by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars : Queen’s Hope was written by bestselling author E.K. Johnston. This YA novel is published by Disney-Lucasfilm Press. Queen’s Hope is the final Padme book, in the YA series.
SUMMARY: Padme and Anakin are in love. They want to live a life of secrecy and risk by fulfilling their personal desires by committing themselves to each other in marriage. This is forbidden in the Jedi Order, but it’s a risk Anakin is willing to take. When they return to Coruscant the first true test of how they will maintain their relationship begins. Anakin is shipped out to fight in the Clone Wars and Padme goes on a secret mission behind Separatist lines.
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OVERALL THOUGHTS: The Padme trilogy, is one the most bizarre trilogies we’ve had. One book was a retelling of The Phantom Menace through a different perspective. One book jumps back in time as Padme adjusts to being Queen, and finally we close out the trilogy with the start of the Clone Wars.
Padme is tired of serving others before herself. She does like being a servant of the people, but she also wants to fulfill her own desires. When facing death on Geonosis, she realized the love of Anakin Skywalker, is just what she needs. Padme touts that she handles aggressive negotiations. In this story, she has no fear, but she risks exposing so much, with her decision to go on a secret mission.
There is something that felt off with this story, and that would be the timeframe. Little things don’t balance well with timeline of the relationship status between Anakin and Padme. This book suggests they had a lot more time together than what we witnessed in Attack of the Clones. They knew so much about each other and how each other would react to specific things.
I’ve always felt that Padme’s character is mistreated. I don’t believe an author has truly been able to tap into the character and give her an appropriate story that feels realistic or isn’t full of cringey fluff. I really don’t think anyone knows how to write the character of Padme. She’s a senator, not a secret agent… or is she? She is treated like an errand-girl, doing work that she shouldn’t be doing.
RATING: This book receives a D+
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: The High Republic Mission to Disaster is a young reader/junior reader book set just before the events of The Fallen Star. It was written by bestselling author, Justina Ireland. Thank you Disney-Lucasfilm Press for providing a copy for review.
Summary: The young Avon Starros is kidnapped from Port Haileap, on the mid rim world Kirima by the Nihil. Avon is shocked to learn that the Nihil have been kidnapping children around the galaxy and forcing them to be new recruits in the Nihil. Jedi Vernestra and her padawan Imri go on a mission in hopes to recover their friend, Avon. Chaos also irrupts on Dalna, as world damaging groundquakes break the world. The Jedi need to move quick if they are to successfully evacuate the planet with the help of Starlight Beacon.
Overall Thoughts:I really don’t like being negative… I really don’t, and as I’ve made clear on several other reviews, I want to enjoy the books I spend my time reading. Mission to Disaster is just way too dull. I had some fun with the previous young reader books from wave one and two, but Mission to Disaster was a chore. I’d pick the book up with intentions of reading several chapters, but I couldn’t do it. I could only spend about 20 minutes per reading session.
Many bits of the story are not consistent with previous High Republic storytelling. Certain villain traits that have already been established and well known by the Jedi are completely forgotten and brought up like it’s something new. The previous adult novel, The Rising Storm also suffered from this lack of consistency. If a special story group is not sifting through the books… one is needed. If there is a story group overseeing the books… new members are needed.
The Characters are not interesting, they’re bland. This is supposed to be a children’s book, please stop putting in sexual content/references in these books. I really hate giving a negative review, but it had to happen. I open each book with high hopes and want to have fun. As of this review, two of the three books in the High Republic wave 3 have been extremely disappointing. I really hope this isn’t a sign of more disappointment in the next phase.
Rating for Star Wars: The High Republic: Mission to Disaster: D-
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star was written by New York Times best-selling author, Claudia Gray. This is the 3rd High Republic novel published by Del Rey. (A big thank you to Del Rey for sending out this copy for me to review.) The Fallen Star is the 3rd and final novel for the first phase of The High Republic.
SUMMARY: Starlight Beacon, the Republic’s physical symbol of peace and loyalty, is the next target of the Nihil. Marchion Ro has spread the Nihil across the galaxy to strike at random, to cause discomfort and fear. Many Nihil victims have made their way to Starlight Beacon for medical aid and ship repair as it hangs in space above the planet Eiram.
Soon, chaos will irrupt on Starlight Beacon as Marion Ro sends a crew to sabotage the station and unleash a Jedi killing, force hungry beast. The light of Starlight Beacon… will be snuffed out!
CHARACTERS: I’ve picked two characters to briefly mention.
The controversial Vintian character, Geode, brings in some comic relief. While the rock character does provide a few laughs, this living rock’s abilities alter an important plot point that we spend a lot of time with… by just sweeping the climax of said particular plot under the rug. It was a funny thing, but also a let down.
Bell Zettifar shines in this tale. While he’s still mourning the loss of his master, Loden Greatstorm, he doesn’t hesitate to jump into action when the world is burning around him. He and the wookie padawan, Burryaga, have become great friends and work well together.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: So far with the High Republic, I’ve really enjoyed the Del Rey novels. The era has been pretty hectic as the villains, the Nihil cause disaster throughout the galaxy. The previous novels introduced excellent characters with simple plots but excellent details. This novel, I hoped I wouldn’t have had to say it… falls short of my expectations. Here’s why…
It truly feels that Claudia Gray could not break the mold of the YA novel structure. The one thing this story lacks more than anything else, would be details. There are no aspects of the story that are heavily detailed, so there are a few situations that happen in the book that are muddled down and slightly confusing, because the details aren’t there! The story is shallow and simple.
The characters did not feel consistent with who they were in previous books, not just original characters created by Gray, but the characters created by the other authors writing in the High Republic Era. Claudia Gray brings in a few characters from her previous YA novel, Into the Dark such as Affie Hollow and her crew.
Some of my favorite characters in the High Republic are Stellan Gios and Elzar Mann. However, sadly, I wasn’t thrilled with either one of them in this book. They lacked the leadership and strength they displayed in past novels. Elzar has disconnected from the force for fear of sinking into the dark side. He comes across as too fearful and weak, I understand that he, as well as all Jedi, are students of the Force; they are always learning and growing. Elzar acts like a first time force user. Stellan Gios is suddenly very prideful and a tad spiteful. He is acting by Marshal of Starlight Beacon, replacing Avar Kriss. He has this childish grudge against Avar that doesn’t feel appropriate to his character in previous stories.
The relationships between the Jedi, as slightly mentioned already (with Stellan & Aver) all seemed out of line, with the exception of Bell & Burryaga. The dialogue wasn’t that bad, but there were many tacky lines and, much like the story structure, shallow. Previously, we’ve had a galactic disaster, billions have lost there lives during the events of Light of the Jedi, thousands more in The Rising Storm… but Chancellor Soh believes that the destruction of Starlight Beacon is the most tragic event in the history of the Republic? Yeah she believes that. I’m bummed out too that what was building up to some very intriguing political happenings in The Rising Storm, was completely absent in this book.
Do I recommend this book? Yes. Even with all the negative things I had to say about it, it is the continuation of a much larger era. This is the final adult novel in the first phase of the High Republic.
RATING: This book receives a C minus.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Novelization Review
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Novelization was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Terry Brooks. This tale takes place during the the Rise of the Empire Era, taking place 32 years before A New Hope.
SUMMARY
The galactic trade federation oversteps its bounds and releases its droid army against Naboo after a trade dispute. The Jedi step in to bring peace to the whole situation, but find themselves unable to do so. The Jedi assist in protecting the Queen of Naboo, leaving her home planet. They find themselves stranded o far away planet Tatooine, where they need to find parts to repair their ship. While there, Jedi Master Qui-Got Jinn comes across a young boy, Anakin, who is force sensitive. Qui-Got feels that this boy will be something great, someone that could potentially be spoken of in Jedi prophecy, the chosen one… the individual to bring balance to the force.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This novelization was fine, a lot of it reflected the film almost beat for beat. We did have a few additions to the story, such as a pod race with Anakin, which was pretty cool. Something that I found goofy was this exchange that Anakin has with the Sand People, or to be politically correct, Tusken People.
We do have mention of Darth Vane but it’s said that he had a male apprentice. Well, I’ve read the Darth Bane trilogy, Zannah… was a female.
I found it interesting that Qui-Got actually sold Anakins Podracer after Anakins victory to Sabulba, Anakins pod racing rival.
There really isn’t all that much to say about the book or the plot, let’s get real, if you’re watching this, you’ve probably seen the film… at least 5 times. Maul speaks a bit more, he has a verbal exchange with the trade federation folks.
The final thing worth mentioning that I found just bizarre is that at Qui-Gons funeral, doves were released… ha what?
So, do I recommend that you read The Phantom Menace novelization? No need to, while it did add some to the story, it’s not enough to go out of your way to read.
RATING
I will give this book a B.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Timothy Zahn. This is the final book in the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy. The Ascendancy trilogy as a whole, takes place after the events of Attack of the Clones.
SUMMARY: A threat to the Chiss Ascendancy is just on the horizon, but not all can see it coming. The enemy, Jixtus, has been formulating a plan to weaken the Chiss, turning the families against each other with lies and theatrics. Thrawn is fully aware of the deception and must act alone in order to keep the Ascendancy from collapsing in on itself, or from being conquered by outside forces, known as the Grysks.
CHARACTERS: A big cast of characters in this book, many military and political figures as well as a few alien races with very prominent roles, I’ll just briefly mention Thran and Jixtus.
Thrawn, as always knows what’s happening and is several steps ahead of everyone else. Sometimes its fun and believable, other times it’s silly and unbelievable. Thrawn seems to be in control of his own destiny, nothing comes as a surprise to him. I love that the Chiss families all have a grudge against him and want him ousted. Thrawn breaks the rules quite a bit, ignoring most of the orders given to him. Governing officials can’t stand him, but a handful of military leaders understand his motives but cringe at his risk taking.
I liked what Zahn was doing with the primary villain of the story. Jixtus is a pretty bad dude; he’s manipulative, controlling, and determined destroy the Chiss Ascendancy. While the character was handled well most of the time, I was actually somewhat underwhelmed with the overall arch of the character.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: For me, this novel has the same flaw as the previous instalments, the “Memories” chapters. These “memories” tend to foreshadow events or themes that are contained in the following chapters. I really don’t like reading unnecessary content that doesn’t mean much to the overall story… especially when it’s going make the following chapter(s) predictable There is one memory chapter in this book that actually was really good, it gave me the chills while reading it. That said, there is also one of these memory chapters, that left me outright confused as to what it was referencing, it seemed important, but there was no explanation of what was happening or why.
There is so much happening in this book, I’m surprised it was condensed down into a trilogy rather than a series of five or six books. I could be wrong but it feels like that’s something Zahn would’ve wanted to do, but it just didn’t happen. While the book is over 500 pages, which is pretty hefty in the Star Wars canon, it felt rushed in many places and left some aspects of the story wide open without conclusion.
I was hoping this book would tie up at the end with some sort of absolute closure with certain things, but it really didn’t. So many things can be brought back up in the future, which could be nice… but it also has me worried that we may never touch on these things ever again. For example, some awesome, wild tech is mentioned but not utilized in this story… we know it’s there now, we know what it’s capable of doing… I would hate it if we never get more use with it. There is more I can say on this, but I like to keep reviews spoiler free.
RATING: I enjoyed a lot of the book, but due to some of the issues that I really can’t seen get over, I give Thrawn: Lesser Evil a B.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Michael A Stackpole.
This novel is part of the Expanded Universe , aka, Legends timeline. This tale takes place during the New Republic Era, seven years after the battle of Yavin, in the A New Hope.
SUMMARY: Years after the death of the Emperor & Darth Vader, many worlds remain loyal to the Empire, back when the Senate was dissolved and world powers handed over to Moffs, some Imperial factions stay true to the cause, some fend for themselves, and others join the Rebel Alliance to end the tyranny.
Rogue Squadron has been reformed, commanded by Wedge Antilles. Corran Horn is one of the best pilots in the Squadron, but things don’t come easy for him. The Squadron is not just to possess the best pilots, but have the courage and skill to operate independently and accomplish operations that would typically require a much larger head count. Some within the Squadron have blurred the line between justice & revenge against the Empire.
Rogue Squadron sets its sights on Coruscant, but has other missions it must accomplish on that road to the Empire’s ruling fortress.
Characters: There is a heafty amount of characters to talk about, but I’ll mention two leading characters.
Corran Horn: He’s a great pilot, but he struggles with pride. His journey consists of humbling himself and learning to operate with a team. His past haunts him, and has him marked for death by the Empire. The man seems desperate to be a hero, taking big risks. Sometimes I felt that Corran was a rip off of Solo, some lines from Han from the films were repeated by Horn.
Wedge Antilles: He’s the Squad leader of Rogue Squadron. He’s somewhat of a downer, always downplaying everything, even the victories they have. It’s like he’s stuck in the past.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: During the first briefing of Rouge Squadron, Wedge Antilles tells them that most of them will die within the first five battles. That their job will be dull and boring, with brief sparks of sheer action & terror. This sets a grim tone as well as foreshadowing that we will certainly loose characters … but who?
I was confused at one point, when Corran is revealing some history about his time in CorSec, he was tasked with killing rebel smugglers, his team made up some names and blamed Corran for executing them, then when he escaped the Empire, the deaths of those fake folks marked Corran with a death warrant wasn’t that his job?
I’ve never been a big fan of stories that have several characters on the same team that always nag and compete against each other. I can see a few moments where it may be entertaining but it seems like Corran is always pushing everyone’s buttons, and he has to prove himself… to himself and/or Wedge.
Wedge mentions that the Bothans are too cocky, they celebrate their bravery and “victory” of getting/obtaining the plans to the second Death Star, the Emperor lured them all there as a trap. Those are some pretty harsh words coming from Wedge, the Bothans died as heroes in my heart, had they not had those plans, the trap would have been successful! Yet, the Rebels won that day… thanks to the Bothans.
There are good moments in this story, then there are parts that I just get lost on. There’s so much going on it’s hard to keep focused and remember exactly who’s who and where we are. I’m not a big fan of the book. There’s so many different names and places being tossed around I couldn’t contain all the details. Some characters are written well, but not written in a way that makes me feel invested in the characters. Some deaths occurred and I could care less.
There is a cool thing in the Epilogue with Isard and Kirtan Loor. She let out info where Loor was located, this will lure Corran Horn for revenge, but also this makes Loor nervous, he’s seen Corran in action.
Do I recommend you pick up Star Wars: Rogue Squadron? If your’re a Wedge Antilles and or military warfare fan, yes. If you’re more into Jedi wizardry, probably not.
RATING: I give this book a C+ I think it could have been better, especially the character development.
