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| Han Solo and Chewbacca are in it up to their necks in Life Debt, out now in hardback. |
AFTERMATH: LIFE DEBT
By Chuck
Wendig
Out now
in hardback from CENTURY PUBLISHING
Reviewed
by Scott Weller
Note:
this review contains potential SPOILERS!
“The Empire needs children.”
Chilling words
from a mysterious and highly dangerous new game-player in the galaxy
shattering, chaotic war between defeated Empire and pushing forward, though
equally damaged, New Republic, as the second action-packed volume of Chuck
Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy, Life Debt,
notably bridging the gap further between the timelines of Return of the Jedi and The
Force Awakens, makes a welcome and exciting debut at bookstores and on
tablet.
This time out,
Wendig’s band of newly created Rebel heroes, led by vulnerable but tough
ex-Rebel pilot Norra Wexley, are hard at work combing the universe to apprehend Imperial war criminals for interrogation and trial. Once more alongside her in
her old but sturdy freighter, Halo,
are bounty hunter Jas Emari (whose ideology continually clashes with her
instincts and heart in fighting the Empire), battle hardened Rebel Commando Jom
Barell (sharing a special “relationship” (numerous times!) with Jas; the edgy,
supercilious and sarcastic former Imperial officer Sinjir Rath Velus, always
thirsting for alcohol, yet always coming up trumps in a crisis; and the young
but skilled Temmin, son of Norra (now fully confirmed as TFA's skilled pilot-to-be “Snap” Wexley), paired with his trusty, bloodthirsty, and
bizarrely reconditioned DIY Battle Droid in Mister Bones.
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| A new battle with the Empire awaits Han Solo... |
What they do has
never been exactly routine, but change is quickly on the agenda for this unlikely group, what with the shocking news that the legendary smuggler and rebel hero/maverick Han Solo,
and his Wookiee partner Chewbacca, have suddenly gone missing in the notorious
Wild Space, having pursued their own mission, with sadly no support from their
former allies in the New Republic, to free the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk from
the most horrific and continued Imperial enslavement- their situation and
disappearance rallying a concerned Princess Leia to covert action, and the truly
below the radar help of Norra’s band, a move which she knows will put her at odds
with her New Republic allies previously citing lack of available resources to
help, alongside situations occurring from events later in the
book, adding further complications. What follows from the acceptance of
Leia’s request will soon be a brutal and highly personal leap into action for all of
them…
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| ... and his trusty partner Chewbacca. |
Only briefly shown
here and there in Book One, vital characters from the Classic Trilogy now get a
bigger share of the limelight in Life
Debt, importantly ringing true on the character front, and now getting to
interact with Wendig’s own creations- surely a dream come true for the author. From their
temporary new political home on Chandrila, whose civilization and environments
we finally get a closer look at, Mon Mothma and fish-head Admiral Ackbar make
their presence known as the continued figureheads for the New Republic. Jedi
icon Luke Skywalker is still sadly AWOL, and there’s no sign of the corrupting
influence of Snoke, either, though fans of Leia will be very happy with her
storyline and her developing marriage to Han Solo, who’s just as hip, dangerous
and bad boy as ever!
Long-term supporting
hero Wedge Antilles returns for another solid contribution, too, though still
recovering from his injuries received via the conflicts on Akiva, his special
friendship with Norra seemingly starting to blossom until fate, and a shocking
discovery, throws a cruel hand…
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| Admiral Rae Sloane is an Imperial leader with clarity of purpose. |
On the side of the
enemy, fan favourite Rae
Sloane, her blood group status pure Imperial, having escaped Norra and the Rebels
at Akiva, has returned to the remnants of her fleet, though still with only a
singular Super Star Destroyer to her credit, trying to solidify her power base
of technology and firepower. Shrewd and dedicated to the original vision of the
Empire, Sloane always proves her worth, though the book now introduces the man,
the advisor, behind her actions, discreetly introduced in Aftermath, and bearing a mysterious history linked to a certain
desert world from the sequel trilogy, and now planning a nasty strike
back surprise against the New Republic. Further decision-making comes from an
interesting and creepy new “Shadow Council” (including the father to TFA's General Hux),
cementing its plans to restore tyranny and control, alongside a new public
relations/propaganda war.
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| Millennium Falcon schematic. |
Keeping the style
of the previous book, Life Debt
continues to show us the evolving state of the universe in the sustained wake
of Empire and New Republic conflict via special and memorable interludes that
so far pose more questions than answers: we get a glimpse of the remnants of
the Alderaanian race and what they plan to do next, there’s a trip to the
perpetually troubled Ryloth, as a new dawn awaits, small but powerful Maz
Kanata on Takodana feels the changes taking place in the galaxy, and there’s a
visit to Tatooine with the continuing story of the new lawman there, wearing
recognisable Mandalorian armour. The most important
interlude, however, must surely be the one set on Solo’s home world of
Corellia, which sees the unpleasant arrival and building in numbers Cult of
Vader acolytes, whose leader now has the Sith Lord’s crimson lightsaber- expect
more trouble soon!
His prior critical negativity towards the Prequel Trilogy seemingly abandoned for this official
series, Wendig wisely brings in Palpatine’s shady second-in-command and
confidante, Mas Amedda, for an interesting appearance, stuck on a Coruscant now
entrenched with Rebels fighting guerrilla style warfare in and out of its
skyscraper streets.
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| Mister Bones schematic. |
Though I’m still not fully enamoured with Wendig’s main characters, the
book’s plotting is strong-the author throwing in some ingenious and original
moments of darkness here and there, plus a welcome surprise or two, of which the
epic battles sprung from the middle onwards are well handled and quite adult. The
Kashyyyk sequences are a worthy continuance from the explosive incidents well
delivered by James Luceno in his Dark
Lord novel of ten years ago, which, amazingly, was never confirmed as an
official part of STAR WARS history.
Life Debt ends on a satisfying note, with our characters, separate or together,
all heading towards a gargantuan conflict that will be fatefully decided over a
raw world in the Western Reaches. A dust ball soon indelibly intertwined to galactic
history: The Battle of Jakku!
