May Reviews: Star Wars Month

Welcome to like the third or fourth year in a row of reading exclusively Star Wars books in the month of May. We're living it up here folks!

Let's dive right in!

Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein

It's Star Wars month, and that means reading the remaining Star Wars books I have stockpiled, starting with Cobalt Squadron.

I'm not a sequels fan-- I think they're visually stunning and had a lot of potential, especially with the characters, but I think ultimately the plot inconsistencies and tanking of characters in the name of trying to subvert expectations made them just not for me. So I was very hesitant to read something set during that time period, but I like Rose Tico (actually I really like Kelly Marie Tran, but they both deserved better) and a friend gave this one to me, so I figured I'd at least give it a shot.

I was a little disappointed with the writing style-- or maybe it just felt younger than it should to me, but either way there were some awkward sentences and dialogue. The plot itself felt straightforward, and it did a decent job of introducing a character and her sister (who, spoilers, dies at the beginning of the 8th movie, so this at least built up that relationship and loss more-- though that's a problem with the sequels that my friend and I were just talking about. She very rightfully said that one of the problems with the sequels is they're only really enjoyable if you consume every other bit of content that explains the build up and characters and all that to make sense of what's happening and to build up the emotion and meaning that should actually be present in the movies). 

I ended up skimming quite a bit of it after it took too long to get into, and it was overall fine. Meaningful enough to be worth reading, but didn't really change my mind about anything sequels related.

I'm realizing I skipped writing a summary at the beginning of this but super don't want to do it now, so just know it follows Rose and her sister Paige on a mission right before The Last Jedi (like literally RIGHT before). 

Shatter Point by Matthew Stove

I've read only one Matthew Stover book before-- he wrote my favorite Star Wars movie novelization, Revenge of the Sith.

Mace Windu is sent to his birth planet, Harden Kal, to rescue his former padawan, Depa. But the planet's jungle is a deep and dark place, and his mission is derailed from the beginning. As he works to find Depa, Mace must reckon with a darkness he's never witnessed before, and realize he may not be able to save anyone, including himself.

This book was Long and Intense. 430 pages of almost constant warfare and fighting, and the absolute constant danger. It was kind of exhausting, if I'm being completely honest. I don't often read books with that much continuous action and stress, since I know it takes me longer to get through and not feeling great a lot of the time. And while the writing was very good-- Stover continues to be a very talented writer-- it was also just dense. 

The story itself is part of the Legends Collection, which I think is considered a different branch of canon, so I don't entirely know if any of it is considered true Star Wars lore, which did admittedly make it a little difficult at times, since I knew Depa went on to have her own padawan in other Star Wars content. 

My brain is not working right now, but overall this was fine. It was A Lot, but also had a lot of interesting worldbuilding and lore, especially about Mace Windu, who's super cool.

The Princess and The Scoundrel by Beth Revis

It felt appropriate to try to read something from each trilogy era of Star Wars, so this book was my original trilogy choice (plus I got it at that library sale I mentioned last month, so we live cheap books).

Leia and Han have survived where the Empire has fallen, and in the wake of it they decide to get married. But happily ever after isn't easy-- on their honeymoon turned diplomatic mission, Han and Leia have to face a world that doesn't truly believe the empire is some and fight some of the factions that remain, while learning that they no longer have to fight alone.

I've read Beth Revis once before (Rebel Rising last May), but didn't super remember her writing style. This one is good enough, though I did like Rebel Rising better and ended up skimming through a lot of chunks of the action. 

Han and Leia felt correctly portrayed to their characters at least, even if I personally wouldn't have married them this quickly-- they always did move fast though.

I liked the different world they explored, and getting to look around a bit at the rebellion finding it's footing at the new republic. There were also a lot of references to other projects and movies, most of which o recognized, and what is Star Wars without it's cameos.

Overall this was a fun enough read, and it does make me want to write my own versions and ideas.

Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed

I genuinely don't remember where I got this book, but I have a sneaking suspicion it was from Elisa. I didn't have another era to pick from in books I already owned, so I just doubled up on the original trilogy time period (or right after Return of the Jedi) because that's such a cool time in the series anyways.

Yrica Quell is an imperial defector from Shadow Wing, an elite team of tie fighters known for deadly combat and ruthless missions. As a fresh New Republic face, she's ready to prove herself and get back to flying. But when she's recruited for a team of disorganized but talented group with the single mission to take out Shadow Wing, she'll be tested in more ways than she thought.

This was probably the book I liked the most of what I read this month. It was also over 500 pages, so I will admit some of the character POVs I cared a little bit less about were read a little faster than necessary. That being said, the writing was great-- compelling, very good descriptors without feeling like it was drowning in itself, and decent pacing for a book that had it's fair share of aerial combat.

Each member of Alphabet Squadron came from a unique background and with a very different mindset than their comrades. It was cool to spend time in each of their perspectives as they came together as a team. There were a few other characters who's heads we jumped into, but Alphabet Squad were the most entertaining and captivating.

It was interesting to see the fallout from Endor in an outside perspective, to see how the New Republic was gathering at the fringes, trying to turn guerrilla warfare into tactical strategy and government. To see how people who weren't Luke, Leia, and Han saw the whole thing. It was also nice to revisit Hera, who kicks so much ass in this book.

Overall I had a good time with this one, and it really got me back into the original trilogy time period.

And that's it! Next is pride month, so we'll see if all my books get here in time for me to read the rainbow or if I have to get creative.

Literary recommendation: we're just gonna go ahead and shout out Mathew Stover's Revenge of the Sith novelization here

Media recommendation: I've been absolutely blowing through episode of Severance on Apple TV and it's So Good