Star Wars: Aftermath - Chuck Wendig

None of the new Star Wars books have been particularly good, but by far the worst offender so far is the first in Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy. It appears to have been written in extreme haste, possibly under the merciless lash of Disney's marketing team in preparation for The Force Awakens film. The book is set not long after the events of Return of the Jedi, following the destruction of the Emperor, Vader and the second Death Star. It was marketed as the story that fills in the gap between the original trilogy and the new films, but it does nothing of the sort. In fact, it barely even deals with the main characters, Luke doesn't appear at all.Whilst the galaxy celebrates the fall of the Empire, and the Rebel Alliance rebrands as the New Republic, the Imperial remnants hold a conference to discuss their future. Hardly the most compelling of storylines and stakes are predictably low here, which is the main reason why the Empire was resurrected for the new films. The villains have been reduced to a handful of squabbling officers, admirals and political figures, none of whom pose a significant threat.

The new heroes introduced are the worst the Star Wars universe has ever seen. There's a middle aged rebel pilot trying to re-engage with her obnoxious teenage son (who, like all children in Star Wars media, is a tech wizard), an alcoholic Imperial turncoat who later reveals himself to be gay in a horribly contrived scene, and the stereotypical tough independent female bounty hunter with no personality who just wants to get paid - Star Wars loves those types. The book is written in the present tense, badly, and it remains jarring throughout. Wendig desperately tries to create a sense of tension by pretending that main characters have died, but when he's pulling the same trick for the third time, one notes the stupidity of the artifice and his glaring lack of skill as a narrator. Wendig goes overboard trying to meet the Lucas Story Group equality and diversity quota by having a gay main character, a lesbian couple, and an orphan who had 'two fathers.' They couldn't have just been written as the boy's 'parents' because Wendig would have been denied his chance to virtue signal. Absolute dross, and the worst part about it is - there are two other books in the series I have to get through.

Rating: 1/5