Pros: Thrawn is great and I always love reading about him. It's been fun to have him as a POV character, since that was never allowed in the Legends!EPros: Thrawn is great and I always love reading about him. It's been fun to have him as a POV character, since that was never allowed in the Legends!EU. Similarly, I don't think I've ever read a story with Vader as a POV character and that was quite an interesting experience. I liked how this story allowed for a direct comparison between his leadership style (and hence the effectiveness of his crew) and that of Vader. Honestly it was just fun watching both Anakin and Vader sweat because they knew Thrawn wasn't buying their bullshit. I'm excited that the new!EU is taking advantage of the reboot and including plenty of women supporting characters (especially my girl Faro). And I enjoy the idea of telling these parallel stories.
Cons: The execution of the parallel stories didn't really work for me. There were some cute callbacks from the later story to the earlier, but I think the two stories needed more than just Thrawn to tie them together-- something thematic maybe, a little more emphasis on how these wars have affected the bystanders on these Outer Rim worlds perhaps. It made the pacing feel odd and a little disjoint. Finally, the appearance of Batuu (which was half the reason I picked up this book) felt very shoehorned in, as if The Powers That Be dictated that Black Spire Outpost be used in the story but Zahn wanted everyone off that planet and to a location of his own choosing ASAP.
Also I really miss Eli Vanto okay.
Anyway, all told I enjoyed this book fine but I was very much able to put it down and often forgot to pick it back up.
Side note: It's very cool that Zahn is sneaking more of his Legends stuff into the new!EU (Rukh, even the idea of a Noghri, cortosis, etc) but COME ON WHERE IS MY MARA JADE ALREADY?...more
Full disclosure: I am 300% in the tank for the original Thrawn trilogy, Thrawn himself being my second-favorite Star Wars character ever. I may never Full disclosure: I am 300% in the tank for the original Thrawn trilogy, Thrawn himself being my second-favorite Star Wars character ever. I may never forgive the powers that be for negating that series (and ffs WHEN IS MARA JADE COMING BACK TO CANON????) but I will admit to enjoying most of the new canon, particularly Rebels.
That being said, I put off reading this book for a long time. Actually, I didn't read it until after Rebels ended, which may honestly have cost the book a star in my ratings. This story is undercut a bit by the Rebels finale, I feel, but it's still absolutely worth reading.
My main concern was that I loved how the original Thrawn trilogy did such a great job of using an external POV character in all the sections that featured the grand admiral. It gave him a wonderful alien feel, and also helped Zahn get away with the "he's so good it almost doesn't make sense" characterization of Thrawn. Also, I thought Pellaeon was pretty relatable. I was worried that Thrawn POV would take away that air of mystery and hyperconfidence. More than that, I didn't want to read a story where Thrawn learns to be that hyperconfident person-- I love him for that competence and for me personally, an arc where he starts out less smart would not have been much fun.
Two things helped my fears not come true.
1. Eli Vanto. As Thrawn's human helper, he's set up in the same way as Pellaeon, to give the audience an insert for reacting to Thrawn. But also, and I recognize that this is a personal thing, Eli very much struck a chord with me. I usually feel like the less-smart person, though I'm great with details and just as smart (if slower to react), so I had great fun imagining myself in Eli's position. He's great and I hope we get to see more of him.
2. Thrawn's arc wasn't "how he learned to be a military genius." It was how he learned everything else, and how he adapted to working for the Empire.
As a bonus, I also thought Zahn did a remarkable job of writing a pro-Empire story that didn't make me feel icky. Without giving too much away, he actually contrasted Thrawn's goals and tactics with those of both the Empire establishment and the Emperor himself, in a way that made Thrawn a great protagonist and that brought nuance to the Empire itself. I'm usually pretty squicked by Emprie apologetics, but I found the detail with which Zahn writes about the individuals working within the Imperial machine pretty compelling.
And now that I know more about Pryce I need to go back and rewatch Rebels. So that's cool too....more
Was there any chance I wouldn't grab this when I noticed it at Target? No, there was not. It's a quick read, though I'd be willing to read entire RussWas there any chance I wouldn't grab this when I noticed it at Target? No, there was not. It's a quick read, though I'd be willing to read entire Russian grand novels of Baze and Chirrut snarking at each other like the old married couple they are. There's not much time in the story for development of other characters, so none of them particularly stood out to me, but again, it's a bonus bit of Baze and Chirrut for those of us who are disappointed we won't see them post-Rogue-One.
Basically, I think I would have preferred a novel-length version of this story (more worldbuilding details about Jedha and the temple guardians, for instance, perhaps give Saw a little more dimensionality, that sort of thing) but it was a fun and relatively light read.
And I finished just in time to realize that R1 is up on Netflix so I can just watch that anyway!...more
A fun story with creative and interesting characters. I wasn't super into the writing style, personally, but I think that's just a subjective thing. IA fun story with creative and interesting characters. I wasn't super into the writing style, personally, but I think that's just a subjective thing. I miss Timothy Zahn, is what I'm saying. That being said, I really enjoyed the diversity of characters-- there were substantially more female characters (of several races and species even) than I've ever seen in a Star Wars novel and that's a very cool thing. It was pretty close to 50/50, even! Good on you, John Jackson Miller....more
The good: I enjoyed the art (except issue 12). Star Wars is fun. I like the overall idea of showing flashbacks rather than doiProbably more like a 3.5
The good: I enjoyed the art (except issue 12). Star Wars is fun. I like the overall idea of showing flashbacks rather than doing straight 100% backstory, since there's so little information on Kanan that if you just show him as a kid OR just as an adult, I'm going to want whatever you left out.
The bad: The change in artist for aforementioned issue 12 was jarring. Actually, issue 12 as a whole seemed pretty unecessary to the story that was told in the previous issues. Don't get me wrong, I will take all the grownup-Kanan stories I can get, but I feel that they deserve more than a single tacked-on issue at the end of a backstory-development trade.
I was decidedly out of the Star Wars game as of a couple months ago. As a former EU fan (what is it now, "Legends" or somesuch?) I was a little burnedI was decidedly out of the Star Wars game as of a couple months ago. As a former EU fan (what is it now, "Legends" or somesuch?) I was a little burned out, and wary of getting into a whole new canon. Then I borrowed Rebels season 1 from the library. Then I found out about this comic. And now I find myself jumping back into the fandom with both feet. I really enjoy the character of Kanan, as well as the bits we get of Master Billaba in the comic-- and this is coming from someone who pretty much hates all prior canon Jedi as stuffy, no-fun, and followers of a deeply flawed philosophy.
I love capers. I love Zahn's Star Wars novels. Scoundrels is two great tastes that taste great together and even passes the Bechdel Test. The climactiI love capers. I love Zahn's Star Wars novels. Scoundrels is two great tastes that taste great together and even passes the Bechdel Test. The climactic scene is just incredible, and I laughed out loud when I realized what Zahn had done. One word of warning: be VERY CAREFUL to not accidentally see the last page of the book!...more
Yes, I'm a sucker for Mara Jade. The art is quite good in this miniseries, though the covers (especially the last one) are kind of ugly. However, I haYes, I'm a sucker for Mara Jade. The art is quite good in this miniseries, though the covers (especially the last one) are kind of ugly. However, I have huge problems with the ending... does anyone actually believe that Mara would sit back and let Luke deal with the crazy Imperial suicide bomber at their wedding? So it's basically Luke-and-Mara-get-married fanfic, except that it's canon.
For Mara Jade books, "By the Emperor's Hand" is MUCH better....more