Aftermath by Chuck WendigA long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, in a world different than our own, Aftermath is a book about what happens to Luke, Leia, Han, and everyone else after RotJ. It's an exciting book about taking the fight to the Empire after that stirring victory, and it features character development and action and memorable new villains. Unfortunately, in our world it's a book where, aside from an interlude that doesn't affect the story at all featuring Han and Chewie,the most relevant SW characters are a wounded Wedge who needs rescuing and an Admiral Ackbar who doesn't do much else except wonder if it's a trap or not. I kid you not. The Empire and the New Republic, formerly the Rebel Alliance, are in a Cold War kind of state, neither side willing to make a move that might risk something. Is is logical and realistic? Maybe, but it's a ridiculously boring state of affairs to read about. I know, it sounds like I'm judging the book based on what I wanted it to be and not what it is, so here's what I think about what it is. Instead of an action-filled plot with heroic characters, we get a boring state of affairs where the chapter often cuts ends in the middle of an action scene just to pick up again after the action is over, the whole thing centered around completely unlikeable characters. And if that wasn't bad enough, any momentum the book might occasionally pick up is derailed by random interludes between chapters that, like the aforementioned Han and Chewie bit, have nothing to to with the book's plot. Apparently this is the first book in a trilogy so maybe those bits will be picked up on next time, but nothing about this book made me want to read the next part to see if that happens. Other than the comics from Marvel, this was my first foray into the new canon, and all it inspired me to do is find an old EU book I never read before and pick that up instead of whatever is next here...
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