Review: Star Wars- Bloodline
Quick Summary
Pros: The political portion of the book is intriguing and is generally well written. The book contains a great mystery that is great to see play out. The entire storyline does a lot to set up the Sequel Trilogy.
Cons: Nothing significant.
Overall: This is an awesome read and a brilliant prelude to the Sequel Trilogy. It contains an intense political thriller, an addictive mystery, and some fantastic characters the whole way through. All of this is well written and helps explain how the galactic situation evolved between the Star Wars movies. Any Star Wars fan who enjoys reading political mysteries, who wants to see more of Leia, or who is looking for a prelude to the Sequel Trilogy should read this book.
Story
Star Wars: Bloodline, by Claudia Gray, is another absolutely fantastic Star Wars novel. This book successfully blends a tense political thriller with an intriguing mystery, all while further developing the narrative leading up to the Sequel Trilogy.
About half of Bloodline follows Leia as she deals with a period of political change within the New Republic. This creates some immediate intrigue when it comes to explaining the mechanics of this new governmental system while creating additional intrigue as clever political maneuvering begins to take place. Gray writes all of this with a sense of urgency and tension that makes something that should be mundane, like a vote on the Senate floor, feel as exciting as a full-out space battle.
The other half of this book follows Leia as she unravels the mystery surrounding a powerful criminal organization. This is every bit as interesting and thrilling as the political situation, with a slow burn of information constantly feeding the flames. It also connects back to the political situation is a way that is well done.
On top of all of this, Bloodline does a tremendous amount of work in continuing plotlines from the Original Trilogy and setting the stage for the Sequel Trilogy. The narrative here allows readers to see Leia’s post-war political career, to see the structure of the government that replaced the Empire, and to even get a few hints at what Han is up to. It also helps explain how the First Order was able to begin making inroads in the galaxy and how Leia moved into the position Episode VII- The Force Awakens found her in. This book is probably one of the better preludes to the Sequel Trilogy out there and is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about that period of Star Wars history.
Continuity
Star Wars: Bloodline takes place after the events of Episode VI- Return of the Jedi but before the events of Episode VII- The Force Awakens. It heavily references the events of the entire Original Trilogy and helps set up plotlines for the Sequel Trilogy.