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crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
2.0
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.
librareee's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Did not hold up like it did when I was younger. The ending of this trilogy sort of sputtered as the grand reveal ended up trying to be all sneaky with grand reveals but I didn't really feel like the payoff worked too well. First book in this trilogy was definitely the high point.
kb_208's review against another edition
4.0
The trilogy ends and all the questions are answered. The first two books were a bit slow and wordy, but I think Jeter finishes it up really well. This one didn't seem to be filled with a surplus of dialogue, but just what it needed to give the right amount of detail.
The story is finished with Boba trying to figure out who forged incriminating footage lining Prince Xizor to the attack on Skywalker's home. This intertwines with the story of the amnesiac girl from Jabba's Palace. The ending is pretty good and is a satisfying read to end on.
The story is finished with Boba trying to figure out who forged incriminating footage lining Prince Xizor to the attack on Skywalker's home. This intertwines with the story of the amnesiac girl from Jabba's Palace. The ending is pretty good and is a satisfying read to end on.
jaredkwheeler's review against another edition
2.0
Star Wars Legends Project #298
Background: Hard Merchandise was written by [a:K. W. Jeter|21994774|K. W. Jeter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and published in July of 1999. It is the third of the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, all written by Jeter.
Hard Merchandise set both during the events of Return of the Jedi (4 years after the battle of Yavin) and in the months after the Battle of Yavin, picks up both storylines from the conclusion of Slave Ship. The main characters are Boba Fett, Dengar, and Neelah, with major appearances by Bossk, Kuat of Kuat, Kud'ar Mub'at, and others. The story mostly takes place on and around Tatooine and Kuat, and at various locations in space.
Summary: Time is running out for Boba Fett, Dengar, and Neelah in their quest to recover long-buried secrets and use them to turn a profit, while still getting out alive. Plots set in motion over months and years are bearing fruit, and some very unintended consequences. As a galaxy-changing clash shapes up between the Empire and the Rebellion, a drama unfolds on a much smaller stage that could have far-reaching consequences for both.
Review: In case you're somehow reading this book without already knowing what "hard merchandise" refers to, do not worry. Jeter will be sure to tell you 30 or 40 times . . . basically anytime it comes up, he'll explain it. And, spoilers, it's how bounty hunters refer to a bounty in-transit after they've captured it. Though I question the usefulness of a phrase that everyone explains every time they use it. And speaking of repetition, if you took a shot every time Jeter describes Boba Fett as speaking "without emotion," you'd be passed out by the end of every chapter.
So yeah, the amazing trilogy of filler continues, and as it finally draws to a conclusion, I'm really starting to wonder if there was even enough story in all 3 books to fill an average novella. And what's wild is, the entire last 2 chapters are basically another round of exposition to basically summarize everything that happened for you. If you've gotten as far as book 3, I recommend that you skip to those last 2 chapters and give the rest of this a miss. Nothing important happens, and if you have any lingering questions you can clear them up there.
I guess I wouldn't even mind so much how thinly stretched all of this is if it weren't for the fact that what little story we DO get is convoluted beyond all sense and reason in order to disguise how lame and insignificant everything that happens is. I've read this before, but I couldn't remember what happened, and I speculated when discussing the last book that the flashback/flash-forward structure was a gimmick to disguise the thinness of the story. It's even worse than that, though . . . the structure is there to disguise the fact that there really isn't even an overarching narrative to the whole thing at all.
There are a lot of the same characters in the flashbacks as there are in the events of the novel's present, and this gives the illusion that the events of the two times are connected. They really aren't. None of the major resolution of this final book really has anything to do with the Bounty Hunter Wars of the trilogy title, or with much of anything else. Jeter couldn't even begin to pretend to deliver on any of the promises he's been making for the last 2 books, so he just blows a lot of things up really big and hopes no one will notice. Ultimately, not a single plotline or character choice makes any dang sense whatsoever, and this wasn't even 2 disconnected stories shoved together. It's just a bunch of stuff happening, and then years later, a bunch more stuff happens, the end. We don't even get any worthwhile insights into any of the familiar characters, Boba Fett least of all. I actually think I know less about Fett now than I did before reading this.
But it's really not worth the effort to go into any deeper than I have already here and in my previous two reviews. It was nice to have some closure on this trilogy, I guess, and I do really like the cover, although Palpatine is even less a presence in this than Darth Vader was in the first book. But seriously, don't read these books.
D+
Background: Hard Merchandise was written by [a:K. W. Jeter|21994774|K. W. Jeter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and published in July of 1999. It is the third of the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, all written by Jeter.
Hard Merchandise set both during the events of Return of the Jedi (4 years after the battle of Yavin) and in the months after the Battle of Yavin, picks up both storylines from the conclusion of Slave Ship. The main characters are Boba Fett, Dengar, and Neelah, with major appearances by Bossk, Kuat of Kuat, Kud'ar Mub'at, and others. The story mostly takes place on and around Tatooine and Kuat, and at various locations in space.
Summary: Time is running out for Boba Fett, Dengar, and Neelah in their quest to recover long-buried secrets and use them to turn a profit, while still getting out alive. Plots set in motion over months and years are bearing fruit, and some very unintended consequences. As a galaxy-changing clash shapes up between the Empire and the Rebellion, a drama unfolds on a much smaller stage that could have far-reaching consequences for both.
Review: In case you're somehow reading this book without already knowing what "hard merchandise" refers to, do not worry. Jeter will be sure to tell you 30 or 40 times . . . basically anytime it comes up, he'll explain it. And, spoilers, it's how bounty hunters refer to a bounty in-transit after they've captured it. Though I question the usefulness of a phrase that everyone explains every time they use it. And speaking of repetition, if you took a shot every time Jeter describes Boba Fett as speaking "without emotion," you'd be passed out by the end of every chapter.
So yeah, the amazing trilogy of filler continues, and as it finally draws to a conclusion, I'm really starting to wonder if there was even enough story in all 3 books to fill an average novella. And what's wild is, the entire last 2 chapters are basically another round of exposition to basically summarize everything that happened for you. If you've gotten as far as book 3, I recommend that you skip to those last 2 chapters and give the rest of this a miss. Nothing important happens, and if you have any lingering questions you can clear them up there.
I guess I wouldn't even mind so much how thinly stretched all of this is if it weren't for the fact that what little story we DO get is convoluted beyond all sense and reason in order to disguise how lame and insignificant everything that happens is. I've read this before, but I couldn't remember what happened, and I speculated when discussing the last book that the flashback/flash-forward structure was a gimmick to disguise the thinness of the story. It's even worse than that, though . . . the structure is there to disguise the fact that there really isn't even an overarching narrative to the whole thing at all.
There are a lot of the same characters in the flashbacks as there are in the events of the novel's present, and this gives the illusion that the events of the two times are connected. They really aren't. None of the major resolution of this final book really has anything to do with the Bounty Hunter Wars of the trilogy title, or with much of anything else. Jeter couldn't even begin to pretend to deliver on any of the promises he's been making for the last 2 books, so he just blows a lot of things up really big and hopes no one will notice. Ultimately, not a single plotline or character choice makes any dang sense whatsoever, and this wasn't even 2 disconnected stories shoved together. It's just a bunch of stuff happening, and then years later, a bunch more stuff happens, the end. We don't even get any worthwhile insights into any of the familiar characters, Boba Fett least of all. I actually think I know less about Fett now than I did before reading this.
But it's really not worth the effort to go into any deeper than I have already here and in my previous two reviews. It was nice to have some closure on this trilogy, I guess, and I do really like the cover, although Palpatine is even less a presence in this than Darth Vader was in the first book. But seriously, don't read these books.
D+
jarichan's review against another edition
3.0
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.
tiffanysaoirse's review against another edition
This series is one of the best Star Wars book series I've ever read. Before, when people wanted to start reading Star Wars books I'd direct them to Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy, certainly good in it's own right, but now I might even suggest this one as well.
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
1.0
I don't often say this about Star Wars novels, because I am most definitely a biased reader when it comes to SW, but this trilogy just plain sucks. The writing is bad, and the plot is RIDICULOUS. Read the summaries on Wookieepedia, don't bother with the books.
robbie81's review against another edition
5.0
Had a hard time putting any of the books in this series down,but this one was the hardest
blacksentai's review against another edition
2.0
continues the uneven pacing of the series. A lot of the book feels like filler. As if there was a skeleton of an idea and they couldn't make a full person out of it.