Category Archives: Reviews

Book Review: Thrawn

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Review via Yodasnews Contributor Jacob Burdis:

Thrawn No Spoiler Review

Simply put, Thrawn is one of the best novels that has been released in Disney’s new series of canon novels. Period. I usually start these reviews with some sort of introduction to the novel and the timing of its release. But this novel was so good that I’m breaking tradition to tell you to read it! Now, onto the review…

Inarguably the loss of Grand Admiral Thrawn was one of the biggest upsets for many die-hard Star Wars fans of Disney’s decision to demote the Star Wars Expanded Universe to non-canon Legends. But when Thrawn appeared in the trailer for Season 3 of Rebels and the canon Thrawn novel was announced, the surge of excitement throughout the fanbase was palpable.  To top it all off, none other than the revered Timothy Zahn, the original creator of the Thrawn character in the Expanded Universe, was given the helm to bring Thrawn into the Star Wars Canon in novel form.

In my opinion, Thrawn may have just become Dos Equis’ new spokesperson as the most interesting alien in the Star Wars Universe. Those familiar with the incredible diversity of species in the Star Wars Universe haven’t missed the fact that there is hardly a species other than Human in the Imperial Ranks. For Thrawn to have risen to the top of the ranks of the Imperial Navy in just a few years, despite his non-humanness, is a story worth telling, and a story worth reading.

The novel begins on a back-world planet on the edges of Wild Space bordering the Unknown Regions. An Imperial crew, investigating a reported disturbance, finds a mysteriously abandoned camp on the planet, which they thought to be uninhabited. Thrawn’s uncanny, Sherlock Holme’s-like mastery of strategy and tactics becomes apparent from this opening scene as he single-handedly infiltrates the Imperial cruiser, earns the respect of the commander and gains an audience with none other but Emperor Palpatine himself. Thus begins his acceleration up the Empire’s ranks.

Surprisingly, the novel also features two additional, unexpected protagonists whose lives become intertwined with Thrawn’s: Eli Vanto and Arihnda Pryce. Eli Vanto is an Imperial cadet from Wild Space who becomes Thrawn’s interpreter, as he is fluent in Thrawn’s native language Sy Bisti. As Vanto shadows Thrawn in his adventures (much like Dr. Watson shadows Sherlock Holmes I might add), he is torn between revering Thrawn and his genius and resenting Thrawn for stunting his own career ambitions. The resolution of Vanto’s dilemma was, for me, one of the most satisfying endings in all of Star Wars Canon.

We first met Arihnda Pryce in Rebels as she was serving as the Governor of Lothal. In addition to Thrawn’s backstory, we also learn how Pryce maneuvered her way from corporate mining into becoming an influential leader of the Empire in the Outer Rim. This was most definitely an unexpected, yet very satisfying origin story as well.

Thrawn also plays a crucial role in the emerging Star Wars story at large. One of the reasons Emperor Palpatine finds Thrawn so valuable to the Empire is his knowledge of navigation routes through the Unknown Regions, and his warning of dangers and evils that lie therein. Certainly this plays into the Emperor’s “contingency plan” that we learned about in the Aftermath series that took the Imperial remnant into the Unknown Regions to later emerge as the First Order in the new Star Wars film trilogy.

I will say it again. I’ve read every canon novel and junior novel released by Disney, and Thrawn ranks among the top. Read it. You will not be disappointed.

Click Here or the image below to pick this up via digital, audio or physical form.  We would like to thank Del Rey/Penguin Random House for providing the review sample.

Book Review: Adventures in Wild Space: The Cold

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Review via Yodasnews Contributor Jacob Burdis:

Adventures in Wild Space: The Cold — No Spoiler Review

The Cold is the 6th and penultimate book in the junior reader series Adventures in Wild Space, originally published in the UK as part of the World Book Day initiative. If you haven’t read the first five books in the series, I highly recommend it. While this review won’t include spoilers for The Cold it may include some for the previous books.

Up until now, poor Milo and Lina Graf, along with their pet Kowakian monkey lizard (same species as Jabba’s annoying pet) and their pieced-together family droid, have seen more than their fair share of adventure. Milo and Lina lived happily with their parents exploring and mapping unknown systems until the Empire kidnapped their parents to steal their maps of Wild Space. Narrowly escaping the imperial abduction, Milo and Lina have been on a mission to get their parents back: evading imperial pursuit, escaping greedy bounty hunters, confronting giant monsters, and swindling underground crime lords. Of course they’ve had some help along the way from some familiar characters: rebel sympathizers Ephraim and Mira Bridger.

The Cold starts with the gang heading out on a routine repair mission for the Bridgers while they wait for new intel about their missing parents. But without telling the others, Lina decides to follow up on a lead on a remote ice moon in Wild Space. The crew yet again gets more than they bargain for and add to their tally of bizarre adventures. But this time the adventure ends with the promise of unlocking information that will finally give Milo and Lina the whereabouts of their long-lost parents.

Even though each of the books in this series is a quick read, they are quite enjoyable. They also do a good job painting a picture of the expanding tyranny of the Empire after Order 66 and before the official formation of the Rebel Alliance. The tie-in with the Rebels TV series is fantastic and rewarding. Also, the implications of the Empire’s desperate pursuit of maps of Wild Space and the Expansion Regions is also quite foretelling, and plays well into the recently concluded Aftermath series. Though it is written for younglings, I recommend this series for Star Wars fans of all ages.

Click here to pick up a copy today!

Book Review: Aftermath: Empire’s End Review

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Review via Yodasnews Contributor Jacob Burdis:

Empire’s End satisfactorily finishes what Chuck Wendig began over two years ago with the Aftermath Trilogy as part of the Journey to the Force Awakens publishing campaign. I was a bit let down by the first book Aftermath, but I loved the second book Life Debt. Empire’s End for me fits right in the middle. The novel does a good job providing closure to our rebellious band led by Norra Wexley and their quest for the Empire’s demise. Overall, the book left me satisfied.

The story begins shortly where Life Debt left off, with Norra Wexley and her battle-hardened crew living up to their reputation of imperial VIP hunters. In the wake of the attack on Chandrila, Norra has a voracious drive to find Rae Sloane and punish her for what she has done both to the New Republic but also to her husband, Brentin. She eventually picks up on Sloane’s trail and closes in for the final confrontation. All the while Sloane and Brenton Wexley have made an unlikely alliance to chase down and punish the puppet master, Gallius Rax, for manipulating them to fit into his sinister plans. And on top of everything, the New Republic works through political subterfuge to locate and destroy the remnant of imperial forces in an effort to eradicate its footprint on the galaxy. All of these pursuits culminate on and around the planet of Jakku in a heart-racing finale that effectively closes the door on one chapter just as it opens the door on a new chapter upon which the new film trilogy is built.

The events in this book were exactly what I was hoping for when I opened the first book in the trilogy. Now after reading the entire story, and learning how the story on Akiva, and later on Kashyyk and Chandrilla paved the way for the culminating events on Jakku, my experience feels complete (which is a feeling I was hoping for but did not get after reading Aftermath).

I’ve complained a bit about the writing style of Wendig in the past, and my complaints mostly remain after reading Empire’s End. The introspection of the characters is mostly shallow and predictable, and far too often ends in a question like, “but he knew that would happen, didn’t he?” Not sure why, but that got old for me real fast. Also, some of the “cameos” are too obvious an attempt to link the novel to the other canon. For example, I caught mention of U-wing transports and TIE strikers that seemed to obvious of an attempt to play off of the new ships in the Rogue One film. Also a few of the characters seemed to lack any significant character development arc. One in particular that may be the most shallow character of any book I’ve read is Jom Barell, the specforce trooper that plays the meathead war jockey stereotype to a “t.”

My absolute favorite part of this book and the series as a whole, however, is the development of Rae Sloane. I’ve been intrigued by Sloane ever since meeting her on her first assignment as Star Destroyer captain in A New Dawn. Sloane is one of those enemies that is easy to root for, not unlike ISB Agent Kallus from the Rebels TV series. Seeing her grow in the imperial ranks with her fervent loyalty to the Empire and her unquestionable belief in its role to bring peace and prosperity to the galaxy is strangely satisfying. The culmination of her story, and her confrontation with Gallius Rax was nothing short of incredible.

Empire’s End does a great job setting the stage for the events in The Force Awakens. It plants the seeds for the birth of the First Order. It also plants the seeds to the political dissent that eventually pushes Leia Organa to have to operate her rogue military operation outside the official jurisdiction of the New Republic. And even though I had a small hope when I started the novel, I’m glad that it didn’t quite answer the big ticket questions like, “Who is Snoke?” and “What happened to Luke?” It answered enough questions to get me along until The Last Jedi later this year. I recommend this book and this series to any Star Wars fan!

Click Here or the image below to pick this up via digital, audio or physical form.  We would like to thank Del Rey/Penguin Random House for providing the review sample.

Book Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

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Review via Yodasnews Contributor Jacob Burdis:

*Spoiler Alert — This post contains spoilers of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story film and novel*

The novelization of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a worthy read for any Star Wars fan. It tells the same story as the film with a level of nuance that enhances the story and enlivens the characters.

The novel follows the same chronology of the film, adding extra detail to many scenes and adding a few new scenes altogether. The dialogue roughly follows the film, with several additions and some minor alterations. One of the novelties in the novel is the addition of supplemental data, which describe conversations between imperial officers and other details that aren’t present in the film, but bring depth to the story, such as the details to Erso’s sabotage, bickering between Krennic and Tarkin, and the inner conflict within the hierarchy of the Rebel Alliance.

I watched the movie many times, and began to get a deep feel for significant, meaningful themes that fill the undercurrent of the story. But reading the novelization brought all of these themes to life in a way only the written word can do. I’ll outline a couple of the main themes that become incredibly evident through the novel.

Hope and Redemption

The theme of hope was abundant in the film, with Cassian’s and Jyn’s recurring line “rebellions are built on hope.” But the novel illuminates deeper meaning on this theme in the story. Each of the main characters undergoes a fundamental transformation, a redemption, because of their budding hope against a tyrannical, seemingly undefeatable threat. Jyn changes from an apathetic vagabond to the rebel hero who ultimately is responsible for securing the plans to the Death Star because of the hope that her father’s message instills in her. Boddhi Rook risks his life to defect to the rebellion in the hope that his message from Galen Erso can lead the rebellion to undo some of the wrongs he facilitated as an imperial cargo pilot on the Death Star project. Cassian Andor transforms from a ruthless assassin to a selfless hero, finding the hope to listen to his heart instead of blindly following orders. Even Baze Malbus rebounds from his perceived failure to protect the temple on Jedha by gaining hope in the mission to protect Jyn as she secures the Death Star plans. The motives and transformations of the characters was especially rewarding to explore in the novel.   

“The strongest stars have hearts of kyber”

This was my favorite line from the film, because of its significance in meaning to the story. This line gained even more significance after reading the novel. Chirrut Îmwe spoke this line to Jyn after sensing the Kyber crystal on her necklace, and sensing her importance to the force. Taken literally, it gives more mystery and respect to the awe-inspiring kyber crystals, as revered as the force itself. Some have claimed that it is a prophecy of the Death Star itself, which is certainly a strong star with a heart of kyber. The deepest meaning for me is referring to Jyn, or “stardust” as her father called her who wears her mother’s kyber crystal on a necklace which hangs near her heart. Chirrut sensed her role in the galaxy and felt compelled to protect her. At one point the novel even depicts one of Jyn’s dreams where her mother tells her this same line, driving home its significance.

For those that want a good story with lots of action, this is a great read. For those who want a deeper dive into the character development of Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, and their band of rebels, this is an excellent read. For those who want to better appreciate the true Star Wars Story about how anyone can overcome impossible odds through hope, this is a must read.

Click Here or the image below to pick this up via digital, audio or physical form.  We would like to thank Del Rey/Penguin Random House for providing the review sample.

Review Of Monopoly: Star Wars Edition

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Monopoly: Star Wars Edition

I have added a new game to my family game night rotation – Monopoly: Star Wars Edition! This game is from Hasbro for 2-4 players ages 8 and up. This version of Monopoly is completely Star Wars themed. During the game play, you can buy, sell and trade 22 iconic Star Wars locations. The games includes a game board, 2 dice, 4 ship tokens, 64 cardboard property markers (16 for each ship), 16 Chance cards, 1 money pack, and game guide. The board itself is an open and play case. All the pieces are stored easily in the center of the game board, this allows for quick and easy set-up and clean-up! You can choose to play as the Millennium Falcon, Tie Fighter, X-Wing or the Star Destroyer.

The game follows most of the traditional Monopoly rules with a few unique additions. There are “use the force” spaces on the board. If you land on one of these special spaces, you then roll one die and then follow the instructions. The player lucky enough to land on one, gets to use one of the special powers – Mind Trick, Force Stealth, Force Levitate, Force Pull, Mind Trick or Force Dash.

In this version of Monopoly, there are no houses or hotels. There are no property cards given when you buy a property, instead there are property markers that are placed in the game board above the property each player owns. The property markers are made of cardboard and the game pieces (the ships) are made of plastic, not metal like in other versions of Monopoly.

I found this version on Monopoly to be good to play with young kids as the game play is faster than a traditional game of Monopoly. The addition of the “use the force” spaces adds some extra fun to the game (if you are the one that lands on the space), but also speeds up the game play.

Monopoly: Star Wars Edition is not “the same old game”. It’s Monopoly! It’s Star Wars! It’s fun!

It retails for around $25. You can buy it from Amazon at this link.