Daniel José Older Aims For The Stars With ‘Star Wars: Last Shot’

As I sat reading Star Wars: Last Shot, a story that features Han Solo’s insecurities about raising young Ben, my kid read her Little Golden Book I Am A Jedi at the other end of the couch. — Okay, who am I kidding, she was sitting on top of me so I couldn’t move while also squirming and asking me for something to drink. — That is to say that I am smack dab in the middle of the generation that Last Shot is targeting. From that perspective, this book hits the right spots while also delivering a satisfying adventure. This isn’t surprising. Daniel José Older has been showing his skills for years now. His name has cropped up on lists for the Locus Award and the Mythopoeic Award. He won the International Latino Book Award for his Shadowshaper novel. For a writer with his skills, it might seem like writing licensed material would be easy. On the contrary, considering how many characters he fit in, while also wrapping in 3 separate timelines, this was a challenge befitting his boss-level abilities. The Plot At the outset of the book, Han is the primary caregiver to Ben as Leia rustles the New Republic into some kind of order. Han’s feeling a little sad sack about that. He is full of complaints about his cushy life as the Husband of the head of the New Republic, Senator Organa. What’s really touching is his inability to express this concerns to Leia, who remains as steadfast and graceful as ever. Given what we know about how Ben turns out, Han’s concerns about being a good father are…