Review: Star Wars- Most Wanted
Quick Summary
Pros: There are a few moments of excitement within the read. Qi’ra’s personal story is interesting and adds to the narrative in the tie-in movie.
Cons: The majority of the book is pretty bland and unexciting. The conclusion is just as unexciting and shifts in a weird way, making it even more disappointing.
Overall: This is a book with pretty specific appeal. It does a solid job in highlighting Qi’ra as a character, in a way that makes the Solo movie even better. However, the narrative surrounding her story is pretty bland. It is alright at parts but ultimately leaves the reader wishing it was a bit better. In the end, this book is for readers who really enjoyed Solo, want to learn some of the lore behind it, and, specifically, want to see more of Qi’ra.
Story
Star Wars: Most Wanted, by Rae Carson, does one thing well and is lackluster in most other regards. The book does a great job in highlighting Qi’ra as a character but is just alright when it comes to the storytelling.
As mentioned above, this book’s most interesting point is the way it highlights Qi’ra. Solo: A Star Wars Story starred Qi’ra and positioned her as an integral piece of Han Solo’s life, yet didn’t actually tell readers that much about her. Within this book, readers learn about her origins, why she became involved in Han’s life, and, about events in her life that have impacted her decision making process. It gives additional justification and reasoning behind her actions and choices in the film, which slightly enhances the viewing experience. Because of this, the primary reason to read this book is to discover more about Qi’ra.
Unfortunately, outside of Qi’ra’s personal story, the rest of the narrative in Most Wanted is just alright. The main characters jump from situation to situation, forced to either fight or bluff their way out. This produces at least one moment, when a prison break is attempted, where the crew really shines. However, the majority of the book’s occurrences are pretty bland and mostly unexciting.
The book also stumbles when it comes to its conclusion. In a book where the majority of the conflict was just alright, I was hoping that the bulk of the excitement was being saved for some final showdown at the very end. However, the conclusion is just as engaging as the rest of the book’s events. It also ends in an awkward way, as the book’s trajectory feels like it unnaturally shifts in order to line up with the status quo present at the movie’s beginning.
Continuity
Star Wars: Most Wanted serves as a direct tie-in to Solo: A Star Wars Story. The narrative in this book takes place before the introduction in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The storyline here is directly continued in Solo: A Star Wars Story.