Star Wars: Most Wanted review

Set before Solo: A Star Wars Story, Most Wanted establishes Han and Qi’ra’s daily life in Corellia, and offers more details about the various crime syndicates within the most recent movie spinoff. At the beginning of Rae Carson’s novel, Han and Qi’ra are merely people who live close to each other, but throughout the story Carson subtly reveals how their relationship begins to grow.

Sadly Most Wanted just does not have that Star Wars feel. Unlike Last Shot, which could well be the best written depiction of Han Solo outside of the movies, Carson’s version of Han is less charming and confident. Perhaps this was a conscious choice as Han is younger (only 18), but he feels like more of a blank canvas rather than the loveable character formed by Harrison Ford. Qi’ra, as well, is quite a flat character. There’s some foreshadowing to her role in Solo’s movie, but for the most part she is a pretty plain character. At times the narration perspective switches to Qi’ra’s point of view, but her thoughts don’t provide much insight into her character.

The story is simple, but fun nevertheless. Han and Qi’ra are sent on quests for their leader, but neither go to plan. The two protagonists end up in a similar scenario, where their bond begins to grow. Unlike Solo, the plot offers no twists, and is fairly straight forward. This makes the ending feel quite flat, which sadly means Carson’s simple plot is not that justified.

Most Wanted is a book which anyone who enjoyed Han’s first spinoff movie will find intriguing. But overall it doesn’t provide much insight into Han’s early life, or much in the way of his relationship with Qi’ra. The story just lacks the tension which every Han Solo moment needs. Read Last Shot if you want more information about Han’s early life, which was full of tense shootouts and tight escapes.