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bluemc's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, and War
Minor: Suicide
jerrysaywhaaa's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book read like Tales of the Jedi/Empire, especially the way it was broken up into three parts. I think any fan of The Clone Wars or Rebels will love this book, especially since there are tons of Easter Eggs throughout. And, if you didn’t hate “the Force cult that had brainwashed […] children” (a.k.a. The Jedi Order) before, you might after reading this book.
This book really explores what it feels like to grow up feeling different and being bullied/punished for those differences in a religion and finding freedom and acceptance outside of that life.
A great read, however: it did feel like it got a bit repetitive with Iskat’s emotions at times to really hammer into you how she felt; at one point I swear they magically switch locations from the Jedi Council Chamber to a garden in the temple; and the death toll on Thule was phrased little confusingly throughout that chapter.
Otherwise, I loved this book and think a lot of issues would be solved in the galaxy if Jedi went to therapy.
This book really explores what it feels like to grow up feeling different and being bullied/punished for those differences in a religion and finding freedom and acceptance outside of that life.
A great read, however: it did feel like it got a bit repetitive with Iskat’s emotions at times to really hammer into you how she felt; at one point I swear they magically switch locations from the Jedi Council Chamber to a garden in the temple; and the death toll on Thule was phrased little confusingly throughout that chapter.
Otherwise, I loved this book and think a lot of issues would be solved in the galaxy if Jedi went to therapy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
Decapitationssamagader35's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I'm going to need 3-7 business days to process my feelings about that ending.
Overall though, what a ride. So much calling out of the hypocrisies of the jedi order and I was here for it.
Overall though, what a ride. So much calling out of the hypocrisies of the jedi order and I was here for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Minor: Suicide
marveledspectre's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
WHY IS STAR WARS PUTTING OUT THEIR BEST STORIES IN BOOK FORM?? 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sarinaslibrary's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a Star Wars girlie, and if they really knew me they would know that if I was in the universe...I might be a darksider. I have always been fascinated with the Dark Side in Star Wars as we here so much of the Light & Jedi and not much of the Sith. I always wanted a character that was a Jedi and joined the Empire because they actually wanted too and not because they were forced/brainwashed to do so.
So when I heard of this book I immedtly purchased it (along with other Star Wars books) and immedtly read it - and I did not disappoint.
'Padawan Iskat Akaris dedicated her live travelling the galaxy with her Master, taking Sith objects back to the Jedi Temple, and how to be a good Jedi from an accident that happened when she was a youngling that is kept over her head. But when her Master is killed in the 'First Battle of Geonosis' and the Jedi join the Republic, everything changed. She is made a Jedi Knight and helps the Jedi try to win the war, but she struggles with her own questions and power.
As the years pass and the war continues, Iskat's faith in the Jedi decreases - if they could grant her freedom, if they stop holding her back, if they just trusted her then she could do more for the galaxy. When the Jedi Order finally falls, Iskat embraces it.
Now an Inquisitor, Iskat finally has the freedom she has longed for, her questions answered and no longer having to hold back, she is close to calming her new destiny - whatever the cost.'
I loved how the story followed Iskat from a Padawan all the way through Order 66 and the Rise of the Empire. It gives us great exploration of her character and understanding of her feelings towards the Jedi, how they are afraid of her full power which causes them to distrust her - funny how Jedi always say not to fall to fear, but they let it control them.
There's always a mention of an accident she caused when she was young which sent one of her classmates, who was one of her friends, to hospital and far away where her friend could never be a Jedi. This accident is the reason why many of the Jedi (including Padawans) don't really trust her despite Iskat not meaning the accident and feeling so guilty about it. Mace Windu especially was distrusting of her which continued throughout the story.
There was the mystery of her species as as far as everyone knew, she was the only one of her kind - something she always wanted to know about and travel to find more information, which of course the Jedi refused to do. Only when she becomes and Inquisitor does she actually gain freedom to finally find the answer of her species which I quite enjoyed and wished she stayed with them.
I enjoyed reading about her becoming an Inquisitor and her mentions within the Darth Vader comics were written into the book which was quite nice. Tualon Yaluna, a good friend of Iskat and became her lover, survived Order 66 and became an Inquisitor, though it seems it wasn't as willingly as Iskat was. It was interesting watching their relationship change and come together from Jedi to Inquisitor.
There were great appearances from Palpatine/Darth Sidious, Grand Inquisitor, Darth Vader and a great mention of Ahsoka Tano.
There's so much of this book that I enjoyed and I was sad to finish it, but all great things must come to an end.
So when I heard of this book I immedtly purchased it (along with other Star Wars books) and immedtly read it - and I did not disappoint.
'Padawan Iskat Akaris dedicated her live travelling the galaxy with her Master, taking Sith objects back to the Jedi Temple, and how to be a good Jedi from an accident that happened when she was a youngling that is kept over her head. But when her Master is killed in the 'First Battle of Geonosis' and the Jedi join the Republic, everything changed. She is made a Jedi Knight and helps the Jedi try to win the war, but she struggles with her own questions and power.
As the years pass and the war continues, Iskat's faith in the Jedi decreases - if they could grant her freedom, if they stop holding her back, if they just trusted her then she could do more for the galaxy. When the Jedi Order finally falls, Iskat embraces it.
Now an Inquisitor, Iskat finally has the freedom she has longed for, her questions answered and no longer having to hold back, she is close to calming her new destiny - whatever the cost.'
I loved how the story followed Iskat from a Padawan all the way through Order 66 and the Rise of the Empire. It gives us great exploration of her character and understanding of her feelings towards the Jedi, how they are afraid of her full power which causes them to distrust her - funny how Jedi always say not to fall to fear, but they let it control them.
There's always a mention of an accident she caused when she was young which sent one of her classmates, who was one of her friends, to hospital and far away where her friend could never be a Jedi. This accident is the reason why many of the Jedi (including Padawans) don't really trust her despite Iskat not meaning the accident and feeling so guilty about it. Mace Windu especially was distrusting of her which continued throughout the story.
There was the mystery of her species as as far as everyone knew, she was the only one of her kind - something she always wanted to know about and travel to find more information, which of course the Jedi refused to do. Only when she becomes and Inquisitor does she actually gain freedom to finally find the answer of her species which I quite enjoyed and wished she stayed with them.
I enjoyed reading about her becoming an Inquisitor and her mentions within the Darth Vader comics were written into the book which was quite nice. Tualon Yaluna, a good friend of Iskat and became her lover, survived Order 66 and became an Inquisitor, though it seems it wasn't as willingly as Iskat was. It was interesting watching their relationship change and come together from Jedi to Inquisitor.
There were great appearances from Palpatine/Darth Sidious, Grand Inquisitor, Darth Vader and a great mention of Ahsoka Tano.
There's so much of this book that I enjoyed and I was sad to finish it, but all great things must come to an end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War
gelatinousdessert's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and War
maeverose's review against another edition
2.75
TL;DR: I liked that we got a little more inquisitor content but I was bored for most of the book. It felt drawn out and repetitive.
This review might have some minor spoilers but nothing major.
This book felt very slow to me. The first 60% of it takes place during the clone wars, before Iskat becomes an Inquisitor. And while that’s my favorite era, it was very slow and repetitive. It felt like nothing much happened. A lot of it was Iskat’s internal monologue about how much of an outcast she is. It made sense to see how she became an inquisitor, but it felt really drawn out. And this is supposed to be about the inquisitors, so I found it odd that most of the book took place before they existed. We did learn a tiny bit more about them and how they came to be, but I wanted more.
I also didn’t realize that Iskat was from the comics until Tualon was introduced, then I remembered their story when I recognized his name. I don’t care for romance, so those parts annoyed me. Especially because their relationship often felt like petty YA angst. Iskat felt like an angsty teen throughout the whole book actually, so if you like YA you might like this more than I did.
I do think it was cool to have an adhd-coded main character. I’m a bit on the fence about how it was written though. Because Iskat isn’t familiar with her species she attributes her adhd-like traits to just being a feature of her species. This isn’t corrected at any point, even when she finds her home planet, so I’m left wondering if it’s true? In the author’s note Delilah S. Dawson said she herself is neurodivergent, so when I caught those traits in Iskat that was my first thought. It would’ve been nice to have more explict adhd representation, rather than it being kinda vague. Either way, it was neat to relate to the character in that way and see how that could effect her role as a jedi and inquisitor. Ironically though, I think part of the reason I struggled with getting through this book was because of my adhd… it was just too long and repetitive for me.
This review might have some minor spoilers but nothing major.
This book felt very slow to me. The first 60% of it takes place during the clone wars, before Iskat becomes an Inquisitor. And while that’s my favorite era, it was very slow and repetitive. It felt like nothing much happened. A lot of it was Iskat’s internal monologue about how much of an outcast she is. It made sense to see how she became an inquisitor, but it felt really drawn out. And this is supposed to be about the inquisitors, so I found it odd that most of the book took place before they existed. We did learn a tiny bit more about them and how they came to be, but I wanted more.
I also didn’t realize that Iskat was from the comics until Tualon was introduced, then I remembered their story when I recognized his name. I don’t care for romance, so those parts annoyed me. Especially because their relationship often felt like petty YA angst. Iskat felt like an angsty teen throughout the whole book actually, so if you like YA you might like this more than I did.
I do think it was cool to have an adhd-coded main character. I’m a bit on the fence about how it was written though. Because Iskat isn’t familiar with her species she attributes her adhd-like traits to just being a feature of her species. This isn’t corrected at any point, even when she finds her home planet, so I’m left wondering if it’s true? In the author’s note Delilah S. Dawson said she herself is neurodivergent, so when I caught those traits in Iskat that was my first thought. It would’ve been nice to have more explict adhd representation, rather than it being kinda vague. Either way, it was neat to relate to the character in that way and see how that could effect her role as a jedi and inquisitor. Ironically though, I think part of the reason I struggled with getting through this book was because of my adhd… it was just too long and repetitive for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying
A warning if you have harm ocd: you’re in the main character’s head throughout the whole book and she gradually develops homicidal / violent thoughts, which she eventually acts on. These are described in detail in the last third of the book.jackiepreston's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Through most of this book it was 4 stars for me, but the epilogue brought it down to a 3.5. Getting to follow another Jedi that felt dissatisfied with the order go through the Clone Wars and eventually fall to the dark side was interesting, especially when she was actually an inquisitor. The end of the final chapter felt like the culmination of everything that came before and was so tragic, and the epilogue felt like an unnecessary addition to the end. The Iskat in the epilogue felt like such a different character from the Iskat we've been following the entire book. The relationship with Tualon was so underdeveloped that it bringing about the death of both characters felt out of nowhere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment
morgangd's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Excellent Star Wars fare - Delilah S. Dawson lives her developing reputation "for writing violent women". If it's ever been unclear how easy, how seductive, the fall to the Dark Side could be, meet this square peg who just cannot fit into the Jedi's round hole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide