Razor's Edge

Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion, Book 1

By: Martha Wells

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Times are desperate for the Rebel Alliance. Harassment by the Empire and a shortage of vital supplies are hindering completion of a new secret base on the ice planet Hoth. So when Mid Rim merchants offer much-needed materials for sale, Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo lead an Alliance delegation to negotiate a deal.

But when treachery forces the rebel ship to flee into territory controlled by pirates, Leia makes a shocking discovery: The fierce marauders come from Leia's homeworld of Alderaan, recently destroyed by the Death Star. These refugees have turned to pillaging and plundering to survive - and they are in debt to a pirate armada, which will gladly ransom the princess to the vengeful Empire...if they find out her true identity.

Struggling with intense feelings of guilt, loyalty, and betrayal, Leia is determined to help her wayward kinspeople, even as Imperial forces are closing in on her own crippled ship. Trapped between lethal cutthroats and brutal oppressors, Leia and Han, along with Luke, Chewbacca, and a battle-ready crew, must defy death - or embrace it - to keep the rebellion alive.

©2013 Martha Wells (P)2013 Random House Audio

Very Meh.

The book was very average. The story line was very uneventful and the characters, with the exception of Leia, were very boring as well. Also, a warning, you will be very annoyed by how often Han calls Leia “Your Worship”. Almost every single time he addresses her. After the first 50 times, I was done.

great

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes it was great starwars read

What other book might you compare Razor's Edge to and why?

dont read much

Which character – as performed by January LaVoy – was your favorite?

han solo cause hes amazing

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no

Any additional comments?

great book

LaVoy is no Marc Thompson

Would you try another book from Martha Wells and/or January LaVoy?

One written by Ms Wells perhaps; but not one narrated by Ms LaVoy

How could the performance have been better?

Narration was weak, lacking the performance I have grown acustom to as a result of listening to dozens of Marc Thompson narrations. Instead of dialog between the characters, there is this clumsy "he said", "she replied" without any real need or adding flavor to the text. Other narrations just gave the voice without the needless text unless it added flavor or context to what was said. Han Solo making his witty retorts doesn't require a "he said" before it.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

yes

Any additional comments?

The story kept my interest, but it took hours to get past my dissatisfaction with the narration performance. I am happy to see the second book in the series has Mr. Thompson back at the microphone.

Story was a bit weak

I had hoped for better. Story was a bit like playing chess. Slow most of the time with an occasional interesting turn.

Rich in Depth and Texture

Where does Razor's Edge rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A true giant of a sleeper. At first I thought this book would be a vanilla, one I would have to work my way through to get to what appeared to be the better book of the series, based on reviews. I was pleasantly surprised how wrong I was.

Who was your favorite character and why?

As the book cover makes no qualms of showing, this is primarily Leia's story. So teaming up Martha Wells and January LaVoy seemed only logical. Actually it was brilliant. Although there are many female characters I grew to love and hate, my favorite is January who brought them all to life.

Have you listened to any of January LaVoy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

My favorite Star Wars book to date is Star Wars: Darth Plagueis, read by Daniel Davis. Daniel's rich and deep tones are hard to compare with, so at first January's voice took time to warm up to, however, as Martha's rich tapestry of sights, sounds and smells brought the story to life in a way no other Star Wars book has, January's voice became as natural in male voice and wookie as the strongest female characters.

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

I listen to books during long commutes and this is one I am sure to listen to again.

Any additional comments?

Although the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn may be the hallmark of all Star Wars expanded universe novels, and Darth Plagueis incomparable in Daniel's delivery, Razor's Edge is now one of my very favorite stories in the Star Wars universe. It may not have shaken the heavens, but it did forever alter the stars of my Star Wars love affair.

i really like the story but

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

for me the book was good. however the reader just seems to put me off the book i really have to work hard to finish it. like i said i like the book.

Rebels explore new possibilities

This addition to the Star Wars series shows the power, intellect and ingenuity of Princess Leia as young leader in the rebellion

a good book, doesn't need the special effects

I enjoyed this book. It's a good in-between story of Han and Leia between A New Hope and Empire strikes back, The characters we know are in character and the new ones are engaging a well told adventure story.

My Quibble and why "narration" was only two stars, Apologies to January LaVoy, who did a good job, but the audio version comes complete with blaster fire (and other special effect sounds). I don't need blaster fire sounds, that's what my imagination is for.

so so performance

I thought the story was okay, but the story would have been better with Marc Thompson doing the reading. He just has no equal.

poor performance

the characters voices weren't very good. story wasn't bad and was good to see another book between a New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Star Wars needs to stick with their best reader in Marc Thompson, he's light years ahead of everyone else.