Bloodline (Star Wars)

Book is boring. Doesn't feel like a Star Wars book. These new stories are very sterile. Nothing like the old ones that made you feel like you were on an adventure with the classic cast heroes. Here, no one is really around. Only ones here are Leia and 3po. Han only comes in for the occasional voice mail.

I'm a hard core original trilogy fan and cannon fan. I enjoyed TFA, but wanted to see what was going on prior to TFA. 40 years after RotJ, there needed to be some filling in between.
This book covered a lot of it. I won't give any spoilers away, but for someone who doesn't like to read, I knocked this book out in 3 days. Great, easy read, with some interesting twists and turns. I'd strongly recommend.

This is a fantastic story for those wondering how the Resistance (as seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) got started! It does deal heavily with politics in the New Republic and not everything is cut and dry, but this fantastic author navigates the reader successfully and keeps us attuned by plenty of action scenes. I definitely would recommend any Star Wars fan to read it. The only problem I have is that it was a little rushed at the end, but if it weren't then the book would drag on another 20 pages.

It's a great book to be added to the canon and I can't wait to see if any of the established characters in the book (Like Senator Casterfo) make an appearance later on.

I found Bloodline somewhat predictable. The book is slow and methodical as it moves the sacred Star Wars story line forward from Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens. The author appears to have expected readers to have seen both movies already; Gray alludes to future tragedy throughout the book and then abruptly ends it with a episodic twist literally in the last sentence.

In a Star Wars Venture lacking in any real Flair, Claudia gray tells the backstory of the new Star Wars trilogy. Here we go after the triumph of the Rebellion and before the rise of the first order. A very flimsy romance exists. You will find a little bit of action. There's a lot of political intrigue, and it makes sense because the first order grew out of the Shadows. To be honest, I enjoyed having questions answered by this book more than the actual reading of the story.

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, it doesn't take much to get me to fall in love with something from the Star Wars Universe. This book was "eh." Am I glad I read it? Sure. Knowing what I know now, would I still have read it? No. All of the "major reveals" can be guessed by the average Star Wars fan. There was no "major reveal" about Darth Vader, contrary to what was marketed. Unless, of course, you've never seen ROTJ. This book gets three stars simply because it had the Star Wars label on it. Once again, I say, "eh."

Been looking forward to this book! It delivered on filling you in on how General Leia evolved to the be a the leader that was only hinted at during the Force Awakens . She has her faults, but still is full of tenacity and strength. She is a heroine that deserved her own spotlight. This book delivered a well round insight to a complex and admirable female.

Possibly the best book in the new canon. Was absolutely hooked. Leia in this book reminded me a lot of Leia from another book in the old non-canon, the Courtship of Princess Leia. Strong, independent, and on a mission to conduct an investigation. Leia was properly characterized, and had a unique supporting cast for this novel. Ransolm Casterfo is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters. The plot twists were well done in this novel. Claudia Gray is by far the best author in the new canon. Any of her current books (Bloodline and Lost Stars) and any of her new books in my opinion are must buys. I would say Bloodline is almost mandatory for how well it sets up TFA and how exciting it is.

In a Star Wars Venture lacking in any real Flair, Claudia gray tells the backstory of the new Star Wars trilogy. Here we go after the triumph of the Rebellion and before the rise of the first order. A very flimsy romance exists. You will find a little bit of action. There's a lot of political intrigue, and it makes sense because the first order grew out of the Shadows. To be honest, I enjoyed having questions answered by this book more than the actual reading of the story.

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, it doesn't take much to get me to fall in love with something from the Star Wars Universe. This book was "eh." Am I glad I read it? Sure. Knowing what I know now, would I still have read it? No. All of the "major reveals" can be guessed by the average Star Wars fan. There was no "major reveal" about Darth Vader, contrary to what was marketed. Unless, of course, you've never seen ROTJ. This book gets three stars simply because it had the Star Wars label on it. Once again, I say, "eh."

Been looking forward to this book! It delivered on filling you in on how General Leia evolved to the be a the leader that was only hinted at during the Force Awakens . She has her faults, but still is full of tenacity and strength. She is a heroine that deserved her own spotlight. This book delivered a well round insight to a complex and admirable female.

Possibly the best book in the new canon. Was absolutely hooked. Leia in this book reminded me a lot of Leia from another book in the old non-canon, the Courtship of Princess Leia. Strong, independent, and on a mission to conduct an investigation. Leia was properly characterized, and had a unique supporting cast for this novel. Ransolm Casterfo is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters. The plot twists were well done in this novel. Claudia Gray is by far the best author in the new canon. Any of her current books (Bloodline and Lost Stars) and any of her new books in my opinion are must buys. I would say Bloodline is almost mandatory for how well it sets up TFA and how exciting it is.

Bloodline is the second Star Wars novel by author Claudia Gray and the first “adult” novel through Del Rey. As the author of the fantastic young adult novel Lost Stars (go read it if you haven’t), I was excited to see Gray earn the opportunity to write again in the Star Wars universe. Set six years before The Force Awakens, Bloodline is a rarity on two fronts: it’s a novel about politics and a novel about Leia Organa. Thinking back to the hundreds of old Legends novels, many included Leia but few ever focused on her (Razor’s Edge being the most notable). The level of political intrigue in the Legends timeline varied greatly, but I can really only think of one that focused completely on politics and that was Darth Plagueis. To write a book focused on politics, Leia is the obvious choice of a main character, so it was great to see these two ideas come together.

Ever since this new Story Group-driven canon was announced, I’ve been advocating for material featuring new characters. There are plenty of great new characters to be found in this book, but it struck me that Leia is really a new character as well. I hate to keep comparing these new novels to the old ones. But after 20 years of reading post-RotJ Legends material, it’s hard to shake my understanding of the characters as they were in this time period. In Legends, Leia was the most ill-defined and underused character out of the Big Three. She was in the books more often than not, but she never really stood on her own. It was always “The wife of Han Solo, Chief of State Leia Organa Solo” or “The sister of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight Leia Organa Solo.” Her character was frequently defined by comparison to the men in her life instead of her standing on her own merits.

With Bloodline, Gray had a huge opportunity not only to define the political state of the New Republic, but also to redefine how we have come to view post-Return of the Jedi Leia. This is Gray’s greatest accomplishment. This is a book that is 100% Leia from cover to cover. Much like her character in A New Hope, this is not a damsel in distress. She is an accomplished politician, a decorated war-time leader, and doesn’t need rescuing. This is a Leia that is defined by her own actions. Even her interactions with her husband serve to highlight her independence and the importance of her work in the Senate. She is now Senator Leia Organa, who happens to be married to Han Solo.

Bloodline was also full of great new characters. First and foremost among these was Ransolm Casterfo, up and coming senator in the Centrist faction. He is a proponent of a strong central government, while Leia and the Populists are in favor of individual planets or systems keeping much of their independence. Essentially, he is the Alexander Hamilton to Leia’s Thomas Jefferson. First impressions of Casterfo are poor to say the least as he and Leia are tasked with a joint investigation into a criminal cartel. They butt heads like any good political rivals would, but their respect for each other (and the reader’s respect for Casterfo) grows as his true self is revealed throughout the book. Without spoiling anything, the conversations Casterfo and Leia have are some of the most important and emotionally impactful of the book. He was instantly one of my favorite new characters. The only issue I had was with his silly name (even by Star Wars standards), but that is a minor quibble.

We were also introduced to two new pilots: Greer Sonnel and Joph Seastriker. Greer is the personal aide to Senator Organa as well as her pilot. She is confident, competent, and loyal. Though she plays a minor role compared to Leia and Casterfo, she is not without depth. Gray gives her a compelling and moving subplot which adds rather than distracts from the main narrative. Joph is young and cocky, everything an X-wing pilot should be. Through him, we see the rogue spirit of the Rebellion hasn’t completely died off in the New Republic military. In fact, he reminds me of another Rogue, Gavin Darklighter, in that he is talented, if somewhat inexperienced, naive, and has a heart of gold. His story may not be very important going forward, but what he represents as a pilot who is willing to shirk authority for what he feel is right certainly is important.

The wonderful characters were my second favorite part of Bloodline. A close second, but second to be sure. My favorite part was the excellent sense of history and how it all connected with the rest of the canon. We learn a lot about Leia’s relationship with her past and that is about the only way I can describe it without getting into spoilers. It’s safe to say, though, the history in this book is some of the most emotionally devastating reading I’ve ever done in when it comes to Star Wars. In just a few chapters worth of writing, Gray manages to connect half a century worth of Star Wars history better than it has ever been done before.

Bloodline is a serious book. It’s a book about the unpleasantness of politics, how the sausage gets made and how it impacts the personal lives of those involved. It isn’t a love story, but it is a story about love. It’s a story about the love a woman has for the very thing she helped build. It’s a story about her love for her family and her family’s love for her. And despite all these serious and sometimes overwhelming feelings, it retains that sense of adventure, that essential Star Wars-ness that makes a good story great. I’m going to take this back to Legends one more time because Bloodline isn’t just the best book of the new canon. It’s one of the best Star Wars books I’ve ever read.

Liked: strong characters, a bit more in depth look at Leia and Han's dynamic. Interesting new places, and overall style nicely written.

Cons: Everything else. Slow slow political build that didn't lead to much. we got some new info about the First Order. and maybe about a paragraph concerning Ben Solo. and that just about all it contributed to TFA. maybe thirty pages max was relevant. I can tell the author has talent but i don't think she was given the best plot to work with. disappointed we didn't gain much, if any info regarding Ben Solo and Leias relationship. but we got plenty of descriptions about Leia's clothing. Arghh.

Claudia Gray follows up her success as a writer from Star Wars: Lost Stars with amazing attention to detail and portrayal of the depth in individual and political growth within the Star Wars universe after the fall of the empire with this Book.

Having read a large number of the old Expanded Universe (now Legacy) and now with the new Cannon books coming out I must say that this is one of the best. It really expands on and dives into the political quagmire of the New Republic after the fall of the empire and leads up to the development of the Resistance that we see in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII). A true new favorite to the collection and will be looking forward to more literature from this spectacular writer.

I want to write a review but I think all the reviews cover it pretty well.

Adds backstory to The Force Awakens. However, there is very little character development and has predictable plot twists and plot moments. I am hoping this set up is to something that is way better.

It was a fast read, 4 and half hours I think it was.

This book was alright. As someone who read a good majority of the EU, many of which were written by great authors like Troy Denning, James Luceno, Karen Travis, and etc., I've come to expect great writing and great stories from Star Wars authors. This book, from the the plot to the writing was just alright. Nothing spectacular, just alright. It doesn't necessarily deserve a 2 star but there's no 2.5 and it doesn't merit more than a dead on 50%. Disney should really get back to the EU authors because so far the books they have released since acquiring Star Wars have been rather lackluster.

Ms. Gray's writing style is both subtle and powerful; she weaves new and vibrant story threads into the tapestry of Star Wars without disrupting the overall vision of the originals. It is also a breath of fresh air to find in her Leia a strong female character that doesn't define her strength by cliche gender reversals; she is both political authority and wife/mother, friend and romantic interest, hero and cynic. It is this complexity of character that Ms. Gray does so well that solidifies her, in my opinion, as one of the trailblazers of this generation's Star Wars. Brava.

So far none of the new canon books have excited or gripped me the way the books by Michael Stackpole, Troy Denning, Karen Traviss, and others used to. I read them to understand and keep informed of what has happened in the Star Wars Universe. If I didn't care, then I would have stopped reading before the midway point. It is a must-read because it is part of the greater story, but there is no love, no excitement, no passion in these books. The characters barely crawl off the page. The star is Princess Leia and thankfully we have an entire movie trilogy to give us her backstory. I wish I enjoyed it more than I did.

Nobody gets inside the heads of characters better than Claudia Gray. If you want to understand Leia in even greater depth, along with the politics leading up to TFA, read this. It's one of the best books of the new canon.

I love the politics of the Star Wars universe and they're very important to me, but this book was boring. Everytime it seem something was going to happen it was quickly resolved and no one important seemed in danger. Why does this have such high ratings?

I had an absolutely amazing time with this book. This is Star Wars politics done right. I think i still like Lost stars more, but that could just be my preference. However, this book is truly amazing if you want to know about how the New Republic fell.

While Gray's writing is far superior to that of Wendig I found this book mediocre at best. The pace is slow and I increasingly found myself bored by both the story line and the author's writing style. I can't see myself reading any future Star Wars novels by this author..

Claudia knows Star Wars better than George Lucas or Disney! Admittedly, Lost Stars is literally my favorite Star Wars story, way better than any of the 7 movies we currently have! But Bloodlines is incredible! I wish Claudia was the only writer for Star Wars because the other books so far (cough cough Aftermath) are pretty much crap. Bloodlines is the politics of the Star Wars Universe, which is important because at the heart of it all, Star Wars is a political story. We get a really good sense of that in the prequels but in Bloodlines we see how the events of the original trilogy really do have political ramifications, and how important Leia's role is in establishing not only the New Republic, but the Resistance. I loved this book from cover to cover and really and truly appreciate Claudia Gray's writing. She UNDERSTANDS the Star Wars universe and really delivers on character and story development. I hope she continues to write for the Star Wars series as she has turned me into a fan for life!

I havebecome a big fan of Claudia Gray. I loved this and Lost Stars. I hope she continues to write in Star Wars. One line bothered me. "That was what his mothers always said, one of the tenets people on Gatalenta tried to live by." This seemed to be a subtle political statement. Alot of people still have a religious belief that homosexuality is a sin. If that is what the statement means, it should not be in a book that is and has been a family safe property. I wish that Star Wars was not becoming a platform for such things, although it seems inevitable.

Great book, really goes into the politics of the New Republic and helps set the stage for The Force Awakens. Love seeing Leia take center stage for the book. Claudia Gray writes great Star Wars books. Only complaint is that the big selling points for the book (Leia's relationship with Vader) doesn't come until the 2nd half of the book

** SPOILERS AHEAD**

Gray is an excellent, seductive writer, great at building up suspense, to the point where I couldn't put the book
down, but the payoff is terrible. Really, we don't see how the "First Order" comes into fruition, its still a concept
in the minds of a few loyalists to the Empire. Ben Solo (aka Kylo Ren) is only hinted at in the book, as is Luke Skywalker
and the new Jedi Academy. All told, you know as much about the Rise of the First Order, Kylo and the Knights of Ren,
and the fate of Luke Skywalker from reading this book as you did after watching the Return of the Jedi. That is to say,
not much. I'd pass on this one.

This is by far the best novel in the new canon, and if you haven't read Lost Stars (also by Claudia Gray) you should! Finally a book that gives a real look politically at what brings about the current setting of the galaxy. The book gives you a small glimpse into the Post-Jedi storyline and it does not disappoint! Five stars! Easy!

Well as a Star Wars fan of almost 40 years and having read every novel, I for one was extremely disappointed when Disney decided to scrap all of the old stories, as there was some great stories in that alternate timeline/universe. However, I can't say that I wasn't very pleased with the Force Awakens and as such purchased this novel to gain better insight and background of the characters today. While this did serve that purpose to some extent, and I wasn't expecting an action packed adventure thank goodness, it lived up to my expectations. It is a shame though it didn't go into more detail around other characters, Luke, Ben Han, Chewie and I find it highly unlikely that Leia would not have learned at least a few things about the force knowing her heritage, as she became a Jedi in the alternate universe/timeline.

In addition, I am really disappointed in the amount or lack thereof the number of novels that have or are being generated since the sale to Disney. It has always been my fix between what at time have been many many years between movies. I understand we will get a movie a year but there are 11 other months in that year I would enjoy reading additional stories.

Finally, I would like to thank the author as you did provide an enjoyable story within the constraints I'm sure you were placed under. You must have incredible patience to work and write within these confines.

This novel does an incredible job fleshing out the history of what took place between episodes 6 & 7. I went in expecting a sort of update on what the New Republic had been up to, since they didn't feature prominently in ep. 7. What I actually found was a story that shapes my understanding of what we see in TFA. I also wasn't expecting to be so entertained by a Leia-centric story but as the 5-stars should indicate, I most definitely was!

A fun and delightful read. Lots of 'girl power', which is sorely needed when you have so many strong female characters in the Star Wars series. Leia shines with wisdom, strength and political smarts. More please!

Starts off kind of meh, but by about 1/3 through gets pretty good. Joph Seastriker is an annoying, very poorly written character (a fighter pilot and full grown man who sounds like an awkward 14 year old boy) but otherwise I really enjoyed it. Did a good job of setting up the rise of The First Order feature in The Force Awakens.

I found the first 2/3 of the book to be slow going. The last 3rd was better. The first senator did not make sense to me when they already had a chancellor. The little bits about the first order was good along with the beginning of the rebellion I liked also.

If you enjoy a good book and want to catch up on what's happening in the galaxy far far away. It fills in many gaps between Return of the Jedi and the Force Awakens. So to any fan who enjoy a great story go with Bloodlines or Lords of the Sith.

I loved this book! Great Princess Leia characterization. Good insight into some of the things that happened in between Ep. 6 & 7. You get a little bit of everything...romance, action, politics, new characters. If you love Leia, you'll love this book!

I was expecting a bit wider of a scope for this book that was touted as the story between Return of the Jedi and the force awakens. It is exclusively about Princess Leia and her walking the world between politician and rebel hero.

Well written back story to the 'new' canon. I am still more of a fan of the old pre-Disney series of books, and would prefer that series to continue, but it's very well written, easy to read, and enjoyable.

I'll keep this short.

pros
Well written
Good character development

Cons
Lacked suspense
Lacked action

I've been reading star wars books for a long time and overall this one was ok. It had great direction and characters. It was just really easy to put down. Since Disney got ride of the old extended universe I've been really interested to see what will replace it which is what kept me going with this book at times. I'm glad I read it but I probably won't ever read it again.

Just read it and enjoy your fandom. Leia is still a bad ass, always and forever. And whoa for spoilers and secrets! I would read more books from this time period, like maybe about Ben. Wishful thinking at this point I suppose. Really enjoyed??

I was expecting a bit wider of a scope for this book that was touted as the story between Return of the Jedi and the force awakens. It is exclusively about Princess Leia and her walking the world between politician and rebel hero.

Well written back story to the 'new' canon. I am still more of a fan of the old pre-Disney series of books, and would prefer that series to continue, but it's very well written, easy to read, and enjoyable.

I'll keep this short.

pros
Well written
Good character development

Cons
Lacked suspense
Lacked action

I've been reading star wars books for a long time and overall this one was ok. It had great direction and characters. It was just really easy to put down. Since Disney got ride of the old extended universe I've been really interested to see what will replace it which is what kept me going with this book at times. I'm glad I read it but I probably won't ever read it again.

Just read it and enjoy your fandom. Leia is still a bad ass, always and forever. And whoa for spoilers and secrets! I would read more books from this time period, like maybe about Ben. Wishful thinking at this point I suppose. Really enjoyed??

Wonderful tie in to The Force Awakens. Want to have a better understanding of the politics of The New Republic hinted at in The Force Awakens, this is the book for you. It's a must read and quite wonderful.

It was a informative for the new story line, but I'm just not a huge fan of the change in direction. I grew up reading Timothy Zahn and all the previous books written by other authors. This just didn't carry the interest for me that the others did.

This book was fantastic - the blend of high-level politics and action was perfect. It gave Leia a badly needed moment in the sun, and touches on a deeply personal part of her life. All over, brilliant, possibly the best novel in the new continuity.

This book is full of the same expositional heavy problems that the other New Canon books I've read seem to have. Except for the last fourth of the book, it's fairly forgettable and repetitive. The story is to a point, and is sufficiently entertaining, but underwhelmingly so. (Let it be said I do appreciate the attempt at having a more interesting take on Prequel-type politics).

With only a couple exceptions, the only parts that are genuinely interesting are mentions of Luke, Han, Ben, and the First Order. However, they are too far a few between. (I would compare them to the "side" chapters in Aftermath, but even less fleshed out).

It's worth a read if you want to know the political spectrum of the Star Wars galaxy after ROTJ, but not necessary for the casual fan.

Also, "Napkin Bombing."

As a big fan of Claudia Gray's "Lost Stars" I had high hopes for Bloodline. Maybe too high. The newly introduced characters were, though not entirely lifeless, not engaging. The portrayals of the classic characters were (shockingly) more disappointing than they were in Episode 7. I understand not everything ends in a happily ever after, but think of the most depressing "Where Are They Now?" stories you've seen and there you have it - just shy of meth addictions. Han is basically the absentee husband spending every night down at the race track with his buddies - fully described with everything short of a grotesque beer gut. Leia would fit right into "Office Space", living a dull and utterly unfulfilled existence. Luke is the estranged brother no one really sees, her kid is having emotional problems, she's got severe daddy issues... over both of her dads. And she's probably falling asleep every night using old Golden Rod to help her relieve her tension while thinking about the hot young Senator she's working with. The climax of the action literally ends so abruptly as to feel like the first 3/4 of the book was pointless. There's no engaging villain whatsoever. Eh. Just eh. So far the new canon material has been a huge letdown. That said, this book was much better than Aftermath and was nowhere near the shocking disappointment that was Lords of the Sith.

Some one wake up and give Claudia Gray a trilogy to write this lady gets Star Wars! I pre ordered this book to make sure I got it the first day of release based on her incredible job with Lost Stars. This one was just as spot on as her last. I won't go into any spoilers I will only say that unlike a few authors before her Claudia keeps me engrossed in the Star Wars world non stop while I'm reading. She seems to find a way of making the universe seems small yet somehow dropping in new and engrossing characters all at the same time. She drops chewie's name and Luke and Lando and all my favorites to remind me of them yet I stay laser focused on the new story she's spinning the whole time. I hope someone at Disney reads these reviews because this should not be Ms Gray's last Star Wars novel.

When I saw that the newest entry into the Star Wars canon was being written by the author of Lost Stars (my favorite canon novel) I was absolutely thrilled. I had this book pre-ordered and couldn't wait to dive into some of the backstory and lead up of episode 7. Overall I was very disappointed with this story to say the least. It didn't have the engaging,memorable writing of Lost Stars and felt mostly flat. The time setting is such a waste of potential backstory. Instead of spending time with Luke,Han and an infant Ben Solo pre Episode 7 we spend most of the time talking politics and only get a few references to the main characters beside Leia. While I understand that the story is important to the overall canon arc of the movie universe I would have much preferred a focus on Leia's family and showing us what turned Ben to the dark side,instead we have a slow paces political drama that almost put me to sleep a few times.

And that's really about all it has going for it. Pages and pages of politics, occasionally interrupted by a few moments of action, or a quick reference that ties into TFA. Honestly, it was only out of a desire to find such connections that I was able to keep reading at times. That, and the last quarter of the book picking up a little bit is what gave this 2 stars instead of 1. Seriously, if I want to read about the deadlock of a bipartisan political system and the scheming and backstabbing that goes with, I'll just pick up a newspaper.

Edit: I've upgraded this from 2 to 3 stars because I was reminded of some pretty interesting development of Leia's character and her relationship with both her birth father and her adopted father.

An overall decent story about Princess Leia. It fleshes out her character quite well and her role as a Senator and leader. I was expecting the reveal of her parentage to be a bit more dramatic but it was a fun, enjoyable read overall.

I'll be honest, the story line was outstanding but the writing was noticeably different since Disney took over.
Claudia Gray is an outstanding author, but Kevin J. Anderson and previous styles like his are what I've come to know some 265 Stars Wars novels pre-Disney.
I am hoping for a sequel to Bloodline soon.

I just finished reading "Bloodline" by Claudia Gray. Ever since Disney took over the Star Wars property, I've noticed that every book has multiple references promoting the LGBT agenda. Is this really necessary? Does their editing staff have an axe to grind? These references have absolutely nothing to do with moving the story forward. I've read virtually every Star Wars novel since the first release back in 1991. There have been some great books and some not so great books in that time; but none of them worried about being politically correct or advancing diversity or whatever. I'm really disappointed in Disney and the publisher....keep your personal political views out of the story!

Dangerously boring first half. This novel tells us the story behind the fall of the New Republic after the birth of the New Order , created by the Centrists, a faction of world's in the Senate that wants a stronger government and hold sympathetic feelings towards the Empire. But the plot develops slow and without action. Leia is the center character of the story. But her separation from Han Solo seems forced, just to suit the main storyline. By the way,Disney has changed the storyline. In the Lucas storyline,Leia and Han had two sons and a daughter. The oldest one turns to the dark side,becoming stronger than Palpatine. Now they have just one son, Ben, so insecure and weak so that Rey beat him badly in The Force Awakens

Claudia Gray is the best thing to happen to Star Wars since Timothy Zahn. Not since his books have I seen a writer capture the spirit of characters like Leia and Han so perfectly. Her Leia is amazing. At first I was disappointed that Bloodline was not a continuation of her first book in the SW universe, Lost Stars. I was worried about another writer failing to bring these beloved characters to life. She nails it. Del Rey needs to keep her around and let her have more of the SW universe to play with. She's amazing.

I was so, so looking forward to this book after how much I enjoyed lost stars, but wow was this disappointing. Going in I was excited to get a better view of the post RotJ political landscape, which you get very quickly. After that is a very slow, very forgettable "adventure" where leia investigates people we've never heard of and are given no reason to care about except for a very obvious tie to a familiar group. The main reason for this I think is that lucasfilm once again is handcuffing its authors in this time period just like they did with aftermath as its painfully clear they gave Gray the barest bones to work with. What I can't excuse her for is the cardboard cutout new characters we got in this (Greer and Jof are no Thane and Ceina that's for sure) who are just generic archetypes that are there to fill things out. Predictable plot, slow pace, boring characters and barely any new information, just more of the same from the post Jedi novels. I got to say while I'm no EU die-hard, this and aftermath are insulting when compared to the thrawn trilogy. Either let your authors tell actual stories with actual impactful plots or just wait until you have finished the new films and can reveal it all without spoilers. i'd recommend you just read a summary of this and save yourself the time and money.

I've been trying to read this book for several weeks now, but it is not exactly a page turner. Of all the Star Wars books I've read recently this is the worst. I'm having a hard time believing some of the scenarios and the story line is choppy.

as a story its ok unfortunately this book is tied to the mickey mouse space opera which doesn't follow the timeline of every other star wars book. the best thing about the series is that they all intertwine... this book leads into mickeys blatant remake of episode 4... they need to market this crap separate from the real star wars universe books!!!!

If this book was to be a link between the 7th Star Wars movie it is a bust. There was too much time spent on background which did not seem to add to the story or connect to the 7th movie. I was over 50% in to the book before any part of the story started to tell be some of the background of the 7th movie. By the end of the book there still was not a good link to the movie.

It's safe to say that Claudia Gray is the reigning queen of the Star Wars lit universe. Her latest entry, "Bloodline", tells arguably the first must read story of the new canon, chronicling the rise of the First Order and Princess Leia's Resistance leading up to Episode 7. This novel is the true journey to The Force Awakens.

We open a number of years prior to TFA, when Leia is a member of the New Republic senate, and thoroughly disillusioned by the constant hang ups and inefficacy of the governing body. She's separated from her husband, Han Solo, for months at a time as he competes in races, and their son Ben is out of contact while training with his uncle, Luke Skywalker.

Prepared to retire after her current term, she's roped back in by her Populist party to run as their candidate for the newly proposed First Senator seat against the Centrist party. After the senate is approached by an emissary from the planet Ryloth requesting an investigation into piracy in their system, Leia agrees to spearhead the inquest, along with Centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo. The two staunch rivals slowly unravel a greater conspiracy that could threaten to undo the decades of peace the galaxy has seen since the fall of the Empire.

Claudia Gray has solidified herself as easily my favorite author of current Star Wars novels. While Bloodline falls just short of her previous novel, "Lost Stars", it's easy to see why this entry into the new canon can be considered a must read source of backstory leading up to The Force Awakens. We see the First Order's earliest incarnation as Leia and Senator Casterfo try to get to the bottom of piracy and crime on Ryloth, and witness some of the first fighting between the Republic and the First Order's Amaxine warriors.

Bloodline's strongest trait has to be Gray's character writing and development. I constantly had Carrie Fisher's voice in my head as I read Leia's dialogue, and Gray masterfully created characters that you could truly like (or dislike when it comes to the villains). We get an enlightening peek inside Leia's head as her deepest secret is revealed to the galaxy, and her coming to terms with the revelation.

Bloodline has quickly jumped to the top of my list of favorite new Star Wars canon novels. This is a must read for all Star Wars lit fans, as well as those who might have seen the movie, but want more information on what led up to those fateful moments. I eager await Claudia Gray's next stellar entry into the Star Wars universe.

Claudia Gray returns to the Star Wars universe following "Lost Stars". "Bloodline" begins twenty years after the events of "Return of the Jedi" with Princess Leia struggling against the political stalemate of the New Republic Senate. Leia works with the Populist faction, which seeks to prevent the crimes of the Empire through a weak central government, in an effort to prevent the concentration of power the Centrists desire. When the ambassador from Ryloth delivers news to the Senate of a smuggling operation moving in on the Hutts' territory, Leia teams with Ransolm Casterfo, a member of the Centrist faction, to investigate.
Their investigation leads them across the galaxy and into the myriad political workings of the New Republic. Along the way, there are hints of a larger group amassing an armada and Centrist politicians working to resurrect some part of the Empire as the First Order. Most devastatingly, the revelation of Leia's ancestry calls into question everything she had previously accomplished. The political machinations recall "House of Cards", though on a galactic scale, while the sense of hopelessness in the face of political intransigence helps explain the need for the Resistance. While there remains a great deal of time to fill in before the events of "The Force Awakens", Gray's story goes a long way toward explaining the state of the galaxy at the beginning of the seventh film. Her ability to write compelling, interesting characters has never been stronger and I hope she becomes a frequent contributor to the Star Wars galaxy.

Liked: Good to see some of the old guard getting play time.

Didn't like: OK Disney, we get it. You want more females to watch you movies and buy you Star Wars stuff but come on, the first 2 movies and the first book are female centric and you will lose the foundation of Star Wars with this.

This is not a good book.
Let me first tell you that this is not a critique of Claudia Gray. To be honest, I liked her style of writing and think she is a very good author, but the book is nonsensical and it is not her fault, and I don't think this review should in any way reflect poorly on her.
This book however, sums up everything that is wrong with Disney Publishing Policy (DPP) concerning Star Wars Books.
What is DPP? It Is to consider that, ultimately, only the Movies - or even other visual media such as Rebels - can convey any important or significant information on Star Wars Universe. It consistently alienate readers, treating the books as corroborative of the other medias, full of trivial or curious tidbits of information that in the end, does not\will not\can not advance understanding of characters or plots. The movies will come first.

Bloodlines epitomizes this policy to the point of stupidity. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, of Leia's relation to her son (movies come first!), her brother (movies MUST come first!), the decision to no explore the force (Unlimited Power to the Movies), and so on.

I will give you passage that shall demonstrate this uttlery and completely:

Chapter 13, p. 128, Tai-Lin (senator and friend) asks Leia:

"
"Did you never consider following in your brother's path and becoming a Jedi"
Leia found herself caught short. "Why do you ask"?
(....)
Tai-Lin fnished. "Surely I've knon few people who would make a finer Jedi Knight than you".
Leia inclined her head in gratitude for the compliment, but she could not answer right away, because she could not tell the full truth. The force was too important a subject to be shared lightly, even with Tai-Lin, her *ally and friend* (this is my emphasis).
He safe, sensible, and, as far as it went, honest reply: "My duty has always been here, in the work of creating a new and better government""

And that is it. All we have about Leia not becoming a Jedi. Yeah I know, can you smell that too?
And it is not like it is Gray's fault - she is either not in the loop or not authorized to say anything else, this must be an issue that only the movie can address. However this makes for BAD Storytelling.
Everytime the story so much gets close to an issue that the movies "must" address, we get caught in a bad storytelling time, that hinders not only plot, but characters' full development.

Bearing all of this in mind, I think that if this book was not about Princess Leia, but some other character, I probably would have liked it. Because, the author did give us a lemonade out of the lemons disney has handed her, but when you consider this specific character, who she is, the lack of so many answers and information, just make me resent the reading thinking: why are they are publishing books about this period if they will not allow us to understand fully the characters or the plot?
If they feel so much the movies must be giving priority, then they should just go to another time - they sent to the graveyard all the 5,000 years of Star Wars canon, go back then! But give us everything. and not merely this or that saying: - it doesn't matter you bought this book, if you really want to know what is up, you are gonna have to wait for the movies!
And this is the tragedy.

"How I miss that feeling - that sense that justice would always win in the end."

I did enjoy this book - I'd say it's around 3.5 stars.

I really liked that this book gives us a new picture of Leia - one after the Star Wars movies but before the Force Awakens. We see her in action as a Senator trying to balance her life after the rebellion.

The only thing about this book is there isn't a whole lot of action. The plot has some political wheeling and dealing and a few things do happen, but overall it's not action driven. This book is a reminder that Star Wars is really a political thriller above anything else.

I like that we met some new characters and it's a good set up for the next book. However, a lot of things aren't explained and we don't see much of Han. But it fits with the tone of the movies in a way that works well.

I'll probably check out the next book.

Okay, I haven't had much interest in the "new canon" Star Wars books, mainly because, as someone who spent a lot of time and money into the old Expanded Universe, only to find out that it was soon to be considered "non-canon", and that they were going to rework and rewrite what had long been viewed by many as "canon", that it wouldn't be as good as some of the old EU books. Boy, was I wrong, very wrong. I found this to be a very well-written book and the characters, particularly Princess Leia, were all very well-drawn. Even the politics which play a very heavy role in the overall plot, seemed interesting, and this coming from someone who didn't always enjoy the political side of things in the old EU. I highly recommend this one, especially for those who are curious to know how and why behind The Resistance, as seen in The Force Awakens.

This book managed to lose me in the first chapter, which may not have happened to me before, and especially never with a Star Wars book. I was really excited to read this book, to join Leia on another adventure, but after clunky political exposition that somehow was more boring than the Senate scenes in the prequels one line made me give up on it:

"Leia had joined the Imperial Senate at fourteen; she hadn’t completely given up on the rule of law in the Empire until the moment she saw Alderaan die in front of her eyes."

So, her joining the Rebel Alliance, hiding the Death Star plans in R2D2, and standing up to Vader and later Tarkin was all just posturing? She still believed in the Empire's rule of law when she was actively working as their enemy? This completely ruins the character for me and proves that whoever wrote this book (probably a Disney/Lucasfilm committee, and not actually Claudia Gray) knows nothing about Star Wars and doesn't understand the story, characters, or universe at all. This line made me angry. Sure, it's just Nerd Rage, but still, what makes Star Wars so great (well, the original trilogy at least) is its strong characters and story of good triumphing over evil, This negates both of those things. I'm still in shock.

I've never been a huge fan of the Star Wars novels; most of them just didn't do it for me. BLOODLINE, on the other hand, pulled me in and kept me interested all the way through. It is the dawn of the New Republic and Princess (now Senator) Leia finds herself at a crossroads. As often happens in the Star Wars universe, situations arise that pull our princess into intrigue and adventure. The results are a lot of fun and do a nice job of filling in the space between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS.
As someone who enjoyed the politics of the prequels, I found that part of this novel to be the most interesting. Here we get to see Leia in her role as politician (something hinted at but not really shown in the films). The political intrigue is well written and believable. For a science fiction/fantasy novel; something like that is sometimes a distraction. Here it's crucial to the story. I loved it.

This is the perfect novel if you've ever wondered about the politics in the Star Wars Universe in the timeline leading into The Force Awakens. Ah, "politics" the dirty word that isn't often brought up since the politics-heavy Prequel Trilogy. However, Claudia Gray blends Leia's Senatorial duties with plenty of action. Never does the story get bogged down with boring political disputes. While I wouldn't categorize this as an action-heavy novel, the pace is brisk and there is never a dull moment.

The standout character aside from Leia, is Ransolm Casterfo. His interactions with Leia were my favorite parts of the story.

There are very few flaws in this novel, to bring them up in this review would be nitpicking and sharing them without spoilers is difficult. I loved this book as well as Lost Stars, also written by Claudia Gray, which I also consider a must-read.

The characters are the stars here. Leia is the main focus, but everyone who appears is given careful attention. Leia's staff, the other Senators, and the criminals are all compelling. The writing makes the reader care about what is going on, and even in a book that is heavy on politics, there is always something of interest taking place.

For fans of The Force Awakens who were a little confused on the exact relationship between the New Republic, Resistance, and First Order, those questions are pretty much all answered here.

Both this novel and Lost Stars are strong recommendations.

When I first heard that Cluadia Gray's new book was going to be about an older Leia, I was dissapointed. I love the character of Leia, but something about just her dealing with politics sounded extremely boring to me.

And boy was I wrong. I don't know which of the new canon I love more: This or Lost Stars. Either way Claudia Gray wins.

This book is perfect. The politics is really interesting.

Ransolm Casterfo is one of my favorite new characters to emerge in the new Disney canon.

Can't wait to see what Claudia does next.

Quite honestly the best Star Wars book I've read in a really long time, and the one that's restored my faith in the EU. I'm ready to dive deep again like I did 15 years ago. The audio version is excellent, and I highly recommend it. All the production value I've come to expect from a Star Wars audiobook, with music, sound fx, and quality voice acting. I love this version of Leia much more than the Leia of the old EU (now "Star Wars Legends"), and Claudia Gray's portrayal of her rings true for me. I can't wait to read Claudia Gray's other Star Wars novels, Lost Stars and Leia, Princess of Alderaan, as well as Beth Revis' Rebel Rising.

I was definitely frustrated when Disney shelved all of the Expanded Universe novels as "Legends", but most of the new stories have been quite good. The best of them have undoubtedly been Lost Stars and Bloodline, both by Claudia Gray. She brings a depth of character to her stories that was absent in many Legends novels. She really achieved something in Lost Stars by creating brand new characters that you felt invested in, and has developed a nice nuance to Leia and Han, as well as another great new character in Ransolm Casterfo. I hope she continues to write for Lucasfilm, and I will definitely look in to her other work.

I read some great reviews about Bloodline and I went in with high hopes. Unfortunately, my high hopes crashed and burned. I enjoyed Claudia Gray's writing style, but this book should have been a novella. There's no reason why this book needed to be 332 pages. The main conceit of the book and all the tension builds to one major event that happens about 150 pages before the end. It's pretty clear where this book will wind up because Gray is locked into what happens in The Force Awakens.

I enjoyed the book, but was it worth buying the hardcover? No, not really.

On the plus side, Gray has a deft hand in building well-developed characters. I enjoyed that, but there are several constraints that she has that drag down the story (Han, Luke and Ben are conveniently out of this book--which is fine but the deus ex machina part at the end [I won't spoil anything here] made me roll my eyes).

I love Star Wars and have read nearly all of the old expanded universe books and this one falls into the top third of them, but there wasn't anything in the book that surprised me.

Not to knock Claudia Gray, I'd be willing to read more books of hers, but this Star Wars book was only okay for me.

I would give it a 3.5/5 stars. One of the things this book did well was it gave us a bunch of background information as to how things are shaping up in the new republic, with all the in-fighting within the galactic senate, to the corruption that is seeping through the surface especially towards the end of the book. All the additional information we get to have after movie six happens is nice to have and see how things get to where they currently are up to The Force Awakens movie. The rest of it was just kinda mediocre for me, but the last few chapters were very well laid out.

I enjoyed this book. it was easy to read and flowed fairly smoothly. I was expecting more about how the rebellion began but maybe she can write that in the next book. The politics going on were well thought out as was Leia's place in it. The hints of the First Order also made sense. The characters were interesting. That she wrote this before TFA makes sense as I couldn't figure out why she brought in a new character for the pilot instead of using Poe since he as an existing character would have been the right age. I liked the new worlds and the characters. In all I recommend this book. The reactions to everyone on the big reveal were also believable. I'd like to read a sequel

I read this when it came out last year, and I'm reading it again this summer. This is an excellent addition to the Star Wars pantheon, and ranks with the early Timothy Zahn books in my opinion.

While one reviewer complained that there are no Jedi in this story, their presence is not missed. Gray does an outstanding job of exactly what you need from an excellent Star Wars novel. She perfectly captures the essence of characters we know and love (namely, Leia and Han), while also creating new characters with depth and whom you truly care about (I'd love to read more adventures of Joph and Greer, and would like to see more of Casterfo). Any lack of lightsabers is fully negated by a story that is perhaps best described as a mystery/thriller that propels forward with intrigue and is appropriately peppered with chases, skirmishes, and adventure. And along the way, the reader gleans insight into the mysterious origins of the First Order and how Leia fell from the New Republic's favor.

Excellent novel--highly recommended for any Star Wars fan.

Nice novel leading up to Force Awakens....what was Leia doing before the movie? Not you will know. This novel focuses on Leia & her frustrations with the Senate & the 2 political parties.

This feels like the Leia from the movies....there are some appearances of other famous characters but they don't overshadow that this is a Leia focused novel.

The novel also explains why she did not train in her Force abilities but her latent abilities do appear in the novel as "hunches".

If you are a Leia fan, pick this up.

I had high expectations for Bloodline because of the fine work that Claudia Gray had done on her first Star Wars novel, the YA book Lost Stars. And I am pleased to say that Gray met and surpassed my expectations and genuinely surprised me at times with this story.

I felt that Gray really captured the character of Princess Leia well, and I found the other characters (Greer, Korr, Ransolm, Joph, etc.) to be well-developed and interesting. I also thought that the relationship between Han and Leia was presented accurately. The story starts and has more layers of complexity added as the tension and the action rise and reach the climax.

I'm calling Bloodline as a "strong recommend" to all Star Wars fans. This is not only just a fantastic Leia-centered novel, it is a great Star Wars novel.

This was my first attempt at reading Star Wars canon literature. I thought it would be easy to get into since some of the main characters were already familiar. WRONG. I was about 40% of the way through the book before the plot really took off. I'm glad I stuck with it because it was worth it in the end, but there were a few times in the beginning when I nearly gave up and returned the book to the library early. If you are a Star Wars fan and can make it through the beginning of this book, you will probably like it overall.

"How I miss that feeling - that sense that justice would always win in the end."

I did enjoy this book - I'd say it's around 3.5 stars.

I really liked that this book gives us a new picture of Leia - one after the Star Wars movies but before the Force Awakens. We see her in action as a Senator trying to balance her life after the rebellion.

The only thing about this book is there isn't a whole lot of action. The plot has some political wheeling and dealing and a few things do happen, but overall it's not action driven. This book is a reminder that Star Wars is really a political thriller above anything else.

I like that we met some new characters and it's a good set up for the next book. However, a lot of things aren't explained and we don't see much of Han. But it fits with the tone of the movies in a way that works well.

I'll probably check out the next book.

Okay, I haven't had much interest in the "new canon" Star Wars books, mainly because, as someone who spent a lot of time and money into the old Expanded Universe, only to find out that it was soon to be considered "non-canon", and that they were going to rework and rewrite what had long been viewed by many as "canon", that it wouldn't be as good as some of the old EU books. Boy, was I wrong, very wrong. I found this to be a very well-written book and the characters, particularly Princess Leia, were all very well-drawn. Even the politics which play a very heavy role in the overall plot, seemed interesting, and this coming from someone who didn't always enjoy the political side of things in the old EU. I highly recommend this one, especially for those who are curious to know how and why behind The Resistance, as seen in The Force Awakens.

This book managed to lose me in the first chapter, which may not have happened to me before, and especially never with a Star Wars book. I was really excited to read this book, to join Leia on another adventure, but after clunky political exposition that somehow was more boring than the Senate scenes in the prequels one line made me give up on it:

"Leia had joined the Imperial Senate at fourteen; she hadn’t completely given up on the rule of law in the Empire until the moment she saw Alderaan die in front of her eyes."

So, her joining the Rebel Alliance, hiding the Death Star plans in R2D2, and standing up to Vader and later Tarkin was all just posturing? She still believed in the Empire's rule of law when she was actively working as their enemy? This completely ruins the character for me and proves that whoever wrote this book (probably a Disney/Lucasfilm committee, and not actually Claudia Gray) knows nothing about Star Wars and doesn't understand the story, characters, or universe at all. This line made me angry. Sure, it's just Nerd Rage, but still, what makes Star Wars so great (well, the original trilogy at least) is its strong characters and story of good triumphing over evil, This negates both of those things. I'm still in shock.

I've never been a huge fan of the Star Wars novels; most of them just didn't do it for me. BLOODLINE, on the other hand, pulled me in and kept me interested all the way through. It is the dawn of the New Republic and Princess (now Senator) Leia finds herself at a crossroads. As often happens in the Star Wars universe, situations arise that pull our princess into intrigue and adventure. The results are a lot of fun and do a nice job of filling in the space between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS.
As someone who enjoyed the politics of the prequels, I found that part of this novel to be the most interesting. Here we get to see Leia in her role as politician (something hinted at but not really shown in the films). The political intrigue is well written and believable. For a science fiction/fantasy novel; something like that is sometimes a distraction. Here it's crucial to the story. I loved it.

It took me quite a while to get through this book because I found it so boring. The characters are over-developed to the point that it detracts from the story and the information provided is not helpful. The author is also overly descriptive in setting her scenes and includes too much pointless dialogue between characters. Unfortunately, those issues, which would have just been slightly annoying in a charged, action-packed novel, became major issues in this slow-paced story. Mercifully, the second half of the book picks up a bit and includes some enjoyable plot points that move beyond the politics of the New Republic. However, the plot twists and heroic moments are abrupt and difficult to accept within the context of the story. I did not find this to be worthwhile read.

This is the perfect novel if you've ever wondered about the politics in the Star Wars Universe in the timeline leading into The Force Awakens. Ah, "politics" the dirty word that isn't often brought up since the politics-heavy Prequel Trilogy. However, Claudia Gray blends Leia's Senatorial duties with plenty of action. Never does the story get bogged down with boring political disputes. While I wouldn't categorize this as an action-heavy novel, the pace is brisk and there is never a dull moment.

The standout character aside from Leia, is Ransolm Casterfo. His interactions with Leia were my favorite parts of the story.

There are very few flaws in this novel, to bring them up in this review would be nitpicking and sharing them without spoilers is difficult. I loved this book as well as Lost Stars, also written by Claudia Gray, which I also consider a must-read.

The characters are the stars here. Leia is the main focus, but everyone who appears is given careful attention. Leia's staff, the other Senators, and the criminals are all compelling. The writing makes the reader care about what is going on, and even in a book that is heavy on politics, there is always something of interest taking place.

For fans of The Force Awakens who were a little confused on the exact relationship between the New Republic, Resistance, and First Order, those questions are pretty much all answered here.

Both this novel and Lost Stars are strong recommendations.

When I first heard that Cluadia Gray's new book was going to be about an older Leia, I was dissapointed. I love the character of Leia, but something about just her dealing with politics sounded extremely boring to me.

And boy was I wrong. I don't know which of the new canon I love more: This or Lost Stars. Either way Claudia Gray wins.

This book is perfect. The politics is really interesting.

Ransolm Casterfo is one of my favorite new characters to emerge in the new Disney canon.

Can't wait to see what Claudia does next.

Quite honestly the best Star Wars book I've read in a really long time, and the one that's restored my faith in the EU. I'm ready to dive deep again like I did 15 years ago. The audio version is excellent, and I highly recommend it. All the production value I've come to expect from a Star Wars audiobook, with music, sound fx, and quality voice acting. I love this version of Leia much more than the Leia of the old EU (now "Star Wars Legends"), and Claudia Gray's portrayal of her rings true for me. I can't wait to read Claudia Gray's other Star Wars novels, Lost Stars and Leia, Princess of Alderaan, as well as Beth Revis' Rebel Rising.

I was definitely frustrated when Disney shelved all of the Expanded Universe novels as "Legends", but most of the new stories have been quite good. The best of them have undoubtedly been Lost Stars and Bloodline, both by Claudia Gray. She brings a depth of character to her stories that was absent in many Legends novels. She really achieved something in Lost Stars by creating brand new characters that you felt invested in, and has developed a nice nuance to Leia and Han, as well as another great new character in Ransolm Casterfo. I hope she continues to write for Lucasfilm, and I will definitely look in to her other work.

I read some great reviews about Bloodline and I went in with high hopes. Unfortunately, my high hopes crashed and burned. I enjoyed Claudia Gray's writing style, but this book should have been a novella. There's no reason why this book needed to be 332 pages. The main conceit of the book and all the tension builds to one major event that happens about 150 pages before the end. It's pretty clear where this book will wind up because Gray is locked into what happens in The Force Awakens.

I enjoyed the book, but was it worth buying the hardcover? No, not really.

On the plus side, Gray has a deft hand in building well-developed characters. I enjoyed that, but there are several constraints that she has that drag down the story (Han, Luke and Ben are conveniently out of this book--which is fine but the deus ex machina part at the end [I won't spoil anything here] made me roll my eyes).

I love Star Wars and have read nearly all of the old expanded universe books and this one falls into the top third of them, but there wasn't anything in the book that surprised me.

Not to knock Claudia Gray, I'd be willing to read more books of hers, but this Star Wars book was only okay for me.

I would give it a 3.5/5 stars. One of the things this book did well was it gave us a bunch of background information as to how things are shaping up in the new republic, with all the in-fighting within the galactic senate, to the corruption that is seeping through the surface especially towards the end of the book. All the additional information we get to have after movie six happens is nice to have and see how things get to where they currently are up to The Force Awakens movie. The rest of it was just kinda mediocre for me, but the last few chapters were very well laid out.

I enjoyed this book. it was easy to read and flowed fairly smoothly. I was expecting more about how the rebellion began but maybe she can write that in the next book. The politics going on were well thought out as was Leia's place in it. The hints of the First Order also made sense. The characters were interesting. That she wrote this before TFA makes sense as I couldn't figure out why she brought in a new character for the pilot instead of using Poe since he as an existing character would have been the right age. I liked the new worlds and the characters. In all I recommend this book. The reactions to everyone on the big reveal were also believable. I'd like to read a sequel

I read this when it came out last year, and I'm reading it again this summer. This is an excellent addition to the Star Wars pantheon, and ranks with the early Timothy Zahn books in my opinion.

While one reviewer complained that there are no Jedi in this story, their presence is not missed. Gray does an outstanding job of exactly what you need from an excellent Star Wars novel. She perfectly captures the essence of characters we know and love (namely, Leia and Han), while also creating new characters with depth and whom you truly care about (I'd love to read more adventures of Joph and Greer, and would like to see more of Casterfo). Any lack of lightsabers is fully negated by a story that is perhaps best described as a mystery/thriller that propels forward with intrigue and is appropriately peppered with chases, skirmishes, and adventure. And along the way, the reader gleans insight into the mysterious origins of the First Order and how Leia fell from the New Republic's favor.

Excellent novel--highly recommended for any Star Wars fan.

Nice novel leading up to Force Awakens....what was Leia doing before the movie? Not you will know. This novel focuses on Leia & her frustrations with the Senate & the 2 political parties.

This feels like the Leia from the movies....there are some appearances of other famous characters but they don't overshadow that this is a Leia focused novel.

The novel also explains why she did not train in her Force abilities but her latent abilities do appear in the novel as "hunches".

If you are a Leia fan, pick this up.

I had high expectations for Bloodline because of the fine work that Claudia Gray had done on her first Star Wars novel, the YA book Lost Stars. And I am pleased to say that Gray met and surpassed my expectations and genuinely surprised me at times with this story.

I felt that Gray really captured the character of Princess Leia well, and I found the other characters (Greer, Korr, Ransolm, Joph, etc.) to be well-developed and interesting. I also thought that the relationship between Han and Leia was presented accurately. The story starts and has more layers of complexity added as the tension and the action rise and reach the climax.

I'm calling Bloodline as a "strong recommend" to all Star Wars fans. This is not only just a fantastic Leia-centered novel, it is a great Star Wars novel.

This was my first attempt at reading Star Wars canon literature. I thought it would be easy to get into since some of the main characters were already familiar. WRONG. I was about 40% of the way through the book before the plot really took off. I'm glad I stuck with it because it was worth it in the end, but there were a few times in the beginning when I nearly gave up and returned the book to the library early. If you are a Star Wars fan and can make it through the beginning of this book, you will probably like it overall.

Picking up where the Star Wars: Aftermath novels leave off and set several years before The Force Awakens, Bloodline is what I was expecting The Force Awakens novelization to be. It explains where the First Order came from, why Han and Leia were separated, and fills in little background details. It has an actual plot and doesn't rely on one or two big surprises for suspense. Furthermore, the book is written almost entirely from Princess Leia's point of view, and Claudia Gray makes it feel like Carrie Fisher could have written it, with the exact sort of concerns a middle aged, woman involved in politics would have. Leia felt like a realistic character that I could identify with.

So I made the mistake of expecting Star Wars: Catalyst to be good. It was not. I took another chance on this book because the plot seemed more intriguing. There was a pretty good payoff, and the pacing was fine. Great side characters and Leia is always a bad ***. Don't want to get into any of the plot because this one was actually good on its own. This very much captures Leia's world of politics, action, and intrigue. Check it out!

One of the better entries into the new canon (if not THE best), there's very little in Bloodline that I thought didn't work for me. It has the best insight into the era just prior the Episode VII, and helped pain a picture of the shape of the galaxy leading into the conflict between the New Republic and the First Order. The portrayal of Leia is also very consistent with what has come before. I would say this is a good entry into the books for those who primarily stick to the movies, but it would all depend on the preference of the reader. There's not much action, instead focusing on politics and the machinations that set up the contentious environment to come.

This book isn't necessarily bad and the voice actor tries her best to convey the voice of everyone accurately (doesn't work so well when she voices male characters, but what can you do). My biggest gripe with this book is the climax and ending, so SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT. Ill be as vague as possible to avoid an obvious spoiler. Basically a character in the book that seems incredibly intelligent and educated lets his emotions get the better of him Anakin Skywalker style, uncharacteristic of an objective and intelligent person. This is a book that paints itself as a somewhat political story, yet ends in ridiculous Episode 3 level emotional anger. I'd hope that people as intelligent as the characters in the book weren't so stupid as to believe bad actions are hereditary. The characters show their shallow and pathetic abilities at judging character towards the end of the book just to make the story more interesting and make it fit with the rest of the plot. Otherwise, a somewhat interesting Star Wars tale. The story just gets faulted by simple moral dilemmas and black/white judgments of good and evil. It seems at times a young adult novel trying to be political.

..but I've finally finished this. At several points I wasn't sure if a third attempts after getting line again wouldn't happen. I don't blame the author, it's many, many years since I eagerly devoured Star Wars novels, long before the fell from being the Extended Universe to so called Legends.

Things truly picked up for me when Leia got her hands dirty but the revelation before the Senate had me powering through the wee hours. Now that I'm done I want more of the Rebellion as written by Ms. Gray immediately! Such is the trust she has now earned.

What's next? I don't know but now I want to.

I really enjoyed this book and by the end got to the point where I could not put it down but had to finish it! Some of the political nature of this book can be a bit drawn out and I felt it took a while for the story to real get kicked off, but this book does have its moments of fun, suspense and action. It is good to read something that explains more as to why The First Order is around in The Force Awakens and why Princess Leia is leading an independent group of freedom fighters. This is one of the better books of the new canon and I am glad I read it.

This was a complete waste of time. The plot was thin as water, the stand off was ridiculous and nothing happened on the first 200 pages. All plots were so simple that a child could have written them. In all, The Phantom Menace all over again, a boring political game with 0 Jedi trademarks. God knows why I finished it.

I haven't read a Star Wars novel since the Clone Wars novel series before Episode III came out. I loved that Clone Wars series and I wanted back into the adventures of the EU. I heard more buzz about Bloodline than any other Star Wars new-EU novel so I read it. First of all, it's exciting because the book stars Senator Leia six years before The Force Awakens. I feel like most of us who enjoyed TFA walked away feeling like they didn't get enough of the state of the galaxy, side character's like Leia's situations weren't fully explained, etc. Bloodline expands on that in large and subtle ways. The whole story slowly goes along and it mildly drew me into the investigative plot but it really hooked me in when I began to realize that the mystery of this political thriller could be directly related to The First Order which remains hidden from the galaxy at this point in the timeline. So yeah its a very good thriller that begins to show us how the galaxy got to where its at by the time TFA happens. Claudia Gray nails Leia's voice in this book, too. If you were missing Leia in TFA then you'll really enjoy this book because you get a lot of her and she's treated very well by the author.

BLOODLINE is a strong novel with plenty of intrigue and adventure. That it’s a Star Wars novel is almost irrelevant. Gray imbues the characters with emotion and heart and I found myself tense in several scenes and heartbroken in others. A very good book and well worth checking out.

I have never reviewed a Stars Wars novel before, but I wanted to chime in on this one. After seeing the new movie and feeling like a kid again, I wanted to see how things from Jedi got to this point. This book is part of that picture. It's well written, but pretty slow until the last 100 pages. Granted there were elements that were interesting throughout the first 200+ pages, but overall it just seemed to drag. It focus strongly on the political side of Star Wars, which it advertised as. There was not much real insight into Leia. It was nice to see elements that would become plot points for The Force Awakens to show up. Many of the characters I really didn't care that much about. Her personal aide, the star pilot, and some of the political bodies in the story were uninteresting in my view. Politics is a major aspect of Star Wars, and I'm not taking that away from it. The politics in this story line are slow and boring.

The bright moments come though when you see Leia interact with a new senator that is introduced in this novel. Their relationship feels very real and honest. Luckily, the two of them have nice chunks of the novel together. Overall, it was an okay read. Don't expect any more than a cameo from Han though. Leia is the central figure in this novel, and it could have perhaps used more of the classic favorites.

The plot just doesn't worth to be stretched into a novel. It could have been a fairly good short story. But a novel? The tension and conflict is so watered down. The second half of the novel is good, but you have to drag yourself through the first half which has some serious problem in pacing.
Three star to the second half, where the political infight within Republic senate is vividly depicted. And I love the despair when Leia saw there is no way to win. The Republic is doomed by both parties of its senate.
*spoiler alert!*
And the mission is so boring, I mean who cares about the mercenaries? And a starfighter base under sea, seriously? That doesn't make sense, no wonder all the mercenaries got killed by a single shot. And the mercenary leader kills herself and let Leia live? Come on what's the point....

Claudia Gray is not only a great writer and story teller, but also (and perhaps more importantly) truly loves and understands Star Wars, it’s characters, and it’s world. She does them justice. I seriously wish they would let her write the new trilogy movies which so lack the heart and soul of what makes Star Wars so special to so many.

This is easily my favorite Star Wars novel. The writing was incredible and the story had me gripped. This book turned out to be one of those books where you can't handle putting it down. Additionally, it does a great job setting up a lot of the backstory for The Force Awakens. We learn a lot about Leia's mindset as well as the creation of the Resistance.

Great characterization; I had to honestly stop listening several times when dealing with the Imperial-fetishist character, my anger got so great due to real world parallels. Some aspects are a bit predictable, but a look at Leia (and Han, to a lesser extent) during the maturing of the New Republic was well done.

Tale to bridge the gap. This well written Star Wars books bridges the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It shows us what Leia, Han and senate have been up to in the 20 years of peace and starts to show the development of the First Order. An easy to read and captivating book. Would recommend

I really, really, really wish this book had come out before Ep VII. For the fans who would have read it, it would have made Ep VII way more enjoyable and for the non-fans who would never have read it, the movie would still hit the high notes it tried to copy from Ep IV. But man, what a difference reading this makes to how I imagine what is going on in Ep VII. Night and day.

As for the story itself, pretty good overall. Very enjoyable, although not much mind blowing happens and as was always the case in the EU, lot's Leia super ninja skills on display. But it's a minor complaint. A few name choices are a bit odd too. But otherwise quite enjoyable. It also does the politics thing that is so much easier to do in a book than in a movie. But frankly, I love the politicking and the broader universe in SW. Pew pew pew only gets so much millage before it starts to need to explain things.

Second favorite book of the new canon after Dark Disciple.

This Review was originally posted at [...] and a free copy was provided to the author in exchange for an honest review.

Claudia Gray has quickly become one of the best authors of the Star Wars universe, new or old canon. Lost Stars was excellent, Bloodline is nearly as good. Gray wraps the story in action scenes, political intrigue, and exploration of new worlds and relationships. Gray has a real knack for making relationships in her stories stand out. As well written as Bloodline is, January LaVoy narrates it perhaps even better.

Princess Leia, now in her late 40’s, and a senator of the New Republic faces threats from within and from external threats as well. The book takes place six years prior to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. A large part of the story is composed of the political battle that Leia engages in to stop the Senate from electing a First Senator who may become the next Darth Vader. While this may seem boring to some but Gray manages to keep it interesting with the varying relationships involved.
Like every Star Wars story there is no lack of adventure and traveling the galaxy. We are introduced to new worlds and races of aliens that we don’t see too often. Gray also captures the essence of Leia very well in this book. The time frame of the book fills in some information that will be interesting to those who read Lost Stars and seen Star Wars: Force Awakens.

As great as this book was, it’s not as good as Lost Stars. Bloodlines suffers a bit from predictability, relationships go the direction you think they will. There is a stereotypical “Deathstar” moment and there really wasn’t any point in the story where I was in doubt of the outcome. This is more than made up for by the excellent exploration of Leia’s bloodline and the new characters, particularly Ransolm Casterfo, were very good. I would love to Casterfo in a movie.

January LaVoy isn’t a narrator that I was familiar with before listening to this book but I am very impressed with her performance in Bloodline. One of the most important parts of a narrator’s job is to make distinct voices so you can follow the story easier and give the characters an added sense of realism. LaVoy’s voices were all excellent and distinct. LaVoy’s theatrical talents come out in Bloodlines, this book was more of a high-quality audio drama than just someone with a nice voice reading a book. I find it hard to believe she did the voice for Rinnrivin Di (excellent character), but if she did it was an amazing performance. LaVoy did male and female characters equally well and believable. The only character I didn’t care for was Joph Seastriker, he seemed like a little too much of a “dude bro” for my liking but this may be more to do with how the character was written. Overall, LaVoy will be considered an additional reason to listen to any audiobook she is on.

The production value of the book was also very high quality, very clear sound quality. There were some strange transitions between chapters but I think that may have to do with how the chapters were ended and started. I’m not a fan of random sound effects , in general, in audio books and Bloodlines has many, many of them. There were blasters sounds, ship sounds, music, ambient noise of various locations, crowds…ect. While I typically would consider sound effects an unwelcome addition in the amount that was present in Bloodlines because it is Star Wars it felt right and added to the story.

Overall, Bloodline continues the great quality of the new canon Star Wars books and is a must listen for those who enjoy Star Wars novels.

This is the first-full length Star Wars non-movie novel I've read, and it did not disappoint. It was very well-written, and helped flesh out adult Leia. I particularly liked how Ms. Gray fleshed out Leia's adversary, even making you feel bad for him in the end. I'm looking forward to reading her recently released new Leia book, as she really "gets" the character. Highly recommended, and I rarely recommend books like this.

A great read. Political thriller that dives into Leia’s mind. That being said, if you don’t enjoy politics it might not be for you. When I watched the force awakens I thought that the first order seemed to come out of nowhere. This book nicely sets up their rise and new republics fall. The only part I didn’t like was a small part of the book that has Han in it. I didn’t feel this character was protrade well.

When this book was announced, I was very excited. The First Order and Resistance rising, Ben turning to the dark side, Leia's parentage revealed to the public, and Luke going into exile were all (or so I was informed by the internet) suppose to be in this book. Wow, this is going to be a great book filled with so many moments we wanted to see in The Force Awakens. I Purchased this book within the hour of its release and hurried home to read it. I knew there were some political stuff with Leia being in the senate, but I figured they would skim over most of it to get to the the more exciting parts. Some politics at the begging, and it was very slow, but I pushed through it because I knew this was going to be a great book. After getting through roughly 30% of the book and there has only been politics with no mention of the stuff that made me want this book. Overtime, I "had a bad feeling about this" book and decided to stop reading at around 50% of the book. No body likes to have a half completed book sitting on their shelf, so I decided to give it another chance.

I got the audio book so I could listen as I drive. Best decision I've ever made. instead of reading, I could turn off my brain and listen to 'Star Wars Politics.'

Page 216, Chapter 21 is when they finally mention something interesting; Leia's Parentage. Wow, but in a good way. The last 75% of this book was a lot better. It picked up the pace, and crammed everything I wanted into the last quarter. Hardly any of the First Order, absolutely no Luke, no Ben, and on the Final Page, and the last sentence, they mention the Resistance.

In conclusion, this book is 332 pages of missed opportunity and disappointment. If you want Star Wars Politics, you should watch The Phantom Menace, If you want a good Star Wars book, read the Thrawn Trilogy.

This is an excellent story bridging the time between Episodes VI and VII. It adds lots of back story that they couldn't include in The Force Awakens and it really helps you understand how the First Order came to be. It also has lots of other details about Leia and her family and career.

I had started this book weeks after Carrie Fisher's death and I'm glad I did, although it makes me miss her more. While the big picture of this story is how the state of the Senate led to the different factions, Leia is clearly the protagonist and the writing captures her personality well. The arc of Leia and Casterfo are great and I truly think that this was a good new Canon book for me to start on. I also thought January Lavoy did an excellent job narrorating (although Han's voice was confusing at times)

So well done, Claudia. Some SW tie-ins feel like they really do not fit the universe of the films. This book captures the climate of what we tried to imagine happened prior to TFA. It answers so many questions I had after watching EpVII. Well done.

Loved it. Gray really captures the feel of some of the previous EU books here. Some clever nods to the original movies and some continuity retcons for those that were paying attention. I enjoyed this very much!

I loved this book. LOVED it! Of all the SW books I've read, I honestly most connected with this one. Gray proves that she can rival the writing of Zahn and Luceno with her storytelling expertise. Bravo!

Beautifully written book! Leia had been given a short shrift in the 'old' EU but 'Bloodline' gives her life and breadth she has been missing for far too long. People who abandoned the Expanded Universe really should give at least this book a chance.

Loved it!

Wow! Holy crap! Finally, a perfect Star Wars novel. Claudia Gray should write all the Star Wars novels. Aftermath sucked, A New Dawn sucked, and Heir to the Jedi sucked. Bloodline gives me hope for future Star Wars novels. I was ready to give up on Star Wars novels all together due to the 3 others mentioned...but that has now changed. Help me Claudia Gray...you're my only hope.

I have never really been a person who reads star wars books. The never have and never will live up to the movies. Bloodline just blew me away. Sure it isn't as good as (some of) the movies, but it's as close as your going to get! I'm not going into the actual content of the book, im just saying GET THE BOOK FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

This is mostly a political story not your typical star wars adventure. But due to Carrie Fishers passing this story carries a little more weight. Making it kind of her farewell as well as an intro to the force awakens

Huge Star Wars fan here. Read this book the week it came out. It keeps you moving right along. I highly enjoyed this book and look forward to more by Claudia Gray. Well written and gives you the proper word choices to paint the best picture as you read. I recommend this book to any avid Stars Fan.

Claudia Gray really out did herself with this one. I can only imagine her writing one of the next script for star wars, maybe a stand alone movie. She captures the essence of star wars. Disney you got to sign her up to write one of the next movies! She just gets it.

It was mostly boring. I felt like I was reading a book that could have been so much more. There is alot of time consuming caracter development that turned out to be worthless. If you love starwars read this book, but don't buy it. Borrow it from a friend or your library. It does set up the political realm for the force awakens.

George Lucas should be having a fit over what Disney has done to his life's work! We're to start! First off, George Lucas stated very firmly that no one was to kill any characters off period! Second, Disney never bothered to see what the novels said after " The Return of the Jedi! If they did, they would know that Han and Leia had 3 kids! The first 2 were twins. Jason and Jana. The third one was named after Luke's father. Luke Skywalker married Mara Jade and they had a son named Ben. Jason turned to the dark side and murdered Mara Jade. Also Chewbacca died on a planet! Han was never killed by his son. Disney screwed the whole series up! I am completely disappointed with what Disney has done to a fine story! In this book from the very first pages, you can see where it is starting to be a bad novel. Disney should have done their homework first!!!

All of the new 'canon' is worth reading, but this was a great story that stands alone! Great writing! Had me on the edge of my seat several times and more than once I found myself smiling, choking back emotion. WELL DONE!

Been collecting star wars books and comics since 04, save your time and money and just read the wookipedia entry. i only say that cause it does at least shed some light on leias position in the force awakens which the movie itself failed to do but not worth powering through the actual book itself just for that piece of info. not the worst star wars book but def on the low end of the spectrum.

"Lost Stars" was extraordinary, and now with "Bloodline," Claudia Gray has earned her rightful place among the greatest Star Wars authors of the last 30 years. I will definitely be checking out her non-Star Wars work, now, and hope to see a lot more of her work in that galaxy far, far away!

All of the new EU is very boring. They just lack the Jedi and the Sith angle. I am trying to understand why they keep putting out books that have no Jedi in them. This story does have some important Star Wars Elements though, the Senate and the politics of the Galaxy is a nice throwback to Episode I-III. It's just Jedi Robes would really help.

The good: any Star Wars fan will undoubtedly enjoy learning more about the era before the First Order. The bad: evidently there is one way to make Star Wars boring, and that's to dedicate a book to the politics of the Star Wars universe. I actually thought for a time that I hadn't finished reading the book, and then I realized I had - it was just so unmemorable that it slipped my mind completely.

If you like the political side of Star Wars, this book is for you. I really enjoyed reading it. The only thing preventing it from getting 5 stars are a couple of plot points and character interactions that just don't match what we expect from decade old characters. Of all the new canon novels, I'd rank this as third best behind Dark Disciples and Lost Stars.

Finally a new canon book (that's not a kid's or junior novel) that leads directly to things that we see in The Force Awakens. Really well written and constructed story. Went directions I didn't think they would go, and addressed questions that I don't think were ever answered in the original EU. Really looking forward to books that build off of this to fill in more of the gaps, particularly in Ben's story.