STAR WARS: EMPIRE AND REBELLION BOOK TWO - HONOR AMONG THIEVES
By James S. A. Corey
Available in UK hardback from 24th March, from CENTURY PUBLISHING
Reviewed by Scott Weller
Lindsay Lohan's joined the Rebels!
Well, that's what you'd think when looking at her photoshopped face adorning the cover, alongside our veritable band of Classic Trilogy heroes led by Han Solo, to book two of the popular EMPIRE and REBELLION trilogy, our now in UK hardback from CENTURY PUBLISHING: Honour Among Thieves, an adventure told with enjoyable verve by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under their pseudonym of James S. A Corey).
Lohan becomes Scarlet Hark- the latest new character to be introduced to George Lucas's printed universe: a different but similar successor, yet timeline precursor, to old-time fan favourite Mara Jade in many respects. Just as fiery and opinionated, but a lot less arrogant, than that other red-headed heroine and former wife to Luke Skywalker, Scarlet, respected by her Rebel Alliance colleagues as one of their best undercover operatives, uses her feminine wiles, wits and abilities to their limits, not having the powers of the Force or a lightsaber to aid her-though she's also pretty adept with a blaster. Soon recovered by Han Solo, on behalf of a worried Princess Leia, the newcomer and the sometimes happily, sometimes begrudgingly beleaguered smuggler- still in a conflicted state over where his current and future loyalties lie (either to his continuing life as a smuggler or cementing his allegiance to the burgeoning Rebellion), head to a far-off planet shrouded in mystery and danger, eventually accompanied by the Alderaanian icon/highnessness (how's that for an intriguing literary menage à trois!), in a genuine race against time to stop the Empire from unleashing a newly discovered, millennia ancient weapon that will forever affect the balance of power in favour of its user...
Corey's writing captures the post A New Hope tone successfully, within an adventure that's on the right side of classy pulp, equally bringing Han Solo to life in a manner that few STAR WARS book writers have accomplished these past few years: spot-on capturing his rogue qualities, edgy arrogance but also lovability and unexpected ingenuity as one of the saga's greatest heroes. His sparring with the equally sharp and passionately determined Leia, and the feisty, youthfully spirited Scarlet (likely a character who will be enjoyed for a long time to come by Expanded Universe fans), is additionally crisp and entertaining- by the end of their Stormtrooper battling/Indiana Jones-esque escapades in the book's final section, the trio even manage a grappling hook escape flight together!
In and out of the building chaos, Star Destroyer out-manoeuvring and explosive confrontations, the few newly created, plot-serving supporting characters tussling with Solo and company prove well utilised within a page-turning adventure that thankfully and ultimately doesn't outstay its 247 page welcome: there's never really a boring or out of step moment to it.
A marked improvement over Princess Leia's slightly cliched feeling opening entry: Razor's Edge, Honor Among Thieves is a worthy continuance//tribute to the classic tales previously laid down by Brian Daley's Han Solo Trilogy of the late seventies, whilst further raising my quality hopes and expectations for Luke Skywalker's starring role in the third and final book of the saga...
AFICIONADO RATING: 7.5 out of 10
Get hold of Honor Among Thieves here: Honor Among Thieves: Star Wars Empire and Rebellion: Amazon.co.uk: James S. a. Corey: Books
Shotglass Digital | David Collins & Jimmy Mac Present “Honor Among Thieves”
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