Monday Review: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig

image via amazon.com

Change is scary and we have been disappointed before.  The travesties of Episodes I, II, and III haunt us still and, in fact, turned me off of Star Wars for years.  I was so disappointed, I completely forgot how awesome the universe is and I thank my kids for giving me the opportunity to remember.

And now, I can thank Chuck Wendig as well.

Yes, it’s a change.  But it’s a change that’s coming in the form of a Boba Fett feature film, Rogue One, and perhaps even an Obi-Wan film (totally pulling for that, BTW).

The original trilogy is an epic, grand scale affair.  There are main characters, of course, characters upon and around whom events pivot, but the true focus is the battle between good and evil.

Aftermath focuses on the same event but, rather than moving the story around or through a grand-scale conflict, it uses the war as a backdrop to illuminate the lives of individuals.

This is one of my favorite things.  It’s even something I’m trying to do in my new book.  Which makes me feel a bit ahead of the curve because I started that thing back in May before I knew about any of the new spin-off films and before Aftermath was released.

There are many sayers who are focused on the nay.

I don’t get it.

How can people who claim to love a world of infinite possibility dislike something that expands that universe while, at the same time, making it more relatable?  How can they dislike a story that gives us, the fans, more room to play, people to whom we can relate on a much closer level?  People who could be our brothers or our mothers, our friends?  Something that gives us a deeper understanding of intricacies while, at the same time, allowing us more, and varied, entrance points?

Lets start with the biggest brouhaha: *sarcasm font* How in a world of infinite possibilities can there be GAY characters *end sarcasm font*? Because of course there are, you close minded jerks (I don’t usually get personal in book reviews, but the jerks did, so they started it).  Look, Star Wars was conceived in the 70s and executed in the 70s/80s so that bit got left out.  While I wouldn’t ever condone exclusion and prejudice, or rationalize it, history is history and it is the way it was and we can’t fix what’s already happened unless someone has a blue box that’s bigger on the inside or a spare Delorian under a tarp.  What we can do is add to this gorgeous universe that’s ripe for inclusion and community and understanding and variation.  Blue people, people with head tails, people with horns, Hutts, that little cackling thing Jabba keeps as a pet, Mon Cala, even Ewoks, and on and on and on.  Is it really so unreasonable to expect some of those folks might be drawn to those of the same gender?  Don’t like it?  Fine, stick your head in the sand, your choice, but you’re missing out on a hell of a lot of beauty.  Also, did I mention you’re a jerk?

As to the violence… war is hell.  People get hurt, people die and it is a terrible thing and a brutal one.  Consider, if you will, the original trilogy: Vader force chokes several officers to death, the Empire blows up an entire planet with one of its residents watching and helpless, people lose limbs, they lose lives, they’re throw to the Rancor for Jabba’s amusement, thrown to the Sarlacc, fall into the Sarlacc, get shot, get stabbed, crash their speeders, die on space stations, fall down reactors shafts, get electrocuted, and I could continue. No, there isn’t as much blood, because 1977 and a difference in ratings standard (I learned just last night that the ratings board tried to give Slapshot an X because of language).  Consider Clone Wars, wherein the Jedi are either taking or losing limbs, the entire populations of planets are massacred with flame throwers, beings of all sorts are tossed in front of droids as cannon fodder, and governments and freedom fighters alike have no issue employing bounty hunters who will use any means necessary to get paid.  Consider the graphic depiction of Order 66 in all incarnations of Revenge of the Sith, in Kanan: The Last Padawan, including the slaughter of the younglings.  War is hell.  Refusing to acknowledge cheapens history, cheapens this story, and cheapens the analogue to real freedom fighters.

Did you consume all of those things?  I’m guessing you did.  You don’t get to have it both ways.  You don’t get a real Star Wars story without the “war.”  You don’t have to like the way Wendig executed, but if you’ve loved Star Wars thus far, you can’t get all high and mighty about the presence of violence.

Are there faults in Aftermath?  Sure.  There is nary a book, classic or otherwise, that is free of them.  Yes, I have a couple quibbles.  There are a lot of characters to keep track of.  Some of them had similar names and  I’ll admit there were times I considered making a list or a chart.

There were a few places the story bogged down a little.  I probably could have done with a few less words/pages.  I stayed up until 0230 finishing last night though, even though I had to get up and take Stinky 1 to the bus at 0715 this morning, so yeah, those spots exist, but they aren’t the majority of the book.

My guess, and I’m only spitballing here, is that Wending had some sort of outline or list of “things that must be included” handed to him because major franchise, certain rules, and the book is subtitled, “Journey to the Force Awakens.”  Which means it’s nudging the entirety of the franchise toward a set point.  That is some seriously heavy lifting for Wendig to do.  This little book has to reset the canon and bridge Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens, which, I’d like to point out, have almost thirty-five years of terrible movies, a gazillion other books, some excellent animated series, comic books, and multiple other media happenings between them.  Everything he wrote has to fit, has to follow a map while also providing one.  There is only so far he would have been permitted to stray.

And he did a good job.  Ya’ll need to get down off your banthas and enjoy this revitalization.  The new New Hope.  Ditch your preconceptions.  Lighten up.  Have some fucking fun.

Four out of five fingers on the hand of glory for Aftermath.