Books Bloodline by Claudia Gray (book spoilers permitted)

No problem.

 

Have to say that I ship Greer and Joph.

 

Yeah, I can see that. They played off of each other pretty well imo.

 

Yeah, but at the same time what I really like is that Joph was like "Man she's pretty, but she's out of my league" the first time he saw her, and after that he never felt romantically for her. Even when he found out about her disease, he was overprotective, but in a "you're my friend" way, not in a romantic way. So I really like that Gray showed a good male-female friendship without a romantic connection. But I also do like them together and I think it would be cool of they got together, eventually.

 

So awesome. props Star Wars Show

 

I can be patient. Won't be disappointed if it never happens though. You are right of course. Way too much romance us bad.

 

Finished the book yesterday, and I actually thought it was pretty good. It’s one of the few of Disney’s new books that I actually like, besides Lords of the Sith and Heir to the Jedi.
My review:

At the beginning of the book, I liked that they dedicated a memorial to Bail Organa, although I had this sinking feeling that his statue would later be blown up by the Starkiller. Sure enough, a few pages later revealed that the ceremony took place on Hosnian Prime, not to mention that it was partially destroyed in an explosion later on in the book. Talk about cruel irony.

Bloodline brought into light that although Leia seems to like comparing herself to her mother, and Luke dreamed of being like his father, it is actually Leia who is like her father and Luke is more like his mother. Leia so reminded me of Anakin with her frustrations of the ineffectiveness of the Senate, not to mention she seems to have a less forgiving attitude then Luke, which kind of reminds me of Anakin. And I was glad with the connection she had at the end with Anakin. It was a nice touch, almost a step towards forgiveness, and at the very least, understanding.

Although the Centrists were painted as the bad guys and Empire worshippers, I side with them more than with the Populists, but with a less extreme view. It is clear that the Republic needs a unifying leader who can actually make the Senate work. I think it would have been nice to have a different party that was a combination of the two views because they were both too extreme.

At first I disliked Ransolm Casterfo, but I felt like it was hard not to, since you viewed him firstly through Leia’s disdainful lenses. But after he ‘rescued’ her, he went up in my esteem, and I liked him, despite his odd approach to the Empire. He made a mistake in revealing Leia’s parentage to the Senate before talking to her first, but he was kind of manipulated into it. At least he admitted his wrong later. And it’s too bad about the guy, it would have been nice if he could have stayed in the Senate. It seemed like he could have possibly made a difference.

I enjoyed the final confrontation between Carise and Leia. I’m glad Leia investigated and stripped Carise of her noble title, and although Carise had always believed that royal titles were one thing that couldn’t be taken away, she lost that. I also liked the stark differences between the two. Carise believes that her ancestry and inherited titles defined her, whereas Leia believes that a person defines himself by his or her actions.

I loved Leia’s ‘Vader gown’ with the black dress and cape. I, for one, appreciate her sense of humor.

I was a bit confused for Leia’s reason why she didn’t decide to become a Jedi; the book was rarely vague and unclear on that particular subject.

And I was glad to have Korr Sella in this book, as well as mentions of other characters such as Saw, Temmim Wexley, Ello Asty, and Lando. It was nice to know that at least they still keep in contact a bit, if marginally, since Lando seems to have been largely overlooked in this new era.

And of course Leia definitely made the wrong decision in not telling Ben that his grandfather was Vader sooner. I could somewhat understand her not telling him if he was still a child, but at this time he is 23 years old, and he deserves to know the truth, and she should have told him when he was much younger than that. Honestly, I think they should have told Chewie too, and as for everyone else in the galaxy, it’s none of their business. Anyway, I have a feeling this will possibly help to explain why Kylo turned to the dark side, since he had to find the truth out in the worst way possible, and it would force him to lose some of the trust he had in his parents, and Luke. Honestly, I’m very surprised Luke didn’t tell him sooner. Luke has always been the honest one, so it’s very out of character for him. I doubt we will hear it for a while yet, but I’m very interested to know what Luke and Ben are doing, exactly, since they are both out of contact during the duration of the book.

Bloodline also showed that Han and Leia seem to put their careers first, although at least we know Han will put Leia first – all she has to do is ask. But they both seem unhappy unless they are immersed in their chosen careers.

It’s too bad Leia wasn’t made First Senator. At the start of the book, I was like, “Leia hasn’t been a chancellor yet? She should totally be elected chancellor!” And so I was pleased when she was nominated to be First Senator, and crushed when her political career was ruined by Casterfo’s revelation. I also was disappointed that they didn’t at least mention who the current chancellor was. But at least now we have some insight as to the political situation of the galaxy.

 

I guess it was necessary for them not to tell Ben who was his grandfather, otherwise there wouldn't have any drama. I understand for Leia's POV, but for Luke not to tell him seems quite contrived.

 

Going over the actors/actresses that Claudia had in mind for the characters and have to say, they are spot on.
Not sure about Jamie Chung for Carise Sindian but whatever.

 

Huh. I didn't get that impression at all from the book. I came away with Leia's sense of duty, and of her unending commitment to make a difference. She actually seemed mostly miserable and disillusioned in the book, without any real care for her "career" outside of wanting to just make things better for the galaxy. She fantasized constantly about running off with Han and living in his world, and would have, if this First Senator business hadn't kicked up. The only times she seems truly happy (as in content and at peace) is when she's with Han, but if we know Leia, she's not going to put her happiness above what she thinks needs to be done for the greater good.

We don't really see much of Han's motivations, but he demonstrates his priorities by dropping everything he's involved in (which was kind of like, as another poster said, judging the Olympics) without any hesitation to go save her. Otherwise, what's the guy supposed to do, become Legends EU House Husband Han? His character could never do that. Many people, especially if they're good at what they do, need to have fulfilling careers as well as home/family lives. Sometimes those two things aren't easily compatible and it takes work and sacrifice.

I totally respect your opinion, but I guess I came away with a different impression. I do think their situation in Bloodline was a little sad though, especially when you consider how they ended up in TFA. I agree with IamZam, who said that in some ways they put each other first to the point of ignoring their own needs, respecting the others' work and other life motivations too much.

 

I actually pictured Summer Glau for Carise, but I didn't know Claudia had Chung in mind, either.

 

http://i.imgur.com/x2tMUKd.png

I can see Summer Glau but will need to re-read the story to see who fits best.

 

Ha! Had no idea she used Josh Hutcherson for Joph. Didn't recognize any of those others besides Hiddleston and Chung, so my head images were a bit different, but yeah, about like that for most of them.

 

Here's a crazy idea. Maybe Ben has already performed his massacre and Luke never told her.

 

I'd like to expand on the idea I presented in my last post after mulling it over a bit more, as it presents a completely new interpretation of TFA. What if Han and Leia never knew the specifics of Ben's fall, only that he had. What if they don't know Ben killed the other Jedi, only that he'd fallen under Snoke's sway? How did they find out if that is the case? Maybe Ben contacted them afterward, or maybe Snoke did to gloat in his victory? TFA implies that Luke had been gone longer than 6 years, so what if Han and Leia find out about Ben's turn from Ben himself, and he omits his massacre? It paints Han's sacrifice in a new light. Would it have ended the same for him if he knew the whole story? Gah this line of thought raises so many interesting questions!

 

I'm not saying that Han and Leia care more about their jobs then they care about each other - that is so obviously not true, and they definitely care more about each other than their jobs. What I mean is that they put a priority on their jobs instead of spending time with each other. Like you said (and like I said before) we saw it demonstrated in Bloodline that Han will put Leia first and he'll drop everything to help her. And I think Leia would do the same for Han.

 

How so?

 

To me, it felt like it should have been more than 6 years since people were talking about Luke like he was a myth and what not but Bloodline did say Luke hasn't been in the public eye for years. So, it works imo.

 

Yeah, even in Bloodline he was already treated as almost mythological.

 

I'd like to think that even when he was looking for Jedi lore, Luke was like Cain from Kung Fu and still doing good at the planets that he visited. I like the idea of him taking the Jedi away from the authority of the Senate.

 

Can someone tell me what planet exactly is Leia now the senator of????

 

Nobody knows yet. It's possible that it's the Alderaan Sector or the Alderaanian people that she's Senator of, rather than a specific planet. If it is a planet, it could be that one from the Princess Leia comic - Espirion:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Espirion

 

I think Pablo confirmed it was the Alderaan sector.