Recently Read: Bloodline

With all of the excitement from Star Wars Celebration this weekend, it seemed like the right time to post a review of one of the more recent Star Wars novels: Bloodline by Claudia Gray. I just so happened to finish the book last week... and it's also helpful that I'm definitely not bitter at all that a handful of my coworkers are at Celebration right now... erm anyways, I digress. Keep on reading for my thoughts on Bloodline, a story that explores Leia's life Post-Empire and Pre-First Order... in what should have been an uneventful time.


I'm going to put this out there first thing: the beginning of this book drags a little. After the initial lull, the action picks up and remains at a pretty steady medium then on. There was only one moment (predictable if you are even an entry-level Star Wars fan) that was truly an exciting read. I repeat: this book is not a page-turner.  However it is my strong belief that not every book needs to be a read-until-3am thriller.  This book's best moments are in developing and exploring the complexities of Leia's post-war life, the pull of duty, and the relationships between politics and people.

For the most part, new supporting characters are fairly cliche, and while well developed, when competing against such beloved characters (aka Leia) it is difficult to care about them -- beyond support for our hero. All that said, there is one newbie who is compelling; truthfully crucial to the story: the Centrist politician Ransolm Casterfo. I wish the plot would have focused more on Ransolm & Leia, and less on the secondary (honestly tertiary) characters. Regardless, the book has plenty of the two protagonists to make it worthwhile.

Bloodline is a 100% easy-read piece of fiction. It is in no way challenging, or head-scratching, and it has some genuinely fun moments. It is a great book to crack open when you just need to slow down and take a break from this Galaxy (if you can look past a little cringey dialogue--- and admit it--you and I both read Twilight so we most definitely can). Throughout the pages of Bloodline, Gray honors the wonderful character that is Leia, and builds some welcome additional depth to the princess-senator-general we all love.