Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: BLOODLINE (spoilers)

From princess to rebel, Leia Organa has always dedicated her life to helping others and overall making the galaxy a better place. However it’s been a hard fought journey for her, and things are only getting more and more difficult, even in this time of peace.

We follow Leia over the course of this novel as she works in the New Republic Senate to fight injustice and try to make the government run as smoothly as possible. Yet she meets resistance along the way, as the Senate is split into two opposing parties, with members of each side thinking the members of the opposing side are doing things the wrong way. So naturally when she decides to investigate criminal activity brought to the Senate’s attention by an old rebel friend of hers, she’s joined by Ransolm Casterfo, a young rising star from the opposing party. Over the course of the novel they act as foils for one another. Their conflict is exacerbated somewhat by Ransolm’s seeming idolization of the Empire, with Leia thinking had he been around that he’d certainly be a typical Imperial officer. And yet we gradually learn that Ransolm is in fact a very sell-meaning man, and only respects the order the Empire provided, and actively abhors the atrocities carried out by many of the top brass, including Vader, whom he especially despises. Gray seems to have quite the knack for not only creating really interesting characters, but also for giving depth to characters that might otherwise come off as caricatured or one-dimensional. Ransolm is a great example of this, as by the end of the novel you really come to empathize with him and root for him as much as you would for Leia.

The rest of the supporting cast is pretty good too. Leia’s main aide Greer has shades of a younger Han, who also shows up at the end in his usual flashy style. There was also Joph Seastriker, a Luke-esque pilot who helps out Leia on her missions. There’s also Rinnrivan Di, a Nikto crime lord who is the impetus for Leia and Ransolm’s investigation. In his talks with Leia he comes across as a total gentleman, but she’s more than aware just how dangerous and powerful he is. It’s telling that he greatly admires her for murdering Jabba the Hutt years ago. Then there’s what’s got to be one of the haughtiest characters in a SW novel ever- Carise Sindian, who proves to be the bane of Leia’s existence when she engineers the reveal of Leia’s true parentage to the galaxy. Thankfully she gets her comeuppance at the end when Leia bites back and arranges for Carise to lose her rank and status among the Elder Houses of the galaxy. As for Leia herself I think Gray did a really great job capturing the spirit of the character, bridging the gap between the OT and the ST in a very natural manner.

Overall it was a pretty fun and exciting novel. Gray manages to make the political scenes all interesting and relevant, and the action interspersed throughout is enjoyable as well. I really liked Leia’s talks with Han as everything unfolded, and I liked the inklings into his own activities running starship races. There was a lot of buildup and exposition about the rise of the First Order and the general state of the New Republic that greatly enhances the events of the ST, so that was appreciated. And of course the novel culminates with Leia realizing the Senate is no longer capable of getting **** done, forcing her to begin thinking about taking matters of resistance into her own hands.

I give Bloodline a 9.45 out of 10 for a great Leia-centric story with a memorable cast, exhilarating espionage, and actually intriguing politics.

 

Average Score Update (including my rating below): 283.45/32 = 8.86
(note: the last score update posted was missing one review)

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This was a pretty different novel to encounter in my post-ROTJ NU run. Where TFA eschewed any desire to explain the politics of the new era in favor of action, Bloodlines is the complete inverse. It is very much The Politics Novel of the ST-era. It's also a bit of a shock, currently, as far as the gap in the timeline goes. Jumping in order from Last Shot to Bloodlines where it's the early days of the New Republic to it's twilight can be a little jarring- but that's something that's only an issue for us right now and I'm sure will get smoothed over as the years move on.

There's a very key moment in this book of great interest that I was spoiled about ahead of time. It's something that definitely sells you on a book. The downside is that, while it is the book's greatest selling point, the nature of actually knowing about it in advance keeps you waiting for it to happen in the book as you're reading. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen until 2/3rds the way through a, mostly, action-free novel. So that can make it feel slow going- and it needing to keep key aspects of that moment off-screen (likely in case the films or a series deal with it) limits the extent that it can explore it.

And, not really a spoiler, but the book leaves us with the early foundations of the Resistance but with the First Order still unknown. What is dealt with in the film gets mostly wrapped up with some vague loose ends. It just doesn't leave us with a sense that what has been discovered requires or inspires the need for the Resistance to be formed. It lacks that immediacy and call to action and ends up feeling somewhat obligatory and not the hero moment it was intended to be.

That said, this is a really solid Leia novel. The characterization is spot-on and we get lots of insight into her in this era, particularly in relation to the problems facing the New Republic internally. And while it may be slow, that first 2/3rds do a great job of building her friendships and partnerships so that when the key moment finally goes down, it becomes more of a gut punch. And, as a small bonus touch we get a small supporting role by Kor Sella (aka, TFA Hosnian Prime Victim) and it's nice to see her begin to get developed more, even if she was almost entirely cut from TFA.

So, this is not your action read, or your epic moments read. But for a political investigation plot with a high focus on Leia's character, it's definitely worth reading. The majority of the book may not feel as necessary as one would have liked, but it is nice to see the "happy" version of the Solo's lives before everything goes to hell for TFA.

Ranking NU Adult Novels so far:
-The Last Jedi 10.0
-Catalyst 9.5
-Last Shot 9.0
-Alphabet Squadron 8.75
-Lords of the Sith 8.5
-Bloodlines 8.0
-Aftermath: Empire's End 7.75
-Aftermath: Life Debt 7.5
-Tarkin 7.0
-Aftermath 7.0