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Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Perfect Weapon
Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens with this exclusive ebook short story set shortly before the events of the film, featuring a quick-witted mercenary who takes big risks for bigger rewards—and now faces the challenge that will take her to the edge.
There are plenty of mercenaries, spies, and guns for hire in the galaxy. But probably none as dangerous and determined as Bazine Netal. A master of disguise—and lethal with a blade, a blaster, or bare handed—she learned from the best. Now it’s her turn to be the teacher—even if schooling an eager but inexperienced recruit in the tricks of her trade is the last thing she wants to do. But it’s the only way to score the ship she needs to pull off her latest job.
An anonymous client has hired Bazine to track down an ex-stormtrooper and recover the mysterious package he’s safeguarding. Payment for the mission promises to be astronomical, but the obstacles facing Bazine will prove to be formidable. And though her eager new sidekick has cyber skills crucial to the mission, only Bazine’s razor-sharp talents will mean the difference between success or failure—and life or death.
There are plenty of mercenaries, spies, and guns for hire in the galaxy. But probably none as dangerous and determined as Bazine Netal. A master of disguise—and lethal with a blade, a blaster, or bare handed—she learned from the best. Now it’s her turn to be the teacher—even if schooling an eager but inexperienced recruit in the tricks of her trade is the last thing she wants to do. But it’s the only way to score the ship she needs to pull off her latest job.
An anonymous client has hired Bazine to track down an ex-stormtrooper and recover the mysterious package he’s safeguarding. Payment for the mission promises to be astronomical, but the obstacles facing Bazine will prove to be formidable. And though her eager new sidekick has cyber skills crucial to the mission, only Bazine’s razor-sharp talents will mean the difference between success or failure—and life or death.
60 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 24, 2015
83 people are currently reading
1911 people want to read
About the author
Delilah S. Dawson
176 books2,827 followersDelilah S. Dawson is the New York Times-bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma, Black Spire: Galaxy's Edge, and The Perfect Weapon. With Kevin Hearne, she writes the Tales of Pell. As Lila Bowen, she writes the Shadow series, beginning with Wake of Vultures. Her other books include the Blud series, the Hit series, and Servants of the Storm.
She's written comics in the worlds of Marvel Action: Spider-Man, Lore's Wellington, Star Wars Adventures, Star Wars Forces of Destiny, The X-Files Case Files, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and her creator-owned comics include Star Pig, Ladycastle, and Sparrowhawk.
Find out more at www.whimsydark.com.
She's written comics in the worlds of Marvel Action: Spider-Man, Lore's Wellington, Star Wars Adventures, Star Wars Forces of Destiny, The X-Files Case Files, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and her creator-owned comics include Star Pig, Ladycastle, and Sparrowhawk.
Find out more at www.whimsydark.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 336 reviews
January 31, 2016
3-3.5 of 5 stars. Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon is a tale about Bazine Netal, a character who made an appearance in a quick scene in Maz's Castle from The Force Awakens. She was the creepy black-lipsticked female informant who we first saw sharing a couch with that huge Dowutin alien. This short story provides a bit of background for her, with a focus around one of her past missions. On the whole a fun and fast read, but in the end, probably one that you can take or leave. It's not vital to the overall scheme of things in any way, and if you replace the names and places it could probably even work just fine as a non-Star Wars-y story. Unless you like to speculate...in which case you can have a bit of fun with the last few lines of the book.
December 25, 2015
In the 2015 film The Force Awakens (very obscure - look it up on IMDB) in the cantina scene, there is a scary looking female sitting with an enormous bad guy. This is Bazine Netal, and she is a badass. If Abrams and company are smart, we’ll see more from her.
Delilah S. Dawson makes a fun contribution to Star Wars canon with this 2015 short story that provides some backstory to this very interesting character. In the Bobba Fett / Lando Calrisian tradition: another lovable rogue.
Delilah S. Dawson makes a fun contribution to Star Wars canon with this 2015 short story that provides some backstory to this very interesting character. In the Bobba Fett / Lando Calrisian tradition: another lovable rogue.
December 31, 2020
The Perfect Weapon by Delilah S Dawson
A Star Wars fan fiction adventure. Science fiction novella.
Bazine is a pay-for-hire mercenary.
“She preferred her work like she preferred her clothes: tidy, no nonsense, a good fit, and ready to burn if she had to run.”
In this story she is on a mission with a new sidekick that requires training, possibly protecting and for certain, watching her back.
Quick and fun adventure.
I enjoyed the background music on the audio version. It’s not routine so it stood out.
A Star Wars fan fiction adventure. Science fiction novella.
Bazine is a pay-for-hire mercenary.
“She preferred her work like she preferred her clothes: tidy, no nonsense, a good fit, and ready to burn if she had to run.”
In this story she is on a mission with a new sidekick that requires training, possibly protecting and for certain, watching her back.
Quick and fun adventure.
I enjoyed the background music on the audio version. It’s not routine so it stood out.
November 23, 2018
Much better than Star Wars: Aftermath. At least this story has a point. How it leads into The Force Awakens we'll have to see.
November 7, 2021
Interesting little story.
December 19, 2017
I started reading a book yesterday that I couldn't get into and since The Last Jedi is still fresh in my mind, I started reading this short story...
And was totally hooked!
Bazine Netal is ruthless. She's great with disguises and totally lethal with any and every weapon. She's sharp, clever and unforgiving. But teaming up with amateurs isn't something she likes.
When she's hired to track down a case that belonged to an ex-stormtrooper, and has to teach someone along the way, she's determined to get the job done. And when unexpected situations and complications get in her way, Bazine is still determined to break them down...
I loved this!
Bazine is a character that's in The Force Awakens for such a short amount of time that I wasn't sure if I was going to care about her backstory. But I totally did! She's so badass.
The story was great, too. I loved the setup and the characters. I loved how everything felt so Star Wars, yet at the same time is so fresh and new. There's action, danger, surprises, betrayal... everything that makes a good story. Not to mention that it's written so well.
And you know what? After I finished, I wanted to know more.
And was totally hooked!
Bazine Netal is ruthless. She's great with disguises and totally lethal with any and every weapon. She's sharp, clever and unforgiving. But teaming up with amateurs isn't something she likes.
When she's hired to track down a case that belonged to an ex-stormtrooper, and has to teach someone along the way, she's determined to get the job done. And when unexpected situations and complications get in her way, Bazine is still determined to break them down...
I loved this!
Bazine is a character that's in The Force Awakens for such a short amount of time that I wasn't sure if I was going to care about her backstory. But I totally did! She's so badass.
The story was great, too. I loved the setup and the characters. I loved how everything felt so Star Wars, yet at the same time is so fresh and new. There's action, danger, surprises, betrayal... everything that makes a good story. Not to mention that it's written so well.
And you know what? After I finished, I wanted to know more.
December 12, 2016
Pretty solid short story, though if I'm being honest I was mainly reading it just for the canon information, not out of enjoyment.
Now I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with it. The writing was solid. The character was interesting. I'm just being honest in my motivations to read this story. It didn't really provide me with any valuable information and It could probably have been skipped over.
A solid 3, maybe 3.5 because of subject matter.
Now I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with it. The writing was solid. The character was interesting. I'm just being honest in my motivations to read this story. It didn't really provide me with any valuable information and It could probably have been skipped over.
A solid 3, maybe 3.5 because of subject matter.
February 13, 2016
Read more reviews @ The Bibliosanctum
Narrator: January LaVoy | Length: 1 hrs and 57 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Random House Audio (November 24, 2015) | Whispersync Ready: No
2.5-3 stars. Interesting story, but...
Very slight spoilers, but you’ve been warned.
I’m one of those people who is easily distracted by secondary characters to the point of joining their cult followings, and I’m not sorry. My most recent secondary character obsession is, Benzine Netal, a character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens the latest installment in the Star Wars universe. In one particular scene we are briefly scan to this intriguing looking woman dressed in Harlequin-esque attire, and in the next we’re learning the bounds of her treachery. She wasn’t in the movie long, but she had the potential to be more than a bit player in the movie, as many characters did, in my mind. There was something interesting and exciting about her character. She offered a plausible counter to Rey’s “moral excellence,”a woman who seemed cold and whose allegiances were shifty unlike the Imperial dedication from Phasma. Bezine carried herself as if she’s not someone to be trifled with, and I was excited to hear there would be a story to explore her background. I wish I could say that I loved what I learned about her. Unfortunately, they did nothing of importance with the character.
Bazine is The Perfect Weapon. trained from childhood to become a formidable foe and fulfill one ultimate goal (unbeknownst to her) that her teacher wanted, which really didn’t make much sense since he had years to complete this objective. There seems to be no mention of her parents because she was adopted from an orphanage by her mentor. Years later, she’s given a mission that requires she turn to him for help because she needs a ship. Why do all spy types need a ship? Do they not save the credits they get to buy one of their own? Her mentor agrees to give her a ship as long as she take his Pantoran techie, a rookie who needs to complete an off-world mission and could use her help. The only problem with this Pantoran is that he was absolutely the most unnecessary character I’ve ever encountered in a book. In fact, the whole premise for the story was weak, and a part near the end had me like, “HOW CONVENIENT!” You really don’t see Bazine being “The Perfect Weapon” much, which is okay. I’m getting to that.
So, why did rate it more than 1-star? Well, because I liked what I did learn about Bazine outside this missions’s premise. How her whole life has been manipulated to be this cold woman when she could’ve been anyone she wanted instead of a woman who wears eel ink on her finger tips or wears poisoned black lipstick to come in for a close kill. She’s not only emotionally scarred, but she’s physically scarred. Her face is a mask to hide the horror of a mission gone bad, and that’s something I would’ve loved to have heard more about. I’m sure seeing her in that moment of both emotional vulnerability and rage would’ve been an excellent story. I would have loved to explore these aspects of Bazine more, the slip of being a woman who does care but at the same time she does what is necessary. It’s not assumed she doesn’t care because she’s just a cold woman. She stops caring because everything she cares about is taken from her to make her the spy she is. It’s dangerous for her to care.
A couple of things other than the plot annoyed me. The constant reminder that she’s a sexy woman and what she’s wearing can get old in the story. We understand this, and even Bazine acknowledges she is beautiful, but beauty isn’t always worth its merits that people place on it in her opinion. We didn’t need constant words being taken up with drunk men hitting on her. Loss potential wasted on words about men too disgusting to be in her presence, according to her, which is another thing that annoyed me. You are a spy. You’ve admitted that you’ve had to go to some awful places, but still have to continuously harp on how gross something is instead of being the focused machine you are. I’m not saying she should’ve ignored it, but we get it! She thinks what she’s doing is gross. There are way better ways to convey disgust other than having what amounts to “OMG YUCK!” every couple pages. And what’s the point of having a million weapons on your person if you’re not actually going to use them. Inquiring minds want to know.
Anyhow, in Bazine, you do see a loss for what she could’ve been, how tired she is, how she feeds off the adrenaline she feels during a mission despite this. January LaVoy did an excellent job with the voices. I loved her Bazine. Just like with almost all Star Wars books I’ve listened to, this has sound effects, but thankfully, they don’t ever overtake the narration. I’m really impressed they added production to such a short story. Just like with The Force Awakens, I don’t think this is a necessary read, but it’s fun to learn a little more about that interesting lady from the cantina (who I hope to see more of… please…).
Narrator: January LaVoy | Length: 1 hrs and 57 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Random House Audio (November 24, 2015) | Whispersync Ready: No
2.5-3 stars. Interesting story, but...
Very slight spoilers, but you’ve been warned.
I’m one of those people who is easily distracted by secondary characters to the point of joining their cult followings, and I’m not sorry. My most recent secondary character obsession is, Benzine Netal, a character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens the latest installment in the Star Wars universe. In one particular scene we are briefly scan to this intriguing looking woman dressed in Harlequin-esque attire, and in the next we’re learning the bounds of her treachery. She wasn’t in the movie long, but she had the potential to be more than a bit player in the movie, as many characters did, in my mind. There was something interesting and exciting about her character. She offered a plausible counter to Rey’s “moral excellence,”a woman who seemed cold and whose allegiances were shifty unlike the Imperial dedication from Phasma. Bezine carried herself as if she’s not someone to be trifled with, and I was excited to hear there would be a story to explore her background. I wish I could say that I loved what I learned about her. Unfortunately, they did nothing of importance with the character.
Bazine is The Perfect Weapon. trained from childhood to become a formidable foe and fulfill one ultimate goal (unbeknownst to her) that her teacher wanted, which really didn’t make much sense since he had years to complete this objective. There seems to be no mention of her parents because she was adopted from an orphanage by her mentor. Years later, she’s given a mission that requires she turn to him for help because she needs a ship. Why do all spy types need a ship? Do they not save the credits they get to buy one of their own? Her mentor agrees to give her a ship as long as she take his Pantoran techie, a rookie who needs to complete an off-world mission and could use her help. The only problem with this Pantoran is that he was absolutely the most unnecessary character I’ve ever encountered in a book. In fact, the whole premise for the story was weak, and a part near the end had me like, “HOW CONVENIENT!” You really don’t see Bazine being “The Perfect Weapon” much, which is okay. I’m getting to that.
So, why did rate it more than 1-star? Well, because I liked what I did learn about Bazine outside this missions’s premise. How her whole life has been manipulated to be this cold woman when she could’ve been anyone she wanted instead of a woman who wears eel ink on her finger tips or wears poisoned black lipstick to come in for a close kill. She’s not only emotionally scarred, but she’s physically scarred. Her face is a mask to hide the horror of a mission gone bad, and that’s something I would’ve loved to have heard more about. I’m sure seeing her in that moment of both emotional vulnerability and rage would’ve been an excellent story. I would have loved to explore these aspects of Bazine more, the slip of being a woman who does care but at the same time she does what is necessary. It’s not assumed she doesn’t care because she’s just a cold woman. She stops caring because everything she cares about is taken from her to make her the spy she is. It’s dangerous for her to care.
A couple of things other than the plot annoyed me. The constant reminder that she’s a sexy woman and what she’s wearing can get old in the story. We understand this, and even Bazine acknowledges she is beautiful, but beauty isn’t always worth its merits that people place on it in her opinion. We didn’t need constant words being taken up with drunk men hitting on her. Loss potential wasted on words about men too disgusting to be in her presence, according to her, which is another thing that annoyed me. You are a spy. You’ve admitted that you’ve had to go to some awful places, but still have to continuously harp on how gross something is instead of being the focused machine you are. I’m not saying she should’ve ignored it, but we get it! She thinks what she’s doing is gross. There are way better ways to convey disgust other than having what amounts to “OMG YUCK!” every couple pages. And what’s the point of having a million weapons on your person if you’re not actually going to use them. Inquiring minds want to know.
Anyhow, in Bazine, you do see a loss for what she could’ve been, how tired she is, how she feeds off the adrenaline she feels during a mission despite this. January LaVoy did an excellent job with the voices. I loved her Bazine. Just like with almost all Star Wars books I’ve listened to, this has sound effects, but thankfully, they don’t ever overtake the narration. I’m really impressed they added production to such a short story. Just like with The Force Awakens, I don’t think this is a necessary read, but it’s fun to learn a little more about that interesting lady from the cantina (who I hope to see more of… please…).
November 27, 2015
A perfectly crafted story about a completely new character which serves as a comprehensive introduction, narrates a worthy challenge and manages to include some vital information about the future of Star Wars. The only weak point is that just as Aftermath, the mystery is not solved and an appropriate conclusion is nowhere to be found.
August 28, 2016
During the cantina scene from The Force Awakens that occurs when Han Solo, Finn, Rey, and BB8 make their way to Maz Kanata's castle on Takodana, the camera cuts to an attractive but shady looking woman. The first time, she is sitting with a big hunky alien and stroking one of his tusks as our heroes walk by, and the second time you see her pull out a comlink to notify the First Order that BB8 has been found. This woman is revealed to be the deadly mercenary Bazine Netal, and the character is given a short story (that reads more like a novela despite being less than 60 pages) that fleshes out her backstory and personality, while sending her on an entertaining adventure full of action and suspense.
The story opens with Bazine inside a bar called Suli's cantina on her homeworld, a desert planet called Chaaktil. After fending off a few unwanted admirers, she is lead into a hotel room where she is offered a job to retrieve a steel case. She takes the job, and accompanied by a slicer named Orri Tenro on a ship called the Sparrowhawk, heads for the planet Vashka to find the case.
I'd rate this book around 3.5 stars, but Goodreads doesn't do half ratings, so I'll be generous and up my rating to 4.
The plot is pretty good and leads to some well rendered action scenes and one or two interesting twists. The book is also decently paced, so while I wasn't completely engrossed the whole time, it didn't leave me bored for any significant stretches either.
The side characters are decent, with Delphi Kloda being developed in an interesting way and Orri being enjoyably dim-witted.
Bazine Netal's characteriztion reminds me a little bit of Mara Jade in Heir to the Empire. I haven't read the entire Thrawn Trilogy, but I though Mara in the first book was a little too one-dimensional. However, she was still quite entertaining when interacting with Luke Skywalker and had a decent backstory.
Bazine is kind of similar in that while she is not a complex character, she makes up for it by being incredibly fun to follow and just all the interesting little things you learn about her. While you could say that she doesn't have much character development due to the story's short length, I don't think that's an excuse because I have seen better characterization for short stories within the Star Wars canon, most notably Rae Sloane from Jason Fry's The Levers of Power. Again, though, it's important to reiterate that just because Bazine Netal wasn't complex, she was still a pretty fun character. After reading this book I can see why the Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, Tales of the Bounty Hunters and Tales from Jabba's Palace series caught on. There's always potential when you flesh out an extra from those scenes, and the same potential can be found in fleshing out extras from The Force Awakens. After this book I really want to check out some of the works from the canon that have done something similar like Aliens: The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku and Star Wars: Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away.
January LaVoy was a mixed bag in terms of the audio work. I loved the voice she gave to Bazine Netal, but sometimes the voices she gave to male characters were grading. Fortunately the voices for Kloda, Orri, and the old veteran stormtrooper she runs across are fine, but a couple of voices from the bar patrons at first left me a little scared.
The best thing about this book, and what makes it worth reading, is all the details that Delilah S. Dawson provides about Bazine Netal. Not only do we learn about her past and some of her acquaintances, we also learn how she fights, why her fingers are black-tipped, why she wears that black cap, and even why she has black lipstick. It's all pretty fascinating and on top of good dialogue and strong action sequences she's an entertaining character to follow.
I wouldn't recommend the audiobook over the kindle version, or the kindle version over the audiobook. I think you will get a similar level of enjoyment out of each of them, so pick whichever format works better for you if you decide to give this a try.
The Perfect Weapon is not a must read, but I found it to be pretty good. I recommend it to either A) the completionists out there who want to explore everything that is the Star Wars canon, and/or B) those who enjoy(ed) the "Tales from" series that the legends continuity offered. Don't worry about it if you pass this over, but if you're curious, go ahead and spend a couple bucks for this entertaining Bazine Netal adventure; it should be worth an hour or two of your time.
The story opens with Bazine inside a bar called Suli's cantina on her homeworld, a desert planet called Chaaktil. After fending off a few unwanted admirers, she is lead into a hotel room where she is offered a job to retrieve a steel case. She takes the job, and accompanied by a slicer named Orri Tenro on a ship called the Sparrowhawk, heads for the planet Vashka to find the case.
I'd rate this book around 3.5 stars, but Goodreads doesn't do half ratings, so I'll be generous and up my rating to 4.
The plot is pretty good and leads to some well rendered action scenes and one or two interesting twists. The book is also decently paced, so while I wasn't completely engrossed the whole time, it didn't leave me bored for any significant stretches either.
The side characters are decent, with Delphi Kloda being developed in an interesting way and Orri being enjoyably dim-witted.
Bazine Netal's characteriztion reminds me a little bit of Mara Jade in Heir to the Empire. I haven't read the entire Thrawn Trilogy, but I though Mara in the first book was a little too one-dimensional. However, she was still quite entertaining when interacting with Luke Skywalker and had a decent backstory.
Bazine is kind of similar in that while she is not a complex character, she makes up for it by being incredibly fun to follow and just all the interesting little things you learn about her. While you could say that she doesn't have much character development due to the story's short length, I don't think that's an excuse because I have seen better characterization for short stories within the Star Wars canon, most notably Rae Sloane from Jason Fry's The Levers of Power. Again, though, it's important to reiterate that just because Bazine Netal wasn't complex, she was still a pretty fun character. After reading this book I can see why the Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, Tales of the Bounty Hunters and Tales from Jabba's Palace series caught on. There's always potential when you flesh out an extra from those scenes, and the same potential can be found in fleshing out extras from The Force Awakens. After this book I really want to check out some of the works from the canon that have done something similar like Aliens: The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku and Star Wars: Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away.
January LaVoy was a mixed bag in terms of the audio work. I loved the voice she gave to Bazine Netal, but sometimes the voices she gave to male characters were grading. Fortunately the voices for Kloda, Orri, and the old veteran stormtrooper she runs across are fine, but a couple of voices from the bar patrons at first left me a little scared.
The best thing about this book, and what makes it worth reading, is all the details that Delilah S. Dawson provides about Bazine Netal. Not only do we learn about her past and some of her acquaintances, we also learn how she fights, why her fingers are black-tipped, why she wears that black cap, and even why she has black lipstick. It's all pretty fascinating and on top of good dialogue and strong action sequences she's an entertaining character to follow.
I wouldn't recommend the audiobook over the kindle version, or the kindle version over the audiobook. I think you will get a similar level of enjoyment out of each of them, so pick whichever format works better for you if you decide to give this a try.
The Perfect Weapon is not a must read, but I found it to be pretty good. I recommend it to either A) the completionists out there who want to explore everything that is the Star Wars canon, and/or B) those who enjoy(ed) the "Tales from" series that the legends continuity offered. Don't worry about it if you pass this over, but if you're curious, go ahead and spend a couple bucks for this entertaining Bazine Netal adventure; it should be worth an hour or two of your time.
September 13, 2019
Pretty good
this is a cool short story. Nothing too crazy, but enjoyable. If like to read more about the main character.
this is a cool short story. Nothing too crazy, but enjoyable. If like to read more about the main character.
April 14, 2018
“She closed his eye and stood, tall and proud. Perhaps he’d sought to forge her into the perfect weapon, but the sharpening had been her own doing.”
4.5 stars! I am so glad I read this.
Dawson wonderfully developed Bazine Netal into a multi-faceted character in the short span of THE PERFECT WEAPON. All I knew about Bazine from Episode 7 was that she seemed to be very capable and elusive. I am glad to know now that I was not wrong in that assumption.
I enjoyed the absence of a large number of characters in this short story; we got to know the ones we had pretty well. Delphi Kloda, a former member of Kanjiklub (does everyone else read this only in Bala-Tik's voice from Episode 7? LMFAO), trains a variety of people in the arts of espionage and fighting. He is a mysterious character with an intense mentor relationship with Bazine. One of his super green trainees/splicers, Orri, needs some field experience, so he sends Orri with Kloda for her mysterious mission: to gain a case owned by a former Stormtrooper.
After being picked out of an orphanage and trained by Kloda for years, Bazine grew into an amazing spy willing to do and kill almost anyone and anything in order to get a job done. I loved the introspective into her thinking throughout THE PERFECT WEAPON. Little things like Bazine thinking of all the ways she could kill these random people in an elevator, even though she didn't even have to, made her character realistic in her role and truly deadly. The dynamic in this story between Bazine and Orri brought out some of her vulnerability, which was refreshing - but also not too much vulnerability to betray her characterization.
There are some definite twists and turns as THE PERFECT WEAPON goes on. It is very fast paced and the writing is beautiful and descriptive. The world building was efficient and interesting - I love hearing about the criminal element of various planets and hints of how the New Republic was doing before Episode 7. I love seeing Stormtroopers from the OT era in the ST era and finding out what happened to them. The insect invaded "stormtrooper retirement home" in THE PERFECT WEAPON was a surprising concept and I enjoyed seeing how exploring it played out for Bazine.
One thing that frustrates me, but I understand, is
Overall, not super relevant to the rest of the universe, but I expected that going in (and so would most readers, I assume). I was so pleasantly surprised by the kickass and contemplative awesomeness of this little story. Reccomended for big Star Wars fans looking for a quick read.
May 22, 2018
The good thing about this book was that it was my first exposure to Star Wars audiobooks. If you like Star Wars, the audiobooks are fantastic. They're borderline audiodramas, with sound effects and music included. Very fun to listen to, in my opinion.
But this book? There just wasn't much of a point to it. I read/listened to the whole thing because I had a long commute, but otherwise probably would have switched over to something else.
But this book? There just wasn't much of a point to it. I read/listened to the whole thing because I had a long commute, but otherwise probably would have switched over to something else.
February 12, 2024
This was an enjoyable short story about the Bounty Hunter Bazine Netal.
This showcases her capability to adapt and her ruthlessness to complete the mission given to her. By going to her teacher to borrow his ship, taking his underling and giving him some training in the life of bounty; we see a softer side to her.
She doesn't take betrayal lightly . . . it brings out her true darkness.
This showcases her capability to adapt and her ruthlessness to complete the mission given to her. By going to her teacher to borrow his ship, taking his underling and giving him some training in the life of bounty; we see a softer side to her.
She doesn't take betrayal lightly . . . it brings out her true darkness.
November 22, 2018
A fun, short read about a hyper-competent stabby-stabby-killy-killy female operator and her sudden but inevitable betrayal while on a mysterious smash and grab job.
PS Yes, the skullcap hood and the mesh shirt get origin stories. I kid you not.
PS Yes, the skullcap hood and the mesh shirt get origin stories. I kid you not.
December 1, 2020
Action from the start, this was a gripping read. There were twists and turns I did not anticipate. The author was able to paint vivid images in my mind with her words. If you are a Star Wars fan, you should definitely read this.
December 13, 2018
Bazine is a badass.
June 3, 2017
Not really my cup of tea, but read for "Star Wars Day."
February 21, 2023
Interesting little Side Story
October 1, 2020
An intense action-packed page-turner!
From beginning to end this book kept my interest. Bazine is a badass mercenary who has no problems getting the job done. She prefers working alone, but she gets stuck with her former mentors recruit, Orri. He has wicked cyber skills that would probably more helpful is Bazine took him seriously, but he's a rookie, and she doesn't trust him. Then again she doesn't trust anyone.
This is very much a character-driven story, with tons of action. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would love to see more of Bazine's adventures. I recommend it to anyone who likes Sci-fi or Action Adventure with a strong woman lead. It's a nice fast read you could read over lunch.
From beginning to end this book kept my interest. Bazine is a badass mercenary who has no problems getting the job done. She prefers working alone, but she gets stuck with her former mentors recruit, Orri. He has wicked cyber skills that would probably more helpful is Bazine took him seriously, but he's a rookie, and she doesn't trust him. Then again she doesn't trust anyone.
This is very much a character-driven story, with tons of action. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would love to see more of Bazine's adventures. I recommend it to anyone who likes Sci-fi or Action Adventure with a strong woman lead. It's a nice fast read you could read over lunch.
March 5, 2016
Remember that lady from The Force Awakens whose in that bar that kinda reminds you of the bar from A New Hope except that one dude isn’t pushing on Luke and talking about his grunty friend that don’t like nobody before Old Ben starts chopping? That lady! She calls the bad dudes! She’s on the front cover of this here book! Turns out, that lady’s name is Bazine and she’s not to be trifled with. She’s basically a freelance assassin/spy with a dangerous set of skills. She’s also really cool; part antihero, part villain.
The Perfect Weapon takes place leading up to The Force Awakens and gives Bazine a (short) story of her own, where she jets off in search of relic from the Battle of Endor under the orders of a mysterious client. The story operates like a little spy yarn, one where nothing is ever quite as it seems and the answers are always just out of reach. What is the thing Bazine is sent to get? Like Mission: Impossible III’s Rabbit’s Foot or Pulp Fiction’s briefcase, we never really know. (My theory! ) Bazine’s a cool character and author Delilah S. Dawson crafts a good short story around her. She never makes Bazine overly sympathetic, but there’s enough of a heart to the character to put you on her side.
I wish The Perfect Weapon was longer, but for what it is there’s a good deal of fun to be had.
The Perfect Weapon takes place leading up to The Force Awakens and gives Bazine a (short) story of her own, where she jets off in search of relic from the Battle of Endor under the orders of a mysterious client. The story operates like a little spy yarn, one where nothing is ever quite as it seems and the answers are always just out of reach. What is the thing Bazine is sent to get? Like Mission: Impossible III’s Rabbit’s Foot or Pulp Fiction’s briefcase, we never really know. (My theory! ) Bazine’s a cool character and author Delilah S. Dawson crafts a good short story around her. She never makes Bazine overly sympathetic, but there’s enough of a heart to the character to put you on her side.
I wish The Perfect Weapon was longer, but for what it is there’s a good deal of fun to be had.
December 3, 2020
Audiobook review:
Performance – 5
Story – 4
Overall – 5
Good Short Story
I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. January LaVoy did a fantastic job with her performance of the story. While I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I have enjoyed watching the movies. I'm not exactly sure where this story fits in but that didn't really matter.
The story was packed with action and quite a surprise at the end. My only complaint was that the ending was a bit abrupt. I know it's a short story but I liked everything else about it. It's supposed to have been a lead in to the movie The Force Awakens so maybe that's why the abrupt ending. Unfortunately, I don't really remember that much about the movie because it was too long ago that I watched it.
I listened to this story because the author will be at the virtual Coastal Magic Convention in February 2021 and I wanted to read one of her books before then. I thought the writing was good but the performance by January LaVoy really made it special.
Performance – 5
Story – 4
Overall – 5
Good Short Story
I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. January LaVoy did a fantastic job with her performance of the story. While I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I have enjoyed watching the movies. I'm not exactly sure where this story fits in but that didn't really matter.
The story was packed with action and quite a surprise at the end. My only complaint was that the ending was a bit abrupt. I know it's a short story but I liked everything else about it. It's supposed to have been a lead in to the movie The Force Awakens so maybe that's why the abrupt ending. Unfortunately, I don't really remember that much about the movie because it was too long ago that I watched it.
I listened to this story because the author will be at the virtual Coastal Magic Convention in February 2021 and I wanted to read one of her books before then. I thought the writing was good but the performance by January LaVoy really made it special.
October 19, 2016
Read this review and more on my blog.
With Rouge One less than 60 days away now I decided that I should start tackling the ridiculous amount of Star Wars books that I need to get through.
The Perfect Weapon is based around Bazine Netal, the person in Max Kanata castle who altered the First Order to BB-8's location.
The storyline in The Perfect Weapon was very straightforward, Bazine needs to complete a mission and she does not fully understand what she has gotten herself into. I feel like Dawson tried too hard to make Blazine into the Boba Fett of The Force Awakens.
I know that The Perfect Weapon is a short story but I feel like it was rushed, whether it was for the release of The Fore Awakens or not I am not sure. I feel like a little more time would have made Bazine Netal the badass that she was portrayed as in the limited time she was on the screen in The Force Awakens.
With Rouge One less than 60 days away now I decided that I should start tackling the ridiculous amount of Star Wars books that I need to get through.
The Perfect Weapon is based around Bazine Netal, the person in Max Kanata castle who altered the First Order to BB-8's location.
The storyline in The Perfect Weapon was very straightforward, Bazine needs to complete a mission and she does not fully understand what she has gotten herself into. I feel like Dawson tried too hard to make Blazine into the Boba Fett of The Force Awakens.
I know that The Perfect Weapon is a short story but I feel like it was rushed, whether it was for the release of The Fore Awakens or not I am not sure. I feel like a little more time would have made Bazine Netal the badass that she was portrayed as in the limited time she was on the screen in The Force Awakens.
June 22, 2016
When I saw the femme fatale in black lipstick in the cantina in The Force Awakens, I thought: I would read a book about her. This is it and of the Star Wars books I've read so far, this is my favorite.
The characterization is fun. The back story is crucial to the plot. Bazine is competent and believable. The double cross surprised me.
The only reasons I'm knocking a star off is because the story doesn't so much wrap up as quit. The adventure isn't over when the story stops. In fact Bazine's lack of curiosity over the object for which she nearly died seems not only out of character but externally imposed. I wondered if The Mouse had his gloves on the author.
I would read another of Bazine's adventures, but it had better have a more satisfying ending.
The characterization is fun. The back story is crucial to the plot. Bazine is competent and believable. The double cross surprised me.
The only reasons I'm knocking a star off is because the story doesn't so much wrap up as quit. The adventure isn't over when the story stops. In fact Bazine's lack of curiosity over the object for which she nearly died seems not only out of character but externally imposed. I wondered if The Mouse had his gloves on the author.
I would read another of Bazine's adventures, but it had better have a more satisfying ending.
August 16, 2017
Bazine is the kind of character I wish was in Aftermath: Empire's End. She'd fit so perfectly with author Chuck Wendig's band of bounty hunters. Hope to see more of this character in cannon books, perhaps she'll make an appearance in Phasma, which is also written by Delilah Dawson.
In The Perfect Weapon, author Deliah Dawson crams in a decent back story to make Bazine a rich character full of purpose and hate. I see this bounty hunter with a bit part in The Force Awakens as the modern Star Wars version of Dengar perhaps (maybe overstated in Star Wars fandom).
In The Perfect Weapon, author Deliah Dawson crams in a decent back story to make Bazine a rich character full of purpose and hate. I see this bounty hunter with a bit part in The Force Awakens as the modern Star Wars version of Dengar perhaps (maybe overstated in Star Wars fandom).
June 9, 2016
This is not essential reading for understanding The Force Awakens, but it does provide an entertaining backstory for Bazine Netal, who enjoys an intriguing cameo moment during the sequence in Maz Kanata's haven.
May 18, 2018
Not the best story and a bit predictable, its still a fun foray into the background of the denizens of the Star Wars Universe.
November 2, 2025
This story is related to The Force Awakens, which is already almost 10 years old, yet somehow I never have seen it until now. It’s short, only 60 pages, and shows an escapade of a minor character from a cantina scene in TFA (the bounty hunter with the black skullcap and lipstick). It’s not necessary reading, but it’s quite well-written for how short it is. I didn’t love the slight horror touches though, or the way it ends without answering a key point of the whole story. It almost feels like it meant for that question to be answered in TFA but the scene got cut or something, because otherwise I don’t think this author would have just stopped the story where she did.
August 11, 2017
Definitely fun, but I wouldn't say necessary if you're out to read all the Star Wars content. The audio book was a lot of fun, though I'm not sure about the melodramatic writing. Might have just been a stylistic choice for the character however, I've read other books by Delilah Dawson and it wasn't as intense as this. I did really like the descriptions of locals and views, those were lovely.
As a note - I do like the cover, as simple as it is. It fits.
As a note - I do like the cover, as simple as it is. It fits.
November 1, 2020
It was okay! Interesting on it's own, though I have absolutely no idea why it's marked as 'Journey to Star Wars Force Awakens' other than giving back story to a character briefly seen in a scene.
The audiobook was really good tho, otherwise it would probably be a 2 or 2.5!
The audiobook was really good tho, otherwise it would probably be a 2 or 2.5!
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