Last Shot by Daniel Jose Older

Last Shot by Daniel Jose Older

     Wow! What a great novel. It's witty in all the right places and Older captures the personalities of our favorite heroes with aplomb. We get to see Lando and Han in action both together and separate as this story covers three timelines with our favorite heroes...not to mention a fourth timeline with the villain of the tale. Admittedly, the timelines get a little confusing but mostly in a keeping-track-of-what-had-been-going-on-in-each-one sort of sense. First, we get the main storyline with Han and Lando trying to track down the Phylanx Redux Transmitter from Fyzen Gor, a deranged Pau'an. Second, we have a storyline that takes place ten years before with Chewie, Han, and Sana Starros! Yes, Sana returns for this novel...love how they take a comic book character and put her in a novel - the canon connections are fabulous here. Third, Lando along with L3 (from Solo!!) search out the Phylanx fifteen years before. And fourth, Fyzen Gor develops his disturbing obsession with droids starting twenty years before. 

     The book as a whole contained a lot of action, intrigue, and twists and turns...always keeping me on my toes. We are introduced to four new species and five new locales. And we're given more in-depth views into some species and planets we are already familiar with. We even get to see characters from other books show up here which was a delight. I thoroughly enjoyed this thrill ride with Han and Lando.

     Timeline 1. We start in Cloud City on Bespin where a droid attacks Lando and reprograms his protocol droid to desire only to kill the suave smuggler. Then, we're on Chandrila at Leia, Han, and Ben's home where everything is mostly fine until Lando shows up and suckerpunches Han. From there we start a wild ride through the galaxy with Taka Jamoreesa, a non-binary character who only goes by they. We have two non-binary canon species so far (Dianoga and Chal-huddans) but this is our first major character--so exciting! We get a brief physical description of Taka that doesn't give away their biological sex in the slightest so you are absolutely left with a completely non-binary character who you can only see as a straight-up person. Taka has a secret up his sleeve that I won't reveal here, but there's a reason why he's always able to so deftly get Han and Lando out of the tight spots they find themselves in. We also meet Kaasha Bateen, a Twi'lek who Lando is actually in love with--the development of their story is cute and surprising...so neat to see Lando finally find someone he could settle down with. The last two main characters in this timeline include an Ugnaught named Florx who works for Lando and a slicer Ewok named Peekpa, neither of which seem to speak any Basic although they can understand it just fine. We even get to briefly see Conder Kyl again from the Aftermath trilogy!!! Apparently, he and Sinjir Rath Velus have since hooked up as a married couple!! In response to Han asking what Sinjir was up to, Conder says, "Oh, Sinjir's gallivanting across the galaxy causing all kinds of Sinjiry-type trouble." And he's still working as Mon Mothma's political advisor almost two years later *smile*.

     Timeline 2. We start on Takodana where Chewie, Sana, and Han run into some trouble due to Sana's determination to get her hands on the Phylanx. She doesn't know what it does but knows that it will get them a LOT of money on the black market. This timeline takes place between Solo and A New Hope what with being ten years before two years after Return of the Jedi. Sana keeps asking Han, "Who is she?" knowing he's smitten with somebody...can only be Qi'ra...cool that they slide that in. I was extremely disappointed that Sana's sexuality did not come out in this novel. According to the comics she's at least bisexual as she had a relationship with Dr. Aphra, my favorite rogue archaeologist! In this storyline, Han keeps proclaiming to Chewie that Sana is into him but Sana never comes out and says she's not into men. Ugh!! Very frustrating.

     Timeline 3. We start at Weigh Station Karambola with Lando just about to gain a bed buddy for the night when L3 interrupts with an important mission. The first section begins with a super detailed description of Lando's outfit...we actually get a good bit of that in this novel which is fun to see since his dress does make a chunk of his debonair character.

     Timeline 4. Creepy as hell!! Fyzen Gor attaches sentient organic parts to droids...yuck!

     Apparently hemchar root is good for hangovers but in high doses can lead to technocrome and sometimes olfactory hallucinations.

     Species:

- Hassks: sentient, screechy voices, pinched snarling faces, crusty bald patches speckle their mangy black fur (1st appearance: Smuggler's Run)

- Frompraths: sentient, hidden eyestalks tucked away in their huge mane of hair, three meters long, snakelike, six legs and multiple eyes, this one plays a long wood-and-string batanga

- Bastaks: non-sentient, "pale blue shell bristling with crusty growths wrapped around it like a helmet", swiveling antennae sprouting from its forehead, four tiny eyes, chitinous mouth, a mesmerizing shriek that can hypnotize anyone looking into its eyes

- Gungans: we get a Gungan who talks completely normally, unlike any Gungan from the Phantom Menace, he gets irritated when Han's second word to him is "meesa" haha

- Frizznoth: sentient, tiny, gray-green, wide head, big yellow eyes, long skinny arms, walk around in large mech suits to belie their small stature

- Forosnag: non-sentient, long muscular arms, spiky shoulders, shorter slithery-fingered midarms, flabby torsos, six rows of teeth, literally eat blasterfire

- Amani: we've seen them before but we get a little more about them, speak by croaking, live in tribal villages, reptilian, have clan members who are warriors by trade

     Planets:

- Utapau is in the Tarabba sector

- Kallea sector: outer Outer Rim

- Substation Grimdock: a small moon that had been turned into a partially-subterranean prison by the Empire

- Mesulan Remnants Belt: a vast sea of asteroids formed from pure ice, the ruptured ice moon Mesula, migrate around the galaxy in no obvious pattern

- Freerago's Satellite Diner: orbits Hosnian prime and has the best sirloin cuts in the galaxy...not sure what animal makes sirloin in the Star Wars universe...but okay. There's also a motel with dingy, dark hallways and crumbling plaster ceilings dripping odd liquids.

- Grava: a dusty, red and orange moon with splotches of dark green and a few bright yellow expanses where an Imperial asylum stood...now turned droid worshipping monastery...totally weird and beyond creepy!

     A couple of tidbits:

- There is a nod to L3 being potentially bisexual or a lesbian despite her being a droid as Lando asks her if the mission is about love and if there's a handsome boy droid out there waiting for her. Her response being, "I'm curious why you presume the droid I am interested in would be a boy." Haha--yay!

- Lando owns Calrissian Enterprises, a droid making company originally owned by Vylar Tech.

     This novel is definitely worth the read! Surprises and character connections partnered with fabulous humor make this one a winner.