Victory's Price Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 460 pages

Author: Alexander Freed

Timeline: Follows Shadow Fall, precedes Force Awakens

Main characters: Yrica Quell, Wyl Lark, Chass na Chadic, Soran Keize, Kairos, Nath Tensent, and Hera Syndulla.

Brief synopsis: Nearing the end of the war, Alphabet Squadron also nears a climactic finish fighting Shadow Squadron while Yrica Quell battles internal conflict in an attempt to do what is right.

Gut Feeling

This book was definitely one that I had to grind through. I’m not saying that because I didn’t like it, because it was a good book, it just certainly is part of my gut reaction. Alexander Freed’s writing style is pretty dense and the story is character lead so this means that it was easy to get lost in the details. It would be easiest to read large portions of this book at a time, because then it would be easier to keep track of everything going on. Unfortunately, due to preparing for a wedding, finishing school, and work, I was forced to read this book a little at a time. Because of that, I expect my biased score of the book would be lower than the attempted unbiased score I am going to give. Parts of this book were really really good. I really did enjoy this trilogy, but I wish the book featured more of these peaks. In a trilogy that I expected to only get better with each book, I think the second may have been my favorite (in classic Original Trilogy fashion).

Characters (10/10 pts)

Alright, my biased gut reaction is out of the way and I am free to give a perfect score to the first section. It is no surprise that the characters were the strongest part of the book. They have been the focal point of the entire book trilogy. Each member of Alphabet Squadron has the character development of a main character. They probably have even more depth than most main characters. I won’t discuss each character, because that could be an article in itself, but I will discuss some of the highlights.

Yrica Quell has to have the most depth of any character. The cliff hanger from Shadow Fall was Quell leaving Alphabet Squadron to join her former squad. Her motivations for doing this were up in the air, and incredibly intriguing. I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers, but her arch was a complex and interesting one. A theme within this book is that when one gets to know both sides of a war, the lines between good and evil get ever so blurry. This is the conflict that Quell must deal with. By spending so much time with both Alphabet and Shadow Squadrons, she has a perspective unlike any other. This makes it difficult for her to know what the right thing to do is. Whenever a character has an internal conflict like this, you can consider me intrigued. This is one of the strongest singular parts of the novel.

However, Quell was not alone in having a great arch. We learned much more about Soran Keize, the leader of Shadow Squadron. He seems close to the anti-hero character archetype by combining end goals we can believe in with means that we can’t morally condone. In this way, he feels like characters such as Thanos and Walter White. It would have been rather interesting if the story was told from his perspective. Then there is Kairos, who likely changed the most from the beginning of the trilogy to the end. Clearly from a different culture, Kairos is the most unlike any of the other characters. The transformation that her character goes through in this book is beautiful and compelling. Most notably the end of her arch presented the peak of Freed’s writing.

That brings me to my final point. A key part of the third part of a trilogy is closure. Freed gave every important character their own moment of closure that really tied the strings in this story. I’ve been going on for awhile now so it is pretty clear that Freed earned all of the ten points for characters.

Writing Style (7.75/10 pts)

It certainly is possible that some of my bias towards this book is showing in this score, but I did feel slightly underwhelmed by the writing style. It may be a combination of other factors like the story itself, but I found it difficult to read much of this book at a time. In all of Freed’s books, the writing is fairly detailed. Victory’s Price is no different. When the action was high, the writing was okay and even great at times. There were individual chapters/sections that felt like some of the best written content in Star Wars. But the entire book just didn’t feel that way to me. It just felt a little too easy to get lost in the details. I’m not saying all of this to say that the book is poorly written, that is just never the case for Star Wars novels. It is just the explanation to why I am giving a slightly below average score of 7.75 points. It is still a well written book, just most Star Wars novels have a little higher quality.

Plot (7.25/10 pts)

The plot is probably what I was most disappointed in. In the final book of a trilogy, I just expected it to be more climactic. Like Shadow Fall, it started out exciting and then moved into a rather long lull. However, I saw this as ok because it was building up to the climax of the story. But the climax just felt a little unfulfilling to me. I just kept building and building, and then the excitement was just over. I expected the peaks to come when the stakes were the highest, but that simply wasn’t the case. I am not saying there weren’t peaks though. They just came in unexpected parts of the story that weren’t always necessarily significant concerning the plot. They were more so individual character moments, which does coincide with the story being character driven. But, concerning the plot, it does fall a little short in my opinion. I just expected the last book of the trilogy to hit a little harder. I am giving 7.25 points.

Intrigue (7/10 pts)

There are a couple of things working against the intrigue of Victory’s Price. The first is the writing style. Freed is a dense writer and when that is the case, it can cause the reading process to slow down. It is a difficult thing to do to make a book both readable and dense. Claudia Gray and Timothy Zahn are two authors that do this well. Freed can as well, but I don’t think this one was his best work. This naturally takes away from the intrigue because it is more difficult to read large portions of the book at a time. Then there is the plot. I won’t repeat myself too much because I just discussed it, but the plot did take some away from the intrigue. When the peaks are expected, it urges the reader to read more to find out what is going to happen. Because the peaks were unexpected and isolated, the high intrigue also became limited and isolated. I am only giving 7 points for intrigue.

What does it add? (8/10 pts)

This is the section that I expected to be the lowest for all of the Alphabet Squadron books. When it comes to adding content to the Star Wars universe, usually the content is Force or Sith/Jedi related. I was pleasantly surprised with what Shado Fall added to Star Wars with Yrica Quell entering the Sith Temple. What interested me the most in Victory’s Price was the Emperor’s Messenger. While the Messenger was in the previous books, we learned the most about it in this one. Specifically, the data that it carries and the way that it is programmed. I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers, but it is rather interesting. I am giving 8 points for this section.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Victory’s Price that adds to or takes away from the logic within the Star Wars universe So I am neither adding or taking away extra points for the logic. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for Victory’s Price is an 8/10, or a low B minus. This makes the book slightly below the average score that I have given thus far and between Alphabet Squadron (7.8) and Shadow Fall (8.25). Concerning the ranking of the books in the trilogy, it feels right to me. I also want to say that I do try to keep my ratings unbiased, but it does seem that others did enjoy this book more than I did. So don’t be surprised if you do! If you are someone that enjoys character driven novels, I would certainly recommend this trilogy to you.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Into the Dark Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count:

Author: Claudia Gray

Timeline: High Republic era which precedes the Skywalker Saga

Main characters: Reath Silas, Dez Rydan, Orla Jareni, Cohmac Vitus, Leox Gyasi, Affie Hollow, Geode, and others.

Brief synopsis: Following a hyperspace lane disaster, the protagonists of the story find shelter at an ancient abandoned space station that is full of mystery and danger.

Gut Feeling

I haven’t been more hyped to read a book in a long while. Claudia Gray is my favorite Star Wars author (I know I’m not alone in saying this) and the High Republic novels already have a lot of existing hype. So, this created a pretty rare combination of hypeness. While Light of the Jedi was world building and A Test of Courage was an exciting self-contained story, I expected Into the Dark to be a character driven masterpiece. While that is mostly true, the surprising strength of the book was what it added to Star Wars lore (although, maybe not so surprising considering the book’s title). This really does increase the strength of this novel. However, parts of the book surprisingly felt incomplete. Almost like Gray had to finish the book against a deadline, but I’ll talk about that more a little later. It didn’t take away from the fact that this was a fantastic novel and will likely rank with the best of them. Let’s get into the details.

Characters (9.25/10 pts)

Because Into the Dark was largely character led, it is no surprise that it scores well in this category (that and the fact that it is written by character master Clauda Gray). The talk of the book is certainly Geode, who is one of the most unique characters ever introduced to the Star Wars universe. Geode is basically just a rock surrounded by mystery. Just like the Jedi in the book, the reader never really gets to understand Geode. How does he move around? How does he communicate? How does he do anything? Who knows! And with that character limitation Geode will likely steal your heart (if he hasn’t already). Pretty creative and impressive writing from Claudia Gray.

Alright I had to talk about Geode, but it is now time to discuss the characters that have some real depth to them. Somewhat similar to Light of the Jedi, Into the Dark has many quality characters (as you can see from my “main characters'' list above). However, it is on a smaller scale than Soule’s High Republic novel. This is advantageous because it allows the characters to have more depth and they are easier to keep track of. Just examining the Jedi alone, there are some unique and strong characters. Reath Silas is coming into his own and offers us a “coming of age” archetype, Orla Jareni is the Qui-Gon Jinn pseudo Gray Jedi type, Cohmac Vitus is a scholar, and Dez Rydan seems like the closest thing we’ll get to a “celebrity Jedi''.

The only real criticism I have for the characters is I never really got the moment in the book where I felt completely gripped by the characters. This is common in books by Claudia Gray, notably near the end of Lost Stars. Claudia Gray is excellent at having these moments surround romantic relationships. I felt that there was potential for this book to have a moment like that, but it just needed more development. This is one of the areas this book didn’t feel like it met its full potential. I will likely discuss this more in the Twin Suns Book Club podcast. However, the book is still getting a strong score of 9.25 points.

Writing Style (9.5/10 pts)

Claudia Gray isn’t just one of the best Star Wars authors at creating stories, she’s also one of the best at telling them. At her best, she has a distinctive style that is compelling almost regardless of the content of the story. For the most part, Claudia Gray was at her best in Into the Dark. Even though certains aspects of the book may have had more potential, Gray doesn’t ever miss when it comes to her writing quality. With little surprise, I am giving a strong score of 9.5 points.

Plot (8/10 pts)

In a book that I must search hard to find a weakness (weakness when compared to the other strong parts of the book, the plot is still good), the plot is the only place I can turn to. For the most part it was excellent though. It felt balanced throughout with peaks and valleys that built up to a climactic finish. It was also high stakes throughout with some twists and turns that I wasn’t able to predict. This describes a pretty awesome plot for a book that is character driven. However, this section gets hurt the most by the fact that it didn’t reach its full potential. There were two key things that were mentioned in the book never really amounted to anything. They were introduced as seemingly key parts of the plot and then somewhat forgotten, or oddly written out of the plot. Great and purposeful authors like Gray never put something in a story unless it has a meaning later in the story. This is the reason why it feels like Gray may have been working against a deadline. However, that shouldn’t deter you at all from reading it. It just means that it could have been even better! I am giving a still good score of 8 points for the plot.

Intrigue (9.5/10 pts)

Intrigue was pretty high throughout the book and I think it never had a chance not to be.  A High Republic novel would have to be pretty bad for it to have low intrigue. This book was written well, had an exciting plot, and compelling characters. And Gray also took advantage of the fact that this was a new time period in Star Wars. She was really allowed to get creative with what she could add to Star Wars. So, along with the great story causing me to read on, I was also compelled by the new Star Wars things that I was being introduced to. I am giving a near perfect score of 9.5 points.

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

In a book with many strong points, what it adds to the Star Wars universe stands out the most. Gray was certainly given the freedom to explore some interesting parts of this unexplored era. There are multiple things for me to touch one, the first being the Drenger. They are the villain of this story (alongside the Nihil) that frighten both the Jedi and the Sith. They seem to have an interesting relationship with the dark side of the Force causing them to be truly treacherous. I expect that we will learn even more about them in future High Republic novels (and will hopefully, hopefully see them in Acolyte). We also get some new glimpse into the Force and Sith lore which I wasn’t really expecting. I was consistently intrigued by what tidbits Gray was dropping into the story. Finally, like the other High Republic novels, we learn more about the Jedi in this period. I would go into more detail on these subjects, but that is a bit too sensitive to spoilers. You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out exactly why I am giving a perfect score of 10 points.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Into the Dark that adds to or takes away from the logic within the Star Wars universe So I am neither adding or taking away extra points for the logic. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for Into the Dark is a 9.25 out of 10, or an A minus. This makes it my fourth highest ranked novel so far, out of 32 novels. So I think it is easy for me to say that it lived up to the hype. I know it is a theme in this review that it felt a little incomplete, but that is only because I think it could have been even better. This had potentially to be the best Star Wars novel in Canon. While Light of the Jedi is most important to the High Republic era regarding world building, I believe this is the best story. I have no doubt that you would enjoy reading it.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change). 

Star Wars Adventures #3 Comic Review

By: Kyle Scully

Life Day

Written by, Michael Moreci

Art by, Megan Levens

Colors by, Charlie Kirchoff

Letters by, Jake M. Wood

The Hostage

Written by, Shane McCarthy

Art by, Megan Levens

Colors by, Charlie Kirchoff

Letters by, Jake M. Wood

There are many generally accepted truths about Star Wars. Darth Vader is a great character. Duel of the Fates might just be one of the best lightsaber fights in the whole saga. The Star Wars: Holiday Special is a shapeless, Wookiee-filled entry with no conflict, bad effects and even worse acting. 

Star Wars Adventures #3 brings Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn to the Wookiee celebration of Life Day, a central component of The Holiday Special. Writer Michael Moreci tackles this dark entry in the Star Wars canon and makes into something much palatable. Qui-Gon is able to use the event as an important teaching moment for Obi-Wan just before the event is interrupted by Trandoshan raiders. Qui-Gon is taken along with several Wookiees leaving Obi-Wan to mount a rescue on his own. 

This was a fun, energetic story with two iconic Star Wars characters. The dialogue really captured both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s voices. You know it’s a good book when you can hear Liam Neeson speaking in your head. The art is bright, dynamic and easy to follow. Life Day, as presented in this book, seems much more joyful and celebratory than it ever came across in the special. 

The action is sharp and direct. The movements within each panel detail strong gestures and powerful motions. Lightsabers strike fast. Punches are thrown hard. There some especially nice splash pages that highlight some particularly engaging moments. The book ends on a solid cliffhanger but it doesn’t leave you wondering what will happen next. Hopefully the next issues offers a few surprises, otherwise its promising start could end up falling flat. 

The back-up story features Darth Maul being held prisoner by a rival crime organization. The crime boss thinks he has the upper hand but of course he’s very misguided. It doesn’t take long for Maul to take control and remind the man how powerful he really is. The same artists as the first story provide some strong work unfortunately this tale isn’t nearly as engaging. Maul is a great character but the narrative is incredibly predictable. A captured Maul feels very unlikely which robs the story of any authenticity. You never once believe he would get taken against his will. The Savage Opress cameo is a nice treat and I’ll take as much Maul as I can get but he deserves better than this formulaic entry. 

This book is a solid entry and I’ll certainly pick up the next volume but some overly standard tropes keep it from being a great issue. 

A Test of Courage Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Paperback, 248 

Author: Justina Ireland

Timeline: High Republic era, which precedes the Skywalker Saga

Main characters: Vernestra Rwoh, Avon Starros, Honesty Weft, Imri, and J-6

Brief synopsis: While aboard a luxury ship, disaster strikes sending a brand new Jedi Knight grouped with inexperienced, yet talented, children on a dangerous mission.

Gut Feeling

In the first phase of the High Republic novels, A Test of Courage brings with it much excitement. While it may not have been hyped up as much as Light of the Jedi or Into the Dark, this book is still set within the new period of the Star Wars universe. So, I was expecting something good from it. Admittedly, I was not a fan of the other book I’ve read by Justina Ireland, Spark of the Resistance, but that didn’t hurt my expectations. Even though this book was intended for the middle school age, I still enjoyed the read. I figured it wouldn’t have the depth of Light of the Jed, but that is ok. For the most part, it was just a fun, exciting, and self-contained adventure. Nothing about it was very complex, but it was still a good read and I’m interested in what score it is going to get. 

Characters (8/10 pts)

A little bit surprisingly, characters were the strongest section of the book. The story follows a brand new Jedi Knight (who is actually the youngest to ever be a Jedi Knight, very cool!), three children, and a droid. In many ways, this felt like a classic coming of age story. These kids are all brimming with talent and wanderlust, but also feel anxious about being on their own and not being able to live up to their own expectations. Even though these characters have these similarities, they are all unique in their own ways as well. We get to see the classic internal conflict of good and evil, the immediate attempt to cope with trauma, the feeling when one is thrust into a leadership role when they don’t feel ready, and we get to see all of these personalities interact with each other. None of the characters themselves were overly complex, but the character development done by Ireland was still excellent. I even enjoyed J-6. While a droid being reprogrammed to attain some sentience isn’t overly unique in Star Wars, J-6 was still a nice compliment to the group dynamic. I couldn’t really expect characters to be better in a novel intended for a younger audience, I am giving eight points.

Writing Style (7.5/10 pts)

After reading Spark of the Resistance, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. Because the book is intended for a younger audience, I thought that the writing style was going to be a major downside. However, I was wrong. I feel similarly when it comes to A Test of Courage. While the style does lack some depth and complexity, it isn’t to a point that makes it distracting from the story. Plus, the lack of depth does add to the readability of the book. It just flows really well. When details are added, it can take away from this (although, the best books have flow and depth). I will be giving a slightly below average score of 7.5 points, but that is great considering I am grading it for young adult to adult readers.

Plot (7/10 pts)

The plot is where the score is going to take its biggest dip. While I did expect most aspects of this book to be simpler than a book intended for my age, the plot was just a little bit too simple. It was just a little bit too linear. The entire plot consisted of just a few different events that were delved into. While it was exciting, most parts of the plot were high stakes, just not enough happened in this book. Spark of the Resistance is the other junior novel by Ireland and its plot was much more complex. While that is my biggest critique of the plot, the foundation of the story was still decet. What was in the book was good, I just wanted a little bit more. I am giving 7 points for the plot.

Intrigue (8/10 pts)

There are a couple of things that really worked for the intrigue of A Test of Courage. The simpler writing style made it easy to read. It never felt like it took effort to read large portions of the book at a time. And shorter chapters really keep the book moving. With a faster paced novel, the excitement just keeps coming. Also, most of the book’s plot was high stakes. From the beginning to end, the main group of characters were tasked with tackling danger. The threat was always real and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. There were also a few twists and turns that kept me on my toes. The only critique that I have again is the complexity. With a little more depth, I wouldn’t be even more invested in what was going on. However, I am still giving 8 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (8.25/10 pts)

Because A Test of Courage is set in a new time period of Star Wars, there is a ton of potential for what it could add to the universe. While it certainly doesn’t add as much as Light of the Jedi (this book did the most world building of this first trilogy of High Republic novels), it still added something pretty cool to Star Wars lore. While there were some cool additions unique to the time period, the coolest thing has to be Vernestra’s lightsaber whip. For the most part, most lightsabers are effectively the same. While some can have different hilt designs, colors, and even multiple blades, this is the first time (to my knowledge) that we’ve seen a lightsaber like hers. It is certainly something that I think would look great in live action, and I hope that one day we will. I am giving 8.25 points.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in A Test of Courage that adds to or takes away from the logic within the Star Wars universe So I am neither adding or taking away extra points for the logic. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for A Test of Courage is a 7.75 out of ten, or a C plus. Keep in mind that I am giving this score for a young adult to adult audience, which is outside of the intended audience of the book. I understand that when read by a junior audience, this book should be received better. Still, it is a book that I enjoyed. It was a fun and easy read that added a little bit to the Star WArs universe. The common theme is that it needed some more depth but it is still a good read. I know many of you are excited about the High Republic universe, so this book is worth a read. But if you just have the time to read one or two, I would recommend Into the Dark or Light of the Jedi over this one.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Star Wars The High Republic Adventures #1 "Collision Course" Review

By: Kyle Scully

Written by: Daniel Jose Older

Art by: Harvey Tolibao

Colors by: Rebecca Nalty

Letters by: Jake M. Wood 

The stories of the High Republic are strong with the Force and the first issue of Daniel Jose Older’s Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #1 aptly continues this trend. The book opens with the Great Disaster already in full swing. Padawan Lula Talisola is on her way to save Bralanak City on Trymant IV from falling debris caused by the disaster. Master Yoda and Torban Buck join her but are mostly relegated to cameos. 

The book splits focus between Talisola and a Bralanak citizen, Zeen Mrala. Mrala is afraid of her potential force abilities, a power she’s kept hidden her whole life. This effort is challenged during the course of the story and reaches a tipping point before the final page. The pace is quick and the artwork is detailed without ever feeling cluttered. Older’s attention to character is the book’s greatest strength. 

Talisola and Mrala are introduced to the audience through intimate confessions about what they’re hiding from everyone else. It’s a nice way for the reader to really feel like they’re getting to know their lead characters almost immediately. It’s like reading a diary or overhearing a private conversation. These are people who are afraid and it’s those fears that they’ll be forced to confront sooner than later. Great heroines like the two in this book are only great because they have things to overcome and this duo are no different.

Despite some great character work the book wasn’t quite perfect. Part way through there was an odd page featuring a map that described the various locations of the Great Disaster in relation to the events on Trymant IV. It felt like it belonged at the front of the book rather than in middle. 

Additionally, I believe the Nihil make an appearance in this book but it was never clear. Maybe I needed to read other material to better understand this but I don’t think that should be the case especially with a first issue. The Jedi also tried to force the Nihil to give up their ship for their own evacuation. It wasn’t really clear up to that point that they were evil or that the Jedi knew who they were so it felt like a bit of misfire that they would be so confrontational so quickly. I wish they had made some sort of diplomatic effort to start. 

The artwork featured fine details and great color. Mrala was a standout with her vibrant pink and purple hues. I appreciated that Talisola was a young woman of color. I love representation and it needs to be much more prevalent in Star Wars. Splash pages, something I’m a big fan of, make some truly spectacular appearances. I did find a few pages difficult to follow. The action seemed to jump ahead a little too much and it got slightly complicated.

While not a perfect first issue, there was a lot to love from Older’s initial offering. I’ll definitely be picking up the second issue to see where this story goes and more importantly to see the continued evolution of these new and exciting characters. 

Light of the Jedi Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle version, 368 pages

Author: Charles Soule

Timeline: High Republic era, which precedes the Skywalker Saga

Main characters: Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm, Bell Zettifar, Chancellor Lina Soh, Sskeer, the Nihil, and others (there’s a lot of characters)

Brief synopsis: In an attempt to bring the Republic to the Outer Rim territories, Chancellor Lina Soh plans the launch of the Starlight Beacon. However, this presents a new dangerous enemy to the safety of the Republic: the Nihil.

Gut Feeling

This is easily the most hyped up book in recent memory (perhaps of all time for Star Wars, but I’m not too familiar with Legends), so I had some pretty high expectations. This is our first glimpse into the High Republic era. I was immediately drawn into this book. I thought that the new Jedi and glimpse into the Force would be the most exciting part of it, but it is the Nihil that made the story gripping. They are a unique villain to the Jedi that I wasn’t really expecting. That’s not to say that Soule didn’t do a great job with expanding what we know about the Jedi, because he did. The Nihil were just my favorite part. This book certainly lived up to the hype, so let’s get into the details.

Characters (8/10 pts)

There were a LOT of new characters in Light of the Jedi. Mostly new Jedi, but it seemed like every different kind of character had many different types. Those that didn’t like this book mostly point to this as one of the issues. It really is difficult to say who the main character was (it may be easier to detect the main villain) because there are just so many. I do understand this critique because it really does take some intentional focus to keep track of all the characters. However, that being said, the point of this book is to introduce us to a whole new world of Star Wars characters. Because of that, I think it is OK to judge the characters more by their quantity instead of their quality. If the book just focused on developing a few characters, it wouldn’t have done as good a job as introducing us to these characters. That being said, there are still characters that I loved and want to see more of. These include two of my favorite new Jedi, Avar Kriss and Loden Greatsorm, and one of the best new villains in Star Wars, Marchion Ro. Having this many characters can be hard to keep up with, but Soule did a great job with them so I am giving 8 points.

Writing Style (9/10 pts)

Seeing as the High Republic is a prominent Star Wars book project, the best authors were chosen for it. I’ve only read Charles Soule’s comics, so I didn’t really know what to expect in this book. I was pleasantly surprised with how good Soule’s writing style was. He does a great job of establishing depth without using too many words. The book felt deep and intellectual while being able to flow well. This is sort of the gold standard for adult novels. Even for the high quality writing of all Star Wars books, Light of the Jedi is receiving an above average score of 9 points.

Plot (9.25/10 pts)

There really isn’t anything bad to say about the plot of Light of the Jedi, and there is a lot of good. From the very beginning of the book, Soule establishes the direction that the novel will take. There is a tragedy which represents a new problem that the Jedi of the High Republic must work to solve. It also introduces and establishes new characters in Star Wars amidst excitement, which completely bypasses the sometimes boring introductory parts of the book. The book did slow down a little bit about a quarter in, but it really did need some time to develop the world and story. The rest of the book was a series of peaks and valleys that all led up to an exciting and climatic finish. Even though this book wasn’t not the full story (as we know, there are other novels in this series), it felt like it could stand alone. The exception is the Epilogue which opened the door to continue the story. The plot was complicated, hard to predict, made sense, and very exciting. I am giving a nearly perfect score of 9.25 points.

Intrigue (9.5/10 pts)

Like many others, my intrigue for this book was basically peaked even before I started reading it. Especially because the release was pushed back, my excitement to read Light of the Jedi was high. This book probably could have been below average and my intrigue for it still would have been high. And this book was actually a really good book, even if it wasn’t establishing the High Republic era. This is fairly evident given the scores for the other sections. Soule just wrote a really good book. I was intrigued to learn more about the Jedi, fascinated by the complexity of the Nihil (whenever they start bumping music during a battle, I just get hyped), and compelled by the plot. 9.5 points for intrigue.

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

I expected this section to be the strongest for Light of the Jedi, and that is certainly correct. Now, I do want to mention that this book will obviously score well in this section. It quite literally establishes  a new time period for Star Wars with many new Jedi. Because of that, I raise the bar a bit for this book. I think it is fair to expect Light of the Jedi to add even more to Star Wars to get the same score as other books. Well, it certainly did that. How the Jedi operate in this book is vastly different than what we see in the Prequel trilogy. We really see what it looks like when the Jedi are operating at their peak. With this, we get glimpses of new Force powers. There are many different Jedi who all have different perspectives of the Force. What this adds to Star War lore is awesome. Also, the Nihil build on some lore that was established in the new Thrawn book with how they create their Paths. If you have read both books, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about and probably agree that it is very cool. Light of the Jedi went above and beyond adding to the Star Wars universe, easily earning 10 points.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Light of the Jedi that adds to or takes away from the logic within the Star Wars universe So I am neither adding or taking away extra points for the logic. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for Light of the Jedi is a 9.15 out of 10, or an A minus. This ranks it as tied for the fourth highest ranked book that I’ve scored so far (out of 30). I was pleasantly surprised by just how good this book was. I said it earlier, but it was a high quality book and would be even if it wasn’t about Star Wars or the High Republic. I don’t even think I have to say it, but you should really read this book (if you haven’t already). It really does have a lot in it for ANY Star Wars fan.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle edition, 368 pages

Author: Delilah S Dawson

Timeline: Follows The Last Jedi, precedes The Rise of Skywalker

Main characters: Vi Moradi and Archex (formerly Captain Cardinal)

Brief synopsis: Following a major blow to the Resistance, Vi Moradi takes former enemy Archex to Black Spire to set up a new Resistance outpost.

Gut Feeling

I’m not sure if it was just the fact that my life has gotten busier, but this book took me almost three months to read, which is a long time. But the book certainly started slow. For the first quarter of the book it was rather uneventful. However, it really picked up near the end. This causes me to really have mixed feelings over it. It did some things really well, and others not as much. I was excited to read it after reading Phasma, also by Delilah S Dawson, but this one wasn’t nearly as exciting. That doesn’t mean that it was worse, it was just different. Let’s get into the details.

Characters (9/10 pts)

Oddly enough, I’d actually classify this book as being character led. This surpises me because the “Prequel” to this book, Phasma, was not character led. Not to say the book had bad characters, it was just led by one exciting adventure after another. The same is not said for Black Spire. While it did have good adventure, it was lead by the development of characters. I’ll get to Archex and Vi in a moment, but the characters that joined the Resistance all had their own unique qualities and depth. It is hard to introduce new characters into Star Wars and Dawson did a great job. Now for the best part, the relationship between Archex and Vi. Seeing as Vi was formerly tortured by Archex, the two certainly have an interesting relationship. Watching it develop from one with wavering trust to something more is certainly one of the most compelling parts of the book. I am giving a strong score of 9 points for this section. 

Writing Style (8.25/10 pts)

All Star Wars authors are already well-established authors. Not just anyone is allowed to write a Star Wars novel (unfortunately). Del Rey really does a good job of picking them out. Dawson’s writing style is well-balanced that doesn’t really bring much to my attention. There aren’t many striking strengths, but the strength is that there are no weaknesses that come to mind. The writing wasn’t spectacular, but it was still very good. I am giving 8.25 points.

Plot (8/10 pts)

Like I stated in my Gut Reaction, this book started really slow. That is my biggest problem with the plot. Once Vi made it to Black Spire, she went through seemingly everyday events that I thought weren’t needed in the story. While they all did have some signifiance later in the story, I think it could have been done in a more efficient manner. That being said, the book did eventually get really good. There was a lot on the line regarding the characteres and lives at Black Spire in the climatic parts of the book. They definitely did not dissapoint. The book also reached closure and opened it up for a Sequel, which not all books can accomplish well. So, I didn’t really care for some of the book’s plot and loved other parts. This averages the score out to 8 points.

Intrigue (7/10 pts)

The intrigue I had for this book moved with the quality of the plot. When the plot wasn’t as good, I wasn’t as intererested in the book. When the plot was better, I was more intrigued. This certainly makes sense, but that isn’t all that goes into the book’s intrigue. Because the book was character led it makes it a little less exciting. Character led novels can still be very intriguing, but Black Spire didn’t quite do that for me. While the book was good I wanted to read on, but overall my interest in the book was lower than I expected. This is certainly a factor as to why it took me so long to read. I am giving 7 points.

What does it add? (8/10 pts)

This section certainly surprised me. Because Black Spire has mostly new characters and is set on a new planet, I didn’t really expect the book to add much to the Star Wars universe. While what Black Spire added wasn’t super substantial, it was sigificantly more than what other books siilar to this one have added to Star Wars. Even though there weren’t any Force users in this book, it doen’t mean that the characters couldn’t have experience with the Force. What this book essentially added is that certain people can detect the goodness (or lack thereof) in others through sensing the Force that surrounds them. This may be a kind of Force sensitivity, which expands what we already know about the Force. This a cool addition so I am giving 8 points.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in the novel that added to nor took away from the logic within the Star Wars universe. So I am neither adding nor taking away additional points. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for Black Spire is an 8.05, or a B minus. This is about an average score for books that I have reviewed. Some of you will certaily like this book more than I did and some of you will have little interest in it. I doesn’t really feel that Star Warsy and if you’re ok with that, it shouldn’t be a huge problem. If you are especially interested in the Sequel era, this book does a great job with expanding the limited universe. That may be its biggest strength. Pick it up, give it a shot, and you may really like it.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Star Wars: The High Republic #1 Review

By: Kyle Scully

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC #1

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Ario Anindito

Inker: Mark Morales

Colorist: Annalisa Leoni

Letterer: VC’S Ariana Maher

Cover Artist: Phil Noto

The High Republic is here! The exciting new Star Wars storytelling initiative arrives with several new books (including Light of the Jedi) as well as a terrific new comic book written by Cavan Scott. 

All the stories tie together but what’s nice is that it’s immediately clear you don’t need to read everything to enjoy some things. The comic references events I’m unfamiliar with but keeps a pace that makes those gaps feel irrelevant. The crux of the story focuses on Keeve Trennis, a young padawan, facing her trials on the way to becoming a full-fledged Jedi Knight. She’s guided by her Jedi Master, Sskeer, but ultimately deviates from the planned trial to take on one of her own. The story is constructed in a way that centers on Keeve’s personal journey but still manages to incorporate a larger threat to the Starlight Beacon, a High Republic cornerstone. 

Keeve herself is a great character in all facets of storytelling including action, dialogue and design. It’s no wonder she was chosen to lead this book. In addition, I love that she is a person of color. Star Wars needs more representation and this is a very small step but one I still appreciate. 

To be fair, this is not a fresh story. Many padawans have faced their own trials in many different incarnations but its familiarity is the perfect way to be introduced into this new world. Keeve’s journey brings her to the Starlight Beacon where she meets other Jedi including Avar Kriss (also featured in Light of the Jedi). This book presents her as a bit of an enigma. There just isn’t enough time to truly meet her but she’s a strong presence. Yoda makes an appearance and while he doesn’t have a lot to do he definitely feels like Yoda. If you’re talking Yoda his voice is the most important part. The scenes on the Starlight Beacon feel a bit like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which is the highest compliment I can give. If Kriss is anything like Kira then this book is going to be something truly special. 

The art is another wonderfully strong element in this book. Star Wars is for everyone and the art always has to reflect that. A book like this can’t be too dark or too cartoony and it finds a smart balance. The colors are bright and vibrant, the characters are expressive but the threats always feel real and compelling. 

I love the little details found within the artwork. Keeve’s saber is so delicately drawn it feels like you could almost reach out and touch it. There are also some great splash pages including a ripping action beat featuring Keeve and Sskeer. Keeve herself goes through a lot of emotions and the art highlights each one without falling into any repetitive traps. 

The final pages leave you with some lingering questions. Sskeer seems upset about something despite Keeve becoming a Jedi Knight. It’s not a strong finish. The book almost feels like a one-shot but it’s enough to leave you curious. This book does enough to hook me and I’ll be using all my Jedi powers to pick up the next issue.  

Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader's Castle

By: Kyle Scully

Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle #1

Written by: Cavan Scott

Art by: Derek Charm, Nicoletta Baldari, Nick Brokenshire, Francesco Francavilla 

Letterer: Valeria Lopez

Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla

Published by: IDW

THE STORY: The book features three stories centered around Vader’s Castle. Intertwined throughout, two Mustafarians dare to enter the foreboding castle and destroy it once and for all. It’s worth noting, this all takes place after the battle of Endor. 

THE REVIEW: Darth Vader’s Castle has been part of Star Wars lore ever since Ralph McQuarrie drew the fortress in advance of The Empire Strikes Back. It found life in the expanded universe and Rogue One marked its first film appearance. Its legacy lives on in comics. Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader’s Castle, Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle (both written by Cavan Scott) and now a new entry Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle #1 continue the haunting tales of the mysterious castle.   

The book opens right before Obi-Wan lands on Mustafar to confront Anakin during the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. I loved these pages. A young Mustafarian dares a glance of Anakin only to find he’s not the Jedi he expected but an agent of evil. The art is big and energetic. It boasts a lot of red and yellow swaths of color. Giant panels easily convey Anakin’s pain and guilt. His former allies are ghostly images that taunt Anakin towards the dark side.  

Diving into the three short stories, I found the first entry to be the most compelling. It gave some insight into the origin of Vanee, Vader’s servant who appears in Rogue One and some of the previous Vader’s Castle books. It also serves to showcase Vader’s immense power and his innate ability to manipulate and control. It’s clear the castle’s location wasn’t an arbitrary choice. Charm’s art is superbly stylistic and meshes well with the overall aesthetic of the story. Anything darker might make the proceedings too scary for children. At the same time, Charm’s art handily works with the script to form a perfect artistic combination. 

The next yarn felt like the book’s weakest point. A young Twi’lek retrieves a jewel for the Emperor. It reminded me a lot of Aladdin but without much of its charm. The art feels unfinished and messy. Character images don’t quite fit with some of the dialogue and the tale ends as abruptly as it starts. It also didn’t feel terribly connected with the castle or Vader. 

The final narrative about a wayward scientist was a bit off the beaten path but it continued to explore Vader’s psyche. The quick plot manages to squeeze in a few twists and the way Vader handles the situation proves how cunning he really is. The art is a bit lacking. It feels busy with too many lines and the colors are a little too pastel for such a dark story. 

The whole book ends on some dramatic action and a well-crafted turn that puts a firm grip on the book’s horror aspirations. 

FINAL THOUGHTS: This comic is a bit of a mixed bag but I don’t regret picking it up. I enjoyed the art, the horror elements and the it’s skill in highlighting Vader’s strengths and what makes him a true monster. 

Star Wars: Adventures #1 Tales of Villainy Review

By: Kyle Scully

The Obstacle Course, Part 1

Written by: Michael Moreci

Art by: Ilias Kyriazis

Colors by: Charlie Kirchoff

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Published by: IDW

Invasion of Echo Base

Written by: Nick Brokenshire

Art by: Nick Brokenshire

Colors by: Nick Brokenshire

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Published by: IDW

THE STORY: This book features two stories. The first centers Rey training through an obstacle course set-up by Finn and Poe until they run into some trouble. The second focuses on the Imperial invasion of Hoth from Darth Vader’s perspective. THE REVIEW: Rey’s story feels like coming home. The central trio doesn’t miss a beat from their film counterparts. Their voices perfectly reflect the tone and cadence featured in the films. 

While the characters are fun and playful the story itself is lacking. Rey’s trip through the obstacle course never strikes as compelling or fraught with any real danger. You know in your core that it’s only a set-up meant to lead to bigger things. The gangsters the group runs into only manage to come across like generic, typical opponents seen throughout the history of the galaxy far, far away. 

The story also struggles to answer when it takes place. It takes a few pages before I finally realized the story takes place prior to The Rise of Skywalker, which left me feeling a little deflated. I had hoped to read a story that actually took place after the last film. Someday maybe but today is not that day. 

The art itself is fun and loose, highlighted by striking character designs that would fit nicely on an animated show. The book has a vibrant energy and joyful colors that really bring the world to life. It does run into problems though. There are times when the following the story panel to panel becomes difficult. I’m not ashamed to admit it, there were moments I got a little lost. 

Overall though this was a cute story with familiar characters that lacked a real punch and didn’t end on very strong cliffhanger. 

While a new, original story wasn’t very compelling it felt odd then that Vader’s invasion of the rebel base ended up being much more captivating. There’s less to say about it but Vader’s presence and point of view moving through the wreckage of the rebel’s defeat had me hooked from its very first image. 

Vader is a Sith Lord on a mission who will stop at nothing to succeed and it shows in every frame of this story. His lingering feelings for Luke shine through some trilogy defining images and his unforgettable black silhouette. 

The artwork is crisp and detailed but never feels overdone. Each panel helps tell the story in such a way you could understand it and read its emotional core without a single line of dialogue. A few panels shine by showing of Vader’s power and underlying strength through both action and occasionally the way the artist positions Vader within the frame. 

Vader is the saga’s most fascinating character and this story only serves to remind you why. 

This solid book features two well-crafted stories. They might not be perfect but it’s a thoroughly engaging Star Wars experience nonetheless. 

Phasma Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle edition, 400 pages

Author: Delilah S. Dawson

Intended Audience: Adult

Timeline: Follows Return of the Jedi, precedes The Force Awakens

Main characters: Captain Phasma, Captain Cardinal, Vi Moradi, Siv, General Hux, and others.

Brief synopsis: Obsessed with learning more about Captain Phasma, Captain Cardinal forces Vi Moradi to tell the story of Phasma’s primitive life before joining the First Order.

Gut Feeling

I really didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I hadn’t heard many good things about it (although I did hear some good things) and it doesn’t have a high score on Goodreads (3.76). Also, Phasma is pretty underhwelming in the Sequel Trilogy. She is essentially Boba Fett 2.0: looks really cool and doesn’t do anything. However, this book quickly grabbed my attention. Even though I am currently rather busy with school, work, and my book coming out later this year, I devoted a LOT of time to reading this book and finished it quite a bit faster than I expected. It turned Phasma into a ruthless and cunning villain: willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. This was a great book, but it didn’t always feel like a Star Wars story. This can be refreshing for some readers, but it isn’t what every Star Wars reader is looking for. But I’ll get into that later.

Before getting into the details, I will say this though. The book contains a considerable amount of torture and violence and I understand that not everyone will be comfortable with that. So keep that in mind while reading this review. 

Characters (9/10 pts)

This was in no means a character led novel. It was the exciting plot and high stakes that made this book excel. Dawson did not devote much of the time to character development. However, that doesn’t mean that it won’t score well for this section. She did a lot with a little work. The characters were surprisingly well developed and relatable. And my emotional attachments to characters came from characters that I didn’t expect. Phasma came from a broken part of the planet Parnassos. There, she lived with a small tribe called the Scyre and trained a group of highly skilled warriors. Among the group were Siv and Torben. This is where Dawson was able to pull at my heart strings. Because this book is about Phasma, who is a villain, the book didn’t inherently have likeable characters. Phasma is fascinating, but I didn’t really root for her character. This isn’t a bad thing though. She is a villain and a great one at that. But Siv and Torben added a new element to the book because I was worried about what was going to happen to them. This greatly improves the score for this section.

But this doesn’t mean that Dawson did a poor job with Phasma’s character. It is quite the opposite. She is at her best in this book and it isn’t even close. In the movies, there aren’t really any characters that I despise. In Game of Thrones, we easily despise Joffrey and Ramsay Bolton, but Star Wars is lacking in this category. Yes, we hate Palpatine, Thrawn (especially in Rebels), and others, but there aren’t villains that do things that are truly shocking. Phasma, while not as extreme as Joffrey or Ramsay, falls into this category. She is truly one of the best villains in Star Wars and I wish the movies actually came close to portraying that.

This section is getting rather long, but I must dicuss the other main characters: Captain Cardinal and Vi Moradi. Moradi is a Resistance spy who tells the story of Phasma to Cardinal. Their arc is not as pronounced as Phasma’s, but it is still important. Cardinal was especially intersting. He was clearly the villain, but there was something about him that made him relatable. I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers, but it was interesting to have a villain who I wanted to root for.

Obviously, there is a lot going on regarding characters in the book and Dawson did a great job with them. All characters were unique from each others, had their own strengths, great development, and I was never confusing characters for each other. For these reasons, I am giving 9 points.

Writing Style (8.25/10) pts)

This is the first book that I’ve read by Dawson and I’m already a fan of her work. She has a balanced writing style between being easy to read and detailed. It never felt too simple or bogged down in details. It was consistent all the way through. Overall, the best strength of the writing style is that there’s no clear weaknesses. However, there really isn’t a clear strength that I can point to either. But it still felt slighly above the average Star Wars novel. I am giving 8.25 points.

Plot (9/10 pts)

This book is certainly led by the plot and the plot for Phasma is rather unique. It follows two different stories. The first follows Vi Moradi and Captain Cardinal, where Moradi tells Cardinal the story of Phasma, which is the second story. At the end, the story lines connect. In this way, it felt similar to the plot of Dooku: Jedi Lost. This plot design has one major advantage. It really keeps the story fresh as it bounces back and forth. As soon as one story might start to get dull (which it didn’t really), it would switch up and stay exciting.

It is fairly normal when a book has two separate story lines for one to be superior over the other. In this case, Phasma’s story was more exciting and made up most of the book. This should be the case, as the book is literally named for her. Her story was full of exciting moment after exciting moment. It was also high stakes for most of the moments, which made the peaks in the story that much more exciting. Even though I essentially knew what would happen for Phasma, I didn’t know the future for the other new characters in the story. This was really important for keeping the plot interesting. Dawson also didn’t pull ANY punches with the story. Shocking events happen and I was HERE FOR IT. My only critique of Phasma’s story is that there were too many peaks and not enough valleys. It jumped from one big event to another and didn’t always allow time for the plot to breathe inbetween.

Even though Phasma’s story was the best of the two, it doesn’t mean that the story of Moradi and Cardinal was not quality. It was often high stakes and compelling and served as a climatic finish to the book. The chapters also allowed Phasma’s story to breathe a little, which did help. Overall the plot was awesome and receives a score of 9 points.

Intrigue (9.5/10 pts)

Intrigue will be the highest scoring section for Phasma and it is mostly because of the plot. I talked about it in the previous section a lot, so I won’t be too repetive here. But most of the events in the plot were high stakes, and this happened basically from the first chapter of the book. These moments really grip the reader because they want to know what is going to happen next. I also really cared about what was going to happen to new characters and didn’t know what their fate would be. Because Dawson holds literally no punches in her storytelling, I never knew what was going to happen next. Also, because the story jumped around so much it always felt fresh. There were hardly any dull moments.The writing syle was also easy to read, which always adds to the intrigue. This all caused me to read this book very quickly (for my standards). I am giving 9.5 points.

What does it add? (6/10 pts)

We’ve had a lot of really great scores so far and this section will certainly not look like the others. It is the book’s greatest weakness: it doesn’t really add anything to the Star Wars universe. Yes, it does get fantastic development for an underused villain in the movies, but that doesn’t really have signifiance for anyone other than Phasma. And it certainly doesn’t matter for any time periods outside of the Sequel Trilogy. This book was written for one purpose: to provide a backstory for Phasma. It did that great, but not much else (although it does create new characters that are explored in Black Spre, also by Dawson, which I am reading now). For much of the story, it didn’t even seem like I was reading a Star Wars novel. It seemed to be from a whole new world. This can be refreshing for Star Wars fans wanting something new (similar to the feel of Thrawn Ascendancy), or it can turn away others. The only thing I can think of, beyond Phasma’s character, is this book provides an interesting new planet with a diverse set of cultures. This is interesting, but not really impactful to Star Wars as a whole. I am only giving 6 points for this section, but that shouldn’t deter you from reading this book. It is a great story, it just doesn’t really add anything to Star Wars lore.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Phamsa that added to or took away from the logic within the Star Wars universe. So, I am neither adding or taking away extra points.

Final Thoughts

My final score for Phamsa is an 8.35/10, or a B. This scores slightly above average for all books I’ve reviewed. It is actually tied with Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray, so that should tell you that this is a quality book. It was a great story that even non Star War fans can enjoy. I don’t think it is talked about enough and may be one of the more underrated Star Wars novels. However, as the scores show, it didn’t really add anything to Star Wars lore. So if you want a great story, or enjoy Phasma’s character, read this book. If you want new Star Wars lore, or don’t enjoy graphic or torture scens, there are others you can read.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

The Rise of Skywalker (Expanded Edition) Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle, 288

Author: Rae Carson

Intended audience: Young adult

Timeline: Follows The Last Jedi

Main characters: Rey, Kylo Ren, Leia, Poe Dameron, Finn, and others.

Brief synopsis: The Resistance has been reborn, but a new enemy awakens that threatens to combine forces with the treacherous First Order.

Gut Feeling

I, like many Star Wars fans, had a desire to read the novelization of The Rise of Skywalker due to the nature of the movie. There seemed to be so much going on in the story. Scenes weren’t given chances to breathe and there seemed to be many, many questions regarding the plot. This caused The Rise of Skywalker to be the first novelization that I have read so far (and it certainly wasn’t my last, as I’ve also read the Prequel novels since). Rae Carson was the author of one of my favorite Star Wars books (Most Wanted), so I was looking forward to her adaptation. My gut reaction is that I really enjoyed the story in novel form, perhaps even more than the movie. Carson did a great job of telling the stories of the scenes from the movies. While the extra scenes that she did add were good, I think there could have been many more added scenes. Overall, the book seemed rather short at only 247 pages (it was hardcover and the pages were large, but it still felt short). The Prequel novels were all much longer, more detailed, and added more to the story than this one did. So there were pros and cons to the book, but I certainly enjoyed the read as a whole.

Characters (8/10 pts)

One of the major things that I look for in a novelization is extra character development, especially through the thoughts of the characters. Carson did a good job of adding more depth and meaning to characters and their moments of development throughout the story. However, like a lot of cases within this book, I think the thoughts of the characters could have been more detailed. In my opinion, the characters that received the most work were Rey, Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, Leia, and Poe. No single character really stood out the most. What Carson wrote for these characters was good, I just wanted more of it. However, her work still added to the relatability and depth to the characters so I am giving a good score of 8 points, but there was room for some improvement. 

Writing Style (7.5/10 pts)

I say it every time but it is worth repeating, no Star Wars book that I have come across is written poorly. Del Rey has done an excellent job of selecting authors who are both devout Star Wars fans and strong writers. Carson is certainly no exception. Her writing style I’ve noticed, from this reading and that of Most Wanted, is slightly less detailed, but it is easy to read. It felt effortless to go from line to line and page to page. That is the strength of Carson’s writing and I felt it was on full display here. But, as mentioned in other cases, I think that a more detailed writing style would have been welcomed, especially for this novelization. All of the Prequel novels were rather detailed in the writing style and this fit what the book was trying to accomplish better. So Carson’s style for a regular novel would score a little higher, but because the book is a novelization of a movie, I am only giving 7.5 points.

Plot (6.75/10 pts)

The plot is what I was most disappointed in. Obviously, I have to take a slightly different approach here than with my other book reviews because the story is already written, so Carson did not have much leeway considering where she took the story. But what I really wanted was for her to fill in the spaces between major scenes, allow them to breathe, supply extra scenes that supplement the overall story, and fill in some plot holes (and there certainly were plot holes in the movie). What Carson did best was adding transitions between scenes. This allowed the overall plot to move a bit easier. 

She also answered some of the major questions about the movie, like how Palpatine survived, why he wanted Rey to kill him, and provided more information about her parents. These major questions were answered, but I think she could have answered even more questions (like how Rey discovered Force healing). These other questions could have been answered in completely new scenes. This was what was lacking the most in this novel. There were small sections of new scenes, but I wanted whole chapters of new content. In the Prequel novels, there were entire chapters that all included just new scenes. These made up a considerable portion of the entire book. The lack of new content is the weakest part of the book (however, the parts she did add were excellent, including some really cool stuff regarding Kylo searching for the Wayfinder) and the reason why I am only giving 6.75 points for the plot.

Intrigue (8/10 pts)

I must admit that I am a little bit biased regarding the intrigue. I really enjoyed the movie, so it is natural that I would also enjoy reading the book. For others that do not enjoy the movie as much as I did, they will probably not have as much intrigue as I did. But there were still things in the book that objectively added to the intrigue of the novel. A lot happens throughout the story, which makes it a very exciting read. There were peaks and valleys in the plot, but because there were so many peaks, it made me compelled to keep reading. Also, as mentioned regarding the writing style, reading the book felt effortless. Combined together, these two things made me not want to put the book down. But I must acknowledge some of my personal bias, so I am giving a strong score of 8 points, even though I felt that it could have been even higher. 

What does it add? (7.75/10 pts)

For examining what this book adds to Star Wars, I must look at what content the book added independently of the movie. There were not many scenes in the book that were independent from the film, but what Carson did add was significant. Most notably was the content regarding how Palpatine survived his fall in Return of the Jedi. The content was truly larger than itself, answering a question that has been on the minds of Star Wars fans since the Prequels: what the secret of immortality was that Plageius allegedly possessed. This pulls the score up higher than what it could have been. However, this novel should have added more to the universe so it will only get 7.75 points, even though what it added was good. 

Logic (+.25 pts)

While the actual movie may have taken away some logic from the Star Wars universe (like the Force healing, would have been helpful for Qui-Gon), the actual novel did nothing additional to take away from the Star Wars universe. In contrast, it helped explain some of the plot holes found in the movie. I’ll let you read the book to get these details, but I am awarding an extra quarter point for this section.

Final Thoughts

So my final score for the novelization of The Rise of Skywalker is 7.65 points (coincidentally, this is the exact same score I gave Most Wanted, also by Rae Carson), or a C. A lot of people enjoyed reading this book and I was no exception, so don’t think that this slightly lower score means that I didn’t enjoy the read. I just think that there could have been additional content to the book giving it more depth and length. I think this is the entire point of novelizations of movies, giving us extra scenes. If you haven’t read the book and enjoyed the movie, you will certainly enjoy reading the book. But if you didn’t enjoy the movie, I don’t think that reading this book will change your opinion on it. It is mostly the same story told through a different medium.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Spark of the Resistance Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle, 224 pages

Author: Justina Ireland

Intended Audience: Middle grade

Timeline: Follows Resistance Reborn, precedes The Rise of Skywalker

Main characters: Rey, Rose Tico, and Poe Dameron

Brief synopsis: After receiving a distress call from a planet in the outer rim, Rey, Rose, and Poe find themselves on an adventure that may help to bring new life to the Resistance.

Gut Feeling

So because this book is intended for a younger audience, I think many older Star Wars fans are passing up this read. But because it is a part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker series, I decided to read it. I just wanted all the background information that I could going into watching TROS. My favorite part about the book is it featured both Rey and Rose. Because they both had background roles in Resistance Reborn, I was excited to have more of them. Another plus was the writing style didn’t seem too simple, even though it was intended for a younger audience. That was a pleasant surprise. That being said, I had to really motivate myself to finish this book. It was pretty unexciting throughout its entirety. Even though it was a shorter book (224 pages), it felt long. So overall, I was pretty disappointed with Spark of the Resistance, but perhaps it is just a better fit for the intended audience. 

Characters (6.25/10 pts)

Because the three main characters in Spark of the Resistance are also well-known in the Star Wars universe, I look for what other information we can learn about them. This is especially true for Rey and Rose because they did not have featured roles in Resistance Reborn. However, I was pretty disappointed with the three main characters’ development in this book. They didn’t seem to have any character development at all. Even though I love these characters in the movies, I did not feel similar levels of love for the interpretations of them in this book. This sucked a lot of the excitement out of the book for me. The most redeeming parts of the book regarding characters were the new characters that joined the Resistance. They didn’t have as prominent roles as Rey, Rose, or Poe, but I still enjoyed what their characters added to the story. I just wish these new characters had an actual role in TROS. But overall, characters were a weakness. So I am only giving 6.25 points.  

Writing Style (8/10 pts)

Another Star Wars novel, yet another New York Times Best-Selling Author. The writing style was one of the few pleasant surprises of the book. Since it was intended for a younger audience, I was expecting the writing style to be the most significant weakness of the book. However, I quickly realized those expectations were wrong. The writing style was better than I expected, even through the perspective of an adult reader. There was more depth in the writing than expected. It is probably less than average in quality when compared to other Star Wars books, due to its simplicity, but I am still taking into consideration the intended audience of the book. From that, I am giving a score of 8 points, which is a score on par with the average Star Wars novel. 

Plot (6.5/10 pts)

The plot did seem pretty well organized. It had a series of peaks and valleys that successfully led up to a somewhat climactic conclusion. Also, Ireland did a good job of bringing closure to the book. Those were the strengths of the plot, but they were not enough to overcome the weaknesses. For starters, the plot was limited to a single adventure. This greatly limited the overall scope of the book. We could have learned much more about how the Resistance was sparked if the book included more than just this one adventure. Another problem with the plot was it being fairly unexciting. I wasn’t invested in the story at all. It may have hurt that I knew the three main characters would be ok, and there wasn’t much else going on that made me excited to learn how it would end. The ending was pretty expected due to this. So the plot being unexciting and expected brings me to give it a score of 6.5 points. The strong organization of the plot is what keeps it from an even lower score.

Intrigue (5.75/10 pts)

A combination of the unexciting plot and insufficient emotional attachment to the characters significantly hurts the intrigue of Spark of the Resistance. Instead of having motivation to find out what happens in the book, it was my motivation to get this book review out before TROS premiers that helped me finish the book (the initial review was published previously). I really had to grind to finish it, even though it is the shortest Star Wars book I have read. This is even with the simpler writing style that should have resulted in a quick read. Even with books that typically have low intrigue, there are usually sections of the book where intrigue peaks. This didn’t happen during Spark of the Resistance. Due to that, I am only giving 5.5 points for intrigue.

What does it add? (6.5/10 pts)

I was expecting Spark of the Resistance to add some interesting information regarding the Force because Rey was a featured character in the story. While there were some instances where we got a glimpse inside of her mind while using the Force, they were pretty limited in their detail. They were also insignificant parts of the book and didn’t add much to the overall understanding of the Force. I was simply expecting more from it. What Spark of the Resistance did add that was positive was a cool new species (the Zixon) and an interesting new weapon (the Echo Horn). The Zixon are the most interesting, because they may use the Force to communicate, but it wasn’t explored as much as it could have been. Still, I think there was much more potential to add significant content to Star Wars than what was explored. I am only giving 6.5 points for this section.

Logic (0 pts)

The only thing I can think of for this section is that the Rey and Poe in Spark of the Resistance did not seem like the same characters as the Rey and Poe in Resistance Reborn. Also, Rey REALLY shows a strong hate for Kylo Ren in this book making him seem unredeemable. That doesn’t match up with TROS. However, I don’t think I can take points away from just one book for that issue. It is more of a problem with the continuity and consistency of Star Wars holistically. So I will neither award nor take away points for logic.

Final Thoughts

So my final grade for Spark of the Resistance is a 6.6/10, or a D. This makes Spark of the Resistance my lowest rated book so far. Admittedly though, this book should be received much better when read by the intended audience. But because I am an adult reader and these book reviews are also written for adults, I must review the book from that perspective. I would only read this book if you are wanting all the clues possible about TROS. But I would rather recommend Force Collector or Resistance Reborn.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #5 Review

By: Kyle Scully

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #5

Written by: Ethan Sacks

Art by: Pablo Villanelli 

Colors by: Arif Prianto 

Letters by: Travis Lanham 

Published by: Marvel Comics 

THE STORY: 

Bounty hunters Valance and Boba Fett square off in a fight over the lives of Vash, a fellow hunter who betrayed them years ago and her young ward. 

REVIEW: 

Bounty Hunters are some of the most intriguing and colorful characters populating the Star Wars universe. Ever since Greedo met his fate, bounty hunters have held a certain sway over fans of a galaxy far, far away. 

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters is meant to sedate this interest and give the audience a swath of bounty hunter exploits while they wait for shows like The Mandalorian. The last issue ended with T’onga’s death at the hands of Boba Fett. It was a moment that left a bad taste in my mouth. She was the book’s best character and to be killed so unceremoniously felt like a tragic waste. 

This issue opens with a flashback highlighting Nakano Lash’s back-story. She lives but her mother is seemingly killed off-frame. This continues the comic’s trend of killing women without a second thought. It’s a troubling repetition that hangs like a cloud over the rest of the book and without spoiling the ending it’s safe to say it doesn’t end there. 

In the present, Boba Fett wants his revenge against Lash for betraying him and the rest of the team years earlier. Valance fights Fett to protect Vash and the child she’s been harboring from the syndicate. The fight is the issue’s biggest strength. It features some great banter, terrific artwork and bright colors. The artwork is easy to follow and the action continues the book’s ability to utilize the hunters’ personalities in their fighting styles. There are also some beautiful splash pages littered throughout the book that deserve special merit. 

Otherwise, the book is fairly simplistic. Characters don’t develop and we never find out why Valance is so determined to protect Vash or see her mission through. Fett feels more like a company note than a needed inclusion in the story. I’m still waiting to find some depth to Valance’s character but I’m not holding my breath. 

The savior child trope found in this book isn’t particularly unique especially in the Star Wars landscape and they have yet to really explain why or how this child despite her lineage will unite the different clans. 

The next issue teases more familiar bounty hunters, and I’m a sucker for anything Star Wars so I’m certain to buy it, but thus far the book is fairly run of the mill in its story and characters. It also feels terribly cruel to its female characters so I find it difficult to recommend unless you absolutely must collect every Star Wars comic book on the shelf.  

The Phantom Menace Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle, 386

Author: Terry Brooks

Intended audience: Adult

Timeline: Precedes Attack of the Clones

Main characters: Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padmé, Jar Jar, and more.

Brief synopsis: As the beginning of the Skywalker Saga, this novel sets up the first steps of Anakin’s journey during a troublesome time for the Republic.

Gut Feeling

I first want to point out that I’m fairly certain that the Prequel novels are still considered Canon, even though they were written before Disney took over. From what I learned, as long as nothing is said in the novel that contradicts the current Canon, all the content is still considered Canon. As the reader, you just have to pick some bones out of the reading that are no longer Canon. Obviously, most of the content of the book follows the same events of the movie, but there are many added scenes and some interesting lore. Some of this info has been contradicted in future Canon work, so it will not be considered Canon within the book, but the rest of the book is still Canon. Hopefully, that makes sense.

My gut reaction is that I really enjoyed reading this book, but I must admit that I am a fan of the Prequels, so it makes sense that I would enjoy reading the book as well. Brooks did everything that I want for an author of a movie novelization to do. He added lots of new content. The first two full chapters were exclusively new content. He also added much to the existing scenes, letting us know what was happening within the characters’ minds and setting more context. This was all the good stuff, but I also, unfortunately, realized that my affection for this story is largely based on the visuals of the movie and nostalgia. To no fault of Brooks’, this book opened my eyes up to some of the weaknesses of The Phantom Menace. But I will get into that later. Let’s get into the details.

Characters (9/10 pts)

Characters were one of the strongest points of the novel. Since the characters are already existing, I look to what additional content we can get about the characters to add to their development. Since most of the story is already known, this requires exploring existing scenes with more depth or adding completely new scenes for development. Brooks did both of these things excellently. As mentioned earlier, the first two chapters of the book were brand new content. I won’t give details, but they were about Anakin and gave us a glimpse into his life before the Jedi found him. It gave his character at the time more depth with the added context.

Anakin was not the only one who received attention in the book. Almost every character did in fact. We learned more about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s relationship (which parallels well to what happened in Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray), Padmé and her handmaidens (which parallels well to Queen’s Shadow by E. K. Johnston), Shmi Skywalker, Darth Maul, the Neomodians, and we even got significant details on Jar Jar! You may not be pleased about that last one, but I was! Jar Jar is an interesting character and we got a peek inside his brain in this book. Overall, Brooks did a great job of adding depth to these existing characters. I am giving 9 points.

Writing Style (9/10 pts)

Going back some years, Terry Brooks is one of the first authors that I have reviewed that I haven’t known much about. But the standard seems to be similar, there are no poorly written Star Wars novels! Brooks’s style in this book is certainly detailed, which normally means that it is difficult to read, but I do not feel that it was the case. This can be attributed to the writing style, but also the fact that I’m reading a story that I’m familiar with. So both things together made it an easier read. What is really important about this style is that it is what I expect from a novelization of the movie. I don’t want a simple style that simply re-tells the story in book form, I want many details that help the story come to life. So because Brooks’s style fit what was needed and he pulled it off so well, I am giving 9 points for the writing style.

Plot (8.5/10 pts)

Because the main points of the story are already set in stone, I look at what Brook adds to the existing scenes and what extra scenes he adds to the story. The existing scenes did have more depth and context behind them. This gave me more understanding of what was going on and sometimes gave the scene more meaning. A downside I have is that sometimes the scenes did not go exactly as they did in the movie. I am very familiar with the movie so these instances stood out. Either the dialogue or some other detail would be different at points, which left me scratching my head because it is supposed to be the exact same story, just with extra, not different, adaptations. But these slight deviations did not really take away from the overall plot so I am not too worried about them, but it is worth noting. 

The most significant strength for the plot is the additional content that Brooks wrote. There was a decent amount of it and I think it all served strong purposes. The downside is that it caused the story to move slowly at points, but this is also due to some plot weaknesses in the original story and not to the fault of Brooks. The plot just moves slowly sometimes, which I am now understanding is a weakness of the movie. But the novelization should not be penalized for that. Everything Brooks did was good for the plot, so I am awarding 8.5 points.

Intrigue (7/10 pts)

Whereas I do not think the novel should be penalized for the movie’s story, it does have some effect on the intrigue. It, combined with the detailed nature of the story and additional scenes, did hurt the intrigue. If you’re like me and really love any added content, this won’t be much of a problem. But even I had to admit that the story had too many valleys and not enough peaks. And most readers will naturally have less interest in the story than I did (I really really love The Phantom Menace). But even though it did move slowly, because it follows the events of the movie, it was somewhat easy to read. I think all novelizations will benefit from that factor for this section. That saves this score from being even lower, leaving the score at 7 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (6.5/10 pts)

This is the weakest section of the novel. Since it follows the events of the movie, I look at what content the book adds that is independent of the film. Brooks did add some interesting content considering Sith and Jedi lore, but not all of it added up with what is currently considered Canon. This is because a lot has changed in Canon since the time the book was written and now. There was nothing that was drastically different, just small deviations. Some of the lore content was interesting and Canon, but not enough to receive a high score. Other novels during this time period do a better job of adding content to the Star Wars universe. I am giving 6.5 points for this section.

Logic (0 pts)

Since I believe the reader should be picking out pieces of the novel that are no longer Canon, I don’t believe I can take away any points for the logic. Since it didn’t add to the logic of Star Wars, I will neither add nor take away extra points for this section.

Final Thoughts

So my final grade for the novelization of The Phantom Menace is an 8/10, or right at a low B-minus. If you enjoyed the movie, as I did, you will most certainly enjoy this novelization. It added many new significant scenes and gave more depth to the existing ones. But the book also suffered from some of the weaknesses of the movie, like the slow-moving plot and odd characters. So if you did not like the movie, this book probably won’t change your mind- especially considering that one of the strengths of the movie is the visuals, which are lost in book form. But overall Brooks did an excellent job of writing this story in book form and I was glad to have read it.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle Edition, 390 pages

Author: Timothy Zahn

Timeline: 18 BBY

Intended Audience: Adult

Main characters: Thrawn, Che’ri, Thalias, Ar’alani, and others

Brief synopsis: With potential dangers rising within the Chaos, Thrawn is determined to sniff out and destroy any threat to the Chiss Ascendancy.

Gut Feeling

Before getting into my review of Thrawn Ascendancy, I want to point out that I have not finished reading Zahn’s newest Canon trilogy yet. I have only read the first book of the series (you can read that review here) and have merely begun the second. Because of that, I have likely missed many Thrawn Easter Eggs scattered throughout this novel.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Thrawn Ascendancy. It contained everything that I enjoyed about Thrawn, but somehow I enjoyed this book even more. While I do enjoy Thrawn in Rebels, he is truly at his best in book form with Zahn in control. Throughout almost the entire read, it inspired critical thinking: teasing me to think one step ahead of Thrawn (I could never do it). Even though it took me about a month to read, I never wanted to stop reading when I got into it. It was consistently good from beginning to end. It is clear that I like this book a lot and that it deserves the praise that is getting, so let's see just how high it will score.

Characters (10/10 pts)

This section is surprisingly one of the strongest, if not the strongest, part of the book. It is not that I expected the characters to be bad, as I gave characters a perfect score in Thrawn, I just didn’t expect them to be this good. Zahn’s strength in characters usually lies in their depth. That is, we usually have a great understanding of what makes each character tick. He really delves into their thoughts and backgrounds to accomplish this. Even though this strength was certainly present in Thrawn Ascendancy, it was also accompanied by a strong emotional connection to certain characters. Specifically, I was attached to 10 year old Che’ri. I felt agony whenever she was in danger and was filled with euphoria whenever she experienced success. While I do care what happens with Thrawn, this emotional connection is not as present. This greatly improves the overall quality of the book, which is already excellent. 

And, of course, Zahn focused a considerable amount of the book on applying character development/background to Thrawn. As Thrawn has traditionally been the villain of the story, he was not in Thrawn Ascendancy. This really gives us a new perspective on this character. We also get to see him interact outside the realms of the Empire within the Chiss Ascendancy. This gives us a more complete understanding of the character and clues us in to how he became the character we are more familiar with in Rebels and Zahn’s previous Canon trilogy. Zahn outdid himself here with the characters and easily earns a full 10 points.

Writing Style (9/10 pts)

It is no surprise that Zahn is one of the more accomplished Star Wars authors. And as this group of authors all produce work of a high quality, this says a lot about the writing ability of Zahn. His writing style is rather dense, with many details included on each page. When this happens, it can take away from the readability of the novel. It is a tradeoff. However, this is not the case with Zahn’s work. The work is still easy to read, and even more so in this book when compared to Thrawn. My only critique of Zahn’s writing style is that the dialogue is a bit awkward at points. I understand that the way Thrawn communicates is unique, but some of the conversations do not sound completely authentic. But this doesn’t hurt the score much, it only keeps it from being perfect. I am giving 9 points.

Plot (8.5/10 pts)

The plot in Thrawn Ascendancy felt rather similar to that of Thrawn: not exactly in its content, but in its flow. The book started out exciting and it had a slow build up to a climactic finish. While there were certain peaks and valleys throughout the book, they served well to move the plot along and I always knew the situation wasn’t revlovled, which only built anticipation for the ending. And the ending was certainly exciting. It wrapped up the story for this book, but still opened the door for an exciting second book, which is what it was supposed to do. It also benefited from numerous “Memories” sections that delved into past moments of Thrawn’s life. This gave not only a better understanding of Thrawn’s character, but also a better understanding of the overall story. This is something that Zahn accomplishes well in most of his novels. My only criticism of the book is that it didn’t quite feel like the first book in a trilogy. Even though it did open the door for the next book, the story of this novel felt too self-contained. However, this is difficult to determine before the next book comes out. So, I will not be taking away significant points for that and am still giving a strong score of 8.5 points.

Intrigue (8/10 pts)

Since this novel is led by characters, it is the development of characters that is largely the source of intrigue throughout the novel. Although there are some exciting space battles and fights with villains, we are more concerned with the development of characters. The climax of the book does peak the intrigue, but it is not the main focus. Throughout most of the book, the motivation to keep reading was because I wanted to learn more about Thrawn, other characters, the Chiss Ascendancy, and the Chaos instead of being on the edge of my seating waiting to see what is going to happen next. This intrigue is good, and I will still give an above average score, but, for books that keep me on the edge of my seat, I will give a higher score. It is nothing against Zahn or the novel, it is just the nature of the story that he is telling. I am giving 8 points for the intrigue. 

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

This section was the biggest surprise for me. Thrawn was a great story, but it didn’t really have any room to add anything to the Star Wars universe. So, I expected mostly the same from Thrawn Ascendancy. Boy, was I wrong. While we have been somewhat familiar with the Chiss and their culture, this book really dove deep into it. We really got a good understanding of one of the more complex and interesting species in the Star Wars universe. Also, the entire region of the Chaos is essentially a new world to Star Wars full of new planets and villains. Even though it is set during the time period of the Clone Wars, and this is evident through certain scenes within the book, it feels like the book is set in a different galaxy. And that is certainly not a negative thing. The appeal of the High Republic content is that it will be new, and that is what we get from Ascendancy. For those of you that want a Star Wars novel separate from the Skywalker Saga, this could be the perfect book for you.

While everything above would have given a great score to the novel, it is not what I’m the most focused on. I really want to avoid spoilers when talking about this subject, so I will tiptoe around it. But there are certain people within the Chiss Ascendancy that appear Force sensitive, but are unlike what are used to with Jedi and Sith. Whenever we get content of Force sensitive beings outside of the norm (like the Force Wielders on Mortis), we end up learning a lot. Both what they do with the powers and how the powers interact with them make it very interesting. It certainly sparked a lot of conversation during the TSO Book Club Podcast. You can check that out here, but be aware that many spoilers will be present.

I am surprised to be giving this score, but I see no other option: 10 points for what Thrawn Ascendancy adds to Star Wars.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Thrawn Ascendancy that added to nor took away from the logic within the Star Wars universe. So, I am neither adding nor taking away extra points. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for Thrawn Ascendancy is a 9.1/10, or an A minus. I do not give many books an A, as it will join only four others with a grade this high. I went over the scores multiple times to make sure that it was right and I see no other answer than that it deserves such a high score. There is simply no weakness in the story. This is surprising because it is the first in a series, and usually the books just keep getting better. If that is the case, this trilogy may be one of the best in Star Wars. If you have not read Thrawn Ascendancy yet, I definitely recommend it. There is something within it for every Star Wars and science fiction fan.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Thrawn Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Paperback, 470

Author: Timothy Zahn

Intended audience: Adult

Timeline: Between 13 and 11 BBY

Main characters: Thrawn, Ahrinda Pryce, and Eli Vanto

Brief synopsis: After mysteriously being picked up by the Empire, Thrawn starts to apply his military genius to the Empire and rapidly rises in rank.

Gut Feeling

I think I understand the hype behind Thrawn’s character and this trilogy. I have already started the second book of this series, am currently reading the new Thrawn novel, and have started rewatching Rebels just to get some more of Thrawn. I am very glad they decided to make his character Canon again as I’m sure that Legends Thrawn was pretty awesome too. That being said, I enjoyed this book more than I expected. Especially because all of the main characters of the book were fairly new (aside from Rebels), this makes it more difficult for me to buy into it. Because of that, it took a little while for the book to get going, but once it did, I was definitely hooked! I don’t have too many specifics to say that won’t be covered in the rest of the review, so I’ll just say that I loved this book and am excited to continue the series!

Characters (10/10 pts)

As I mentioned, the main characters in Thrawn were almost all new. Even though they had some appearances in Rebels, Ahrinda Pryce and Eli Vanto are not mainstream characters. Also, Thrawn is fairly new to Canon as well. Because of that, Zahn had his work cut out for him to develop these characters and cause the readers to like them. For the most part, the book follows two different storylines. One was of Thrawn and Eli Vanto and the other followed Ahrinda Pryce. From my experience in Star Wars novels, when there are two storylines like this, usually one is more interesting and well developed than the other. And usually, the storyline that the reader becomes less invested in is the one without the main character. So, I expected the story of Ahrinda Pryce to be rather boring. Boy was I wrong. All three of these characters were great. Their stories were compelling and relatable. When I was reading about Thrawn and Eli, I found myself wondering what Ahrinda was up to- and vice versa. Thrawn didn’t even overshadow Eli’s character. Eli shone almost as proudly as Thrawn. I say almost because Thrawn was the most developed character in this story, as he should be. I learned a lot about how he thinks, his motivations, and his behavior while also wanting to learn more. Good thing there are more books! Thrawn gets a perfect score for the characters.

Writing Style (9/10 pts)

Another Star Wars novel and we have yet another New York Times Bestselling Author. This book was pretty long and was dense with many details. Usually, when that happens, the book is difficult to read, but this was not the case with Zahn’s writing. The details included were both interesting and vital to the story. It also never really felt like too much. So despite it being dense, I still found it rather easy to read. The book was also dialogue-driven at points. While this was effective at expressing the character’s thoughts, the dialogue did feel a little awkward at points. While I understand that Thrawn’s character does speak differently, this wasn’t exclusive to his character. This is the only reason I am not giving full points for the writing style. It is left with a still great score of 9 points.

Plot (9.5/10 pts)

The plot was very strong. Perhaps more importantly, it really felt like the first book in a series. While alone it was a very exciting story, it set the stage for what I hope are excellent second and third books. The only downside I have for the plot is that it did start pretty slow. Zahn did a lot of work developing these characters from the ground up. However, it paid off well. There were balanced amounts of peaks and valleys and the peaks felt a little bit higher each time they came around. This appropriately raised the excitement until it reached an exciting and climactic finish. The book also successfully reached a satisfying closure for each character, which is no easy task. However, along with giving closure, it also opened up the story for new beginnings for each character- again making the reader excited for the next books. Overall, the plot was near perfect. I am giving 9.5 points.

Intrigue (9.5/10 pts)

Once I got past the character development stage of the novel, it became very intriguing. Even though it was dense, I found myself lost in the details. They were thought-provoking and I loved it. As the characters were thinking through different problems, it caused me to do the same. This really put the reader inside of the novel and made it so compelling. It was a book that I didn’t want to come to an end. That isn’t always the case for books that I read, especially books this long. But Zahn accomplished it anyway. 9.5 points for Intrigue. 

What does it add? (6.5/10 pts)

Here we arrive at perhaps the weakest point of the novel. When considering what Thrawn added to the Star Wars universe, I’m pretty limited to thinking Thrawn and his species, the Chiss. While Thrawn alone is an awesome addition to the Star Wars universe, he was already a character in Rebels. So instead of introducing an awesome new character, Thrawn simply provided considerable character development for that character. So I can’t award the book strong points just for Thrawn. The Chiss, however, can be considered as an addition to Star Wars lore. While there were some details about the species, I expect to hear more in book two and especially in Thrawn Chaos Rising. The score won’t be great for this section, but that shouldn’t take away from the excellence of the novel. So, just for this book, I am only giving 6.5 points for what it adds.

Logic (0 pts)

Thrawn neither took away nor added logic to the Star Wars universe. So I am neither taking away nor adding extra points.

Final Thoughts

So, my final score for Thrawn is an 8.9/10, or a B plus. This is a pretty strong score for books that I have scored and especially high for the first book in a series. I have only given four books As, and this book almost joins that elite copany.Don’t be surprised if you like the book even more than the score suggests. It is a novel of top tier quality, as expressed by the score for the first four sections. Thrawn is a really awesome character in Star Wars and a compelling antihero. If you have any interest in the time period of the Empire, you should pick up this book and take it for a ride. You won’t regret it.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Resistance Reborn Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 295

Author: Rebecca Roanhorse

Intended audience: Adult

Timeline: Follows The Last Jedi, precedes The Rise of Skywalker

Main characters: Poe Dameron, Leia Organa, Finn, Rey, Wedge Antilles, Rose Tico, Winshur Bratt, and other Resistance fighters

Brief synopsis: Following the events of The Last Jedi, the Resistance has limited resources and leadership. In order to fight the First Order, they must re-group and re-build.

Gut Feeling

This book definitely did its job in the series of “Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” There is a large gap between Episodes 8 and 9, and Resistance Reborn helps to bridge that gap. It should also make the viewing of Episode 9 more meaningful as there is significant background information that should be applied during the movie. So for this purpose, the book accomplished what it was supposed to. Outside of that, I wish we got more content on characters like Rey and Rose. They are crucial members of the Resistance, but they didn’t get much time in this book. I understand why we didn’t get much of Rey (because she is SUCH a crucial character that is explored largely in TROS), but Rose should have gotten more time. We still don’t know much about her, and this book had potential to be a great learning opportunity (especially since we got almost nothing about her in TROS). This is one of the reasons that made it somewhat disappointing. 

However, the story that followed the Resistance fighters was not the entire focus of the book. A separate story line followed Imperial Winshur Bratt. Going into the book, I wasn’t expecting a story told from an Imperial’s perspective, and if I had known it was coming, I probably wouldn’t have been looking forward to it. However, Winshur’s storyline was my favorite part of the entire book. It ended up being an important part of the entire story, and it was a clever add from Roanhorse. In an overall somewhat average book, Winshur’s story shone bright.

Characters (8.25/10 pts)

Most of this book is going to be fairly hard to rate. This is because the story that followed the Resistance and the one that followed Winshur Bratt differed in quality. I could rate both of them separately and have completely different scores. However, because this book follows main characters in the Star Wars universe, I feel I must give the Resistasnce’s storyline the most consideration in my ratings.

Because many of the characters were already established, I look to what additional information I can learn from them. I want it to be both somewhat surprising, but for it to also make sense inside of the Star Wars universe. While there is some new character development for Leia, Poe, Rey, and Finn, I didn’t like the direction that Resistance Reborn took these characters. It didn’t really make sense. There also wasn’t much character development outside of what I didn’t like or any character defining moments for them. It failed to build upon my existing emotional attachment to these characters. The quality of the main characters in the Resistance was the biggest weakness for the “characters” section.

The redeemable qualities come from the new characters. Others are brought into the Resistance and have significant depth to them. I enjoyed their backgrounds quite a bit. But the real strength did lie with Winshur’s story. His character, accompanied by Yama Dex and Monti Clay, is very strong. Their storylines were pretty complex, especially for a Star Wars story, but it was done excellently. Their arcs were both surprising and made a lot of sense. It was the strongest part of the book and pulls the score from being below average to being slightly above average at 8.25 points. By themselves, Winshur, Yama, and Monti would have received a perfect score.

Writing Style (9/10 pts)

This may be the first Star Wars book that I’ve read that did not have New York Times Bestselling Author next to the author’s name (but Resistance Reborn itself became a bestseller). Regardless, this was still a well-written novel. The storyline that followed the Resistance seemed up to par in quality with other Star Wars books. It included much detail that made it a slower read, but the detail was welcoming as it made the story have more depth. Interestingly enough, Roanhorse actually switched her writing style for Winshur’s story. This was a stylistic choice that paid off very well. I don’t say this lightly when I say that this storyline was the best written Star Wars arc that I’ve encountered. They way she developed the characters and told the story was intoxicatingly good. Even though the events of the storyline on the surface weren’t especially exciting, through her masterful writing she made them matter to the reader. It was a pretty sophisticated style and it fit it's plot so very well. Winshur’s story on its own would again receive a perfect score, but overall I am giving a 9/10 for the writing style. 

Plot (8.5/10 pts)

For the plot, I will consider the Resistance and Winshur’s story together. Overall, it was essentially what I would expect from a novel titled Resistance Reborn. It made sense to what should have been happening in this time period. The plot was also well developed as it slowly ramped up to a satisfying and exciting conclusion. Overall, she did a good job with the plot as there weren’t blatant weaknesses to it. What I do point out is that the beginning of the book was somewhat unexciting, but it was made up for with a strong conclusion. Roanhorse did a great job at bringing different storylines together into a climactic finish that reminded me of the style done by Paul Kemp in Lords of the Sith. It worked very well as the ending of the book was the part where I did not want to put it down. Because of the strong ending, I am giving the plot 8.5 points.

Intrigue (7/10 pts)

While the writing style’s density may have been a strength for applying depth to the story, it did take a little away from the intrigue. I didn’t feel that I could read large amounts of the book in one setting without needing a break. This combined with the fact that, outside of the ending, parts of the book were not that exciting. Even though this book was just under 300 pages, it was definitely not a quick read. At the end I was intrigued to finish the book, but it does not take away from my feelings regarding the intrigue for the whole book. This is something I was not expecting since the book is about some of the most favored characters in the sequel trilogy. Because of this, I am giving 7 points for intrigue. 

What does it add? (6/10 pts)

Outside of supplying clues to TROS, I don’t think Resistance Reborn adds much significant content to the Star Wars universe. Because the purpose of the book was to add content to TROS, what it added was completely expected. With that in mind, I then look to see what else the book adds to the entire Star Wars universe. Resistance Reborn, much like books similar to Most Wanted, does not supply any information outside of the book’s intended purpose. It does not become bigger than itself. If Rey was a more central part of the story, this could have been different. This is the biggest weakness of the book. That being said, I am only giving 6 points.

Logic (0 pts)

The only thing that comes to mind for this section is that some of the characters went directions that I didn’t like. It didn’t seem to make sense with what happened to them previously and then what happens in TROS. But I think this is largely open to interpretation so I will not be taking away any points for that reason. It just seems too biased for me to do so. Overall, Resistance Reborn neither adds to or takes away from logic within the Star Wars universe.

Final Thoughts

So my final grade for Resistance Reborn is a 7.75/10, or a C plus. The storyline of Winshur Brett was the highlight of the entire book, even though his story was far from the emphasis of the book. On its own, Winshur’s story would have scored very high. While the storyline of the Resistance was good, it just didn’t have the same high quality. This story felt fairly self-contained among the Star Wars universe, outside of supplying clues for TROS. Independent from TROS, it wasn’t my favorite read. But if you want more information on the movie, I would suggest Resistance Reborn as a must read. 

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Revenge of the Sith Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover: 432

Author: Matthew Stover

Intended Audience: Adult

Timeline: Follows Attack of the Clones, precedes Rogue One

Main characters: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padmé, Palpatine, Mace Windu, and others.

Brief synopsis: While battling his inner demons, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and other heroes of the Republic face a tragic end to the Clone Wars.

Gut Feeling

Wow. This book was a masterpiece. There was a lot of hype around it, which was certainly surprising for a novelization of a movie. It isn’t a new Star Wars story, it is simply retelling one in book format, so why should there be hype around it? While novelizations can bring some new perspectives to the movies, I didn’t think any novelization would have this much hype. But the hype for this book is up there with the hype of other great Star Wars novels, like Lost Stars. Heck, there is even a Twitter page called Revenge of the Sith Novel Quotes dedicated to posting quotes from the novel. And there are a lot of them. My point is that there was a lot of hype behind the book and this raised my expectations for it.

And my expectations were exceeded. Revenge of the Sith is my favorite Star Wars movie. It is just so complex and has more depth to it than most Star Wars stories. Stover made this story even better by adding more depth and complexity to the best parts of the story. He put so much care into every part of the book, making it feel even more like a Shakepserian tragedy. He also truly made it his own, which is unlike any other Star Wars book that I’ve read. I could go on and on about how much I loved it, but I’ll just start getting into the details and scores.

Characters (10/10 pts)

If I were to ever give “extra credit” for sections, it would probably be for characters for this book. Stover earned every bit of the 10 points for this section, if not more. For every aspect of the characters in the book, Stover’s work was excellent. For starters, so many characters got specific sections dedicated to giving background on them. It was usually a few pages just detailing who the character was and what it was like to be them. I’d have to go back through to actually point out all the characters that Stover did this for, but notably Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padmé, Count Dooku, and General Grievous got development this way. As the reader, I knew these sections were explicitly being used as character development, but it still worked very well. For this reason alone, I may have given 10 points for characters.

But this was not the only strong point for characters. Notably, the interaction between characters in forming their relationships was strong. As the focal point of the book, Anakin’s relationships with Obi-Wan and Palpatine were crucial. Stover further develops the depth between Obi-Wan and Anakin’s relationship as brothers who love each other. In a way, similar to Anakin and Padmé, their story is one of forbidden love, because the Jedi Order does not approve of this kind of attachment between friends. Biblically, it reminded me of the bond between David and Jonathan. Then, with Anakin and Palpatine, their relationship has much more understanding. It makes sense why Anakin eventually chose Palpatine over the Jedi Order. Their interactions were given so much more depth than the movie, but I’ll discuss that more later on.

Finally, the change from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader is a pretty significant change for a single character. In order to do this successfully, it must make sense and not be forced. In the movie, it does feel a little forced. In the book, Stover really makes this make sense. This, again, is one of the strongest parts of the book.

So the characters in this novel were a strength. Probably the strongest point of the book, and that is saying a lot. It easily receives the full points.

Writing Style (10/10 pts)

As I mentioned, this novel is a masterpiece. It is not only one of the best written Star Wars novels that I’ve encountered, it is one of the best written novels that I’ve read. There was so much attention given by Stover to each chapter. So many literary devices were used to bring the novel to life. Symbolism, metaphors, and foreshadowing were littered throughout the book, and I loved it. Stover even used second person (using you) at one point! Hardly any books use this literary device. But Stover did this to put the reader in the shoes of one of the characters to make them feel what the character was feeling. A bold strategy, and I must say it paid off well. I could continue to give more examples of why the writing is so great, but I don’t want to give away too much. You’ll just have to read it for yourself. Stover easily earns another 10 points.

Plot (9.5/10 pts)

For novelizations, the skeleton of the plot is already in place. So, for the overall story, Stover doesn’t have much leeway. Because of that, I look to what else is added to the story. Stover did not let me down. While there were extra scenes that he added, these are not what stood out to me. It was the background information and depth that he gave to the existing scenes that made the plot even better. The events taking place in Revenge of the Sith (Order 66, the fall of the Jedi, Anakin’s transformation to Darth Vader, etc.) are complex, and in just movie form they cannot be given the detailed structure required to get the most out of them. Specifically, Palpatine’s manipulation of Anakin was brilliantly told. In the book, I actually, along with Anakin, start to believe the words coming out of Palpatine’s mouth. This is even with my understanding that Palpatine is evil. Stover did that good of a job. Also, the story was told through many different perspectives, giving an overall better understanding of the story. So, Stover made an existing story of high quality even better. The only reason why I am not giving a perfect score for this section is that I wish the ending of the book was given some more depth. Comparing it to the rest of the book, it felt a little rushed which was a little disappointing. It is also important to note that some small details of the book do differ from the movie, but nothing that drastically changes the story. All in all, I am giving a strong score of 9.5 points for the plot.

Intrigue (9.5/10 pts)

Novelizations of movies naturally score higher in this section. This is because we are already familiar with the story, so the reading is easier to digest. Also, because Stover inherited one of the more exciting stories in Star Wars, the intrigue came easily to this novel. However, he also made the intrigue even better with the superb writing. Every single section was well written. It made the exciting sections more exciting and the complex sections more complex. What was good about the story became even better in book form. Also, his writing style was easy to read so I could read page after page without much effort. And trust me, I didn’t want to put the book down. The book climaxed fairly early and stayed exciting for the last 200 pages or so. But I must admit some of my bias because this is my favorite part of the Skywalker Saga, so not everyone will have the same feelings. Because of that, I am lowering my score for this section from being perfect to a still impressive score of 9.5 points.

What does it add? (8/10 pts)

Most novelizations of movies struggle with this section. Because most of the story is already in movie form, it is difficult for the book to add anything to the Star Wars universe that is actually significant. While this is in fact the weakest part of the novel, it is still about on par with other Star Wars novels. So, in that perspective, it is a strength. Most notably, Stover gave more details to different lightsaber fighting styles considering their strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, Windu’s fighting style of Vaapad was fascinating to learn about. It gives more evidence that he may be the closest thing to a Gray Jedi in Canon. Also, we learned about what it feels like to be under Force persuasion, which was both humorous and informative. Stover earned his 8 points for this section.

Logic (0 pts)

There were certain aspects in this novel which did not line up with the current Star Wars Canon. For example, in the book, Yoda mentions not having learned the path to Force immortality. But we know now that this happens in The Clone Wars prior to the events of Revenge of the Sith. But my approach to reading these old novelizations is that I must pick out pieces that no longer line up with Canon. I basically just disregard them. This is different from the new Canon novels, in which every detail should be considered Canon. Because of that, I am not taking away any points from this novel for contradicting logic within the Star Wars universe.

Final Thoughts

Wow. My final score for the novelization of Revenge of the Sith is a 9.4/10, or a strong A. This makes it my second highest rated novel so far, just behind Master and Apprentice. It is notably just ahead of Lost Stars and Dark Disciple, two of my favorite Star Wars novels. I struggled with this fact, because I didn’t think a novelization of a film could be that good. I went back through and rethought my scores for each section and came to the realization that it really is that good. The score could actually be a little higher if I didn’t control for my own biases. If you have even any interest in the novelizations of the movies, Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover is a must read. Do not be surprised if it becomes your favorite Star Wars novel.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Rebel Rising Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 410

Author: Beth Revis

Intended Audience: Young Adult

Timeline: Precedes Rogue One

Main characters: Jyn Erso 

Brief synopsis: After being separated from her parents, Jyn Erso must learn to survive and find her way in a galaxy that is constantly reminding her that she is alone.

Gut Feeling

I specifically read this book because I had a lot of interest in Jyn’s life between when she left her parents and the Rebels picked her up. This book did just that starting immediately as she left her parents and ending immediately as the Rebels picked her up. The story did not disappoint. She definitely lived a very exciting life, which is what I would expect from an awesome character like Jyn Erso. While the book did have peaks and valleys in its excitement, it never really got boring. If I wasn’t so busy while I was reading it, I probably would have finished reading it much faster than I did. While reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. Revis didn’t pull any punches when writing this one, and that is something that made Rebel Rising a great read.

Characters (9/10 pts)

Obviously, the most important character to the story was Jyn Erso. But what I wasn’t expecting was significant development of Saw Gerrera as well. Saw is a classic anti-hero character in Star Wars. While he does fight alongside the Rebellion, his actions often parellel closely to that of terrorism. While his character has been explored well in Rogue One and the TV shows, I think his character was at his best in Rebel Rising. His actions are pretty shocking, but Revis did a good job of explaining his motives for them, making the actions almost understandable. I did not expect this from Rebel Rising, and it is a big reason why it scores well in this category.

And now for Jyn Erso. Considering she goes through a traumatic experience at the start of the book, her character goes through a lot of changes and development during this time of her life. She obviously is a completely different person as a kid in Rogue One than she is in her early 20s. Rebel Rising helps to bridge that gap. Her character also didn’t develop in ways that I expected, but Revis did it in a way that still made sense. I have even more appreciation for Jyn’s character now that I have read Rebel Rising.

The one downside that I do have for the book’s characters is that I really didn’t have much interest in the characters outside of Jyn and Saw. They were not developed in a way that made them super strong, even though some of them were pretty crucial to the story. Regardless, characters are still a strength for Rebel Rising and that is why I am giving 9 points for them.

Writing Style (8/10 pts)

Well we’re back at it, another Star Wars novel and another New York Times Best-Selling Author. So it was of course well written, but let's examine what was unique about Revis’ writing style. The biggest plus was that it was easy to read. I never felt that it took much energy to sit and read for lengthy periods of time. And I didn’t think that the details were too lacking due to the book being an easy read. One of the few downsides that I did see about the writing style was it seemed a bit repetitive at times. Especially at the beginning of chapters, I felt that some plot points were briefly repeated. This may be a good strategy if readers put the book down between chapters, but for those of us who don’t, it felt like temporary lulls in the reading. But these were fairly short and didn’t take away from the overall high quality of the writing. It is just me being nitpicky. I am giving 8 points for the writing style of Rebel Rising.

Plot (8.5/10 pts)

The plot overall seemed pretty good. It had no glaring weaknesses to it. Most books have certain weaknesses in the plot, but Rebel Rising was an exception. It was exciting from beginning to end, with the necessary peaks and valleys. It also finished well, transitioning into Rogue One seamlessly. Certain plot points of the book were pretty shocking, which I greatly appreciate in any story. Like I mentioned before, Revis didn’t really hold back punches with this book. Events for Jyn Erso should have been shocking during this time of her life, and they certainly were. Also, it jumped back and forth in Jyn’s life, in a way that wasn’t confusing. This gave certain plot points time to breathe and kept my interest high throughout the book. I’m also glad that it completely bridged the missing gap in Rogue One, not leaving much out. The only downside I see is some of the plot points were less exciting than others, but it isn’t a huge weakness. While it may not have been perfect, the plot was very strong earning 8.5 points.

Intrigue (9/10 pts)

Whenever a book is both easy to read with an exciting plot, it will score high in the intrigue section. I simply didn’t want to put the book down while reading it. The only thing that it did lack was a truly climatic experience where my intrigue would have been at its highest. I would have expected this to occur near the end of the book, but it did not. Instead, my intrigue stayed essentially the same throughout the whole read. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was what keeps Rebel Rising from getting a perfect score for intrigue. Instead, it will settle for the slightly imperfect score of 9 points.

What does it add? (6.25/10 pts)

A lot of books that are written to supplement movies don’t score well in this section because the book is meant to just add content to the movie, and not to Star Wars as a whole. Unfortunately, Rebel Rising is no exception here. The book felt fairly self-contained in showing what Jyn was up to during this time in her life. While the book was certainly successful in adding character development for Jyn, it didn’t provide much more information to Star Wars. The most it did, and it did do this well, was expand the universe slightly by giving us some new interesting species. Revis got creative with it and it paid off. But it wasn’t enough to give Rebel Rising a great score for this section, so I am only giving 6.25 points.

Logic (0 pts)

Rebel Rising neither added to nor took away from the logic within the Star Wars universe, so I am neither adding nor taking away extra points.

Final Thoughts

So my final score for Rebel Rising is an 8.15/10, or a B minus. This causes it to fall right in the middle of the books that I have reviewed so far. Because I like Jyn Erso so much, I liked it even more than this rating suggests. But that opinion is biased, because not everyone will like Jyn Erso as much as me (Rogue One falls second in my movie ranking).The quality of the story was very good, but I do think that you should have an interest in Jyn Erso if you are wanting to read this book. If so, I am convinced that you will love it. And if you don’t have much interest in her, this book has the potential to change your mind about her (and Saw!).

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).