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Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars #3
Star Wars: Hard Merchandise
Boba Fett fears only one enemy--the one he cannot see....
Feared and admired, respected and despised, Boba Fett enjoys a dubious reputation as the galaxy's most successful bounty hunter. Yet even a man like Boba Fett can have one too many enemies....
When Boba Fett stumbles across evidence implicating Prince Xizor in the murder of Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle, Fett makes himself an enemy even he fears: the unknown mastermind behind a monstrous deception, who will kill to hide his tracks. Fett also finds himself in possession of an amnesiac young woman named Neelah, who may be the key to the mystery--or a decoy leading Fett into a murderous ambush. Fett's last hope is to run through the list of Xizor's hidden enemies. And since Xizor's hidden enemies are almost as legion as Fett's, the chance of survival is slim--even for someone as skilled and relentless as Boba Fett.
(c) 1999 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
Feared and admired, respected and despised, Boba Fett enjoys a dubious reputation as the galaxy's most successful bounty hunter. Yet even a man like Boba Fett can have one too many enemies....
When Boba Fett stumbles across evidence implicating Prince Xizor in the murder of Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle, Fett makes himself an enemy even he fears: the unknown mastermind behind a monstrous deception, who will kill to hide his tracks. Fett also finds himself in possession of an amnesiac young woman named Neelah, who may be the key to the mystery--or a decoy leading Fett into a murderous ambush. Fett's last hope is to run through the list of Xizor's hidden enemies. And since Xizor's hidden enemies are almost as legion as Fett's, the chance of survival is slim--even for someone as skilled and relentless as Boba Fett.
(c) 1999 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
358 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1999
109 people are currently reading
2,584 people want to read
About the author
K.W. Jeter
97Ìýbooks358ÌýfollowersKevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. He is also credited with the coining of the term "Steampunk." K. W. has written novels set in the Star Trek and Star Wars universe, and has written three (to date) sequels to Blade Runner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
May 16, 2023
A bit underwhelming.
July 24, 2018
It’s a well known saying to, “be happy it happened,� following the demise of a pleasant experience. However, what if you were really never happy with it to begin with? And the further the experience continued � the more and more awful it got? Well, those gnawing feelings of disappointment and resentment for lost time best describes my experience with the so-called “Bounty Hunter’s Trilogy,� and especially its final bookend as known as, “Hard Merchandise.�
As all things mangled, mis-handled, or most importantly misleading, a simple glance at the cover told the story of what a doozie this read was gonna be. Just like the last that featured an R5 unit (that was never seen) and a full-fledged field of Xizor’s enigmatic veneer (whose actions were only related in mind-numbingly boring dialogue regarding intrigue and such) � the suitably misnamed Hard Merchandise features Emperor Palpatine (who’s only really mentioned in name), Stormtroopers (that aren’t actually here neither), and to top it all off; a single Imperial Guard who (drum roll here� also isn’t in this at all!). The cover is a sprawlingly misleading mess and it well reflected the happenings within.
Sure enough, given the buffoonery and suspect plot development from the previous two offerings (which I suspect were re-written at last moment due to evil Jorge’s request) less of a story materializes and there is more of a manifestation of what happens when both when an author has written himself into a corner and the publishers/editors aren’t helping neither. From the beginning we’re swirled up with super-duper minor ancillaries Zuckuss and 4-Lom (who, surprise! / aren’t seen again) whose actions form a paper-thin tread that somehow binds both beginning and end via another thruway chracter. Between which, the increasingly uncharming trio of Fett (who retains his enigmatic murderousness to blunting effect), Dengar (who just kinda complains all the time), and Neela (who literally spends 95% of the series just complaining as well) somehow twist and turn their way toward the futures end at Kuat Drive Yards.
Toss in some super-vague back-storying plotted alongside an occasional peppering of intrigue and backstabbing occurring at the Kuat Drive Yards within its inner clans, the gunk of writ just grows and grows in all the wrong ways. Putrid at best and incohesive at worst, this barely stitched together quilt of a book results in a horribly mismatched product that seems to be at very odds with the ostensible goal(s) of its progenitors: author-publisher-editor(s) (and perhaps even evil Jorge himself) all contributed to this fetid stew of awfulness.
Ultimately there really isn’t much to show from edition #1 all the way to the feeble finale of edition #3. Just as the Shadows interquel so sickeningly exemplared � it’s all about (the) business. While SOTE cluttered up our minds first and robbed wallets next with it’s bevy of video games, comics, novels, and even action figures � thankfully K.W. Jeter’s written fecal matter only dropped three (mostly forgotten) turds upon the literary world at the end of the 21st century.
If you’ve got any absinthe lying around at home: now’s the time chug.
As all things mangled, mis-handled, or most importantly misleading, a simple glance at the cover told the story of what a doozie this read was gonna be. Just like the last that featured an R5 unit (that was never seen) and a full-fledged field of Xizor’s enigmatic veneer (whose actions were only related in mind-numbingly boring dialogue regarding intrigue and such) � the suitably misnamed Hard Merchandise features Emperor Palpatine (who’s only really mentioned in name), Stormtroopers (that aren’t actually here neither), and to top it all off; a single Imperial Guard who (drum roll here� also isn’t in this at all!). The cover is a sprawlingly misleading mess and it well reflected the happenings within.
Sure enough, given the buffoonery and suspect plot development from the previous two offerings (which I suspect were re-written at last moment due to evil Jorge’s request) less of a story materializes and there is more of a manifestation of what happens when both when an author has written himself into a corner and the publishers/editors aren’t helping neither. From the beginning we’re swirled up with super-duper minor ancillaries Zuckuss and 4-Lom (who, surprise! / aren’t seen again) whose actions form a paper-thin tread that somehow binds both beginning and end via another thruway chracter. Between which, the increasingly uncharming trio of Fett (who retains his enigmatic murderousness to blunting effect), Dengar (who just kinda complains all the time), and Neela (who literally spends 95% of the series just complaining as well) somehow twist and turn their way toward the futures end at Kuat Drive Yards.
Toss in some super-vague back-storying plotted alongside an occasional peppering of intrigue and backstabbing occurring at the Kuat Drive Yards within its inner clans, the gunk of writ just grows and grows in all the wrong ways. Putrid at best and incohesive at worst, this barely stitched together quilt of a book results in a horribly mismatched product that seems to be at very odds with the ostensible goal(s) of its progenitors: author-publisher-editor(s) (and perhaps even evil Jorge himself) all contributed to this fetid stew of awfulness.
Ultimately there really isn’t much to show from edition #1 all the way to the feeble finale of edition #3. Just as the Shadows interquel so sickeningly exemplared � it’s all about (the) business. While SOTE cluttered up our minds first and robbed wallets next with it’s bevy of video games, comics, novels, and even action figures � thankfully K.W. Jeter’s written fecal matter only dropped three (mostly forgotten) turds upon the literary world at the end of the 21st century.
If you’ve got any absinthe lying around at home: now’s the time chug.
July 9, 2009
There was a story here, enough for one--if not three--volumes, but Jeter just couldn't pull it off. If you're going to waste the time, read only Volume Three. Once again--after an opening scene--the first third is largely recapitulation. In fact, great sections of all three volumes are consumed by long, didactic monologues which tell, rather than show, the story.
Improbabilities abound again: dead arachnoids reanimated, power cables cut with vibro-blades and no one electrocuted, Space ships blown to dust except when Boba Fett is in them, gambling bets paid off before the outcome is assured/let alone verified. The biggest improbability is Kuat of Kuat deciding to destroy the entire Kuat Drive Yard, and him with it, without the slightest fight to hold them against a dozen y-wings and a minor internal revolt. If all those workers were really willing to die with him, they'd have been willing to fight for him, too.
Jeter managed to avoid impossible overlaps with Episode Five even though his tale swung dizzily between Episode Four and Six times.
The cover art, as is not unusual, bore little relationship to the story. Volume Two features y-wing fighters (which don't appear in the tale until volume three); Volume Three's cover has the Imperial guards and stormtroopers on dewbacks, which figure not a all.
Don't waste your time or money.
Improbabilities abound again: dead arachnoids reanimated, power cables cut with vibro-blades and no one electrocuted, Space ships blown to dust except when Boba Fett is in them, gambling bets paid off before the outcome is assured/let alone verified. The biggest improbability is Kuat of Kuat deciding to destroy the entire Kuat Drive Yard, and him with it, without the slightest fight to hold them against a dozen y-wings and a minor internal revolt. If all those workers were really willing to die with him, they'd have been willing to fight for him, too.
Jeter managed to avoid impossible overlaps with Episode Five even though his tale swung dizzily between Episode Four and Six times.
The cover art, as is not unusual, bore little relationship to the story. Volume Two features y-wing fighters (which don't appear in the tale until volume three); Volume Three's cover has the Imperial guards and stormtroopers on dewbacks, which figure not a all.
Don't waste your time or money.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2017
This is the 3rd installment of the Bounty Hunter Wars, which focuses on Boba Fett, his partnership with Dengar, and the mysterious Neelah. This follows the events of both book 1 and 2 of the series, so don't try and read these out of order, you'll be pretty lost. Like the other 2 books, this includes both present day events as well as flashbacks pre-sarlacc pit.
The more I read of this series, the more I wasn't feeling it. It's a weird book because there is a lot of stuff that goes on, but nothing is really happening. ( Verses book 1, which was fantastic ).
This is basically the book to end the series, in the respect that anything that was left unanswered in the prior 2 books is finally tied up. You find out who was behind the downfall of The Bounty Hunter's Guild, why they did it, what they want to accomplish, and who Neelah really is.
The book ends about the time of the end of The Empire Strikes Back; with Dengar's betrothed telling him the war is over; the empire lost.
Not horrible, not great.
Still happy to have read it.
VIVA LA BOBA FETT!
The more I read of this series, the more I wasn't feeling it. It's a weird book because there is a lot of stuff that goes on, but nothing is really happening. ( Verses book 1, which was fantastic ).
This is basically the book to end the series, in the respect that anything that was left unanswered in the prior 2 books is finally tied up. You find out who was behind the downfall of The Bounty Hunter's Guild, why they did it, what they want to accomplish, and who Neelah really is.
The book ends about the time of the end of The Empire Strikes Back; with Dengar's betrothed telling him the war is over; the empire lost.
Not horrible, not great.
Still happy to have read it.
VIVA LA BOBA FETT!
July 12, 2022
Star Wars: Hard Merchandise By K. W. Jeter's, is a media tie-in novel based on the Star Wars film franchise, and the concluding novel of The Bounty Hunter War trilogy.
Set in the Legends timeline. Boba Fett is back in action, although lacking his beloved ship Slave I, and he wants to know who tried to kill him on Tatooine and why. Adding to the mystery is a cryptic recording of the slaughter of Owen and Beru Lars by Imperial Stormtroopers that we saw the aftermath of in A New Hope. New evidence in the form of specialized smell sensors used add to the recording a sign indicating Prince Xizor might have been involved in this tragic event. None of the characters really believe that's true, but Boba Fett smells credits at the end of the trail and wants to find out where the recording originated and why someone would want to implicate Prince Xizor.
This book starts off very well, Zuckuss and 4-LOM hunting was excellent, you really got a sense of their true skill as hunters, and the conclusion to the past series of events was entertaining as well. The book really starts to drag from there, characters get information out of no where just to advance the convoluted plot, and the ending was really bad considering what you would expect out of a book featuring Boba Fett (More deaths in the conclusion than just one guy killing himself). I don't recall Boba Fett killing a single person in the present setting of the book, and I think this book is much worse off for it. In fact, nobody does much of anything besides talk in the present sections, while this may work for titles with more intrigue, this book cannot pull it off.
The characters in this book are roughly the same as before, Bossk and Dengar are still treated as utter buffoons, and Boba Fett is still "the best". Zuckuss is handled much better in this book, even if he is only in the first handful of pages, seemingly taking a role of actual, dangerous bounty hunter instead of easily duped thug. Kud'ar Mub'at gets a very unsatisfactory and expected conclusion to his story, and I would've liked the author to have taken a different route with him other than the one foreshadowed two entire books ago. Neelah was annoying also, besides being cliche and bossy, I really didn't like her story once it was fleshed out, this series could've done without her and would not be lacking much more than an excuse to have the flashback scenes.
The author improves a slight bit when it comes to writing, no long are random words like Kuat and barve written into every possible place, however he does have a tendency to repeat adjectives far too often. One example of this is the "Trandoshan-sized grooves" in the control panel of Bossk's ship. The endless thoughts and miscellany in between every piece of dialogue also plagues this novel (along with frequent recaps of the first two books). This is probably my chief concern with this book, there is way too much filler present and so much recap that you have to wonder why this wasn't a duology or standalone novel instead of a three part series.
All in all, Probably the best in the Bounty Hunter Wars series, you might as well read it if you've struggled through Mandalorian Armor and Slave Ship.
Set in the Legends timeline. Boba Fett is back in action, although lacking his beloved ship Slave I, and he wants to know who tried to kill him on Tatooine and why. Adding to the mystery is a cryptic recording of the slaughter of Owen and Beru Lars by Imperial Stormtroopers that we saw the aftermath of in A New Hope. New evidence in the form of specialized smell sensors used add to the recording a sign indicating Prince Xizor might have been involved in this tragic event. None of the characters really believe that's true, but Boba Fett smells credits at the end of the trail and wants to find out where the recording originated and why someone would want to implicate Prince Xizor.
This book starts off very well, Zuckuss and 4-LOM hunting was excellent, you really got a sense of their true skill as hunters, and the conclusion to the past series of events was entertaining as well. The book really starts to drag from there, characters get information out of no where just to advance the convoluted plot, and the ending was really bad considering what you would expect out of a book featuring Boba Fett (More deaths in the conclusion than just one guy killing himself). I don't recall Boba Fett killing a single person in the present setting of the book, and I think this book is much worse off for it. In fact, nobody does much of anything besides talk in the present sections, while this may work for titles with more intrigue, this book cannot pull it off.
The characters in this book are roughly the same as before, Bossk and Dengar are still treated as utter buffoons, and Boba Fett is still "the best". Zuckuss is handled much better in this book, even if he is only in the first handful of pages, seemingly taking a role of actual, dangerous bounty hunter instead of easily duped thug. Kud'ar Mub'at gets a very unsatisfactory and expected conclusion to his story, and I would've liked the author to have taken a different route with him other than the one foreshadowed two entire books ago. Neelah was annoying also, besides being cliche and bossy, I really didn't like her story once it was fleshed out, this series could've done without her and would not be lacking much more than an excuse to have the flashback scenes.
The author improves a slight bit when it comes to writing, no long are random words like Kuat and barve written into every possible place, however he does have a tendency to repeat adjectives far too often. One example of this is the "Trandoshan-sized grooves" in the control panel of Bossk's ship. The endless thoughts and miscellany in between every piece of dialogue also plagues this novel (along with frequent recaps of the first two books). This is probably my chief concern with this book, there is way too much filler present and so much recap that you have to wonder why this wasn't a duology or standalone novel instead of a three part series.
All in all, Probably the best in the Bounty Hunter Wars series, you might as well read it if you've struggled through Mandalorian Armor and Slave Ship.
January 18, 2020
Three novels, over a thousand pages, and I still can't figure out what motivates Jeter's interpretation of Boba Fett. Over and over again, he states that he wants money and that he wants to be the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, but... is that all there is to it? His motivations -- the structure around which much of this story is built -- come off one-dimensional and childish. He wants to be the best because he already is and wants to keep it that way; he wants to make more money because he's already the best and needs more money to keep himself equipped. Everything he says and does is so obnoxious and self-aggrandizing, I can't help but roll my eyes every time he speaks. His dialogue tends to boil down to "I'm the smartest man in the room, and here's why, and here's how I'm ten steps ahead of everybody else."
There is one particularly excellent moment in "Hard Merchandise" where this very concept turns on its head for the first and only time in the trilogy. It's a moment that gives poor Bossk (who's been written as little more than an idiot throughout) time to shine, and could have finally given Fett some much-needed characterization, but he returns to his usual self right after.
This book (well, the whole trilogy) also has a serious problem with exposition. It explains the same simple concepts ad nauseam throughout, sometimes re-explaining concepts or events immediately after they happen. It even manages to exposit what little more it can on Boba's motivations within the last ten pages of the book, where all of the story's plot threads and themes should be able to speak for themselves. Pointless explanations are added to almost everything and everyone, down to hand gestures and facial expressions that are fine every once and a while, but are painted so clearly, so often, it's like slamming again and again into the same brick wall.
I do need to mention my new favorite Star Wars character, though: Kud'ar Mub'at the Assembler, a spider-like, siphonophore-esque creature operating as a go-between for shady underworld dealings. Throughout this trilogy, Kud'ar Mub'at's eerie web-ship-slash-brain, pleasant manner of speaking, and complicated games of deceit have been a highlight. It's a shame it, nor its species, ever appear again in the Star Wars expanded universe, it felt like the perfect combination of familiar and alien. I love when Star Wars isn't afraid to get weird.
Overall this trilogy, and this book, was forgettable. I can't see myself ever re-reading it, but it adds a lot of little interesting bits of world-building, like the Assemblers. Unfortunately its mysteries are uninteresting, its resolutions are forgettable, and its major players either feel shallow, stupid, or obnoxious. The mysteries its characters try to solve are somehow simultaneously overly complicated and overly simple, and it results in a game of four-dimensional chess on a tiny game board where half the players are thinking in two dimensions and the other half have inexplicable meta knowledge of exactly what's going to happen next for no stated reason.
... Also, this is the only book in the trilogy that features Palpatine on the cover, but it's also the only one in which he doesn't appear. What's up with that?
There is one particularly excellent moment in "Hard Merchandise" where this very concept turns on its head for the first and only time in the trilogy. It's a moment that gives poor Bossk (who's been written as little more than an idiot throughout) time to shine, and could have finally given Fett some much-needed characterization, but he returns to his usual self right after.
This book (well, the whole trilogy) also has a serious problem with exposition. It explains the same simple concepts ad nauseam throughout, sometimes re-explaining concepts or events immediately after they happen. It even manages to exposit what little more it can on Boba's motivations within the last ten pages of the book, where all of the story's plot threads and themes should be able to speak for themselves. Pointless explanations are added to almost everything and everyone, down to hand gestures and facial expressions that are fine every once and a while, but are painted so clearly, so often, it's like slamming again and again into the same brick wall.
I do need to mention my new favorite Star Wars character, though: Kud'ar Mub'at the Assembler, a spider-like, siphonophore-esque creature operating as a go-between for shady underworld dealings. Throughout this trilogy, Kud'ar Mub'at's eerie web-ship-slash-brain, pleasant manner of speaking, and complicated games of deceit have been a highlight. It's a shame it, nor its species, ever appear again in the Star Wars expanded universe, it felt like the perfect combination of familiar and alien. I love when Star Wars isn't afraid to get weird.
Overall this trilogy, and this book, was forgettable. I can't see myself ever re-reading it, but it adds a lot of little interesting bits of world-building, like the Assemblers. Unfortunately its mysteries are uninteresting, its resolutions are forgettable, and its major players either feel shallow, stupid, or obnoxious. The mysteries its characters try to solve are somehow simultaneously overly complicated and overly simple, and it results in a game of four-dimensional chess on a tiny game board where half the players are thinking in two dimensions and the other half have inexplicable meta knowledge of exactly what's going to happen next for no stated reason.
... Also, this is the only book in the trilogy that features Palpatine on the cover, but it's also the only one in which he doesn't appear. What's up with that?
August 5, 2015
"Hard Merchandise" is the final book in the Bounty Hunter Wars series of Star Wars tie-in novels.
I've read this whole series in a relatively short amount of time, but that doesn't mean it's good.
I would characterize the entire trilogy in two words: pointless, predictable.
I like Boba Fett, as do many Star Wars fans. The adventures he has are somewhat believeable but the characterization of him--launching (like every other character) into long expository monologues--just did not seem realistic for the character.
The flaws of the first two books in the series continue here--interminable "meeting" scenes where the plot is dissected in minute detail, equally interminable internal monologues by most of the characters which often rehash the same sets of plot points already beaten to death in the endless meeting scenes, and the fact that the plots all tie together in a much ado about nothing (not to compare this trilogy in any way to Shakespeare) shrug-fest.
The "past" timeline story is ostensibly about the collapse of the old Bounty Hunters Guild. But we only get to see a small part of that struggle. Once Cradossk (Bossk's father) is dead and the Guild splits into two factions, not much is made of the collapse of both factions.
And the catalyst for the story, fabricated evidence that implicated Prince Xizor in the death of Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle, is supposedly why the "villain" of this trilogy, Kuat of Kuat, risked his entire empire by trying to retrieve it (and kill Boba Fett) is really flimsy. Falsified evidence implicating a dead man (Xizor is dead by the time the "current" timeline takes place) isn't the type of thing to ruin an corporate empire over.
On top of that, Kuat is not a dynamic foe. He sits and thinks and strokes his cat. He barely acts at all, except when beating up his Kuatese rivals in book 2.
Bossk appears intermittently as Boba Fett's villainous foil, as does Prince Xizor, but neither stick around for very long.
The entire plot concerning Neelah the mystery woman is lame at best. It's a version of the old amnesiac princess trope.
And Dengar mostly serves as Boba Fett's witless sidekick who is so emotionally besotted by his betrothed and intimidated by Fett that he's nearly useless as a character and a combatant. He's there mostly to be somewhat likeable. Boba Fett is left with almost all of the action, which isn't a bad thing, but Fett is so close to invincible that there's very little sense of danger or risk.
What bohers me most, I'd say, about this trilogy is that it's guilty of flat-out bad writing from beginning to end. It takes interest in pre-established characters and slowly (very slowly) grinds them through a set of predictable conflicts and subjects the reader to lots of repetitive blather.
Take my advice and don't bother with this series unless you're a super hardcore Boba Fett fan or really, really bored.
I've read this whole series in a relatively short amount of time, but that doesn't mean it's good.
I would characterize the entire trilogy in two words: pointless, predictable.
I like Boba Fett, as do many Star Wars fans. The adventures he has are somewhat believeable but the characterization of him--launching (like every other character) into long expository monologues--just did not seem realistic for the character.
The flaws of the first two books in the series continue here--interminable "meeting" scenes where the plot is dissected in minute detail, equally interminable internal monologues by most of the characters which often rehash the same sets of plot points already beaten to death in the endless meeting scenes, and the fact that the plots all tie together in a much ado about nothing (not to compare this trilogy in any way to Shakespeare) shrug-fest.
The "past" timeline story is ostensibly about the collapse of the old Bounty Hunters Guild. But we only get to see a small part of that struggle. Once Cradossk (Bossk's father) is dead and the Guild splits into two factions, not much is made of the collapse of both factions.
And the catalyst for the story, fabricated evidence that implicated Prince Xizor in the death of Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle, is supposedly why the "villain" of this trilogy, Kuat of Kuat, risked his entire empire by trying to retrieve it (and kill Boba Fett) is really flimsy. Falsified evidence implicating a dead man (Xizor is dead by the time the "current" timeline takes place) isn't the type of thing to ruin an corporate empire over.
On top of that, Kuat is not a dynamic foe. He sits and thinks and strokes his cat. He barely acts at all, except when beating up his Kuatese rivals in book 2.
Bossk appears intermittently as Boba Fett's villainous foil, as does Prince Xizor, but neither stick around for very long.
The entire plot concerning Neelah the mystery woman is lame at best. It's a version of the old amnesiac princess trope.
And Dengar mostly serves as Boba Fett's witless sidekick who is so emotionally besotted by his betrothed and intimidated by Fett that he's nearly useless as a character and a combatant. He's there mostly to be somewhat likeable. Boba Fett is left with almost all of the action, which isn't a bad thing, but Fett is so close to invincible that there's very little sense of danger or risk.
What bohers me most, I'd say, about this trilogy is that it's guilty of flat-out bad writing from beginning to end. It takes interest in pre-established characters and slowly (very slowly) grinds them through a set of predictable conflicts and subjects the reader to lots of repetitive blather.
Take my advice and don't bother with this series unless you're a super hardcore Boba Fett fan or really, really bored.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2010
I've read some pretty negative reviews for this trilogy, so I was apprehensive about what K. W. Jeter had done to one of the coolest Star Wars characters. But having now read the books, I have to say I disagree with the critics. I thoroughly enjoyed them.
That's not to say they're shining examples of western literature, but for what they are (Star Wars novels remember - sci-fi paperbacks!) they are well written and entertaining.
I do think that the title of the Series "The Bounty Hunter Wars" is very misleading. There's no war in them per say. A few fights between different bounty hunters, and plenty of scraps against 'hard merchandise' and other nefarious characters from the SW universe, but no actual war between bounty hunters.
But still, I'd recommend these to fans of Boba Fett, or just Star Wars fans in general.
That's not to say they're shining examples of western literature, but for what they are (Star Wars novels remember - sci-fi paperbacks!) they are well written and entertaining.
I do think that the title of the Series "The Bounty Hunter Wars" is very misleading. There's no war in them per say. A few fights between different bounty hunters, and plenty of scraps against 'hard merchandise' and other nefarious characters from the SW universe, but no actual war between bounty hunters.
But still, I'd recommend these to fans of Boba Fett, or just Star Wars fans in general.
March 31, 2010
I can't wait to finish this terrible trilogy. It had slowed down my progress in the Star Wars books by a full year, I kid you not.
Well, I am finally done and the only reason this got 2 stars instead of 1 was that I like the grit of Boba Fett's character and you really do need the entire trilogy to see enough of that. But I can't be happier to be done with this crappy trilogy.
Well, I am finally done and the only reason this got 2 stars instead of 1 was that I like the grit of Boba Fett's character and you really do need the entire trilogy to see enough of that. But I can't be happier to be done with this crappy trilogy.
October 1, 2022
Stars: 2
Re-read: Leaning no, definitely not high on the list.
Recommend to: People who have already read the upper level EU books.
This series didn't live up to my memories of reading it in middle and high school. I think I must have just been wowed by reading so much about Boba Fett. Unfortunately for the series, it was about two books too long. It was somewhat infuriating how much Jeter would repeat things that are either easy to figure out or things that we've already read about over and over again. To make things worse, he also will take 20 pages to describe a conversation or events that should take 2 pages. It's like listening to a politician talk; he kept writing page after page without any substance. If Jeter had really condensed his writing and removed all of the repetition, there was probably a somewhat solid novel in this trilogy. It still was moderately entertaining, but it was a long way off from the masterpiece the teenage version of me thought it was.
The best part of the book is Jeter's characterization of Fett. It is far from perfect, but it looks really good when you compare it to what Disney did to him. Disney took a vicious bounty hunter who cared only about credits and getting his prey and made him into an incompetent wanderer who was mostly interested in being a nice guy and taking care of people.
The other characters were a disappointment.
This book was plagued with absurd events and decisions. The most egregious of which was . Sadly, this insanity was the foundation of the plot for the entire trilogy.
Jeter completely goes off the rails in the action as well. The amount of damage and environments ships and people can take when they are main characters is beyond comprehension. A few examples:
Other complaints:
- He describes what hard merchandise (the bounty a hunter is searching for) is about 100 times. It really got old.
- I don't think Jeter understands space, particularly in the SW set of rules. One example is when Boba Fett says they can't make a long hyperspace jump, because that would give the people after him long enough to find him. Nobody knew where he was though, and you can't intercept someone in hyperspace. Being in hyperspace for a longer period of time would present no danger at all in terms of the likelihood of someone finding you. I've also been very confused about Mubat's web. I know ships have been incorporated into it, but I don't believe they act as a source of propulsion. Jeter mentions a couple of times how Mubat maneuvered his web to a certain place, and specifically a different star system, but it doesn't appear that Mubat has a way of moving his web at anything close to light-speed. It just doesn't make any sense.
- Good lord, why does the entire universe know about the Battle of Endor before it happened? It's like in the earlier books when people apparently knew about Obi-Wan being a jedi living on Tatooine or knew about how important events on Tatooine were early on during the events of ANH. But people all through this book discuss how a battle is being set up in Endor and both sides are gathering their fleets. It makes me wonder if Jeter watched the movies at all. Everyone knows there is going to be a major battle at Endor, where the Emperor has his top secret weapons project? Why were the rebels surprised when the Empire's fleet shows up? Everyone else in the galaxy knew that was coming apparently.
- Another thing that isn't widely known in the EU but Jeter acts like is common knowledge is Prince Xizor's background. In Shadows of the Empire, we learn that Xizor's family was wiped out in a medical test by Vader. This is why he hates Vader. But Xizor destroyed all of the evidence of this, so that nobody knows about his quest for revenge. Apparently, this was common knowledge to people in this story.
- Like the other books in the trilogy, the cover is a complete mess. The cover has six stormtroopers, Emperor Palpatine, one of his royal guards, Bossk, and Boba Fett. A single stormtrooper is in the entire book. Emperor Palpatine is a very background character, and I don't think he even is in a scene in this book. It seems absurd that his face is the most prominent aspect of the cover. Palpatine's royal guards aren't in it at all. Only Bossk and Boba Fett are prominent characters. I just don't understand it.
- This one is mind-boggling.
- There was a scene that made me cringe really hard.
First 2 reads: 4 stars
Re-read: Leaning no, definitely not high on the list.
Recommend to: People who have already read the upper level EU books.
This series didn't live up to my memories of reading it in middle and high school. I think I must have just been wowed by reading so much about Boba Fett. Unfortunately for the series, it was about two books too long. It was somewhat infuriating how much Jeter would repeat things that are either easy to figure out or things that we've already read about over and over again. To make things worse, he also will take 20 pages to describe a conversation or events that should take 2 pages. It's like listening to a politician talk; he kept writing page after page without any substance. If Jeter had really condensed his writing and removed all of the repetition, there was probably a somewhat solid novel in this trilogy. It still was moderately entertaining, but it was a long way off from the masterpiece the teenage version of me thought it was.
The best part of the book is Jeter's characterization of Fett. It is far from perfect, but it looks really good when you compare it to what Disney did to him. Disney took a vicious bounty hunter who cared only about credits and getting his prey and made him into an incompetent wanderer who was mostly interested in being a nice guy and taking care of people.
The other characters were a disappointment.
This book was plagued with absurd events and decisions. The most egregious of which was . Sadly, this insanity was the foundation of the plot for the entire trilogy.
Jeter completely goes off the rails in the action as well. The amount of damage and environments ships and people can take when they are main characters is beyond comprehension. A few examples:
Other complaints:
- He describes what hard merchandise (the bounty a hunter is searching for) is about 100 times. It really got old.
- I don't think Jeter understands space, particularly in the SW set of rules. One example is when Boba Fett says they can't make a long hyperspace jump, because that would give the people after him long enough to find him. Nobody knew where he was though, and you can't intercept someone in hyperspace. Being in hyperspace for a longer period of time would present no danger at all in terms of the likelihood of someone finding you. I've also been very confused about Mubat's web. I know ships have been incorporated into it, but I don't believe they act as a source of propulsion. Jeter mentions a couple of times how Mubat maneuvered his web to a certain place, and specifically a different star system, but it doesn't appear that Mubat has a way of moving his web at anything close to light-speed. It just doesn't make any sense.
- Good lord, why does the entire universe know about the Battle of Endor before it happened? It's like in the earlier books when people apparently knew about Obi-Wan being a jedi living on Tatooine or knew about how important events on Tatooine were early on during the events of ANH. But people all through this book discuss how a battle is being set up in Endor and both sides are gathering their fleets. It makes me wonder if Jeter watched the movies at all. Everyone knows there is going to be a major battle at Endor, where the Emperor has his top secret weapons project? Why were the rebels surprised when the Empire's fleet shows up? Everyone else in the galaxy knew that was coming apparently.
- Another thing that isn't widely known in the EU but Jeter acts like is common knowledge is Prince Xizor's background. In Shadows of the Empire, we learn that Xizor's family was wiped out in a medical test by Vader. This is why he hates Vader. But Xizor destroyed all of the evidence of this, so that nobody knows about his quest for revenge. Apparently, this was common knowledge to people in this story.
- Like the other books in the trilogy, the cover is a complete mess. The cover has six stormtroopers, Emperor Palpatine, one of his royal guards, Bossk, and Boba Fett. A single stormtrooper is in the entire book. Emperor Palpatine is a very background character, and I don't think he even is in a scene in this book. It seems absurd that his face is the most prominent aspect of the cover. Palpatine's royal guards aren't in it at all. Only Bossk and Boba Fett are prominent characters. I just don't understand it.
- This one is mind-boggling.
- There was a scene that made me cringe really hard.
First 2 reads: 4 stars
March 1, 2020
This wraps up the trilogy at a fast pace. The first two books had some long stretches of talking / planning / scheming by various characters. In the second book Boba Fett didn’t have a decent challenge but here he has some great scenes where he is confronted by a smart enemy. Great action scenes and it moves along quickly. The ending almost promises a new set of adventures for him, not sure if that ever happened. Some events happen elsewhere in the EU/Legends series, like the fate of Prince Xizor, I need to look up what finally happened to him.
July 23, 2023
This was a disappointing trilogy. Boba Fett didn’t have any character development at all. He was smarter and more skilled than everybody else in the series, and he always won every encounter. He reminded me a lot of Rey.
Bossk’s story never got a resolution.
Prince Xizor, the main villain, got an off-screen death.
I was not made to care at all about Kuat of Kuat and his felinx.
Vader and Palpatine never showed back up in the story.
The author kept introducing new characters within 100 pages of the end of the last book of the series.
Two stars because Dengar ended up with Manaroo.
Bossk’s story never got a resolution.
Prince Xizor, the main villain, got an off-screen death.
I was not made to care at all about Kuat of Kuat and his felinx.
Vader and Palpatine never showed back up in the story.
The author kept introducing new characters within 100 pages of the end of the last book of the series.
Two stars because Dengar ended up with Manaroo.
December 9, 2020
Ok so now that fett is alive can this be made canon again?
July 15, 2023
Pretty boring trilogy overall. At least all the characters I liked had happy endings
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2024
Boba Fett is a badass, pt 3
February 5, 2020
Mit diesem Band endet die Trilogie um Bobba Fett und wir erfahren nun, was im Hintergrund eigentlich so alles vonstatten gegangen ist. Es ist sehr schade, dass die Hörbücher gekürzt wurden, vor allem, da ich nun die ganze Handlung kenne. Dies animiert mich jedoch dazu, wenn ich dazu komme, die Bücher zu lesen.
Die Reihe ist gut und rund abgeschlossen, sogar eigentlich sehr versöhnlich.
Die Reihe ist gut und rund abgeschlossen, sogar eigentlich sehr versöhnlich.
December 14, 2020
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: the last book in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, Hard Merchandise by K.W. Jeter.
SOME HISTORY:
You might be familiar with Paul Youll’s artwork--he created the cover illustrations for the X-Wing series. But his twin brother, Stephen Youll, also contributed to several Star Wars books, most notably the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy. However, I have to call out whoever from Bantam ordered these covers: the Emperor doesn’t appear in Hard Merchandise at all? Likewise the Royal Guardsman and dewback-riding stormtroopers. They’re well-done covers, they just don’t mesh with the actual content of these books.
Like with , I couldn’t find any data that Hard Merchandise made the New York Times paperback bestseller list for any of the weeks after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
I’m not sure that I was even aware originally that this was a trilogy! Thinking back, I might have thought it was a single book about Boba Fett, so nothing feels familiar here.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
In the past, Boba Fett discovers who was behind the plot to dismantle the Bounty Hunter’s Guild; while in the present, Fett faces off against Kuat of Kuat.
THE CHARACTERS:
My biggest issue with these books has been how Jeter chose to portray Boba Fett. Fett's motivations boil down to two things: he wants to be the best, and he wants to make a lot of money in the process. The problem there is that it's hard for him to come across as a three-dimensional, nuanced character if what's driving him is...money. He's better than everyone else, he outsmarts everyone else, but we're never really given the reason why other than that he's the best. And that's not really enough for me to follow a character and be interested in his journey!
The only interesting bit with Fett we get in this book is when he goes to Tatooine to meet with Bossk because he needs to reacquire the fabricated evidence that Kuat of Kuat had created. Rather than having a big shootout in the cantina, Fett just pays Bossk off, because Bossk realized that part of Boba Fett's strength is that he's not afraid to die. Which was an interesting take on the character-- were it not for the fact that immediately afterwards it's forgotten and never brought up again. And I'm not sure I really buy that Fett's not afraid to die because every encounter we've seen him in where things are looking really bad, Fett seems to be working his gosh darn hardest to live. Jeter doesn't give us any human reasons to root for Fett; rather he's this Superman character that’s leagues above everyone else.
Dengar initially seemed like a sympathetic character, but by book 3 he’s primarily an idiot sidekick. He rarely questions Fett’s plans or motives, he nearly dies on the Hound’s Teeth, and he’s only able to quit the bounty hunting trade because Manaroo placed a huge bet on his survival. (He also thinks about how he might stay in the game, because someone probably told Jeter that Dengar pops back up as a bounty hunter in the Young Jedi Knights books.)
Neelah finally discovers who she is and why her memory was wiped, but it doesn't feel 100% satisfying to me. Boba Fett didn’t save Neelah out of any human goodwill but because he might be able to make a profit off of her. Her memory wasn’t wiped because she knew anything particularly integral to the conclusion of this trilogy, but because Kodir of Kuhlvult wanted her support in overthrowing K of K. Neelah said no, and Kodir wiped her memory and tossed her out. I guess she had enough good feelings for her sister that she couldn't outright kill her, but Neelah doesn’t actually play a role in the conclusion at all. By the end, she knows who she is; maybe she’ll take a leadership role among the Kuati nobles but ???
Bossk begins Hard Merchandise in a bad place: Boba Fett has stolen his ship, and someone else has stolen all his cash. He's in a very vulnerable position now where people don't want to help him because he doesn't have money, and he can't take on any bounty hunting jobs because he doesn't have the necessary gear. While i still don't agree with Jeter's characterization of Bossk, I did like his encounter with Fett in the cantina--that he goes from being scared of Fett to actually figuring out how Fett approaches everything.
Zuckuss’s appearance here seemed pointless other than to introduce the gambler that Manaroo later meets; he’s finally teamed up with 4-LOM, but gets drunk and wants to ditch him. Zuckuss's portrayal in these books is such a complete whiplash from his portrayal in that I went on Wookieepedia to see if they had any explanation why: “Zuckuss's multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia diagnoses were a retcon introduced in the first edition of to explain drastic character differences between sources.�
...
I guess that's the best they could do??
Xizor sets out to kill Fett. It’s looking really bad for him, as the Slave One is literally falling to pieces. Then Xizor...changes his mind offscreen? It makes no sense, and seems predisposed to only piss Fett off further. Apparently Balancesheet the little tiny spider told him that Boba Fett's better off alive because he's a useful person, and Xizor changes his mind on the spur of the moment. It's just stupid! And I still don’t understand the point of dismantling the Guild--I don't know how that worked out in Xizor's favor.
We also see how Balancesheet betrays his progenitor Ku’dar Mu’bat: by allying himself with Black Sun so they could do all the dirty work for him. We also get a (perhaps unnecessary) subplot in the present timeline where Boba Fett resurrects Ku’dar Mu’bat to ask him questions which Ku’dar Mu’bat no longer has the answers to. While it was interesting to learn a little bit more about their arachnid assembler species, it felt like a red herring.
And we have our big baddie, Kuat of Kuat (although I’m not even sure if you can call him a baddie). K of K has been trying to kill Boba Fett since --not because of anything that Fett has done, and not because of Neelah at all (he doesn’t even know who she is), but because Fett had gotten his hands on fabricated evidence implicating Prince Xizor in the murder of Luke Skywalker’s family. piqued my interest in K of K and Kuati politics, but in Hard Merchandise I ping-ponged back to my earlier interpretation of K of K. I feel like his plotline could have been handled a lot differently! He's not necessarily a bad guy--yes, he wants to kill Fett, but he also wants to be a neutral power in the galaxy. When it looks like the Rebel Alliance will either take over the Kuat Drive Yards or steal some of their products, K of K decides that he'd rather destroy everything than give it to either the Rebels or the Empire.
I suppose this is similar to his ruse with the fabricated evidence against Xizor: he doesn't want anyone else having a say in KDY, and he's willing to completely ruin everything in the process. I'm not sure why he was so desperate to get his fabricated evidence back, because Xizor’s already dead (honestly, what's gonna happen at this point?) but it did drive a lot of the events in book three. I guess it's dumb but it's a plot necessity. But even his grand gesture at the end to destroy KDY fails because the Star Destroyer that Boba Fett (improbably) stole is the key to the detonation system that he put in place. (And that's another thing: Star Destroyers require a lot of people to operate successfully, so the fact that Fett could just go jetting out of there all alone on a Star Destroyer is stupid.)
I'd wondered at the end of what Kodir of Kuhlvult was doing, but it was just a takeover plotline. Her only interest in her sister was to kill her this time around. I thought from book two that K of K knew that Kodir had her own agenda, but here he's completely taken by surprise when she's scheming with the Rebels to take over KDY.
Ultimately, I felt like Kuat of Kuat's characterization was all over the place: he was not interesting, he was interesting, and then he just got really stupid at the end.
ISSUES:
The biggest issue with Hard Merchandise and with the trilogy as a whole is that Jeter does an awful lot of telling and very little showing. This is one instance where I think the present and the past timelines could have been synced up a lot better and a lot tighter. In the past we have Boba Fett dismantling the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, and in the present we have Boba Fett evading death at the hands of Kuat of Kuat. The problem is that those two aren't really connected at all. Instead of Boba Fett telling us how he found the fabricated evidence and Neelah, why couldn’t we have seen that? At least then we’d have a better connection between past events and why K of K (now) wants to kill Fett. Instead we get so many characters explaining what they've done but we never actually see them doing things--they just monologue about these past events.
Jeter also repeats the same concepts and ideas over and over again. I’m so tired of the phrase “hard merchandise.� I don’t need to be constantly reminded that Neelah has remembered her true name, I got it the first time.
Why was K of K’s big plan to blow up the Kuat Drive Yards? Surely he had enough staff to seize control of things himself? (Then he wouldn’t have been beholden to the Empire or the Rebellion.)
Everything in the Bounty Hunters Wars trilogy was building towards this giant climactic showdown with Kuat of Kuat, but the actual execution felt lackluster to me. Why was K of K’s big plan to blow up the Kuat Drive Yards? Surely he had enough staff to seize control of things himself? (Then he wouldn’t have been beholden to the Empire or the Rebellion.) K of K is blowing up the ships, the Rebels are trying to steal the ships, Neelah is off with her sister, and then Fett shows up to interrogate K of K. Afterwards K of K just goes off to die?
Then the final chapter has Manaroo telling Dengar that they’re set for life--Neelah meeting with Fett--and Fett explaining that he has to take the fabricated evidence to one of the Black Sun factions or they’ll kill him. (Which is another thing: why would that motivate Boba Fett at all?? He’s just going to give it to them for free? Boba Fett never gives anything away; I thought these books made that clear.) And that’s it.
So much of this book devolved into people talking about what they were going to do and yet we saw very little of them actually doing those things. I said in my review of the previous book that there was no reason for this to be a trilogy, and I want to reiterate that point. The past timeline existed merely to rub in how much better of a bounty hunter Fett is than the other bounty hunters--but it didn't really play a role in the present timeline. The two timelines felt disconnected from each other to the point that I'm not even sure we needed to have both the past and the present, especially when the past was almost entirely unrelated to the present events.
IN CONCLUSION:
Do you like Boba Fett? Then you might like these books. But if you’re expecting a little more from your Star Wars reading material (characters you can root for, interconnected plotlines, an exciting climax), this is not the book for you.
Next up: the fourth of Aaron Allston’s X-Wing books, .
My YouTube review:
This week’s focus: the last book in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, Hard Merchandise by K.W. Jeter.
SOME HISTORY:
You might be familiar with Paul Youll’s artwork--he created the cover illustrations for the X-Wing series. But his twin brother, Stephen Youll, also contributed to several Star Wars books, most notably the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy. However, I have to call out whoever from Bantam ordered these covers: the Emperor doesn’t appear in Hard Merchandise at all? Likewise the Royal Guardsman and dewback-riding stormtroopers. They’re well-done covers, they just don’t mesh with the actual content of these books.
Like with , I couldn’t find any data that Hard Merchandise made the New York Times paperback bestseller list for any of the weeks after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
I’m not sure that I was even aware originally that this was a trilogy! Thinking back, I might have thought it was a single book about Boba Fett, so nothing feels familiar here.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
In the past, Boba Fett discovers who was behind the plot to dismantle the Bounty Hunter’s Guild; while in the present, Fett faces off against Kuat of Kuat.
THE CHARACTERS:
My biggest issue with these books has been how Jeter chose to portray Boba Fett. Fett's motivations boil down to two things: he wants to be the best, and he wants to make a lot of money in the process. The problem there is that it's hard for him to come across as a three-dimensional, nuanced character if what's driving him is...money. He's better than everyone else, he outsmarts everyone else, but we're never really given the reason why other than that he's the best. And that's not really enough for me to follow a character and be interested in his journey!
The only interesting bit with Fett we get in this book is when he goes to Tatooine to meet with Bossk because he needs to reacquire the fabricated evidence that Kuat of Kuat had created. Rather than having a big shootout in the cantina, Fett just pays Bossk off, because Bossk realized that part of Boba Fett's strength is that he's not afraid to die. Which was an interesting take on the character-- were it not for the fact that immediately afterwards it's forgotten and never brought up again. And I'm not sure I really buy that Fett's not afraid to die because every encounter we've seen him in where things are looking really bad, Fett seems to be working his gosh darn hardest to live. Jeter doesn't give us any human reasons to root for Fett; rather he's this Superman character that’s leagues above everyone else.
Dengar initially seemed like a sympathetic character, but by book 3 he’s primarily an idiot sidekick. He rarely questions Fett’s plans or motives, he nearly dies on the Hound’s Teeth, and he’s only able to quit the bounty hunting trade because Manaroo placed a huge bet on his survival. (He also thinks about how he might stay in the game, because someone probably told Jeter that Dengar pops back up as a bounty hunter in the Young Jedi Knights books.)
Neelah finally discovers who she is and why her memory was wiped, but it doesn't feel 100% satisfying to me. Boba Fett didn’t save Neelah out of any human goodwill but because he might be able to make a profit off of her. Her memory wasn’t wiped because she knew anything particularly integral to the conclusion of this trilogy, but because Kodir of Kuhlvult wanted her support in overthrowing K of K. Neelah said no, and Kodir wiped her memory and tossed her out. I guess she had enough good feelings for her sister that she couldn't outright kill her, but Neelah doesn’t actually play a role in the conclusion at all. By the end, she knows who she is; maybe she’ll take a leadership role among the Kuati nobles but ???
Bossk begins Hard Merchandise in a bad place: Boba Fett has stolen his ship, and someone else has stolen all his cash. He's in a very vulnerable position now where people don't want to help him because he doesn't have money, and he can't take on any bounty hunting jobs because he doesn't have the necessary gear. While i still don't agree with Jeter's characterization of Bossk, I did like his encounter with Fett in the cantina--that he goes from being scared of Fett to actually figuring out how Fett approaches everything.
Zuckuss’s appearance here seemed pointless other than to introduce the gambler that Manaroo later meets; he’s finally teamed up with 4-LOM, but gets drunk and wants to ditch him. Zuckuss's portrayal in these books is such a complete whiplash from his portrayal in that I went on Wookieepedia to see if they had any explanation why: “Zuckuss's multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia diagnoses were a retcon introduced in the first edition of to explain drastic character differences between sources.�
...
I guess that's the best they could do??
Xizor sets out to kill Fett. It’s looking really bad for him, as the Slave One is literally falling to pieces. Then Xizor...changes his mind offscreen? It makes no sense, and seems predisposed to only piss Fett off further. Apparently Balancesheet the little tiny spider told him that Boba Fett's better off alive because he's a useful person, and Xizor changes his mind on the spur of the moment. It's just stupid! And I still don’t understand the point of dismantling the Guild--I don't know how that worked out in Xizor's favor.
We also see how Balancesheet betrays his progenitor Ku’dar Mu’bat: by allying himself with Black Sun so they could do all the dirty work for him. We also get a (perhaps unnecessary) subplot in the present timeline where Boba Fett resurrects Ku’dar Mu’bat to ask him questions which Ku’dar Mu’bat no longer has the answers to. While it was interesting to learn a little bit more about their arachnid assembler species, it felt like a red herring.
And we have our big baddie, Kuat of Kuat (although I’m not even sure if you can call him a baddie). K of K has been trying to kill Boba Fett since --not because of anything that Fett has done, and not because of Neelah at all (he doesn’t even know who she is), but because Fett had gotten his hands on fabricated evidence implicating Prince Xizor in the murder of Luke Skywalker’s family. piqued my interest in K of K and Kuati politics, but in Hard Merchandise I ping-ponged back to my earlier interpretation of K of K. I feel like his plotline could have been handled a lot differently! He's not necessarily a bad guy--yes, he wants to kill Fett, but he also wants to be a neutral power in the galaxy. When it looks like the Rebel Alliance will either take over the Kuat Drive Yards or steal some of their products, K of K decides that he'd rather destroy everything than give it to either the Rebels or the Empire.
I suppose this is similar to his ruse with the fabricated evidence against Xizor: he doesn't want anyone else having a say in KDY, and he's willing to completely ruin everything in the process. I'm not sure why he was so desperate to get his fabricated evidence back, because Xizor’s already dead (honestly, what's gonna happen at this point?) but it did drive a lot of the events in book three. I guess it's dumb but it's a plot necessity. But even his grand gesture at the end to destroy KDY fails because the Star Destroyer that Boba Fett (improbably) stole is the key to the detonation system that he put in place. (And that's another thing: Star Destroyers require a lot of people to operate successfully, so the fact that Fett could just go jetting out of there all alone on a Star Destroyer is stupid.)
I'd wondered at the end of what Kodir of Kuhlvult was doing, but it was just a takeover plotline. Her only interest in her sister was to kill her this time around. I thought from book two that K of K knew that Kodir had her own agenda, but here he's completely taken by surprise when she's scheming with the Rebels to take over KDY.
Ultimately, I felt like Kuat of Kuat's characterization was all over the place: he was not interesting, he was interesting, and then he just got really stupid at the end.
ISSUES:
The biggest issue with Hard Merchandise and with the trilogy as a whole is that Jeter does an awful lot of telling and very little showing. This is one instance where I think the present and the past timelines could have been synced up a lot better and a lot tighter. In the past we have Boba Fett dismantling the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, and in the present we have Boba Fett evading death at the hands of Kuat of Kuat. The problem is that those two aren't really connected at all. Instead of Boba Fett telling us how he found the fabricated evidence and Neelah, why couldn’t we have seen that? At least then we’d have a better connection between past events and why K of K (now) wants to kill Fett. Instead we get so many characters explaining what they've done but we never actually see them doing things--they just monologue about these past events.
Jeter also repeats the same concepts and ideas over and over again. I’m so tired of the phrase “hard merchandise.� I don’t need to be constantly reminded that Neelah has remembered her true name, I got it the first time.
Why was K of K’s big plan to blow up the Kuat Drive Yards? Surely he had enough staff to seize control of things himself? (Then he wouldn’t have been beholden to the Empire or the Rebellion.)
Everything in the Bounty Hunters Wars trilogy was building towards this giant climactic showdown with Kuat of Kuat, but the actual execution felt lackluster to me. Why was K of K’s big plan to blow up the Kuat Drive Yards? Surely he had enough staff to seize control of things himself? (Then he wouldn’t have been beholden to the Empire or the Rebellion.) K of K is blowing up the ships, the Rebels are trying to steal the ships, Neelah is off with her sister, and then Fett shows up to interrogate K of K. Afterwards K of K just goes off to die?
Then the final chapter has Manaroo telling Dengar that they’re set for life--Neelah meeting with Fett--and Fett explaining that he has to take the fabricated evidence to one of the Black Sun factions or they’ll kill him. (Which is another thing: why would that motivate Boba Fett at all?? He’s just going to give it to them for free? Boba Fett never gives anything away; I thought these books made that clear.) And that’s it.
So much of this book devolved into people talking about what they were going to do and yet we saw very little of them actually doing those things. I said in my review of the previous book that there was no reason for this to be a trilogy, and I want to reiterate that point. The past timeline existed merely to rub in how much better of a bounty hunter Fett is than the other bounty hunters--but it didn't really play a role in the present timeline. The two timelines felt disconnected from each other to the point that I'm not even sure we needed to have both the past and the present, especially when the past was almost entirely unrelated to the present events.
IN CONCLUSION:
Do you like Boba Fett? Then you might like these books. But if you’re expecting a little more from your Star Wars reading material (characters you can root for, interconnected plotlines, an exciting climax), this is not the book for you.
Next up: the fourth of Aaron Allston’s X-Wing books, .
My YouTube review:
July 11, 2010
A psuedo-mystery that gives a lesson in "Show don't tell"
Fett, Dengar, and Neelah find out answers to important questions that they've been thinking and talking about endlessly since The Mandalorian Armor.
NOTE: Based on the novel (read years ago) and the audiobook.
I Liked:
The mystery that is the meat and bones of this novel is fascinating. As I read Boba Fett talking to Kuat of Kuat and relating it, I was actually impressed with the detail and intricacy that Jeter put into it (even as I was frustrated at the same time). I liked how the enemy wasn't the Empire, wasn't the Hutts, but a new person completely.
Once again, when Jeter does include an action scene, it is a good one, well-written, very appropriate for his characters.
Also, I really did enjoy reading adventures about Fett, Dengar, and even Kuat of Kuat. Fett is really well-done (if too talky and too perfect), Dengar is a really relatable character (I love his relationship with Manaroo), and Kuat of Kuat really proved to be an interesting character...
I Didn't Like:
but couldn't the characters just shut up once and awhile? Every scene is littered with endless talking, talking, talking or thinking, thinking, thinking. Fett and Dengar visit Kud'ar Mub'at and they talk. They learn nothing of value, but they talk. Then Fett and Dengar visit Balancesheet and they talk. They learn they have to go back to Tatooine, where they meet Bossk. Boba Fett and Bossk meet at opposite ends of gunpoint and they talk. Finally, Bossk hands over the falsified evidence to Fett and Fett is off to KDY. Then Fett, Dengar, and Neelah get caught by KDY and chew the fat with them. In between, Neelah thinks, moans and gripes about her lost memory. Because I was listening to the audiobook, I started toning things out or yelling at the narrator (God bless his soul) to stop talking already! It seemed like people would do something...and stop to talk about it. While they are talking, they would stop to think back on the history of something. Then they would talk. Then they would do something. And on and on and on until I wanted to strangle myself.
Bringing Kud'ar Mub'at back to life was lame. If he's dead, he's dead. I don't care what species or other lame excuse you use to bring him back. Plus, his scene was completely worthless.
Neelah was a freaking annoying character who I wanted to die. I also wasn't fond of how her sister was so evil and all that jazz.
I wasn't that fond of the overemphasis placed on the Battle of Endor or the falsified evidence of who killed the Lars family. Let's keep our Big Three in their own stories and leave them out of the side stories like this one. We have enough stories with them int he limelight.
And Boba Fett talks too much!
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Little to none.
Other than Neelah being a dancer (yes, I know it's annoying, but if you read the book, you'll find it does the same thing), nothing.
Fett and Bossk face off. Kuat Drive Yards is destroyed.
Overall:
It's a pity. There is a good story, a good mystery hidden in this trilogy. But the unfortunate thing is the trilogy is hidden behind people TELLING you the answers instead of the characters SHOWING you the answers. And that's the biggest crime: Jeter tells you, doesn't show you. He doesn't show the investigation, he tells you through Fett expositing how he learned such-and-such by doing this-and-that, which never is shown in the book. He doesn't show you Xizor planning, he tells you his plans through Xizor yapping with Palpatine and Vader. Sometimes an author has to exposit, can't show a scene, or doesn't want to repeat a whole scene again (the typical "X told Y about Z"). That is completely okay. But when an entire trilogy is one long expository dialogue, it is more than tiring, it is painful.
Unless you are a Boba Fett fan and are eager to read him talk, skip. Hopefully, a different author will come along and write a much better Fett-centric story in the future.
Fett, Dengar, and Neelah find out answers to important questions that they've been thinking and talking about endlessly since The Mandalorian Armor.
NOTE: Based on the novel (read years ago) and the audiobook.
I Liked:
The mystery that is the meat and bones of this novel is fascinating. As I read Boba Fett talking to Kuat of Kuat and relating it, I was actually impressed with the detail and intricacy that Jeter put into it (even as I was frustrated at the same time). I liked how the enemy wasn't the Empire, wasn't the Hutts, but a new person completely.
Once again, when Jeter does include an action scene, it is a good one, well-written, very appropriate for his characters.
Also, I really did enjoy reading adventures about Fett, Dengar, and even Kuat of Kuat. Fett is really well-done (if too talky and too perfect), Dengar is a really relatable character (I love his relationship with Manaroo), and Kuat of Kuat really proved to be an interesting character...
I Didn't Like:
but couldn't the characters just shut up once and awhile? Every scene is littered with endless talking, talking, talking or thinking, thinking, thinking. Fett and Dengar visit Kud'ar Mub'at and they talk. They learn nothing of value, but they talk. Then Fett and Dengar visit Balancesheet and they talk. They learn they have to go back to Tatooine, where they meet Bossk. Boba Fett and Bossk meet at opposite ends of gunpoint and they talk. Finally, Bossk hands over the falsified evidence to Fett and Fett is off to KDY. Then Fett, Dengar, and Neelah get caught by KDY and chew the fat with them. In between, Neelah thinks, moans and gripes about her lost memory. Because I was listening to the audiobook, I started toning things out or yelling at the narrator (God bless his soul) to stop talking already! It seemed like people would do something...and stop to talk about it. While they are talking, they would stop to think back on the history of something. Then they would talk. Then they would do something. And on and on and on until I wanted to strangle myself.
Bringing Kud'ar Mub'at back to life was lame. If he's dead, he's dead. I don't care what species or other lame excuse you use to bring him back. Plus, his scene was completely worthless.
Neelah was a freaking annoying character who I wanted to die. I also wasn't fond of how her sister was so evil and all that jazz.
I wasn't that fond of the overemphasis placed on the Battle of Endor or the falsified evidence of who killed the Lars family. Let's keep our Big Three in their own stories and leave them out of the side stories like this one. We have enough stories with them int he limelight.
And Boba Fett talks too much!
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Little to none.
Other than Neelah being a dancer (yes, I know it's annoying, but if you read the book, you'll find it does the same thing), nothing.
Fett and Bossk face off. Kuat Drive Yards is destroyed.
Overall:
It's a pity. There is a good story, a good mystery hidden in this trilogy. But the unfortunate thing is the trilogy is hidden behind people TELLING you the answers instead of the characters SHOWING you the answers. And that's the biggest crime: Jeter tells you, doesn't show you. He doesn't show the investigation, he tells you through Fett expositing how he learned such-and-such by doing this-and-that, which never is shown in the book. He doesn't show you Xizor planning, he tells you his plans through Xizor yapping with Palpatine and Vader. Sometimes an author has to exposit, can't show a scene, or doesn't want to repeat a whole scene again (the typical "X told Y about Z"). That is completely okay. But when an entire trilogy is one long expository dialogue, it is more than tiring, it is painful.
Unless you are a Boba Fett fan and are eager to read him talk, skip. Hopefully, a different author will come along and write a much better Fett-centric story in the future.
February 28, 2017
And so the Bounty Hunter Wars has come to an end.
Although the series wasn't really what I expected (I expected it to be more Bounty Hunter VS Bounty Hunter, not Bounty Hunter VS... Everyone Else) I still enjoyed it very much, mostly because I love Boba Fett, and these 3 novels gave a great look deeper into the character.
So, all in all, I give this series 4/5 Slave Ships.
Although the series wasn't really what I expected (I expected it to be more Bounty Hunter VS Bounty Hunter, not Bounty Hunter VS... Everyone Else) I still enjoyed it very much, mostly because I love Boba Fett, and these 3 novels gave a great look deeper into the character.
So, all in all, I give this series 4/5 Slave Ships.
April 30, 2022
I told you I might've cried during Slave Ship. Now I'm telling you I definitely cried during Hard Merchandise. People accuse me of not wanting NJO/Legacy because I can't handle sad books and death scenes, but the fact is I just can't handle soft reboots.
No, the end of this book hurts so, so good that I had to put it down and get my breath before continuing.
Again, as I said, it's the characters that makes this trilogy such a bright constellation in the EU's galaxy. As Kuat of Kuat tries to navigate turbulent waters of galactic neutrality in a time of civil war, betrayed by friends and best upon by his own people, Boba Fett likewise tries to unscramble the secret codes of the past and solve the mystery of Neelah the slave girl who saved his life.
One thing about this trilogy, I keep saying it's about how Fett survived the Sarlacc, but that isn't really true. His escape and survival is more of a footnote to the first book than anything else. I love how it takes for granted his survival, and how Fett is no longer man but machine when he is in his armor. He's no cyborg, but he's not a human anymore, either.
Again it's a matter of, how can I review the 3rd book without giving any spoilers or repeating myself? This trilogy is masterfully put together, bringing the flashback segments forward from the past to join up almost seamlessly with the sections from the present, making it clear why the flashbacks were even a necessary part of the story.
Each character has a voice, is a living, breathing creation, and at times one wonders if they can even survive at all -- even when you know they must! At the risk of tearing down Joe Schreiber, one of my favorites, Jeter is able to write the silently mysterious film character without destroying any of his mystery -- a sharp contrast to Lockdown where Maul ceases to be a figure of the Dark Side and becomes a sardonic enforcer. Maybe you like sardonic enforcers; okay, I just thought it spoiled him. But not Fett. Jeter's Fett is cold yet not amoral, silent yet expressive.
The final scenes are full of tension and heartbreak, leaving the reader shaken and raw like an adrenaline-fueled ride on a new roller coaster. In every way, this trilogy pushes itself and excels in the pushing. A brilliant piece of realcanon that I love every bit as much now as when I first read it in 1998.
No, the end of this book hurts so, so good that I had to put it down and get my breath before continuing.
Again, as I said, it's the characters that makes this trilogy such a bright constellation in the EU's galaxy. As Kuat of Kuat tries to navigate turbulent waters of galactic neutrality in a time of civil war, betrayed by friends and best upon by his own people, Boba Fett likewise tries to unscramble the secret codes of the past and solve the mystery of Neelah the slave girl who saved his life.
One thing about this trilogy, I keep saying it's about how Fett survived the Sarlacc, but that isn't really true. His escape and survival is more of a footnote to the first book than anything else. I love how it takes for granted his survival, and how Fett is no longer man but machine when he is in his armor. He's no cyborg, but he's not a human anymore, either.
Again it's a matter of, how can I review the 3rd book without giving any spoilers or repeating myself? This trilogy is masterfully put together, bringing the flashback segments forward from the past to join up almost seamlessly with the sections from the present, making it clear why the flashbacks were even a necessary part of the story.
Each character has a voice, is a living, breathing creation, and at times one wonders if they can even survive at all -- even when you know they must! At the risk of tearing down Joe Schreiber, one of my favorites, Jeter is able to write the silently mysterious film character without destroying any of his mystery -- a sharp contrast to Lockdown where Maul ceases to be a figure of the Dark Side and becomes a sardonic enforcer. Maybe you like sardonic enforcers; okay, I just thought it spoiled him. But not Fett. Jeter's Fett is cold yet not amoral, silent yet expressive.
The final scenes are full of tension and heartbreak, leaving the reader shaken and raw like an adrenaline-fueled ride on a new roller coaster. In every way, this trilogy pushes itself and excels in the pushing. A brilliant piece of realcanon that I love every bit as much now as when I first read it in 1998.
December 13, 2021
Another Star Wars trilogy down! WOOO :D
SPOILERS
I have finally finished this dang book! XD It was pretty good overall. This series isn't the best thing in the EU by any means, but I do like how the author writes the bounty hunters and there were some fun parts, like when Boba Fett was all "And now for my next trick, I WILL STEAL THIS F-CKING STAR DESTROYER!" XD I also like that Neelah got something for her ending, though I wish she'd gotten to do a bit more in this book. I did like Dengar and Manaroo reuniting, since I liked them in the short story from the Bounty Hunters tales book. But poor Kuat of Kuat, hugging his kitty while he dies :(
SPOILERS
I have finally finished this dang book! XD It was pretty good overall. This series isn't the best thing in the EU by any means, but I do like how the author writes the bounty hunters and there were some fun parts, like when Boba Fett was all "And now for my next trick, I WILL STEAL THIS F-CKING STAR DESTROYER!" XD I also like that Neelah got something for her ending, though I wish she'd gotten to do a bit more in this book. I did like Dengar and Manaroo reuniting, since I liked them in the short story from the Bounty Hunters tales book. But poor Kuat of Kuat, hugging his kitty while he dies :(
July 6, 2019
I really enjoyed the first volume in The Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, "The Mandalorian Armor". That was the first Star Wars novel I'd read in over a decade and it really brought me back to the Expanded Universe of Star Wars novels. It was an action packed, well written adventure. Sure, there was an excruciating 40 page long conversation between Darth Vader, Palpatine and Prince Xizor, but besides that, great stuff. The second book in the series, "Slave Ship", pretty much stunk. It was mostly excruciating conversations with a couple of cool action sequences. Unfortunately, the third volume follows more in the tradition of the previous volume and not the first one. Long, long passages of dialog. And when characters aren't talking out loud, they are thinking, and we get to read their internal dialog. There are a few more cool action sequences in this book, making it a little better than the second entry, but I was hoping for a bit more a "slam bang" ending, a rebound after the boring, mostly needless middle book.
I think part of the problem with this trilogy is that there just isn't enough story for three novels. The first book of the series has most of the action for the entire trilogy. By the end, the story is kind of hanging together by some threads and you don't really care anymore, you just want it to be over with. There was alot of this in the EU, where, for some reason, every Star Wars story had to be a trilogy or even a 19 parter! I think this story could have made a really fantastic single novel, and not had its story dragged over two inferior, bloated editions.
Overall, I'm glad I read these books, they weren't a complete waste of time, but the only book in the series worth recommending is the first one. Part 2 and 3 were a bit of a chore to get through.
I think part of the problem with this trilogy is that there just isn't enough story for three novels. The first book of the series has most of the action for the entire trilogy. By the end, the story is kind of hanging together by some threads and you don't really care anymore, you just want it to be over with. There was alot of this in the EU, where, for some reason, every Star Wars story had to be a trilogy or even a 19 parter! I think this story could have made a really fantastic single novel, and not had its story dragged over two inferior, bloated editions.
Overall, I'm glad I read these books, they weren't a complete waste of time, but the only book in the series worth recommending is the first one. Part 2 and 3 were a bit of a chore to get through.
December 24, 2024
My Reading Log
Plot Summary
Hard Merchandise by K.W. Jeter concludes the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, following Boba Fett as he unravels the final threads of the conspiracies surrounding the Bounty Hunters� Guild and the Black Sun syndicate. With his enemies closing in, Fett must confront his greatest challenges yet, including Bossk’s relentless vendetta and the schemes of Kuat of Kuat. Neelah’s true identity is revealed, adding personal stakes to the conflict. As the story reaches its climax, Fett’s ruthless cunning and survival skills are tested, cementing his reputation as the galaxy’s most formidable bounty hunter. Themes of betrayal, identity, and justice drive this thrilling finale.
Characters
Boba Fett - The unrelenting bounty hunter, navigating a web of danger and intrigue to secure his survival and dominance.
Dengar - Fett’s occasional ally, questioning his role in the escalating conflicts.
Neelah - A woman seeking answers about her past, whose identity proves critical to the unfolding events.
Kuat of Kuat - The manipulative ruler of the Kuat Drive Yards, whose schemes reach their ultimate resolution.
Bossk - A bitter rival of Fett, consumed by his vendetta and ambition for power.
Cradossk - The former Guild leader whose legacy continues to influence events.
Prince Xizor - The head of Black Sun, whose shadowy operations threaten all involved.
The Bounty Hunters� Guild - The fractured organization at the heart of the power struggle, representing the underworld’s chaotic nature.
Quotes
"Justice is a luxury for those who can afford it; survival is for everyone else." � Boba Fett
"Every move in the galaxy’s game of power comes with a cost, and only the strongest survive to pay it." � Kuat of Kuat
"The past always catches up, but it’s the future that decides whether you win." � Neelah
Plot Summary
Hard Merchandise by K.W. Jeter concludes the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, following Boba Fett as he unravels the final threads of the conspiracies surrounding the Bounty Hunters� Guild and the Black Sun syndicate. With his enemies closing in, Fett must confront his greatest challenges yet, including Bossk’s relentless vendetta and the schemes of Kuat of Kuat. Neelah’s true identity is revealed, adding personal stakes to the conflict. As the story reaches its climax, Fett’s ruthless cunning and survival skills are tested, cementing his reputation as the galaxy’s most formidable bounty hunter. Themes of betrayal, identity, and justice drive this thrilling finale.
Characters
Boba Fett - The unrelenting bounty hunter, navigating a web of danger and intrigue to secure his survival and dominance.
Dengar - Fett’s occasional ally, questioning his role in the escalating conflicts.
Neelah - A woman seeking answers about her past, whose identity proves critical to the unfolding events.
Kuat of Kuat - The manipulative ruler of the Kuat Drive Yards, whose schemes reach their ultimate resolution.
Bossk - A bitter rival of Fett, consumed by his vendetta and ambition for power.
Cradossk - The former Guild leader whose legacy continues to influence events.
Prince Xizor - The head of Black Sun, whose shadowy operations threaten all involved.
The Bounty Hunters� Guild - The fractured organization at the heart of the power struggle, representing the underworld’s chaotic nature.
Quotes
"Justice is a luxury for those who can afford it; survival is for everyone else." � Boba Fett
"Every move in the galaxy’s game of power comes with a cost, and only the strongest survive to pay it." � Kuat of Kuat
"The past always catches up, but it’s the future that decides whether you win." � Neelah
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2020
This trilogy was recommended to me by someone after I expressed an interest in learning more about Mandalorians after watching the series. So my first disappointment was to realize that this had nothing to do with Mandalorians (other than the occasional references to Fett’s armor) and everything to do with bounty hunters, but that’s not the author’s fault. I read through all three books to follow the story to its completion, but wouldn’t read it again (which is the minimum requirement from me to bump it from 3 to 4 stars). The first book raised some intrigue, but the follow-through was too slow and disjointed. Power struggles, secrets and treachery can only keep one’s interest if you have at least one character whose story you actually care about and who is in some way noble and self-sacrificing. Instead, the reader goes back and forth between the perspectives of about 5 main characters and several minor characters, almost all of whom are entirely self-serving and coldly concerned about profit or to save one’s own skin. I was probably most interested in Neelah’s story, but the payoff there was too little, too late. Even Dengar, who seemed to have the most heart (“I’m doing all this for love!�), had his own angle and was willing to betray a trust for it. Actually, what am I saying? Not one character in this novel was trustworthy or willing to trust another person. One of the reasons the Star Wars movies were so beloved is that they had heart and a core of main characters who were willing to give their lives to save others, who had each other’s backs, who had ideals that had nothing to do with profit. This trilogy was heartless.
March 23, 2024
The best (and final) of the three books in the trilogy, it still leaves the reader unsatisfied in several ways.
The majority of the book is set in the present, right as the rebels and the Empire are about to have their final battle at Endor (which is a secret to no one because every character makes mention of the impending battle), yet there is still ANOTHER flashback tale told by Dengar, but not in his voice, which would have made the tale a bit more interesting. Every plot point is resolved neatly, though too neatly; it truly feels like everything for these characters is resolved, though for the title character he's back to doing what he does best.
There are many pages that provide unnecessary backstory to characters (done in thoughts/musings) that do not add to their history nor propel the story forward. I found myself skipping these passages and going straight to the dialogue, as that's when the story went forward. I'm thinking that's why I enjoyed this book the most of the three. Some editing of these passages would/could/should have made this a more enjoyable reading experience.
Now that I'm done with my reread of this series I can move on to other Star Wars books that I have better memories of. This should only be read by the most fervent Star Wars fans.
The majority of the book is set in the present, right as the rebels and the Empire are about to have their final battle at Endor (which is a secret to no one because every character makes mention of the impending battle), yet there is still ANOTHER flashback tale told by Dengar, but not in his voice, which would have made the tale a bit more interesting. Every plot point is resolved neatly, though too neatly; it truly feels like everything for these characters is resolved, though for the title character he's back to doing what he does best.
There are many pages that provide unnecessary backstory to characters (done in thoughts/musings) that do not add to their history nor propel the story forward. I found myself skipping these passages and going straight to the dialogue, as that's when the story went forward. I'm thinking that's why I enjoyed this book the most of the three. Some editing of these passages would/could/should have made this a more enjoyable reading experience.
Now that I'm done with my reread of this series I can move on to other Star Wars books that I have better memories of. This should only be read by the most fervent Star Wars fans.
January 10, 2023
Something of a disappointing ending, but this trilogy is kind of strange. Boba Fett remains the primary focus to the end of the book. The ending story arc tying together Kuat of Kuat, Kodir Kuhlvalt, and Neelah is really somewhat underwhelming and unsatisfying. Kuat in particular was such a well-cultivated character that his death felt meaningless and premature.
I think this series is recommendable for serious Star Wars enthusiasts, those who love bounty hunters, and those interested in the political intrigue that backdrops the height of Palpatine's power.
This book also assumes that the reader is familiar with . Otherwise the abrupt shift in books 2/3 with Xizor makes the overall story even more jarring.
May not read again.
I think this series is recommendable for serious Star Wars enthusiasts, those who love bounty hunters, and those interested in the political intrigue that backdrops the height of Palpatine's power.
This book also assumes that the reader is familiar with . Otherwise the abrupt shift in books 2/3 with Xizor makes the overall story even more jarring.
May not read again.
January 24, 2017
The conclusion to the trilogy, and boy are it's problems more apparent than ever. The book still feels the need to remind the reader it is a Star Wars book even though we're on the third book of a trilogy. Sometimes it reminds the reader of the same thing twice on one page. Another interesting thing comes up in this book more than the previous two that I assume is a general problem that the Expanded Universe of Star Wars faces. Because there are so many authors contributing stories to this universe and they each take characters in different directions, they are at the mercy of one another depending on who publishes their book first. This popped up now and then in the first two books, but it feels much more common in this one. Still a fun thriller, just one that isn't as rewarding if you have only a middling knowledge of the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
June 21, 2020
This book isn't good. But it is bad in a way that I find enjoyable and distracting. The nice thing about a lot of the EU books is that they're goofy, weird adventures that repeat themselves so many times that you can kind of coast through them. This book is no exception to that. I decided to finish off this series this month because I needed help getting through a really tough time, and to help distract myself from the death of a loved one. This book delivered on what I needed, giving me familiar characters, EU weirdness, and a lot of explosions.
If you're looking for something goofily terrible that's fun to read because you're yelling at the book the whole time, reach for the Courtship of Princess Leia. If you want something bland but fun, this is your book.
If you're looking for something goofily terrible that's fun to read because you're yelling at the book the whole time, reach for the Courtship of Princess Leia. If you want something bland but fun, this is your book.
March 19, 2019
Was actually disappointed overall with this last installment of the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy. Yes, there were some mysteries unraveled concerning who was behind erasing Neelah's memory, and who planted Prince Xizor's pheremones near Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's moisture farm, when they were disintegrated by stormtroopers. Jeter strings us out on a long goose chase to find out Neelah's identity, which wasn't that big a deal. There wasn't much fighting between bounty hunters in this one, as the trilogy name suggests.
I, for one, am glad this trilogy is over. Read it, only if you are a big SW fan.
I, for one, am glad this trilogy is over. Read it, only if you are a big SW fan.
December 2, 2024
I read these back in the 90’s and regard them as the best Star Wars books to date. I applaud Kathleen Kennedy for keeping the Star Wars Expanded Universe around as “Legends� and publishing the books that fit into Disney’s vision as “Cannon.� When Disney bought Stars Wars it was largely in stasis with less than one novel being published a year and only the Clone Wars on Cartoon Network carrying the banner. Disney has breathed new life into the franchise while keeping all the old works alive for old fans like myself.
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