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Star Wars Disney Canon Novel
Jedi: Battle Scars
Cal Kestis leads the Mantis crew on an adventure set between Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the highly anticipated Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Together, Cal’s crew has brought down bounty hunters, defeated Inquisitors, and even evaded Darth Vader himself. More importantly, Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1 are the closest thing Cal has had to a family since the fall of the Jedi Order. Even as the galaxy’s future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire, the Mantis crew grows more daring.
On what should be a routine mission, they meet a stormtrooper determined to chart her own course with the help of Cal and the crew. In exchange for help starting a new life, the Imperial deserter brings word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool for their fight against the Empire. And even better, she can help them get to it. The only catch — pursuing it will bring them into the path of one of the Empire’s most dangerous servants, the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother.
Can the Imperial deserter truly be trusted? And while Cal and his friends have survived run-ins with the Inquisitors before, how many times can they evade the Empire before their luck runs out?
Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Together, Cal’s crew has brought down bounty hunters, defeated Inquisitors, and even evaded Darth Vader himself. More importantly, Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1 are the closest thing Cal has had to a family since the fall of the Jedi Order. Even as the galaxy’s future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire, the Mantis crew grows more daring.
On what should be a routine mission, they meet a stormtrooper determined to chart her own course with the help of Cal and the crew. In exchange for help starting a new life, the Imperial deserter brings word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool for their fight against the Empire. And even better, she can help them get to it. The only catch — pursuing it will bring them into the path of one of the Empire’s most dangerous servants, the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother.
Can the Imperial deserter truly be trusted? And while Cal and his friends have survived run-ins with the Inquisitors before, how many times can they evade the Empire before their luck runs out?
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2023
About the author
Sam Maggs
114 books985 followersSAM MAGGS is a bestselling writer of books, comics, and video games, including Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope, Tell No Tales, Con Quest!, and Marvel's Spider-Man PS4. A Canadian in Los Angeles, she misses Coffee Crisp and bagged milk. Visit her online at sammaggs.com or @SamMaggs!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 661 reviews
April 13, 2023
2.5 ⭐️
Battle Scars had the opportunity to really build upon the relationships of the Mantis crew and fill in a meaty backstory for what they’ve been doing in the five years between Fallen Order and Survivor. And where it chose to do so, it was great. Cere and Greez backstory was wonderful to read, as was Cal’s connection with the Force and seeing his POV during use of his special skill, telemetry.
But instead of using 300+ pages to do that, a fling for Merrin was a huge focus. As a CalMerrin shipper, it was hard to see that totally overlooked, despite mentions of Merrin’s previous dalliances. The author seems to headcanon Cal and Merrin a very specific way and some of it felt very opposed to how they’re portrayed in Fallen Order. Cal being the biggest example of that. Instead of the strong survivor of Order 66, who has come head to head with the Inquisitors and Darth Vader himself, Cal is written as a dorky himbo. At one point, in Merrin’s POV, she thinks “he’s just so… wholesome. UGH!”. It made me roll my eyes so hard. This is not the Cal Kestis that video game fans have come to know and love. Honestly a lot of this seems strange to have passed by the Story Group team.
And let’s not forget that half the cover is taken up by the Fifth Brother. When I tell you the stakes felt so low and nonexistent, I’m not kidding. Never for a second did he feel like a threat.
If you’re a fan of Fallen Order and highly anticipating Survivor, as am I, should you read this book? Honestly, no. Nothing feels like it’ll actually matter for Survivor, and you can surely find the few exciting details in an easter egg video on YouTube.
Battle Scars had the opportunity to really build upon the relationships of the Mantis crew and fill in a meaty backstory for what they’ve been doing in the five years between Fallen Order and Survivor. And where it chose to do so, it was great. Cere and Greez backstory was wonderful to read, as was Cal’s connection with the Force and seeing his POV during use of his special skill, telemetry.
But instead of using 300+ pages to do that, a fling for Merrin was a huge focus. As a CalMerrin shipper, it was hard to see that totally overlooked, despite mentions of Merrin’s previous dalliances. The author seems to headcanon Cal and Merrin a very specific way and some of it felt very opposed to how they’re portrayed in Fallen Order. Cal being the biggest example of that. Instead of the strong survivor of Order 66, who has come head to head with the Inquisitors and Darth Vader himself, Cal is written as a dorky himbo. At one point, in Merrin’s POV, she thinks “he’s just so… wholesome. UGH!”. It made me roll my eyes so hard. This is not the Cal Kestis that video game fans have come to know and love. Honestly a lot of this seems strange to have passed by the Story Group team.
And let’s not forget that half the cover is taken up by the Fifth Brother. When I tell you the stakes felt so low and nonexistent, I’m not kidding. Never for a second did he feel like a threat.
If you’re a fan of Fallen Order and highly anticipating Survivor, as am I, should you read this book? Honestly, no. Nothing feels like it’ll actually matter for Survivor, and you can surely find the few exciting details in an easter egg video on YouTube.
March 22, 2023
"You have failed me, Inquisitor."
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
So, let's begin with a fitting gif, shall we? But what gif to start off with.... Oh! I know. How about this one:
But let me make it clear that Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars is no Millennium Falcon.
It quite literally is a piece of junk.
I have never heard of Sam Maggs until the announcement of Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars (and now I know to steer clear of her stuff from here on out).
Her writing, her style, her way of storytelling is... Not Good.
Okay, like Yoda says, "Do or do not. There is no try." So, I guess some credit is due since, y'know, she did write iteven though, in my opinion, it's not very good writing. But even then, there's still a bar that needs to be met and Maggs did not hit that bar for me.
Here's one example: (about the renegade Stormtrooper) "... a red-eyed, purple haired woman with shaggy hair."
I'm sorry, what? Where was the editor?Was there even an editor? It sure doesn't feel like there was. It just sounds so odd to me. Maybe it's just my brain, and that sentence is actually fine? But couldn't it have been written to something like, "... a red-eyed woman with purple, shaggy hair," instead? I wish I could honestly say there were only a handful of sentences that came off as awkward and cringey to my mind, but I can't.
Then there's the whole "show, don't tell." Maggs, unfortunately, does a lot of telling rather than showing. From start to finish, I was never emotionally invested in the story. Well, that is, I wasn't emotionally invested in the story in a good way.
Yeah, I'm sorrynot sorry, but I just do not like Maggs's writing style. At all.
As for pacing, it, too, was not good.
Some things were repetitive to the point of annoying. Things that should have been fleshed out more weren't and things that didn't need any more time spent onand therefore beaten to death because of it were.
Let's focus on the characters, or rather the Mantis crew.
They felt more like strangers than friends who I haven't seen in some time. And who knows? Maybe the reason for it is because of the upcoming sequel, Jedi: Survivor, but I still didn't expect them to feel so out-of-character that they felt unrecognizable. Take, for example, Cal. I felt like the growth he underwent in Jedi: Fallen Order was completely ignored by the author.
The "threat" never once felt like a threat to me. If anything, the Fifth Brother felt like he'd just been shoved in as an afterthought. Maybe if the author had focused on him more, really developed an interesting backstory and/or motivation behind his character, then he could have been a pretty decent threat to both the crew and the reader.
The only saving grace is the audiobook. Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, the narrator, did the best he could given the material he had to work with. The music and sound effects are, as always, a treat; although, unfortunately, neither of them could save the "tension" as there really wasn't any to begin with.
It's also always nice that audiobooks have the playback speed option, so that way you can set it at the highest speed to get through it a lot quicker. Because if it hadn't been for the handy tool of playback speed, I think I really would have dnf'd and moved on.In some ways, I really should have because, wow, that's time I'm never going to get back.
Overall, though, the constant telling, the lack of tension build-up, the out-of-character-ness of the characters, and the overall wonky structure that is Maggs's writing is the closest I'll ever get to feeling like I'd been put under the Cruciatus Curse.
Is this review too harsh?
Possibly.
Are my feelings valid? Am I allowed to feel greatly disappointed that this book failed to deliver? Absolutely.
Therefore, understandably, I will be ignoring this piece of junk and pretending it doesn't exist. In fact, it's motivated me to go read better fanfic of post-Jedi: Fallen Order.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
So, let's begin with a fitting gif, shall we? But what gif to start off with.... Oh! I know. How about this one:
But let me make it clear that Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars is no Millennium Falcon.
It quite literally is a piece of junk.
I have never heard of Sam Maggs until the announcement of Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars (and now I know to steer clear of her stuff from here on out).
Her writing, her style, her way of storytelling is... Not Good.
Okay, like Yoda says, "Do or do not. There is no try." So, I guess some credit is due since, y'know, she did write it
Here's one example: (about the renegade Stormtrooper) "... a red-eyed, purple haired woman with shaggy hair."
I'm sorry, what? Where was the editor?
Then there's the whole "show, don't tell." Maggs, unfortunately, does a lot of telling rather than showing. From start to finish, I was never emotionally invested in the story. Well, that is, I wasn't emotionally invested in the story in a good way.
Yeah, I'm sorry
As for pacing, it, too, was not good.
Some things were repetitive to the point of annoying. Things that should have been fleshed out more weren't and things that didn't need any more time spent on
Let's focus on the characters, or rather the Mantis crew.
They felt more like strangers than friends who I haven't seen in some time. And who knows? Maybe the reason for it is because of the upcoming sequel, Jedi: Survivor, but I still didn't expect them to feel so out-of-character that they felt unrecognizable. Take, for example, Cal. I felt like the growth he underwent in Jedi: Fallen Order was completely ignored by the author.
The "threat" never once felt like a threat to me. If anything, the Fifth Brother felt like he'd just been shoved in as an afterthought. Maybe if the author had focused on him more, really developed an interesting backstory and/or motivation behind his character, then he could have been a pretty decent threat to both the crew and the reader.
The only saving grace is the audiobook. Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, the narrator, did the best he could given the material he had to work with. The music and sound effects are, as always, a treat; although, unfortunately, neither of them could save the "tension" as there really wasn't any to begin with.
It's also always nice that audiobooks have the playback speed option, so that way you can set it at the highest speed to get through it a lot quicker. Because if it hadn't been for the handy tool of playback speed, I think I really would have dnf'd and moved on.
Overall, though, the constant telling, the lack of tension build-up, the out-of-character-ness of the characters, and the overall wonky structure that is Maggs's writing is the closest I'll ever get to feeling like I'd been put under the Cruciatus Curse.
Is this review too harsh?
Possibly.
Are my feelings valid? Am I allowed to feel greatly disappointed that this book failed to deliver? Absolutely.
Therefore, understandably, I will be ignoring this piece of junk and pretending it doesn't exist. In fact, it's motivated me to go read better fanfic of post-Jedi: Fallen Order.
December 26, 2023
Less romance more BD-1
March 12, 2023
It is rare that I have so many thoughts on a book's technical level, rather than on an enjoyment level. That can sometimes be a good thing, if I am impressed by the writing prowess of the author.
Unfortunately, that is not the case here. I have a multitude of issues with this book that could have been fixed and made an interesting story.
First of all, this story is poorly outlined and paced. Act 1 takes up around 100 pages. Act 2 Takes up around 130 pages. Act 3, however, only takes up around 40 pages. You might dispute this the way you read the book or interpret writing, but I felt the Third act needed to be bigger, more impactful, and most importantly, longer. As it is, this book feels incomplete, like the author only wrote 2 acts and the last 3 chapters were tacked on to ensure that the book technically had a 3 act structure. The ending definitely needed more, even if you generously attribute scenes in Act 2 as being a part of Act 3.
Another issue this book has is its focus. This book is billed as some things and is actually something else. While the book is ostensibly about the crew of the Stinger Mantis (the entire crew is on the cover), and the lead character of that crew is Cal Kestis, they don't seem to be the focus of the book. This really seems to be a book truly about Merrin that happens to have the rest of the crew on board. That's fine if you want to make that the book...but you shouldn't market the book the way it has been, because its misleading and inherently annoying to fans. Had Merrin been the only character on the cover, it would have been much less frustrating. I know why they had the full crew, specifically Cal on the cover, they will likely bring more eyeballs and impulse buys than simply having Merrin. But this leads to a frustration in your buyers. Again, a simple fix.
The cover and the blurb heavily focus on the Fifth Brother being a leading villain in the book. While he is also technically in the book, his page time is pathetically weak. He is really in 2.5 chapters, and he's not even the real focus of those whole chapters. Its ok to use a villain sporadically, thats how you can create tension and fear if they aren't always around. But here that's not what happpens. Instead, the Inquisitor felt weak and unimportant to the story, like he was added in later on and wasn't an integral part of the story. Replace him with another generic villain and the story stays almost exactly the same.
One thing that is absolutely bound to be a point of contention among fans is the romance in the book. Regardless of political beliefs, there is an expectation among many fans on what the romantic relationships will be between these characters. There are a lot of Cal-Merrin shippers out there, and rightfully so. (I have not played the game, but I am friends with several people who play the game and they all unanimously concurred that there should be a Cal-Merrin romance in either the book or the game). I still believe that is possible, but Maggs goes out of her way to write Merrin with someone else. That is bound to frustrate fans, and I doubt it is going to please a significant swath of the fandom. When writing an original story, you don't have to always please fans. But when writing a media tie-in fiction work, there is an expectation.
The maggufin of the book is too ill-defined and at the same time a little too derivative. The twist works for what Maggs is trying to tell, but it subverts expectations in a way that instead of rewarding readers for hypothesizing rather has little long term payoff.
I don't want this whole review to be a wholesale hate-fest, so I do have some compliments to give out. I thought that Maggs did a good job with the character of Greez. Greez's personality worked really well on the page and also felt like he had a unique voice. I will also say that when the Inquisitor is on the page in Act 2, it is really enjoyable to read. And when Cal attempts to protect others in Acts 2 and 3, it is a joy to read.
I will also say that at a minimum Maggs has created a story that is "coherent". By that, I mean that the plot progression makes sense, and at least is generally understandable to the audience. That is not something I can say for other recent books, such as "Visions: Ronin" and "Queen's Hope".
While I did NOT like the romance in the book, it did make me think a lot about the movie Casablanca, and that would make an interesting essay for someone to write one day.
However, despite those praises, the book just doesn't work well for me. Too much of it didn't work on a technical level. On an enjoyment level, the book was "eh, I don't like it". Not at all where you want your book to be. So I'll give this book a 4 out of 10.
Unfortunately, that is not the case here. I have a multitude of issues with this book that could have been fixed and made an interesting story.
First of all, this story is poorly outlined and paced. Act 1 takes up around 100 pages. Act 2 Takes up around 130 pages. Act 3, however, only takes up around 40 pages. You might dispute this the way you read the book or interpret writing, but I felt the Third act needed to be bigger, more impactful, and most importantly, longer. As it is, this book feels incomplete, like the author only wrote 2 acts and the last 3 chapters were tacked on to ensure that the book technically had a 3 act structure. The ending definitely needed more, even if you generously attribute scenes in Act 2 as being a part of Act 3.
Another issue this book has is its focus. This book is billed as some things and is actually something else. While the book is ostensibly about the crew of the Stinger Mantis (the entire crew is on the cover), and the lead character of that crew is Cal Kestis, they don't seem to be the focus of the book. This really seems to be a book truly about Merrin that happens to have the rest of the crew on board. That's fine if you want to make that the book...but you shouldn't market the book the way it has been, because its misleading and inherently annoying to fans. Had Merrin been the only character on the cover, it would have been much less frustrating. I know why they had the full crew, specifically Cal on the cover, they will likely bring more eyeballs and impulse buys than simply having Merrin. But this leads to a frustration in your buyers. Again, a simple fix.
The cover and the blurb heavily focus on the Fifth Brother being a leading villain in the book. While he is also technically in the book, his page time is pathetically weak. He is really in 2.5 chapters, and he's not even the real focus of those whole chapters. Its ok to use a villain sporadically, thats how you can create tension and fear if they aren't always around. But here that's not what happpens. Instead, the Inquisitor felt weak and unimportant to the story, like he was added in later on and wasn't an integral part of the story. Replace him with another generic villain and the story stays almost exactly the same.
One thing that is absolutely bound to be a point of contention among fans is the romance in the book. Regardless of political beliefs, there is an expectation among many fans on what the romantic relationships will be between these characters. There are a lot of Cal-Merrin shippers out there, and rightfully so. (I have not played the game, but I am friends with several people who play the game and they all unanimously concurred that there should be a Cal-Merrin romance in either the book or the game). I still believe that is possible, but Maggs goes out of her way to write Merrin with someone else. That is bound to frustrate fans, and I doubt it is going to please a significant swath of the fandom. When writing an original story, you don't have to always please fans. But when writing a media tie-in fiction work, there is an expectation.
The maggufin of the book is too ill-defined and at the same time a little too derivative. The twist works for what Maggs is trying to tell, but it subverts expectations in a way that instead of rewarding readers for hypothesizing rather has little long term payoff.
I don't want this whole review to be a wholesale hate-fest, so I do have some compliments to give out. I thought that Maggs did a good job with the character of Greez. Greez's personality worked really well on the page and also felt like he had a unique voice. I will also say that when the Inquisitor is on the page in Act 2, it is really enjoyable to read. And when Cal attempts to protect others in Acts 2 and 3, it is a joy to read.
I will also say that at a minimum Maggs has created a story that is "coherent". By that, I mean that the plot progression makes sense, and at least is generally understandable to the audience. That is not something I can say for other recent books, such as "Visions: Ronin" and "Queen's Hope".
While I did NOT like the romance in the book, it did make me think a lot about the movie Casablanca, and that would make an interesting essay for someone to write one day.
However, despite those praises, the book just doesn't work well for me. Too much of it didn't work on a technical level. On an enjoyment level, the book was "eh, I don't like it". Not at all where you want your book to be. So I'll give this book a 4 out of 10.
March 20, 2023
Yeah. This was a struggle to finish. Such an odd book. There was barely any plot, it was incredibly short, and everyone was out of character, it felt.
Plus, Merrin was way too horny.
Plus, Merrin was way too horny.
April 11, 2023
*jasper hale voice* battle scars
———
omg gay people real
———
omg gay people real
March 7, 2023
Returned on Audible after three hours of listening time. Disney hired an author with a few comic runs, some video game dialogue, and zero novels under their belt to pen this important bridging story between Fallen Order and Survivor - and it shows. The author seems to have a basic understanding of the game and it’s characters, but that’s the only positives here. Come on Disney. We want great Star Wars novels again.
March 30, 2023
Five stars because men are crying over the queer content. I love your tears!
March 7, 2023
Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs takes the characters from the beloved Jedi: Fallen Order video game and brings them into the publishing world. The events of Battle Scars take place a number of years after Fallen Order and before the events of Jedi: Survivor (the sequel video game coming out April 28). The whole crew of the Stinger Mantis is here: Cal Kestis, Cere Junda, Greez Dritus, BD-1 and Merrin. They’ve been chipping away at the Empire, going on missions throughout the galaxy, but it’s on one particular mission where things get complicated. An Imperial defector Stormtrooper joins their crew, Chellwinark Frethylrin or Fret, an attractive female Keshiri, who causes more than a little chaos within the ranks. Merrin feels a particularly strong emotional connection to Fret (more on that later) but the rest of the crew are a mixed bag in terms of acceptance. Fret shares her knowledge of a tool that exists that can greatly help in bringing down the Empire, the only problem is that the plans for this tool are currently in Imperial control. The Mantis have their next mission ahead of them, will Fret prove trustworthy and will everyone escape the mission unscathed?
I was truly hyped for Jedi: Battle Scars, getting to spend more time with these characters and go on a new adventure with them was super exciting. I have to say though, Battle Scars did not live up to my expectations. What had the potential to be a thrilling in between chapter turned out to be something that left me wanting more. The elements of a fun story are there but Battle Scars doesn’t do enough with the ingredients to make this book as exhilaratingly entertaining as I hoped it would be. Battle Scars became a chore to get through and left me confused and disappointed. Sam Maggs is a competent writer, but her cerebral style just doesn't do it for me. I wanted the plotline to clip along in as exciting a way that Fallen Order did with twists, turns and surprises. What we get is a good setup with a disappointing execution.
Jedi: Battle Scars will definitely go down as the spiciest Star Wars novel I’ve ever read. Sparks definitely fly between 2 characters, earning this book a solid PG-13 (at minimum) rating in my opinion. The hyper intense emotional and physical scenes were actually some of the most interesting parts of the book. I think if Battle Scars was 100% a romance, I would have actually enjoyed it more. I will say that Maggs does a great job of capturing each character's individuality and voice, their personalities jump right off the page and you’ll have no problem hearing the voice actors speaking their character’s lines.
Battle Scars is also available as an audiobook which contains narration and performances by Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes. Star Wars books are tons of fun to experience this way as they include sound effects and music, bringing stories to life in an entirely different way. I found myself enjoying some story elements more than I did when I read Battle Scars, so the audiobook format might be the way to go with this one.
Ultimately, the fact that the majority of the elements of Battle Scars take place in the character’s heads made this book feel unbalanced. I’m all for internal motivations and emotions but this book seemed 85% solely that, making for an unsatisfying reading experience for me. Everybody enjoys books differently so if this is something you enjoy then check it out for yourself. I give Jedi: Battle Scars 🧢/5- recommend only if you’ve played Fallen Order and want to spend time with these characters before Survivor comes out.
I was truly hyped for Jedi: Battle Scars, getting to spend more time with these characters and go on a new adventure with them was super exciting. I have to say though, Battle Scars did not live up to my expectations. What had the potential to be a thrilling in between chapter turned out to be something that left me wanting more. The elements of a fun story are there but Battle Scars doesn’t do enough with the ingredients to make this book as exhilaratingly entertaining as I hoped it would be. Battle Scars became a chore to get through and left me confused and disappointed. Sam Maggs is a competent writer, but her cerebral style just doesn't do it for me. I wanted the plotline to clip along in as exciting a way that Fallen Order did with twists, turns and surprises. What we get is a good setup with a disappointing execution.
Jedi: Battle Scars will definitely go down as the spiciest Star Wars novel I’ve ever read. Sparks definitely fly between 2 characters, earning this book a solid PG-13 (at minimum) rating in my opinion. The hyper intense emotional and physical scenes were actually some of the most interesting parts of the book. I think if Battle Scars was 100% a romance, I would have actually enjoyed it more. I will say that Maggs does a great job of capturing each character's individuality and voice, their personalities jump right off the page and you’ll have no problem hearing the voice actors speaking their character’s lines.
Battle Scars is also available as an audiobook which contains narration and performances by Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes. Star Wars books are tons of fun to experience this way as they include sound effects and music, bringing stories to life in an entirely different way. I found myself enjoying some story elements more than I did when I read Battle Scars, so the audiobook format might be the way to go with this one.
Ultimately, the fact that the majority of the elements of Battle Scars take place in the character’s heads made this book feel unbalanced. I’m all for internal motivations and emotions but this book seemed 85% solely that, making for an unsatisfying reading experience for me. Everybody enjoys books differently so if this is something you enjoy then check it out for yourself. I give Jedi: Battle Scars 🧢/5- recommend only if you’ve played Fallen Order and want to spend time with these characters before Survivor comes out.
Shelved as 'to-read-2023'
August 24, 2022Have I played Fallen Order even once in my life? No. Am I going to read this regardless? Probably 👀
March 22, 2023
1/10 - DNF at 30%.
First off, I'm going to force myself to say at least one positive thing about this so that my entire review isn't a complete downer. Greez and BD-1 seem like they are well-portrayed in this story and made me smile once or twice. It's fun that BD-1 and Cal have their own little non-verbal language when they need to be stealthy.
Main review: I had reasonable expectations for this book when it was announced. I assumed it would be a safe little side story set between Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor; it would be a nice way to reintroduce myself to these characters before I play the new game a few months later. I suppose it does meet those criteria, but the book is executed so poorly on a mechanical level that it winds up being unreadable. I don't know anything about Sam Maggs and I have never even heard of her before seeing her name on the cover. One bad book is not representative of an author's ability, especially in an established universe as big as Star Wars. Maybe her other works are far better and more enjoyable to read. However, I feel like I just put down a crappy fanfic. I knew this wouldn't be my cup of tea at about 50 pages but assumed I could at least get through it since it was so short. 20 pages later and I looked up to see if the return window had passed.
Lovable and interesting characters from Fallen Order are completely re-written or ignored in such a manner that it's impossible to believe that what you are reading is even from the same universe. There is a complete mental disconnect. It's as though the author tricked the publisher into allowing them to write a book based on 5 minutes of wikipedia reading. From what I could tell Cal isn't the main character, and is portrayed as something of a bumbling idiot. Merrin's romance with a suspicious imperial analyst she completely goes nuts for 3 minutes after meeting her takes the forefront here. The game (and even this book) go to great lengths to establish how hard it is for Merrin to trust people because of what happened to her and the Nightsisters during the Clone Wars and in the years since. So for her to suddenly be drooling over and standing up for a random imperial she meets in the middle of a fight is pretty much as far from believable as it gets.
The writing itself is childish- I am astounded how some of this stuff got past an editor. Numerous times in the ~70 pages I struggled through, the writing would completely contradict itself concerning minor details about what characters did or felt. The phrase "kind of" is used dozens of times before adjectives. EVERY page had 1-3 times in which the author would insert an eye-rolling one-liner after a paragraph:
"Here are some thoughts that are running through the character's mind right now. I'm going to make some references to Fallen Order so that I can make sure that people who played the game relate to what is going on in this book. Now the character is having more feelings about something. Ya da ya da da... then:
"It was kind of annoying."
"It was kind of an ego boost."
"Or whatever."
...and on and on and on. I've read books that irritated me on a technical level, but I've never felt like I wanted to go back to English 1010 and peer review a book with a red sharpie before.
Not only was this the first Star Wars book I've read that I've not gotten all the way through, it's only the second time since joining this site that I have not finished a book. I can almost always find a way to finish every book I pick up. Not this time. On top of that, I'm returning it because I don't want to ever have to think about it again. It's certainly the last time I pre-order a Star Wars book that isn't by Karen Traviss, James Luceno, Timothy Zahn, or Claudia Gray.
First off, I'm going to force myself to say at least one positive thing about this so that my entire review isn't a complete downer. Greez and BD-1 seem like they are well-portrayed in this story and made me smile once or twice. It's fun that BD-1 and Cal have their own little non-verbal language when they need to be stealthy.
Main review: I had reasonable expectations for this book when it was announced. I assumed it would be a safe little side story set between Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor; it would be a nice way to reintroduce myself to these characters before I play the new game a few months later. I suppose it does meet those criteria, but the book is executed so poorly on a mechanical level that it winds up being unreadable. I don't know anything about Sam Maggs and I have never even heard of her before seeing her name on the cover. One bad book is not representative of an author's ability, especially in an established universe as big as Star Wars. Maybe her other works are far better and more enjoyable to read. However, I feel like I just put down a crappy fanfic. I knew this wouldn't be my cup of tea at about 50 pages but assumed I could at least get through it since it was so short. 20 pages later and I looked up to see if the return window had passed.
Lovable and interesting characters from Fallen Order are completely re-written or ignored in such a manner that it's impossible to believe that what you are reading is even from the same universe. There is a complete mental disconnect. It's as though the author tricked the publisher into allowing them to write a book based on 5 minutes of wikipedia reading. From what I could tell Cal isn't the main character, and is portrayed as something of a bumbling idiot. Merrin's romance with a suspicious imperial analyst she completely goes nuts for 3 minutes after meeting her takes the forefront here. The game (and even this book) go to great lengths to establish how hard it is for Merrin to trust people because of what happened to her and the Nightsisters during the Clone Wars and in the years since. So for her to suddenly be drooling over and standing up for a random imperial she meets in the middle of a fight is pretty much as far from believable as it gets.
The writing itself is childish- I am astounded how some of this stuff got past an editor. Numerous times in the ~70 pages I struggled through, the writing would completely contradict itself concerning minor details about what characters did or felt. The phrase "kind of" is used dozens of times before adjectives. EVERY page had 1-3 times in which the author would insert an eye-rolling one-liner after a paragraph:
"Here are some thoughts that are running through the character's mind right now. I'm going to make some references to Fallen Order so that I can make sure that people who played the game relate to what is going on in this book. Now the character is having more feelings about something. Ya da ya da da... then:
"It was kind of annoying."
"It was kind of an ego boost."
"Or whatever."
...and on and on and on. I've read books that irritated me on a technical level, but I've never felt like I wanted to go back to English 1010 and peer review a book with a red sharpie before.
Not only was this the first Star Wars book I've read that I've not gotten all the way through, it's only the second time since joining this site that I have not finished a book. I can almost always find a way to finish every book I pick up. Not this time. On top of that, I'm returning it because I don't want to ever have to think about it again. It's certainly the last time I pre-order a Star Wars book that isn't by Karen Traviss, James Luceno, Timothy Zahn, or Claudia Gray.
February 20, 2023
This is one of the best Star Wars books I've ever read. My only complaint is that it's over.
It's like reading a video game except it has the luxury of taking even more time to develop its characters.
I can't say much more at the moment, but don't sleep on this one. Especially if you're a Fallen Order fan.
It's like reading a video game except it has the luxury of taking even more time to develop its characters.
I can't say much more at the moment, but don't sleep on this one. Especially if you're a Fallen Order fan.
March 27, 2023
This book was a highly anticipated read of mine. I was disappointed in how it felt so surface level and how some of the characterizations did not feel organic.
March 23, 2023
Abandoned. I couldn’t. This didn’t feel like Star Wars, and the characters in it didn’t feel like those in the first game. It felt in some ways like it was written by a middle schooler, which makes me sad. There also felt like there were some contradictions to the timeline for certain characters, which also left me confused. If you REALLY need to know what happened in this, look up a summary before you play Jedi: Survivor.
May 14, 2023
Is this important Star Wars material to prepare for Jedi: Survivor? I would have to say no. It more or less felt like an unnecessary side story with Merrin, the Nightsister as the main focus in a love story on a quest for a McGuffin. The only reasonable solid thing about this book was the narrator who did a decent job of carrying me through the story when I would have otherwise probably dropped it early on. If you're a die-hard Star Wars fan who has to read every piece of material, go for it but personally, I'd say skip this one.
March 23, 2023
I really tried to like this book. Having recently finished playing Jedi: Fallen Order, and in anticipation for the release of Jedi: Survivor, I was excited to see that there was a book that would provide some filler to bridge the five years between the two. I honestly think this is the most disappointing Star Wars book I've ever read. This serves better as fan fiction, not a canon exploration into the minds of beloved characters.
This was clearly a story about Merrin rather than a mission for the entire Mantis crew (as one would expect from its description and advertising). However, Merrin's deeper thoughts and struggles seemed entirely uncharacteristic and school girly. Her romance was super rushed and nothing short of lustful. It didn't make sense. There seemed to be no real character development that came from it either! I think the only character that the author got right was Greez. Everyone else did not seem true to the character that was portrayed in the game, even when accounting for this story taking place a couple years later.
Though I had to drag myself to the end of the book, I was quite surprised by how quickly it ended. Then I realized that there was actually very little that happened. Most of the 285 pages were spent inside the characters' heads with their scattered and shallow thoughts towards the minimal plot. Looking at the whole story, what was accomplished by writing this? I don't think it contributed to the characters or plot in any major way that would set anything up for Jedi: Survivor. Did I mention that the writing style wasn't the greatest either? I'll stop whining now so I can get back to impatiently waiting for April 28th.
This was clearly a story about Merrin rather than a mission for the entire Mantis crew (as one would expect from its description and advertising). However, Merrin's deeper thoughts and struggles seemed entirely uncharacteristic and school girly. Her romance was super rushed and nothing short of lustful. It didn't make sense. There seemed to be no real character development that came from it either! I think the only character that the author got right was Greez. Everyone else did not seem true to the character that was portrayed in the game, even when accounting for this story taking place a couple years later.
Though I had to drag myself to the end of the book, I was quite surprised by how quickly it ended. Then I realized that there was actually very little that happened. Most of the 285 pages were spent inside the characters' heads with their scattered and shallow thoughts towards the minimal plot. Looking at the whole story, what was accomplished by writing this? I don't think it contributed to the characters or plot in any major way that would set anything up for Jedi: Survivor. Did I mention that the writing style wasn't the greatest either? I'll stop whining now so I can get back to impatiently waiting for April 28th.
March 8, 2023
Disney's way of pushing WOKE agendas on us. The story itself could be better but all the WOKENESS didn't add to the story. If anything it just robbed the story of its true potential.
March 12, 2023
The only thing that got me through this book was Merrin, our bisexual/pansexual goddess of a Nightsister. The story itself was fun, but the writing…made this journey difficult.
April 22, 2023
I just can't continue reading this garbage. I have never abandoned a book, but this is like reading Fan-fic from someone who isn't even a fan of Star Wars.
March 17, 2023
29.99 down the drain just to read "hot purple lady with a mullet".
I don't even know where to start with this book it was so bad. I wanted to know what happens between Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor instead I got an out of character trainwreck. Merrin felt the most out of character she went from being a complex character to being a object for one of the most unlikable characters that feels like a self insert. Fret is one of the worst characters I've ever read. She doesn't have any redeeming qualities and it feels like I'm being forced to want to like her. All I get about her from the other perspectives is how hot she is and how likable she is even though she barely had a personality. The romance between her and Merrin is just weird. Besides the fact they had sex on Cal's bunk its was mostly just cringy. I hated the fact I'm supposed to believe that someone like Merrin would refuse to tell the rest of the crew that Fret is lying to them. After everything the four of them went through together it doesn't feel right that Merrin would keep the secret for someone she just met and barely knows anything about. That's the entire first half of the book a cringy romance nothing important really happens. It only picks up after the inquisitor fight and you find out the key to everything is Fret's ex girlfriend who as soon as she find out is alive immediately ditches merrin. So I really felt like my time was wasted with the first half. I never want to hear about Fret ever again.
There are a few parts I did like. I did like Cal and Cere talking about if what they were doing to stop the empire was even doing anything. I also liked Greez confronting fret and the rest of the crew for what happned. It was also nice to see the pink poncho and my nemesis, Oggdo Bogdo, being mentioned.
I don't think this book is worth buying and I most likely will never read from this author ever again. I really wish a different author wrote this.
I don't even know where to start with this book it was so bad. I wanted to know what happens between Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor instead I got an out of character trainwreck. Merrin felt the most out of character she went from being a complex character to being a object for one of the most unlikable characters that feels like a self insert. Fret is one of the worst characters I've ever read. She doesn't have any redeeming qualities and it feels like I'm being forced to want to like her. All I get about her from the other perspectives is how hot she is and how likable she is even though she barely had a personality. The romance between her and Merrin is just weird. Besides the fact they had sex on Cal's bunk its was mostly just cringy. I hated the fact I'm supposed to believe that someone like Merrin would refuse to tell the rest of the crew that Fret is lying to them. After everything the four of them went through together it doesn't feel right that Merrin would keep the secret for someone she just met and barely knows anything about. That's the entire first half of the book a cringy romance nothing important really happens. It only picks up after the inquisitor fight and you find out the key to everything is Fret's ex girlfriend who as soon as she find out is alive immediately ditches merrin. So I really felt like my time was wasted with the first half. I never want to hear about Fret ever again.
There are a few parts I did like. I did like Cal and Cere talking about if what they were doing to stop the empire was even doing anything. I also liked Greez confronting fret and the rest of the crew for what happned. It was also nice to see the pink poncho and my nemesis, Oggdo Bogdo, being mentioned.
I don't think this book is worth buying and I most likely will never read from this author ever again. I really wish a different author wrote this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2023
Keep your spicy romance out of my Star Wars plz.
May 11, 2023
Cal Kestis my beloved.
I went into this super excited for a new adventure with Cal and the crew, looking forward to getting to dig a little deeper into these characters and their stories.
I sure got something!
Before I get into my gripes, I want to talk about the things I really enjoyed about Battle Scars.
The book starts strong. We open with the crew of the Mantis on a mission to take down a Haxion Brood base and get treated to some absolutely delightful narration from Cal. I’ll admit, the first couple chapters I was grinning my face off, overjoyed to be with these characters again and in love with how true they felt to the characters we met in Fallen Order, Cal especially. The love and appreciation and humbleness that made him so compelling in the first game are all there. We even get to see a new side of Cal, more open and funny version compared to the more quiet seriousness he carried for most of the game. We can see how travelling with the other crew members, his family, has really changed him in that way. Cal’s characterization is very good. Maggs also does a really creative and interesting job in tying in some of the game mechanics into the ways that Cal interacts and uses the Force. We even get to see BD-1 shooting out some health stims to help him during battle. The fight scenes in this book are also incredibly well written and had me glued to the page whenever they’d come up.
Yet, as much as I enjoyed the beginning of the book, after I hit chapter five, it really started to go down hill for me.
The book is split, for the most part between Cal and Merrin with a few sections from the perspectives of Greez and Cere as well, so saying its a book about Cal isn’t necessarily true. That, in itself, isn’t an issue for me (though I was excited for.. ya know… a book about Cal). The idea of getting to see the different perspectives of the Mantis crew is a really interesting concept and lends itself to the opportunity to discover more about these characters. And we get that. Kind of.
The book focuses mostly on Merrin and her struggles with her waning Nightsister magick and her feelings towards newcomer, Fret. Fret, an Imperial analyst posing as a stormtrooper, comes to the Mantis crew for help in finding the blueprints to a powerful machine that needs to stay out of the hands of the Empire. Her and Merrin spark a fast romance and the drama and pining from that take up basically the entirety of the first half of the book to a frustrating degree. The issue is that the writing in this book is very internal. Which would be fine if the characters actually made any real internal character growth at all. We get pages upon pages of Merrin angsting over both Fret and her powers, going in circles to the point where I had to put the book down. I was enjoying it to begin, I love a good romance, but the angsting over it gets old. Real fast. The moments that we’re not in Merrins POV, are in Cal’s. For the most part I enjoyed those a lot more, yet even then they’re filled with awkwardly sad moments of him stressing over the fact that his family is falling apart and the author being uncertain of wether or not they wants him to have romantic or familial feelings towards Merrin, making some of his scenes just feel like background extensions of Merrins scenes. I think what frustrates me the most about that is the fact that Cal and Merrin do have a good friendship. They work well together and obviously trust each other greatly. The romantic threads between them just… did not need to be there. In the last few chapters of the book those threads really just feel shoehorned in between them with not a lot of chemistry besides one or two previous fleeting thoughts. It felt off, especially after what Merrin had gone through with Fret, and how special their connection had been to Merrin and how earlier in the book she had no real inclination towards Cal at all other than respect and familial love. I feel as if the author just remembered last second that they were supposed to set up a Cal/Merrin subplot in there for the future game. I think it would have worked a lot better, and felt a lot more genuine, if Cal and Merrin had just been allowed to be two people who care for each other deeply without the that expectation put there of them having a future romance. I think that is the only way to read these scenes if you want to actually enjoy the book. It also would have made the scene where Fret and Merrin do it on Cal’s bed a lot less weird. The times that Cal and Merrins scenes aren’t focused on her romance drama and the plot and conflict actually move forward are, again, very well written and we DO get to see some new sides and insight into these characters. Those moments carry with them the exciting spirit of the game.
Another issue I had was the fact that there are so many plot threads and internal dialogues that are picked up and dropped in this book that I could make a drinking game out of it. There are whole chunks of plot that get dropped almost as soon as they crop up, most of the time to be used as a little bit of argument fodder for the team and nothing else. Paired with occasionally hard to read passages and clunky dialogue it felt unpolished at times. That being said, the relationships between the Mantis team in the book are really well written. If you wanted found family, you’ll find it here. They fight like all families do, but have each other’s back regardless and all carry a deep love for each other that is so refreshing and heartwarming to read, yet with enough uncertainty that leaves the door open for future development. There is a moment where the team splits up and goes their separate ways for a few days and when they reconcile, Cere talks about how the Mantis, and though the crew have become family, for Cal it’s all he has. And I think that is a great insight to a lot of his motivations because, yeah, Cal had been alone for so long that we can see he’d do anything to keep the people he loved together. No matter the risk to himself. It feels real and messy and connected and I really liked it.
Despite it all, I really did find myself enjoying the last few chapters of the book far more than anything else. The same issues I had previously are still semi-present, but we get some really great moments between Cal and Cere where they discuss what their individual missions have become, how the differ and how they work together and share some Jedi wisdom. We also, finally, get some character development from Merrin where we see her guilt over leaving Dathomir has lessened. I think this book would have been served by being a bit more balanced between the internal and external (there’s a lot of telling and not so much showing), as well as utilizing its characters and plot better. Like I said, the action scenes in this book are phenomenal. In the second half when Cal fights the Fifth Brother? Fantastic. The only thing I could say would be that having more of a build up to that fight would have made it even more satisfying. The Fifth Brother and the Inquisitors were really under used in this book considering the fact the he’s on the cover. I would have loved to see his character perusing them more throughout, an actual threat similar to Trilla in the first game instead of the team just bickering over Fret. And the Shroud plot line, when it was not getting overshadowed, was really interesting and brought some real stakes to the book that it was missing in the first half. It would have been a far more compelling read if it had actually focused more on Merrin having to fight for her magick back rather than instantly getting it when she meets Fret. If we got to see how Fret helped her instead of just being told she did. Or if it had taken the time to delve deeper into Cal and how his relationship to the Force has grown since the last game ended. That’s what breaks my heart the most I think, this book has such good, great even, moments, but it’s just bogged down by repetitive monologues and weak surface level drama that’s tiring to read. I just can’t say that I’m not disappointed.
I may read this book again in the future, maybe after Survivor has come out, and maybe with that my rating will change. I love Cal. I love Merrin and the Mantis crew. I really wanted to love this book. There’s just enough good in here, just enough shining moments of these characters that I would give it a second chance.
And for the people tanking this book just because Merrin is pan? Kindly throw yourself off a cliff à la Haxion Brood.
2.5!
I went into this super excited for a new adventure with Cal and the crew, looking forward to getting to dig a little deeper into these characters and their stories.
I sure got something!
Before I get into my gripes, I want to talk about the things I really enjoyed about Battle Scars.
The book starts strong. We open with the crew of the Mantis on a mission to take down a Haxion Brood base and get treated to some absolutely delightful narration from Cal. I’ll admit, the first couple chapters I was grinning my face off, overjoyed to be with these characters again and in love with how true they felt to the characters we met in Fallen Order, Cal especially. The love and appreciation and humbleness that made him so compelling in the first game are all there. We even get to see a new side of Cal, more open and funny version compared to the more quiet seriousness he carried for most of the game. We can see how travelling with the other crew members, his family, has really changed him in that way. Cal’s characterization is very good. Maggs also does a really creative and interesting job in tying in some of the game mechanics into the ways that Cal interacts and uses the Force. We even get to see BD-1 shooting out some health stims to help him during battle. The fight scenes in this book are also incredibly well written and had me glued to the page whenever they’d come up.
Yet, as much as I enjoyed the beginning of the book, after I hit chapter five, it really started to go down hill for me.
The book is split, for the most part between Cal and Merrin with a few sections from the perspectives of Greez and Cere as well, so saying its a book about Cal isn’t necessarily true. That, in itself, isn’t an issue for me (though I was excited for.. ya know… a book about Cal). The idea of getting to see the different perspectives of the Mantis crew is a really interesting concept and lends itself to the opportunity to discover more about these characters. And we get that. Kind of.
The book focuses mostly on Merrin and her struggles with her waning Nightsister magick and her feelings towards newcomer, Fret. Fret, an Imperial analyst posing as a stormtrooper, comes to the Mantis crew for help in finding the blueprints to a powerful machine that needs to stay out of the hands of the Empire. Her and Merrin spark a fast romance and the drama and pining from that take up basically the entirety of the first half of the book to a frustrating degree. The issue is that the writing in this book is very internal. Which would be fine if the characters actually made any real internal character growth at all. We get pages upon pages of Merrin angsting over both Fret and her powers, going in circles to the point where I had to put the book down. I was enjoying it to begin, I love a good romance, but the angsting over it gets old. Real fast. The moments that we’re not in Merrins POV, are in Cal’s. For the most part I enjoyed those a lot more, yet even then they’re filled with awkwardly sad moments of him stressing over the fact that his family is falling apart and the author being uncertain of wether or not they wants him to have romantic or familial feelings towards Merrin, making some of his scenes just feel like background extensions of Merrins scenes. I think what frustrates me the most about that is the fact that Cal and Merrin do have a good friendship. They work well together and obviously trust each other greatly. The romantic threads between them just… did not need to be there. In the last few chapters of the book those threads really just feel shoehorned in between them with not a lot of chemistry besides one or two previous fleeting thoughts. It felt off, especially after what Merrin had gone through with Fret, and how special their connection had been to Merrin and how earlier in the book she had no real inclination towards Cal at all other than respect and familial love. I feel as if the author just remembered last second that they were supposed to set up a Cal/Merrin subplot in there for the future game. I think it would have worked a lot better, and felt a lot more genuine, if Cal and Merrin had just been allowed to be two people who care for each other deeply without the that expectation put there of them having a future romance. I think that is the only way to read these scenes if you want to actually enjoy the book. It also would have made the scene where Fret and Merrin do it on Cal’s bed a lot less weird. The times that Cal and Merrins scenes aren’t focused on her romance drama and the plot and conflict actually move forward are, again, very well written and we DO get to see some new sides and insight into these characters. Those moments carry with them the exciting spirit of the game.
Another issue I had was the fact that there are so many plot threads and internal dialogues that are picked up and dropped in this book that I could make a drinking game out of it. There are whole chunks of plot that get dropped almost as soon as they crop up, most of the time to be used as a little bit of argument fodder for the team and nothing else. Paired with occasionally hard to read passages and clunky dialogue it felt unpolished at times. That being said, the relationships between the Mantis team in the book are really well written. If you wanted found family, you’ll find it here. They fight like all families do, but have each other’s back regardless and all carry a deep love for each other that is so refreshing and heartwarming to read, yet with enough uncertainty that leaves the door open for future development. There is a moment where the team splits up and goes their separate ways for a few days and when they reconcile, Cere talks about how the Mantis, and though the crew have become family, for Cal it’s all he has. And I think that is a great insight to a lot of his motivations because, yeah, Cal had been alone for so long that we can see he’d do anything to keep the people he loved together. No matter the risk to himself. It feels real and messy and connected and I really liked it.
Despite it all, I really did find myself enjoying the last few chapters of the book far more than anything else. The same issues I had previously are still semi-present, but we get some really great moments between Cal and Cere where they discuss what their individual missions have become, how the differ and how they work together and share some Jedi wisdom. We also, finally, get some character development from Merrin where we see her guilt over leaving Dathomir has lessened. I think this book would have been served by being a bit more balanced between the internal and external (there’s a lot of telling and not so much showing), as well as utilizing its characters and plot better. Like I said, the action scenes in this book are phenomenal. In the second half when Cal fights the Fifth Brother? Fantastic. The only thing I could say would be that having more of a build up to that fight would have made it even more satisfying. The Fifth Brother and the Inquisitors were really under used in this book considering the fact the he’s on the cover. I would have loved to see his character perusing them more throughout, an actual threat similar to Trilla in the first game instead of the team just bickering over Fret. And the Shroud plot line, when it was not getting overshadowed, was really interesting and brought some real stakes to the book that it was missing in the first half. It would have been a far more compelling read if it had actually focused more on Merrin having to fight for her magick back rather than instantly getting it when she meets Fret. If we got to see how Fret helped her instead of just being told she did. Or if it had taken the time to delve deeper into Cal and how his relationship to the Force has grown since the last game ended. That’s what breaks my heart the most I think, this book has such good, great even, moments, but it’s just bogged down by repetitive monologues and weak surface level drama that’s tiring to read. I just can’t say that I’m not disappointed.
I may read this book again in the future, maybe after Survivor has come out, and maybe with that my rating will change. I love Cal. I love Merrin and the Mantis crew. I really wanted to love this book. There’s just enough good in here, just enough shining moments of these characters that I would give it a second chance.
And for the people tanking this book just because Merrin is pan? Kindly throw yourself off a cliff à la Haxion Brood.
2.5!
March 23, 2023
was i smiling the whole time during the first part of the book? sure! i missed cal! i missed the mantis crew! i was thrilled to have them back! but, overall, i was completely let down by this book.
there were some high parts, of course. cere and greez are very true to their characters, and i loved getting more insight into them. bd-1 and cal’s friendship is frankly the best part of this book; they’re absolutely adorable and fun. overall, i really don’t mind getting to see a lighter side of cal, because he is a sweetheart and he deserves to heal with his found family (it’s just reducing his character down to this alone that bothers me). seeing some of the game dynamics carried over into the book was really cool too, such as BD giving cal stim packs or the rebreather or his psychometry. the action scenes are actually pretty well written and draw you in completely (although some of the interspersed inner monologues make it kinda difficult to picture where the characters are spatially at times).
cal and merrin’s dynamic is, for the most part, wonderful to see. i’m not a diehard calmerrin shipper, but their flirting and trust and love for each other was so, so good. admittedly, i spent the majority of the book completely exasperated with fret, merrin’s love interest, and desperately wanting her gone, so the calmerrin bits were all the better in comparison. but overall, even with this, i think they’re a high point of the book.
i have mixed feelings about the light tone of this book. on the one hand, it’s fun! i want something not painful before jedi: survivor inevitably hurts me deeply! but on the other hand, if you’re going to make a light silly happy story about deeply traumatized characters who are actively fighting in a seemingly endless and unwinnable fight against tyranny, you have to find a way to balance these two things. between the tone, some very bad pacing, and a solid amount of false advertising (this could more appropriately be classified as a romance book for merrin than as an ensemble fight against the fifth brother who, of course, only shows up in a small handful of chapter), even the more serious moments missed their mark.
but while there were some things i liked or didn’t mind, there was much more i really, really hated.
cal kestis, in many ways, feels very different from who we see in fallen order. the focus is really on the lighter aspects of his personality, and while i can appreciate that much of this can be explained as how he’s healed with the mantis crew, it overlooks some core parts of the cal we know and love. ignoring how strong and serious and steadfast cal is—and making light of all his trauma—to make him a silly little dork is fun but not really true to character. there’s brief bursts of his more serious side, but they’re usually over and done with a paragraph later making them feel almost out of tone with the rest of the story. when it comes to merrin, he’s oblivious throughout the story and blindingly jealous, and that specifically felt like such a disservice to his character and very disappointing to see.
similarly, i hate to see what merrin is reduced to. at first her personality is boiled down to angst over her powers and fond exasperation with cal, with some flirting on the side. it’s very fun, if a bit heavy handed with the angst. but then they meet an allegedly defecting stormtrooper—after merrin has spent pages ruminating on how much she hates the empire and stormtroopers for genociding her world—and immediately turns shy, stammering, awkward, and pining. like, literally immediately. it’s so out of left field and out of character to be almost laughable, especially with how little the relationship (and the character! cal thinks “i wish fret wasn’t so likable” at one point and i felt blindsided bc when did that happen) is developed. merrin learns information that literally puts the entire crew’s lives at risk and most likely sends them directly into a trap and …. keeps it to herself, because she’s crushing on the person lying to them and putting them in that danger. that’s literally mind boggling to me, based on how merrin feels about the mantis crew in this book alone.
the characterization just generally for cal and merrin in this book is wildly all over the place, too. merrin above is an example, but none of the characters are safe from it. through the first two thirds of the book, cal and cere and merrin all repeatedly think about how cal is so firmly good and light side to not even really consider the dark side as a real option. merrin is repetitively frustrated that he’s not motivated by spite or vengeance like she is, that he’s not angry. just for cere to out of nowhere say cal has a “predilection for darkness” and that “he’s motivated so much by spite, by vengeance.” i think basic consistency in characterization is the bare minimum to ask for frankly.
this was one of my most anticipated books for months because of how much i adore cal kestis. and, to be fair, my expectations for this were pretty high considering the author has some really, really bad takes about the prequels (as in, some fundamental misunderstandings). luckily these bad takes don’t appear in this story, but battle scars is filled with what seems to be her own personal views of the characters instead of their canon personalities.
there were some high parts, of course. cere and greez are very true to their characters, and i loved getting more insight into them. bd-1 and cal’s friendship is frankly the best part of this book; they’re absolutely adorable and fun. overall, i really don’t mind getting to see a lighter side of cal, because he is a sweetheart and he deserves to heal with his found family (it’s just reducing his character down to this alone that bothers me). seeing some of the game dynamics carried over into the book was really cool too, such as BD giving cal stim packs or the rebreather or his psychometry. the action scenes are actually pretty well written and draw you in completely (although some of the interspersed inner monologues make it kinda difficult to picture where the characters are spatially at times).
cal and merrin’s dynamic is, for the most part, wonderful to see. i’m not a diehard calmerrin shipper, but their flirting and trust and love for each other was so, so good. admittedly, i spent the majority of the book completely exasperated with fret, merrin’s love interest, and desperately wanting her gone, so the calmerrin bits were all the better in comparison. but overall, even with this, i think they’re a high point of the book.
i have mixed feelings about the light tone of this book. on the one hand, it’s fun! i want something not painful before jedi: survivor inevitably hurts me deeply! but on the other hand, if you’re going to make a light silly happy story about deeply traumatized characters who are actively fighting in a seemingly endless and unwinnable fight against tyranny, you have to find a way to balance these two things. between the tone, some very bad pacing, and a solid amount of false advertising (this could more appropriately be classified as a romance book for merrin than as an ensemble fight against the fifth brother who, of course, only shows up in a small handful of chapter), even the more serious moments missed their mark.
but while there were some things i liked or didn’t mind, there was much more i really, really hated.
cal kestis, in many ways, feels very different from who we see in fallen order. the focus is really on the lighter aspects of his personality, and while i can appreciate that much of this can be explained as how he’s healed with the mantis crew, it overlooks some core parts of the cal we know and love. ignoring how strong and serious and steadfast cal is—and making light of all his trauma—to make him a silly little dork is fun but not really true to character. there’s brief bursts of his more serious side, but they’re usually over and done with a paragraph later making them feel almost out of tone with the rest of the story. when it comes to merrin, he’s oblivious throughout the story and blindingly jealous, and that specifically felt like such a disservice to his character and very disappointing to see.
similarly, i hate to see what merrin is reduced to. at first her personality is boiled down to angst over her powers and fond exasperation with cal, with some flirting on the side. it’s very fun, if a bit heavy handed with the angst. but then they meet an allegedly defecting stormtrooper—after merrin has spent pages ruminating on how much she hates the empire and stormtroopers for genociding her world—and immediately turns shy, stammering, awkward, and pining. like, literally immediately. it’s so out of left field and out of character to be almost laughable, especially with how little the relationship (and the character! cal thinks “i wish fret wasn’t so likable” at one point and i felt blindsided bc when did that happen) is developed. merrin learns information that literally puts the entire crew’s lives at risk and most likely sends them directly into a trap and …. keeps it to herself, because she’s crushing on the person lying to them and putting them in that danger. that’s literally mind boggling to me, based on how merrin feels about the mantis crew in this book alone.
the characterization just generally for cal and merrin in this book is wildly all over the place, too. merrin above is an example, but none of the characters are safe from it. through the first two thirds of the book, cal and cere and merrin all repeatedly think about how cal is so firmly good and light side to not even really consider the dark side as a real option. merrin is repetitively frustrated that he’s not motivated by spite or vengeance like she is, that he’s not angry. just for cere to out of nowhere say cal has a “predilection for darkness” and that “he’s motivated so much by spite, by vengeance.” i think basic consistency in characterization is the bare minimum to ask for frankly.
this was one of my most anticipated books for months because of how much i adore cal kestis. and, to be fair, my expectations for this were pretty high considering the author has some really, really bad takes about the prequels (as in, some fundamental misunderstandings). luckily these bad takes don’t appear in this story, but battle scars is filled with what seems to be her own personal views of the characters instead of their canon personalities.
March 20, 2023
The further depth this book gives to these characters is incredible. There's so much heart, emotion, and adventure in this, and it is so well done. A perfect addition to Jedi: Fallen Order.
August 2, 2023
Edited: Some Spoilers Included
I’ve never written a review like this before and I hate that I’m writing it now and especially so for this book because I was really looking forward to it. However, this was so atrociously bad that it made me angry. The only reason I finished the second half was because it was so bad it was almost hilarious. Fallen Order is my favorite game and one of my favorite Star Wars stories so reading something as terrible as this was a colossal disappointment.
In short, the writing is juvenile and unskilled, the characters so grossly misrepresented as to be completely unrecognizable and the story made absolutely no sense.
I’ll start with the positives: The action sequences were engaging, the description of how Cal perceives the Force was interesting though brief, and I liked learning about what happened to Cere’s Kyber Crystal.
Other than that I have nothing good to say. The book was a complete train wreck. The writing quality was juvenile at best with such gross mischaracterizations of existing characters so as to be completely unrecognizable in a story that made no sense and went absolutely nowhere. This book is a complete waste of time and, frankly, an insult to readers in general and fans of Fallen Order specifically. If it didn’t have Star Wars in the title it would not have sold well yet is has. So little to do with source material that it may as well have been an original IP. The franchise would have been better off if it had just canceled this book.
Writing Quality:
Honestly, it reads as though it was written by a student who forgot their homework till the night before it was due and just slapped something together.
The writing is filled with fragments and dangling thoughts, in voices better attributed to spoiled teenagers than adults. I was surprised no one actually said "pshaw" anywhere. There are whole paragraphs that are just one word, which would be fine if used occasionally but it happens multiple times on a page, which makes the writing choppy and breaks the readers focus.
The author suffers from a terrible case of telling rather than showing. For example, we’re told that Merrin and Fret have had all these conversations that brought them close together but at no point do we, the readers, actually experience any of those conversations. Without that there was no emotional investment in the characters or the relationship for us. Instead, the entire relationship came across as awkward, annoying, and more than a little creepy.
We're never shown why we should like Fret, we're just told that other characters like her and therefore we should too. At one point Cal thinks, “Why is she so likable?” and I found myself answering, out loud, "She’s not."
The author spent most of the book repeating the same things over and over (sometimes barely making it to the next page before bringing it up again), which felt like nothing more than an attempt to fill space. Space that could have been utilized for character building conversations such as, you guessed it, Merrin and Fret’s relationship. If you reach a paragraph that sounds a lot like something you already read you can just skip ahead and not miss anything. You have in fact already read it.
The author would often get stuck on one descriptor and seemed unable to come up with any other. Some examples include: Each time Greez sighed, he sighed the longest sigh of his life... every single time. Another is “Dent in the Empire’s armor” which must have been used at least ten times (especially noticable considering how short the book is). Worst of all, anytime someone felt or sensed something (which was constantly) it was described as an 'itch'. This happened so often I started to wonder if the ship was infested with lice.
Characters & Story:
The characters read as though the author wrote all of them in her own voice (except for Greez who is notably meaner than in the games). Cal was presented as petty, clueless, and dim, Cere was barely there, and Merrin was just generally pathetic. I don’t know what the author was trying to do with Fret but she was not at all likable. Instead, she was overbearing and selfish and described as always wearing a smirk and getting into people’s personal space, which just came across as creepy. In general all the characters behaved terribly towards each other despite the number of times the author assures you they care for each other. By the time I got to the end of the book I actually wanted the crew to break up. Why would any of them stay in such a toxic environment?
The author missed an incredible opportunity to build on existing lore but brushing off Ilyana (Merrin’s girlfriend back on Dathomir) as just another fling when in fact Ilyana DIED and Merrin had to bury her alone. Instead, the author makes it sound like she just left. Between losing Ilyana, her sisters, and Malicos' betrayal Maggs had a GREAT opportunity to build Merrin as closed off an hesitant about trusting people. Fret could have been the relationship that broke through that and helped her trust again but instead Fret is just another fling in a long list of flings but Fret is somehow different than the others despite Maggs never showing us why she's different.
I don't think Maggs had any idea what to do with Cal. At certain points he was utterly oblivious to Merrin and Fret's relationship but at other times he was jealous of it. If she has had all those other flings since joining the Mantis why is he suddenly jealous of this one? At one point Cal tells Cere that he doesn't know how to build something, which is ridiculous because Cal is essentially a mechanic who is always building things. Why would making something be a hard concept for him? Finally, at one points Merrin becomes worried about Cal because he doesn't respond and she thinks, "He's never not talking." Cal's a quiet character. He's not afraid to talk and doesn't communicate in a series of grunts like Kratos (God of War) but he's not a chatterbox eother.
Romance? Before it was released people were saying that it was the spiciest Star Wars ever but the romance is so dead and uninspired that this also fails as a smut novel. Those scenes were not hot. If you want hot read Django Wexler’s 'Amara Kel’s Rules for the Tie Pilot Survival (Probably)'. It’s a short story from 'The Empire Strikes Back: From a Certain Point of View'. The hot scene is two lines long and it’s spicier than this entire book.
The only good thing that came out of this book is that the characters are so badly represented that it didn’t taint my view of them in the games as these are not remotely the same people.
Some word-for-word quotes from the book:
"When you're connected to the energy that connects the energy of everything else, what?"
"Unfortunately," Qeris continued gently, after a moment, "the Shroud itself not having been built to prototype yet, the schematics have been recovered by the Empire."
"Someone should have been writing sonnets to your rib cage."
"The ceiling in the engine room was all gray pipe, but suddenly it had a very romantic tinge to it. She thought that she might be a fan of pipes, actually, that they looked quite nice all tangled up in the ceiling together, that they had kind of an air of sweetness, actually.”
"... wanting the crew to know he was okay but still wanting them to feel just, like, real bad about it also, at the same time."
I’ve never written a review like this before and I hate that I’m writing it now and especially so for this book because I was really looking forward to it. However, this was so atrociously bad that it made me angry. The only reason I finished the second half was because it was so bad it was almost hilarious. Fallen Order is my favorite game and one of my favorite Star Wars stories so reading something as terrible as this was a colossal disappointment.
In short, the writing is juvenile and unskilled, the characters so grossly misrepresented as to be completely unrecognizable and the story made absolutely no sense.
I’ll start with the positives: The action sequences were engaging, the description of how Cal perceives the Force was interesting though brief, and I liked learning about what happened to Cere’s Kyber Crystal.
Other than that I have nothing good to say. The book was a complete train wreck. The writing quality was juvenile at best with such gross mischaracterizations of existing characters so as to be completely unrecognizable in a story that made no sense and went absolutely nowhere. This book is a complete waste of time and, frankly, an insult to readers in general and fans of Fallen Order specifically. If it didn’t have Star Wars in the title it would not have sold well yet is has. So little to do with source material that it may as well have been an original IP. The franchise would have been better off if it had just canceled this book.
Writing Quality:
Honestly, it reads as though it was written by a student who forgot their homework till the night before it was due and just slapped something together.
The writing is filled with fragments and dangling thoughts, in voices better attributed to spoiled teenagers than adults. I was surprised no one actually said "pshaw" anywhere. There are whole paragraphs that are just one word, which would be fine if used occasionally but it happens multiple times on a page, which makes the writing choppy and breaks the readers focus.
The author suffers from a terrible case of telling rather than showing. For example, we’re told that Merrin and Fret have had all these conversations that brought them close together but at no point do we, the readers, actually experience any of those conversations. Without that there was no emotional investment in the characters or the relationship for us. Instead, the entire relationship came across as awkward, annoying, and more than a little creepy.
We're never shown why we should like Fret, we're just told that other characters like her and therefore we should too. At one point Cal thinks, “Why is she so likable?” and I found myself answering, out loud, "She’s not."
The author spent most of the book repeating the same things over and over (sometimes barely making it to the next page before bringing it up again), which felt like nothing more than an attempt to fill space. Space that could have been utilized for character building conversations such as, you guessed it, Merrin and Fret’s relationship. If you reach a paragraph that sounds a lot like something you already read you can just skip ahead and not miss anything. You have in fact already read it.
The author would often get stuck on one descriptor and seemed unable to come up with any other. Some examples include: Each time Greez sighed, he sighed the longest sigh of his life... every single time. Another is “Dent in the Empire’s armor” which must have been used at least ten times (especially noticable considering how short the book is). Worst of all, anytime someone felt or sensed something (which was constantly) it was described as an 'itch'. This happened so often I started to wonder if the ship was infested with lice.
Characters & Story:
The characters read as though the author wrote all of them in her own voice (except for Greez who is notably meaner than in the games). Cal was presented as petty, clueless, and dim, Cere was barely there, and Merrin was just generally pathetic. I don’t know what the author was trying to do with Fret but she was not at all likable. Instead, she was overbearing and selfish and described as always wearing a smirk and getting into people’s personal space, which just came across as creepy. In general all the characters behaved terribly towards each other despite the number of times the author assures you they care for each other. By the time I got to the end of the book I actually wanted the crew to break up. Why would any of them stay in such a toxic environment?
The author missed an incredible opportunity to build on existing lore but brushing off Ilyana (Merrin’s girlfriend back on Dathomir) as just another fling when in fact Ilyana DIED and Merrin had to bury her alone. Instead, the author makes it sound like she just left. Between losing Ilyana, her sisters, and Malicos' betrayal Maggs had a GREAT opportunity to build Merrin as closed off an hesitant about trusting people. Fret could have been the relationship that broke through that and helped her trust again but instead Fret is just another fling in a long list of flings but Fret is somehow different than the others despite Maggs never showing us why she's different.
I don't think Maggs had any idea what to do with Cal. At certain points he was utterly oblivious to Merrin and Fret's relationship but at other times he was jealous of it. If she has had all those other flings since joining the Mantis why is he suddenly jealous of this one? At one point Cal tells Cere that he doesn't know how to build something, which is ridiculous because Cal is essentially a mechanic who is always building things. Why would making something be a hard concept for him? Finally, at one points Merrin becomes worried about Cal because he doesn't respond and she thinks, "He's never not talking." Cal's a quiet character. He's not afraid to talk and doesn't communicate in a series of grunts like Kratos (God of War) but he's not a chatterbox eother.
Romance? Before it was released people were saying that it was the spiciest Star Wars ever but the romance is so dead and uninspired that this also fails as a smut novel. Those scenes were not hot. If you want hot read Django Wexler’s 'Amara Kel’s Rules for the Tie Pilot Survival (Probably)'. It’s a short story from 'The Empire Strikes Back: From a Certain Point of View'. The hot scene is two lines long and it’s spicier than this entire book.
The only good thing that came out of this book is that the characters are so badly represented that it didn’t taint my view of them in the games as these are not remotely the same people.
Some word-for-word quotes from the book:
"When you're connected to the energy that connects the energy of everything else, what?"
"Unfortunately," Qeris continued gently, after a moment, "the Shroud itself not having been built to prototype yet, the schematics have been recovered by the Empire."
"Someone should have been writing sonnets to your rib cage."
"The ceiling in the engine room was all gray pipe, but suddenly it had a very romantic tinge to it. She thought that she might be a fan of pipes, actually, that they looked quite nice all tangled up in the ceiling together, that they had kind of an air of sweetness, actually.”
"... wanting the crew to know he was okay but still wanting them to feel just, like, real bad about it also, at the same time."
October 2, 2023
This was such a conflicted read for me; I’m going to have a hard time putting the experience into words.
I think the main problem is that it’s all over the place: plot, focus and pacing wise. I’m going to try and categorize and separate the categorize into things I enjoyed from those I disliked where possible, though it gets muddled at times.
As an intermediate bridge between Jedi: Fallen Order and the upcoming Jedi: Survivor it is an interesting character piece that fails on many fronts to tell a convincing story.
First up is writing style which instantly is one of the more contentious points. I see a lot of flak for Maggs’s prose and puns and I partially agree with those. I think the speech patterns, voice and internalization of the characters was (mostly) done well. Where it often fails is belaboring and hammer on points, trying to be funny, awkwardly play with words and cheesy, eye-roll inducing narration. It’s very Marvelesque in that sense.
The most jarring for me was the story itself. The plot points are contrived, situations too convenient, the character decisions conflicting and often bad, the goals unaligned and chaotic. This is partially by design: we find the Mantis crew at odds with each other and this is the main theme of the book, but this consequently makes for a very unfocussed story.
By the end each character has gone through some sort of an arc that changed them in some ways (though I have my doubts if Cal really did) and it will be interesting to see how much of that will be present in the upcoming game.
Something Maggs does quite well throughout the book is characterization. It’s obvious she loves them and has a deep connection to and knowledge of them.
I was a big fan of both Merrin and Cere, who appeared very true to their portrayal in the game while growing significantly through the story. They have their own struggles that influence their decisions and I felt theirs were the most convincing of arcs.
Greez is fun, a bit too over the top dramatic, but grumpy and homely. Though his impact on the story is minimal, I like how his characteristics weren’t just used for comedic effect.
There’s a handful of new characters of which Fret (a Keshiri) jumps out the most and became quite a favorite of mine. She’s impressive: big, muscular, lavender skinned, red-eyed and perhaps trans. Everyone having the hots for her was acceptable to me on this point. She has trauma and issues and her motives were muddled from the start so she made a great and welcome addition to the story.
My least favorite was Cal, surprisingly. He is idealistic bordering on delusional, overly protective and underappreciative of his fellow crew and overall thickheaded and stubborn. Some of these traits are present in the game, but not to such a debilitating effect as on display here.
For me the most conflicting point is the social conflicts in the story itself. It was not at all what I was expecting, though it obviously continues threads that had been present in the game.
The Stinger Mantis crew as a whole has a central role to the plot as their relationships to one another are tested and evaluated. The Star Wars theme of Found Family is very important to the whole. It’s just a shame to me it had to be so intwined with romance.
Pretty much everyone is quite occupied with having the hots for each other and contemplating relations between characters and themselves. To me this is jarring, bizarre and distracting. Each character appears to be sizing up the other for possible romantic partnership. This, of course, brings about all kinds of conflicts and troubles but they, once again, feel contrived and mostly unnecessary. I get there are people who are like that and there is a portion of every fanbase that is all about shipping, but I am far from that.
The first half of the book is pretty much solely a romance story. I normally am not a fan of those and was quite surprised by the depth and intensity of it. Throughout the book people are very intimate with each other; there’s a lot of touching, hand holding and hugging and detailed descriptions of how it all feels. Most of all, this is the most erotic, steamiest Star Wars I have read. Sometimes it felt a bit too much like fanfic, but generally the scenes were written well and with care. It’s just that I am not used to these kind of segments in my books, I guess.
What did annoy me a lot were the romances at play. I was fine with the intense and sudden partnership with Merrin; it’s a very well-done queer relationship (as far as I can be a judge of that). It’s got shared trauma and healing, growth through each other and a good chemistry.
Where it got muddled, corny and frankly absurd, was how (due to most everyone being horny) we end up with a love quadrangle of conflicting, vying courtships, jealousy and mixed feelings. I hated that with a passion.
It only partially gets resolved and colors pretty much the entire book. It defines and drives most actions and thoughts of the characters.
Something I was expecting was a lot of fast paced action akin to the game. Aside from a few key moments though, it was hardly there and when there were fights, they hardly felt consequential or dangerous. Furthermore, it felt a lot like the quirky, bantering, comical kind of action from the Marvel movies. Something I didn’t enjoy at all. Merrin’s Nightsister magick was explored more and I welcomed that.
The most interesting part of them was the reflections on the use of power and the reasons for fighting. I was glad that the book addressed the ways in which the crew had a tendency (each in their own way) to the dark side in their goals and violence. This was handled well. Themes of vengeance, hate and reveling in the act of killing are present and made important.
There are quite a few things that the book handles with respect and in an adult way (aside from the obvious eroticism). But, for me, it was just too much of a romance novel with very little story substance. Relationship troubles and conflicts for the sake of it is uninteresting and uncomfortable reading to me. The plot is barely there and held together with bad decisions, lies and too many conveniences.
I liked most of the characters and I thought their conflicting views and goals were well played out.
Overall though? I had a hard time reading it. The first half was mostly awful for me, but the second half fixed many issues I had and had slightly more focus. I just didn’t enjoy most of the book; which is a real shame.
I am glad I finished it, to have experienced this important growth of character for the Mantis crew even though I might not have liked the way it was presented. I still don’t feel like I have put the right words to my feelings on it or done it justice, but I hope some of it offers a slightly more nuanced view than a lot of reviews and opinions floating around do.
I get why many people are angry with this novel. I also think it’s blown out of proportion (as the fandom likes to with most things more subtle than stark light/dark side fights). I might bump this down to 2 stars since that reflects more of my enjoyment in the end, but I respect what Maggs has created and tried to tackle.
I think the main problem is that it’s all over the place: plot, focus and pacing wise. I’m going to try and categorize and separate the categorize into things I enjoyed from those I disliked where possible, though it gets muddled at times.
As an intermediate bridge between Jedi: Fallen Order and the upcoming Jedi: Survivor it is an interesting character piece that fails on many fronts to tell a convincing story.
First up is writing style which instantly is one of the more contentious points. I see a lot of flak for Maggs’s prose and puns and I partially agree with those. I think the speech patterns, voice and internalization of the characters was (mostly) done well. Where it often fails is belaboring and hammer on points, trying to be funny, awkwardly play with words and cheesy, eye-roll inducing narration. It’s very Marvelesque in that sense.
The most jarring for me was the story itself. The plot points are contrived, situations too convenient, the character decisions conflicting and often bad, the goals unaligned and chaotic. This is partially by design: we find the Mantis crew at odds with each other and this is the main theme of the book, but this consequently makes for a very unfocussed story.
By the end each character has gone through some sort of an arc that changed them in some ways (though I have my doubts if Cal really did) and it will be interesting to see how much of that will be present in the upcoming game.
Something Maggs does quite well throughout the book is characterization. It’s obvious she loves them and has a deep connection to and knowledge of them.
I was a big fan of both Merrin and Cere, who appeared very true to their portrayal in the game while growing significantly through the story. They have their own struggles that influence their decisions and I felt theirs were the most convincing of arcs.
Greez is fun, a bit too over the top dramatic, but grumpy and homely. Though his impact on the story is minimal, I like how his characteristics weren’t just used for comedic effect.
There’s a handful of new characters of which Fret (a Keshiri) jumps out the most and became quite a favorite of mine. She’s impressive: big, muscular, lavender skinned, red-eyed and perhaps trans. Everyone having the hots for her was acceptable to me on this point. She has trauma and issues and her motives were muddled from the start so she made a great and welcome addition to the story.
My least favorite was Cal, surprisingly. He is idealistic bordering on delusional, overly protective and underappreciative of his fellow crew and overall thickheaded and stubborn. Some of these traits are present in the game, but not to such a debilitating effect as on display here.
For me the most conflicting point is the social conflicts in the story itself. It was not at all what I was expecting, though it obviously continues threads that had been present in the game.
The Stinger Mantis crew as a whole has a central role to the plot as their relationships to one another are tested and evaluated. The Star Wars theme of Found Family is very important to the whole. It’s just a shame to me it had to be so intwined with romance.
Pretty much everyone is quite occupied with having the hots for each other and contemplating relations between characters and themselves. To me this is jarring, bizarre and distracting. Each character appears to be sizing up the other for possible romantic partnership. This, of course, brings about all kinds of conflicts and troubles but they, once again, feel contrived and mostly unnecessary. I get there are people who are like that and there is a portion of every fanbase that is all about shipping, but I am far from that.
The first half of the book is pretty much solely a romance story. I normally am not a fan of those and was quite surprised by the depth and intensity of it. Throughout the book people are very intimate with each other; there’s a lot of touching, hand holding and hugging and detailed descriptions of how it all feels. Most of all, this is the most erotic, steamiest Star Wars I have read. Sometimes it felt a bit too much like fanfic, but generally the scenes were written well and with care. It’s just that I am not used to these kind of segments in my books, I guess.
What did annoy me a lot were the romances at play. I was fine with the intense and sudden partnership with Merrin; it’s a very well-done queer relationship (as far as I can be a judge of that). It’s got shared trauma and healing, growth through each other and a good chemistry.
Where it got muddled, corny and frankly absurd, was how (due to most everyone being horny) we end up with a love quadrangle of conflicting, vying courtships, jealousy and mixed feelings. I hated that with a passion.
It only partially gets resolved and colors pretty much the entire book. It defines and drives most actions and thoughts of the characters.
Something I was expecting was a lot of fast paced action akin to the game. Aside from a few key moments though, it was hardly there and when there were fights, they hardly felt consequential or dangerous. Furthermore, it felt a lot like the quirky, bantering, comical kind of action from the Marvel movies. Something I didn’t enjoy at all. Merrin’s Nightsister magick was explored more and I welcomed that.
The most interesting part of them was the reflections on the use of power and the reasons for fighting. I was glad that the book addressed the ways in which the crew had a tendency (each in their own way) to the dark side in their goals and violence. This was handled well. Themes of vengeance, hate and reveling in the act of killing are present and made important.
There are quite a few things that the book handles with respect and in an adult way (aside from the obvious eroticism). But, for me, it was just too much of a romance novel with very little story substance. Relationship troubles and conflicts for the sake of it is uninteresting and uncomfortable reading to me. The plot is barely there and held together with bad decisions, lies and too many conveniences.
I liked most of the characters and I thought their conflicting views and goals were well played out.
Overall though? I had a hard time reading it. The first half was mostly awful for me, but the second half fixed many issues I had and had slightly more focus. I just didn’t enjoy most of the book; which is a real shame.
I am glad I finished it, to have experienced this important growth of character for the Mantis crew even though I might not have liked the way it was presented. I still don’t feel like I have put the right words to my feelings on it or done it justice, but I hope some of it offers a slightly more nuanced view than a lot of reviews and opinions floating around do.
I get why many people are angry with this novel. I also think it’s blown out of proportion (as the fandom likes to with most things more subtle than stark light/dark side fights). I might bump this down to 2 stars since that reflects more of my enjoyment in the end, but I respect what Maggs has created and tried to tackle.
March 11, 2023
Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs follows a long and storied history of Star Wars Video Game Tie in Fiction, the question on everybody's mind is this, will she break the mold and join the ranks of X-Wing and Battlefront: Twilight Company, or will it fall into the same pitfalls of everybody's favorite Star Wars novel Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine. For the most part, Maggs offers some great things, with a little disappointment thrown in for good measure, so you don't forget that it's a video game tie-in. Spoilers Follow:
The Good:
The biggest thing working for Maggs is her knowledge of the game she is writing a DLC-sized novel. However, I would like to delve deeper into the details that make this novel work for me.
Merrin:
Greez:
Cere:
Action:
The Bad:
Now that ink has been spilled about the aspects of the novel I felt Maggs really nailed, I need to cover some of the issues I had with it.
Cal:
Chellwinark Frethylrin:
Qeris Lar:
Fifth Brother:
TLDR:
Overall, I am torn on this novel I think it would have been better if it was Merrin's prequel novel dealing with her past, her relationship with Ilyana, and how she fell in with Taron Malicos. I still give it the rank of good, it made me want to replay the first game, and hope that the next game's release date doesn't get pushed back any further.
The Good:
The biggest thing working for Maggs is her knowledge of the game she is writing a DLC-sized novel. However, I would like to delve deeper into the details that make this novel work for me.
Merrin:
Greez:
Cere:
Action:
The Bad:
Now that ink has been spilled about the aspects of the novel I felt Maggs really nailed, I need to cover some of the issues I had with it.
Cal:
Chellwinark Frethylrin:
Qeris Lar:
Fifth Brother:
TLDR:
Overall, I am torn on this novel I think it would have been better if it was Merrin's prequel novel dealing with her past, her relationship with Ilyana, and how she fell in with Taron Malicos. I still give it the rank of good, it made me want to replay the first game, and hope that the next game's release date doesn't get pushed back any further.
May 7, 2023
meu deus, QUE FRACASSO
apesar d achar esse livro completamente descabido (explico o pq logo mais), eu gostie da leitura. achei a história maneira, seguindo a formulinha star wars. gostei d como os inquisidores são inseridos aqui, a escrita também é bem ágil e os personagens cativam (apesar d eu ter sentido uma leve descaracterização da Merrin e um abandono quase q total do Cal Kestis (JURO KKKK); único personagem q salva é o Greez (marquei várias cenas com ele)).
agora, vamo pro q eu acho descabido: absolutamente tudo
TUDO MESMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
quem foi que achou q seria uma boa ideia transformar o livro q seria pra "preparar o terreno pra Jedi: Survivor" em um livro SOBRE A MERRIN? não só isso, mas um ROMANCE??? isso simplesmente não faz sentido algum. o Cal foi completamente jogado de lado, a história não avançou em quase nada e sinto que nem vai importar tanto assim pro aproveitamento do jogo. foi legal pra gente ver um pouco mais da ~mantis crew, mas nem isso a autora conseguiu fazer direito, pq enfiou uma sapatão emocionada lá no mei q fudeu com absolutamente tudo!!!
sinto q esse livro tivesse outro nome, outra capa e fosse lançado num outro momento, essa seria uma história q as pessoas poderiam apreciar mais, mas ficou simplesmente intragável. eu não pego um livro chamado Jedi: Battle scars pra ler um ROMANCE de um personagem secundária, cacete!!!!!!!! mano, quer lançar um romance maneiro com rep. lgbt e tudo mais? lança, vai ser ótimo d+ e a gente precisa disso no cânone, mas tenha bom senso!!!!!!!!! disney, vc n tinha esse direito
agora, uma das coisas q simplesmente não me desceram foi a escolha da autora. eu nunca nem tinha ovuido falar no nome da dita cuja até saber q ela ia lançar esse livro. o foda é (novamente) pegaram uma autora d romances fofos p fazer o 1.5 d uma história sombria e pesada pra caralho. o resultado? uma história onde, no meio d coisas super sérias, vc é obrigado a ler cenas d efeito breguíssimas, dignas de um livro da ~Bomba J. Maasmeudeusdoceueutomtfrustradokkk
exemplo? toma:
porra, parece q tô lendo uma fanfic, mas é um livro oficial! alguém pagou pra ela escrever isso!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
juro, caras, eu poderia passar HORAS aqui falando sobre todos os problemas desse livro, mas vou poupar meus dedos e ler algo q preste. sugiro q façam o mesmo kkkk
apesar d achar esse livro completamente descabido (explico o pq logo mais), eu gostie da leitura. achei a história maneira, seguindo a formulinha star wars. gostei d como os inquisidores são inseridos aqui, a escrita também é bem ágil e os personagens cativam (apesar d eu ter sentido uma leve descaracterização da Merrin e um abandono quase q total do Cal Kestis (JURO KKKK); único personagem q salva é o Greez (marquei várias cenas com ele)).
agora, vamo pro q eu acho descabido: absolutamente tudo
TUDO MESMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
quem foi que achou q seria uma boa ideia transformar o livro q seria pra "preparar o terreno pra Jedi: Survivor" em um livro SOBRE A MERRIN? não só isso, mas um ROMANCE??? isso simplesmente não faz sentido algum. o Cal foi completamente jogado de lado, a história não avançou em quase nada e sinto que nem vai importar tanto assim pro aproveitamento do jogo. foi legal pra gente ver um pouco mais da ~mantis crew, mas nem isso a autora conseguiu fazer direito, pq enfiou uma sapatão emocionada lá no mei q fudeu com absolutamente tudo!!!
sinto q esse livro tivesse outro nome, outra capa e fosse lançado num outro momento, essa seria uma história q as pessoas poderiam apreciar mais, mas ficou simplesmente intragável. eu não pego um livro chamado Jedi: Battle scars pra ler um ROMANCE de um personagem secundária, cacete!!!!!!!! mano, quer lançar um romance maneiro com rep. lgbt e tudo mais? lança, vai ser ótimo d+ e a gente precisa disso no cânone, mas tenha bom senso!!!!!!!!! disney, vc n tinha esse direito
agora, uma das coisas q simplesmente não me desceram foi a escolha da autora. eu nunca nem tinha ovuido falar no nome da dita cuja até saber q ela ia lançar esse livro. o foda é (novamente) pegaram uma autora d romances fofos p fazer o 1.5 d uma história sombria e pesada pra caralho. o resultado? uma história onde, no meio d coisas super sérias, vc é obrigado a ler cenas d efeito breguíssimas, dignas de um livro da ~Bomba J. Maas
exemplo? toma:
"Fret's expression had a heat that Merrin hadn't seen on her before. A heat that reminded Merrin of her own fire, the core of Dathomir, writhing and uncompromising and hotter than anyy sun. ab Able to bring whole planets on their knees. Feared by the galaxy, and with good reason. Dangerous and deadly"
porra, parece q tô lendo uma fanfic, mas é um livro oficial! alguém pagou pra ela escrever isso!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
juro, caras, eu poderia passar HORAS aqui falando sobre todos os problemas desse livro, mas vou poupar meus dedos e ler algo q preste. sugiro q façam o mesmo kkkk
March 27, 2023
“Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars” is a tie-in to the soon-to-be-released “Jedi Survivor” videogame, set in-between the events of “Survivor” and the first game in the series, “Fallen Order.” As a tee-up for the upcoming game, it’s solid, with writer Sam Maggs setting up some interesting character dynamics while also nicely refreshing readers on what’s happened thus far in the story. On a page-for-page level, however, not everything here is dynamite – some of the dialogue feels a bit stilted and overly written, and the story is VERY familiar, occasionally bordering on feeling like it’s following a template (“Star Wars” authors: it’s okay to try out different types of stories. Not every single book/comic/movie/videogame needs to follow the same exact three narrative beats). Still – there IS fun to be had here, and for “Star Wars” fans that are excited about the upcoming game, this should serve as a sufficiently filling appetizer before we get the main course come April 28.
March 7, 2023
Overall, I have to say that Jedi: Battle Scars was fine for what it was. I expected it to be like a small scale adventure that could almost be the story of a small DLC of Jedi: Fallen Order. These expectations were met in a way. As far as the plot goes, I found it to be slightly basic for a Star Wars novel and to have not that much 'meat', if that makes sense. The story of the book can be summarized in 2 sentences to people that are wondering what happened in the book. This was to be expected since it wouldn't make sense for the crew to go on an adventure with enormous stakes that would change their lives forever in a book only a small group of fans that played the games will actually read; that will mostly be done in the game.
The thin plot allowed for what I think is the main point of this book: to understand the crew of the Mantis in a deeper sense that we never got to see in the game. This book is scattered with inner monologue of the characters and you really get to know them well. I did find that these inner monologue sections were so in depth, that it often took me away from the story itself. For example: you'd be in an intense action scene when all of the sudden Maggs decribes every emotion the character is feeling in the tiniest of details for more than an entire page. When you'd get back to what is happening in the scene, I felt like I was already completely taken out of the action because of that excruciatingly long inner monologue. In short: this book is very character-heavy, which might be a good thing for you!
The action in this book was great! I wasn't expecting such an intense finale of this book and I had the most fun reading that part of the book. The gameplay connections were also great, as players of the game can really easily visualise Cal swinging from vines, hopping from one wall to another, or using a stim that was provided by BD-1. I was kind of hoping for a bit more character development for the Fifth Brother, but unfortunately he still falls flat as being 'just one of the inquisitors'. It could have been any inquisitor as the antagonist of the story.
This book did what it had to do: create hype for the upcoming game Jedi: Survivor and have the audience be caught up to speed on the crew of the Mantis. It didn't tease much on what to expect in the upcoming game however, which again was to be expected, but Jedi: Battle Scars did tell us the story for certain aspects that will most definitely be mentioned in the game. With the deep character knowledge that this book provided, I do feel like I will have a benefit in understanding the characters in the upcoming game compared to people who haven't read it. I can't wait to see what Survivor has in store for us!
The thin plot allowed for what I think is the main point of this book: to understand the crew of the Mantis in a deeper sense that we never got to see in the game. This book is scattered with inner monologue of the characters and you really get to know them well. I did find that these inner monologue sections were so in depth, that it often took me away from the story itself. For example: you'd be in an intense action scene when all of the sudden Maggs decribes every emotion the character is feeling in the tiniest of details for more than an entire page. When you'd get back to what is happening in the scene, I felt like I was already completely taken out of the action because of that excruciatingly long inner monologue. In short: this book is very character-heavy, which might be a good thing for you!
The action in this book was great! I wasn't expecting such an intense finale of this book and I had the most fun reading that part of the book. The gameplay connections were also great, as players of the game can really easily visualise Cal swinging from vines, hopping from one wall to another, or using a stim that was provided by BD-1. I was kind of hoping for a bit more character development for the Fifth Brother, but unfortunately he still falls flat as being 'just one of the inquisitors'. It could have been any inquisitor as the antagonist of the story.
This book did what it had to do: create hype for the upcoming game Jedi: Survivor and have the audience be caught up to speed on the crew of the Mantis. It didn't tease much on what to expect in the upcoming game however, which again was to be expected, but Jedi: Battle Scars did tell us the story for certain aspects that will most definitely be mentioned in the game. With the deep character knowledge that this book provided, I do feel like I will have a benefit in understanding the characters in the upcoming game compared to people who haven't read it. I can't wait to see what Survivor has in store for us!
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