Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: EMPIRE AND REBELLION: RAZOR'S EDGE (spoilers)

The first Empire and Rebellion book is here, starring Leia! Leia never gets her own book!

Some rules: rate Razor's Edge on a scale of 1 to 10, supplementing your rating with a review, if you want to (It's not necessary but is highly encouraged). However, please do not rate or review the book until after you've read the whole thing. Thanks.

Go for it.

 

I'll give it a 6/10. It was decent, but doesn't really stand out for me.

 

7 of 10

I have to second Jello here, Han and Luke really felt forced into the story, which otherwise has a very nice set up and great Leia characterization, though I admit the pirates were a little to tame and disorganized for my liking. I mean they are meant to be Slavers and brutal killers, but all they seem to do is sit around, booze up and not even remotely care about their station, that scene with those Space Station vagrants ambush Han and company was really odd to me, especially the sudden mention of cannibalism also if they are just at random ambushing people on the station I am sure the Pirates would have just gone out and killed these guys for the fun of it.

 

Average score: 21/3 = 7.00

 

I was really disappointed with this book. I give it points for doing something different, focusing on a smaller-scale threat more fitting for the Rebellion and giving a story beyond another Empire vs. Rebellion battle. I also thought Wells wrote Leia well and liked that she showed Han and Leia's growing attraction to each other and that this close to TESB, they were at least internally acknowledging that something was there.

The story, though, failed so greatly to engage that it ended up being almost boring. I think there are a number of concepts and characters here that have potential, but don't really get developed in a way that make me care. The idea of Alderaanian refugees going pirate is fascinating and ripe for exploration. But they bring no conflict at all to the story. When Leia encounters them, they all act like a bunch of kids who stole their parents' antique car out for a joy ride. There's some guilt, some half-hearted justifications, epiphanies about reality that the entire crew somehow avoided for two years, and some overwhelming desire to please Leia. You don't get tension, you don't get conflict, you just get this naive group of people playing pirate that Han and Leia seem to almost pity throughout the book. This could have been explored, the crew of the Aegis could have been fleshed out. Unfortunately, aside from maybe one or two exceptions, they're largely not.

That really leads me to my biggest problem with the book: there was no reason for me to care. Perhaps giving us a scene from Metara's or Terae's or Viest's perspectives. Maybe more one on one time with some of those new supporting characters. Itran, for example, is kind of a clumsy character and the twist about him near the end comes as little surprise, but he still gets some development, largely thanks to some extensive interaction with Han, starting with a confrontation early in the book. Even he, though, is told to us more through Han's and Leia's thoughts about him than many of the actions he takes, and that's a problem I found with many of the characters. We learn most about other characters from being told through Leia's and Han's POV what we're supposed to think of them. Outside of that, most of the supporting players are simply reacting to events and spouting exposition. We spend time with Metara, Viest, Sian, Kelvan, and yet I don't think we learn much of anything about them. Itran gives us some buffoonery and Terae actually starts coming into her own by the end. And I'll admit that Andevid, the Aqualish pirate/prisoner, was actually well done and had some life to him. But my reaction to the big shootout that leaves two major characters dead, one who has a major impact on other characters, shouldn't be a shrug and an "oh well".

I also had some trouble figuring out the geography of that asteroid base. I'm reluctant to blame the author for this as my own boredom may have just led to a lack of focus, but it did become a little difficult to figure out what was happening where, especially once their plan went into action.

Then there was that entire second climax, which seemed tacked on in an effort to draw out the story into novel-length form and bring in an Imperial threat that wasn't even present for 3/4 of the book. But hey, she got the Big 3 right, gave Luke a big moment, and Han and Leia several. I just wish it worked for me.

4/10

Edit: One thing I completely forgot to mention but actually liked was the time spent between Chewie and Luke. It's rare we get that particular relationship by itself, particularly in this era, and it was fun to read, especially since they're not quite at the Wookiee-hug phase yet. It's brief, but it worked for me.

 

Average score: 25/4 = 6.25

 

This is probably the most underrated EU of the last several years. It's not perfect -- it doesn't have enough depth to elevate itself to true greatness, and I'd have liked to have seen more exploration of characters like Veist and the Aegis crew (who really could have used more ambiguity) to really understand them -- but it's an excellent adventure that does tons of things right, things that most recent efforts are missing.

From using a forgotten character like General Willard to making great use of female characters to focusing on a completely low-stakes mission to highlighting Leia as a lead character, the book starts out way ahead of the game. Then Wells takes that solid setup and doesn't disappoint. Her characterization of Leia is excellent, showing her as steely but human, determined to live up to the burdens placed on her but doubtful behind the mask of leadership she puts on, and strongly driven by a sense of justice. And while I was initially dubious of the decision to insert Han and Luke into Leia's story when she's tended so often to get swallowed up by their presence in the past, Wells does a great job keeping the focus on Leia while still giving the other two good characterizations. Luke has essentially a bit part in a supporting plotline, but he gets a few scenes to shine and they're done very well; I'd like to see what Wells could do with a more evenly balanced big three novel, or just a Luke book for that matter. Han is with Leia the whole time, and traditionally that's more of an issue, as that setup tends to be dominated by attempts to recreate their bickering TESB dynamic and Han's brash heroics take the spotlight. Here, though, Wells heavily favors Leia's POV, which she nails, and has Leia driving the plot, allowing Han to follow in her wake as a clear supporting character rather than taking over the book. Wells also does a great job with their relationship, deemphasizing the verbal sparring, though still occasionally there, in favor of showing them working together with a little bit of tension here and there, and allowing that tension to be explicitly sexual, as each has POV scenes in which they recognize that they're attracted to the other but are trying to hide it because it's a distraction to the mission and anyway it's not like they'd ever actually start dating or anything come on. I think it also helped that she kept Han away from his sidekick, which helped keep him from taking over, and sidelined Threepio, so she couldn't just recreate the TESB dynamic with Han and Leia and Threepio bickering back and forth with Chewbacca in the background (and the sideplot team-up of Luke, Chewie, and Threepio is quite funny and a nice look at a rare character grouping). Really, her use of Threepio is worth comment, as she restricts his act to a running gag of providing commentary on Chewie's statements as he translates them, which then annoys Chewie. It gets Threepio's personality across without overdoing the whole "obnoxious prissy droid" schtick, and that's characteristic of Wells's approach in general -- she captures the characters and their personalities really well without having to resort to caricature or leaning on movie-derived schtick.

When it comes to the plot, the novel shines, too. Not that it has the most intricate plot, but Wells constructs the adventure nicely. It begins with a routine mission, no "save the Rebellion" nonsense. Then Leia's ship gets ambushed and limps into the arms of the Alderaanian pirates, who take her to a hideout for multiple gangs of pirates while she tries to convince them to reform. The Rebels try to bluff the bad pirate leader while figuring out how to spring themselves, the situation spirals out of control, and they manage to escape the pirate base and then deal with the Imperials, with plot lines concerning the other Rebels Leia left behind, and Luke and Chewie coming to check on them, intertwining nicely. I pretty much saw where it was going, and called the spy in the ranks, but Wells handled the developments nicely and kept just enough of a sense that the story could go another way, and there was one development that I didn't expect. Most importantly, the story stays rooted in the basics of espionage, rescue, escape -- simple but highly effective storytelling scenarios that we just don't see that much in the rush to ultimately less-satisfying "epic" storytelling. Unlike Honor Among Thieves, it doesn't lose it way with ancient-alien superweapon planets and the fate of the galaxy; it just puts the heroes in a tricky situation and lets us watch them figure a way out. And that part is satisfying, with solid action and great character interaction. The primary environment of the story, the pirates' asteroid den, is memorable, and Wells has a talent for strongly describing her settings and characters, a trait always welcome in imaginative pulp like this. I also liked the opening sequence set aboard the damaged freighter, which had a lot of atmosphere. Wells also did a good job of using a large cast; there are a lot of players that help make the scenario feel deeper, and while they're not all developed as deeply as a smaller cast might have been, they're developed well enough, and they help give the story its potential to go multiple ways.

I really, really enjoyed Wells's touch with the universe and thought the novel she constructed was an excellently entertaining adventure that does Rebellion adventure right without feeling like just another run-of-the-mill story. On the surface it might look similar to something like Allegiance and Choices of One, but it read much better than either of those efforts; Wells just had a touch with the little things that worked. I really would have liked to have seen her work in the EU again, but it's too late; the EU's gone. Still, this is one very bright spot for a late-period EU that was exiting without many at all, and I think it's a pity so many people seem to have overlooked or underrated it.

8.7/10