twilliamson's review against another edition
3.0
Ambush at Corellia, the first of the Corellian Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen, is one hell of a competent Star Wars novel. While other writers in the Star Wars canon had delivered excellent Star Wars fiction prior to 1995 (Zahn's Thrawn trilogy and Wolverton's The Courtship of Princess Leia being two such examples), Allen's first novel in his trilogy manages to accomplish an excellent expansion of the Star Wars universe and its mythos, facilitate the growth of several of the characters of the original trilogy as well as establish a few newcomers into the fabric of the Star Wars universe, and set up the emotional and political arc of his trilogy.
The development of the trilogy's major human themes, especially that of xenophobia and the dangers of racial supremacy, stand out as a highlight of the novel. Allen dives into the fabric of racial discourse of the Star Wars universe, digging up themes important to understanding the Empire and also understanding the difficulty of managing interstellar politics when the people who made up the Empire--the average folk whose prejudices run much deeper than can be solved in a single war--don't just disappear. Although it takes the entire length of the novel to finally bring the main thread of the story into the forefront, Allen uses the space to firmly establish the voice of his trilogy in a way that is satisfyingly competent.
But Allen's competence in the construction of his trilogy's conflict is overshadowed by his fairly repetitive prose and his uninventive action sequences. In one long stretch of the novel, Allen throws in a long string of onomatopoeia that feels extraordinarily out of place, and Allen frequently falls into the trap of long, expository dialogues or simply tells the reader what's going on in the book without really showing the reader what's going on. Additionally, the book takes an increasingly long time to actually get into the main conflict of the trilogy, with the villain and the villain's plot only appearing in the last pages of the book. As the first novel of the trilogy, it feels like the book is merely a preamble instead of a more compact initiation to adventure.
Critics of this novel have frequently suggested that Allen's trilogy likely should have been just one novel, and it's hard to disagree when this first book does so little to actually get the main story running; nevertheless, what Allen trades in terms of the plot's urgency he more than makes up for by giving us a good look at character development and the establishment of new emotional arcs for the original trilogy characters, as well as giving us a very thorough expansion of the political, economic, and socio-cultural setting of the Star Wars universe.
Ambush at Corellia is not Star Wars at its finest in many aspects, but it's damn close. Fans of Star Wars probably shouldn't miss out on this one.
The development of the trilogy's major human themes, especially that of xenophobia and the dangers of racial supremacy, stand out as a highlight of the novel. Allen dives into the fabric of racial discourse of the Star Wars universe, digging up themes important to understanding the Empire and also understanding the difficulty of managing interstellar politics when the people who made up the Empire--the average folk whose prejudices run much deeper than can be solved in a single war--don't just disappear. Although it takes the entire length of the novel to finally bring the main thread of the story into the forefront, Allen uses the space to firmly establish the voice of his trilogy in a way that is satisfyingly competent.
But Allen's competence in the construction of his trilogy's conflict is overshadowed by his fairly repetitive prose and his uninventive action sequences. In one long stretch of the novel, Allen throws in a long string of onomatopoeia that feels extraordinarily out of place, and Allen frequently falls into the trap of long, expository dialogues or simply tells the reader what's going on in the book without really showing the reader what's going on. Additionally, the book takes an increasingly long time to actually get into the main conflict of the trilogy, with the villain and the villain's plot only appearing in the last pages of the book. As the first novel of the trilogy, it feels like the book is merely a preamble instead of a more compact initiation to adventure.
Critics of this novel have frequently suggested that Allen's trilogy likely should have been just one novel, and it's hard to disagree when this first book does so little to actually get the main story running; nevertheless, what Allen trades in terms of the plot's urgency he more than makes up for by giving us a good look at character development and the establishment of new emotional arcs for the original trilogy characters, as well as giving us a very thorough expansion of the political, economic, and socio-cultural setting of the Star Wars universe.
Ambush at Corellia is not Star Wars at its finest in many aspects, but it's damn close. Fans of Star Wars probably shouldn't miss out on this one.
floar's review against another edition
4.0
After the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy this book felt like a 5 star entry.
brynn_chieffo's review against another edition
2.0
Not gonna lie, this book made me really appreciate the new canon books even more than I already did. This was the first legends book I've read, and it's making me hesitant to start another one, especially the other two books in the trilogy.
The characters felt so flat and indistinguishable from one another, which was really frustrating with how iconic the personalities and relationships in the original trilogy are. I think the biggest contributor to this was the dialogue, which tended to be really stiff. And there didn't seem to be any sort of character growth or depth explored as the story progressed, so they just felt very one-dimensional. That paired with the unnecessarily long and repetitive exposition/descriptions made reading this ~300 page book feel like it went on forever. It felt like nothing really happened until the last 50 pages, which was frustrating since I wasn't attached to the characters.
The writing of the children also really didn't contribute much to the story either. They were just kind of there and weren't super fleshed out, and at times there were definitely "Anakin-ex-machina" situations.
The entire B plot with Lando and Luke felt completely disconnected from the rest of the story, and just felt silly in comparison. I love fun and I love camp, but I kept waiting for this plotline to become relevant, and it never really did.
There were, however a few moments that very camp and grabbed my attention, and they'll probably be the only things I remember about this book:
- That very slay girlboss Lando tried to marry who was going to give him his best life but he would die in 5 years
- Luke being able to read Jawa
- The kiddos' slayful lil nanny & his droid
- That weird like underground city that Lando owns or whatever??
- Meeting Mara Jade was cool I guess
- The Thracken Sal-Solo reveal (this actually sent me lmao)
Overall, I did not have the best time reading this book. I think my favorite aspects thematically were definitely the exploration of anti-human sentiment in the empire, resistance against the New Republic, and Domestic Han & Leia (TM), but thankfully more recent books/shows like Thrawn, The Mandalorian, and The Princess & the Scoundrel (and probably many others) all have more nuanced and well-written takes on these ideas.
I'm considering reading the other two books to see if the story as a whole is more compelling, but I think I might wait a while.
The characters felt so flat and indistinguishable from one another, which was really frustrating with how iconic the personalities and relationships in the original trilogy are. I think the biggest contributor to this was the dialogue, which tended to be really stiff. And there didn't seem to be any sort of character growth or depth explored as the story progressed, so they just felt very one-dimensional. That paired with the unnecessarily long and repetitive exposition/descriptions made reading this ~300 page book feel like it went on forever. It felt like nothing really happened until the last 50 pages, which was frustrating since I wasn't attached to the characters.
The writing of the children also really didn't contribute much to the story either. They were just kind of there and weren't super fleshed out, and at times there were definitely "Anakin-ex-machina" situations.
The entire B plot with Lando and Luke felt completely disconnected from the rest of the story, and just felt silly in comparison. I love fun and I love camp, but I kept waiting for this plotline to become relevant, and it never really did.
There were, however a few moments that very camp and grabbed my attention, and they'll probably be the only things I remember about this book:
- That very slay girlboss Lando tried to marry who was going to give him his best life but he would die in 5 years
- Luke being able to read Jawa
- The kiddos' slayful lil nanny & his droid
- That weird like underground city that Lando owns or whatever??
- Meeting Mara Jade was cool I guess
- The Thracken Sal-Solo reveal (this actually sent me lmao)
Overall, I did not have the best time reading this book. I think my favorite aspects thematically were definitely the exploration of anti-human sentiment in the empire, resistance against the New Republic, and Domestic Han & Leia (TM), but thankfully more recent books/shows like Thrawn, The Mandalorian, and The Princess & the Scoundrel (and probably many others) all have more nuanced and well-written takes on these ideas.
I'm considering reading the other two books to see if the story as a whole is more compelling, but I think I might wait a while.
4thcaballero's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
tmarso's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
5.0
Fluffy but entertaining. Might not bode so well for the series...
kimscapturedlife's review against another edition
4.0
Love the escape, and this is by far my favorite post Battle of Endor series. It would make a great movie. Han, Leia and their kids travel to his home world during civil unrest and the adventure begins including all the cast of Star Wars favorites and a planet destroying weapon.
I like to keep notes of the plot to reference later. My rough book notes with plot highlights with Spoilers following.
I like to keep notes of the plot to reference later. My rough book notes with plot highlights with Spoilers following.
Spoiler
A trade summit on Corellia brings Han Solo back to the home world. Arriving on the distant planet with Leia, their children and Chewbacca, Han finds Corellia overrun with agents of the New Republic Intelligence and finds himself part of a deceptive plan whose aim not even he understands. One thing is clear: the five inhabited worlds of the sector are on the brink of civil war and the once peaceful coexistence of the three leading races -- human, Selonian, and Drallan -- has come to an end. Luke helps Lando find a wife. Brings along C3PO. The first one tries to get him to sign a pre-nup in which she kills him after a few years.colinmcev's review against another edition
2.0
"Something was going to blow. Something. Things could not hold together under all this pressure for long." This was a thought by Han Solo in amid rising tensions on his home planet of Corellia, building up to a seemingly inevitable civil war among the various planets and species living within the sector. As correct as this sentiment might be, however, there was little in the way of action in Ambush at Corellia, but rather a lot of scene-setting for future events in the upcoming books. That's somewhat understandable, given that this is the first entry in a trilogy, but other Star Wars novels that were the first chapter to a trilogy (like Jedi Search, Before the Storm, and, of course, Heir to the Empire) managed to set the scene for the overall storyline while also maintaining far more interest as a standalone book than Ambush at Corellia did.
It's not a terrible book, and Star Wars fans like myself will surely get enjoyment out of it; it is interesting to learn more about Han Solo's home planet and the volatile political forces at play there. But honestly, not much of any particular interest happens until the very end. I liked where they left things, and I have hope that things will pick up in the next entry, Assault at Selonia, and that the rest of the trilogy will be more enjoyable. But to be honest, much of Ambush at Corellia felt like a whole lot of filler, just taking up space until it could get to that conclusion.
The biggest example of this is an entire subplot involving Lando Calrissian (who, I find, is often given arbitrary B-plots in Star Wars novels, as if the author is simply looking for an excuse to include him somehow) forcing a reluctant Luke Skywalker to go planet-hopping with him while he tries to find a rich woman to marry. The whole thing felt very goofy and pointless. Beyond that, on a smaller scale, there are many passages that go on entirely too long or that could have been cut altogether, and reading them it felt like the author was just trying to fill pages. (Although I will say that one such chapter was actually one of the more enjoyable for me: when New Republic intelligence officer Belindi Kalenda crash lands her damaged spacecraft into the oceans of Corellia. The narrative describes a lot of technical issues she has in piloting the damaged ship, and it's 15 pages when it could easily have been two or three, but I actually found it to be perhaps the most compelling part of the book.)
There are also a lot of minor elements of the story that just don't make a whole lot of sense from a narrative perspective. In an odd twist of logic, the novel starts with Kalenda revealing top secret information to Han Solo, only to ask him to act the same way he would act if he didn't know anything about it. Furthermore, Han Solo nevertheless decides to proceed to Corellia, and put his wife and children in harm's way, based on a rather weak justification that he doesn't want perceived danger to dictate his life's decisions. Similarly, the New Republic is aware of very dangerous and uncertain conditions in the Corellian sector, but have no problem allowing Leia, the most important figure in the entire government, to go there for vacation. The book is full of minor little narrative holes like this. (And, it's worth noting, this book is surprisingly FULL of spelling and grammatical errors. I've never seen a published book with such sloppy editing.)
Despite not enjoying Ambush at Corellia as much as I'd hoped, I'm still pleased with the way the book ended and the way it set the stage for the rest of the trilogy, so I'm hopeful the next two books will be better.
It's not a terrible book, and Star Wars fans like myself will surely get enjoyment out of it; it is interesting to learn more about Han Solo's home planet and the volatile political forces at play there. But honestly, not much of any particular interest happens until the very end. I liked where they left things, and I have hope that things will pick up in the next entry, Assault at Selonia, and that the rest of the trilogy will be more enjoyable. But to be honest, much of Ambush at Corellia felt like a whole lot of filler, just taking up space until it could get to that conclusion.
The biggest example of this is an entire subplot involving Lando Calrissian (who, I find, is often given arbitrary B-plots in Star Wars novels, as if the author is simply looking for an excuse to include him somehow) forcing a reluctant Luke Skywalker to go planet-hopping with him while he tries to find a rich woman to marry. The whole thing felt very goofy and pointless. Beyond that, on a smaller scale, there are many passages that go on entirely too long or that could have been cut altogether, and reading them it felt like the author was just trying to fill pages. (Although I will say that one such chapter was actually one of the more enjoyable for me: when New Republic intelligence officer Belindi Kalenda crash lands her damaged spacecraft into the oceans of Corellia. The narrative describes a lot of technical issues she has in piloting the damaged ship, and it's 15 pages when it could easily have been two or three, but I actually found it to be perhaps the most compelling part of the book.)
There are also a lot of minor elements of the story that just don't make a whole lot of sense from a narrative perspective. In an odd twist of logic, the novel starts with Kalenda revealing top secret information to Han Solo, only to ask him to act the same way he would act if he didn't know anything about it. Furthermore, Han Solo nevertheless decides to proceed to Corellia, and put his wife and children in harm's way, based on a rather weak justification that he doesn't want perceived danger to dictate his life's decisions. Similarly, the New Republic is aware of very dangerous and uncertain conditions in the Corellian sector, but have no problem allowing Leia, the most important figure in the entire government, to go there for vacation. The book is full of minor little narrative holes like this. (And, it's worth noting, this book is surprisingly FULL of spelling and grammatical errors. I've never seen a published book with such sloppy editing.)
Despite not enjoying Ambush at Corellia as much as I'd hoped, I'm still pleased with the way the book ended and the way it set the stage for the rest of the trilogy, so I'm hopeful the next two books will be better.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition
5.0
A brilliant start to a trilogy that had a strong Star Wars flavour. I say that, because I'd previously read The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy which was bloody awful and barely felt like Star Wars, but I digress...
This new adventure set about 15 years after the films sees a new crisis brewing in Han Solo's home system. Just as well he and Leia and the kids have gone there for a holiday...
Superb set-up, a great mystery and all the characters are back, but with something legitimate to do rather than flouncing around the scenery because they have to be in the book because Star Wars.
This also felt like a proper science fiction book as well, with more emphasis on the how and why of something rather than because it's spacy-wacy.
Possibly the best Star Wars book written in that era since the Thrawn trilogy. Looking forward to seeing where the next two books take the story.
This new adventure set about 15 years after the films sees a new crisis brewing in Han Solo's home system. Just as well he and Leia and the kids have gone there for a holiday...
Superb set-up, a great mystery and all the characters are back, but with something legitimate to do rather than flouncing around the scenery because they have to be in the book because Star Wars.
This also felt like a proper science fiction book as well, with more emphasis on the how and why of something rather than because it's spacy-wacy.
Possibly the best Star Wars book written in that era since the Thrawn trilogy. Looking forward to seeing where the next two books take the story.
kayfett's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. It started slow with almost too many unnecessary details at a few points, but once the adventure got going it was pretty good. I pretty much hate almost everything that Disney is doing with Star Wars and wanted to revisit a story from the Expanded Universe I know and love. This scratched that itch. It was one of the few EU books I hadn’t yet read.