Review: Briskly-paced Scoundrels prequel
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 7, 2013
Winner Lose All is the latest e-book short story set in the Star Wars universe, this time with Timothy Zahn doing the authorial honors. It acts as a prequel to Mr. Zahn's Scoundrels and serves as an introduction to three of the folks who join Han's crew in that book: sisters Bink and Tavia Kitik along with Zerba Cher'dak are at a sabacc tournament implementing a scheme when they get swept up into intrigue with Lando Calrissian. Lando is there hoping to win the tournament grand prize, a Tchine, which is one of seven known artifacts of its kind. The question is why would tournament host Veilred Jydor want to give away such a valuable item? Questions of legitimacy and forays into local power struggles ensue as Lando and his temporary companions try to profit from the situation.This is a slight story to be read as a standalone but it is a perfectly serviceable prequel to Scoundrels. The intrigue and the eventual heist plot Lando cooks up are enjoyable and very much in keeping with the tone of the following book. Lando the gambler is a fun character to follow, before he becomes tied to the Rebellion and takes on a leadership role (at least at times). The double crosses and betrayals of Winner Lose All fuel it and give it momentum and there are enough pages to set up a reasonably compelling mystery around the Tchine. We don't learn too much about Zerba and the Kitik sisters that can't be gleaned from Scoundrels but they make great counterparts to Lando, with Lando providing leadership, Tavia practicality, Bink some amazing feats in her role as a ghost thief, and Zerba a few surprisingly bold moments as a planned foil to Lando at the sabacc table.I recommend Winner Lose All as interesting background material and a fun quick romp to anyone intending to read Scoundrels.