Empire's End: Aftermath

Star Wars

By: Chuck Wendig

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

New York Times best seller

Following Star Wars: Aftermath and Star Wars: Life Debt, Chuck Wendig delivers the exhilarating conclusion to the New York Times best-selling trilogy set in the years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

Every end is a new beginning.

As the final showdown between the New Republic and the Empire draws near, all eyes turn to a once-isolated planet: Jakku.  

The Battle of Endor shattered the Empire, scattering its remaining forces across the galaxy. But the months following the Rebellion’s victory have not been easy. The fledgling New Republic has suffered a devastating attack from the Imperial remnant, forcing the new democracy to escalate its hunt for the hidden enemy. For her role in the deadly ambush, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane is the most wanted Imperial war criminal - and onetime rebel pilot Norra Wexley, back in service at Leia’s urgent request, is leading the hunt. But more than just loyalty to the New Republic drives Norra forward: Her husband was turned into a murderous pawn in Sloane’s assassination plot, and now she wants vengeance as much as justice.  

Sloane, too, is on a furious quest: pursuing the treacherous Gallius Rax to the barren planet Jakku. As the true mastermind behind the Empire’s devastating attack, Rax has led the Empire to its defining moment. The cunning strategist has gathered the powerful remnants of the Empire’s war machine, preparing to execute the late Emperor Palpatine’s final plan. As the Imperial fleet orbits Jakku, an armada of Republic fighters closes in to finish what began at Endor. Norra and her crew soar into the heart of an apocalyptic clash that will leave land and sky alike scorched. And the future of the galaxy will finally be decided.   

Praise for Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath

“Star Wars: Aftermath [reveals] what happened after the events of 1983’s Return of the Jedi. It turns out, there’s more than just the Empire for the good guys to worry about.” (The Hollywood Reporter)

“The Force is strong with Star Wars: Aftermath.” (Alternative Nation)

“The Star Wars universe is fresh and new again, and just as rich and mysterious as it always was.” (Den of Geek!)

©2017 Chuck Wendig (P)2017 Random House Audio

meh

Although better than the first in the series, I found myself wanting it to be over. That's a shame because I love almost all the star wars series books. I found the performance anoying at points. It was like listening to a reality show gone bad.

predictable

took me a while to finished. too many characters and epilogues. it got really predictable cause of plot armor

Fine performance. Middling story.

There is some good insight into the fall of the Empire and origins of the first order. The politics of the day as well. But that doesn't hide the medicore and predictable story. And my God someone send Temmin to his room.

disappointing

Extremely disappointing conclusion. I was expecting there to be something of relevance seeing as this was the books leading up to the force awakens but no it's probably nothing more than a lead up to the new thrawn book.

possibly the worst of the aftermath books

this may be the worst in the series. the story is slow and the time frame muddled. the last few chapters are cut together in such a way that it's hard to determine how long the final battle last. every choice made is the stupid choice but it all works out because each dumb choice comes with its own saving dues ex machina.

three books in and the author still doesn't understand that not every paragraph needs at least one simile. it is perhaps the most annoying thing about these books. especially since some of the similes are only usable on earth. one person says sober as a vicar. did the church of England make it star wars?

Thompson does his usual job and besides from a few rough voices he does good. the performance is above average.


spoilers below possibly


the book does little to further the star wars story. we get a vague idea of how the first order starts at the end of the book but still absent are any details of snook.

the characters are some of the least likeable in the star wars universe. Nora wexly being one of the worst. in the first chapters she abandons her son in the middle of an imperial blockade to take an escape pod. everyone in this book exhibits terrible and selfish choices that somehow always work out.

all in all you can skip this and just read the wiki summary. save your money for another star wars story.

Disappointing to the last.

The Aftermath series in general was a waste of time. What I wanted from this trilogy was insight to how the Empire grew into the First Order, new adventures from beloved characters accurately depicted, and how the Jedi could return to the galaxy. Three books later, I got nothing.

Dreadful. Simply dreadful.

The best part of this series was that it ended. maybe one books Worth of story, poorly stretched into a trilogy. And as bad as some Expanded Universe authors were, Wending takes the prize as the all time worst. The Star Wars Christmas Special was a classic by comparison. I wish I could give it less then 1 star.

Origin of the First Order revealed.

If you like vague Easter eggs, this book is for you. It really didn't bridge the destruction of the second death star. However, this book does reveal the formation of the First Order. This entire trilogy should have been a short story.

The force is not strong with this one

What did you like best about Empire's End: Aftermath? What did you like least?

Liked Best: Marc Thompson's performance. He brings life to even weak story lines.

Liked Least: Inclusion of JarJar !!!!! Need anything else be said? Granted it was a very minor part of the story, but it was traumatic for me.

Has Empire's End: Aftermath turned you off from other books in this genre?

No - I will still listen to other Star Wars stories, but not with the same anticipation previous story lines have given.
Why is Luke never a part of the story?

Which scene was your favorite?

I cannot say I liked any scene enough to call is a favorite.

Do you think Empire's End: Aftermath needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Maybe - it would be interesting to see how certain characters develop in the upcoming big story.

Any additional comments?

NEVER bring JAR JAR back - EVER

Insightful and informative

I'm thrilled that I took the time to read this. Emperor Palpatine was a serious egomaniac. While, I enjoyed the trilogy as it filled in some gaps between movies 6 and 7, it would be helpful to hear that some of the new characters are going to show up later in the newer movies, TV series, etc. Otherwise I feel that I learned to care about newer characters who have interacted with core characters and still I'll never learn how their stories/characters developed/evolved.

what we have here is, not a very good story!

I is the ending and bringing of starwars mythology, but sadly falls flat. Should have been so much more.

Ok book

I found the story. Very good however I found the battle of Jakku very short and rushed which annoyed me. I also annoyed that Galluis Rax died at the end of the book which was very annoying as he was hyped up to be a big character and he gets killed in a bad way. Not a death he should have Surived to lead the first order. I like all the defences however I’m annoyed that Galluis Rax died and may other characters who have better deaths.

Loved it!

This is a good trilogy with good ending. I liked all three books the same. Marc's performance was brilliant as always and I liked his Han Solo and Admiral Ackbar voices. Recommended as a trilogy.

quality pure quality

loved every minute, what a great book worth the time of day to read or listen too, a perfect finish to satisfying trilogy.

An exciting conclusion

A good collection of books. The last book in the series brings the story to a great conclusion. I really enjoyed this book and is well worth listening to.

Good

This audiobook helps me get to sleep every night with the help of it's brothers, Aftermath and Aftermath Life Debt

Excellent performance and production values

It must be said that Marc Thompson and the star wars score and sound effects make this feel more like an audio drama instead of a book reading, which is an impressive feat. The story itself is good, this triology fills in the blanks between return of the jedi and the force awakens in a satisfactory manner. I do like the little cutaways from the main plot which shows how the galaxy is recovering from the empire. Its not the 'Thrawn' triology but its good enough.

A good trilogy

An enjoyable book that wraps up the trilogy. Most importantly with this series is the narrator Marc Thompson. he does a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

brilliant

loved the trilogy over all. great story and characters. would highly recommend to starwars novel fans

Absolute nerd out 10/10

I enjoyed the time I've spent with this narrator and author, and picking apart the various references and nods to other things from Star Wars, although I'm not going to mention those here obviously. Learning who Snap Wexley is amazed me, it's a name I recognised from the credits of the movie and now that I've followed these books I'm glad to have that knowledge! As for the performance, it plays like a radio show with sound effects and many different voices. At times I don't believe that it's the same voice actor doing all of it - male, female, gender fluid, alien, and possibly machine - the voice talent deserves an award for being able to imitate both Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford between a host of other unique sounding voices.