Review: Star Wars - Honor Among Thieves

Honor Among Thieves: Star Wars (Empire and Rebellion)Honor Among Thieves: Star Wars by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.

I received a free eARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

When I saw that James S.A. Corey was doing a Star Wars novel, I was excited. I'd read Leviathan Wakes and liked it a bunch. So how would that translate to the Star Wars universe?

Very well, as it turned out. Abraham and Franck (the duo behind the Corey pseudonym) do well with crafting characters in a complex, yet easy to grasp setting. This is told from Han Solo's viewpoint, and they were able to give us a nice look inside his head to see what makes him tick. And yet, they stayed very true to the character as seen in the original trilogy. They also perfectly describe the movements, actions, dialogue, and mannerisms of the other characters we'd seen in the movies.

The world building was here too. Of course, the Star Wars universe is very much in place already, but they added rich detail to scenes that would have flown by on the screen. What I like about this is that there is plenty of room for them to explore while staying true to Lucas's original vision.

The negative points were minor. Aside from Scarlet Hark, I didn't care much for the new characters added to this story. I did like her, and would love to get more on her at some point. Also on the negative, some of the descriptions of scenery got just a tad long. While they added richness to the work, they did sway from the expected pace of a Star Wars story. That's very minor though, and one might argue that it's an improvement.

Back to the positive though, I think that my favorite aspect of this story is the way it fits into the original movie sequence. It takes place between Episodes IV and V, and fits perfectly there. It helps us to understand why Han Solo stuck around after the Battle of Yavin, and it helps to show the early development of his relationship with Princess Leia. We also get to see how Han and Chewbacca were developing a solid friendship with Luke Skywalker as well. It made great sense, filling in that gap of years between "I'm saving your ass for the money" and "I care enough about you to go out in subzero temperatures and slice open a Tauntaun to keep you warm".

All in all, an enjoyable experience. I hope to see future installments in the Star Wars universe from Corey.

View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Driving to Geronimo's Grave: and Other Stories

Image
Driving to Geronimo's Grave: and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale My rating: 5 of 5 stars Review copy eARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley Joe R. Lansdale has been on my radar for many years, and always seemed to be an author I’d enjoy. But the shame of it is that until now, I’ve only read one or two short stories of his. This collection was fantastic, and if it’s any indication of a consistent writing style from Lansdale, I’ll certainly be reading more of his work in short order. “Driving to Geronimo’s Grave” – I had no idea where this story was going as it got started, but wasn’t disappointed. Terri was the best part of this. I really got a feel for the Great Depression setting here. “In the Mad Mountains” – You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually read an HP Lovecraft story. But even so, I recognize when something is “Lovecraftian”, and this is certainly it (confirmed by the author’s notes after the story). Besides that, it remin
Read more

Review: The Trials of Empire

Image
The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received an eARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. This really brings everything full circle and packs a punch, wrapping up the trilogy. The way things were unraveling through the last book and a half or so, I didn't expect the ending to satisfy, but was surprised that it wrapped up the story pretty well. View all my reviews
Read more

Review: Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Fiction of Joe R. Lansdale

Image
Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Fiction of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received an eARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley... Joe R. Lansdale knows how to craft a story, with an instinctive grasp of character development. His language is such that he connects with readers and makes the task of reading an enjoyable escape. While all of the stories in this book fall into the "crime" category, this is a very loose grouping. There is such a mixed bag of offerings here, from the noir to the really freaking weird. As with most collections, some stories hit with me better than others, but there really aren't any duds here. View all my reviews
Read more