{"id":27717,"date":"2015-09-13T00:01:04","date_gmt":"2015-09-13T04:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=27717"},"modified":"2015-09-12T13:03:01","modified_gmt":"2015-09-12T17:03:01","slug":"tiddle-bits-of-news-aftermath-zer0es-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2015\/09\/13\/tiddle-bits-of-news-aftermath-zer0es-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiddle Bits Of News — Aftermath, Zer0es, And More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[that’s some Mister Bones fan-art from E.V. Kwun — @geektrooper<\/strong><\/span><\/a>]<\/p>\n

Some quick bits. Ready, steady, go:<\/p>\n

First, Paste Magazine interviews me about Zer0es and Aftermath<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then, Omnivoracious reviews Aftermath<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Aftermath<\/em><\/a>\u00a0has a challenging job: tell an exhilarating, page-turning tale centered on a handful of people on a remote world, while exposing the tectonic shifts in government and alliances among the galaxy\u2019s population as the New Republic solidifies its wins. Interludes within the main storyline give the reader glimpses of familiar faces\u2014Han Solo and Chewbacca, Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar\u2014who are striving to make the New Republic something other than yet another government everyone will grow to hate. But the real fun is in Norra\u2019s adrenaline-scorching adventures and in searching for clues about what will happen over the next thirty years during the galaxy\u2019s journey to\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I devoured\u00a0Star Wars: Aftermath<\/em><\/a>\u00a0while on vacation in a lovely European country whose charms really should have torn me away from this book but rarely did. Whether you\u2019re a\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0expert who immediately knows the difference between mynocks and Mandalorians or you\u2019re a sci-fi reader looking for a good military yarn,\u00a0Aftermath<\/em><\/a>\u00a0fires on all cylinders.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Tosche Station, an English professor tackles the book<\/strong><\/span><\/a> from the perspective of whether the complaints that it’s “poorly-written” hold up \u00a0(and she has some thoughts on present tense, too):<\/p>\n

This book is about war, pure and simple.\u00a0 And though glorious as war may seem when viewed through the lens of the\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0movies, nothing could be further from the truth, and Wendig takes that on.\u00a0 This book literally is the aftermath of the Death Star\u2019s destruction, complete with the chaos and upheaval throughout the galaxy.<\/p>\n

Past tense is, by its very nature, distancing.\u00a0 It removes the reader from the action, no matter how well written.\u00a0 Present tense, on the other hand, provides a sense of immediacy to the action, plunging the reader into the events taking place.\u00a0 The present tense gives the reader the sense that this is happening\u00a0right now<\/em>, rather than a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.\u00a0 As the characters live through the events taking place, so do the readers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Coffee with Kenobi reads and reviews the book<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Aftermath<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>features\u00a0myriad moments that are ripe for discussion (It\u2019s worth mentioning that Wendig writes a wonderful Han Solo\/Chewbacca moment that will leave you breathless), and may leave the reader with varying degrees of satisfaction. This was not the novel I was expecting, but it is certainly the novel I had a hard time putting down. It\u2019s a paradoxical novel that provides hope and optimism for what is to come, while also providing the reader with a dystopian sensation that is slightly unusual for\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>. It\u2019s a unique, fascinating, unorthodox novel, and after reading it, I am more glad for the news that it is part one of a trilogy than initially thought. If you like to have your conventions challenged,\u00a0Aftermath<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is the\u00a0Star Wars\u00a0<\/em>novel for you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

SFCrowsNest reviews it<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a brevity in his prose and an immediacy that is suitable for this quick picture of a galaxy at a turning point. The literary equivalent of a rolling news channel. He writes his central characters well, too, with the relationship between Norra and her son being a particular highlight. I predict there\u2019s one non-human character that readers will love, too.<\/p>\n

If you were expecting the continued adventures of Han, Chewie, Luke and Leia then this novel will come as a disappointment, but if you\u2019re keen to see what happens to the galaxy when structures of control have been destroyed and new alliances and opportunities are found, \u2018Aftermath\u2019 does a good job of showing how that might happen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fantasy Faction talks it up<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Chuck has kept the spirit of the original Star Wars movies \u2013 that cheesiness and goofiness we all loved so much \u2013 but at the same time\u00a0made sure there is enough realism and\u00a0grittiness\u00a0so that it\u00a0appeals to the tastes of readers today.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

SF Book Reviews reviews the novel<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

There is plenty of fast paced action sequences, speeder bikes, shoot-outs and such, including a scene where our rebel fighter encounters a Rodian and shoots first, an amusing touch for those who know their Star Wars (There are a few nods like this throughout the book). Wendig manages to capture the alien-ness that marks the strange Star Wars creatures but my favorite is the B1 Battle Droid (those annoying Robots in episode 1 which say “roger roger”) “Mr Bones” which has been re-engineered by Temmin as a kick-ass killing machine. He also manages to keep a family friendly approach too without this affecting his unique, charming voice.<\/p>\n

The ending, when it comes is just superb and does what a book should, leave you wanting more – such as figuring out just who is really in charge of the remnants of the Empire.<\/p>\n

Star Wars Aftermath<\/strong>\u00a0almost makes up for that sweeping canon reset, a few more like this and Disney will be completely forgiven. A wonderful Star Wars adventure by a gifted author.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Simon McNeil reviews the book and also… well, reviews the reviews of the book<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, particularly looking at the negativity surrounding it. He sums up with (but you should read the whole thing):<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    I\u2019m a fan of Wendig\u00a0who hasn\u2019t ever read Zahn, make of that what you will<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    The people who are trying to burn down Wendig\u2019s book are jerks who smell like gamergating sad puppies<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    It\u2019s obviously a star wars book<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    It\u2019s a really good star wars story<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    It doesn\u2019t matter that Luke Skywalker isn\u2019t in it<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    Buy it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n

    No seriously buy it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  8. \n

    Right now.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  9. \n

    Stop what you\u2019re doing and buy this book.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  10. \n

    Then read it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And that’s all, folks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [that’s some Mister Bones fan-art from E.V. Kwun — @geektrooper] Some quick bits. Ready, steady, go: First, Paste Magazine interviews me about Zer0es and Aftermath. Then, Omnivoracious reviews Aftermath: Aftermath\u00a0has a challenging job: tell an exhilarating, page-turning tale centered on a handful of people on a remote world, while exposing the tectonic shifts in government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-theramble","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-7d3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27717"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27722,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27717\/revisions\/27722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}