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tagoreketabkhane31's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. Extremely average - subpar actions, no interesting new characters, and very little development or use of main characters, and even Rey and Leia are barely used.
cutsajack's review against another edition
5.0
This one is excellent!
Very thorough and nuanced in putting all of the characters and story-arcs together to create a great tale!
Happy Reading, everybody!
Very thorough and nuanced in putting all of the characters and story-arcs together to create a great tale!
Happy Reading, everybody!
lesserjoke's review
3.0
Although I'll need to see the upcoming movie The Rise of Skywalker to be certain, it sure doesn't feel like anything in this official prequel novel is particularly essential as setup. Its biggest contribution to smoothing the leap from The Last Jedi is probably in working through protagonist Poe Dameron's regret and redemption after his failed mutiny attempt in that previous film. There's also a new timidity to Rey's characterization that may prefigure a shift in her own cinematic role. But plotwise, not very much of galactic importance happens in this book -- which unfortunately makes sense, as Disney can't expect that most audience members will read it.
Yet perhaps more than any other media tie-in I've encountered, the story doesn't feel aimed at traditional fans anyway. Instead, it's a celebration of the off-camera side of this fictional universe itself, drawing in characters from various comic books, video games, and other novels in Disney's new canon to help the Resistance in its darkest hour. For the right sort of consumer, the effect will resemble that of a tentpole Marvel feature, an exciting crossover event bringing together certain popular figures who have only ever shared a continuity by implication before.
The downside, of course, is that if you don't already have a familiarity with all those properties, your reaction to their inclusion will likely be more subdued. This is definitely not a good entrypoint into the franchise literature, and I myself greeted many of the returning names with a shrug. And because no narrative has room for everything, there are certainly many other heroes who could have made an appearance and disappointingly never do. (Sorry, Baby Yoda lovers. No sign of Mandalorians here.)
It's understandably hard to evaluate a text like this that can work in different ways for different readers. But it's a solid adventure with some fun callbacks, even if it's ultimately inconsequential for the blockbuster it's intended to support.
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
Yet perhaps more than any other media tie-in I've encountered, the story doesn't feel aimed at traditional fans anyway. Instead, it's a celebration of the off-camera side of this fictional universe itself, drawing in characters from various comic books, video games, and other novels in Disney's new canon to help the Resistance in its darkest hour. For the right sort of consumer, the effect will resemble that of a tentpole Marvel feature, an exciting crossover event bringing together certain popular figures who have only ever shared a continuity by implication before.
The downside, of course, is that if you don't already have a familiarity with all those properties, your reaction to their inclusion will likely be more subdued. This is definitely not a good entrypoint into the franchise literature, and I myself greeted many of the returning names with a shrug. And because no narrative has room for everything, there are certainly many other heroes who could have made an appearance and disappointingly never do. (Sorry, Baby Yoda lovers. No sign of Mandalorians here.)
It's understandably hard to evaluate a text like this that can work in different ways for different readers. But it's a solid adventure with some fun callbacks, even if it's ultimately inconsequential for the blockbuster it's intended to support.
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
tiedyedude's review
4.0
I can't say it's much of a primer for The Rise of Skywalker, because a lot of the events in TROS are not hinted at at all anywhere, but it is a good examination of the despiration of the Resistance after the Battle of Crait, and, since the Skywalker saga is about the Jedi and Sith, this book does a nice job of highlighting the regular folk.
erinsabourin's review
4.0
A great tie in and filler for the movies. I have a soft spot for Poe so getting to read more about his story and what happened when he crashed was super enjoyable. But if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know what most of this book is about.
starwarrior91's review against another edition
3.0
An inconsequential story that really fails to enhance the experience of watching The Rise of Skywalker. As was the case with all of the “Journey To...” books of the sequel trilogy, the fact that they can’t spoil plot elements means many characters are underserved, and the plots of the novels don’t really impact the films. Here Rey is the best example of this. She basically sits on her hands the entire time and there’s not a hint of her upcoming Jedi training with Leia which would’ve been very interesting. I feel like the author had no access to what JJ and crew were thinking with regards to IX. The greatest strength of the novel was it’s inclusion of characters from other novels, comic series and video games. Seeing those threads connected to the larger story was very welcome and brought more than one smile to my face. Again though it was a bit frustrating knowing that half the point of including these characters was to explain why we don’t see them in the movie. I really felt bad for Norra Wexley and Wedge, who promised to see their son again but we know they won’t now. Now that the saga is complete I hope we will get novels that can really drive the story of this era forward and explain some of the lingering questions left in the wake of TROS.
odin45mp's review
4.0
This was a fun tie in novel. I appreciated that they continued Poe's arc from The Last Jedi. I really liked that. I also appreciated the nods to other Star Wars new EU media, even the ones where I had to go "I think that's a tie in...?" and go check. It shows an appreciation for the whole that I also enjoyed with the old EU.
The plot obviously can't advance too much as it is on the road to Rise of Skywalker, but I enjoyed the journey.
The plot obviously can't advance too much as it is on the road to Rise of Skywalker, but I enjoyed the journey.
alissamk's review
5.0
This was a lot of fun! The stakes were low of course, but that’s to be expected when the story takes place between movies but I do always enjoy a good heist! I really loved the way Rebecca Roanhorse captured Poe’s “voice”. And Teza Nasz was a fantastic new character! Plus this book had a part where Poe gently tied Finn’s tie so how could I give it any less than 5 stars??
plasm4_4's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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