“We have a problem…”
Remember the ending of Return of the Jedi, with the Ewok celebration (and in the re-release, the footage of liberated cities pulling down statues of Emperor Palpatine)? Star Wars: Aftermath starts just a few seconds after that, right when things start to go wrong.
Imperial troops fire indiscriminately into the celebrating crowds, dissidents are rounded up and imprisoned, and supporters of the old regime scramble for power. The Emperor is dead, but the Empire itself is far from gone.
I was a little worried about picking this one up. Everything else I’ve read has been from the Expanded Universe; this is the first novel set in a brand-new timeline: new characters, new story. How exactly will this measure up to what we’ve seen before?
The verdict? I liked it. I liked it a lot. It’s less “Journey to The Force Awakens” and more “What Happened In A Few Days Right After The Last Movie,” but Chuck Wendig obviously enjoyed playing in the Star Wars sandbox.
It looks like a pretty standard cast of characters for an adventure story: the crack pilot, the dashing devil-may-care officer, the bounty hunter, the plucky kid and his faithful droid.
Then you get to know them a little better.
The pilot, Norra, has had enough of war and just wants everyone to let her get back to being a mom. Jas Emari is a bounty hunter working for the New Republic after failing to complete a very important commission for the Empire. Sinjir Rath Velus is actually an Imperial officer who decided – after watching his squadron get slaughtered by Ewoks – to find a remote corner of the galaxy where he could spend his days cheerfully drinking himself unconscious. And fifteen-year-old Temmin has big plans to take down the local crime boss – ideally to replace him – with help from his droid who…well I won’t get into too much detail about Mr. Bones; the “plucky” droid was one of my favorite parts of the book.
It’s a deceptively small story, mostly taking place on one backwoods planet, Akiva, with all of the action happening during and around a secret meeting of highly-placed members of the Empire who plan to take back control from the Rebel Alliance. No surprise here, the meeting is mostly bickering about who should be in charge, and a lot of finger-pointing at whoever they think is to blame. The New Republic gets wind of the meeting, but there’s less focus on that than there is on all the various people on Akiva doing whatever that can that will let them get on with their own lives.
“I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS.”
The greater galaxy shows up in the interludes: mini-chapters where Wendig reveals how everyday people on other planets are affected by the Empire’s “defeat”. Families have to deal with the fallout when relatives choose sides, orphans look for a new life now that the status quo (whether under Empire rule or growing up in the middle of a firefight) is gone, and various criminal organizations run for cover or try to find some way to profit off of the chaos. I loved these sections, each one a little snapshot of life on some of the many different planets in the Star Wars universe. We even get a cameo by a couple of old favorites, with maybe a hint of how things might go (or go badly) in the years before the new movie.
What I loved most about this book was how much fun a lot of it was. The smart-aleck, snarky back-and-forth (particularly between Jas and Sinjir). People elbowing each other in the stomach to get them to shush. Daring escapes, startling reveals, a barfight that happens out of nowhere, and the occasional slapstick moment. I had to laugh at several digs that Wendig makes at the expense of The Phantom Menace, particularly at anything having to do with the battle droids.
“That was a battle droid.”
“I know.”
“They’re the most inept fighting unit in perhaps the history of the galaxy. And trust me, stormtroopers are basically just overturned mop buckets with guns, especially these days.”
“Do not sell the stormtroopers short,” Jas snaps. “In number, they are dangerous.”
“So are swamp buffalo.”
One of the main themes that Wendig keeps coming back to is the difference between the Empire and the New Republic. It really comes down to a terrifying level of control, something which Sinjir has a lot of experience in enforcing. The Empire doesn’t even let its own soldiers learn to speak other languages; it has to keep people from thinking too much. There are a couple of refreshing moments when members of the Empire show that they’re at least a little aware of what this kind of regime does to people, with the justification that total control and repression are better than chaos. But for the most part it’s all about having power for the sake of having power.
“This isn’t some kind of inspirational story. Some scrappy, ragtag underdog tale, some pugilistic match where we’re the goodhearted gladiator who brings down the oppressive regime that put him in the arena. They get to have that narrative.”
The New Republic – the “good guys” – are the ones who are allowed to get things wrong. They’re allowed to have citizens shout at them for doing a bad job, to have politicians arguing about the best way to do things, to try a hundred new things before finding something that works even halfway, because in the end a truly bad government is the one that only allows one way, one voice, and not even the illusion of choice.
Did the ending wrap things up a little too neatly? Maybe. But it was still a heck of a lot of fun to read. This is the first book of a trilogy, and it seems to be mostly setting the scene. I’m hoping Wendig will bring all of these characters back (especially Jas, she’s surprisingly good at her job) so we can see how they change over the course of the next two books.