Lit Bloodlines by Claudia Gray

Alright, this post is about the Bloodlines - Star Wars novel. I just finished it, and I have a lot of thoughts about it. So anyone whose read it, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. I'll put everything of my review under the spoiler tag since I break it down and go into a lot of spoilers.

Spoiler

I know this is one of the beloved new stories of the new canon, but I just didn't care for it. The writing wasn't horrible; though it wasn't very Star-Warsy (references to Chicken, to thing "of the world" when maters were affecting the entire universe, small things like that - etc) and the characterization for Leia was pretty spot on, even Han seemed right for the bits he was in. My main issues were the plot itself and its placement (no fixed timeline placement, but soon before TFA but before Ben turns Kylo Ren but with no fixed date to it) and the whole of the chronology for the new canon. Not a fan of the chronology and storytelling of the new canon.

I find it hard to believe that at this point, which is roughly 20~ish years after Endor, nobody knows that Luke and Leia are the progeny of Anakin/Vader. Yet they all know that they were Padme Amidala's children. They reference that people know Luke and Leia are sister/brother but not that they know who was their father or that Vader=Anakin. I find that unlikely considering it seemed pretty apparent that Vader knew Luke was his son shortly after ANH and that would mean most of the Empire would know it since he was using the Imperial resources to find Luke specifically because of the genealogical purposes. So its not a fair leap to see that if Vader is Luke's father and Luke and Leia are sister and brother and that it was well documented that Bail adopted Leia, that ergo Vader is Leia's father.

So that really ruined a HUGE aspect of this novel for me. As much as I love a good political novel, especially in Star Wars, I find the politics in this horribly done. The parallel to Democrat/Republican of our time is too apparent, and then to basically bake the Republican group into evil at the end .... just ugh. Can't we get a political novel where both sides have valid points for their beliefs and one doesn't have to be a puppet for a evil government or society or just evil itself? Lady Carise's character is so bad and stupid in this that it just hurts the head. I'm not even pro-Republican in real life but it was obvious the Centrists=Republicans or at least Conservatives and that the Populists=Democrats or Liberals. And then about 250 pages in we get the "swerve" that the Centrists are really plotting to bring about the First Order. Just bad. Just REALLY bad.

The plot device to tie up Lady Carise and to bring the Vader thing is really bad too. "Oh the elder houses" which is all made up and never really brought up anywhere else, and "oh Bail kept a keepsake for Leia on Birren, not on Alderaan for after his death" seems so beyond contrived that it's ridiculously stupid. We're also talking about people's technology that is about 2000 years ahead of Earth's... yet in an unlocked and unguarded old pirate's treasure chest is what could be the biggest bombshell ever that Luke/Leia are Vader's kids, and that they all know Obi-Wan and where he lives on Tatooine and that Vader=Anakin and all of this other garbage, all straight from Bail Organa's mouth. So stupid.

The Senate stuff is also a grave annoyance. You literally, in the span of the few months of this book have:

1) A Senate BOMBING (imagine the US Senate being bombed and the reactions to that - and then compare it to how the reactions were in this novel)
2) An assassination of First Senator candidate (think about a Presidential Candidate like Bobby Kennedy being assassinated)
3) The revelation that Leia is Vader's daughter (someone announcing that the Senator from Kentucky is Hitler's kid)
4) Ransolm Casterfo is accused/convicted of Treason with a paramilitary group and arrested

All of these things happen in the span of 1~5 months. We are given no reactions or knowledge of how the universe at large sees any of this. We get extremely glossed over viewpoints of these HUGE events happening from selected members of the senate and their surrounding groups (literally 7 senators or less are even mentioned by name in this novel; Leia, Tai-Lin, Varish, Casterfo, Lady Carise, Yendor, and one or two senators are kind of off-handed mentioned with no talking time). No real impact also seems to happen from these events other than to establish that a) the senate is completely and utterly pointless, b) to create the Resistance which we need for TFA.

The paramilitary/Amaxines entire gameplan is stupid. What is even the point of bombing the senate? To cause chaos? To start laying the found work for the First Order to come in? Those are the basic reasons given in the novel.... yet none of that truly makes sense. So if that is the case, why warn the people of the bomb? Wouldn't the actual loss of life be much more important? The Centrists/Populists will still bicker afterwards, with just new names rather than the same names. Why not kill Leia at the end anyway; especially if Arliz is committing suicide, the strategy of leaving Leia alive makes zero sense. Even if she has zero political power, her death would still ensure that she NEVER GET POLITICAL POWER back; which she could (and basically does as TFA shows.)

The ending wrap-up also is kind of lame. A well timed destroyed ship in a small combat fight with Han/Leia and it blows up the entire underground Amaxine's army/starfleet. Ugh, yawn. Oh and don't worry Han is a racer out in the great space, so his timing was perfect, but we don't get him with Chewie or even in the Falcon for the fun of it.

Eghhh...... ugh....

I really wanted to like this novel, and I know A LOT of people did, but just so much of this bothered me. I think most of it stemming from TFA's plot and how I don't like the plot of the new chronology. So much of the new timeline doesn't seem to make any sense. (Not like the old one did at times either, but it seemed a bit more logical than this new one with how the Empire ends after ROTJ and turns into the First Order).

The sad thing is, this is supposed to be one of the "jewels" of the new canon, and everyone has been praising Claudia Grey, but I personally just didn't like it for the reasons above. I really do not like the timeline of the new canon, post-ROTJ. I don't care for how the Empire fades into First Order. I also don't like the underplaying of Han/Chewie's relationship, and just how Luke/Leia/Han are underplayed as a whole by the new books.

 

The point in the timeline where this novel is meant to take place is 28ABY and has been confirmed for it happening then. Luke and Leia purposely chose to keep their lineage a secret from the galaxy and it strongly hints that finding out the truth is a big driving force to turning Ben to the darkside.

As far as the political part of the story that is just something that is going to be difficult to have widespread approval on over that part of the story. Everyone has widespread differing views about politics so it is going to be near impossible to please everyone on that matter. Best thing to probably do to enjoy a novel like this is to not be super picky about the political structure within a fictional space fantasy universe. If it is an enjoyable story that contains politics just leave it at that and try not to disect it too much.

 

I was just talking on another message forum about this, and I'll sum it up like this:

I also would have rather had a REAL political novel, rather than one under the guise of that. If the enemy is one side of the political spectrum, it's not a true political novel (IMO). We can do a Centrist/Populist or a Dem/Rep or Con/Lib novel without having to paint one side as joining the ultimate evil. We can have both sides with altering and disparate beliefs that can both be right/wrong for both sides, and that there can be actual intrigue there. With the Centrists just turning out to be a plot for the First Order and to being evil all along..... its just so...... meh..... so underwhelming at the end.

To me, its not much of a political novel when one side is already "evil" or under the sway of the "ultimate evil". If you made a modern era political novel in the US, and it turns out the one party was secretly being used to bring back Hitler 2.0 .... it undermines the actual political intrigue of the novel. (IMO).

 

Considering that the Empire was basically just the nazi's put into the new universe Lucas created (to the point to where he even had to use the term stormtrooper) try not to overthink politics in Star Wars too much.

 

So .... we're what, not meant to think critically about the books we read? What you're basically saying is just "shut up and enjoy it" ? I'm confused why I can't expect higher-level politics from a book proclaiming itself to be a political intrigue book, set post-Empire, set 24 years after the Battle of Endor. I'm confused.

 

The problem with this argument is that Casterfo represents the Centrist point of view and Leia comes around to it. However, the Centrist point of view has been hijacked by Radical Extremists who will turn it into the First Order. That is a political novel because it's happened time and time again in real life history.

The problem with your argument is essentially that it represents a removal of all the people like Robspierre from history and other radicals who have taken legitimate government movements and then pushed them to the point of breaking.

The idea that politics is a "Golden Mean" is a fallacy which is really weird as the depiction of a rise of dictatorships in The Clone Wars may rely on "Sauron playing Gondor against Saruman" and is ridiculous on that end but is entirely accurate as a point where a political crisis is used by a dictator to rise to power.

 

Yes you can still think critically. If you are someone really into politics though in order to get as much enjoyment out of a political story in a universe like this as you can its probably best to set the proper expectations. After all this is a universe where people can travel in hyperspace and has space wizards wielding lazer swords. They are also bringing in authors who are good at telling entertaining stories within a universe like that. Making their stories as politically accurate as real life politics are probably isn't one of the main things they are aiming to nail down.

 

I strongly disagree that the Centrists and Populists were direct parallels to Republicans and Democrats. The political divide was very likely inspired by current American politics, but Gray did an admirable job of mixing the policies of the right and left. For example, the Populists wanted a more decentralized government which lines up with the core Republican principle of limited government. The Centrists certainly shared the idea of a stronger military with Republicans, but they align more with Democrats on centralized government. The Populists wanted demilitarization, a very liberal position, which is further complicated by Leia, the chief Populist, forming the Resistance.

Furthermore, Ransolm Casterfo, an important Centrist, is shown in a very sympathetic light as the novel progresses, showing that there were, indeed, good people on both sides. The politics were what really drew me in to the book, and they were well done, from my point of view.

 

No offense, but this is one of the laziest arguments. And it drove me nuts with the GOT fans this season. "Your nitpicking how fast they can travel in a world with Dragons, etc."

Just because there is fantastical elements to a story does not mean it can't be critigued or criticized or debated on issues that are theoretical and possible. Worlds even fantastical, need to have purpose, meaning, need to have rules behind them to operate; otherwise fictional worlds like this are irrelevant, bad storytelling/writing, and are poor worlds and world-building. I find the politics in this book not realistic to the universe its set in. Especially given the history predating this novel, and given the context of where and when this novel takes place.

The bombing in particular. How they go about business like usual the very next day. How they immediately point fingers. Can you imagine if the US senate was bombed? Do you think they'd be active Day 1 after the bombing, or even Day 10 after the bombing? Do you think they'd be outright through the media that very day (Day 0 of the bombing) claiming it was the Democrats or the Republicans? That's political suicide. Its witch-hunting which would make your own position look beyond weak, especially when/if you are proven wrong. The politics in this book don't make much sense at all. We aren't even given a system or shown HOW the senate operates or WHY they operate. We're shown no form of the government. How much power does the Senate have in the NR 28ABY? How does a planet/system join/leave (since they talk of seccession at the end) the senate? What does being a member of the senate do for a planet? Do all planets of the NR have a senator? How does one define Populist or Centrist? Are their no other political leanings? No independents? No Greens/Communists/etc/etc? How does one become a senator?The senate is so little touched on that we don't know *ANY* of this from the novel; and insofar a I know from any of the other books. Heck, Bloodlines only mentions about 6-8 senators by name, with only 5 of them actually getting written page time (Leia, Casterfo, Varish, Tai-Gin, and Carise). To be honest, I'm not even sure if the novel mentions what planet Leia is supposed to be representing in the Senate?

 

I can see that, and I understand there is radicals to every group. Alt-Rights and Alt-Lefts. But the way we're shown in this; is that pretty much 99.9% of the Centrists are radicals. The setup for their meetings, just 28ABY and their all fawning over the Empire. Even the most sympathetic Centrist we are shown; Casterfo, is in pure love with the Empire minus Palpatine and Vader. That'd be akin to being fully in love with a dictatorship but not THEE dictator. Like loving the Third Reich but hating Hitler. It's mind boggling; especially Casterfo who is seen/shown as coming from a world where he was basically in a work camp. That'd be akin to a Jew relishing and keeping Nazi memorabilia but hating Hitler. It seems hypocritical to the extreme and mind boggling and stupid. It doesn't make Casterfo a sympathetic Centrist; it makes him look like an 'admirable' idiot that became a member of group X but really believes what group Y is though won't change. Its akin to a Republican who says he's a Republican because thats what he picked, but meanwhile totes the company line for the Democrats.

 

The historian in the Star Trek TOS episode Patterns of Force is implied to be this.

 

Did it come across as far-fetched?

 

The problem with this argument is you keep trying to make it into a contemporary political discourse when it's the last moment before the end of the Republic as we know it. This is days before the Battle of Fort Sumter when the Confederacy withdraws from the Union. If you also argue that they'd never accuse each other too, I should mention a member of the Senate BEAT ANOTHER TO PARALYSIS and the accusations against the Northern Senators were far worse than the Centrists.

It's a depiction of a government which is nonfunctional.

Which is what the novel needed given it's the creation of the First Order's public face.

As for people going about their business after a bombing--RL governments HAVE done that and HAVE to do that. They wouldn't do it in the Senate but there's actually rules about what to do in that situation and the fact they will reconvene immediately.

The answers to your question are:

1. How much power does the Senate have in the NR 28ABY?

Almost none. The organization is paralyzed.

2.How does a planet/system join/leave (since they talk of seccession at the end) the senate?

Apparently, they leave and the people who want to let them leave, let them.

3. What does being a member of the senate do for a planet?

At this point, nothing, because the system was designed to be weak. Why there's talk of creating a dictator.

4. Do all planets of the NR have a senator?

Nope. Every Sector does, though.

5. How does one define Populist or Centrist?

That was defined easily. Small government and peace=Populist, Big Government and Guns=Centrist.

6. Are their no other political leanings? No independents? No Greens/Communists/etc/etc?

None that matter as if there was enough, the deadlock wouldn't be happening.

7. How does one become a senator?

You're elected.

Alderaan's Sector, presumably.

 

Perhaps a bit. At the end of the episode, it's pointed out that the problem wasn't that evil people were in power - the problem was the system itself.

 

Mind you, it was based on a non-well researched view of the Reich which believed the Nazis were some sort of super-efficient technocratic version of Hydra vs. a bunch of idiots who co-opted real life geniuses and used slave labor as well as bankrupted everything.

Mind you, the irony is David Irving kind of proves you can't make up a concept in Star Trek or any media which is too ridiculous not to be real.

Speaking as an out of universe Star Wars essayist, Palpatine's reforms are all good ideas. The Republic needed an army, a stronger executive, and a legal system which allowed them to smash down special interests. That's why Padme, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma were all loyalists. Note: The two former were his strongest political supporters. Remember, Palpatine isn't just Hitler but also Caesar Augustus.

I get the idea that Casterfo is a armchair military historian like the kind common in the Sixties to the Eighties who were all over the Nazi regime and fascinated by its iconography as well as seeming military invincibility. There were plenty of them in my father's day who collected massive amounts of Nazi paraphenalia and wrote Time Life books about it while being all about them as villains.

It's only when talking with Leia Casterfo does a double take and realizes he's discussing it with a Star Wars equivalent of a Jewish resistance fighter from Poland then immediately backpedals.

 

I'd like to point out that, in the Vader comics, its shown that Vader went off the books to find out who Luke is by hiring Bounty hunters.

 

Also, the OP's opinion the Imperial Navy has to know is dead wrong.

Remember Vader reacts with SURPRISE that Luke Skywalker is the one who blew up the Death Star--feigned surprise but it's clear the Emperor pretended it should be a bombshell.



Also, no one knows Vader is Anakin Skywalker.

This is basic Star Wars lore.

 

Danz Borin420 if you didn't like this book because it was hard for you to get into the political set up than you better not go watch Ep. VIII because most of the notes Claudia Gray did get for what they wanted her to base the book around was coming straight from Rian Johnson regarding the political situation. So this will be the exact same political situation that you will be seeing in The Last Jedi.

Go to the 5 minute 25 second mark of this video where she talks about it.



In regards to you saying that Game of Thrones fans tell you the same thing I think you might just need to start sitting back and enjoying fantasy stories for what they are instead of analyzing it like you are watching cnn. There is a much higher demand for telling entertaining stories within this genre than making sure everything is always scientifically, geographically, or politically accurate.

 

I agree with the OP in some instances, but not others.

I did think it was weird that people know Luke and Leia are siblings, but not that Vader is their father. But I disagree that "Vader knew Luke was his son shortly after ANH and that would mean most of the Empire would know" That seems like the kind of thing Vader would keep under wraps. My problem is that if Luke and Leia tell the galaxy "It turns out we're long lost siblings!", and the public asks "Really? How did you find out?" I can't think of a plausible lie that they'd tell. Also it bugs me that they didn't tell Ben Solo, since Vader's redemption through love seems like a really important Jedi life lesson. I'm not sure wether that's on Rian Johnson, or Claudia Gray.

It is indeed a bit confusing what exactly the Axamine's end game is and how their attacks benefit the First Order, though I guess you could say it was to stir up political turmoil and accelerate the secession.

I disagree that it was black and white "Centrists = Republican, Populists = Democrat" allegory. And although it's firmly against the Centrists, the Populists aren't exactly painted in a favorable light. There are times when Leia disagrees with her fellow Populists tendency to immediately blame the Centrists for everything, or Tai Lin's decision to do nothing with the First Senator position instead of enact meaningful change.

True, but Casterfo is clearly struggling with denial, especially when Greer points out how much he loved sparing with the force pike. If anything my major complaint is that he's the only moderate Centrist. I highly doubt that every single planet that wants more centralized government has Imperial nostalgia, and I wish the book had been more clear in showing that. The closest we get is a mention that some Centrists admire Leia's status as a war hero, which means (unless they're really good actors) they probably don't have pro Imperial sympathies.

I'm not opposed to the politics in the book in general, but I do think she went a bit over the top some times. Even if the government is on the verge of collapsing, the two political parties officially and publicly accusing each other of being behind a terrorist attack the day after is a bit excessive. And I did think she went a little over board hammering in the point that the New Republic is gridlocked in red tape. But this is nothing new. Although Lost Stars and Leia: Princess of Alderaan are usually pretty nuanced, I occasionally thought some of the Empire's actions were a little too "Get it? We're evil!" (Really anonymous Imperial, you're selling off the miners' safety equipment? Is the small profit you'll gain from that worth the profit you'll lose when your workers start dying left and right? I know the Empire isn't very OSHA friendly, but come on, the workers aren't even slaves!)

Bottom line, I don't inherently hate that the book has politics (I really enjoyed Lost Star's examination on the motivations of "good" people who serve a dictatorship), but I thought it was a bit heavy handed at times. Also I'm a little bit sick of the "your choices are efficient but fascist or democratic but ineffectual. Those are the only two types of government" trope appearing in Star Wars.

 

I get the impression Casterfo is being purged by the First Order as part of a larger plan to eliminate the moderates in their organization as well as the most respectable members of the Populists.

This is their equivalent to the Night of Long Knives.

 

I could see that, but sadly sometimes the novel made it seem like he was the only moderate Centrist, especially when Carlisle singles him out as a threat.

 

To be fair, Leia seems to be the only Populist who seems to think a Federal government should exist.

 

I found it to be boring

 

How insightful.

 

Do all of your posts have to be condescending? I mean yeah it would be nice if he elaborated but come on.