Scoundrels: Star Wars Legends

By: Timothy Zahn

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

To make his biggest score, Han's ready to take even bigger risks.

But even he can't do this job solo.

Han Solo should be basking in his moment of glory. After all, the cocky smuggler and captain of the Millennium Falcon just played a key role in the daring raid that destroyed the Death Star and landed the first serious blow to the Empire in its war against the Rebel Alliance. But after losing the reward his heroics earned him, Han's got nothing to celebrate. Especially since he's deep in debt to the ruthless crime lord Jabba the Hutt. There's a bounty on Han's head - and if he can't cough up the credits, he'll surely pay with his hide. The only thing that can save him is a king's ransom. Or maybe a gangster's fortune?

That's what a mysterious stranger is offering in exchange for Han's less-than-legal help with a riskier-than-usual caper. The payoff will be more than enough for Han to settle up with Jabba - and ensure he never has to haggle with the Hutts again.

All he has to do is infiltrate the ultra-fortified stronghold of a Black Sun crime syndicate underboss and crack the galaxy's most notoriously impregnable safe. It sounds like a job for miracle workers...or madmen. So Han assembles a gallery of rogues who are a little of both - including his indispensable sidekick Chewbacca and the cunning Lando Calrissian. If anyone can dodge, deceive, and defeat heavily armed thugs, killer droids, and Imperial agents alike - and pull off the heist of the century - it's Solo's scoundrels. But will their crime really pay, or will it cost them the ultimate price?

©2012 Timothy Zahn (P)2012 Random House Audio

Fun story!

What did you love best about Scoundrels: Star Wars?

Great to revisit classic characters!

What did you like best about this story?

Fun to see a heist story carried out in the Star Wars universe.

Some of Zahn's Best Work

Wish DISNEY would let Timothy Zahn write their stuff, it would be a lot better. This is way better than Oceans 11, so its a must if you like Star Wars at all. Great performance too by the reader, love Thompson's work as well!

Star Wars hist

Basically this is a story about a heist. But it had a few twists and turns was unexpected but perceivable. Check it out when you get a chance

Star Wars meets Oceans 13

It was a fun listen... I had originally given it all 5 stars, then realized that it wasn’t quite to the “I can’t put it down” type of book, but very enjoyable none-the-less. Timothy Zahn is one of the best, if not the best, Star Wars Authors out there! I would recommend all of his books!

Another Timothy Zahn masterpiece

His stories always capture the true feel of the Star Wars universe, and Mark Thompson as narrator, brings not only a multitude of voices (quite often similar the shows) but the audio backing that accompany’s him brings all of Zahn’s work to life.

A wonderful Star Wars story!!

without giving much away, this story gives the listener a fun and exciting story that does not include The Skywalkers or The Force.
Taking place between Episode 4 and 5, you see another side of the Galaxy Far Far Away!

HAVE FUN!

I ROLLED MY CHANCE CUBES AND WON ON THIS BOOK!

I've listened to quite a few sci-fi and fantasy audiobooks, none of them from the Star Wars universe. I grew up watching and loving most of the movies (and movie offshoots) and characters. Although I am a nerdy sci-fi guy, I would not classify myself in the same 'Galaxy' as some of the more hardcore Star Wars aficionados. I normally wait to buy books with plenty of positive reviews and do not take a ton of chances on unreviewed books. With that said, I absolutely loved this book.

The author retained the imagery of the original movies as my mind's eye had seen them. I did a little research on his other audiobooks and saw a very positive trend, most of his other books are above 4 stars with plenty of reviews. He definitely has a lot of experience in the Star Wars universe as well.

The voice acting was GREAT! Especially, Han's voice (his inflection and canter was spot on). The production with the background noise was not overwhelming and definitely helped in setting the atmosphere and storytelling.

If you are new to the Star Wars audiobook universe, I would highly recommend you take a chance on these scruffy nerf herders.

Well Worth a Listen

If you could sum up Scoundrels: Star Wars in three words, what would they be?

Probably "Explains a lot." It does a good job retying Han to the criminal underworld that he is from, and ushering his story pretty cleanly from New Hope to Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It also develops Lando's character perhaps more that he has been in any previous work.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably the Crime Lord. His paranoia came off as very realistic, and the conclusions he was drawing based on events were very plausible. It made him a villain you really wanted to see get his.

What about Marc Thompson’s performance did you like?

He had a very versatile voice, able to convincingly do Imperial officer arrogance and air-headed social butterfly with equal skill. There was also a good pacing to his voice. A minor issue though, was his tendency to get carried away with that pacing and suddenly jolt you out of the immersion by being too heavy handed with emphasis. Didn't happen often though.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not too much. The suspense in the story mostly came at the end. As planning was a huge part of the narrative, it always felt like it would keep til the next listen. It was interesting enough to be engaging, but not so much as to be gripping.

Any additional comments?

Overall, it's probably the weakest Timothy Zahn book I've read/listened to. That's really not saying much, as I've been very impressed with every Zahn story I've come into contact with (The Thrawn Trilogy being an all time favorite story,) and it certainly had some of the Zahn touches, like amazing original characters, cameos that are not heavy handed, and a high stakes story.

If you're a fan of heist stories, it's a good one. If you're looking for character development on Lando or Han, it has that too. If you're looking for more information on larger events, or character development on Chewbacca, you're probably going to be a bit disappointed.

Anthony Heald is back at it again.

I loved the book, but the performance made me feel like I just dropped a hot steamy load in my pants. Anthony Heald is clearly the best narrator of all time. Between the saliva sloshing, the tongue clicking, and the old woman impressions, my boy Anthony was absolutely fantastic. Also, Anthony Heald has the worst poo-poo stank on Wednesdays, so dont get anywhere near him.

Fantastic!

Would you consider the audio edition of Scoundrels: Star Wars to be better than the print version?

I don't know. Have not read the print version.

What did you like best about this story?

Intricate plot.

What about Marc Thompson’s performance did you like?

It felt like I was listening to a movie instead of a book narration. The different voices, the music and the sound effects added a lot of dimension to the story. It was a great experience!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.