Reviews

Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs

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thisdadreads's review against another edition

1.0

Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs takes the characters from the beloved Jedi: Fallen Order video game and brings them into the publishing world. The events of Battle Scars take place a number of years after Fallen Order and before the events of Jedi: Survivor (the sequel video game coming out April 28). The whole crew of the Stinger Mantis is here: Cal Kestis, Cere Junda, Greez Dritus, BD-1 and Merrin. They’ve been chipping away at the Empire, going on missions throughout the galaxy, but it’s on one particular mission where things get complicated. An Imperial defector Stormtrooper joins their crew, Chellwinark Frethylrin or Fret, an attractive female Keshiri, who causes more than a little chaos within the ranks. Merrin feels a particularly strong emotional connection to Fret (more on that later) but the rest of the crew are a mixed bag in terms of acceptance. Fret shares her knowledge of a tool that exists that can greatly help in bringing down the Empire, the only problem is that the plans for this tool are currently in Imperial control. The Mantis have their next mission ahead of them, will Fret prove trustworthy and will everyone escape the mission unscathed?

I was truly hyped for Jedi: Battle Scars, getting to spend more time with these characters and go on a new adventure with them was super exciting. I have to say though, Battle Scars did not live up to my expectations. What had the potential to be a thrilling in between chapter turned out to be something that left me wanting more. The elements of a fun story are there but Battle Scars doesn’t do enough with the ingredients to make this book as exhilaratingly entertaining as I hoped it would be. Battle Scars became a chore to get through and left me confused and disappointed. Sam Maggs is a competent writer, but her cerebral style just doesn't do it for me. I wanted the plotline to clip along in as exciting a way that Fallen Order did with twists, turns and surprises. What we get is a good setup with a disappointing execution.

Jedi: Battle Scars will definitely go down as the spiciest Star Wars novel I’ve ever read. Sparks definitely fly between 2 characters, earning this book a solid PG-13 (at minimum) rating in my opinion. The hyper intense emotional and physical scenes were actually some of the most interesting parts of the book. I think if Battle Scars was 100% a romance, I would have actually enjoyed it more. I will say that Maggs does a great job of capturing each character's individuality and voice, their personalities jump right off the page and you’ll have no problem hearing the voice actors speaking their character’s lines.

Battle Scars is also available as an audiobook which contains narration and performances by Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes. Star Wars books are tons of fun to experience this way as they include sound effects and music, bringing stories to life in an entirely different way. I found myself enjoying some story elements more than I did when I read Battle Scars, so the audiobook format might be the way to go with this one.

Ultimately, the fact that the majority of the elements of Battle Scars take place in the character’s heads made this book feel unbalanced. I’m all for internal motivations and emotions but this book seemed 85% solely that, making for an unsatisfying reading experience for me. Everybody enjoys books differently so if this is something you enjoy then check it out for yourself. I give Jedi: Battle Scars

murray1134's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

darkside1523's review against another edition

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2.0

I really wanted to like this book. Each of the characters have real growth opportunities throughout the story. While they’re a little undercooked by the end of the book, I’d be curious to see if those same character moments are carried into the video game.

But i think my biggest issue with this book is the writing. If there was a book that perfectly related to the “show don’t tell” idea, this is that book.

It over explains everything. It’s repetitious, both throughout the entirety of the book, and within the same paragraph at times. The sarcasm and wit are misplaced and the writing is just clunky.

Take the last paragraph of the book: “They were going to be okay. For now, they were going to be okay. And all they could ever do is be okay for now.” It just feels weird and doesn’t allow the reader to feel their own feelings. We’re told over an over again how we’re supposed to interpret the characters and their feelings. And in case you forgot, we’re reminded again a few paragraphs later.

And the real kicker, while this might be the shortest canon novel we have right now, it still felt like it was too long and could have been cut by at least 1/4 without all the repetition.

morgcxn's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

2.0

"But it wasn't real. It was merely his own fear manifesting in his mind. That's what the dark side did to you, after all. Made you doubt. Made you nervous. Made you question everything you believed in, whether you wanted to or not."

I love Cal and BD-1, and this was so unbelievably disappointing. None of the characters felt right, and most of their dialogue with each other felt forced.

This book really feels like a first draft, that should have been edited down. A lot of this was just repeating something that was just told to you. Which feels like this was done for either filler or that the audience isn't trusted enough to remember something that they were just told of. For example on one page were given a description of what Cal looks like when he uses the force, and on the very next page were given another nearly identical description. A lot of the repetition comes from telling how these characters feel about each other instead of showing it. Which can be very annoying.