Which isn’t as much of an issue here because Wendig has thankfully fleshed out both Wexley’s cohorts - bounty hunter Jas Emari, Rebel soldier Jom Barell, and ex-Imperial officer Sinjir Rath Velus - as well as the bad guys Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax, making them much more layered this time around.īut what really makes Star Wars Aftermath Life Debt so much better than the first Aftermath is what happens in the last third of the novel (none of which I’ll spoil). Though it’s also helpful because, in the original Aftermath, the only truly interesting characters were Norra’s resourceful son Temmin (ably played by Heroes star Greg Grumberg in The Force Awakens), and the kid’s repurposed Clone Wars-era Battle Droid Mister Bones, whose giddy, sadistic nature made him like a cross between Bender from Futurama and Claptrap from the Borderlands games. Which not only makes this more interesting, but also more important to the overall saga…which makes it more interesting still. Of course, by including Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and other familiar faces in this tale, Chuck Wendig thankfully ties Star Wars Aftermath Life Debt more closely to the movies.

But all of that gets put on hold Princess Leia tasks Wexley and her crew to rescue her hubby Han Solo and his BFF Chewbacca after the two disappear while on a mission to liberate the Wookie home world of Kashyyk. Set after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, but long before The Force Awakens begins, Star Wars Aftermath Life Debt picks up where Aftermath left off: with Rebel pilot Norra Wexley and friends chasing after members of the Imperial leadership. Thankfully, for the second book in his Aftermath trilogy, Star Wars Aftermath Life Debt ( hardcover, digital), Wendig is bringing back some old friends for a much more exciting and satisfying adventure. It’s why Claudia Gray’s original trilogy-overlapping Lost Stars and Greg Rucka’s Force Awakens prequel Star Wars Before The Awakening have been the strongest, while Chuck Wendig’s “it’s post- Return Of The Jedi but where did everybody go?” Star Wars Aftermath, though entertaining, is one of the weakest. If there’s one constant in the nearly dozen Star Wars novels released since Disney reset the canon of the expanded universe, it’s that’s the best ones have been those most connected to the movies.

Star wars life debt