A review by jayspa65
Empire's End by Chuck Wendig
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The Aftermath trilogy of books, of which this is the third and final entry, were the original novels set after the events of Return of the Jedi, although not immediately after when the Republic is trying to mop up what is left of the Empire. This novel picks up where Life Debt left off, after the attack on the Republic during the supposed peace talks that Admiral Sloane was framed for having caused. Sloane and Brentin Wexley (Norra's husband) track Gallius Rax to Jakku, the same Jakku where we meet Rey in The Force Awakens, and we eventually see the battle of Jakku which ended the Empire as it was, and before it transitioned to the First Order.
This novel actually has a lot of tie-ins to the sequel trilogy, later novels (such as the Thrawn trilogy), and even a couple of nods to the Legends novels, that may not be apparent on the first reading. And, we actually learn of Jar Jar Binks' fate (for those who care) in one of the interlude chapters. The book still suffers from what the first two novels did, specifically, focusing too much on the new characters and not enough on the legacy characters. Luke was barely in the Aftermath trilogy at all, and Han, Leia, and Chewie were used very sparingly. Making Norra Wexley and her crew the main characters in the trilogy was a choice that irked a lot of people, especially when only Snap had a role in the sequel trilogy of movies, and his role was relatively minor at that. That said, the book has a lot of good action, especially during the battle of Jakku, and does pack an emotional punch. The big takeaway from the book is the fact that the Emperor had plans that lasted beyond his death and it involves the wild space/unknown regions out beyond the outer rim and that is where the remnants of the Empire will regroup to form the First Order.
Overall, I think this is probably the strongest book in the Aftermath trilogy. It would have been better if Luke had been involved in the battle of Jakku, and all of the legacy characters had been more involved in general. That said, it is still worth reading even if it is not one of the novels that you might read over and over.
This novel actually has a lot of tie-ins to the sequel trilogy, later novels (such as the Thrawn trilogy), and even a couple of nods to the Legends novels, that may not be apparent on the first reading. And, we actually learn of Jar Jar Binks' fate (for those who care) in one of the interlude chapters. The book still suffers from what the first two novels did, specifically, focusing too much on the new characters and not enough on the legacy characters. Luke was barely in the Aftermath trilogy at all, and Han, Leia, and Chewie were used very sparingly. Making Norra Wexley and her crew the main characters in the trilogy was a choice that irked a lot of people, especially when only Snap had a role in the sequel trilogy of movies, and his role was relatively minor at that. That said, the book has a lot of good action, especially during the battle of Jakku, and does pack an emotional punch. The big takeaway from the book is the fact that the Emperor had plans that lasted beyond his death and it involves the wild space/unknown regions out beyond the outer rim and that is where the remnants of the Empire will regroup to form the First Order.
Overall, I think this is probably the strongest book in the Aftermath trilogy. It would have been better if Luke had been involved in the battle of Jakku, and all of the legacy characters had been more involved in general. That said, it is still worth reading even if it is not one of the novels that you might read over and over.