The Perfect Weapon (Star Wars) (Short Story) - Journey to Star Wars

Overall, a good enjoyable short story. There's not much readily apparent about how this will tie into The Force Awakens. That, we'll have to guess at.

It's a Star Wars story alright, but not a lot immediately familiar. There's a good protagonist that you'll care about, semi-familiar settings and characters, and a good story arc.

It will be interesting to see how this fits into the new series of Star Wars novels.

The main character, Bazine is a real hard case, but I couldn’t help rooting for her. Very fast paced. The action never stopped or even slowed. However, the story never really ended. There is a resolution to her main goal, but the reader is left with several things to decide on his/her own how they turn out. If you like that kind of "ending", this is a super great story. If you don't...

Okay, first of all, this story has two major syntax errors in the first fifteen or so pages. Beyond that unforgivable fact, the story is poorly put together. No character is believable in any context, whether Star Wars or just within the bounds of the story itself. Bazine, the protagonist, simply walks through the whole tale, rarely challenged and never changed. She doesn't feel real and there's no emotion from the reader. She's a merciless killer going from one job to the next. Make me hate her, be disgusted, or even sympathetic.

Also, what is literally any character's motivation? Why can't Bazine know that it's a simple retrieval mission before she accepts? She maims like nine people in a very short time in a bar, yet the management doesn't care, and more people come up to inexplicably hit on her? What about Otto - she doesn't want him with her, but then it turns out he has every single skill she doesn't have? What about the (spoilers) double cross at the end? If it's that much money they can share it I'm sure, it doesn't really make sense character-wise for the betrayal. Hell, she was raised by the guy but didn't know he had a rare Great Cat/beast of burden that was fiercely loyal, yet likely didn't even live on the same planet as him?

The more I think about the story, the more it angers me. I came into the story very interested in the character, and I finished it wishing she never existed.

Overall, "The Perfect Weapon" is a decent story that really lacks in execution. Through stilted dialogue, countless clichés, and one of the most bizarrely realized scenes I've ever read, involving a Twi'lek that feels like it's out of a child's spy story. Bazine is still a likable, albeit boring, character; written as a caricature of a femme fetal. Overall, I can't recommend this to you, go check out something else instead.

This was a great short story. The setting feels like pure Star Wars and the story is perfectly placed to introduce us to this new character. Dawson pulls no punches with her ruthless spy but still manages to keep the story from getting too nasty or gritty. I'd love to see more about this character and from Dawson!

The only thing I would have changed is the ending. She should have seen the mission completed with the person who hired her. You could have done this without revealing to whom or why. Other than that, it was a terrific read.

The only thing I would have changed is the ending. She should have seen the mission completed with the person who hired her. You could have done this without revealing to whom or why. Other than that, it was a terrific read.

Well-crafted and interesting characters that definitely make the reader feel vested! I would love to see a full length novel make it to publication; it would be leagues better than that "Aftermath" turd that dropped earlier!

I gave this story five stars, even though four would be fine, because there wasn't anything I found uninteresting about it. Ms. Dawson created an intriguing history for a character that would normally be just a colorful piece of background decor we would be left wondering about as the camera quickly passes over her. Now I can say, "I know her story!" as soon as I see her on screen.

Stories like this are why I love Star Wars literature. It fleshes out an intriguing minor character from the Force Awakens in a way that not only makes you excited to see the film, but makes you eager to read more about this character for years to come. The Perfect Weapon delivers. It succeeds in adding intrigue, suspense, and excitement to the minds of the Star Wars fans hungry for more to chew on.

In many ways, I feel like the Perfect Weapon sets up Bazine to be the Boba Fett of the sequel trilogy. Only time will tell. But as of reading this substantial short story, I’m aboard the hype train for my new favorite female bounty hunter in the galaxy.

Remember that lady from The Force Awakens whose in that bar that kinda reminds you of the bar from A New Hope except that one dude isn’t pushing on Luke and talking about his grunty friend that don’t like nobody before Old Ben starts chopping? That lady! She calls the bad dudes! She’s on the front cover of this here book! Turns out, that lady’s name is Bazine and she’s not to be trifled with. She’s basically a freelance assassin/spy with a dangerous set of skills. She’s also really cool; part antihero, part villain.

The Perfect Weapon takes place leading up to The Force Awakens and gives Bazine a (short) story of her own, where she jets off in search of relic from the Battle of Endor under the orders of a mysterious client. The story operates like a little spy yarn, one where nothing is ever quite as it seems and the answers are always just out of reach. What is the thing Bazine is sent to get? Like Mission: Impossible III’s Rabbit’s Foot or Pulp Fiction’s briefcase, we never really know (but I have a theory!). Bazine’s a cool character and author Delilah S. Dawson crafts a good short story around her. She never makes Bazine overly sympathetic, but there’s enough of a heart to the character to put you on her side.

I wish The Perfect Weapon was longer, but for what it is there’s a good deal of fun to be had.

THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTER of this book - BAZINE NETAL - is a versatile, sexy, unbeatable killing machine for hire. Raised by a gentleman (called Kloda) since childhood for the express purpose of killing, industrial espionage and custom violence, she is clad in shiny, black leather. With sexy, hot, black lipstick to die for (pun intended), she even paints over her fingerprints with black ink to protect her identity. Having said all of that, readers may well find themselves asking the question how on earth THE PERFECT WEAPON relates to Disney's brand spanking new EU but be patient, young ones, and you will learn the truth. It does, but only barely. But the story is still a great read; its fast paced with plenty of action and a plethora of unpredictable plot twists. What more do we want from a super short story?

The story's plot is well set out, with strong characters, nice family friendly language and an enjoyably major plot twist near the end.

MTFBWY. A.

Speculation about what Bazine was sent to find is all around, and I believe that she found (spoilers? ahead)
-
-
-
-
The incomplete map Kylo Ren mentioned to Rey. It could just as easily be other things, but Ren said it had come from the Empire, so it works.

Although having only one line in Episode VII, this fast story delivers on a wonderful new character whom I hope we see more of!

A perfectly crafted story about a completely new character which serves as a comprehensive introduction, narrates a worthy challenge and manages to include some vital information about the future of Star Wars. The only weak point is that just as Aftermath, the mystery is not solved and an appropriate conclusion is nowhere to be found.

As The Force Awakens approaches, I tend to approach this new Star Wars canon - particularly those headlined Journey To The Force Awakens - with an eye to how they fit with what we will see on screen come December 18th 2015. Having read The Perfect Weapon, its difficult to see where and how this story plugs into the events in The Force Awakens - although I'll admit that to even ask the question at this point is perhaps unfair to the author.

The Perfect Weapon is a good short story...and that's it. There's nothing specific in it that jumps out to me and says wow, although I will say there was tonnes of potential for this as a longer form story. Bazine was certainly a compelling protagonist whose presentation hinted at back story I would have loved to have explored further and the story offered some twists that were well done. But the MacGuffin in this story was disappointing and it was here that I was hoping for some important relationship to The Force Awakens.

There's no question that Ms. Dawson's writing style is highly polished and instantly readable. I have just come off a re-read of Brian Daley's Han Solo's Revenge and I found Ms. Dawson's style to be reminiscent of Daley's. It's quick fire and engaging.

I would have liked to see The Perfect Weapon as a full length novel. As a short, I think was a little hampered.

Bazine Netal takes center stage in this quick story that sizzles with intrigue, betrayal and adventure. With a nice tie in to the Clone Wars era and providing a backstory to one of the most interesting characters to make a brief appearance in Star Wars The Force Awakens, this is an enjoyable read/listen for Star Wars fans, casual or die-hard.

Yay, another new Star Wars story leading up to The Force Awakens. The story has a few characters, focusing mainly upon the mysterious female assassin hired by an unknown party to retrieve something from a former stormtrooper on a New Republic hospital planet. Along the way we get the slightest glimpse of a post Endor universe, with passing references to Imperial stormtroopers and the New Republic. The Outer Rim fringes are our setting once again, with familiar references of various alien species in a cantina, that feels like every Star Wars cantina we've been to before. Our protagonist, the titular perfect weapon is interesting, but not in a Mara Jade kind of way. Still, she holds your interest and has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. We also encounter her former teacher and mentor, an alien who runs a sort of assassin boot camp, as well as a rookie computer slicer turned mercenary looking to pull his first job. He is a Pantoran, the blue humanoids from the Clone Wars cartoon and Episode III, seen so briefly portrayed by Mr. George Lucas himself. The Perfect Weapon quest yet again relies upon the boring hive mind type aliens. If you've read any of the old canon, these types of insectoid aliens are all the same, cliched, and unimaginitive.
The story is ok. Not bad, not great, just ok. The main character is interesting, which is probably the main point of this story . However, having read the new canon books, this is mediocre. Compared to the Timothy Zahn masterpieces, it doesn't even compare. Come on Disney, do the right thing and let Zahn take us back to that galaxy far, far away.

Quick easy read. Well written. The structure is there and the climactic tension is high, though the ending payoff feels rushed and the caper resolution is ambiguous. Otherwise worth the time because it's short.

A will written Star Wars novella with interesting well developed characters and a fast moving story line with lots of twist and turns. The conclusion is a surprise. I would recommend this novella too anyone who enjoys a will written novella. Enjoy reading