Star Wars: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig, a book review
George: We both read the first part of Chuck Wendig’s trilogy back in October 2015, before the release of The Force Awakens. Jeff really loved it while I was more lukewarm to the title. I do remember loving the last 100 pages or so, but also finding it hard to place characters throughout the story. So, when Star Wars: Life Debt arrived, we were both pretty excited and tore into the latest Star Wars book by Wendig.
Jeff: Life Debt continues the story of the characters from the first book, but also adding a few more of the main Star Wars characters into the mix. Princess Leia hires Norra Wexley and her band of Imperial hunters to find her husband, Han Solo, who was last seen trying to liberate Kashyyyk with Chewbecca. Leia fears the worst, and since Wexley’s team is so good at finding people who do not want to be found, she wants to use their special skill set.
George: So, we sort of get a Who Framed Roger Rabbit in Spaaaaaace. No, just kidding. After seeing The Force Awakens, a lot of the people and players made more sense to me, which is part of the reason that I liked Life Debt right from the start. Even though there were a lot of political machinations, there was a tremendous amount of action and the characters felt real to me. Wendig nailed Han Solo and I really believed this was the character that lived between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Plus, I loved how Wendig made the Empire flounder as much as the New Republic.
Jeff: It was interesting to see even more of a power shift between the once-almighty empire to the folks trying to make the Empire still a thing. Stop trying to make the Empire a thing, guys. It’s never going to be a thing. But seriously, the interplay between both sides was a fantastic part of the plot, and showed much more of the under-workings of how things were run for both the good and the bad guys.
George: We’ve noticed that a lot of the more recent Star Wars books “leading” to The Force Awakens have had more political intrigue and felt like Captain America: Winter Soldier. There was plenty of action and the action made sense in the story. But you could also see how the political intrigue is leading to the First Order and the events in the film.
Jeff: The pieces all begin to fall into place with every release, and Life Debt is no different. It just keeps getting better and better. I love seeing how Norra and her son’s relationship develops (before we see him in The Force Awakens), and how everyone else on the team has grown. Also, the “interlude” chapters Wendig includes are also fantastic again, giving us a little more insight into the galaxy at large now.
George: Wendig’s books, along with most of the Journey to The Force Awakens books, shine a much needed light onto the galaxy and what happened during the 20 years of so after Return of the Jedi. A lot of the pre-Disney books (the stuff written before Disney bought Star Wars) showed a New Republic that came out as the clear winner, so to speak. These books feel so much more real to me and that makes them so much more enjoyable. Star Wars fans should definitely be reading these books.
Jeff: Absolutely. Just because the Emperor is dead and they won the Battle of Endor doesn’t mean the Empire just disappeared. They fought to survive still, and these stories show that fight. This one especially shows more about the First Order’s formation, and even some clues perhaps about the Knights of Ren and their connection to a certain Lord. Really, Star Wars fans will dig this book, and it will keep them guessing.
Title: Life Debt: Aftermath (Star Wars) (Star Wars: The Aftermath Trilogy)
Author: Chuck Wendig
ISBN: 978-1101966938
Release Date: July 12, 2016
Have you read Star Wars: Life Debt? What did you think about part two of this trilogy?
FTC Disclosure: A copy was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This post contains affiliate links, which means that ImagiNERDing receives a percentage of sales purchased through links on this site. Thank you for your support!