Books STAR WARS: AFTERMATH

I don't think she is, at least not in the Vidian sense, which I suspect the FO would be very pro!

 

I believe she is going to be key in the sense that she is a pawn (or mouthpiece if you will) to a much larger plan that is unfolding at the end of Aftermath.

 

Yeah the Fleet Admiral steered her out of the room which metaphorically implies that he's pulling a lot of strings and Slone is, unfortunately, going to be a puppet of it.

 

I actually really liked the reveal that Sloane was a puppet. Throughout the book, I always felt something was off with her characterization: she seemed very pragmatic and pratical, but at the same time extremely sure that her opinions and plans were the right ones. She didn't seem to even contemplate that some of her more seasoned colleagues could have a legitimate opinion - she wrote them off immediately -, which is odd for someone so rational. But in the end, everything retroactively made sense: her certainty didn't come from arrogance, it came from loyalty. Her pragmatism played its role in the sense that she had a job to perform and she performed it. Even when the Fleet Admiral admits that he did use her as a replaceable pawn, she just lets it kind of sink in. No outburst of anger. It is as if she thought to herself "Indeed. I suppose I am truly expendable". In the context of a galaxy where almost all of our players are either fighting each other for power or struggling to keep themselves alive, I find it quite refreshing to find a character with this level of detachment and, to an extent, content with their place in life. All of this is just my interpretation of her, obviously.

 

Yeah, agreed, Slone seems way more dedicated to the cause than most Imps. Hell, maybe that's why she could be a founding member of the First Order, because she believes.

 

She believes but the ideals alone aren't enough for her, if they were she wouldn't have ended up opposing Vidian.

Of course, it's 15 years later, is she still that same person? I think so. Someone like Sloane would define herself, in part, in terms of permanence and stability of character.

 

Vidian was a traitor and he was going to throw her under the bus. I'm not sure that's really an indicator of anything.

 

It's about ideology and methods V.

Sloane rejected Vidian's plan to blow up the moon, so rejecting 'anything for the cause' which I'd see the FO as being big believers in.

 

I get the impression of Sloane being more practical than an ideologue. She'll go along as long as it benefits her but that's all.

 

I just finished this book, after having borrowed it from my local library. It was kind of a let down for me. I get the purpose was to establish the circumstances of how The First Order came to be, but I was kind of hoping there'd be some familiar faces that would have eventually have an impact in TFA and beyond. They mention Luke, Leia, and Lando, in passing, and Han gets an otherwise meaningless "Interlude" chapter that has absolutely zero to do with what's going on on and around Akiva. It went off in other tangents too (also called "interludes"). I know there's supposed to be more books following up from this one, but I think I may pass on them; even if they were available at my library.

 

Don't give up hope yet. I can almost guarantee the Han and Chewie interlude is going to be the main plot for the next book in the series. A Google search of the cover art for the next book pretty much gives that one away.

 

I disagree. I think Pfluegermeister has it right. Regardless of when the program was originally founded, FN-2187/"Finn" was raised from birth in the FO ideology, not the Empire's. So with that in mind, even if he was born under Imperial rule, by the time he started developing cognition (4 to 5 years old, maybe even earlier), his subjugation into FO ideals would have had to begun.

And I do believe their origin story can and is rooted in failure, but not theirs. The annihilation of the Empire as seen in Aftermath and at Jakku would have been the perfect opportunity for a radical splinter group of the old Empire to rise up and fill the power vacuum that the Empire had left in its absence. Failure wasn't necessarily exalted, but I believe it was used to "recruit" the Empire's radical followers that weren't necessarily ready to accept rule under the New Republic.

 

Not gonna lie, you make a very good argument. I just think at the most basic level, based solely on TFA, there is nothing to suggest that Finn was ever trained under "Empire" rule versus FO rule. And going back to my original argument, just the time it took to build Starkiller base, the FO has to be at least 20 years old if not more. But hey, I love a good hearted debate just like the next guy. Cheers!

 

I think the First Order will be created as a loophole of the Galactic Concordance. The Empire will be dissolved and the First Order will emerge in the aftermath.

Basically, the New French Republic.

Same as the Old French Republic.

But with trained Stormtroopers!

The problem with this attitude is it assumes the First Order is any worse than the Galactic Empire. It's not. Anyone who would serve the Galactic Empire would serve the First Order.

I see no reasons why this would not be the case.

I mean, unless you're a Coreworlder and thus have no honor.

 

On the subject of the First Order arising in Aftermath, I really don't think we'll get an in-depth explanation of that in this new series. I think the series will focus more on the last hurrah of the Empire, rallied under the Fleet Admiral, and that this last effort will meet its end over Jakku. We might get clues and interludes that imply a great deal about the First Order, but I don't see we getting a good look at that inception.

I don't think Sloane's character is about ambition. Sloane strikes me as practical, yes, but in the sense that she has a mission to accomplish and will stop at nothing to accomplish it. The mission is not one focused on furthering her position, but one delegated to her by someone else. I see her as effective and relentless, but needing someone to steer all that energy into a certain direction. In other words, she's an ideal Number 2.

 

Well, unless they operate on the Banker Principle....

 

It could be a Uriah Gambit (see TV tropes).

The Fleet Admiral, either answering to Snoke or Snoke himself, proceeds to lead all of his political enemies and their forces into the trap at Jakku. This results in their complete destruction and Snoke gaining unchallenged control over the Empire, which he proceeds to recreate as the First Order loyal only to himself. Snoke proceeds to sign the Galactic Concordance and portrays himself as a galactic peacekeeper.

He possibly also becomes a friend of the Solo family....giving him access to their child.

That would be how I would do it, at least.

 

WHICH French Republic? The first, the second, the third, the fourth, or the fifth?

 

I'm presuming they're talking about the Fourth transitioning to the Fifth. Unless they're talking about the Third Republic rising from the ashes of the Second Empire.

 

More just an example of how governments can and do transition.

 

Finally started listening to this on Audio Book and made it to chapter 9

This whole Mon Mothma demilitarization thing --- I'm speechless. Really? Was she really so daft? Her actions here are way too PT-like for my taste. Ignorance is not bliss when you've just made it through 2 massive wars etc.
Way too naive a portrayal -- maybe it's the voice actor -- not really sure.

But it pisses me off that she is doing this and makes me want to root for the Empire's Resurgence