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A review by sandraagee
Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel by Daniel José Older
3.0
Listened to this on audio. I don't know if all of the new Star Wars audiobooks are like this as this is my first, but the production quality was AMAZING. There are lots of sound effects - droid bleeps, Wookie howls, background music, blaster fire, wooshing doors - that really make this a first-rate listen. My only complaint - and unfortunately it's kind of a big one - is that 36-42 Han (depending on which timeline you like) sounds like 73-year-old Harrison Ford with his gruff, crotchety old man voice. Han isn't that old yet this in this book, much closer to Original Trilogy Han than Force Awakens Han, and it seemed a bit too much with so much grumbling. Otherwise the voice acting for the other characters - Lando in particular - was superb.
Overall I found the story itself to be quite good. The real focus was on Han and Lando's growth in their respective relationships and their new roles in the galaxy, which I know some people will like and others will find tedious (I liked it). The Fyzen Gor plot was nonetheless very engaging, though I wasn't always able to follow how the jumps in time tied in with the present plot. That's probably (?) on me as a listener, not on the writing.
The new characters really make this story work. Taka in particular is pretty fantastic, and Peekpa has a very soft place in my heart. Fyzen Gor is a good villain, and I appreciate that he's not yet another Imperial remnant but still has the capacity to greatly impact the galaxy.
As is all of the new Star Wars stuff, this book is pretty woke. There's a super cool non-binary character who uses they/them pronouns without it being an actual plot point. There's an entertaining scene involving a Gungan with commentary on making assumptions and gentrification.
Overall I found the story itself to be quite good. The real focus was on Han and Lando's growth in their respective relationships and their new roles in the galaxy, which I know some people will like and others will find tedious (I liked it). The Fyzen Gor plot was nonetheless very engaging, though I wasn't always able to follow how the jumps in time tied in with the present plot. That's probably (?) on me as a listener, not on the writing.
The new characters really make this story work. Taka in particular is pretty fantastic, and Peekpa has a very soft place in my heart. Fyzen Gor is a good villain, and I appreciate that he's not yet another Imperial remnant but still has the capacity to greatly impact the galaxy.
As is all of the new Star Wars stuff, this book is pretty woke. There's a super cool non-binary character who uses they/them pronouns without it being an actual plot point. There's an entertaining scene involving a Gungan with commentary on making assumptions and gentrification.