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).

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).

Queen's Peril Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 352 pages

Author: E.K. Johnston

Intended Audience: Young Adult

Timeline: Follows Master & Apprentice and precedes The Phantom Menace

Main characters: Padmé Amidala, Sabé, and the other handmaidens

Brief synopsis: As the newly elected queen, Padmé Amidala faces political problems due to newly proposed taxing bills that come with a threat of impending war.

Gut Feeling

Personally, I was not a huge fan of Queen’s Shadow, the first book in this “series.” That being said, I was still very excited to read Queen’s Peril. Padmé is one of my favorite characters. I love content from before the movies, and the Prequels are my favorite trilogy, so I figured I would enjoy this book. However, this book was pretty different in the first and second halves. I really enjoyed the first and didn’t care as much for the second. I loved it when everything was original and new and didn’t like it as much when it paralleled with The Phantom Menace. The scenes that went along with Episode 1 jumped around quite a bit without much explanation. It relies on the reader knowing the events of the movie, which most of us do, but it makes it so that the book itself does not standalone, which I think is a negative. But, there were certainly things I liked about the book, I just felt that it had potential to be a lot better. Let’s get into the details.

Characters (9/10 pts)

Characters were by far the strongest point of this novel, it was certainly character driven. E.K. Jonhston really does great things for the female characters in Star Wars. Specifically, Padmé and her handmaidens. Queen’s Peril felt a lot like an origin story for both. In The Phantom Menace and Queen’s Shadow, we see Padmé already as an established queen and then transitioning into a senator. But in this book, we have to see her establish herself as Queen Amidala. By doing so, we see a new side of Padmé and it provides more depth to her character. We also get to see where Padmé attaints the strengths to her character: that was a nice touch. However, I was most impressed with the work Johnston did with the handmaidens. Each one was unique from one another, had their own back stories, and were all relatable in their own ways. While Johnston also did this in Queen’s Shadow, I felt that the development of the characters was done better in this book. A truly strong point for the novel. But the character development did not stop there. Several other characters also received development that are important to The Phantom Menace. Most notably, Captain Quarsh Panaka and Mariek Panaka also had significant development. These characters are important in the first movie, so it was good to learn more about them. Darth Maul was another who got some development, but it felt the most out of place in the story. By doing a sidebar to get a glimpse into Darth Maul, I think it had more potential to learn about him. But what Johnston included was still good. So characters were a strength and I am awarding 9 points.

Writing Style (8.5/10 pts)

As with all Star Wars books, Queen’s Peril was well written. E.K. Johnston is a New York Times Bestselling Author, so I didn’t expect anything less. The style of the book was written for a slightly younger audience, but it still came out as readable for the young adult and adult crowd. It was a little lacking in details (especially when compared with Queen’s Shadow), but not so much that the depth of the story was lacking. This made the book easy to read. Johnston’s flow was very good and the reading was effortless. Another strength to the novel, I’m giving 8.5 points for the writing.

Plot (6/10 pts)

Now that we have gotten past the strengths of the novel, it is time to get to the biggest weakness: the plot. As I mentioned before, this book was essentially split into two halves. The first half served as an origin story for Queen Amidala and the handmaidens and the second half coincided with The Phantom Menace. I enjoyed the first half, but didn’t care as much for the second. The development stage of the book was very good and I was excited for where the book was going. However, I was pretty disappointed to find that the book was building up to events that we already know the outcome for. Even though the perspective that we got was new, mostly from Padmé and the handmaidens, I would have preferred a completely new story. Also, the events within The Phantom Menace moved very quickly. I understand that there should not be as much detail as a novelization, but it skipped rapidly through the events where it was somewhat confusing. Also, it skipped past scenes that I would have liked to have seen from the perspective of either Padmé or the handmaidens. For these reasons, I am only giving 6 points for the plot.

Intrigue (7/10 pts)

This is a section where I have to control some of my personal bias. As I mentioned before, I absolutely love the Prequels and The Phantom Menace holds a special place in my heart. So, my intrigue for this novel was naturally higher than normal. But not everyone has those same feelings. This makes the events in the second half of the book to be not as exciting. It is difficult to create intrigue when the story has already been told before. It was from a different perspective, but we still know essentially what is going to happen. This considerably decreased the intrigue for the second half of the story. But the writing style did add to the intrigue, as I was able to read the book without any real effort. And Padmé is a fan favorite, so that alone should increase some of the intrigue. But it isn’t enough to fully save the score, I am giving 7 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (6.25/10 pts)

There wasn’t anything especially significant that Queen’s Peril added to the Star Wars universe. While the purpose of the book wasn’t to supplement The Phantom Menace, it sure felt like it. For books like these, they usually don’t have the freedom to add cool new Star Wars lore. But there were still some things that it added. Queen’s Peril added to the character development of the handmaidens, which I deem important because it’s helping to change background characters in The Phantom Menace into meaningful and strong female characters. But this book alone isn’t responsible for that (as Queen’s Shadow also did this) and these characters don’t have a broad impact on the universe. Johnston also introduced Neurotransmitter Affection, a popular music group on Naboo. While this doesn’t have much impact on the universe, it was a cool addition. But just being cool isn’t enough for a strong score, I am giving 6.25 points.

Logic (+ .25 pts)

Like most of our favorite Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace has its fair share of confusing and illogical moments. Queen’s Peril both gives more context to the movie and helps explain some of the movie’s weak points. But, there was a great opportunity to explain one of the more confusing points of the Prequels, Maul surviving the fall and being cut in half. It was explained briefly in The Clone Wars, but was not detailed. It would have felt a little out of place in this story, but the story did follow Maul a little bit which also felt a little out of place. So this would not have been completely out of place. But because Queen’s Peril did give more context to other scenes, I am awarding an extra quarter point.

Final Thoughts

So, my final score for Queen’s Peril is a 7.4/10, or a C. This makes it on the lower end of books that I have reviewed. It was disappointing to me for many of the same reasons of Queen’s Shadow. The plot showed a lot of promise and was disappointing in the end. But there were still strong points to the book. Padmé was awesome and the handmaidens were probably even better. This, and if you want more context behind The Phantom Menace, are the main reasons you should decide to read this book. If so, you should enjoy reading Queen’s Peril.

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 Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 352

Author: Various Authors

Intended Audience: Ages 8-12

Timeline: Follows Attack of the Clones, precedes Revenge of the Sith Main characters: All main characters from The Clone Wars

Brief synopsis: The time of the Clone Wars is a period of great conflict, and this book shares some of the time’s greatest stories.

Gut Feeling

I did not do my research on this book before reading it, so I didn’t know it was sort of a novelization of The Clone Wars. It obviously doesn’t cover the entire series, but some of the best stories from the series are told. I will say that the most popular arcs are not included, like Mortis, the Yoda arc, and Mandalore, but that is ok. I recognized some of the stories as my personal favorites, and I gained more appreciation for others. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster. I have been trying to rewatch the series, but as most of you know, it is a grind to do so. There are a ton of episodes, and some of them can be filler. This book is a great alternative to rewatching the series because it gave me a different perspective on some of the best episodes and arcs. Even though this book’s intended audience is young, I really enjoyed the read. The only downside is that the writing was simple (as it should be because of the intended audience) and there weren’t any new plot points within the stories. However, I didn’t expect there to be, I’m just being nit picky. I enjoyed the book so let’s get into the details.

Characters (8/10 pts)

This book covers a wide array of characters. We get stories from the perspective of protagonists, antagonists, Force users, and non-Force users. Because of that, there are many chances for characters to develop. However, because there are no new scenes added, there aren’t moments where characters can develop, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t develop within the scenes we are already familiar with. The book gives us a glimpse into what characters are thinking throughout the story, which lets us learn more about them. This is the obvious advantage of novels over movies and TV shows, and this book definitely took advantage of it. Another tool used in this book was developing characters through the perspective of others. We can learn a lot about a character about how another thinks of them. For example, Darth Vader got great character development in Rebels by how Kanan and Ezra reacted to being around him. This is how a character’s reputation is established. This book certainly did that for several characters (Ahsoka is the main one I think of). So, overall, despite not being able to add new scenes to the stories, the authors of this book did a great job developing characters. I am giving 8 points for this section.

Writing Style (8.25/10 pts)

There are a multitude of authors that wrote this book, this means that there are a multitude of writing styles. A lot of times when there is a book written by multiple authors, it is preferable that it seems like it is written by one author. However, considering this book, I’m glad that it was obvious it was written by different authors. Each chapter had its own style and it made the writing feel fresh and new. The stories were told in the traditional third person, first person from the protagonist’s viewpoint, and also first person from a secondary character’s viewpoint. Because we are already familiar with the stories, switching up how the stories were told kept it interesting. It is also important to note that the book is written for children, so the style overall is much simpler than what most of us are accustomed to. But I would be remiss to take away points for that. Overall, the writing style was slightly better than what I expected so I am giving 8.25 points.

Plot (7/10 pts)

I’ve mentioned it before, but the book doesn’t really add anything new to the plot that we are already familiar with and was already set in stone from the TV show. In novelizations, I usually look at what the book added to the plot with extra scenes. This can pull the entire stories together and fill in missing gaps. This book does not do that, but it didn’t really need to as the stories within the TV shows are more fleshed out than the movies. But this still means that the book won’t score great in this section because it is just retelling stories. However, there are still a couple reasons why this book will gain some points back. First, it pulled from the best stories within the series. If it pulled some from some of less popular arcs, the plot would not have been as strong. Second, the stories were told from different angles. This gives a different perspective on the story that we are already familiar with. This gives us a more complete understanding of what is happening. These are what the book did well, but it doesn’t fully overcome not being able to add new scenes. I am giving 7 points.

Intrigue (9/10 pts)

There were a multitude of things that added to the book’s intrigue making it the strongest section. First, because the stories told were some of the best within the series, there weren’t many low points in the book. Each chapter, which each included a different story, had an exciting story! They all had a slight build up with an exciting and climatic ending. Second, because most of us will be familiar with the story, it makes the reading go by easier. For the most part, we know what to expect while reading so it is easier to comprehend. Third, because the writing style is simple, it is not difficult to read much of the book in one sitting. If you are an active reader, this is certainly one that you can read in a single day or just a few days. However, because nothing new is added, I understand why that could take away from the intrigue. That is the one downside and is keeping the book from scoring even higher. Despite that, I am still giving a strong score of 9 points.

What does it add? (6.25/10 pts)

This is where the book is going to get its first real weak score. While I really enjoyed the read, it doesn’t really add anything new to the Star Wars universe. It is retelling stories that already exist within the universe and doesn’t add any new scenes. However, that doesn’t mean that the book adds absolutely nothing. Through some of the characters’ thoughts, specifically Yoda, we do learn a little more about using the Force. However, it really isn’t that substantial. This leaves the score for this section to be only 6.25 points, but it shouldn’t deter you from reading it.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark 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

So, my final score for The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark is a 7.7/10, or a C plus. This rating is slightly below average what I give Star Wars novels, but please don’t let that deter you from reading the book. If you love The Clone Wars, this is a great trip down memory lane! It is a much easier alternative than rewatching the entire series. Also, if you have not gotten a chance to watch the series, this also serves as a great introduction to the series. It highlights what makes the series so good. It is a quick and easy read and as long as you have even any interest in reading it, I think you’ll enjoy it! The only reason I can think of for you not wanting to read it is if you want something new to Star Wars. If so, there are other options available to youo. But I enjoyed this book, and it is likely that you will too.

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).

Force Collector Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover 379

Author: Kevin Shinick

Timeline: 30 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), or a few years before The Force Awakens

Main characters: Karr Nuq Sin, Maize Raynshi, and RZ-7

Brief synopsis: Karr, who gets Force visions of the past when touching certain objects, goes on an adventure, with his new friend Maize and his droid RZ-7, to learn more about the Force and the Jedi.

Gut Feeling

My expectation for this book was highest regarding what this book would add to the Star Wars universe. Considering it was titled Force Collector, I was expecting to learn significant information about the Force. While I did, there was more exceptional information that we learned outside of the Force too. This was the book’s greatest strength, but I’ll get to that later. I wasn’t too concerned with what the story would be, but it turned out to be pretty well told. But the first half of the novel was a bit unexciting and the additions to Star Wars were not as good as the latter half. The second half is when the book started to get good and the conclusion was the best. Overall, it was a fun read. I got out of it what I expected, learning more about Star Wars.

Characters (8.5/10 pts)

Shinick did a great job with developing three brand-new characters into Star Wars. As I’ve mentioned before, with Star Wars books some authors can have an advantage when their novel involves characters that are already beloved by fans. By developing new characters, Shinick had to create that emotional attachment. And I think he did a good job doing so. The chemistry between Karr and Maize kept reminding me of the chemistry between Carl and Ellie at the beginning of the movie Up (I hope you’ve seen Up, it is an incredible movie!), even though Carl and Ellie were younger. It was a story of two friends coming together over their sense of adventure! This was well done and made the characters relatable and made me feel young again (I’m only 23, but still. . .). Force Collector also introduced a new droid in RZ-7. I get a little worried when new droids are introduced, I just feel that it is forced sometimes. But I really liked RZ-7’s character, it had much depth considering it was only a droid. My only complaint for characters is that I think they could have had some more depth, but overall characters were a strength for Force Collector. So I am giving 8.5 points.

Writing Style (7.25/10 pts)

Instead of saying New York Times Best-Selling Author next to Shinick’s name, it says Emmy Award-Winning Author. I don’t necessarily know what conclusion should be made about that distinction, but I thought it was interesting! I’ve mentioned in previous reviews that no Star Wars books are poorly written. Elite authors are always chosen to write the novels, so it is pretty difficult for a Star Wars novel to score low in this section. Shinick’s writing style was fairly simple, and this made it an easy and quick read. However, it did feel a little elementary for a young adult novel. In many ways the writing style felt like that of Rae Carson in Most Wanted. Because Force Collector lacked some depth in the writing style, I am giving a slightly below average score of 7.25 points. But I wouldn’t consider the writing style a weakness for the book, so it shouldn’t deter you from reading it.

Plot (7/10 pts)

The book felt like it followed the traditional hero’s journey, much like how the Star Wars films are told. This felt familiar and welcoming as the book started. That being said, most of the first half of the book felt pretty expected, and that made it pretty unexciting. It wasn’t until the second half of the book where the plot started to get more exciting. I think the last half of the book was much better than the first half. The ending was mostly good, except for one detail that didn’t add up. I won’t say much about it because it is a rather significant spoiler, but it did leave me scratching my head. But it didn’t interfere with the plot as a whole. Even though the book ended well, the plot was not a strength for the book. It felt like the plot was just used to give new ways to look into other stories and characters in Star Wars. This is OK for the purposes of the book, but isn’t great for the story. I am giving 7 points.

Intrigue (7.5/10 pts)

The best component for building intrigue for Force Collector was the writing style. It was mentioned as a weakness due to its insufficient depth, but what the style does is make it a quick read. I could read many pages at once without feeling like I needed a break. While that added to the intrigue, the somewhat unexciting plot did hurt the intrigue slightly. I usually wasn’t on the edge of my seat anticipating what was going to happen next. Most of the exciting parts of the book included strong content in the present moment, but did not have implications on the rest of the story. So the plot didn’t really build in excitement due to that (but for the purposes of the story, I think this was appropriate). This will make more sense if you do read Force Collector. But even though the plot pulled away from the intrigue slightly, the writing style still made the intrigue OK. I am giving 7.5 points.

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

What it added to the Star Wars universe was by far the greatest strength for Force Collector, and it honestly could have been even better! Throughout most of the book, we end up visiting familiar places within Star Wars. With that, we learned a little bit more about little moments within Star Wars. In some cases, I wish that what we learned was a bit more significant. There were definitely opportunities to learn some cool information that were passed up on. That being said, we still did learn some interesting things. We also learned more about the Force through the unique Force power Karr has. There are even some implications for what “balance” in the Force means through a different perspective that was provided. It is great additional information that can help to make sense of the mystery of bringing balance to the Force. Finally, there is something that came out at the end of the book that answered a somewhat speculated question among Star Wars fans. I won’t spoil it, but this new content does make Force Collector a must read for die-hard Star Wars fans. This is why I am easily giving a full 10 points.

Logic (+0.5 pts)

Something confusing in the Star Wars universe is that many sentients seem to not know anything at all about the Jedi or the Force. This is even though they had a pretty significant role in the history of the Star Wars universe. It doesn’t make sense that they could all be forgotten after so little time has passed. While it is still a little perplexing, Shinick does his best to provide an explanation. It does a pretty job, and while I am not completely satisfied with it, it is probably the best explanation we have seen so far for it. So that is why I am giving an extra half point for logic.

Final Thoughts

So the final grade for Force Collector is an 8.15/10, or a B minus. While the first half of the book may have been rather unexciting, it is truly made up for in the second half. It is a quick and fun read that we can learn a lot from. As I stated, the greatest strength of the book is what it adds to the Star Wars universe. This is what makes it a must read for die-hard fans who want more about Star Wars lore. There are a lot of cool things in this book that add to Star Wars. There are some missed opportunities, but it is made up for. If you want a compelling story though, this won’t be the book for you. There are better options.

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).

Dooku: Jedi Lost Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 460

Author: Cavan Scott

Timeline: Precedes The Phantom Menace

Main characters: Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress

Brief synopsis: In order to accomplish a mission involving Dooku’s sister, Ventress dives deep into research to find out more about Dooku’s childhood.

Gut Feeling

Since Dooku was just thrown into Attack of the Clones without much explanation, I’ve really been wanting more content on his infamous character. I knew that Dooku was a former Jedi and that Yoda was his master, but we didn’t have many details about it. This book definitely gives the content on Dooku that I was wanting. It starts at his childhood and paints a picture showing how Dooku went from a promising young Padawan to the villain that we best know him as. Because of that, the book was successful in my opinion. There was also some information about how Ventress fell to the dark side, but I wish it was given more detail. These background stories were the strength of the novel. It was background information that was much needed and I’m glad this book was created.

Characters (9/10 pts)

Characters were the strongest component for Dooku: Jedi Lost. Since Scott was dealing with existing characters in the Star Wars universe, I look for what additional content we can learn about them. I loved the Dooku that we saw in this book. Going from a padawan to Count, Scott significantly developed Dooku in a way that made a lot of sense. We obviously see a different side to Dooku than seen in the movies, and because of that, characters must get a strong score. But Dooku isn’t the only character that Scott gave more background information to. Both Ventress and Sifo Dias got fairly significant development in this book. While I do wish that we got more of Ventress, the content we got was very good. There were also strong new characters, one being Jedi Lene. She seemed different than any Jedi we had seen, and I thought she was very interesting. The only weakness I see for characters is that an emotional attachment to them was lacking. The character’s strength was more conceptual than emotional. So I am giving 9 points.

Writing Style (7.5/10 pts)

The writing style is quite different because it is written like a script. I was a little worried about this as I started reading, but I quickly adapted to the style. I didn’t feel that too many details were left out due to most of the content being dialogue. I still had a strong sense of what was going on at all times. So I am not deducting any points based on the book being told like a script. What I am going to take away points for is that some ideas seemed a bit undeveloped. I would sometimes have to re-read a section and I was surprised that so much happened in just a couple lines. It seemed uncharacteristic of the rest of the book. Because of that, I am giving 7.5 points for the writing.

Plot (8.5/10 pts)

While in the present, I enjoyed the content that I was reading, I had a hard time of predicting where the story was going. It seemed just like a cool story where we learned more about Dooku, but for most of the book, it didn’t feel like it was building towards something. Ventress’s storyline also seemed a bit awkward. It was a pretty insignificant part of the story, but it felt like it should have been more important. This will probably make more sense to you if you read the book. So despite having great content, the plot wasn’t developing very well for about the first three - quarters of the book. However, there were two main strengths that give points back to the plot. First, the book had a large scope. We got to see glimpses into Dooku’s entire Jedi career, from Padawan to him leaving the order. This was a great plus. Second, the book ended VERY well. While the plot was confusing for most of the book, it started to make sense in the end. Because of that, I am giving a good score of 8.5 points.

Intrigue (7/10 pts)

I think the intrigue could vary from reader to reader based on their interest in Dooku’s character. I have a lot of interest in Dooku as a child, so my intrigue was fairly high, even when the story wasn’t moving very quickly. However, even with this interest, at points, I felt bored because the story wasn’t really going anywhere. I feel that I should have been reading this book quicker, especially because of the writing style (the script style made it an easier read). I simply put the book down too many times while reading it. And because not everyone will have the same interest in Dooku as I do, I am going to give a slightly less than average score of 7 points.

What does it add? (9.5/10 pts)

Along with the characters, this section is the book’s greatest strength. As mentioned before, Dooku and Ventress needed an “origin” story, and this book supplied that. But that was what I expected from Dooku: Jedi Lost, so it won’t receive a great score based on that alone. However, Scott gave us more information that also added to Star Wars. There is more information on the Force, Sith lore, and what the Jedi were like before any of the Star Wars movies. I was very pleasantly surprised about this, so I am giving 9.5 points for what the book added.

Logic (+0.5 pts)

Dooku: Jedi Lost was able to explain something illogical in Revenge of the Sith. This is the moment when Palpatine slices through three Jedi, before fighting Windu, with way too much ease. At first glance, the scene doesn’t make sense. But in the book, we learn that the Jedi’s lightsaber skills were mostly ceremonial. They didn’t have a need to actually fight with them, so they weren’t trained to fight another lightsaber user. This explains why the Jedi looked rather helpless fighting Palpatine. This was a great explanation, so I am giving an extra half point back for logic.

Final Thoughts

So my final score for Dooku: Jedi Lost is a 8.4/10, or a solid B. The strength of the book definitely came from the book’s characters and what it added to Star Wars. The story itself is not as well developed, but it does not ruin the experience of reading the book. For Star Wars fans who want more content on Dooku, Ventress, and the time period before The Phantom Menace, this is 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).

Dark Disciple Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover 302, Paperback 359

Author: Christie Golden

Timeline: Follows The Clone Wars and precedes Revenge of the Sith

Main Characters: Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress

Brief Synopsis: An unusual mission, causing Jedi Master Quinlan Vos to team up with former Sith Asajj Ventress, forces Vos to decide which is more powerful, the seductive nature of the dark side or his new feeling of love.

Gut Feeling

When I first noticed this book and read a little bit about the plot, I checked many times to make sure it was canon. The whole idea of the book is just fascinating, and I was worried that the new Disney material wasn’t daring enough for a book like this. But it is! The overarching point of the book is Quinlan Vos essentially learns Dark Side powers to try and kill Count Dooku. Doing so, he teams up with Asajj Ventress. I love her character, so I was REALLY excited for this book. And it did not disappoint, like at all. The story was incredible from beginning to end. It exceeded my expectations when it came to it’s dark nature and the romance content was a welcomed surprise. My only complaint with this book is it seemed to wrap up quicker than I wanted. Beyond that, this is one of my favorite Star Wars books that I’ve read so far and it has also some of the best pure Star Wars content that I’ve experienced, in any form. I’m so glad this book was written as it was based on unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars, it’s a story that had to be told.

Characters (10/10 pts)

The biggest strength to characters in Dark Disciple comes with character development and something I call character-defining moments. I may have mentioned these before, but they are specific moments that define a character’s identity. This book had many of them, and they steered both Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress in directions that I wasn’t expecting. Even though their directions were unexpected, they still seemed to make sense with how Christie Golden made it happen. This character development also gave our two main characters significant depth and relatability. This is impressive to do because both characters were fairly different, but I still related to the actions of them both. This relatability caused me to form an emotional attachment. This is fairly crucial because once I get an emotional attachment to the book, I’m hooked! So from this, I am giving full points for characters.

Writing Style (8/10 pts)

I mentioned this in my previous review, but I guess it is worth mentioning again. I’m not expecting many variations in my points to this section for Star Wars books because almost all the authors are New York Times Bestselling Authors. Dark Disciple was well written. There was a decent amount of depth and it seemed on par in writing style with other Star Wars books. It was seemingly easy to read with good flow. Overall, the writing was still good, but not spectacular, so I am giving 8 points.

Plot (8.25/10 pts)

Oh man, I was expecting to give Dark Disciple a full 10 points for this section throughout almost the entire book. It was just so unique covering dark aspects of the Star Wars universe, an unexpected romance, and lots of action that I didn’t expect anything else other than a perfect score. However, the conclusion of a book is important to the plot. As I was reading through the final climactic scenes, I was a little surprised by how few pages that were remaining. While what actually happened during the conclusion was quality content, it just didn’t seem to be given enough attention by Golden. If the conclusion was given about double the pages, I think I would feel much more satisfied with the overall story. Instead, I am left with a weird feeling where I am wanting just a little bit more. For the superb quality of the entire book, it just felt so out of place for the conclusion to not be of the same quality. So even though almost the entire plot was incredible, with the conclusion, it will get the slightly imperfect score of 8.25 points.

Intrigue (10/10 pts)

This book definitely benefited from a unique storyline with some equally fascinating characters. Assaj Ventress and Quinlan Vos are unlike anything we’re used to from the movies. And having them interact with each other creates gold automatically. So even before the book began, my interest level was fairly high. But beyond the content, Golden’s writing style and development of the characters kept my interest at a high level throughout the entire book. I burned through it and didn’t want to put the book down at almost any point. It was a very exciting ride through and through, and that is why Dark Disciple is getting a perfect score for intrigue.

What does it add? (9/10 pts)

This was a pretty difficult section for me to rate. There was a lot going on and there are a couple of major points of interest for this section.

First, it just adds a new perspective to Star Wars as this isn’t really a story of a hero, it is a story of an anti-hero. While Thrawn, I believe, is also an anti-hero, this time the anti-hero is Force-sensitive which makes this addition to the universe interesting. This perspective showed what it truly means to fall to the dark side of the Force and what it does to a person. I think we know a lot more about the light side of the Force with what canon is available, so this book’s anti-hero approach gave much new information on the dark side. That information was something I was looking for when I started this book, and it did not disappoint.

Second, it kinda gives more of an idea of what balance in the force looks like. If you read one of my previous articles, I mention that we really don’t know what balance in the Force means. However, it should include elements of both the light and dark sides of the Force. This is something that Vos tried to achieve and we learn more about that pursuit of balance. It is difficult to attain, almost like chasing the end of a rainbow. It is still unclear what balance means, but Dark Disciple gives more information to this problem.

Finally, Asajj Ventress is a REALLY cool character. If you aren’t familiar with her, I would suggest that you check the episodes of The Clone Wars that she is featured in. After Count Dooku betrays Ventress, and she becomes a bounty hunter, her character arc lacked closure. This book provided some closure for one of the more interesting characters in the Star Wars universe.

So Dark Disciple did add some fairly interesting and needed content, that is why I am giving 9 points for this section.

Logic (+0.5 pts)

I’m not sure about you, but I know that I’ve always been a little curious as to why Anakin’s eyes turn yellow in The Revenge of the Sith. Maybe what was more perplexing is that sometimes they were yellow, and sometimes they were not. It’s not a huge plot point or anything, but it is content that I wanted to be explained. Dark Disciple does provide some context for why some dark side user’s eyes turn yellow and the significance of it. You may not think it is that interesting, but I do and that is why I’m awarding a half point for logic.

Final Thoughts

The final grade for Dark Disciple is a 9.15, which is similar to the score I gave Lost Stars. These two books are some of my highest rated ones yet, while Dark Disciple in my mind has better actual Star Wars content and Lost Stars may be the higher-quality book in general that almost anyone can enjoy. If you only have an interest in the Star Wars films, Dark Disciple may not be right for you, but if you do have an interest in the expanded universe, this book is a MUST read. It is essentially the Relyo (Rey and Kylo’s ‘ship name) story that fans were desperately wanting from Episode IV. If you are interested enough to want to read this book, I have no doubt that you will enjoy 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).

Shadow Fall Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 393

Author: Alexander Freed

Timeline: Follows Alphabet Squadron, precedes the Aftermath trilogy

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

Brief synopsis: While still attempting to take down the dangerous Shadow Wing, Alphabet Squadron faces some intense adversity.

Gut Feeling

Just as Alphabet Squadron felt like the first book in a series of three, Shadow Fall feels like the second book in a series of three. This is certainly a good thing. In a lot of ways, it felt like a similar book to Alphabet Squadron but just a little bit better. A significant portion of Alphabet Squadron was devoted to giving depth to the book’s main characters so that means that Shadow Fall could focus more on the action. It was still primarily a character-led novel, but instead of just learning more about the characters, they were developing due to what was happening in the plot. While it did still start a little bit slow, it picked up and got very good near the end. Something that was a nice touch that was lacking in Alphabet Squadron was an addition to Star Wars lore that I’ll discuss further in this review. Overall, I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series and it sets up the final book to be even better. Let’s get into the details. 

Characters (10/10 pts)

As a book that is led by the characters, this section should be strong, and it certainly is. While Yrica Quell is the “main”, main character of the novel, the other main characters have as much, if not more, character development than main characters in other novels. Alphabet Squadron did the grunt work in applying depth and initial development to these characters and Shadow Fall ran with it. All of the development in this book was unique and interesting. These characters really all have unique character arcs. For books with this many characters, there usually are weaker characters or arcs. I don’t see that being the case for Shadow Fall. While my personal favorite arc was Yrica Quell’s, I enjoyed reading all of the character arcs. And I can definitely see why another reader may favor another character’s arc. I have everything good and nothing bad to say about the characters in this book, so it easily gets full points.

Writing Style (8.5/10 pts)

I say it every time I write this section, but no Star Wars novel is poorly written so I haven’t given a poor score to this section yet. As it should be, the writing style was the same as it was in Alphabet Squadron. In the Freed novels that I have read, I’ve noticed that his style is certainly more detailed. Similar to the plot as well, he goes an inch wide and a mile deep really getting everything purposeful he can out of each section. This can sometimes cause the book to read rather slow, but when you actually pay attention to the details, they are appreciated. And Freed adds these details in a way that doesn’t take much away from the flow of the book, which is impressive. For these reasons, I am giving 8.5 points.

Plot (7.5/10 pts)

Seeing as the book is led by the strength of the characters, the plot does take a little bit of a hit: this is similar to what I said about Alphabet Squadron. Much of the book’s plot is just used to further develop and gives us different perspectives on the main characters. It did serve the purpose very well, but when I take a step back and just look at what actually happened during the whole book, it wasn’t that much. It isn’t necessarily a terrible thing for the book, it just means that the plot wasn’t what was driving the book. It is a stylistic choice. I can say two strong points for the plot, though. First, there was more action in this one than Alphabet Squadron. It slowly built up the whole book to an exciting, climactic finish that was even more exciting than the first book. The plot made a lot of sense and there were no glaring weaknesses to it outside of not that much happening. Second, seeing the plot told from so many perspectives gives us a more complete understanding of what is going on. I am still only giving 7.5 points for this section, but that shouldn’t deter you from reading the book.

Intrigue (7.25/10 pts)

Up to this point in the review, it has looked nearly identical to my review of Alphabet Squadron. However, this is where the books start to deviate and Shadow Fall starts to score higher. Since Alphabet Squadron did most of the work developing the characters, we enter reading this book with a different perspective. We are naturally more invested in the characters and more excited to learn about them. This is just the nature of it being the second book in a series. And instead of just learning about the depth of the characters, we are experiencing them change and adapt which is inherently more exciting. This obviously helps with the intrigue. But still, the majority of the book was a slow build to the climatic finish. While it did pay off in the end (I didn’t want to put the book down during the last couple of chapters), my intrigue was less than average for most of the book. I am giving 7.25 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (8/10 pts)

This section was the biggest weakness of Alphabet Squadron and I expected Shadow Fall to be similar. I just didn’t see a book series about a New Republic squadron to add Star Wars lore. I was pleasantly surprised with what Shadow Fall ended up adding. There are two things that stand out the most to me. The first is through The Children of the Empty Sun: a religious group that follows the way of the Force. We’ve known that some beings follow the Force religiously even if they are not Force-sensitive, but I haven’t been exposed to it in so much detail before (it may be detailed elsewhere, I just haven’t read it before). The second addition is through exposure to a Sith temple. Alphabet Squadron did bring us to a Jedi temple, but I thought that what Freed did in this book was more interesting. I was actually fascinated by the concept. I’d love to say more, but I’ll spare the details to avoid spoilers. You will just have to read the book to find out. I’m giving 8 points for this section.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Shadow Fall 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

So, my final score for Shadow Fall is an 8.25/10, or a solid B minus. This is higher than the score I gave Alphabet Squadron and is about average concerning Star Wars novels that I’ve reviewed. As it was important to keep in mind that Alphabet Squadron was the first book in the series, it is also important to remember that Shadow Fall is the second in the series. I fully suspect that the final book in the series will score the highest of the three and make this series one of the better ones in Star Wars. If you enjoyed Alphabet Squadron, you’ll absolutely love Shadow Fall. And if you like character-led novels, I’d suggest getting started on the Alphabet Squadron series. 

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).

Master and Apprentice Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 330

Author: Claudia Gray

Timeline: Precedes The Phantom Menace

Main characters: Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan

Brief synopsis: An unexpectedly dangerous mission tests the bond of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s relationship.

Gut Feeling

Master and Apprentice was actually the first Star Wars novel of the new Canon that I read. I enjoyed this book so much that it got me hooked on this medium of Star Wars story-telling. Some of my favorite stories and characters have thus come from novels, and I owe a lot of that to Master and Apprentice. Almost a year later and I’m enjoying reading them so much that I’ve written over 20 book reviews! Pretty crazy, and I owe a lot of that to this book. But outside of that impact of the book on my life, I obviously enjoyed it very much. Problems with the Prequels aside, I really believe that the universe created by them is the best of the three trilogies. It is simply the broadest and most complex of the three. So, that, and the fact that the novel focused on two of my favorite Jedi made my interest in this book to be high before I even picked it up. That being said, I have been disappointed with books even with high expectations, so Claudia Gray still had to write a good book. And well, she definitely did. It had content beyond what I was expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised at what I learned while reading it. My biased reaction is that this might be the highest quality Star Wars novel out there, but that is before doing my actual rating of the book. We’ll see how the points turn out!

Characters (9/10 pts)

Because Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are such well-known characters, Gray had an easier job because the reader should already have a positive emotional attachment to them. From that, what I will be looking for is additional character development for them that both makes sense and is somewhat unexpected (sounds hard, but that’s why I just review books and don’t write them). But Gray’s focus on the book was not developing them as individuals. Her focus was given away in the title that Master and Apprentice is about relationships, specifically between the master and apprentice. It’s in these relationships that we do learn more about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, but we get to learn more about other master and apprentice relationships too that give us a better holistic review of what this unique relationship looks like. So I may not have had as much of an emotional attachment to the characters as I expected, but learning about the inter- relationship qualities is a wonderful touch. This is where the strength lied for the characters and that was somewhat unexpected, but a unique look from Gray that I appreciated.

Writing Style (10/10 pts)

Welp, another Claudia Gray book means another good score for “writing style.” No surprises here, but I’ll still try to not sound too repetitive. I’ve mentioned before that Claudia Gray is my favorite Star Wars author, and here lies no exception. Master and Apprentice is up with Lost Stars as the best purely written Star Wars books available. As I might give a slight edge to Lost Stars, it is not by much. Gray is fantastic at touching on our unconscious thoughts and using them to make the book come to life and for us to form attachments with characters. She hit another home run with Master and Apprentice, so I have no choice but to give a perfect score of 10 points.

Plot (9.5/10 pts)

From the start of the book, it was pretty clear where the direction of the book was headed. The scenes near the beginning seemed exciting enough to build intrigue and keep the plot moving, but not too exciting to take away from the climactic ending of the book. There were also surprises that kept things interesting and flashback chapters that helped develop the plot from an interesting perspective. Master and Apprentice kept me on my toes throughout almost the entire book and also had me spinning creative theories in my mind regarding how it would end. Every time I thought I had the book figured out, something else would happen entirely that somehow made sense even though I had never thought of it. My only tiny complaint is with some details of the ending, but the book still had an exciting climactic ending that provided closure for the story. So I am being nit-picky with my minimal complaint, that is why I am giving 9.5 points for the plot.

Intrigue (10/10 pts)

Before starting this book, I had been wanting to get back into reading. I had started with a couple of books, including Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games, but I wasn’t as interested in completing them. Even though they were exciting books, for some reason they lacked the needed intrigue to finish them. This certainly cannot be said for Master and Apprentice; my intrigue was at a peak throughout almost the entire book. The characters pulled me in, the plot kept me interested, and the writing style made it easy to read. It is somewhat of a perfect storm that made the intrigue for me so high, even from the beginning, so I couldn’t put it down. This is why I am giving a perfect score of 10 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

What everyone, who has read Master and Apprentice, is expecting to be in this section must include the additional information on prophecy. The most significant inclusion was making the actual prophecy of The Chosen One Canon. It was referred to in the Prequels, but in this book, we actually see it written out. That alone would give a perfect score for this book. But, there were also additional prophecies mentioned that were most interesting. I think it has the potential to create even more theory regarding the Star Wars universe, especially because these prophecies are mentioned before any of the movies occur. I won’t go into any details on theory to avoid spoilers, but prophecies are fascinating and the addition of them in Master and Apprentice is a definite strength for what it adds to the Star Wars universe. 

While I mentioned it in length for the “characters” section, the additional information about the relationship between the master and apprentice was pretty interesting. Some of what we learned from that can be used to glean more information about other master and apprentice relationships (like Obi-Wan and Anakin). While it was a strength for “characters”, it is a strength for this section, too.

We also learned a little bit more about how the Force works with animals. It was pretty interesting to see how the Force’s connection between Jedi and beast really bonds the two together. How the Force bonds the universe is often mentioned, but not always explained well in my opinion. Master and Apprentice helps explain this phenomenon and it was something unexpected that I enjoyed. 

So these three reasons together are why I am giving this section a perfect score of 10 points.

Logic (-0.5 pts)

Man, I really wasn’t expecting to take away points from Master and Apprentice, but I feel like I must after re-watching the movies. Something is said in The Phantom Menace about Qui-Gon joining The Council that doesn’t add up with the events that occurred in Master and Apprentice. I won’t say any more to avoid spoilers, but it is unavoidable that I must take away a half point. 

Final Thoughts

So my final grade for Master and Apprentice is a 9.6/10, or a strong A (I’ll give A-pluses for anything over 9.7). This agrees well with my assessment that it is the highest quality Star Wars book that I’ve read so far. I don’t give out many A’s, and this one is a strong A which is significant. It was exciting beginning to end and included content so surprising it made my jaw drop multiple times. There simply is no weakness to the novel. As long as you don’t have some unnatural hatred for anything that takes place in the Prequel universe, Master and Apprentice is certainly a must-read 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). 

Lost Stars Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: 551

Author: Claudia Gray

Timeline: 11 BBY - 5 ABY (before and after the Battle for Yavin)

Main Characters: Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell

Brief Synopsis: Ciena and Thane have formed an unlikely bond growing up on the mountain planet of Jelucan, but joining the Empire proves to considerably change their lives.

Gut Feeling

After I finished reading Master and Apprentice, I looked up what other books Claudia Gray had written. I loved her writing so much that I just HAD to read more of her work. When I first saw Lost Stars, I was actually pretty underwhelmed. It didn’t appear to follow any main characters and the timeline was kinda confusing, so I looked past it. Not to mention it is kinda long. However, the book's reputation soon caught up with me. I’ve only heard great things about it, fans LOVE this book. So my excitement for the book started to grow and I became fairly excited about it too. I ended up having high expectations for it, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. From the beginning to the end of the book I did not want to put it down. 551 pages did not seem like enough, it left me wanting more and I will be one of the many irate fans if we don’t get a sequel (there are rumors that a sequel is already in the works!). It is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read, Star Wars or not.

Characters (10/10 pts)

Since Lost Stars was not written about characters that have already been developed, Gray had a more difficult task on hand than she did with Master and Apprentice (this book is about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan). However, it did not take long for me to become attached to Ciena and Thane. I was worried about liking the characters, but it was only Chapter 1 when that worry was put aside. Throughout the entire book, my attachment to them only grew. As the book was coming to an end, I felt myself rooting for the characters from deep within myself. I actually felt distraught worrying about what was happening to them. Gray gives her characters so much depth and Ciena and Thane were both relatable due to it. These characters were incredible and I hope we get more of them, that is why I’m giving Lost Stars a full 10 points for this category.

Writing Style (10/10 pts)

Gray’s writing is really, really good. What she describes and creates is fairly complex, but she does it in an easily readable way. It had depth, but it doesn’t always feel like it, which is a good thing. She also uses the character’s thoughts to bring the characters and story to life. It is a little hard to describe, but their thought processes are clear, and they make sense almost as if I was thinking the same things along with the characters. They are also often subtle, leaving the reader to connect the final dots. This only made me feel more connected to the characters and is something unique that Gray does so well. Beyond that, Gray’s writing style doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses. It was at its best in this novel. Lost Stars gets another full 10 points.

Plot (8.5/10 pts)

The plot follows Ciena and Thane from just before the Original Trilogy to just after. It gives a vastly different perspective on many large events from the OT and uses those same events to advance the book’s own plot. While it followed the same timeline and shared events, it still remained unique from the OT. We got additional insight into those events and viewing them from a different perspective gives them more depth and meaning. How Ciena and Thane’s characters evolved throughout the plot was believable, complex, and compelling. My only complaint about the plot is it felt rushed at some points. While the book was 551 pages, I felt that some sections could have used more depth. Overall though the plot was great and it will still get 8.5 points.

Intrigue (10/10 pts)

Just like how my attachment to the characters began early in the book, so did my intrigue. I was attached to the characters and there weren’t any parts of the book that I wasn’t intrigued about. The exciting finish of the book had me so compelled that I HAD to finish the book. I hadn’t felt this type of commitment to a story in other books like I did to Lost Stars. Even though it was quite long, it did not feel that way. I would often look down and get surprised at how many pages I’d read. This tells me that I was truly engrossed in the story and even flipping pages were forgotten, multiple times. Lost Stars definitely deserves another perfect 10 points in this category.

What does it add? (7.5/10 pts)

After reading Lost Stars, I have a new perspective on both The Empire and The Rebellion. In the OT, The Empire is clearly evil and The Rebellion is clearly good. But Lost Stars makes the binary of good and evil more of a gray area (get it? Cause Claudia Gray wrote the book?). This is closer to what real life is like and it made the whole Star Wars universe more relatable and realistic. It also gives some insight into the Battle of Jakku, which is actually my first insight on it. I know there is material on the battle, I just haven’t read it yet. But there is still more understanding of the battle and it even gives some background to the Star Destroyer that crashed into Jakku. This may not have been needed, but I’m still glad to know it and will think of it when watching Episode 7. So Lost Stars does add some interesting content to Star Wars, but there was nothing in the book that stood out to me as changing how I look at the universe. This is the only weakness I see in the book. This is why I am giving this section only 7.5 points.

Logic (+0.5 pts)

Lost Stars gives some insight into the perplexing battle strategies of The Empire. For example, why they seem to hold back at times even when it seems they should be winning large battles in mere minutes due to their superior firepower. I always took this as The Rebellion being that good, but now I have a better understanding of it. I don’t want to say any more on the topic to keep this spoiler-free, but I am giving Lost Stars an extra half point for the logic.

Final Thoughts

A 9.3/10 makes this book one of the highest rated books I’ve reviewed! And that is saying a decent amount as I’ve rated over 20 books. Any rating over 9 is significant coming from me. Star Wars aside, it was a fantastic book. I recommend it to my friends who don’t even like Star Wars. I don’t think you need to be a fan to enjoy this story: it is that good. So if you love good books and want an exciting Star Wars story (with a considerable amount of romance I should add), Lost Stars is a must-read. I’m confident you will like it as much as I did and I’ll be waiting desperately with many other fans for the potential sequel.

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).

Attack Of The Clones Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Paperback, 368

Author: R. A. Salvatore

Timeline: Follows The Phantom Menace, precedes Revenge of the Sith

Main characters: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padmé, Jango Fett, and more.

Brief synopsis: Now a late teenager, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé try to discover the mystery behind the assassination attempts on the senator’s life while the Republic’s fragility promises an impending war.

Gut Feeling

This book was surprisingly good. I do enjoy all of the Star Wars movies, but even though the Prequel Trilogy is my personal favorite, I certainly understand the flaws within the Attack of the Clones movie. There are a lot of points where I can’t help but cringe. But most of this, in my opinion, is due to the acting. This is obviously eliminated in book form. Salvatore did a great job with the writing of the characters, so I felt that they became much stronger in writing. This is the first novelization that I can say may change some people’s opinions on the movie. Specifically, Padmé and Anakin’s relationship was a strength in this novel. It was simply much more believable and less forced. This, and many other points of the story, were given more depth. The book’s length allowed the story to be explored with more detail. I could go on and on regarding my gut reaction, but let’s get into some details.

Characters (9.5/10 pts)

One of the biggest problems of the movie is Padmé and Anakin’s relationship. It does not come off as genuine, feels rushed, and there was no on screen chemistry between the two characters. But in the novel, this became a strength. We understand a lot about Anakin and why he would essentially throw his life away for Padmé, but we don’t really understand her motivations. She is a former queen and current senator of the Republic, so it doesn’t make sense for her to do something so illogical. But through the book, her motivations are clearer. It is a classic forbidden love story that comes across much better in written form. This is one of the biggest strengths I see in the book, especially because it erases a weakness from the movie’s story.

Along with Padmé and Anakin, there were SO many other characters that got additional character development. Specifically, I want to highlight the work done on Boba and Jango Fett. These characters are essentially the characters that look cool but have no depth in Star Wars. But Salvatore shed a lot of light on these characters individually and on their relationship with each other. There is much more understanding to their actions and I even found myself rooting for them at points in the book, which never happened during the movie. Instead of cheering over Jango’s death, I felt some hurt. This made the overall story more compelling and complex, a strong addition.

Finally, I must point out the development done to Shmi Skywalker. We never learned much about her, but we get a lot of content focused on her in the book. The first few chapters revolve around her life on Tatooine after Anakin leaves, and I absolutely loved it. We understand the impact of what it did to her to have her son leave and we see how she changes when she gets freed and married. I could add more details about what this book did well considering the characters, but these were certainly the strongest points. I wrote about it a lot, so I’m confident to say this section is the strongest point of the book. I am giving 9.5 points for characters.

Writing Style (9.5/10 pts)

I feel so repetitive when I write these sections. But we have another Star Wars novel and another well-written gem. Because the book was written a while ago, I am unfamiliar with Salvatore’s work. But he did a great job. For novelizations of movies, I think a detailed writing style is important, because otherwise the author is just retelling events of the movie without giving it more depth. Salvatore’s style was detailed with a strong balance of dialogue. It felt easy to read, even though the material was fairly dense at points. It simply had quality prose. Because of that, I am giving 9.5 points.

Plot (8.75/10 pts)

Because the main points of the story’s plot is already set in stone, I mostly look to see what is added to the story. As I mentioned previously, we get more background on Shmi Skywalker’s life after Anakin left and before the Tusken Raiders got her. This gave more impact to a major scene in the story, when she died in Anakin’s arms (spoiler alert). While I enjoyed this content, I realize that everyone may not. It is rather lengthy and for some it will appear to move too slow. But if you’re reading the novelization, you’ll probably be wanting material like this as I did. Salvatore also made the low points of the movie into strong points of the novel, specifically the Anakin and Padmé scenes. So instead of low valleys in the movie, they become interesting plot points of the book. My only downside to the plot is that the book ended fairly abruptly. It did end like that in the movie, but this is where I would have liked some additional depth. Especially for wrapping up the first battle of the war and bridging some of the gap to Anakin and Padmé’s wedding. But overall, the plot was a strength due to the added content. I am giving 8.75 points.

Intrigue (8/10 pts)

The writing style was easy to read and the story was exciting, so my intrigue was mostly high throughout the book. If I let my personal bias decide the score, it would probably be a little higher, but I realize that for most people the intrigue will not be as high. If there is less interest in the added scenes, I think the reader will perceive them as dull and it will be difficult for them to get through it. Especially as the book begins, it takes awhile for the actual story to get going. But, again, if you like added content you shouldn’t have a problem with that. As for the rest of the book, the scenes we are familiar with are very easy to read because we know what to expect. Novelizations of the movies get a natural boost in this section. For these reasons, I am giving 8 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (8/10 pts)

I was pleasantly surprised with what this book added to Star Wars. Most novelizations and books written to supplement movies only have content that applies to the movie. While most of the book did just apply to the movie, there was some pretty cool content regarding fighting styles of those who use lightsabers. Specifically regarding the preferred fighting style of the Jedi and why Count Dooku’s fighting style differed and was superior. It isn’t often we see information like this directly from a novel, so I greatly embraced it. It may also explain why some Jedi seem helpless in duels. So I am giving 8 points for what the book added.

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

So, my final score for the novelization of Attack of the Clones is a 8.75/10, or a high B. This is a surprisingly high score for a novelization of a movie. It is also a rare case where your opinion may change regarding the story by reading the book. It turned cringey moments of the movie into strong points when written. There were also many strong, additional scenes. Salvatore did everything I was hoping for and more. I was very pleasantly surprised overall. Even if, like most Star Wars fans, you didn’t enjoy the movie, I want to encourage you to try out the book. You may be pleasantly surprised as I was!

Ahsoka Book Review

By Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Hardcover, 356

Author: E. K. Johnston

Timeline: Follows Revenge of the Sith, precedes A New Hope

Main character(s): Ahsoka

Brief synopsis: Ahsoka’s life has drastically changed and she is working to stay safe from the Empire while attempting to find her identity.

Gut Feeling

I really enjoyed reading this book. I love Ahsoka, like many fans do, so I am not surprised that this book was so good. E.K. Johnston would have really had to mess it up to make a book about Ahsoka unappealing to me. But she did not mess it up, she delivered a very good book that would have still been quality if it were about a different character. It was a pretty quick read though, I finished it within a week of starting it (which is quick for me). The audio book is also fairly short, only being six hours. But even though it was quick, there was a lot packed into it. Johnston was economical with each page used. It seemed like every section had something important happening in it. There was no wasted space and no meaningless sections. Because of that, there were not many lulls throughout the book. Ahsoka was a hit, so let’s get into the details of the book.

Characters (10/10 pts)

Because this book was centered around a beloved character in the Star Wars universe, Johnston’s job was a little easier because most of us already love Ahsoka. She is also a character that already has much depth to her. So because of that, I look for what the book adds to the character. Ahsoka is obviously in a drastically different part of her life than we are used to. She is no longer a Jedi and on the run from the Empire. It is really interesting seeing how her character must adapt and change to the world that is changing around her. There is much development in her character in Ashoka and her character arc fits well within her Clone Wars and Rebels versions. Ahsoka’s character alone would receive a high score for this section, but it would not quite be perfect.

There were also other characters important to the story that were developed well, but what puts this book over the edge is the perspective from other major characters in the Star Wars universe. I won’t mention who they are to avoid spoilers, but we do get short sections from other characters that had character development all over them. It was an excellent use of space in the book and did not take away from the main storyline; these sections supplemented it. So for these reasons, I am giving a perfect score for characters.

Writing Style (8/10 pts)

E. K. Johnston’s writing styles in Queen’s Shadow and Ahsoka were vastly different, but had similar quality. They were both excellently written books- no Star Wars novel is poorly written- but Ahsoka had less depth to it and relied more on dialogue. This caused it to read a little easier, as it was intended for a slightly younger audience. In some cases, I’ve taken away a point for the writing style being simpler, but Johnston did it very well in Ahsoka so I will be giving 8 points for the writing style. This would be above average for the common book, but it is on par with other Star Wars  books.

Plot (7/10 pts)

The biggest strength for the plot is that I don’t have much bad to say about it. It started out a little slow as the setting was developed, it slowly built up as the reader became more familiar with the story, and it climaxed near the end with a satisfying conclusion. There were peaks and valleys throughout the book that worked well with each other. The peaks weren’t too climatic and there was time to breathe between each big event. I never really had a great idea of where the plot was headed, but I knew enough to want to keep reading. It wasn’t a complete mystery. But, the plot also wasn’t extraordinary. It was a little on the simple side and even though I enjoyed it, I can understand that it could come across as boring in parts. So despite it not having any real significant flaws, I am only giving 7 points.

Intrigue (9/10 pts)

There were a few things that were adding to the intrigue. The book is about Ahsoka, so obviously this caused me to be interested early on in the book. The writing style was easy to read, so I could read much at a time without feeling like I needed a break. And finally, when the plot was exciting, it was very good and motivated me to keep reading. This caused me to not want to put the book down and read it fairly quickly. And even in the more boring sections, I knew there was something exciting probably coming up. Even if the reader does not love Ahsoka, I think the intrigue will still be rather high for them because the quality of the book was so good. That is why I am giving 9 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

A prominent reason why I decided to read this book (other than loving Ahsoka’s character) was to learn more about kyber crystals. I knew there was some really cool information about them in this book. It is likely you know what I am referring to, but, in case you don’t, I won’t mention it specifically. You’ll just have to read it for yourself! There was also more about the kyber crystals than what I knew was in the book, so that was a pleasant surprise. Ahsoka easily scores 10 points for this section.

Logic (0 pts)

Ahsoka neither adds to nor takes away from logic within the Star Wars universe. So, I am neither adding nor taking away extra points.

Final Thoughts

My final score for Ahsoka is an 8.8/10, or a B+. This ranks Ahsoka pretty high up there with my favorite Star Wars novels. The score is actually a little higher than what I expected based on my gut reaction, so it is entirely possible you’ll enjoy it even more than I did. If you like Ahsoka’s character, it’s a no-brainer to check this book out. If you’re just wanting another cool Star Wars story that adds to the universe, you should like it too. However, I will say that if you’re only really concerned with the story, there may be other books to read if you’re not interested in Ahsoka’s character. But if you do have a reason to pick the book up, I’m sure you’ll enjoy 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).