Wow, that book is really awesome. I'm shocked at all the little references & details listed in it. I'm definitely ordering this book in a heartbeat! --Adm. Nick
I'm absolutely pumped about this book now. The X-Wing comparison seems really apt now - not just in the tonal sense, but in the sense that this looks to be much, much better than a video game tie-in has any right to be. Edit: BTW, what is it with the new canon and Besalisks?
I don't know, but he's one of my favorite characters in the book. .....which is something I'd never thought I'd ever say about a freaking Besalisk.
Wow, I enjoyed the preview in Dark Disciple and I've been seeing those who got the ARC hype this up, but that extended preview was simply awesome. This is going to be a great book, and the focus on Rebel ground troops is something that I've been hoping would happen for a long time. Quick question for those with the ARC: page count on Amazon says 416. Is that accurate? I hope so, most of the other NEU books have been somewhat short IMO.
The book also has the most action packed and ambitious third act of the new canon novels - doing a good job balancing nuanced characters and a personal story with the sense of being "big" and having an impact on the GCW at large. EDIT: the book is a tad under 400 pages.
This book is fantastic. It reads like the literary lovechild of Stackpole and Traviss without any of their quirks that people complain about. It's gritty, psychological and morally ambiguous, with terrific characters and a true sense of peril because of an entirely original cast. And somehow it still feels entirely like a Star Wars story. Easily top-three of the Del Ray published books thus far, if not #1 from a pure craftsman standpoint alone. The only one that's even close IMO is A New Dawn. Freed absolutely killed it.
I am pleased by how much people seem to be enjoying this. I skimmed the preview and it definitely seems like it's going to be a great read. I want to wait until actually reading it to experience most of it, though, so I'm not going to read the whole preview.
BTW once the book is out and people start posting spoilers, I HIGHLY recommend people read the book first. This book is worth going into without knowing things, trust me. Missa ab iPhona mea est.
He's right. If you get spoiled, you'll really hate yourself. Many unpredictable things happen, and that uncertainty is a big part of the book's atmosphere and feeling. Also, I don't think any other book ever made feel this way about the people that make the Alliance. Not even WEG, and coming from me that's saying.
Just finished reading the whole preview. Love the characters and story already. I simply love stories focusing on the rank and file. This preview proofs again that you don't need Jedi or Sith in a good Star Wars story. Spoiler A part I personally enjoyed was chapter 3 focusing on Thara Nyende or "SP-475", the female Stormtrooper. Does she have a more prominent role in the following chapters of the book? Well, I can't wait for the book to be released.
Re: chapter 3 of the preview Spoiler Oh, I forgot Thara was in there. That was another thing I appreciated -- and ordinarily a female stormie would be the thing I'd be most happy to see, if not for the unexpected Imperial advisors! Heh. Despite you know, being me, I actually like the Rebels and I think this book captures the feel of the Rebels you get in the OT films as well as in things like XWA. Yes, I am always anti-spoiler and think people should see/read things unspoiled but in this case, it's practically an imperative. Like you don't lose much by having Tarkin or LotS summarized for you since you basically know where those are going, but A New Dawn was worth going all the way through. This is like that, but more so.
So this is actually good good a la A New Dawn? Not, “well you can find enjoyment here if you force yourself enough” like the rest of the NEU adult novels?
Yes. It's not "well, it's a SW novel and uses EU lore so I'm happy that stuff is recanonized." It's "this is a damn good SW story -- or story in general." Freed also just happens -- like JJM -- to know his way around the lore. But that's not the main selling point, the main selling point is that it's really good.
Yeah, this is just a good novel. There are lots of fun EU lore being canonized--and jetissoned--but, as Jello said, that's just an extra. It's just a fantastic story, considerably more epic and sprawling than I expected, with complex multi-layered characters that you might find liking despite your best judgement, and it gives you a great look at a side of the universe we don't usually see.
I liked the tiny Rebels tie-in Spoiler "Can't have Imperial secrets falling into rebel hands.Can't have another Tseebo, or a Death Star incident...
Interesting how Vidian seems to be becoming a bigger figure in-universe. AND gave me the impression that he was famous, but just one out of a number of Court industrialists and Emperor's favorites. Reminds me a bit of the old EU - not in a bad way.