Review: Star Wars- Aftermath: Life Debt

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is exciting when depicting both actual fights and political maneuvering. The entire book helps fill in the gap between Star Wars movies. The characters and their individual narratives are more interesting than before.

Cons: There are still moments where interactions between characters can be weird or annoying.

Overall: This book is a fun read on its own and a great improvement overs its predecessor. The action is exciting, the political drama is intense, and the characters and their stories are interesting. Plus, the entire book expands on a unique time period in Star Wars history. In the end, this is a book for fans who want to learn more about the time between The Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

Story

Star Wars: Aftermath was just alright. It told a fun story but was ultimately weighed down by lackluster characters and lackluster subplots. Star Wars: Aftermath- Life Debt, by Chuck Wendig, improves on these flaws and feels like a great glimpse at the potential the original Aftermath left on the table.

Like its predecessor, the biggest positive in Life Debt is a strong main storyline. This volume depicts a tense battle between the remnants of the Empire and the fledgling New Republic. Alongside this, it also depicts the friction and conflict within these warring factions, adding to the overall drama. This creates a thrilling narrative that handles itself just as successfully when it depicts blaster battles between troops as it does when it depicts backstabbing political maneuvering. 

Also like its predecessor, Life Debt significantly advances the general narrative of the Star Wars saga. The battle surrounding the Empire fragments and the New Republic helps explain how the galaxy built after the events of Return of the Jedi. Meanwhile, at the same time, hints are constantly being given about developments that will lead to the events of The Force Awakens. The entire book also places more of an emphasis on characters from the movies, like Leia, Han, and Chewbacca, than the previous book, giving it more of a direct connection to the films.

However, where this volume defines itself is in the way it makes improvements over what came before it. The characters in this volume are far more likable than they were before and where they are not likable, they are at least interesting. In addition, the subplots within this book feel more substantial and add to the greater universe this series is crafting. There are still moments within this book where the characters are weird or where interactions feel like they were ripped from a subpar sitcom. However, these moments are pretty rare and only end up having a small impact on the work as a whole.

Continuity

Star Wars: Aftermath- Life Debt continues the story from Star Wars: Aftermath (Review). Both of these novels takes place after the events of Episode VI- The Return of the Jedi and reference the events of the entire Original Trilogy. They also take place before the events of Episode VII- The Force Awakens and help set up a few plotlines for the Sequel Trilogy in general.

The storyline here directly continues in Star Wars: Aftermath- Empire’s End (Review).

This book also makes a few references to other Star Wars works:

• Evaan Verlaine and Leia’s work with the refugees from Alderan is detailed in the Star Wars: Princess Leia (Review) comic.