Book Review: Star Wars: Tears of the Nameless

 

Tears of the Nameless, published in 2024, is a young-adult novel by George Mann. It is set in the third phase of The High Republic after the destruction of the Starlight Beacon and the Nihil setting up the Stormwall. There are a few different intertwined plotlines that intersect at different times throughout the novel, each of them involving the Jedi trying to figure out a way to fight The Nameless creatures/Levelers and The Blight. Reath Silas is working with a Padawan named Amadeo Azzazzo to determine if there is a connection between The Nameless and The Blight, which have similarities in how they affect what they touch. Each seems to be controlled by the Nihil. Another storyline involves one of the Nihil Jedi hunters who is using three of The Nameless to hunt down Jedi. 

The hardcover version of the book is 500 pages long and could have easily been included as one of the adult canon novels. It does a lot to advance the High Republic storyline, including revealing the origin of the Nameless and a civilization of force users who eventually figured out how to control them. It does not close what to me seems like a giant plot hole in that the Nameless were used against the Jedi by the Path of the Open Hand in the early High Republic era when at least Yoda and Yaddle were around, and the Jedi still knew relatively little about them (and were totally blindsided by their use) in the later High Republic era 150 years later. Hopefully, later novels will shed some light on why that is the case, but this one does not. Even so, this tells a decent story and advances the overall plot. So, if you like the High Republic storyline, this is worth the time to read.

Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: Beware the Nameless

 

Beware the Nameless is one of the Star Wars junior novels set during Phase 3 of the High Republic era. It was written by Zoraida Cordova and published in 2024. It is set after the events of the junior novel Escape from Valo. In it, a group of Jedi set out to capture one of the force-eating creatures that the Jedi refer to as The Nameless and that the Nihil call Levelers, that the Nihil has used to kill multiple Jedi. A group of younglings (who stow away aboard one of the ships embarking on the mission) end up teaming with a young Hutt named Churo, who has been sent by his sister to recover a Leveler egg to bring back to his clan. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long, just under 325 pages. Unlike some junior novels, which tell ancillary one-off stories, this one advances the overall plot of the High-Republic era quite a bit. In this book, we learn more about the Levelers, including how they can affect non-force users. The characters in the book are mostly new, although Ram Jomaram (who has been in a few of the junior novels) does appear, and Yoda appears at the very end of the book. Because it is a junior novel, it reads very quickly. It includes a handful of comic illustrations, giving us an actual look at the Levelers, which have been described in very vague terms in the prior novels (and we learn why that is in this book). Even though it is written for a younger audience and some of the dialogue can be a bit silly, it is good enough for adults to enjoy. If you are a fan of the High Republic stories but do not get all the books, this one is worth reading. 

Book Review: Star Wars: Master & Apprentice

 

Master and Apprentice is an adult canon novel by Claudia Gray, published in 2019. It is a very good story set before Episode I, telling of a mission involving Qui-Gon and a seventeen-year-old Obi-Wan. The Chancellor, who held the position before Vallorum, sends the two to act as the Republic's representatives in negotiations to open a hyperspace lane. The book is a bit of action and mystery, with some political maneuvering mixed in.

The main themes of the book are definitely Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's rocky relationship which was hinted at a bit in The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon's considering an invitation to join the Jedi Council, and at the very end of the book, a further indication that "The rule of two" was more a suggestion than a hard and fast rule.

Overall, the book presents a good ancillary story to the "Skywalker Saga", is a fairly easy read (it is just over 300 pages, but the chapters are kept relatively short), and it provides more character development that the movies could not give. Chances are most people considering getting this collect all the novels and will get this regardless of reviews. If however, you are one that gets some, but not all, of the novels, this one is definitely worth the time to read.

Book Review: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: A Crash of Fate

 

A Crash of Fate is a young-adult Star Wars canon novel published in 2019 and written by Zoraida Cordova. It is not part of the main storyline (not part of the Skywalker saga). Thus, it tells a story about characters who live tangentially in the Star Wars universe but are not the main characters or part of the main storylines of the movies, TV shows, or novels involving those characters. It is set on the planet of Batuu, which has been referenced in the Clone Wars and Rebels series, as well as multiple books. The main characters are two childhood friends, Izzy and Jules, who have a crush on each other as kids when Izzy's parents take her away without warning. Thirteen years later, between the events of The Force Awakens/The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, she returns to Batuu as a smuggler to be unwittingly reunited with Jules who remained on Batuu as a farmer.

The story is, in part, a love story and in part an adventure involving The Black Spire, smugglers, and the First Order and Resistance acting in the background. It is basically a one-off story that does not really tie into the larger "Skywalker Saga" (i.e., the events of the movies). Even though it is a young-adult novel, it is enjoyable enough for adults too. The love story part of the book is not too sappy (for the most part), and it has some twists to it. The book is just over 300 pages, but it reads fairly quickly with a reasonable amount of characters to keep track of, and the chapters are fairly short (about 20 pages or less per chapter, with some only a couple of pages). So, depending on how fast you read, and how much time you have to do so, you can get through it fairly fast. While it is not a must-read novel, it is enjoyable and worth checking out for those who get some, but not all, of the novels.

Book Review: Star Wars: Queen's Shadow

 

Queen's Shadow is one of the "ancillary" canon novels in the Star Wars universe. It was written by one of the regular Star Wars authors, E.K. Johnston, and published in 2019. As many of the young adult novels are, it is adjacent to the main storyline (which is printed in the front of the Del-ray series of novels) but is still considered part of the official canon, as everything put out under the Disney flagship is.

The bulk of the story is set between Episodes I and II as Padme transitioned from Queen of Naboo to a senator. It has much of the political tone of the Phantom Menace, which may turn off some people, but it also incorporates the relationship between Padme and the handmaidens and how they switch out for one another depending on the situation they find themselves in, and the great lengths and planning they go to in order to pull the switches off. Palpatine makes a couple of appearances both in his role as Chancellor and as Darth Sidious, as does Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, setting up their alliance which, of course, eventually spawns the Rebel Alliance.

For me, the best part of the novel is actually the epilogue, set just after the events of Episode III, with the "main" handmaiden, Sabe, vowing to find out what really happened to Padme. This definitely sets up material for another novel set during the early days of the Empire.

Overall, the novel is a pretty easy read, especially if you are a fast reader. While it is a young adult novel, it is one that people of all ages can enjoy. It does a good job adding to, and filling in, the period between Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones which has been lacking in material since the novels written before the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm were relegated to Legends status. I definitely recommend it.

Book Review: Star Wars: Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spark of the Resistance

 

Spark of the Resistance is a 2019 Star Wars story by Justina Ireland. It is a short, one-off, young-adult story set between the events of The Last Jedi (a few months after the battle of Crait) and The Rise of Skywalker. While out on a supply run, Rey, Poe, and Rose receive a distress call from a planet called Minfar. They discover The First Order is enslaving the locals and helping to fight them off.

This is a novel that is ancillary to the "main" storyline novels but is still considered canon, like everything that gets put out under the Star Wars banner post-Disney's buyout of Lucasfilm. It is a short book, just over a couple hundred pages, and an easy read. The story is pretty basic, which is not all that surprising given that it is a children's novel, but it is enjoyable enough for adults. It does not really have any obvious tie-ins to The Rise of Skywalker but does give readers a bit of an idea of what the characters were up to between the movies.

Chances are, if you collect the books, you are going to get this. If you get just some of the novels and not others, I would not say it is a must-read, but it is enjoyable.

Book Review: Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Force Collector

 

The Force Collector is a young adult novel that is ancillary to the "main" canon storyline, set sometime before The Force Awakens. It was published in 2019 and written by Kevin Shinick. It is a bit different in that sense from the other "Journey to the [insert movie title]" in that most of the others have been set between the last movie and the next one, so this would be better under the "Journey to The Force Awakens" than The Rise of Skywalker. The novel is centered around a force-sensitive teenager named Karr who can see history by touching items and runs away from home with his friend, the daughter of a First-Order officer, and his droid to find items linked to the Jedi, in hopes of finding a living Jedi to train him. It is, of course, set at a time when Luke Skywalker is in exile, and for some strange reason, the only memory of the Jedi seems to be of those who were around before the Clone Wars and much of what people do remember of the Jedi is through the lens of disinformation that the Empire used to tarnish their Jedi's collective reputation.

Even though the book is one of the young-adult novels, it is long enough (about 370 pages) and good enough that adults can find it enjoyable, too. Through his travels, the main character visits different locations from the prequels, the original trilogy, and the sequel trilogy. It contains events from the movies, sometimes shown from a different perspective from what was shown in the particular movie scene. The story flows well, and if you are a fast reader, it is pretty easy to get through in a few days or less. Chances are, if you collect all the hardcover novels as they come out, you will get this anyway. If you are one who only gets some, but not all, of the young-adult novels, I definitely think this one is worth the purchase.

Book Review: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire

 

Black Spire is an ancillary main storyline canon novel published in 2019 and written by Delilah S. Dawson. It is set between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. The Resistance is on its heels and looking not only for places to establish bases and recruit new members. Leia (who has a small role in the book) dispatches Vi and Archex (formerly known as Captain Cardinal, and now a somewhat reluctant member of the Resistance) from the Phasma novel to Batuu (which has been the setting of a couple of novels) where they, of course, encounter a First Order unit. The resulting story is kind of a cat-and-mouse chase between the First Order and the Resistance members and ends up being a good action novel.

The hardcover version of the book is about 400 pages long. The story is kind of a follow-up to the Phasma novel and kind of a bridge to TROS. None of the "main" characters aside from Leia appear, although Rey and Luke Skywalker are mentioned a couple of times. It does introduce a handful of new characters that become the Resistance unit on Batuu, who also have to cooperate with the local crime syndicate and make too many waves. Overall, I will not say that it is the best of the side story novels that are a part of the "main storyline," but it is an enjoyable (and fairly quick) read and clearly sets up the possibility of a follow-up book.

Book Review: Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason

 

Thrawn: Treason is the third novel in the trilogy of novels by Timothy Zahn, reintroducing the very popular Legends character Grand Admiral Thrawn into the rebooted Star Wars canon. It is a part of the main storyline novels, which are considered on the same level as the movies and the TV series that have been released since the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm (or series like The Clone Wars that was put out before the takeover but grandfathered into canon).

As most hardcore fans know, the character of Thrawn was introduced in the 1990s in a trilogy of now Legends novels set after Return of The Jedi as a threat from the old Empire to the New Republic. The backbone of the character was his ability to strategize and use what he knew (or could discover) about an advisory against them. In the first two canon novels, Thrawn and Thrawn: Alliances, much of that skill in the context of action/battle sequences was missing. This novel more than makes up for what was lacking in those novels. I will not go into too much detail about the plot, but the story centers around a danger/threat to the Stardust initiative, which, as everyone likely to read this knows, was the construction of the first Death Star, as well as to Thrawn's species, the Chiss. The novel features appearances by Governor Tarkin, Director Krennic, and The Emperor. While the cover of the novel suggests that the Emperor has a larger role in the novel, he really has only a small appearance, mostly at the end. The novel also alludes to the events from the series Rebels, which first reintroduced the Thrawn character in the TV series, as Thrawn is eager to get back to Lothal and deal with the situation presented by Ezra Bridger.

The hardcover version of the book is just about 400 pages long. It reads fairly quickly, especially since most of the characters that appear in the book are well-developed or have already been established in the movies. Overall, while I do not think this novel is as good as the original "Thrawn Trilogy," which many hoped would be the basis for a sequel trilogy before the original cast members got too old to make that a reality, it is the closest to those novels in terms of all that makes the character of Thrawn great. There is definitely some political strategizing and infighting that has been a part of much of the canon material, but the book has a very good mix of action sequences to keep the story moving along. Chances are, if you are a die-hard fan of Star Wars, you are probably already getting the hardcover versions of the novels as they are released. But, if you are one who is more selective about which novels you get, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Book Review: Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost

 

Dooku: Jedi Lost is a Star Wars canon novel by Cavan Scott, published in 2019.  It tells part of Dooku's backstory as a youngling, a padawan, a Jedi Knight, and then as a master. It also explains how he came to leave the Jedi order, but not how he fell in league with Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine does make one appearance in the story as a relatively lowly senator, but there is little to hint at his grand plan.

The hardcover version of the book is a little under 500 pages. Like many of the books released since Disney took over, it is set in different time periods. One is during the time of the Clone Wars when Ventress was Dooku's apprentice/assassin (further showing the rule-of-two was less of a rule than a loosely followed guideline), and then Dooku's life growing up told in flashbacks throughout the book. Unlike any of the other books (up to the time it was released), it is written in a format as a script for a play or movie. It describes the locations, notes when characters talk in their heads versus out loud, etc. I personally prefer the traditional novel format, with chapters that easily break up the story (since it is not the easiest book to read in one sitting), but that did not bother me as much as it did other reviewers.

Overall, it did an excellent job with Dooku's arc and character development from a very smart but a bit smug padawan to exactly how evil he was as a Sith lord. I do think it missed out on explaining the circumstances under which Palpatine turned him, but even without that, it made clear that he was drawn to the dark side throughout his life. It is certainly not the best of the canon books, and if you are one of those who only get certain books but not all of them, it is not necessarily a must-read.

Book Review: Resistance Reborn

 

Resistance Reborn is a main-storyline Star Wars canon novel set between The Last Jedi and the remaining resistance members' escape from Crait and The Rise of Skywalker. The resistance is beaten down, looking to regroup and refill their ranks. The story is set on the planets Ryloth and Corellia, where the resistance members are trying to regroup and recruit, using Leia's old contacts to aid in hiding from the First Order. I will not give too much of the story away, but it blends action, political maneuvering, and a "cat and mouse" storyline.

The hardcover version of the novel is about 300 pages long, and it reads quickly. All the main resistance characters, Rey, Poe, Finn, Leia, etc., appear in the book to varying degrees. But, like many of the "fill-in" novels, the "main" characters do not really dominate the story, and more ancillary characters take a more prominent role. The author does a good job conveying that Rey is feeling lost, having incomplete Jedi training, and losing the one person who could have trained her. She also does a good job conveying split emotions among the rank-and-file resistance members who are left, with some wanting to fight on, and others seeing the fight against The First Order as a losing battle. Overall, it is a good novel that bridges part of the time gap between TLJ and TROS while also leaving a lot of room for further stories from that time period to be fleshed out. It is a moderately easy read, and the chapters are easily digestible lengths so you can read as much or as little at one time as you want. If you are one of those people who only get some, but not all, of the novels, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition

 

+++ Warning: This will contain spoilers from the movie and some of the clarifying points from the book. If you have not yet seen the film, then read it at your own risk +++

This is a relatively straightforward novelization of the final film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker. It was written by Rae Carson and published in 2020. Like most of the novelizations that have been put out since the prequel trilogy novels to date, there are additional elements that flesh out the plot points and make the overall story better. The big one is an explanation of how exactly Palpatine returned (he did not survive being thrown down the reactor shaft in Return of the Jedi) and the message he sent out announcing his return to the galaxy. It also gives additional insight into what Finn tried to tell Rey throughout the movie but never did. It also gives more context to "The Kiss" and makes it seem much less forced and creepy than it came off in the movie.

The hardcover version of the book is around 370 pages. How much you enjoy the book will be closely tied to how you feel about the movie. I liked but did not love the film, mostly because I think they had to spend too much time retconning elements from The Last Jedi and resurrecting plot points that were set up in TFA and tossed aside in TLJ. That made it even more evident that there should have been one writer for the entire trilogy. If you hated the movie, then there is nothing in the book that is likely to change your mind. If, however, you liked the film, then the novelization will make you like the story even more.

Star Wars: Shadow Fall An Alphabet Squadron Novel

 

Shadow Fall, published in 2020, is the middle book of the Alphabet Squadron trilogy of novels written by Alexander Freed that follows a "B-team" group of characters in the aftermath of the Rebel's victory at the Battle of Endor. Much like the Rebels TV series, it mentions some of the "main" Star Wars characters but is set around a group of outcasts who form a fighter squadron tasked with trying to mop up the remaining Imperial threat. Specifically, an elite squad of Imperials called Shadow Wing. The story is set in a new system whose central star has collapsed into a black hole. It focuses on a few of the main characters established in the first novel, expands some on their backstory, and mixes in a decent amount of action, both set on the ground and in fighter battles.

Like the first one, this book suffers a bit from not including any of the main characters from the original trilogy. Even an appearance by Leia, Han, or Luke would have made the story a bit better. I know the author was telling a story about how the war affected those other than the Skywalkers and other main characters, but I think that could still be accomplished by including them in limited roles. Given that there really has not been (as of the original writing of this review) a novel that really details what Leia and Luke were doing in the immediate aftermath of their victory at Endor, using the ancillary novels as a setup for those stories (kind of like what the Aftermath Trilogy did), would have been good.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 400 pages. It is a similar length and has a similar tone to the first novel. If you enjoyed the first novel, you will probably enjoy this one as well. Along the same lines, if you did not like the first novel or were lukewarm to it, you will probably feel the same way about this one. I would probably not ever re-read this one unless I just wanted to read all the canon material over again. Nor would I say it is a must-read for those who pick and choose which novels they read. That said, it is a good ancillary story set in the Star Wars universe and is enjoyable if you accept that you will not get anything about what Han, Leia, Luke, Lando, etc., were doing during the events in the book.

Book Review: Star Wars: Queen's Peril

 

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.

Book Review: Star Wars: Temptation of the Force

 

Temptation of the Force is a canon Star Wars novel by Tessa Gratton, published in 2024. It is set during Phase III of the High Republic, after the Starlight Beacon's destruction and the Occlusion Zone's creation by the Nihil with their Stormwall. There are several threads to the story that all intertwine. One involves two Jedi in love, Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann, who are reunited after Avar's escape from the Occlusion Zone. The second is an incursion by several Jedi into the Occlusion Zone to try and liberate Naboo from the Nihil while trying to avoid The Nameless/Levelers, the creatures with the power to kill any force-sensitive being. The third is a new threat from something called The Blight, which has the power to kill everything in the galaxy except for the most dangerous being (at the time, anyway), Marchion Ro. 

The hardcover version of the book is 425 pages and reads fairly quickly. Some of the story is a bit sappy, but overall it is a good blend of action and suspense. Yoda is included in the storyline, but the book does not fill the plot hole that was left after the Phase II novels. Namely, that the Levelers were used against the Jedi by the Path of the Open Hand 150 years prior, Yoda knew about them, and the current Jedi still seem to know little to nothing about them. Although, in this book that does start to change somewhat. My other sticking point with this book is that the character of Vernestra is more like her character in The Acolyte TV series (which is set years later when she is older) and less like she was in the books that introduced her when she was more willing to skirt or bend rules.  Even though we know that the Jedi and the Republic will eventually defeat the Nihil, this book does not foreshadow how that will happen. Ultimately, while I would not say this is one of the must-read canon novels if you are invested in the High Republic storyline of the Jedi against the Nihil, it does advance that a lot and is worth reading.

Book Review: Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron

 

Alphabet Squadron is a canon Star Wars novel written by Alexander Freed and published in 2019. It is the start of a new (at least) trilogy of novels about a fighter squadron of the New Republic. This novel is set just after Return of the Jedi. It includes a mish-mash of different characters, some of whom are Imperial defectors, who are sent on missions to see if they can work together as a unit. There is a lot of character development, but the main issue I had was that I did not find myself all that invested in the characters. While characters like Luke, Leia, and The Emperor are referenced a lot, there is really only one recognizable character in the book, Hera Syndulla, who is only recognizable to those who have read all the novels or have seen the Rebels TV series, which, at the time the book was written, was the only appearance she had made in canon. Of course, the character has been included in the live-action Ahsoka series since that time.

The hardcover version of the book is just over 400 pages long. I found it read slower for me than many Star Wars novels, mostly because there were so many new, unfamiliar characters.  It would have helped a lot to have a character like Wedge as the leader or at least a trainer of the squadron and have the character actually interact with Leia instead of just name-dropping her. That said, there are some good parts to it like the ex-Imperials coming to grips with the fact that they lost the war and some of them asking themselves if they were ever on the right side. Hopefully, now that much of the setup is out of the way, the subsequent novels will be stronger entries in the canon, but this is definitely not one that I would call a must-read.

Book Review: Star Wars: Solo: A Star Wars Story Expanded Edition

 

This is the novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story. It was written by Mur Lafferty and published in 2018, following the movie's theatrical release. Solo is a story that got a pretty bad (in my opinion) rap, mainly because of all the chaos surrounding the movie's filming. The movie, which is much better than it got credit for, and the box office returns showed, suffered from the backlash over The Last Jedi and being released so soon after it. Had they stuck with the December release schedule, I think it would have done much better and not have been written off. So, if you avoided seeing the movie because of bad press, I would suggest reading the book because the quality of the story may surprise you.

The hardcover version of the book is about 300 pages long. It sticks pretty closely to what you see in the film (assuming you have seen the movie). It does have some additions that add to or expand what is in the movie, but they do not add anything all that substantive that radically changes the story shown in the movie. I do think the novel could have fleshed out a little more detail from the time jump between when Han gets off Cordelia and when he meets with the crew of smugglers. It did add some additional details from during that time period, but not a ton.

Overall, I think if you enjoyed the movie, you will enjoy the novel. If you hated the movie, there is not much about the novel that is likely to sway you off that point. I think it is a good story that flows well and makes for a fairly quick read.

Book Review: Star Wars: Tempest Runner

 

Tempest Runner, published in 2022 and written by Cavan Scott, is a book set during Phase I of the High Republic. It serves in part to tell the backstory of Lourna Dee, one of the leaders of the group of pirates known as the Nihil, who are the protagonists of Phases I and III of High Republic era novels. It is, like the Dooku book, written in a script format, so it reads a bit differently than a traditional novel. It is set in two time periods, the present, in which Lourna is a prisoner aboard a prison ship (but concealing her identity), and in the past, detailing how she joined the Nihil and ascended through their ranks.

This book probably suffers even more than some of the other High Republic books from not having recognizable characters in it. Lourna has not been in all of the High Republic novels to this point, and even in the ones she is in, she is not always the main character. And, the books have really only established a couple of the Jedi characters well enough for the readers to really get invested in them. Yoda got name-dropped occasionally but (at the time this book was written) had never appeared in any of the novels. This is really a book about Nihil infighting and backstabbing, so I am not sure a lot of people will get all that invested in it. That said, I do think it has a good plot and basically sets up Lourna to potentially be the "big bad" of the rest of the High Republic books and/or to possibly be the one to take down the real leader of the Nihil, Manchion Ro.

The book is pretty long at 568 pages, but because it is a script, some of the text on the pages is very short, and I find these types of books to be a quicker read than a regular novel. But how quickly you get through it really depends on how fast you read and how much time you can devote to reading. It took me 7 days to read for an hour or so at a time before bed to finish it. Chances are, if you collect all the canon novels, you will automatically pick this up. But, if you are one who only reads some of the novels, I'd say if you have enjoyed the High Republic-era books so far, you will probably like this. If you have not, then this is probably not going to change your mind.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Cobalt Squadron

 

Cobalt Squadron, published in 2017, is one of the young adult novels that is ancillary to the main storyline novels, set during the events of The Force Awakens, and leads into the opening of The Last Jedi when the resistance is evacuating their base. It is set around the characters of Rose and her sister Paige (who is seen at the beginning of The Last Jedi). The book details a mission that the bomber squadron engaged in to help the citizens on a planet under the heel of The First Order.

The hardcover version of the book is about 250 pages long. It is a very quick and easy read. Most people should be able to finish it in a day, at most. I think that most people who will read this book are those who collect the canon novels or really liked the character of Rose in the movie. The book tells a good story, but it is not necessarily a must-read.

Book Review: Star Wars: Most Wanted

 

Most Wanted, published in 2018, is one of the main storylines adjacent young-adult Star Wars novels. The book was written by Rae Carson and is a prequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story. The story is set on Corellia, which is basically a run-down, backwater planet whose main industry is building ships. The story centers around Han and Qi’ra becoming friends. They are working for Lady Proxima (the wormlike creature at the beginning of the Solo movie), basically doing the dirty work for her crime syndicate. It hints at not only the characters they would become in the Solo movie but who Han would become in the original trilogy, at least when it comes to the Falcon, and why he allowed it to look like such a piece of junk. In the book, he is actually a more honorable character than we see during much of A New Hope. The book explains why he ended up as the selfish smuggler that we first meet in A New Hope, and this book (and the Solo movie) sets up the possibility that something involving Qi’ra will turn him into the guy who is only out for a big payday.

The hardcover version of the book is a little under 400 pages, so it is long enough that it could have been included as one of the main-storyline adult novels.  The story in the book is very enjoyable and good enough that it does not feel like a typical young-adult novel. I am one who did not necessarily need a background for Han to be fleshed out. I am personally more interested in the events between Return of The Jedi and The Force Awakens being explained. So, while I do not think either this book, the Solo movie, or the sequels to either that may end up being released down the line are all that necessary, That said, I think Carson tells an enjoyable, sometimes emotional, sometimes funny story, that provides a good supporting story for the characters. So, it is absolutely worth the time to read.