ok, i’ve just finished re-reading it. not sure why it took so long this time around. planning to write a review tomorrow.

now, i’m going to read it again!

It’s hard to believe it’s been more than 15 years since Timothy Zahn’s first original Star Wars novel burst on the scene and re-invigorated the Star Wars publishing line.

But all these years later, the Star Wars book have become more labrythn like and self-referencing. It’s fun to have contiuity, but when it becomes so dense that casual readers can’t figure out what the hell is going on or who is who, it fails to engage. I’m not sure even the most devoted fan could keep up with all the Star Wars novels hitting the market today.

Which is a shame because I think if I’d read and memorized who every minor character from every Star Wars novel was, Zahn’s Outbound Flight would have been better. It’s set in the prequel era and features some of the characters from Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. But it also features a cast of minor characters from other Star Wars prequel era books. The problem is—they’re all easily forgettable and you end up not caring about the fate of any of them, esp. the Jedi who we all know are going to red-shirt it Episode III anyway. Hard to muster up much concern for characters who are doomed.

The story is one that sets up the Thrawn trilogy with some of the characters moving into place.

But in the end, it’s a wholly unsatisfying Star Wars novel and one that makes me wonder—why do I bother with them anymore?