Timothy Zahn started his “Star Wars” career with five books dealing with the big picture of galactic war and politics, but his last five entries have been more personal, including two about Outbound Flight, one about stormtroopers and one about Mara Jade. He continues the emphasis on more intimate stories with “Scoundrels” (now available in hardcover), but as far as intimate stories go, this one is rather epic.
That’s because it features 11 people (that’s not a coincidental number, “Ocean’s 11” fans) banding together to pull off the heist of a lifetime. Since Han, Chewie, Lando and most of the others are good guys, Zahn sets it up so they are attempting to steal credits from a Black Sun operative who had stolen them from Eanjer, Han’s contact who sets the whole thing in motion.
Clocking in at nearly 400 pages, “Scoundrels” can’t be compared with the deliciously dime-store “Han Solo Adventures” novels by Brian Daley. But oddly, in one way it’s a tighter story: All of the action takes place in one neighborhood on Wukkar, home of Villachor, the sector chief for the Black Sun criminal organization.
Zahn wanted to tell a yarn with Han and Lando during the classic era but found it difficult to find a place on the timeline. A.C. Crispin’s “Han Solo Trilogy” had set up the falling out between the friends that is referenced when they are reunited in “The Empire Strikes Back.” But even though Han said in that movie that it had been awhile since he’d seen Lando, Zahn figured he could squeeze in one more adventure without it being apocryphal, and that’s why “Scoundrels” takes place immediately after “A New Hope.”
Also on board are Winter, with her photographic memory, explosives expert Kell Tainer and a bunch of new characters with different skill sets. Twin sisters Tavia and Bink are particularly fun, as we see how they use their identical looks to further the mission.
The villains have some serious weight behind them. Villachor is a nasty dude himself, but they get nastier as you go up the ladder of power. Introduced in “Shadows of the Empire” (1996), the Fallen (who recently made their first “Clone Wars” appearance) are among the coolest Expanded Universe inventions with the way they use pheromones to influence people. Also lurking in the shadows of “Scoundrels” are the Imperials.
“Scoundrels” hovers somewhere between a fun romp and a too-complicated heist yarn. Zahn balances plot and character well and keeps the pace moving, but I have to admit there were some details of the plot that I never really grasped. It’s not a masterpiece like the Thrawn trilogy, but fans of the rogue-ish side of “Star Wars” will want to at least check “Scoundrels” out from the library.
And now for a SPOILER ALERT as I address one big surprise “Scoundrels.” Stop reading now if you haven’t read the book yet.
The revelation of Eanjer’s true identity on the final page was cool, but I think Zahn might’ve missed an opportunity here. He didn’t describe Eanjer in enough detail that we had a fair chance of guessing he was actually Boba Fett, and I wish he would’ve. Furthermore, I wonder if it might’ve been better to tell the reader right up front that Eanjer is Boba Fett.
Somewhat accidentally, thanks to comic-book writers resurrecting Fett from the Sarlacc’s maw and George Lucas introducing Fett’s backstory late in the game, the bounty hunter holds somewhat of an inexplicable place in the galaxy: With his helmet on, everyone recognizes him as Boba Fett, and he gets a lot of mileage out of reputation alone. With his helmet off, he looks like a clone, and this look is also recognizable around the galaxy because the Clone Wars are fairly fresh in people’s minds. But Fett — somewhat unbelievably — never takes off his helmet in front of people, so his real face is a moot point.
But in “Scoundrels,” although he disguises himself with synthflesh, he’s not wearing a helmet. I think this could’ve been a cool way for Zahn to explore what Fett himself thinks of his dual identities — clone and Mandalorian — both of which are part of his background, but neither of which describes his life. Also, it might’ve been fun if Han thought he was working with a rogue clone or Imperial defector, not realizing that it’s Fett.
What did you think of the final-page surprise and “Scoundrels” in general? Share your thoughts in the comment thread.
Comments
I realize this post is more than two years old so not sure if anyone will actually read my comment here, but I just read the book and wanted to weigh in on the Eanjer/Boba Fett thing. I found it pretty implausible that Han wouldn’t have recognized “Eanjer” as a clone. Of course if this had been written before the prequels established Boba Fett’s back story we would still have no idea what he looks like, and in that case the twist would have worked (yet another reason Boba’s new back story sucks). I still found the reveal fun though.# Posted By DarthVander | 9/16/15 7:44 AM
Thanks for reading and commenting, even if it is an old post. 🙂 If I recall, the “synthflesh” was how Zahn got around the idea of Han recognizing Boba or at least the fact that he was a clone. I still feel like Zahn missed an opportunity, both in terms of characterizing Boba, and also — as you allude to — Han’s thoughts about clones. Since Han doesn’t know what Boba looks like under the helmet at this point in the EU continuity, it might’ve been neat if Boba simply used his regular face to pose as Eanjer.# Posted By John Hansen | 9/16/15 10:46 AM
It’s funny how the previous comment was 2 years late.. almost a year later I was just thinking of this book.. I remember walking down the boardwalk telling my girlfriend (in my 40’s so I saw the original movies in the theaters) how freaking cool the Boba Fett reveal was after she was asking what I was reading lately.. Of course she stared at me blankly.. but that’s part of the mystery too.# Posted By Scott Hershey | 6/30/16 8:07 PM
I guess it’s just a matter of taste. Because Zahn doesn’t tell the reader that the character is Fett, he can’t explore Fett’s inner thoughts, but he does provide the surprise at the end. I’m currently reading “Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines,” and that does explore Fett’s thoughts, so I guess there are books that provide that angle too.# Posted By John Hansen | 7/1/16 12:37 PM