★★★ (of 5)

• Full Title: Razor’s Edge
• Author: Martha Wells
• Year: 2013 (mine was 2014 paperback)
• Pages: 350*
• Genre: Science Fiction
• Publisher: Del Rey, Random House
• ISBN 978-0-345-54525-1 (mass market paperback)
• Author’s Wikipedia page

(* not including snippets from other books)

 

Summary

I tried this Star Wars Legends book because it was by Martha Wells, author of All Systems Red (which I reviewed recently). And also because I typically enjoy the Star Wars universe. Note: most places online, it is called Empire And Rebellion: Razor’s Edge, though you can see from my photo at right that my copy didn’t include those extra three words. (Weirdly, my copy does include those words inside, on the title page.)

Set not long after A New Hope (the original), and well before Empire Strikes Back, this story follows (mostly) Princess Leia Organa’s viewpoint. Initially attempting to purchase materials to build Echo Base on Hoth, Leia and her crew run across space pirates who happen to be from Leia’s home planet Alderaan. Unwillingly joining forces with them, Leia and Han Solo end up in an old asteroid mine fighting for their lives. Most of the story takes place in the mining asteroid, though this narrative is bookended by high-tension space battles in various star systems.

 

Commentary

One of the things I liked most about this Star Wars novel is that “the Force” doesn’t play a part in it. Yes, it’s mentioned briefly when Luke is around, but it doesn’t actually come into play. So, while many Star Wars stories have to be classified as “fantasy”, this one falls under genuine sci-fi.

It is also, I think, the first Star Wars book I’ve read by a woman. I don’t know if this is correlated with Leia being the principle character of this story, though I wondered about it. Either way, Wells was a good choice. Her prose moves at a speedy clip; the reader never has to wait long for the next piece of action. I was also impressed with how she presented the various characters’ personalities via just a few lines about their thoughts or expressions.

 

Points Off For...

I mean, it IS a Star Wars book. You know going in that Leia, Han, Luke, and Chewbacca (not to mention the droids, R2-D2 and C3PO) are going to survive because you’ve already seen Empire Strikes Back. You know the Rebel Alliance isn’t going to be compromised in any devastating way. These factors make at least parts of the story predictable — the reader can’t truly feel any fear or tension for these main characters — or even the small freighter Millenium Falcon — when they get into scary situations.

 

Conclusion

If you enjoy books or movies set in the Star Wars universe, I think you’ll like this one as much as any of them. It’s more action-packed than most, with constant battles, fights, narrow escapes, double-crosses, intrigue, spies, space pirates, explosions, and so on. If you don’t enjoy Star Wars stories, go ahead and skip it.

 

 

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