Queen's Peril is a 2020 novel written by E.K. Johnston. It is one of the young-adult novels that is ancillary to the main storyline novels, TV series, and, of course, the movies, but it is still a part of the overall canon material. It serves as an origin story for Padme and the various handmaidens, starting when Padme is elected Queen of Naboo. The first 2/3 or so of the book details how Padme and Captain Panaka devised a bodyguard system for the Queen, his finding and recruiting the various girls that would become handmaidens, and how the girls came up with the decoy system. The final 1/3 of the book overlaps with the events of The Phantom Menace, mainly glossing over what was actually seen in the movie, although occasionally showing things in the film from the perspective of different characters or filling in some of the gaps of events that occurred concurrently with what we saw in the movie (e.g., what was happing on Naboo while the others were on Tatooine). There are also appearances by Palpatine, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Darth Maul, and some of the other characters from TPM in the book, but all have relatively minor roles.
The hardcover version of the book is just under 300 pages. It gives a decent backstory for Amadala and the handmaidens. It is not an essential read or must-read, especially if you are just a casual fan and only get some of the novels. However, it is a fun and sometimes funny story (mainly the parts where Panaka has to learn how to deal with a bunch of teenage girls), as well as a nice blend of action and political intrigue from TPM (without getting as bogged down with the politics as TPM did), While it is in the young adult category, I think it is enjoyable enough to be enjoyed by those of all ages. It does contain one S-bomb that was dropped during the Trade Federation invasion. Yes, it also has details like the girls getting their period and getting the Queen's makeup right that will certainly not appeal to everyone, but those are, to me, relatively minor points. And, the parts that detailed the emotional toll on what amounts to a bunch of teenage girls when it came to having to become adults when they were still kids and be responsible for an entire planet were well done. It is also a fairly quick read, depending, of course, on how fast you read. But, if you are a quick reader, you can easily get through this in less than a week (at most). While it is not a must-read, it is worth the time to read.
The hardcover version of the book is just under 300 pages. It gives a decent backstory for Amadala and the handmaidens. It is not an essential read or must-read, especially if you are just a casual fan and only get some of the novels. However, it is a fun and sometimes funny story (mainly the parts where Panaka has to learn how to deal with a bunch of teenage girls), as well as a nice blend of action and political intrigue from TPM (without getting as bogged down with the politics as TPM did), While it is in the young adult category, I think it is enjoyable enough to be enjoyed by those of all ages. It does contain one S-bomb that was dropped during the Trade Federation invasion. Yes, it also has details like the girls getting their period and getting the Queen's makeup right that will certainly not appeal to everyone, but those are, to me, relatively minor points. And, the parts that detailed the emotional toll on what amounts to a bunch of teenage girls when it came to having to become adults when they were still kids and be responsible for an entire planet were well done. It is also a fairly quick read, depending, of course, on how fast you read. But, if you are a quick reader, you can easily get through this in less than a week (at most). While it is not a must-read, it is worth the time to read.
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