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A review by crystalstarrlight
Hard Merchandise by K.W. Jeter
2.0
A psuedo-mystery that gives a lesson in "Show don't tell"
Fett, Dengar, and Neelah find out answers to important questions that they've been thinking and talking about endlessly since The Mandalorian Armor.
NOTE: Based on the novel (read years ago) and the audiobook.
I Liked:
The mystery that is the meat and bones of this novel is fascinating. As I read Boba Fett talking to Kuat of Kuat and relating it, I was actually impressed with the detail and intricacy that Jeter put into it (even as I was frustrated at the same time). I liked how the enemy wasn't the Empire, wasn't the Hutts, but a new person completely.
Once again, when Jeter does include an action scene, it is a good one, well-written, very appropriate for his characters.
Also, I really did enjoy reading adventures about Fett, Dengar, and even Kuat of Kuat. Fett is really well-done (if too talky and too perfect), Dengar is a really relatable character (I love his relationship with Manaroo), and Kuat of Kuat really proved to be an interesting character...
I Didn't Like:
but couldn't the characters just shut up once and awhile? Every scene is littered with endless talking, talking, talking or thinking, thinking, thinking. Fett and Dengar visit Kud'ar Mub'at and they talk. They learn nothing of value, but they talk. Then Fett and Dengar visit Balancesheet and they talk. They learn they have to go back to Tatooine, where they meet Bossk. Boba Fett and Bossk meet at opposite ends of gunpoint and they talk. Finally, Bossk hands over the falsified evidence to Fett and Fett is off to KDY. Then Fett, Dengar, and Neelah get caught by KDY and chew the fat with them. In between, Neelah thinks, moans and gripes about her lost memory. Because I was listening to the audiobook, I started toning things out or yelling at the narrator (God bless his soul) to stop talking already! It seemed like people would do something...and stop to talk about it. While they are talking, they would stop to think back on the history of something. Then they would talk. Then they would do something. And on and on and on until I wanted to strangle myself.
Bringing Kud'ar Mub'at back to life was lame. If he's dead, he's dead. I don't care what species or other lame excuse you use to bring him back. Plus, his scene was completely worthless.
Neelah was a freaking annoying character who I wanted to die. I also wasn't fond of how her sister was so evil and all that jazz.
I wasn't that fond of the overemphasis placed on the Battle of Endor or the falsified evidence of who killed the Lars family. Let's keep our Big Three in their own stories and leave them out of the side stories like this one. We have enough stories with them int he limelight.
And Boba Fett talks too much!
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Little to none.
Other than Neelah being a dancer (yes, I know it's annoying, but if you read the book, you'll find it does the same thing), nothing.
Fett and Bossk face off. Kuat Drive Yards is destroyed.
Overall:
It's a pity. There is a good story, a good mystery hidden in this trilogy. But the unfortunate thing is the trilogy is hidden behind people TELLING you the answers instead of the characters SHOWING you the answers. And that's the biggest crime: Jeter tells you, doesn't show you. He doesn't show the investigation, he tells you through Fett expositing how he learned such-and-such by doing this-and-that, which never is shown in the book. He doesn't show you Xizor planning, he tells you his plans through Xizor yapping with Palpatine and Vader. Sometimes an author has to exposit, can't show a scene, or doesn't want to repeat a whole scene again (the typical "X told Y about Z"). That is completely okay. But when an entire trilogy is one long expository dialogue, it is more than tiring, it is painful.
Unless you are a Boba Fett fan and are eager to read him talk, skip. Hopefully, a different author will come along and write a much better Fett-centric story in the future.
Fett, Dengar, and Neelah find out answers to important questions that they've been thinking and talking about endlessly since The Mandalorian Armor.
NOTE: Based on the novel (read years ago) and the audiobook.
I Liked:
The mystery that is the meat and bones of this novel is fascinating. As I read Boba Fett talking to Kuat of Kuat and relating it, I was actually impressed with the detail and intricacy that Jeter put into it (even as I was frustrated at the same time). I liked how the enemy wasn't the Empire, wasn't the Hutts, but a new person completely.
Once again, when Jeter does include an action scene, it is a good one, well-written, very appropriate for his characters.
Also, I really did enjoy reading adventures about Fett, Dengar, and even Kuat of Kuat. Fett is really well-done (if too talky and too perfect), Dengar is a really relatable character (I love his relationship with Manaroo), and Kuat of Kuat really proved to be an interesting character...
I Didn't Like:
but couldn't the characters just shut up once and awhile? Every scene is littered with endless talking, talking, talking or thinking, thinking, thinking. Fett and Dengar visit Kud'ar Mub'at and they talk. They learn nothing of value, but they talk. Then Fett and Dengar visit Balancesheet and they talk. They learn they have to go back to Tatooine, where they meet Bossk. Boba Fett and Bossk meet at opposite ends of gunpoint and they talk. Finally, Bossk hands over the falsified evidence to Fett and Fett is off to KDY. Then Fett, Dengar, and Neelah get caught by KDY and chew the fat with them. In between, Neelah thinks, moans and gripes about her lost memory. Because I was listening to the audiobook, I started toning things out or yelling at the narrator (God bless his soul) to stop talking already! It seemed like people would do something...and stop to talk about it. While they are talking, they would stop to think back on the history of something. Then they would talk. Then they would do something. And on and on and on until I wanted to strangle myself.
Bringing Kud'ar Mub'at back to life was lame. If he's dead, he's dead. I don't care what species or other lame excuse you use to bring him back. Plus, his scene was completely worthless.
Neelah was a freaking annoying character who I wanted to die. I also wasn't fond of how her sister was so evil and all that jazz.
I wasn't that fond of the overemphasis placed on the Battle of Endor or the falsified evidence of who killed the Lars family. Let's keep our Big Three in their own stories and leave them out of the side stories like this one. We have enough stories with them int he limelight.
And Boba Fett talks too much!
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Little to none.
Other than Neelah being a dancer (yes, I know it's annoying, but if you read the book, you'll find it does the same thing), nothing.
Fett and Bossk face off. Kuat Drive Yards is destroyed.
Overall:
It's a pity. There is a good story, a good mystery hidden in this trilogy. But the unfortunate thing is the trilogy is hidden behind people TELLING you the answers instead of the characters SHOWING you the answers. And that's the biggest crime: Jeter tells you, doesn't show you. He doesn't show the investigation, he tells you through Fett expositing how he learned such-and-such by doing this-and-that, which never is shown in the book. He doesn't show you Xizor planning, he tells you his plans through Xizor yapping with Palpatine and Vader. Sometimes an author has to exposit, can't show a scene, or doesn't want to repeat a whole scene again (the typical "X told Y about Z"). That is completely okay. But when an entire trilogy is one long expository dialogue, it is more than tiring, it is painful.
Unless you are a Boba Fett fan and are eager to read him talk, skip. Hopefully, a different author will come along and write a much better Fett-centric story in the future.