Bloodline

Sadly, I found this utterly boring. The prose is just incredibly bland, the characters have nothing distinct or interesting about them, and the setting and conflict feel stale.

One of the things I had noticed at the beginning of last month was the lack of Sci fi books that I had been reading. In order to alleviate this, I decided to look for one I might enjoy and I say that Bloodlines, a Star Wars Novel was available on audio from my Local library.

This is one of the first tie-in novels that I have recently read. It is mostly due to the fact that I simply didn't think that tie in novels were any good. After all, why should I be reading about Star Wars when I could just be watching the original films? Then I decided to give them a chance after Thomas Wagner over at the Booktube channel SFF180, said that it was a great way to get into Scifi. (Note: He isn't sponsoring this video. He is just a cool guy who I think deserves a lot more subscribers than he gets.) As I began to listen, I was immediately raptured on being on a space mission with Princess Lea and the new characters of this Star Wars universe. Gray has created an excellent story with interesting characters that made me want to listen to this story well past my bedtime.

And let's be honest, that is not easy to do. This novel is set in the years before the events of The Force Awakens, in order to explain the events of the New Order from the 7th film. Many authors often run into issues and tropes when it comes to dealing with prequel series and books, namely, that we know that there are certain characters that have to survive to the current film, so there is little tension as to if that character will die in this book because we know that, for the sake of continuity, they can't. Thankfully, Gray manages to get around this by featuring an interesting plot and fun characters to boot, featuring cameos and new characters alike that will tickle any fans desire for the Star Wars universe.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the political plot of the Populists and the Centralists. Other than simply being a good plot in and of itself, one can easy find parallels between that and actual history, such as the events leading up to the American Revolution, and the American Civil War, just to name a few. The political story line was interesting, and one that greatly kept me engrossed all the way through. It isn't as deep as, say, Game of Thrones, but it was excellent nonetheless.

There is also more riveting action outside the political senate. The investigation into the dangerous gunding of a shadowing organization is well done, except, I would have had the way it was revealed to us a little less spoon fed. The reader knows that the New Order is going to be here in the next few years, so it would have been nice to see it, rather than be told about it.

Still, there is a lot of leeway for these books. This adventure that Princess Leia takes on is just a small one and there is plenty of adventures for these books to take between this installment and The Force Awakens. In it's own way, this novel stands up well to the Star Wars Universe. I felt like I was watching the films all over again, which is no small feat.

And alot of that has to do with the fact that this audiobook publishing has funding by the great Mouse himself. It allows for music and sound effects to be added that make for a more immersive experience overall. I enjoyed every minute of it, and it will quickly rise to the top of my Best Audiobooks, if I ever decide to make one.

This book was excellent to listen to. Out of all the books I'm currently reading, this one was the one that drew me in the best, and made me want to explore the author's work now as well. This may have been the first Star Wars book I've read, but it certainly won't be my last. I give it a four out of five.