Daniel José Older

My first reaction was to shake the book vigorously at a friend and exclaim "This is the greatest book I ever read!"

That's possibly a teensy bit hyperbolic, but it should tell you how much joy it brought me.

If I could I would take this book and give it to myself at a younger age. I need Sierra to make up part of my childhood world.

Older writes for his audience without condescending or over-simplifying, a skill lacking in so many other YA writers. His world-building is so natural, nothing show more feels forced and no one is left without dimension. There's a lot of humanity and humor, and the thoughtfulness I expect of DJ.

Friends with kids: if you invite me for a birthday or holiday, this is the gift you're getting. If your kid is too young to read it, you're getting a copy anyway. Read it to them, or to each other. show less

An intriguing story that pushes the boundaries of Star Wars lore in very interesting directions

The Last Shot give us an interesting view at Han Solo’s life between the OT and the Sequel Trilogy. We get a Han who is both a husband to Senator Leia and a father to a two years old Ben. The insights into his family life given in this book inform Han’s character in The Force Awakens and also the kind of relationship he had with young Ben. We start to understand why he left in a more meaningful show more manner.

Han’s “current” self is contrasted with his younger self by means of a past quest with Chewbacca and Sana. This quest answers some questions regarding the main plot as it is tightly connected with the story.

The Last Shot also gives us more background on Lando. We see him both in his youth traveling along with L3 in a small quest also tied to the main events in a very important manner, and in his “current” self traveling with Han and the rest of the crew. Sadly, his “past” story line seems to be missing some small part, or I might have missed it, and the most important takeaway from this small quest almost feels like a deus ex machina.

My favorite aspect of the whole story has to be the main villain Fyzen Gor. The character is a mysterious, intelligent, sadistic and creepy Pauan. The introduction of a single character that is a true menace to the galaxy and in no way a force user is refreshing, interesting and utterly satisfying. His end goal is twisted, and very reminiscent of sci-fi tropes yet with a significant twist.

My main takeaway from this book is that the Sequel Trilogy requires the consumption of the additional media for the complete picture, which shows how the movies are a bit lackluster, and how good this book was.

9/10 show less

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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That sentiment remains even still, now that I've finished the book. OH MAN. I loved it. Thanks, Older, for using roaches for the persistent creep-out factor--even if there weren't any zombies or freaky long-limbed High Priests, the roaches still would have done the trick. *shudder*

It was funny...I'm so used to Reza being a male Persian name--even when it was made clear that Reza was Puerto Rican--I still just assumed Reza was a he. I show more laughed so hard when I figured out otherwise, the second Reza chapter into it, then shouted, "Hell yeah!" and would've high-fived myself if that was a thing.

In this immediate aftermath, it's difficult for me to go through everything I loved without just recounting the entire damn thing...maybe I can come back to it. I've got a strong hunch about what's in store for Carlos next, judging from "Tenderfoot" in [b:Salsa Nocturna: Stories|13568836|Salsa Nocturna Stories|Daniel José Older|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333125349s/13568836.jpg|19147600], AND I AM SO HAPPY. I am so glad we got more of Kia in MTT; I'm going to keep my fingers crossed to see Gordo again and/or more of Baba Eddie on the next go-around. Kudos, DJO--you're on fire.

Excuse me while I go dig up some old school tango. show less

Daniel José Older is a fucking poet. No matter what he writes, no matter how horrible, how emotionally destructive, he can find a small bit of beauty in it and he shares that beauty with us.

Carlos Delacruz, the half-living, half-dead protagonist is the beauty in this story. He's neither one thing nor the other, he has no idea who he was before he died and came back, and he ends up in some fairly terrible situations. But he's always looking for something else. No, not looking. He's always show more aware there's something else. He sees the joy in his friends, he seizes the joy in his life. He sees the beauty in the ordinary.

Yes, this is urban fantasy. There are ghosts and monsters and terrible things. That's there for you, too. But Carlos is at the center of it all, reminding us that there's a spark of goodness in everything. show less