One of the best things about a new Star Wars film are the books that come out in support of them and Solo: A Star Wars Story is no exception. Last Shot by Daniel José Older was a wonderful companion to the movie, giving depth to both Han and Lando around the time of Solo but also featured them after Return of the Jedi. Fans would be doing themselves a disservice if they neglected the YA novels that have been released as tie-ins to the movies. Lost Stars is considered one of the best of the new canon and Rebel Rising added tremendous depth to Jyn in Rogue One. With that in mind, Most Wanted looks to do the same thing for Solo by giving us the backstory to how Han and Qi’ra become the team we see in the film.
Character Work
The joy of these books is when they help flesh out the characters, giving us insight as to who they are and who they will become. Rae Carson nails the characterization of Han and Qi’ra perfectly. She is able to use the plot of the book to not only get them to where we see them in the film but to explain who they are at the core. It’s fascinating to see what attracts Han and Qi’ra to each other and not so much romantically, but as people. Carson is able to show though her story the reason these two people gravitate towards each other and make such a good team. She’s also able to show the complexity of their relationship and why they’ll continue to care so much about each other, even when taking different paths in the end. The nuances here are what stand out and Carson brings those to life beautifully.
What Will Save You
The biggest strengths in the book is Carson’s ability to sow the seeds of incongruity between Han and Qi’ra’s worldview. For Han life is, “…having one person in all the galaxy to fly with. Someone you can trust to have your back”. His experiences in Most Wanted galvanize this idea for him, whereas for Qi’ra, even though she sees the benefit of this kind of thinking, she cannot fully commit to it. She senses that it’s power and money that will give her the freedom she so desperately deserves, because in the end, everyone will betray you. What’s so good about this, is again, it’s nuanced, it’s not clear cut, especially when it comes to Qi’ra.
The Book
The bar for these books has been set very high with stories like Lost Stars and Rebel Rising and thankfully, Most Wanted lives up! Carson’s world building on Corellia is excellent. She adds to the understanding of the White Worms gang, Qi’ra’s background with The Silos, other crime syndicates on Corellia and the idea of droid freedom from Solo. What makes this book so good is the way it adds to the film and expands the experience through deepening the understanding of the characters and the life they had before the film. Most Wanted is highly recommended and rated 4 and a 1/2 stars out of 5.
This review is by Matthew Rushing of Trek.fm‘s The 602 Club and TheNerdParty.com‘s AggressiveNegotiations:A Star Wars Podcast. He can be found on Twitter @mattrushing02.
Author: Matt Rushing
Matthew Rushing is the host of Trek.fm‘s The 602 Club and co-host of TheNerdParty.com‘s AggressiveNegotiations: A Star Wars Podcast. He can be found on Twitter @mattrushing02.