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A review by jdhacker
Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Is this one of the worst books ever? Not by a long shot. Is it one of the worst pre-retcon/throwing out of EU Star Wars books? Definitely. I haven't read anything else by Hambly, and I imagine her non-franchise work is a considerably better, as there aren't really any technical problems with her writing here. But it has the feel of an early Abrams-ification of franchise (Star Trek or Star Wars) materiel. I.e. a complete lack of familiarity of the writer with the franchise in which they're working.
While events of the original trilogy and EU material between the trilogy and the events of this book are frequently referenced, any character development that took place over the course of those events seems to have been completely thrown out the window. We're presented a Luke that doesn't feel much different from the teenage farm boy of A New Hope. The author also seems almost completely unfamiliar with the workings and lore of the Force and Jedi beyond some very general notions. Also, is this a Lovecraft novel? Because there are more faintings (mostly by Luke) than I've seen anywhere besides Lovecraft or maybe a romance novel. On that point, there is a romance (which, given what we know of Jedi, probably shouldn't be happening) cooked up between Luke and Callista that feels extremely forced, artificial, and more like a late adolescent falling in love for the first time than a 30 year old who's been through a lot in their life. Ultimately, the female love interest is rendered mostly powerless and without agency, leaving another bad taste in ones mouth. We also have a badly re-used trope of rather than figuring out how to use Luke's ever advancing powers in new and interesting ways within the narrative, instead through accident/injury/illness/whatever rendering him mostly powerless. The franchise equivalent of modern horror rendering cell phones without signal rather than incorporating them creatively within the narrative or setting the story in a place or time in which it would be a non-issue.
I am almost sad I own a copy of this.
While events of the original trilogy and EU material between the trilogy and the events of this book are frequently referenced, any character development that took place over the course of those events seems to have been completely thrown out the window. We're presented a Luke that doesn't feel much different from the teenage farm boy of A New Hope. The author also seems almost completely unfamiliar with the workings and lore of the Force and Jedi beyond some very general notions. Also, is this a Lovecraft novel? Because there are more faintings (mostly by Luke) than I've seen anywhere besides Lovecraft or maybe a romance novel. On that point, there is a romance (which, given what we know of Jedi, probably shouldn't be happening) cooked up between Luke and Callista that feels extremely forced, artificial, and more like a late adolescent falling in love for the first time than a 30 year old who's been through a lot in their life. Ultimately, the female love interest is rendered mostly powerless and without agency, leaving another bad taste in ones mouth. We also have a badly re-used trope of rather than figuring out how to use Luke's ever advancing powers in new and interesting ways within the narrative, instead through accident/injury/illness/whatever rendering him mostly powerless. The franchise equivalent of modern horror rendering cell phones without signal rather than incorporating them creatively within the narrative or setting the story in a place or time in which it would be a non-issue.
I am almost sad I own a copy of this.