I may be one of the only people that enjoyed (about half of) the EU novels and didn't like the fact that Disney didn't keep any of the characters in the official canon. I lost a ton of faith in the SW franchise because of the prequels and only found my way back through the Thrawn triology and New Jedi Order series. They weren't all great but they had some decent characters that I always wanted to see on the big screen. The twins, Jag Fel, Corral Horn, Paelleon, the guy with the red Star Destroyer.
That being said, I was both excited and apprehensive about the first new post-RoTJ piece of canon, Star Wars: Aftermath. Excited to see if any of the good bits of the EU would worm their way in as a nod to the book fans or maybe even a reboot of a good EU character or two. I was afraid that they may flip the finger to the book readers and approve a half baked piece of shit with no real voice that just seems to be a 300 page promotion for Episode VII.
Sadly, I came away thinking the latter. There were a few good new characters but there was almost no time spent developing them in any meaningful ways. Instead the author spends a ton of time describing chase scenes (the fuck?) and making sure you know that the New Republic (only EU nod) is good and filled with good people and that the Empire is full of bad people. Every 3 chapters or so there is an interlude to some other location that I assume is setting up the new movies but they end up feeling disjointed and nonsensical. There are even a few that seem to take the new universe 180 degrees away from their EU counterparts that it is almost like Disney is determined to show book readers their disdain for the EU.
I will not read anymore SW books from this author because I think he is worse than Karen Traviss and I might not read the next novel anyways. I can always hope that Thrawn and some others are reintroduced; however, after reading this mediocre story I find that hope to be all but gone.
That being said, I was both excited and apprehensive about the first new post-RoTJ piece of canon, Star Wars: Aftermath. Excited to see if any of the good bits of the EU would worm their way in as a nod to the book fans or maybe even a reboot of a good EU character or two. I was afraid that they may flip the finger to the book readers and approve a half baked piece of shit with no real voice that just seems to be a 300 page promotion for Episode VII.
Sadly, I came away thinking the latter. There were a few good new characters but there was almost no time spent developing them in any meaningful ways. Instead the author spends a ton of time describing chase scenes (the fuck?) and making sure you know that the New Republic (only EU nod) is good and filled with good people and that the Empire is full of bad people. Every 3 chapters or so there is an interlude to some other location that I assume is setting up the new movies but they end up feeling disjointed and nonsensical. There are even a few that seem to take the new universe 180 degrees away from their EU counterparts that it is almost like Disney is determined to show book readers their disdain for the EU.
I will not read anymore SW books from this author because I think he is worse than Karen Traviss and I might not read the next novel anyways. I can always hope that Thrawn and some others are reintroduced; however, after reading this mediocre story I find that hope to be all but gone.