SPOILER FREE
Rogue One the novelization, it was written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Alexander Freed. This is his second novel in canon, his first book was Battlefront Twilight Company.
Alexander Freed… can do no wrong!
Summary: The Empire successfully constructs the ultimate battle station! The oppression and tyranny of the Empire expands as an underground alliance is built on hope. It’s purpose, to strip power from Emperor Palpatine and reinstate the Republic. As intelligence unveils a secret planet killer, it’s realized that a peaceful transfer of power is unlikely. The transition may very well have to be executed through rebellious force!
Intelligence reports that an imperial pilot has defected! He contains highly classified imperial information regarding the Empire’s new battle station. Jyn Erso, a rebellious young lady, is intercepted by the rebel alliance. She may be the key to extracting more information on the dreaded space station. It is known that her father has played a role in its construction.
We go on a wild chase to put an end to the planet killer, meeting a few new characters and landing on new unfamiliar planets! This tale leads right up to the moments just before A New Hope.
Characters: There are several characters that I could talk about from this book, but Im only choosing two.
Jyn Erso, the daughter of Galen Erso, the man responsible for constructing the Death Star’s powerful weapon by order of the Empire. Jyn is strong willed, she’s held onto hatred for those who have abandoned her over the course of her life… even though her father was taken against his will. Saw Garrera, a rebel who is known as an extremist amongst the alliance and the Empire, also left her behind. As she is forced into an explosive force of events, she must either free herself of the mental and emotional prison she is trapped in… or close herself off to reality and remain behind her personal prison.
The other character to mention is Bodhi Rook. He was the imperial shuttle pilot who defected from the Empire. It took a lot of courage to pull off what he had to do. In the book we find out a more about his past. He’s pretty rattled by his actions… from imperial pilot to full blown rebel. The man was tortured during his transition but overcame the pain. He’s got a conscience, he’s honorable, a true hero of the rebel alliance.
Overall Review: This novelization… is phenomenal! So I saw the film a few times in theater. This book doesn’t take away anything, it actually adds a few things that are completely necessary. As expected there was added dialogue that wasn’t in the film. It’s not distracting at all but adds to the story. Between some chapters are “Supplemental Data” logs. Documents of various sorts such as messages between imperials or journal entries of the rebel alliance.Alexander Freed perfected the dialogue and development of each character. We get into their minds and discover who they are psychologically and emotionally. He paints amazing visuals with his words.
I loved this book so much! If this wasn’t a novelization but just a standalone novel, I’d probably have to put this as number one on my list. It’s debatable, but as of now, I will not rank the novelizations along with the other novels.
Rating: I give this book a 5 out of 5