplenty and many of the locations, species, vehicles, and events are things we’re familiar with.

Every moment you get with these beloved characters borderlines on goosebumps, and then they’re gone. That coupled with the fact that none of the main characters here have any real connection with THE FORCE AWAKENS that we know of make you question the importance of what went on here. Is it just another cool story to be told using the most popular universe in the history of pop culture as a background, or is there more meaning to these events than we could possibly know? Time will tell. As for now….

Rating 6/10