Book Review: Star Wars- The Perfect Weapon by Delilah S. Dawson

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Star Wars Fans,

  Disney-Lucasfilm and Del Rey continue to answer some questions left unanswered from Star Wars: The Force Awakens in their new canon books. The Perfect Weapon by Delilah S. Dawson is no exception, as we are re-introduced to galactic spy, Bazine Netal. Some spoilers ahead.

  If you remember in the Force Awakens, Bazine was the woman who reported that BB-8 and his companions were at Maz Kanata's palace to the First Order. In the Perfect Weapon we are introduced to much of her past. Bazine is a spy working for the highest payer, and this time she has taken on a new assignment. When we first see Bazine, she can be found on the desert world of Chaaktil, taking care of problem customers at a bar. She soon is entered into a meeting with a shadowy cloaked figure with a synthesized voice. The figure appears via a hologram message from an old protocol droid. The figure asks her to travel to an old hospital in the Outer Rim where a retired Stormtrooper, TK-1472, from the old Empire resides. With the old man is a steel case. She is to go to the hospital to find the trooper and procure the case (with or without the trooper's permission). The hologram also adds that another faction is looking for the case, lead by someone code-named Narglatch

  She accepts, but she needs a ship that will get her to where she needs to go. Hopping a shuttle to Chaako City, a large city on Chaaktil, she reunites with an old friend named Delphi Kloda, who conditions and prepares individuals for spy and mercenary work. Bazine was a student of his many years prior. He offers her a ship under one condition: she is to take his bumbling student, Ori Tenro, with her. They leave for Vashka, a world heavy with New Republic influence. Soon she and Tenro are in the middle of a dangerous adventure that has them facing Stormtroopers, giant insects, and her rival, Narglatch. 

  This short book answers a few questions from the Force Awakens, but you have to pay attention to the clues.

Here is what I found:

• The figure's voice is synthezied that hires Bazine. I assume this was Kylo Ren.
• The protocol droid gives Bazine a comm-link that resembles the one she used in the Force Awakens. Since she contacted the First Order with it, I think it was a First Order comm-link.
• She meets Stormtrooper TK-1403 who says he served under TK-1472 during the Battle of Endor.
• The steel case size is never verified, but with the emergence of Darth Vader's skull and helmet in the Force Awakens. I believe that the case held Vader's skull, since the troopers were at the Battle of Endor. They could have scavenged Vader's pyre to get the helmet of their leader.
• The long tunic that Bazine wears in the Force Awakens is made of baffleweave, which can render any sensors jammed. Its introduction is in this story that Bazine utilizes.

 The story by Dawson is fast-paced, witty, and the action scenes are very cinematic, in my opinion. I loved the banter between Bazine and Ori Tenro, and laughed every time she attempted to sharpen his spy skills while they took the long journey from Chaaktil to Vashka. Regardless of which side she may be on, I really liked this character. I hope she pops up in more stories or in the film and television projects. Bazine has a very likable personality, and her determination and bravery make her an formidable addition to Star Wars canon.

  I give this book three out of five stars. I wanted this short book to be longer, and it ended rather abruptly. But I did enjoyed the clues I could use for speculating on the Force Awakens. 

Because there is always time to read,
Xepherus3

Reading Challenge: http://xepherusreads.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-reading-challenge-update.html

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All written content (c) Copyright 2016 by Thomas Bahr II

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