Scoundrels: Star Wars Legends

OK, it's an obvious comparison to make but this is basically Ocean's Eleven in Star Wars. They even have eleven people pulling the heist. The basic plot is that a victim of Black Sun comes up to Han with an offer. His father was killed and his credit chips stolen. Only he can get the full value for those chips, but if Han can get them back for him he'll split the total with everyone. It's just after the battle of Yavin so Han is desperate for money to pay off Jabba. The only problem is that the chips are stored in the vault of a highly dangerous Black Sun agent and his guest one of Xizor's vigos (his nine top men). You've all seen this before so you know what's going to happen: everything is going to go wrong but our heroes outwit the villains anyway. But it's not about the destination but the ride. And what a ride it is. Zahn's last few Star Wars novels have felt rather bland. It's nice to see him at his best again. He is helped in this because unlike those other novels he doesn't feel the need to drag in every single character he ever created. It's just Han (the man with the plan), Chewie (the muscle), Lando (front man), Winter (odd jobs), Kell (explosives/demolition), and a few new characters: Rachele (local contact), Zerba (costumes), Bink (ghost burglar), Tavia (electronics specialist), Dozer (ship thief), Eanjer (employer). It's quite an odd list but it works well.The characters are all at different points than we're used to seeing them. Han is still trying to convince himself that his alliance with the Rebellion was just a one off thing. He can quit whenever he wants. Lando is still angry at Han for shafting him repeatedly. Winter is trying to control her anger and emptiness from the recent destruction of Alderaan. She doesn't know if Leia is still alive. Kell (borrowed from Allston's X-Wing novels) is... Kell. He's just younger and still concerned that he'll crack under pressure. I have to say that none of the new characters left that much of an impression on me except for the twin thieves Bink and Tavia. But even there you don't get to know them well. Zahn does take time for character development, but this is a huge ensemble. He can't get too detailed with everyone. I have to say that it's strange seeing the characters like this. Especially Lando, who is in a bit of a dark place where Han is concerned. I almost want to say that he's tortured, but we all know that Lando isn't like that. He leaves all the being tortured for Han.The villains are pretty good, even if the big bad doesn't show his face often. He's a Falleen called Qazadi and he uses his pheromones much more effectively than Xizor did. It's nice to see the Falleen utilized again. I always thought they had potential. Villachor is the sector chief and owner of the house they'll be robbing. He's a fairly typical villain, but the level of paranoia created by having a vigo present and schemers circling is amusing. The book has its fair share of twists and surprises and things going wrong. These are generally quite gripping. As much as I love the concept it does seem slightly forced that Han would be involved in something like this, no matter how desperate he is. The ending, specifically the way in which he doesn't get to keep his money (because you know he can't or he'd be free of the Rebellion), is also a bit forced with a character reveal that doesn't really make sense. But like I said, it's about the ride not the destination. And this is one fun ride!

I initially chose to read this book because I enjoy Sci-fi, especially Star Wars or Star Trek. After getting into the book, I found the Sci-fi tag was only secondary. The heist and con games unfolding took center stage. The fact that the story used future technology only made the book better. How to break into a safe protected by all these not as yet existent security measures simply fascinated me.The story begins after Han Solo and his partner Chewbaca helped the rebel alliance destroy the Death Star. Han somehow lost the reward credits he received, so the story starts with Han broke and still owing money to Jabba the Hut, who placed a bounty on Han's head. After witnessing Han handle an altercation in a cantina resulting from the aforementioned bounty, Han is approached by a man, Eanjor, who offered a split of 163 million credits to re-acquire the fortune stolen from his father. Eanjer claimed that after a man named Villachor robbed his father's business, he blew up the building wounding Eanjer and killing his father. Eanjer had a prosthetic hand and eye and was covered with bandages and definately looked injured. Han checked the story and found Eanjer's father was indeed robbed and killed, so he agreed to the job only if he could assemble more people to help with the heist.The "scoundrels" Han assembled each had their own specialties; a team of twin girls who are expert burglars; a young man expert with explosives; a young woman with a photographic memory; a slight of hand and quick change artist; a space ship / vehicle thief; a woman who is a procurement expert; and the front man, Lando Calrissan. With Eanjor, Han, and Chewbaca, the 163 million would be split 11 ways. Also, in order to receive the full value of the credits, their was a biometric chip implanted so only Eanjer's father or family member with a dna match would be able to cash them. This gave Eanjer confidence that he would not be double crossed.The target of the heist, Villachor, was a sector chief for one of the galaxies most powerful crime organizations known as Black Sun. Investigating Black Sun was a pair of Imperial security operatives (spies for Darth Vader.) They become aware of Han's interest and assume an observatory mode. However, they do not remain in that mode for the entire story. Then the alliances and double crosses begin. The final twist does not appear until (literally) the last couple of sentences.I absolutely loved this book. It appealed to me on so many different fronts. Don't pass this up because you do not enjoy reading Sci-fi. This is a top notch heist and con artist book first and foremost. If you are a Sci-fi fan, it is only a bonus. Knowing some of the characters from previous Star Wars movies or books is also another bonus. For me, a fan of all, it was simply a fantastic and extremely enjoyable read.

This book is a good read. Its not exactly deep, but it is a fun experience. There are some things I really liked and appreciated as a Star Wars fan, like showing the Ord Mantell encounter Han has with the bounty hunter quoted in TESB. And a good few other things, like Winter being a character and really getting inside her head following Alderaan's destruction in ANH. The book also deals with Lando and Han's distrust and falling out they had with each other, and how its repaired. Oh, and theres a twist at the end of the book which I don't think anyone will see coming... I know I didn't.I'd probably give this book a 7/10.

Its a good fun romp but feels a little 2d at the end of the day, this is not to say I didn't enjoy it

I've been looking to read more about my main man Han Solo and his adventures. My first book to read was Last Shot which I thoroughly enjoyed, so coming into Scoundrels I figured I would be in for a good time. I'm half way through the book and Han is hardly in it. He's also hardly done anything. Three stars because the whole heist is super fun and the other characters are well written but Han Solo feels like a supporting character in a book with his face on it and I'm not a huge fan of that. Also...he is so serious and all business and I like my Han slightly more himbo, flying by the seat of his pants, snark and pew pew. Anyway, you might like it. It would make a good film. I'll finish it but I've moved onto Tatooine Ghost and I'm enjoying it a lot better.

This book was surprisingly disappointing. Zahn is usually one of the best when it comes to making the Expanded Universe feel like a fun addition to Star Wars... but this just didn't feel like a Star Wars story. It was more like The Italian Job or Ocean's Eleven, with some Mission: Impossible thrown in, and then Star Wars characters were superimposed on top of it. There was even a reference to football. Yes, football. The final straw came when there was a blatantly obvious Indiana Jones scene near the end involving Han Solo. He's swinging a whip around while... oh, I won't ruin it any more for those of you who will read the book anyway.Zahn's strong record prior to this still stands up, though. I'll cut him some slack and won't hold this one disappointing book against him.

Another great book by Timothy Zahn.