The Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy by K.W Jeter
Boba Fett is dead, and his victims and rivals rejoice. But Dengar and a young slave woman who knows that Fett is part of her lost past have found evidence he’s not as gone as his enemies hope. And while neither trust him, they know they need him alive. They need the man behind the Mandalorian Armor, for their own reasons.
Rereading this story post prequels is fascinating. Not since the fall of his father Jango has Boba Fett needed to rely on anyone or anything. He IS the Mandalorian Armor, few have seen him outside that and lived.
The story takes on a flashback style I don’t usually care for, with NOW (right after the fall of Jabba) to THEN (right after events in A New Hope.) This starts at a chapter break at least, but not every chapter. This gives some room for the events in each time to get going but it is a bit rough if one has to put the book down and come back sometime later as it means trying to remember whether one left off ‘now’ or ‘then’. But it does flow nicely with various other surrounding stories about the various hunters we see in The Empire Strikes Back.
Watching Boba Fett come back to life in Mandalorian Armor, he isn’t exactly gushy with gratitude but he does apparently mean it with the partnership. He’s polar opposite Dengar, who really just wants a big enough score to retire. On the other hand Dengar is no idiot, people don’t ally with Fett because they often end up as dead as his enemies.
Mandalorian Armor introduces the slave girl Neelah, an interesting character , I remember just enough previous reads to know she is definitely important to someone. Important enough that Fett stashed her away as a form of security for the future. She means little to him otherwise. But she’s a strong willed smart character and she’s not going to be sacrificed for his convenience without a fight.
Then there is his enemy – or rather, the one we’ve heard little of until now. The world of Kuat, it’s people, and it’s shipyards has been heard of in other sources. But I don’t recall any being the center point of the story outside this one. The characters part in this is a mystery. We also get hints of Prince Xixor and a very creepy character Mud’ar’ Mubat. I’m sorry but I just have a primal, knee jerk dislike of bugs especially ginormous ones. This is no exception, particularly as the creature has as little respect for life as Fett himself.
The Mandalorian Armor has the mystery part in the ‘now’ section and the adventure in the ‘then’ section. It’s hard to really root for anyone when they are all basically avaricious mercenaries, but some are better than others. Dengar and Zuckuss have been favorites of mine since Tales of the Bounty Hunters. I did feel for D’haran, along with wishing for more information about him. Why in the galaxy would anyone let themselves become what he did.
Mandalorian Armor being the first book in the trilogy, the answers to the mystery of Neelah and how it turns out aren’t here. But we do get enough to know just why so many other Bounty Hunters hate Boba Fett. It isn’t just fear, or even just jealousy.
Mandalorian Armor Continuity
Bossk here fits well with Shadows of the Empire version. There is a mystery around events in Tales of the Bounty Hunters where Bossk ticked off an Imperial (tricked by another Hunter and not Fett) that was to lead to his execution. We didn’t see that though either here or elsewhere as far as I know, so instead are left with an untold story that I feel would’ve been interesting as either a short story or comic.
Dengar features heavily in the Mandalorian Armor in the ‘now’ section and it ties in nicely to his story in Tales of the Bounty Hunters, in fact that story explains why he’s so desperately interested in a score that would let him retire in this.
Boba Fett in Mandalorean Armor has put his past (and it’s vulnerabilities) behind him. This makes sense, his job allows no room for vulnerability and attachments (in the form of the father he emulates but lost, and the very few friends and family he had) are a weakness others could exploit. His first seen return was in Dark Empire (unless you count the brief Marvel comic where he fell right back in the sarlaac. I believe that is still labeled “S Canon” in the Expanded Universe.)
Xixor is mentioned briefly as are Vader and the Emperor. The Mandalorian Armor gives hints as to the lead in of their relationship in Shadows of the Empire, and I’m sure the rest of the trilogy will develop it.
The character D’haran was first introduced in this book, with little enough detail on his past given. But it (or he) does appear again in the Last of the Jedi series, set right after the Clone Wars. (Making Zuckuss’s comments accurate.) Post that era, between Grievious and the Nelvaans, I can see how such a being could come to exist whether willingly or no. I’d have liked to know more about his people.
Zuckuss is only seen in the ‘before’ part at this point, I figure that explains why we don’t see 4LOM, who apparently teamed with him later and post Bossk, although he was with both in Shadows of the Empire. He is younger in this, new to the Trade and perhaps that explains who he becomes in the Tales of the Bounty Hunters story and later Shadows of the Empire.
IG-88. Again, we only see him in the before (if you read Tales of the Bounty Hunters you know what he’s doing now) but he is true to form in this.
The Sequels to this are Book 2: Slave Ship and Book 3: Hard Merchandise. They are available as both Mass Market Paperbacks and a nice Barnes and Noble Omnibus edition.
