Life Debt: Aftermath (Star Wars) (Star Wars: The Aftermath Trilogy) Paperback – March 28, 2017

(***Very Minor Spoilers***)First things first, I did not care much for the first book. My main problem with the first novel in the Aftermath trilogy was in its lack of scope. This is a problem that Aftermath: Life Debt in no way suffers from. I could not count the amount of location, characters, and situations that these characters find themselves even if I tried. Which is by far a good thing, because it keeps a reader invested.Characters:Like I mentioned above I did not finish the first Aftermath novel. So, when I picked up Life Debt under the understanding that Wendig suffered from a lack of beginners luck. I had no idea whom some of the characters were. Life Debt manages to quickly establish (Recap) on the characters that are most important to the majority of the main plot. And they are all pretty awesome, including the red/black Battle Droid Mr. Bones.Norra:As she was in Aftermath, Norra continues to be the shell-shocked trooper that she is. Which is a really interesting thing to read about as the plot progresses. Especially as some of her Post-War scars are projected onto her still very young son. It was both thought provoking and enduring to watch her struggle with the balance of duty to her son and her Republic.Temmin:This time around Temmin is not a whining little brat! Which is, of course, a great relief for me seeing as though this book was a long one and not hearing the nothing-but-mean-things that he has to say about everything made his character so much more likable. However, I was a little disappointed that he was put onto the back burner for a lot of the book. One of the things that I did like about his character in Aftermath, was that he was a kid. Who easily did things that kids should not do. He does get some great moments in this story, but that only made me more regretful that he did not play more with the big kids of the group. Maybe next time! He has some trials ahead.Jas:Emari was a great character to get to know better. Considering that the prominent Zabarack's in the new Star Wars canon are brooding Sith Lords (Darth Maul and Savage Opress). It was fun to see that not all of her kind are cruel hearted, power hungery beings. Even though she has some, darker tendencies, she was overall a compassionate creature. I feel that giving her both Sinjir and Jom to play with fleshed her out in a curious way. And something that I would like to see is if she has any knowledge of Dathomir. Considering that they were all slaughtered by Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress passed in Dark Disciple. I cannot help but wonder how the Nightsisters' and their traditions, which stemmed from the Zabarack homeworld. Have continued to, or not to, influence the universe as a whole.Sinjir:Sinjir is an exceedingly complex character in my opinion, because he is both for and against the empire. He is a turncoat but he is also a believer and it is fascinating to see him interact. Not to mention the fact that he has some of the best dialogue in the book. And for all of those that are 'concerned' about the characters sexuality. Do not be because he is a great example of how it does not matter at all whether he like men or not. Sinjir is badass and loyal to a fault. Probably the best thing about his character's development in this story is the fact that there is not much. From practically the first moment that he was introduced, Sinjir was perfectly honest with himself, unlike some other characters. So, there is not really any guessing about who he is or what he believes in or ow he will react or what he will fight for.Jom:Now Jom is what I would call a strange character. I say this because I do not really understand his being in the story as a character in himself. To me it felt as though Jom really only exists to develop the characters around him rather than formulate motivations for himself. Which is in no way a bad thing at all. Yes, sometimes I was a little less than enthused by his presence. However, I always found that I learned more about whoever he was interacting with by the time he was gone. Which in turn, made me excited to see him again and again.Leia:Leia, is an interesting case in her own right because there is a whole lot of her. Although I think that the best depiction of the Senator-Princess is in Claudia Gray's Bloodline. Wendig did a decent job portraying her in Life Debt. The thing is is that she has a very specific flavor and style to her words, thoughts, wants and needs that I feel Wendig is a little to...much of a man to render her character fully. Which is funny to me because Jas Emari is a female and he writes for her character so well she feels real. Maybe it is the fact that Emari was his own creation and Leia was not but I did not feel her spirit in her dialogue. Otherwise, I was enthralled by the actions she takes and the revered TEMPER that is realized in Bloodline.Han:Han was a perfect example of a job well done. Wendig does a fantastic job in painting Han in a refreshing and invigorating light. He feels and sounds like the ruffian that we all know and love. And his motivations, ideologies, and traditions are all front and center to be broadcasted across the HoloNet. He was one of the reasons that I was confused about Wendig's hit and miss with Leia. Maybe he did so good with Solo that Leia just could not match up?Wedge:Okay, now Wedge is a hugely appreciated character in my book. In the EU he was such a big deal and I was super excited to see his return in the first Aftermath book. Wendig uses Wedge in nearly the same capacity that Timothy Zahn does in his old EU novels. Sparingly, while packing huge moments when they are needed most. Wedge is awesome. His interactions with Temmin, Norra, Jas, Leia, and so on are always memorable and his influence is heavily felt in this story. Even Sloane cares about him, even if its a little bit, and she does not care for much.Sloane:The Grand Admiral makes her return in Life Debt, and boy is she one of my most favorite new canon characters. The whole Aftermath crew is pretty fantastic, but the fact that Rae Sloane has made it this far the in the Star Wars story is so damned exciting. She is ruthless, cunning, and not all that she thinks she is. In fact, one of the greatest developments in the book, roughly half of Life Debt. Is her story. Her struggle is a very real one that is unrelenting, unforgiving.Rax:A new character entirely, Rax is a maniacal dude. He is absolutely as cunning as he should be and manipulative to the maximum capacity. A wonderful new addition to the Star Wars universe. I will not say anymore because you should read the book.Plot:The plot was absolutely free of any sort of restrictions that the Force Awakens held Aftermath too. Because of this this novel is considerably longer and much more thorough. The scope is massive and the nuances are wondrous. Unlike Aftermath, this story is split between two to three story arcs not including the interludes. Which leads to a whole lot of perspectives because everyone is seeing the events differently. The interludes were really awesome ranging from more Boba Fett armor to the origin of BB-8's droid type.Continuity:I cannot begin to count the amount of connections to the canon that are in this book. This novel is probably the most connected work since the universe was rebooted and its pretty damn great.

I know Wendig is a super polarizing author, and that's fine. Personally, I'm a fan of present tense writing as well as his stylistic choices, so after falling in love with the cast of Aftermath I was pumped for Life Debt. And overall? I was mostly satisfied. The story itself was pretty fun, keeping in the theme of the serious action from an often tongue-in-cheek perspective; given the cast of characters and their personalities, I think it's super fitting. I was also mega pumped for my favorite OT pilot to be a pretty solid fixture in this book.As with Aftermath, Wendig's characters shine and continue to be Wendig's greatest strength, hands down - I love watching Sinjir develop (and sometimes backslide) and come to terms with the life he has now. Jas remains a treasure. Snap gets his name (oh my god) and it's both fantastic and heartbreaking watching him develop with a sort of family to anchor him. I can't say enough great things about Norra - it's so hard to find a lady character (especially from a male writer) that doesn't fall into tropey caricatures or end up being pigeonholed or diminished for her role. Norra's a badass who tells people no and sometimes punches admirals but doesn't have to swing her ladydick around 24/7 so everyone Knows She's A Strong Woman, Dammit. She's a mom who mothers her crew and laughs at herself for it sometimes and worries about not mothering her son enough but never gets reduced to the cheerleader/figurehead role ... she's just perfect, and bless Wendig for her. Adding romantic notes is usually a cringey recipe for disaster even with this much done right, but man, no, that was also done really well. I continue to not really care about Jom, but hey, you can't win them all; he's still a good character, just not really my type. Also, the OT crew seemed fairly flat to me - at least Han and Leia. That isn't entirely surprising since it seems like there's a pretty rigid structure you've got to work within for the series Main Characters and can't really develop or add much (and it's not just Wendig stumbling here; the Poe comic so far feels like it's suffering from exactly the same thing, and it's more prevalent there since he -is- the main attraction).Really, the only criticism I've got is as a (very selective) old EU fan. I know Disney said they'd be pulling things they liked, and it's been A Thing so far in other pieces of DisnEU, but it was really prevalent in some plotlines and characters in this book - at times, it really felt like chunks of the X-wing novels from the characters that weren't pilots, basically. Which could be great? Long after I gave up on the old EU completely, those are the ones I kept around, and I still read them pretty frequently so maybe I'm just more sensitive to it? but when certain events started happening it was like ah, I know -exactly- where this is going and then it did, but it felt a little half-hearted if only for the fact that you -didn't- get the perspective that made them shine in the old continuity. (Poor Wedge, I'm so torn between I SO WANT THIS TO HAPPEN and AW MAN, NOT AGAIN.)If you haven't read them, it'll all be new and fun and that's great! They came back because they were good storylines. Even with that gripe, I still think the book is fabulous and has a lot to offer. I'm looking forward to the next one!In the meantime, I'm going to be sad laughing at the folks crying about how this is the worst thing to ever come from Star Wars. I'm sorry, but did you read The Courtship of Princess Leia? Darksaber? The Crystal Star? Half of the problem with the old EU was baffling turds of epic proportions that mangled characters and motivations and still got eaten up, and let's not even go near The Phantom Menace. Even if you don't care for Wendig's style and not, well, you know why ... this is at -worst- middle of the pack. I personally think it's fantastic, and I hope we get a lot more stories of side-characters doing the lifting behind the big names from the movies.

Livro muito bom, gostaria de ler em português mas é difícil de achar atualmente

All good!

Una buena segunda parte, los personajes y la historia se vuelven mucho más interesantes.

Wendig writes clearly as a Star Wars fan LOVE IT

Awesome second part to this trilogy. A must if you love Star Wars