Books Star Wars: Before the Awakening

You already have it?

 

Ah, the Evil Empire at work.

I order from the Rebellion. (Wordery / SpeedyHen)

 

I finished the Finn story and really enjoyed it. His training explains pretty well why he can use a lightsaber as well as he can (there's one particular scene where he swings the training mace almost exactly like he does the lightsaber in the movie, too). Looking forward to Rey's and Poe's.

 

Read all 3 stories. Very good insight to everything related to Finn, Poe and Rey.
Now to read the novelization and that collection of short stories.

 

Rey's and Poe's stories were both great. Rey's made me sad and also made me appreciate her at the start of the movie that much more, and Poe's solidified him as the new version of Wedge, IMO. He's as great as any character of the X-wing series.

 

That would have been heart-breaking to have happen. What happened to Rey.
Poe is going to be great getting more stories about.
Now we need more stories on Kylo Ren, Lorr San Tekka, Hux, Phasma, Snoke etc.

 

I was finishing another book so I didn't get to get started with this one until Wednesday evening. What a fun book! Only took a couple of days to read it but it was incredibly enjoyable. Not only did it give me an even better feel for the 3 new heroes (and of course BB-8) but it also really helped to give some background on their motivations and skill sets. I'm not sure which story I enjoyed the most. Probably Poe's as it felt the most classically Star Wars.

These young adult books have been incredible so far! I've read nearly everything from the new canon released in a physical format (I don't do e-books) and this plus the Han, Luke, and Leia JTTFA books are definitely near the top of the list.

 

Just finished the book and like what a lot have said, poes story is probably the best.

I do think purely on the basis that we get a clearer understanding of the state of the galaxy this is a must read before seeing the film. In some ways I wished it had come out a few days before TFA as it leads into it quite nicely with context

 

Found this book in town the other day and read it today. I thought it was pretty good. I agree on Rey - that was sad. I think of the three I liked Finn's the best.

 

I thought Finn's and Rey's stories were good, but in comparison to Poe's the were very boring. Please give me an entire book about Poe now please. Rucka could write it.

 

Yeah, I could read a whole book about Poe written by Rucka. Easily the best part of BtA by far.

--Adm. Nick

 

Finished this tonight. Very much enjoyed it! Clears up some questions I had from TFA.

 

My pre-book assessment which led me to pre-buy this was: Rucka can't write duff stories.

My assessment after reading it remains that Rucka can't write duff stories.

Undoubtedly, this is a collection that has far more impact if you've seen the film and is, to my mind, arguably designed to be so - the release date alone suggests that.

If you haven't? That's the real achievement of it - all three stories still work perfectly well.

For Finn's story, there needs to be an expansion on what the Republic has done in the last 30 years. It's clear that the FO version of the world the stormtroopers are fed is a carefully maintained pile of rubbish, but knowing the actual record would really give a sharp undermining to the FO's Judge Dredd dreams. At the same time, this story culminates in a sequence that is likely the dream solution of every right-wing, union-loathing politician to workforce disputes. What I quite like is the story is built around two poles: That if you subject your charges to harsh management, better results follow - that remains persuasive crap for manager alpha ********s to give into said ******** side of their personality. Second, you can train and have that person respond brilliantly to training but it all falls apart when the individual encounters the reality of what they've been trained for.

Rey's story suffered from the end being a bit too obvious - not really like Rucka, but he had to work with what he had. Reading the story leads to one clear conclusion: Like other SW characters, Rey is one of those people who should be messed up as hell by her experiences but somehow isn't.

Poe's tale is the winner of the trio easily, but then there's something about X-Wings duelling TIEs against a backdrop of Star Destroyers. It's also a neat structural trick - the story opens with the FO view of the FO, now we switch to the Republic / Resistance view of them. It's a pity Rucka was allowed to elaborate on what happened to Shara, suggests a big secret, but so long as the story isn't something like her heart gave out, it'll probably be OK. It just needs to avoid the 'we killed her off to torture the hero' trap.

If you've seen and enjoyed the film, then you really have to get this - there's likely a swath of aspects and details that you'll see I haven't. Why? Rucka does stuff like that.

Also, make sure you get the US hardback if you can.

 

Amusingly, I actually DO think the Republic/Resistance was rousing the laborers against the First Order.

 

I've gotten through Finn and Rey and started reading the Poe section when something caught my eye.

Spoiler

The surname Kun. As in Exar Kun possibly existing?

 

Very nice lead-in to the movie. Liked all three, but I think I liked Finn's the best, even if it's a familiar yarn. Poe, though, certainly has the most potential for a larger backstory t be told. I'd love to see a full novel with some earlier adventures.

 

Did a more complete write-up of my thoughts about this book on my blog right HERE. I thought it was a good book and left me with a strong desire to read a novel about Poe Dameron ASAP (please, somebody, write that book!).

 

My Reactions thoughts on each of the character's stories-

Finn: "Dude so what the first order is cruel to the weak, just put on the damn helmet and shoot people!"
Rey: "You stupid B****, why the hell did you leave those two in the ship with the keys to the ignition?"
Poe: "Why did this guy have to get so little screentime in the movie?!"

All in all still loved the booked

 

Only read Finn's story so far, but with absolutely no mention on sanitation duty I am left with questions about his statement in TFA

 

On page 22 floor mopping, dish washing, and trash emptying are mentioned, at least.

 

I don't think he was on Starkiller Base during his section?

 

"the base where Captain Phasma oversaw their training" may be it.

 

I liked this book well enough that after I bought and read it on my Kindle, I bought a hard copy as well to lend out to friends and family who would like to read it.