Star Wars Aftermath [Book Review]

So there is a new Star Wars novel out, one that is meant to fill some of the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The novel is called Aftermath. 

The Emperor arrives on DS2.

Star Wars!

This is the first complete story that I've read that takes place in the 30 year space between Return and Awakens.  

2.5 out of 5 stars

Let me state out of the gate: I hope beyond all hope that Ep. VII The Force Awakens is far better than all of the material that is trying to fill the gap between it and Return. If you read my review of the multitude of Star Wars Comics, you'll see that I have so far been underwhelmed by Shattered Empire.

Artwork of some Super Star Destroyers bombarding a
planet from orbit. It seemed cool. So enjoy.
Also, if you know the artist, please let me know.

I was also rather underwhelmed by Aftermath.

The story is just not that powerful. It seemed like an episode of a longer piece. The heroes also escape death way too easily. I know this is star wars, where the Force is on the heroes side, but this was a bit ludicrous for even Star Wars. I lost my ability to worry about them after it happened like the third time or so. 

But neither of those critiques is actually all that surprising or awful.

The next two are.
The characters were weak. What you know about each character at the end of the novel is maybe a paragraph worth. I found them unappealing as well. The best character is a character that came from A New Dawn, Admiral Rae Sloane. Perhaps because she had another book to develop in.

But I can even forgive that flaw.

What I cannot forgive is the utterly unconventional and jarring writing style. The book is written in present tense. Let that sink in. I don't know the actual percentage of books, but I'd hazard a guess that 95%+ of all fiction is written in the past tense. I do not care if the book is written in first, second (rare), or the most common, third person. Present tense is just jarring to read. It feels less like I'm reading a novel and more like I'm reading a video game or listening to someone describe a sporting event. It does not make the best reading for a fiction novel.

I did not hate the book, but nor did I like it. It is a distinctly meh-tastic read. I read it because I was hoping for greater insight into the 30 year gap, which I did not really get. Nothing so far is really filling in the gap enough. Not this, not the Shattered Empire comic. This does a better job than Shattered Empire, but it only give hints, tiny tastes. The gap is still enormous, and what happens in the gap may well remain mysterious for a while, at least until mid December. (Days until Star Wars Episode VII.)

Here is the worst bit. The last three pages of Aftermath are actually good... those are worth reading. Those actually make you interested. The. Last. Three. Pages.  

Oh yeah, X-Wing T-70s from Ep. VII.