Star Wars: Lost Stars

I have to admit, this was an impulse buy. I was looking around for a good book after finishing up another book that wound up leaving a rather sour taste in my mouth. This was the first book I stumbled across. I figured, I'm a fan of Star Wars. I can tolerate a good romance. Why not give it a shot? So I bought it. I have no regrets. This book isn't the next big masterpiece or anything. But it doesn't need to be. The writing is serviceable. It's a pretty easy read, but not in an insulting way. Definitely something that a teen can handle, but there's plenty here for an adult to enjoy as well. The author doesn't spend a ton of time in any one part; the book spans a number of years in the lives of Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell. You won't get the agonizing detail of every moment of their lives, or excruciating detail about everything ever. You'll get the important stuff that shapes and molds these characters. You'll hit the major battles of the original trilogy, plus a rather fantastic bit of backstory for a scene in the trailer for The Force Awakens. You'll also get a surprisingly honest and refreshing view of some pretty meaty topics, wrapped up in a comparatively small number of words. And yes, you'll get some romance. The characters of Ciena and Thane are likeable. Personally, I found it much easier to relate to Thane's path than Ciena's, but I very much sympathized with her as she struggled with her place in the galaxy. On that note, I really appreciated the character progression for both Ciena and Thane, how they contrast with each other, and how they relate to where they began... that's really vague, because I'm trying to keep this completely spoiler free, but the point is that you should take a moment to think about where they began, and where they end up... it's rather poetic. Next, the romance. It's definitely a significant part of the book. As someone who struggles with any romance that's even slightly subpar, I was a bit nervous heading into this book, wondering if I'd just wasted my money. This romance is very much the star-crossed lovers trope, but it's done well enough, and it doesn't diminish all other aspects of the book. It's a central piece of a much larger story, and it's all the better for it. My biggest problem? The ending. The story of Ciena and Thane isn't yet finished, and I want to know how it ends. I can already imagine what a hypothetical sequel would do, though I'm not overly fond of that idea... I just feel like I needed more time with these two at the end of the book to get a more satisfying conclusion. So, do I recommend it? You can probably guess that by now. Yes, I do. It's a very enjoyable, fast paced book that had me rushing to the bathroom at work constantly, just so I could read the next few pages. Now go read the book so that I have people to talk with about it.

This story has a wonderful depiction of its protagonists' frightful, tormented friendship and love. Your enjoyment mileage may vary depending on whether you're a fan of simple, everyman characters continually running into famous characters from the films -- I'm not a big fan, and my star rating has vacillated between three and four stars. Ultimately, I dumped it up to four because the cheesy fan service run-ins aren't really just filler between the core character development, and that's where this book excels. The relationship between Thane and Ciena is great. This is a wonderful, affectionate, frustrating friendship and romance that really shines. The novel does a good job bouncing between the two, and there are a few moments where there's a great echo between one section's/protagonist's ending and the other's pick-up from a new point of view. Individually, I also liked these characters. They have totally different reads on their worlds and what it means to do the right thing, and each is entirely sympathetic. Their overlaps on Jelucan in particular are great, wonderful segments. Similarly, there are some neat supporting characters. Thane's academy roommate sticks around until the final pages, and he's the first Alderaanian from Star Wars media I can think of who doubles down on loyalty to the Empire after his home world is destroyed. Ciena's father later in the book is in a pretty painful position, and his take on the family's circumstances is both poignant and a strong reinforcement for how Ciena herself reconciles her service with her skepticism. A few other roommates and squadronmates aren't as robust, but they are nevertheless distinct and offer nice texture. Stepping outside those core characters and their relationship, though, I found the connections to the greater Star Wars universe at times distracting. It was difficult to suspend my disbelief at these characters' various happenstance and coincidental run-ins with Moff Tarkin, Captain Piett, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, General Rieekan, Wedge Antilles, Dak Ralter, General Madine, and Mon Mothma. Similarly, their mutual or individual presence at/over Hoth, Cloud City, an Imperial fleet staging area, and Jakku all stretched credulity. A couple of these lead into realizations about the other e.g. being alive, and that pays off later ... but, the coincidental run-ins with beloved characters from the films coupled with coincidentally being near each other during the war seemed often like attempts at fan service. Unfortunately, that fan service didn't compute with me: the Star Wars universe is vast, and I much prefer a story that advances itself or its characters through something new. Thane's experience on the freighter Moa is a great example, and likewise Ciena's duties after the Battle of Endor. The book occasionally suggests that the pair so often being coincidentally proximate to each other is the will of the Force, but that doesn't explain unnecessary, distracting cameos by the likes of Moff Tarkin and Mon Mothma. And there are a few moments that simply pulled me out of the story because things didn't make sense. A hologram of Moff Tarkin makes a comment over Ciena's shoulder ... was it there a moment before? With whom was Tarkin speaking? The other officer there seems distracted, and not paying attention to the Moff. Or why does Ciena lament not going down to Cloud City in one paragraph, but six paragraphs later complain about being bumped into by an Ugnaught ... on Cloud City? Why would Mon Mothma refer to the pilots in a briefing room as "officers" when one is identified a few pages earlier as a private? (And why is a private flying an X-wing?) Why is it no big deal that Ciena decides she's just going to jump into a TIE fighter when a ship is sent to battlestations -- even if she's not on duty, she's going to have some other role to serve, and wouldn't some TIE fighter without a wingman or even a radio designation be kind of confusing to all the other pilots? And then there are just some oddball things, like Ciena apparently remembering some events in The Empire Strikes Back out of order (thinking Vader knew about the Falcon's flight to Bespin before the asteroid chase), Ciena being concerned about a crew of "hundreds of thousands" on a regular Star Destroyer (more accurately framed as "tens of thousands" by Thane just a couple of pages earlier), or Thane being worried about falling several kilometers in a service shaft on a starship that just isn't that big. I started this review clicking just two stars, and pretty shortly after bumped it up to three. And now I've happily written myself up to four because, despite my own preference for a broader, more nerdily accurate Star Wars world, this is still one of the best character stories I've ever read in Star Wars. The cameos and nitpicky "factual" details distracted me, but still I read through pretty much nonstop across just a couple of days. This is a worthy addition to the new Star Wars empire. I probably wouldn't read it again myself, but I could imagine recommending this to a friend or family member looking for some satisfying standalone Star Wars material.

this book came from Ubuntu books and it was badly stored, it was dirty all over, including on the pages and the pages were miss cut making the sleeve shorter than the pages

As someone who read a lot of the old canon (now "Legacy") books, this is the first of the new canon that I've read. This is one of the best Star Wars books I've had the pleasure of reading. I couldn't put it down.

Lost Stars should be the YA that people point to when they need to argue that the genre can handle heavy topics well, have engaging characters, and have compelling writing.

This is the best Star Wars stand-alone book I have read. The story grips you from the very beginning and remains with you long after you've finished. I read this book in under 7 hours. Un-putdownable.

ottimo