Scoundrels

I initially chose to read this book because I enjoy Sci-fi, especially Star Wars or Star Trek. After getting into the book, I found the Sci-fi tag was only secondary. The heist and con games unfolding took center stage. The fact that the story used future technology only made the book better. How to break into a safe protected by all these not as yet existent security measures simply fascinated me.

The story begins after Han Solo and his partner Chewbaca helped the rebel alliance destroy the Death Star. Han somehow lost the reward credits he received, so the story starts with Han broke and still owing money to Jabba the Hut, who placed a bounty on Han's head. After witnessing Han handle an altercation in a cantina resulting from the show more aforementioned bounty, Han is approached by a man, Eanjor, who offered a split of 163 million credits to re-acquire the fortune stolen from his father. Eanjer claimed that after a man named Villachor robbed his father's business, he blew up the building wounding Eanjer and killing his father. Eanjer had a prosthetic hand and eye and was covered with bandages and definately looked injured. Han checked the story and found Eanjer's father was indeed robbed and killed, so he agreed to the job only if he could assemble more people to help with the heist.

The "scoundrels" Han assembled each had their own specialties; a team of twin girls who are expert burglars; a young man expert with explosives; a young woman with a photographic memory; a slight of hand and quick change artist; a space ship / vehicle thief; a woman who is a procurement expert; and the front man, Lando Calrissan. With Eanjor, Han, and Chewbaca, the 163 million would be split 11 ways. Also, in order to receive the full value of the credits, their was a biometric chip implanted so only Eanjer's father or family member with a dna match would be able to cash them. This gave Eanjer confidence that he would not be double crossed.

The target of the heist, Villachor, was a sector chief for one of the galaxies most powerful crime organizations known as Black Sun. Investigating Black Sun was a pair of Imperial security operatives (spies for Darth Vader.) They become aware of Han's interest and assume an observatory mode. However, they do not remain in that mode for the entire story. Then the alliances and double crosses begin. The final twist does not appear until (literally) the last couple of sentences.

I absolutely loved this book. It appealed to me on so many different fronts. Don't pass this up because you do not enjoy reading Sci-fi. This is a top notch heist and con artist book first and foremost. If you are a Sci-fi fan, it is only a bonus. Knowing some of the characters from previous Star Wars movies or books is also another bonus. For me, a fan of all, it was simply a fantastic and extremely enjoyable read. show less

4 Stars

Despite this being published 10 years ago, the spirit of this fictional universe remains true!

Taking place right after the movie Star Wars, Han finds himself trying to find a lucrative job to get Jabba off his back. When he’s approached to put together a team to retrieve stolen goods, the lure of equally splitting over 160 million credits is too strong to pass up despite the fact that Han’s not actually an expert in thievery.

This is mission impossible to the max as Han and his team of scoundrels (so called experts in people skills, tech, explosives, surveillance, and specialty item “acquirement”) must breach an impenetrable fortress. To up the ante, they discover an extra lure to the job - a set of data cards that holds a show more plethora of blackmail material that many parties would be interested in. However, it soon becomes apparent that they’re not dealing with just another rote criminal but the notorious all powerful Black Sun crime syndicate. Toss in the Empire who also has a huge stake in acquiring the data cards, and this job just got potentially deadly real fast.

Reassuredly, in Zahn’s capable hands, multiple plot threads are going at once. The Star Wars world building and layering is impressive as twists, turns, enemies and friends, all become interchangeable. This works best by showcasing Han’s fly by the seat of his pants bravado that seems to consistently come out on the winning side and is always highly entertaining. It doesn't hurt that his entire team is impressive with their skills and ingenuity with great shoutouts to Lando and Chewie!

So, if you want a fun high stakes heist set in the Star Wars universe, then this should not disappoint! show less

My Review: 6 - Worth Reading, with Reservations

Here's the thing: I love Star Wars. I am not, however, a fan of heist stories (think Ocean's Eleven, etc). This book is Star Wars meets Ocean's Eleven, featuring Han, Lando, Chewie, and a few other surprising and familiar faces along the way. On one hand, if you've not read any of the Expanded Universe novels, and you're a fan of both things mentioned above, you should have fun with this tale. If you're a fan of the EU novels, there's something weird about this one… it doesn't really feel like a Star Wars story, despite being written by the great and wonderful Timothy Zahn. There were also a few cameos and background that made me raise my eyebrows, because I was trying desperately to show more remember things I'd read years and years and years ago. So yeah, this is probably awesome for an EU newbie. It's plain fun for the regular EU reader, but I can't shake the feeling of weird it gave me. Not a bad weird, mind you, as it was fun to see what Han was up to between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Still, I'm looking more forward to James S.A. Corey's take on the character, which will hopefully be published late this year. :) show less

I initially chose to read this book because I enjoy Sci-fi, especially Star Wars or Star Trek. After getting into the book, I found the Sci-fi tag was only secondary. The heist and con games unfolding took center stage. The fact that the story used future technology only made the book better. How to break into a safe protected by all these not as yet existent security measures simply fascinated me.

The story begins after Han Solo and his partner Chewbaca helped the rebel alliance destroy the Death Star. Han somehow lost the reward credits he received, so the story starts with Han broke and still owing money to Jabba the Hut, who placed a bounty on Han's head. After witnessing Han handle an altercation in a cantina resulting from the show more aforementioned bounty, Han is approached by a man, Eanjor, who offered a split of 163 million credits to re-acquire the fortune stolen from his father. Eanjer claimed that after a man named Villachor robbed his father's business, he blew up the building wounding Eanjer and killing his father. Eanjer had a prosthetic hand and eye and was covered with bandages and definately looked injured. Han checked the story and found Eanjer's father was indeed robbed and killed, so he agreed to the job only if he could assemble more people to help with the heist.

The "scoundrels" Han assembled each had their own specialties; a team of twin girls who are expert burglars; a young man expert with explosives; a young woman with a photographic memory; a slight of hand and quick change artist; a space ship / vehicle thief; a woman who is a procurement expert; and the front man, Lando Calrissan. With Eanjor, Han, and Chewbaca, the 163 million would be split 11 ways. Also, in order to receive the full value of the credits, their was a biometric chip implanted so only Eanjer's father or family member with a dna match would be able to cash them. This gave Eanjer confidence that he would not be double crossed.

The target of the heist, Villachor, was a sector chief for one of the galaxies most powerful crime organizations known as Black Sun. Investigating Black Sun was a pair of Imperial security operatives (spies for Darth Vader.) They become aware of Han's interest and assume an observatory mode. However, they do not remain in that mode for the entire story. Then the alliances and double crosses begin. The final twist does not appear until (literally) the last couple of sentences.

I absolutely loved this book. It appealed to me on so many different fronts. Don't pass this up because you do not enjoy reading Sci-fi. This is a top notch heist and con artist book first and foremost. If you are a Sci-fi fan, it is only a bonus. Knowing some of the characters from previous Star Wars movies or books is also another bonus. For me, a fan of all, it was simply a fantastic and extremely enjoyable read. show less

If, like Princess Leia, there aren't enough scoundrels in your life, then Timothy Zahn's Star War's heist novel might be for you.

I'm a sucker for Star Wars, but after gobbling up The Thrawn Trilogy as a teenager, I somehow lost track of Star Wars fiction. I don't know if it was disappointment with the Prequel films or because I got distracted by other books, but somehow I didn't read many other Star Wars novels. For a lot of years, I didn't read anything in the Star Wars Universe.

Then, I discovered John Jackson Miller's Kenobi, which I listened to an audio production of. The reading was fantastically produced, full of sound, music, voice actors, and sound effects, and I loved it. It didn't hurt that the writing was good, the plot show more gripping, and the characters sympathetic. Never was life on Tatooine so colorful and alive, even in A New Hope. Obi Wan Kenobi was already one of my favorites of the many Star Wars characters (let's be honest: the Prequels are as much about him as they are about Anakin's fall to the Dark Side). After Miller's novel, I was sold: Kenobi was a paragon of the Jedi, an archetypal hero.

I was still relishing the savor of Miller's Kenobi when a friend recommended Timothy Zahn's Scoundrels, noting how much he had enjoyed the audio version. I found a copy of the audio book, and I was not disappointed. Like Kenobi, the reading integrates occasional sound effects, music, and adept voice changes. Star Wars audio books, I am coming to realize, are full productions and worthy entertainment.

As a story, Scoundrels isn't too shabby, either. In contrast to Kenobi--and largely, the Star Wars movies--it is a heist type plot instead of a hero's journey. Initially, it was a rough shift for me. I'm a sucker for the hero's journey, and putting the characters I already knew into a heist setting was a shift. Once I realized what I was dealing with, however, I began to enjoy Scoundrels.

The events of Scoundrels take place some time after A New Hope and before The Empire Strikes Back and provide the back story for Lando Calrissian's chilly welcome when the Millennium Falcon lands on Cloud City after Han, Chewbacca, Leia and the droids escape from Hoth. Han and Lando already have a rocky relationship, but when an opportunity to steal a massive fortune from a corrupt member of the Dark Sun crime syndicate, the two erstwhile friends find themselves in cahoots, along with a bevy of colorful and shady characters, some heroes, some shady, and almost all hiding a secret.

Zahn's Star Wars heist Scoundrels is enjoyable, well paced, and if his characters are less sympathetic than the white knights of the Rebellion, it's only because this is a heist novel and almost everyone is working an angle to their own advantage. Still, heist novels are fun, and Zahn weaves the disparate plots and subplots with a deft hand, and each twist and surprise is a satisfying reveal show less

I initially chose to read this book because I enjoy Sci-fi, especially Star Wars or Star Trek. After getting into the book, I found the Sci-fi tag was only secondary. The heist and con games unfolding took center stage. The fact that the story used future technology only made the book better. How to break into a safe protected by all these not as yet existent security measures simply fascinated me.

The story begins after Han Solo and his partner Chewbaca helped the rebel alliance destroy the Death Star. Han somehow lost the reward credits he received, so the story starts with Han broke and still owing money to Jabba the Hut, who placed a bounty on Han's head. After witnessing Han handle an altercation in a cantina resulting from the show more aforementioned bounty, Han is approached by a man, Eanjor, who offered a split of 163 million credits to re-acquire the fortune stolen from his father. Eanjer claimed that after a man named Villachor robbed his father's business, he blew up the building wounding Eanjer and killing his father. Eanjer had a prosthetic hand and eye and was covered with bandages and definately looked injured. Han checked the story and found Eanjer's father was indeed robbed and killed, so he agreed to the job only if he could assemble more people to help with the heist.

The "scoundrels" Han assembled each had their own specialties; a team of twin girls who are expert burglars; a young man expert with explosives; a young woman with a photographic memory; a slight of hand and quick change artist; a space ship / vehicle thief; a woman who is a procurement expert; and the front man, Lando Calrissan. With Eanjor, Han, and Chewbaca, the 163 million would be split 11 ways. Also, in order to receive the full value of the credits, their was a biometric chip implanted so only Eanjer's father or family member with a dna match would be able to cash them. This gave Eanjer confidence that he would not be double crossed.

The target of the heist, Villachor, was a sector chief for one of the galaxies most powerful crime organizations known as Black Sun. Investigating Black Sun was a pair of Imperial security operatives (spies for Darth Vader.) They become aware of Han's interest and assume an observatory mode. However, they do not remain in that mode for the entire story. Then the alliances and double crosses begin. The final twist does not appear until (literally) the last couple of sentences.

I absolutely loved this book. It appealed to me on so many different fronts. Don't pass this up because you do not enjoy reading Sci-fi. This is a top notch heist and con artist book first and foremost. If you are a Sci-fi fan, it is only a bonus. Knowing some of the characters from previous Star Wars movies or books is also another bonus. For me, a fan of all, it was simply a fantastic and extremely enjoyable read. show less

I initially chose to read this book because I enjoy Sci-fi, especially Star Wars or Star Trek. After getting into the book, I found the Sci-fi tag was only secondary. The heist and con games unfolding took center stage. The fact that the story used future technology only made the book better. How to break into a safe protected by all these not as yet existent security measures simply fascinated me.

The story begins after Han Solo and his partner Chewbaca helped the rebel alliance destroy the Death Star. Han somehow lost the reward credits he received, so the story starts with Han broke and still owing money to Jabba the Hut, who placed a bounty on Han's head. After witnessing Han handle an altercation in a cantina resulting from the show more aforementioned bounty, Han is approached by a man, Eanjor, who offered a split of 163 million credits to re-acquire the fortune stolen from his father. Eanjer claimed that after a man named Villachor robbed his father's business, he blew up the building wounding Eanjer and killing his father. Eanjer had a prosthetic hand and eye and was covered with bandages and definately looked injured. Han checked the story and found Eanjer's father was indeed robbed and killed, so he agreed to the job only if he could assemble more people to help with the heist.

The "scoundrels" Han assembled each had their own specialties; a team of twin girls who are expert burglars; a young man expert with explosives; a young woman with a photographic memory; a slight of hand and quick change artist; a space ship / vehicle thief; a woman who is a procurement expert; and the front man, Lando Calrissan. With Eanjor, Han, and Chewbaca, the 163 million would be split 11 ways. Also, in order to receive the full value of the credits, their was a biometric chip implanted so only Eanjer's father or family member with a dna match would be able to cash them. This gave Eanjer confidence that he would not be double crossed.

The target of the heist, Villachor, was a sector chief for one of the galaxies most powerful crime organizations known as Black Sun. Investigating Black Sun was a pair of Imperial security operatives (spies for Darth Vader.) They become aware of Han's interest and assume an observatory mode. However, they do not remain in that mode for the entire story. Then the alliances and double crosses begin. The final twist does not appear until (literally) the last couple of sentences.

I absolutely loved this book. It appealed to me on so many different fronts. Don't pass this up because you do not enjoy reading Sci-fi. This is a top notch heist and con artist book first and foremost. If you are a Sci-fi fan, it is only a bonus. Knowing some of the characters from previous Star Wars movies or books is also another bonus. For me, a fan of all, it was simply a fantastic and extremely enjoyable read. show less