My Star Wars Entertainment Update for October 2025

Hello friends! Lots of things to cover this past month, so let’s get started.

If you missed the past two reviews of my Legends Reading Challenge, here are the links: Deceived, and Red Harvest.

The Final Order, by Kwame Mbalia. I’ve been really looking forward to this book, as I’ve been extremely eager for some post-sequel trilogy stories. In fact, we sequel fans have been starved for stories, and we kept waiting and waiting and waiting…

Well, this book ain’t that.

Not exactly, anyway. It begins mere days after the Battle of Exegol with a young man named Coy, who’d been part of the Citizen’s Fleet. His family grows tea on his home planet, and he was pretty damn well terrified at the battle. But he made it and is proud he took part. He was ready to go home…until a ship arrived full of refugee kids from the First Order, and Finn and Jannah need a ride to find a vicious FO officer named Major Grohl. So Coy finds himself on another adventure.

But the bulk of the book is alternating chapters between Finn and Jannah, flashbacks to their time as stormtroopers. Like, 95% of the book. Which was disappointing. Sure, we get to see Jannah and her troops refuse to fire on civilians on Ansette Island–at the very end of the book. And the whole story of how they got to that point. As well as Finn’s entanglements with Major Grohl. But did I really need these stories? No, not really. Nope.

That’s not to say it’s a bad book. The author did a fine job with what he was given and allowed to write about. But it wasn’t what I expected or wanted, and I’m being grumpy about it, lol. I feel like Lucasfilm/Disney is holding back on sequel-era stories, while The Rise of Skywalker came out six freaking years ago! We’ve gotten plenty of “leading up to” stories, and “between this movie and that movie” stories, but nothing after. It’s frustrating. And yes, the Rey movie, blah blah blah, but who knows if that will even come out? (I hope so). And yes, Starfighter takes place after the sequels, and I’m eager to see what might be going on. But damn, give us some books or comics with Rey, Finn, Poe, etc. after TROS. Please???

Anyway, rant over. The book was fine, and if you want to know more about Finn and Jannah’s experiences as stormtroopers, this is your book; if you’re looking for new, uncharted material, you’ll have to wait.

Comics:

Han Solo: Hunt for the Falcon #2. Han and Chewie continue their search for the Falcon, this time running into the Irving Boys. The only thing I find particularly interesting about these comics are the personal moments, the character-driven moments, Han’s memories of his family, etc. At the beginning of this one, Leia is speaking to Chewie via hologram and warns him not to let Han drag him into one of his schemes. To go back to his family. Also, Han has a memory of himself and Leia with little Ben on the Falcon, and Ben is so excited to be at the controls with his old man. Damn. I imagine the next two issues will involve Unkar Plutt, the Guavian Death Gang and/or Kanjiklub. Stay tuned.

Legacy of Vader #9. Tava Ren fights Kylo Ren, then they have dinner, a little conversation, she kisses him, he recoils and attacks her, she escapes his ship, and though he could shoot her ship down, he lets her go. In a nutshell, lol. Tava fights Kylo, teases him, provokes him, infuriates him. I’m still not sure why she even went there, to be honest. To serve him was a lie, and she admits that. She tells him he misses the freedom of the Knights of Ren, that with the First Order he’s in a cage. She definitely strikes a nerve, but I’m not sure if we’ll see her again or what her end game is. Stay tuned.

Visions 1 & 2 rewatch. With Season 3 of Visions dropping on October 29th, I thought I’d rewatch Seasons 1 & 2. There’s only a few episodes that don’t really resonate with me, but for the most part I love this series. My favorites are “The Duel,” “The Ninth Jedi,” and “The Elder,” from Season 1; almost all the episodes from Season 2 are fantastic but I particularly love “Sith,” “The Bandits of Golak,” and “The Pit.” I can’t wait to see what we get in Season 3–there are sequel episodes to “The Ninth Jedi” (and a series in the works, I hear), and “The Bride.” I love it all so much!

(I’ve since watched S3 and will discuss it a bit more in my next Update).

Book news:

Ooh, new book news! I love that we’re getting some more sequel novels; along with The Last Order (see above), we’re getting this one with Leia and Rey between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Can’t wait! Here’s the blurb:

STAR WARS: LEGACY

By Madeleine Roux

On Sale Date: July 28, 2026

Set between Episodes VIII and IX, Rey and Leia embark on a quest to repair Rey’s lightsaber and rekindle the legacy of the Jedi.

After barely escaping the First Order on Crait, Rey and the Resistance are struggling to rebuild. Her friends need the last Jedi more than ever, but Rey feels alone and overwhelmed. Jedi tradition is built on masters and apprentices, and Rey’s teacher is gone. Leia Organa tries her best to train Rey in the ways of the Force as Luke did for her so many years ago, but Leia’s knowledge is limited, Rey’s lightsaber is broken, and the specter of Kylo Ren and regrets from the past haunt them both. How can Leia pass the torch when she herself is unsure of the way?
But then, the ancient Jedi texts offer a glimmer of hope: a long-forgotten Jedi temple on Tython that might hold the key to repairing Rey’s saber. Rey leaps at the chance to journey there — and to her surprise, so does Leia.
Rey and Leia’s nascent mentorship is put to the test when they discover the temple on Tython is filled with obscure clues to decipher and arcane trials to complete. As they work to unravel the temple’s mysteries, they encounter a group of refugees living in its shadow, hiding from a First Order officer hot on the trail of two freedom fighters in their midst. With the threat of the First Order looming and the secrets of the temple yet to be unlocked, the newly forged master and apprentice must confront their pasts, reach each other in the present, and decide what it means to carry the legacy of the Jedi into the future.

Again, an “in-between” story, but I’ll take it, because I still would like some more insight into Rey and Leia’s relationship.

Eyes Like Stars, by Ashley Poston. There’s always been romance in Star Wars, with some books focusing on it more than others, but this one is being touted as the first “romance novel” in Star Wars. It’s a young adult novel, which makes sense, and I’ll probably read it out of curiosity. It’s also during the sequel era, which is a plus. I’m kind of hoping it leads to more romance novels featuring more familiar characters (Obi-Wan and Satine, anyone? We’re waiting, Disney/Lucasfilm!), but we’ll see. Here’s a little blurb:

What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for August 2025

Hello friends! I hope everyone is doing well and had a great summer. I’ve been busy getting my daughter ready to go back to school (I can’t believe she’s 16!) but as always, I find time for my entertainments.

The Crystal Crown, by Tessa Gratton. This is a Young Adult novel that centers around two Jedi from The Acolyte–Padawans Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar (Yord had become a Jedi Knight by the time of the show) and takes place not long before the events of the show.

At the beginning of the book, the two Jedi don’t get along very well. They don’t actually dislike each other, they just grate on each other’s nerves because they’re so different. Jecki is a bit younger, likes to challenge herself, is friendly with an open mind, and is quite happy to be Master Sol’s Padawan for the time being. Yord, on the other hand, is a bit rigid, a stickler for rules, uncomfortable around other people, and is chomping at the bit to take his trials and become a Jedi Knight (his Master is a Pantoran woman named Elishe, who is very kind and free-spirited, someone who knows how to teach Yord what he needs to know). Jecki and Yord often butt heads and get exasperated with each other.

The Padawans and their Masters are sent to the planet Silene, in part to make amends with its people over a previous Jedi who unwittingly slighted them. The Silinese wish to become a member of the Republic, and the mission is delicate and important to both sides. Everything about Siline is crystalized–the planet itself has many crystal formations, and its people have crystal-like horns and jewels on their faces and bodies; even their bones are made of crystal. They come in many hues, and I surmised that they’re very beautiful and striking. They are warriors, however, and have a warrior-like culture. Every year they hold a coming-of-age event called the Convocation, which is a series of challenges and tests, the winner of which receives the Crystal Crown. Outsiders may participate in the challenge, and the Padawans are invited to take part in it.

Jecki is very excited to participate, while Yord is reluctant and thinks it’s a waste of time. He agrees, however, as their Masters approve of the idea, and the mission seems to require it. They agree not to use their lightsabers or the Force during the Convocation. The challenge is in three parts: the first is a straightforward duel between participants with a Silinese traditional crystal sword; the second is a survival challenge, as the participants are dropped into the wild and must forage for food and water, and survive the attacks of its native creatures, which can be quite dangerous; and the third is the Hunt, in which participants must hunt and tag (but not kill) a particular, dangerous creature. The whole thing used to be to the death, but modern Silinese have downgraded it so no one (and no creature) dies, lol.

Jecki and Yord come to know a trio of young people who are taking part in the challenge: siblings Sitia, the eldest, and Rhos, who is gender-fluid; and Lionine Graf (yes, another young gender-neutral Graf, which seems to be a theme in Gratton’s books. Which is fine, I just find it hard to distinguish between them all and a little predictable). The Grafs have a notorious reputation in the High Republic, and Lio is no exception. They’re a human among the Silinese, has grown up here, and desperately wants to prove that they are one of them. How far they’re willing to go becomes the conflict of the book, and they cause problems, naturally.

Jecki and Yord do well in the challenge; Jecki is having a blast, while Yord is getting through it, lol. They also learn a lot about each other and come to have a respect, and dare I say, a fondness, for each other by the end. They’re not the best of friends, as evidenced by their relationship in the show, but they tolerate each other much better by then.

It’s a fun book, though not what I expected, really. It’s sort of like a Star Wars hunger games, or Survivor. I like these characters, but I kind of wished they were doing something else, lol. And it’s bittersweet, knowing their ultimate fate in the show, and that made me sad. 😦

Comics:

Shattered Empire. I found this omnibus in my local comic store. It takes place at the very end of Return of the Jedi, and the few months thereafter. Mostly, it centers around Poe Dameron’s parents, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron and the part each played at the Battle of Endor. In other issues, Shara helps Leia, along with the Queen of Naboo, when the Emperor’s Operation Cinder kicks in on that planet. She also helps Luke Skywalker retrieve a set of Uneti trees that are being hoarded by the Imperials (why they have them, I’m not sure). After all the dust is settled, Shara and Kes decide to settle on Yavin to raise their son, Poe. I enjoyed this one. I found another omnibus called Out Among the Stars but didn’t realize until later that it was issues 33-37 or some crazy thing. It’ll just stay on my shelf for now.

Hyperspace Stories: Codebreaker #3. Speaking of Poe Dameron, I’m continuing this current comic featuring him helping a Muun girl, Cheka, escape the First Order. They were using her as a codebreaker, and Poe wasn’t aware it was a girl rather than some machine, but now that he’s come to know her sad story, he rethinks bringing her back to the Resistance to work for them. He just wants her to be able to be a kid. I’m enjoying this comic, as I always find Poe entertaining and likeable.

Other books:

Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy. My book club decided to start up again, and we picked this book to read. It was one of my suggestions, as I like this author–I read Once There Were Wolves a few months ago and loved it. Her style seems to be rooted in writing about the natural world, with a traumatized woman with a secret or a dark past as the protagonist, lol. It works for me, though: the environment is a character in itself, and mirrors the violence and churning emotions of the characters in the story.

This one takes place on a remote island in the Antarctic, where a seed vault is protected by a group of researchers. The main protagonist, Rowan, washes up on shore, badly injured but alive, and a family finds her and nurses her back to health. The family consists of father Dominic Salt, daughter Fen, and sons Raff and Orly. Both Rowan and the Salts have their secrets, and it’s the slow unraveling of these secrets that lures you into the story and keeps you there.

That’s about it this month. I’ve been continuing my rewatch of Enterprise, as well as Lost, both of which are shows I loved more than twenty years ago, so I must be feeling nostalgic, lol. It’s funny, because the story I’ve dredged up to work on was begun by me about eighteen years ago (!!!) and was left unfinished in the archives to collect dust. But something brought me back and I’ve revived it, changed it around a bit, and have been slowly working on it these past few months. It’s been fun.

Anyway, what’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Update for April 2025

Hello friends! I’m a bit late with the update, but I wanted to wait until Andor was finished so I could comment on the show as a whole. But now I have so many thoughts I think I’ll do a separate post on Andor, so stay tuned. Until then:

Into the Light, by Claudia Gray. This is the final YA novel of the High Republic series, and Claudia Gray got a chance to focus on Reath Silas, the character she began with in Into the Dark. Reath has grown up quite a bit since his debut as a Padawan, and now as a Knight is leading a mission to Kashyyyk to investigate the Blight. Unfortunately, a patch of the force-eating blight has been found on the Wookiees’ home world, and since Reath has been involved in trying to find a way to eradicate it, he brings a team that includes Avon Starros, two Wookie Jedi–Burryaga and Kelnacca (from the Acolyte)–a Padawan named Amadeo, and Reath’s former Master, Cohmac.

Infiltrating the group is Nan, a Nihil member Reath met in Into the Dark, who now claims she has left the Nihil and wants to help the Jedi find renegade Nihil scientist Dr. Mkampa, who has also gone to Kashyyk for her own nefarious purposes. Also along for the ride is Azlin Rell, the former Jedi from the second phase of the High Republic who has fallen to the dark side. He’s no Sith, of course; he’s just been consumed by the dark side since a run-in with a Nameless. He’s been around for over a hundred years, his life sustained by the dark side, and he’s, well, a little crazy, lol. But Reath seems to think he can be of some help.

In trying to fight the Blight and Dr. Mkampa, the group discover a deeply-held Wookie secret: the white wroshyr tree grove that has held back a dark-side object for millennia. It turns out to be a Stormseed, which spreads the dark side to everything around it, and the trees have used all of their Light in the Force to hold it back. The Stormseed is also the object that Dr. Mkampa has been looking for.

All of these elements come into play in the climax of the book, and while I don’t think this is one of the best books to come out of the High Republic, I’ve always loved Reath and enjoyed it immensely.

Other books I’ve read this past month:

The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon. For the sake of getting this darned post out, I’m going to just put some Amazon blurbs about these books here:

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

The Mercies, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

After the men in an Arctic Norwegian town are wiped out, the women must survive a sinister threat in this “perfectly told” 1600s parable of “a world gone mad” (Adriana Trigiani).

Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on the craggy coast, watching the sea break into a sudden and reckless storm. Forty fishermen, including her brother and father, are drowned and left broken on the rocks below. With the menfolk wiped out, the women of the tiny Arctic town of Vardø must fend for themselves.

Three years later, a stranger arrives on their shore. Absalom Cornet comes from Scotland, where he burned witches in the northern isles. He brings with him his young Norwegian wife, Ursa, who is both heady with her husband’s authority and terrified by it. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa sees something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place untouched by God, and flooded with a mighty evil.

As Maren and Ursa are drawn to one another in ways that surprise them both, the island begins to close in on them, with Absalom’s iron rule threatening Vardø’s very existence. Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm and the 1621 witch trials, The Mercies is a story of love, evil, and obsession, set at the edge of civilization.

Both of these were excellent books and inspired by real events. Highly recommended if you like historical and/or women’s fiction.

Announcements: Between Celebration Japan and May the Fourth, we got a few exciting announcements for future projects.

As far as movies go (besides the ones we already know about, like The Mandalorian and Grogu and the Rey movie, etc.), there’s one in the works called Starfighter with Ryan Gosling starring. Sounds like it might be a pilot movie that replaces Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron idea that was announced a few years ago. Anyway, with Ryan Gosling on board, I’m in.

We’ve all been waiting for a new animated series, and now we’re going to get Maul: Shadow Lord. Not really what I was expecting or wanting, but okay. I think it starts shortly after the Empire takes over, but I’m really interested in his dealings with Crimson Dawn and Q’ira, how he got to Malachor, later stuff like that. Hopefully we’ll get some answers. Even though I’m not super-excited, I’ve learned to wait and see and be prepared to love it. When The Bad Batch was announced, I thought “Them? Why?” Same with Andor. And I’ve come to love both of them and believe that they’re some of the best Star Wars out there.

Also announced was Season 3 of Visions, coming out in October. I’ve really enjoyed Visions and am looking forward to another season. Visions is fun because creators can play around with Star Wars and follow their own, well, visions of what it could without worrying about “canon” and all that. With both Seasons 1 and 2, there are some episodes that I absolutely loved, and some that didn’t resonate with me all that much. And that’s all right; it’s just interesting to see what these anime creators come up with.

As far as books go, we’ve got two new announcements:

The Last Order, by Kwame Mbalia (no cover yet), which comes out in October 2025, is a post-sequel book (finally!) with Finn and Jannah. Apparently, they come across some kids who had been kidnapped by the First Order, which I imagine triggers memories of their own childhood and time as stormtroopers. I’m looking forward to this one, as I’ve been starved for post-sequel material.

The other book is Master of Evil, which I believe focuses on Vader and his pursuit of the dark arts that bring back the dead (he presumably has Padme in mind). I feel like there’s so much Vader stuff out there, why do we need this, but okay, I’ll check it out. It’s by Adam Christopher, who wrote the excellent Shadow of the Sith, so I have hope that I’ll like it indeed. It comes out in November of 2025.

So here’s my latest Star Wars drawings (All Andor characters, as I’ve been watching and loving the show):

I’m pretty happy with Dedra here, despite her weird neck roll, lol.

Bix came out all right, even though the eye on the right is a bit wonky.

This is my favorite of the bunch. And one of my favorite characters. (I spelled his name wrong, though, lol).

Syril didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped.

I think Kino Loy came out well. I’m getting better at beards!

I’ve got more Andor character drawings in the works, and I’ll share them with you next month.

So what’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

I rank the Star Wars books that came out in 2023

Since I’m on a roll with ranking Star Wars content, I thought I’d give my highly subjective ranking of the Star Wars novels that came out in 2023. From most to least favorite, here’s my list:

The Eye of Darkness, by George Mann. It was a close contest between this one and Rise of the Red Blade, but this one was more anticipated by me and didn’t disappoint. It begins Phase 3 of the High Republic, getting back to many beloved characters from Phase 1 after the destruction of Starlight Beacon. Marchion Ro has erected a “Stormwall” around a section of the galaxy that is called The Occlusion Zone. This area is inaccessible to the rest of the galaxy, trapping many worlds behind it, along with many Jedi and Padawans. These Jedi, among them Avar Kriss and Porter Engle, are trying to help those trapped under Marchion’s rule, as well as finding a way through the Stormwall; on the other side, the Jedi, particularly Elzar Mann and Bell Zettifar, and the Republic are trying to find a way through as well. I loved every minute of it.

Rise of the Red Blade, by Delilah Dawson. Delilah Dawson is one of my favorite Star Wars authors. In her own words, she loves to write about “violent women,” lol. She wrote about Phasma’s origins in Phasma, and the Resistance spy Vi Moradi in Black Spire, which I greatly enjoyed. This one tells the story of Iskat Ikaris, a Jedi Padawan who, after Order 66, becomes an Inquisitor. Most of the book chronicles her experiences in the Jedi Order and how they, let’s say “mishandled,” Iskat and her dark side tendencies. We spend most of the book witnessing her frustration at being held back and not allowed to use her strengths in the Force. She seems to be made for battle, and her skills are extraordinary. But the Jedi are keeping secrets from her, and Iskat feels alienated and angry. We come to sympathize with her, while at the same time dreading her descent into the dark, which of course we know is coming. Very compelling story of a woman caught between worlds.

Cataclysm, by Alyssa Wong. This is an adult novel of Phase 2 of the High Republic and was a stronger installment for me than its predecessor, Convergence. It highlights the renewed violence between the two planets Eiram and E’ronoh, and the part played by the Path of the Open Hand in the war. But the main character arc is that of Axel Greylark, the disgraced son of the Chancellor, who is approached by Jedi Knight Gella Natai for help in the conflict. Axel must ultimately decide if he wants to truly help the Republic (represented by Gella, who he’s developed feelings for, and his mother, the Chancellor) or remain a part of the Path of the Open Hand–and the supposed “freedom” the group offers from the weight of his past and family name.

Path of Vengeance, by Cavan Scott. This is the companion Young Adult novel to Cataclysm, and here we get to see more closely the machinations of the Path of the Open Hand through its mysterious leader the Mother, as well as what happens with Marda and Yanna Ro, ancestors of Marchion Ro of the villainous Nihil. We see the Battle of Dalna from multiple viewpoints, both Jedi and Path members, and witness the Mother’s unleashing of the terrifying Nameless–creatures that can turn Force-users into ash. Marda’s story, in particular, is of interest, as it’s she who sows the seeds of the future Nihil. Her path from sweet, gentle believer in the Path to a cold, ruthless leader is chilling.

The Battle of Jedha (Script), by George Mann. I’m generally not into audiobooks. I know some people love them, but I have to read a book rather than listen to it to fully absorb its story. I’d much rather read the script than listen to it, and that’s what I did with the Battle of Jedha, since I didn’t want to miss the story it tells. Representatives from the warring planets of Eiram and E’ronoh have gathered on Jedha to sign a peace treaty, but it’s sabotaged by the Path of the Open Hand with an explosion. The two enemies blame each other, and their forces begin fighting in the streets. To add to the confusion, a Nameless creature has escaped and is destroying many Force-users present in the Holy City. Jedi Master Creighton Sun and Jedi Knight Aida Forte, with the help of the Guardians of the Whills, try to stop the battling armies as well as investigate who caused the explosion in the first place. This is my first audiobook script, and I enjoyed reading it; it’s like reading the script of a play, that’s all.

Tales of Light and Life, by various authors. This is a book of short stories taking place in the High Republic. Some occur during Phase 2, and some are “prequels,” of sorts, to Phase 3. I liked all of them, though some were better than others. The most important, from a plot standpoint, is “After the Fall,” by Claudia Gray, which tells a story about Bell Zettifar soon after the fall of Starlight Beacon in Phase 3, and which reveals the fate of the Wookiee Jedi Burryaga. My favorite story, though, is “A Closed Fist Has No Claws,” by Tessa Gratton, which is about what Mardo Ro is up to after the events of Phase 2, and how she sets the remnants of the Path toward their destiny as the Nihil.

Crimson Climb, by E.K. Johnston. This book is about Q’ira from the movie Solo: A Star Wars Story. I wrote about it here in one of my Updates if you’d like to read it, but basically, it’s about what happens to Q’ira after Han escapes from Corellia, but she doesn’t. It chronicles her rise through the Crimson Dawn ranks and how she becomes Dryden Vos’ lieutenant. I enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t as if I tore through it eagerly. I do think it might be the first part of a trilogy, which would be great and I’d be here for. Despite all the stories of Q’ira taking place in the comic world, I think there’s more room for her in novels, as well.

Quest for Planet X, by Tessa Gratton. The middle-grade books of the High Republic have been consistently good, nearly on par with at least the young adult entries. This one is pretty good, but not one of my favorites. It takes place during Phase 2 concurrently with the young adult book Path of Vengeance; as is often the case, it focuses on some Jedi Padawans or other young people and their stories. This one stars Jedi Padawan Rooper Natani; Skye Graf, a young member of the powerful Graf prospecting family; and Dass Leffbruck, the son of an independent prospector. Dass and Sky recruit Rooper to help them on a race between the Grafs and the San Tekkas to chart new hyperspace lanes; however, their real mission is to find the mysterious Planet X (where, incidentally, the Nameless creatures are from). However, they run into some members of The Path of the Open Hand and must decide if they’re going to help the Jedi during their fight on Dalna.

Jedi: Battle Scars, by Sam Maggs. This one excited me at first; I’m not a gamer, and so felt like I was missing out on some important Star Wars lore with Cal Kestis and his crew. I so badly wanted a novel with these characters, so I, too, could participate in their coolness, lol. But this book falls short of what I was hoping for. It wasn’t terrible; it just wasn’t that great. The romance between Merrin and the female Imperial deserter was cringe-worthy at best. I’m all for romance in Star Wars, but this was like really bad fan-fiction (and I’ve written fan-fiction, lol). The rest of the plot was fine, I suppose, but I guess I was hoping for more characterization of the main characters, probably because I don’t play the games and didn’t really know them that well. Cere, in particular, really interested me, but I was left wanting. Very much my least favorite book of the year.

So these were the Star Wars novels that came out in 2023 and my thoughts on them. Did you read any of these books? Which was your favorite? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Star Wars Update: Some Reading, Some Writing

As always, the Star Wars reading continues. Here are the books I’ve been diving into:

Star Wars Rebel Force Book 4: Firefight, by Alex Wheeler. This is a continuation of the junior novel series I started a while ago and which has been surprisingly entertaining. This outing takes us to Kamino, which I thought was really neat, considering all the Bad Batch I’ve been rewatching. So we know what happens to Kamino in Canon, but this is a Legends series, and here Kamino hasn’t been destroyed by the Empire, but simply abandoned. Luke, Han, Chewie and Artoo are sent there to investigate why the Empire abandoned it and any weapons that may have been created there; but are ambushed in orbit by a group of assassins hired by X-7 to kill Luke. Han, Luke and Chewie crash land, as well as a few of the assassins, but only one named Div survives. They end up having to help each other to get out of the creepy, abandoned city that is overrun by mutant sea creatures the Kaminoans created. A lone Kaminoan scientist, who has gone insane by this time, still runs his “experiments” and calls in the Imperials to take care of the intruders. Turns out Div is a former Jedi, but after Order 66 turned to mercenary work. After working together to escape Kamino, Luke and Han consider him a friend, but want him to tell them who hired him to kill Luke (although they already suspect it’s X-7) and where to find him, but Div refuses to divulge that information, presumably because it’s “bad for business.” I can’t decide if I like Div or not, lol. They reluctantly keep him prisoner on Yavin 4 at the end of the story, hoping he’ll spill the beans. This was a fun read, with sea monsters that can swallow you whole and then regurgitate you back up to eat later; and flying dinosaur birds that our characters get to ride over the stormy Kaminoan ocean. Cool!

Star Wars Rebel Forces Book 5: Trapped, by Alex Wheeler. The fifth installment of the series that I just started and am currently reading. Div escapes Yavin 4, and our characters set out after him. Stay tuned.

Force Collector, by Kevin Shinick. This is a reread between the latest canon releases (waiting for Rise of the Red Blade in July). I really enjoyed it when I read it a couple of years ago, and thought it would be fun to read again. It takes place in the sequel era, just before The Force Awakens, and is about a teenage boy named Karr who has a strange ability: psychometry, which is a Force ability wherein you touch an object and get flashes of things and people and events that object has “seen.” This is an ability that the Jedi Quinlan Voss and Cal Kestis possess. At this point in history, not much is known about the Jedi, and most people don’t even believe they existed. But Karr’s grandmother insists that Karr has the Force, and though she doesn’t possess the Force herself, she takes it upon herself to teach Karr what she knows, which admittedly is very little. But Karr is determined to use his ability to find out more about the Jedi and how to become one himself. With the help of his new friend, Maize (the daughter of a First Order officer), they traverse the galaxy in her father’s shuttle, following clues and piecing together the story of the Jedi. It’s not a real deep story, but it’s super fun seeing the Jedi through the eyes of a young person who knows very little about them but wants to penetrate the myth.

Shatterpoint, by Mathew Stover. This is a Legends book about Mace Windu that I was hoping to get into and see Mace in a new light. I never really liked him in the films, but in books you get a chance to see more of a character’s personality, and I wanted to give him another chance, lol. But I only got about 40 pages in and got bored. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good story, I just don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to read it. I put it on my “Hopefully I’ll get back to reading this one day” pile, which includes Tarkin, Thrawn, Ronin, and Revan.

Other than reading, I’ve been writing some Star Wars fan fiction, this time about The Bad Batch. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit obsessed with this show and these characters, and I wasn’t ready to let them go yet. So it’s been really fun spending more time with them in my own story. Not sure if I’m going to share it, either here or on a fan fiction site; I might just be writing it for myself. But if you see fewer blog posts from me, it’s because I’m spending more time with Clone Force 99, lol.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. What Star Warsy things have you been doing? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

High Republic Wednesday: Midnight Horizon Review

Daniel Jose Older’s YA novel Midnight Horizon is the third, and last YA offering in the first phase of the High Republic books, and it was an enjoyable read. It takes place just before and during the events of The Fallen Star, the adult novel by Claudia Gray that tells of the Nihil attack and destruction of Starlight Beacon.

The Nihil are also causing problems on Corellia (Han Solo’s home planet); while the marauders have long plagued the Outer Rim, most of the Inner Rim is complacent that they wouldn’t dare attack a Core world. They also believe that the Jedi and Republic forces have hunted down and destroyed most of the Nihil and that they’re not that big a problem anymore. Oh, how wrong they are.

Corellia is famous for its shipyards, and it makes sense that the Nihil would want to attempt to steal some ships for their own nefarious purposes. Their plan is surprisingly sophisticated, but it’s interrupted by a group of young people that include Jedi Padawans Reath Silas and Ram Jamoram (and their masters, Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy), and a young native with pink hair named Crash who runs a protection agency.

Most of the book is a slow burn of character development and setting up of events that lead to a huge, rather exciting climax in the last part of the book. I will admit that I wasn’t particularly wowed by the first part of the book, and Crash was not a character I found interesting in any way. I’m a little tired of brilliant adolescents who vacillate between teen angst and impossible feats of valor and wisdom. But that’s YA for you–I’m not the ideal reader.

The Jedi, of course, are exceptions to this very biased opinion of mine, lol. Reath Silas is my favorite High Republic Padawan, precisely because he originally was the bookish, studious type who, while quite skilled with the lightsaber, hoped that he never had to use it. He didn’t want adventures. He wanted to live in the Jedi Archives. And I could totally relate. But, over the course of several YA novels, he’s been forced into living a life of war with the Nihil, and it’s rather poignant to see him struggling with that transition. And I love seeing him mentor the younger Padawan Ram, who is also struggling with the transition. He just wants to tinker with machines.

Mostly I preferred the scenes with the older Jedi, Cohmac and Kantam. Until the very end of the book, they took a backseat to the younger characters, but they, too, had their own emotional struggles to deal with. Since Into the Dark, Cohmac has struggled with his emotions and the Jedi Order’s stance on how to deal with them (though the High Republic Jedi are still much more open with attachment and emotions than the prequel Jedi). Kantam Sy (a non-binary character) had even left the Order for a time when they were young, to explore their burgeoning need to explore life outside of the Jedi. They tell this story to Cohmac during some of their down times.

All the Jedi, Masters and Padawans alike, struggle with their emotions and their attachments to each other and others, as the story unfolds. Especially as they find out what’s happening to Starlight Beacon; they worry for their friends and struggle with rage against the Nihil.

Even Crash, who lost a good friend at the beginning of the book, struggles with attachment–she decides to distance herself from her other friends in order to prevent being hurt again in that way.

The end of the book was inarguably the best part, as it climaxes into a battle between the Jedi and their allies and the Nihil in the shipyards. And we get a surprise appearance from a familiar green friend, who has also figured into some of Kantam’s memories in the book.

In the end, this was a pretty good book, but I do prefer Claudia Gray’s Into the Dark, as far as YA High Republic novels go. I do like how we get to know Corellia a bit more during the High Republic, its politics and inner workings (and we get to see the Grindalids, the White Worm gangs that rule the sewers and underground passageways that we see in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the book Most Wanted). And I finally got to see some of the characters from the comics, like Lula Talisola, Zeen Mrala, Krix, and others that Older created for his High Republic Adventures comics.

I would give Midnight Horizon 3.5 out of 5 lightsabers.

Have you read Midnight Horizon? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

High Republic Wednesday: The Fallen Star Review

(There may be some spoilers for The Fallen Star in this post).

by Claudia Gray, PRINT ISBN: 9780593355398 E-TEXT ISBN: 9780593355404

The Fallen Star, by Claudia Gray, is the third adult book in Phase One of The High Republic series, and it does a great job of wrapping up the “beginning of the end” of the the Jedi and The Republic at their very best.

This trilogy has shown the rise of the Nihil, a group of anarchist mauraders who take what they want, when they want, without regard to the lives of others. In Light of the Jedi, the Nihil cause the Great Disaster; in The Rising Storm, they attack the Republic Fair on Valo; and in this book, they insidiously attack the star of Chancellor Lina Soh’s Great Works, Starlight Beacon. Meant to be a light in the darkness of space across the Outer Rim, the state-of-the-art space station is home to a Jedi contingent, an advanced medical bay, and a place of refuge for people who need help.

Once again, the Republic and the Jedi believe the Nihil threat is nearly over, but they are wrong. They have no idea the Eye of the Nihil, their leader, is Marchion Ro, who has worked in the shadows, and who has sent a secret group of followers to the station to incapacitate it. They’ve also smuggled a creature onboard that somehow affects a Jedi’s connection to the Force. So when things start to go wrong, the Jedi are weakened.

Padawan Burryaga helps during the crisis.

Jedi Master Stellan Gios has stepped in as Marshall while Avar Kriss is on a mission to find Lourna Dee, who the Jedi believe is the Nihil leader. Elzar Mann, his good friend and fellow Jedi Master, has joined following a sabbatical after struggling with the dark side in the previous book. Elzar is accompanied by Orla Jareni, a Jedi who has become a Wayseeker, or one who explores the Force on their own, outside of the Order. Also on the station are Jedi Master Nib Assek and her Padawan, the Wookiee Burryaga, Jedi Master Indeera Stokes and her Padawan Bell Zettifar (along with his charhound, Ember, of course), and a Jedi we haven’t seen yet, Regald Coll (who happens to think he’s hilarious).

Also on board are pilots Affie Hollow, Leox Gyasi, and Geode from the Vessel (all were in Gray’s YA book Into the Dark); Nihil collaborators Chancey Yarrow and Nan, who were brought on board as prisoners; as well as several other pilots who happened to be on the station when things start to go wrong.

The Nihil saboteurs manage to sneak on board, cut communications, disable the escape pods and just about everything else; then blow up part of the station which causes them to move into the pull of the planet Eiram’s gravity (the station had been on a mission to help the planet after a devastating storm). So basically Starlight will eventually fall into the planet’s atmosphere and plummet to the surface, presumably killing all on board and a good portion of a coastal city on Eiram.

Orla Jareni and her white double lightsaber.

The Jedi begin a problem-solving mission, but their efforts are sabotaged by the mysterious creature that is roaming the station–one that instills crippling fear and paralysis in any Jedi who comes near, blocks their access to the Force, and that will literally suck the life out of them, reducing them to dry husks if they don’t get away. Several Jedi fall prey to this creature, whose description is deliberately vague, from the disoriented and terrified Jedi’s point of view.

The entire story takes place on the station (except for the few brief scenes with Marchion Ro on his ship), which leads to a kind of claustrophobic feeling, a feeling of urgency and anxiety.

The most interesting character arc in the book for me is Stellan’s–Stellan is a picture-perfect Jedi, the poster boy for the Jedi Order and the face of the Jedi for the Republic. Now, he’s cut off not only from the Order but from the Force itself, and Stellan is having an identity crisis. He doesn’t know who he is outside of the Order or without his connection to the Force, and it seriously affects his confidence. The very name of the book, in my opinion, not only refers to Starlight Beacon, but to Stellan himself. His friends, Elzar and Avar, had always referred to him as their “polestar,” a moral compass for them both. But now Stellan barely knows which way is up, lol.

Elzar, too, struggles in this story. When he is on retreat with Orla, he comes to realize his descent into dark-side emotions is a result of his denial of his feelings for Avar. Interestingly, I think Elzar is a foil to Anakin. Anakin struggles with similar emotions, and I think he would have done much better during the High Republic. First of all, when Elzar recognizes the dark side in his emotions and actions, he goes straight to his friends, confident that they will help him. And they do. He gets support, love, tears and hugs, special retreats. He’s taught to deal with these emotions, not bury them, not deny them. It’s a different situation, but I can’t help but think of Anakin’s mishandling when I read about Elzar.

Anyway, Elzar has decided to back off from the Force for awhile until he feels confident he’s dealt with these things properly, and as a result, doesn’t initially feel the disorientation the other Jedi feel on the station. This forces him to step up and become a leader when Stellan is out of commission, something he’s never felt comfortable with, and does a fine job. But Elzar isn’t completely out of the dark side woods yet.

I wish Avar were more a part of this story, but she’s been featured mostly in the comics, so even though she arrives on the station at some point, her part in this story is told in a comic. This frustrates me a bit–I want more of her, and of other characters that have been exclusively in the comics, like Keeve Trennis and Skkeer, but I can barely keep up with the books, never mind the comics (financially anyway, lol). I’m hoping for an omnibus of the High Republic comics soon, so I can get it all in one place, at once.

But that’s a minor complaint. It’s an excellent book, and ends this phase in a dramatic and foreboding way. I’m sad that we won’t see these characters again for awhile, as Phase Two is going even further back in time, to 150 years before this story. I’m disappointed about that, but have faith that the writers know what they’re doing. At least the next book in this wave is a YA book called Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older, and focuses on Jedi I got to know in Gray’s Into the Dark, Master Cohmac Vitus and Padawan Reath Silas.

I would give The Fallen Star 4.5 out of 5 lightsabers.

Have you read The Fallen Star? What did you think? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

The Star Wars Reader Podcast: Most Wanted

The latest on the podcast:

A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Catalyst-A Rogue One Novel

Here’s my latest podcast:

If you’d like to check out my other episodes, go here: https://anchor.fm/tina-williams6

A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Bloodline

So here’s the podcast I’ve been yapping about lately. It’s short and sweet, basically just me reading off a tweaked hard copy of my review that I posted on The Star Wars Reader. I’m hoping to get better and a little more interesting as I go along, lol. Somehow.

What do you think? Any advice for a newbie podcaster? Be honest, I can take it, lol.

Tag: Book Reviews

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for October 2025

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for August 2025

My Entertainment Update for April 2025

I rank the Star Wars books that came out in 2023

My Star Wars Update: Some Reading, Some Writing

High Republic Wednesday: Midnight Horizon Review

High Republic Wednesday: The Fallen Star Review

The Star Wars Reader Podcast: Most Wanted

Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader

A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Catalyst-A Rogue One Novel

Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader

A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Bloodline

Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader