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takeybakey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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
5.0
Fantastic read, really liked the characters and the story was fantastic and kept me wanting to read more, would love more Star Wars books with this theme.
mars_like_the_sea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tagoreketabkhane31's review
5.0
"Star Wars: Visions - Ronin" is is truly unlike any Star Wars novel that has been written, in part because of the #OwnVoices nature of the Visions story, but also because the author Emma Meiko Candon and her candor in making this a Star Wars story that is both familiar and foreign to the reader.
Based in part on the first short film in the Disney "Star Wars: Visions" Omnibus series, "Ronin" follows the travels of the lone Sith Lord known simply as "The Ronin" as he travels the galaxy with his hat wearing droid B5-56, a droid that is simply a more pragmatic version of R2-D2. With the first chapter being the first episode, we are introduced to a world that uses terms that we are familiar with, but with a more nuanced look that is closer to Japanese myths and legends then we are used from the original Star Wars mythos that drew from the stories of the "47 Ronin", that George Lucas had originally used to base some of the archtypes in Star Wars.
While a great epic, the story is confusing at times, in part because of the unreliability of the narrators. Like any great Star Wars story, the Ronin joins up with other characters on a ship to find the Sith Witch on the battle scarred world of Rei'izu, and this is where the story almost resembles that of "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic". The Ronin, The Traveler, the ship "The Poor Crow", and a few other elements reminded me so much of the story-line that was found with Darth Revan, Darth Traya, and other elements of the KOTOR stories that were freshly made woven into the breathtaking tapestry that is this Star Wars book.
I also appreciated that Visions is not part of the Canon, while also not a Legends story - Visions offers a third class of Star Wars stories in the Expanded Universe, one that allows for more diverse perspectives to influence how the Galaxy far, far, away continues to expand. Can't wait to see what comes next in the Visions world!
Based in part on the first short film in the Disney "Star Wars: Visions" Omnibus series, "Ronin" follows the travels of the lone Sith Lord known simply as "The Ronin" as he travels the galaxy with his hat wearing droid B5-56, a droid that is simply a more pragmatic version of R2-D2. With the first chapter being the first episode, we are introduced to a world that uses terms that we are familiar with, but with a more nuanced look that is closer to Japanese myths and legends then we are used from the original Star Wars mythos that drew from the stories of the "47 Ronin", that George Lucas had originally used to base some of the archtypes in Star Wars.
While a great epic, the story is confusing at times, in part because of the unreliability of the narrators. Like any great Star Wars story, the Ronin joins up with other characters on a ship to find the Sith Witch on the battle scarred world of Rei'izu, and this is where the story almost resembles that of "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic". The Ronin, The Traveler, the ship "The Poor Crow", and a few other elements reminded me so much of the story-line that was found with Darth Revan, Darth Traya, and other elements of the KOTOR stories that were freshly made woven into the breathtaking tapestry that is this Star Wars book.
I also appreciated that Visions is not part of the Canon, while also not a Legends story - Visions offers a third class of Star Wars stories in the Expanded Universe, one that allows for more diverse perspectives to influence how the Galaxy far, far, away continues to expand. Can't wait to see what comes next in the Visions world!
jlynnelseauthor's review
4.0
The first episode of the Visions series was a homerun. Who hasn't thought of samurai as jedi? When the Ronan pulls out his katana-styled lightsaber and faces down the Bandit, it was so cool! This book opens with that first episode and from there explores an alternate universe written through the lens of Japanese mythology. What a great concept. I'd absolutely love to see more of this, really allowing other cultures to build Star Wars using their own mythologies.
One powerful aspect of the story is a mirror made of kyber. In Japanese culture, mirrors are one of the most potent symbols of power, revered as sacred objects representing the gods. This holds true in this story as it influences many of the choices our characters make. The Jedi serve feudal lords who align themselves with one of the emperor princes. The rebellion was a Sith movement to experience individuality instead of being fodder serving for their lords. Basically, the universe is already under an empire with Jedi who are loyal to lords and emperors. Its a dark universe. There's also such beauty from the temple to the inner design of the dreadnaughts. The culture is beautiful but also sitting at a knife's edge.
I enjoyed all the characters and how the developed. The book is ripe with unreliable narrators but their so fascinating! However, there were some things that needed a bit more exploration. The final confrontation in the second to last chapter needed a bit more to it. I didn't quite get the significance of the choice. I also wanted way more lightsaber auxiliaries. The Bandit used a parasol, but her master was mentioned as using a fan--that's one I would have loved seeing in action!
This is an intriguing entry into the Star Wars lore. I hope to see more of these. The characters and plot were engaging, and there were many cool Japanese cultural aspects that were simply fantastic!
One powerful aspect of the story is a mirror made of kyber. In Japanese culture, mirrors are one of the most potent symbols of power, revered as sacred objects representing the gods. This holds true in this story as it influences many of the choices our characters make. The Jedi serve feudal lords who align themselves with one of the emperor princes. The rebellion was a Sith movement to experience individuality instead of being fodder serving for their lords. Basically, the universe is already under an empire with Jedi who are loyal to lords and emperors. Its a dark universe. There's also such beauty from the temple to the inner design of the dreadnaughts. The culture is beautiful but also sitting at a knife's edge.
I enjoyed all the characters and how the developed. The book is ripe with unreliable narrators but their so fascinating! However, there were some things that needed a bit more exploration. The final confrontation in the second to last chapter needed a bit more to it. I didn't quite get the significance of the choice. I also wanted way more lightsaber auxiliaries. The Bandit used a parasol, but her master was mentioned as using a fan--that's one I would have loved seeing in action!
This is an intriguing entry into the Star Wars lore. I hope to see more of these. The characters and plot were engaging, and there were many cool Japanese cultural aspects that were simply fantastic!
fireblend's review
4.0
Hey, turns out if you give authors the liberty to do what they will with Star Wars lore they get to make imaginative, refreshing tales within that framework instead of having to subject themselves and the readers to canon/continuity hell, bad politics and the million other pitfalls Star Wars media is great at falling into.
Mieko Candon's writing is a bit hard to grasp, specially because of the tendency to write with pronouns instead of names for a long time which had me rereading sections in places, but the story she weaves is beautiful, complicated in the best ways, fast-paced and touching. She makes the best of the opportunity she was given and makes a great case for more like it.
Mieko Candon's writing is a bit hard to grasp, specially because of the tendency to write with pronouns instead of names for a long time which had me rereading sections in places, but the story she weaves is beautiful, complicated in the best ways, fast-paced and touching. She makes the best of the opportunity she was given and makes a great case for more like it.
liokamino's review
3.0
A lot of really cool concepts and premises in this book that I genuinely liked. But I couldn’t get over how much it didn’t feel like a Star Wars novel. I did not believe the depiction of the Jedi as supporting the Empire without being in a crisis situation, since in canon it’s pretty clear that Palpatine purposefully manipulated the Jedi into serving the Republic and spent decades doing so. I did not buy that every Jedi was an asshole. I was seriously confused by how often Jedi were bashed, only for their teachings to get put into the mouths of a Sith character paragraphs later. Maybe this narrative works for people who grew up reading EU novels that claimed that the Jedi and the Sith are the same, but for me, I just didn’t buy it, and because so much of the book hangs on that premise, I couldn’t buy into any of it.
Maybe my ranking is harsh, but it’s truly because there was so much I wanted to love in this book because I loved the Visions short. So many character concepts in here were fascinating to me, I loved the depiction of the Japanese tatami and wood and garden interiors of the spaceships, I loved the worldbuilding, I came to enjoy the core crew, but I just couldn’t *suspend disbelief* enough to enjoy it. Three stars for the premise.
Maybe my ranking is harsh, but it’s truly because there was so much I wanted to love in this book because I loved the Visions short. So many character concepts in here were fascinating to me, I loved the depiction of the Japanese tatami and wood and garden interiors of the spaceships, I loved the worldbuilding, I came to enjoy the core crew, but I just couldn’t *suspend disbelief* enough to enjoy it. Three stars for the premise.
kogami87's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75