What to Read Next: Heartwood + George Lucas
Volume 9, Issue #5
Happy Friday, readers!
Next week I’ll finally review a couple of the Star Wars novels I’ve been inhaling this year (the number is already in double digits), but for this week I’m reviewing a Star Wars-adjacent biography I really enjoyed as well as an outdoorsy mystery.
Let’s get right to it.
George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones
In the midst of my Star Wars year, there’s no way I could leave out this biography of George Lucas. Though it was close to 500 pages, I never lost interest and was always excited to pick it up — Jones writes an engaging and easy-reading narrative that perfectly balances detail with big-picture context.
There was so much here I loved that I needed to drill it down into bullet points, or I’d go on for too long. A few of the most interesting themes:
Lucas’s artsy origins and tendencies — and how that somehow turned into both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.
His fiery independent streak, and how he came to self-finance almost all of his projects. He bet on himself a lot.
How Lucas nearly single-handedly revolutionized the film industry in regards to special effects, especially with digital technology starting in the 90s; I had no idea Pixar started as a division of Lucasfilm.
The playfulness of Star Wars — while fans have always made it overly serious, Lucas always maintained a playful and even irreverent tone.
The merchandising! Lucas was (and is) a wildly savvy businessman who turned millions into billions through toys, licensing rights, and physical media (VHS, DVDs, etc.).
Above all that, though, it was just a treat to hear about the origins, evolution, and lore behind the Star Wars universe, which understandably takes up the bulk of the book.
Even if you’re not a fan of Star Wars, you may be interested in Lucas’s creative process and business drive — that narrative arc of poor ‘70s film student to billionaire household name is fascinating regardless of your interest in his work. This may end up in my year-end favorites list.
Heartwood by Amity Gaige
I’m always a sucker for an outdoorsy mystery or thriller. The God of the Woods. The River. In the Lake of the Woods. (I just now realized those titles look kinda funny being right next to each other.) Give me a crime set among lakes, mountains, and/or forests, and I can almost guarantee I’ll be hooked.
Amity Gaige’s Heartwood gives us a lost hiker on the Appalachian Trail. We get multiple POVs — the hiker, the search and rescue lead, and even an old lady Redditor — that all work in concert and only fully come together near the end. The writing is lyrical but not florid, the story clips along at a good pace, the characters were well-developed, and nature itself took a starring role at times (which I always love).
There were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, but it wasn’t overdone, and I genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen at the end. (That’s part of the beauty of a one-off story versus an ongoing series where certain characters pretty much have to live on.)
It wasn’t my very favorite novel of the year, but Heartwood was quite enjoyable overall and I have no real complaints. I’d certainly recommend it for a wide variety of readers and it sits somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars for me.
That’s it for me this week. Be good to each other and thanks for reading.
-Jeremy