This is just a thread to discuss any books you might have happened to read recently. I'll kick things off with a Star Wars book I didn't even want to read.
Finished reading through "Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia" recently. I actually got sent this book by mistake when I ordered "The Last Command," the last book of the Thrawn Trilogy. Having originally seen it in the local library while I was originally looking for the Thrawn Trilogy to read, I can honestly say its title alone kind of dissuaded me from wanting to read it. I kind of figured it would be some boring book where Han Solo wins over Princess Leia to the point that they actually get married. Having finally read it, I guess I can say I was kind of right, except that it ended up being cringy in a different way than I imagined, and because I hadn't considered that Han would have some competition.
Of note in this story is that there are not one, but two amazonian matriarchal societies, and they both have some cringe attached to them, too. One is very much like Angel One from the early season episode of TNG of the same name in that it's kind of a lame attempt at role reversal. A more amusing aspect is that the story actually explains why all the women in this society are hot. The other society is more stereotypically Amazonian, which is to say very primitive technologically, with their only saving graces being that they are apparently strong with the Force and very adaptable in their ability to use captured Imperial weaponry. Also, they ride full-sized Rancors into battle, which are big enough to just toss the two-legged AT-STs around like toys. A more amusing aspect of this society is that the women go out and kidnap men to enslave and/or marry, and one of them tries to do this to Luke because she's intrigued and aroused by his use of the Force (something that is supposed to not be a thing among their people since only women can use it).
The things about this book that really put me off, though, all had to do with how the characters were basically all out of character with how they were in the movies. While the Thrawn Trilogy could be the same way at times, this book was a lot worse about it, and I couldn't help but feel like I was reading fan fiction. One of the worst examples is
.
On the plus side, the political intrigue was actually kind of fun to read, and it was kind of interesting to see the way this author awkwardly stitched all the different parts of this story together. It involves some dark force users who read kind of like suicidal female versions of Palpatine crossed with the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, trapped on a quarantined planet, where their only reason for being revolves around building or capturing a ship that can take them off of that planet. The plot of the book basically is to keep them from succeeding at this, as they are made out to be a bigger threat than Palpatine was. As I said, this actually does make for a fun read, though to get there you have to get through the first few chapters that set all of this up.
I'm honestly not sure if I'd recommend this book or not, as it's not what I would consider to be traditionally "good," but I did manage to get some enjoyment out of reading it. It's just that it has a slow start, and none of the characters really fit with what we saw of them in the movies (except when awkwardly trying to ape the tension between Han and Leia from The Empire Strikes Back.
Finished reading through "Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia" recently. I actually got sent this book by mistake when I ordered "The Last Command," the last book of the Thrawn Trilogy. Having originally seen it in the local library while I was originally looking for the Thrawn Trilogy to read, I can honestly say its title alone kind of dissuaded me from wanting to read it. I kind of figured it would be some boring book where Han Solo wins over Princess Leia to the point that they actually get married. Having finally read it, I guess I can say I was kind of right, except that it ended up being cringy in a different way than I imagined, and because I hadn't considered that Han would have some competition.
Of note in this story is that there are not one, but two amazonian matriarchal societies, and they both have some cringe attached to them, too. One is very much like Angel One from the early season episode of TNG of the same name in that it's kind of a lame attempt at role reversal. A more amusing aspect is that the story actually explains why all the women in this society are hot. The other society is more stereotypically Amazonian, which is to say very primitive technologically, with their only saving graces being that they are apparently strong with the Force and very adaptable in their ability to use captured Imperial weaponry. Also, they ride full-sized Rancors into battle, which are big enough to just toss the two-legged AT-STs around like toys. A more amusing aspect of this society is that the women go out and kidnap men to enslave and/or marry, and one of them tries to do this to Luke because she's intrigued and aroused by his use of the Force (something that is supposed to not be a thing among their people since only women can use it).
The things about this book that really put me off, though, all had to do with how the characters were basically all out of character with how they were in the movies. While the Thrawn Trilogy could be the same way at times, this book was a lot worse about it, and I couldn't help but feel like I was reading fan fiction. One of the worst examples is
that Han literally kidnaps Leia in a last ditch attempt to win her over
On the plus side, the political intrigue was actually kind of fun to read, and it was kind of interesting to see the way this author awkwardly stitched all the different parts of this story together. It involves some dark force users who read kind of like suicidal female versions of Palpatine crossed with the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, trapped on a quarantined planet, where their only reason for being revolves around building or capturing a ship that can take them off of that planet. The plot of the book basically is to keep them from succeeding at this, as they are made out to be a bigger threat than Palpatine was. As I said, this actually does make for a fun read, though to get there you have to get through the first few chapters that set all of this up.
I'm honestly not sure if I'd recommend this book or not, as it's not what I would consider to be traditionally "good," but I did manage to get some enjoyment out of reading it. It's just that it has a slow start, and none of the characters really fit with what we saw of them in the movies (except when awkwardly trying to ape the tension between Han and Leia from The Empire Strikes Back.
