What better way to celebrate the new year than with Timothy Zahn's brand new Star Wars novel, Scoundrels? I can't think of one, honestly.Family? Friends? Booze? I'll pass on all, thank you, as long as I have my copy of Scoundrels! And I do, a little ahead of schedule. It helps to know people (which I do, as does Es). I'm not too far into it, just about ninety pages or so, but I'm enjoying the heck out of it so far!
As promised to Es, no spoilers! But the general plot summary is as follows: crime is afoot! And Han Solo is asked to intervene and steal back 163 million credits taken from a man whose father (an innocent merchant, or so we are to believe...) was murdered for the money. Han takes the job and assembles a crack team to recover the credits to be split up (and therefore paying off his debt to Jabba) between the man who hires the crew and the crew themselves. This book takes place in between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. And that's basically the premise. At least the premise that we start with. If I know anything about Zahn, I know that things are not nearly as simple as they first appear. Maybe this book will be the Star Wars version of Oceans 11 that it initially seems, but I doubt it. Zahn excels at throwing wrenches into everyone's plans. Especially his main characters! And can I just say that I'm excited that Han is getting a bit of the limelight. A whole book about him and his team, and I couldn't be happier. Luke and Leia are all well and good, but let's face it, Han needs to have a solo adventure (Oh yeah, I totally went there)! So, let's sit back and enjoy the ride.
And from us here at the Star Wars Bookshelves Revisited blog, Happy New Year!
UPDATE (1/4/2013) - As an addition to this fabulous post, please check out this totally awesome interview that Hollywood.com did with peerless master of all things Star Wars, Timothy Zahn!
"'Star Wars' author Timothy Zahn on his Han Solo/'Ocean's Eleven' Hybrid, 'Scoundrels'"
Well, now you've got me all excited! This is the first book I've bought and downloaded onto my brand-spanking-new Kobo eReader (that's right, everyone go get one, they're the ABA's thrust back at Amazon's Kindle and they're AWESOME!) and I just decided I'm waiting until my trip home to start reading (though it may actually kill me ^_^). I need something awesome to get me through that terrifying flight.
ReplyDeleteI'm so curious to see how Zahn takes Han and Lando and Winter and his new characters out of context as the supporting cast (as they so often are) to Luke and Leia's stories. Should be a glorious ride!
We've got them at the store I work at also! They are really nice ereaders. I promise, you won't be disappointed by Scoundrels. I'm now halfway through, and still completely enthralled. I put down Heir to the Empire so that I could finish Scoundrels more quickly. I can't wait to talk about it IN PERSON in 19 DAYS!!! I can't wait to see you!
ReplyDeleteOh, boy, I'm so excited!! I know I'm really ambivolent about reading a novel that doesn't have Luke, Leia, or Mara in it but I'm also curious because Zahn just knows how to draw his readers in. I can't wait to see you! I can't promise I'll have finished Scoundrels by then but pretty good bet I'll be a ways into it and, I'm sure, dying to discuss it! As I am DYING to discuss the Thrawn Trilogy (hint hint ^_^)!
ReplyDeleteAh! I just saw your addition for the interview with TZahn! Thanks for the share. His comments on the new movies sooth me a little...
ReplyDeleteHis answers were really thoughtful on that count. He's so interesting - he practically created the Star Wars expanded universe and every time he adds to it he reinvents it and adds incredible depth and vision. I mean, Dude created Luke Skywalker's wife, as well as the scariest Imperial there is outside of Vader and the Emperor. By all rights, the producers of these films should be breathing down his neck for ideas and inspiration. The fact that they're not but that he's so totally not asking or expecting them to really says something about his work with Star Wars.
ReplyDeleteObviously, he's just a huge fanboy who's luckier than most because he gets to frollick through the SW universe every couple of years.
Scoundrels is a perfect example of this, of course, because it's Zahn saying, "I can't rewrite anything so I'm going to take what already exists and twist it into this unbelievably addictive heist, involving a lot of characters people will recognize and a few they won't, and still manage to surprise and excite readers with new and innovative looks at characters they thought they knew."
Genius!