Scoundrels: Star Wars Legends

Zahn delivers once again.
I actually liked his writing style more in this one.
A perfect blend of action, suspense and humour.
Anyone who loves convulted plots and mind games, and wants to see them in the Star Wars Universe (with our fave characters as well), get this book.

This is another great book from Timothy Zahn. My only real concern was how the pacing really slowed down at points, and it was sometimes unclear where certain actions were taking place. A great book, especially if you are playing or want to play Fantasy Flight Game's Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game.

It seems like Star Wars novels have gotten really heavy of late, but "Scoundrels" is different. It's a fun romp with some interesting characters. It's been a while since I read a book that I couldn't put down, but this was one.

Overall a good addition by Timothy Zahn, but was a bit too oceans 11 for the Star Wars universe. I think the way all the loose ends were tied up was a bit of a stretch and I'm not sure that he kept true to the characters more than trying to fit the characters into a plot.

I reviewed this book last November and gave it one star based upon a single property; the Kindle price was higher than the hard cover price. Shortly thereafter the store fixed that problem and as promised in my review I purchased the novel and put it in my queue for reading. Well I am thankful that the store fixed that problem because once I started reading this book I found it to be an utter delight! Three of my favorite characters (and who doesn't like Chewie, Han and Lando?) were in the novel along with even a few others that had always had a supporting but small role in novels that took place later in the chronology (such as Winter). The action was non-stop, the plot unguessable with lots of creative twists, and the conclusion utterly pleasing! I won't go into that plot because so many others have done a sufficient job of describing it that I would just be redundant. I will only say that in my fifty years of reading SF I have come to the place where a book really needs to be special to get my attention and win my praise. This book was one of the few that made the grade. I *enjoyed* this book and its hard for me to find similar reading material in this day and age. So if you are a fan of the Star Wars universe, and if you thoroughly enjoy the antics of Han Solo, Chewbacca and any of the other scoundrels from the Star Wars universe, get this book, stock up on the cookies and hot chocolate and settle in for a nice long and enjoyable read in front of the fire, real or imagined. In either case, this book will warm your heart.

If I had any criticism of this book it would be this; the story happens shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star and before Han, Leia and Luke have their remarkable adventures in The Empire Strikes Back. Winter does not know that Leia lives and wonders if Han can tell her anything. It would have made a touching scene for Han and Winter to have that conversation, but they never do. I consider that a missed opportunity by Timothy Zahn.

Nevertheless, after you finish the novel, your pleasure is not over. This gem is jam-packed with extras from the Star Wars universe. So now that the prices are reasonable, take the opportunity to use some of that expendable income that you have earned, pick this up, and be prepared for a really fun ride! It doesn't get any better than this!

As always, Timothy Zahn does not dissappoint. This was a fun book, with a lot of twists and turns and suspense. Its got a pretty big cast of characters, so there is less time on each one, although everyone feels very complex & real, you end up wishing the book went on longer to get to know them better.
As an identical twin myself, he totally gets the twin relationship. It feels very real.

This book has a great premise that it simply doesn't live up to. The new characters are one-dimensional, and they get as much, if not more, time than the beloved characters. Also, the book drags out a fairly simply story. After a while, it becomes repetitive and dull, and you wish the author would just hurry it up. I forced myself to read the whole thing because I don't like to *not* finish books, but the temptation was definitely there to abandon it.

I was disappointed in this book. From the cover, I thought it was going to be chewie, Han and Lando off on a raucous, seat of your pants space adventure. Instead, they almost fade into the background as they bring in a crew of so many people I can't keep everbody straight. And no space, all the action occurs on one planet. Jus

Classic Timothy Zahn Star Wars -- light hearted, fast-paced, and memorable. The Star Wars universe is at its best exploring scoundrels in dark corners, and this is no exception.

The plot can be summed up with "Oceans Eleven" meets "Star Wars", but for all that you'l recognize your favorite characters and enjoy the ride.

This book has a great premise that it simply doesn't live up to. The new characters are one-dimensional, and they get as much, if not more, time than the beloved characters. Also, the book drags out a fairly simply story. After a while, it becomes repetitive and dull, and you wish the author would just hurry it up. I forced myself to read the whole thing because I don't like to *not* finish books, but the temptation was definitely there to abandon it.

I was disappointed in this book. From the cover, I thought it was going to be chewie, Han and Lando off on a raucous, seat of your pants space adventure. Instead, they almost fade into the background as they bring in a crew of so many people I can't keep everbody straight. And no space, all the action occurs on one planet. Jus

Classic Timothy Zahn Star Wars -- light hearted, fast-paced, and memorable. The Star Wars universe is at its best exploring scoundrels in dark corners, and this is no exception.

The plot can be summed up with "Oceans Eleven" meets "Star Wars", but for all that you'l recognize your favorite characters and enjoy the ride.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Timothy Zahn Star Wars book; I reread them frequently. His plots are very intricate and keep you guessing all through the book. I liked the surprise ending to Scoundrels.

Timothy Zahn has written so many Star Wars novels, and done such a consistently excellent job of it, that I'm almost tempted to say, "Another Zahn Star Wars novel. 'Nuff said. Five stars." And reading the book only bolsters that thought. Zahn still has a better handle on the core Star Wars characters than most other writers who dabble in the Expanded Universe (or, it seems at times, George Lucas himself), and, jaded as I have become by the less-than-perfect nature of the prequels and current EU offerings, I cannot pass on any new book by Zahn. And I have yet to be disappointed.

This time around, the novel stars Han Solo, who has just been robbed of the reward he earned saving the Rebels in the original Star Wars film (AKA A New Hope), and is wondering how to earn the money to get Jabba the Hutt off his back. A mysterious stranger approaches him, stating that Han is just the sort of moral, yet decisive, outlaw that he needs in order to retrieve a massive amount of stolen credits that are in the possession of a seemingly philanthropic Villachor. Han assembles a team of mostly new characters to pull off the heist, but things get a bit complicated when it turns out that Villachor is a sector chief for Black Sun (the SW equivalent of the mafia). A Black Sun vigo (essentially the equivalent of a mafia Don) is present, and Imperial Intelligence has undercover agents working to bring down Villachor for their own purposes.

As is typical, Zahn works a character from his classic Thrawn Trilogy into the proceedings. This time, it's Winter, the Alderaanian friend of Princess Leia with a photographic memory. She fits perfectly into a story where, at face value, it seems to make no sense for her to be around. Lando Calrissian also shows up to assist (requiring a bit of a minor retcon for the "after what you pulled" line from The Empire Strikes Back). The new cast of thieves and hackers are all intriguing and well-rounded, holding their own alongside the four better-known heroes. However, two sisters are named Tavia and Bink, which seems a bit too close to the comedic Tag and Bink from various Star Wars comics; this similarity might be a bit distracting to Star Wars fans and would be my only real gripe about the book.

There are references to various events from the Expanded Universe, and not just Zahn's other books. Generally, they are addressed in an off-hand manner (similar to throwaway lines in the films like "that maneuver at the Battle of Tanaab"), and only fully explained when necessary to the narrative. These references are nice Easter eggs for longtime fans, but won't detract from the accessibility of this story to new readers.

Timothy Zahn has once more elevated the fiction of the Star Wars universe. Scoundrels delivers another excellent chapter set between the movies (this time between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back), without contradicting anything that came before. This is a tale that blends the space adventure with the bank job story. Han Solo, desperate to pay off Jabba the Hutt, has taken a high-paying job to break into a seriously-well-protected vault. He assembles a team of experts at various necessary parts of the job, from a sleight-of-hand expert to a cat burglar to a vehicle thief. They have to ply their arts against the backdrop of a panetary festival put on by the owner of the vault. Of course, said owner is also a highly-placed member of a well-known criminal organization, which only further raises the danger for all those involved. There are typical twists and turns and setbacks, all of which the intrepid team has to overcome using their wits and talents. Even knowing that some of the characters will make it through the adventure, Zahn nevertheless manages to instill enough intrigue and danger that the reader remains on the edge of his or her seat over what will happen. Not only does Zahn give us a great tale using several fan favorite characters, he also creates a number of new characters that readers will surely love for their nuances and exceptionally well-rounded nature. The story's great, the pacing is great, and the meshing of genres is outstanding.