Aftermath is set directly after the destruction of the second Death Star, as the New Republic continues to struggle to dismantle the Galactic Empire which is now leaderless but unfortunately not powerless. An ex-Imperial loyalty officer just trying to forget it all in any bar he can, a Rebel pilot looking to get her son to safety and a Zabrak bounty hunter all find themselves on the planet of Akiva, where a secret Imperial meeting concerning the future of the Empire without Palpatine and Vader is about to take place. Each of them has their own path to pursue but when faced with the Imperial threat, what choices will they make and how will it affect the struggles of the New Republic?

I can't claim to have read the entire Star Wars EU before Disney came along and the new canon was established but I remember absolutely loving the X-Wing Squadron series and enjoying some of the other stuff. I've so far enjoyed much of what I've read of the new canon and was looking forward to Aftermath because it fills that gap between Episode VI and VII. Unfortunately, I came away disappointed more than anything. I will admit right now that I think Chuck Wendig isn't a terribly good writer. I struggled a lot reading Aftermath because he creates interesting characters but his writing style drives me mad. While I don't expect perfect realism in my Star Wars stories, I have extreme difficulty believing that any of the following even in a Star Wars story:

- A stormtrooper can be used as a shield but the helmet can easily be pierced with a blaster pistol.
I mean, I know there hasn't been a lot of consistency with stormtrooper armor that seems to imply two very different things within a single action scene.
- A lone rebel is reported by his Imperial brother and said rebel figures this out and escapes because instead of just sending a squad to capture him, they send two very loud TIE fighters AND a squad of people to break down the door.
For one rebel? Really? I mean, maybe you should consider sending a few less resources given you're already stretched thin.
- The bounty hunter needs to escape and since there's no room on the transport, she chains a corpse to the transport and then rides it like a surfboard as they escape.
I just....I can't even.

Are they technically possible? Sure. In the same way that there's probably stuff in Kung Fury that's technically possible. But it's over the top writing that completely pulled me out of the story to call bullshit.

The characters are interesting, complex and have compelling stories that make you care about them. Not one of them is a perfect angelic Mary Sue/Gary Stu and I cared about each of them. And yet, Wendig has a habit of building tension and then throwing in an interlude about some random person he'll probably tie in later but that you truly could not give less of a crap about at that moment. It's like reading Game of Thrones x10. It's frustrating and contrived and makes it difficult for me to be completely pulled into the character arcs.

This book exists largely to set up the story for the next book and I'm frustrated that it's incredibly obvious that that's the case. It was also bizarre to have that happen in the first rather than the second book in a trilogy. I wanted this story to be so much better than it was. It's far from the worst story that I've read, even in the Star Wars universe, but I can't say that I was a huge fan. I'm willing to continue because of the characters but I'm setting my hopes a bit lower for this series.