Star War: The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark FULL REVIEW WITH SPOILERS!

 

You've seen every episode, none of this should be spoilers, but just in case SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Star War: The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark was released today. Each story has a character who’s the narrator or the main focus. At the start of each one is a drawing of the main character by Ksenia Zelentsova. There’s a good chance your favorite has one since there are eleven different tales. As Zelentsova’s beautiful cover attests, clones are an important part of this anthology right from the very first story, “Sharing the Same Face” by Jason Fry. However, that one is from Yoda’s point of view.

“Made for war these children were. Made by the millions. Disposable their makers consider them.”

One of the more important issues raised by The Clone Wars are the moral implications of the clones themselves. They were the same shared embryo grown over and over in a rushed fashion that denied them a childhood; just for the purpose of being soldiers in battle. Is it right to consider living beings no different than a battle droid? Yoda doesn’t think so. He makes a point to learn their individual names and point out how different each appears when seen with the Force. This is later contrasted by “The Shadow of Umbara” by Yoon Ha Lee. A different Jedi general, Pong Krell, leads Rex and his brothers. Krell calls each clone by their designation instead of their name and doesn’t care that his command always has the highest mortality rate. When some of the clones carry out insubordination in order to save others, Krell wants them executed. It’s a relief to have him revealed as a Sith. This means that most Jedi are like Yoda, right?

Children taken away at an early age. Maybe they don’t even remember their biological family. Their clothing is identical. The classes are identical. All are working toward the same destiny. It sounds like the First Order, but it’s also Younglings under the Jedi. Yet Yoda spoke highly of children and showed such care to the Clones who reminded him of the younglings, were things really that bad? “Almost a Jedi” by Sarah Beth Durst proves that children in the Jedi temple were raised to be individuals. Her protagonist, Katooni, thinks of Ahsoka as her hero. She’s drawn posters of her and put them on her walls. This simple reveal lets the reader know that Jedi children were allowed leisure and that they made decisions over their quarters. Are there any novels that delve into this more? It would be nice to learn more about the padawans and their lives before being chosen for that role in current canon.

Fry’s story is a rare treat. Despite being one of the most popular characters, Yoda is rarely laid bare in prose despite the possibilities. Here’s a character alive for centuries, but without the moral ambiguities of a vampire.

“Raucous and impatient creatures humans are. And too brief their lives are. End they do just as maturity and wisdom becomes possible.”

It’s these new insights into the characters everyone thinks they know so well that’s the best part of the book. Other stories focus on pacing and curt descriptions by terse characters. It’s fun, but also a disappointment when new information could be so easily inserted. This is the same franchise that revealed that Hux lost favor with the First Order in books related to their newest theme park land. The opening of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was confusing to all but Fortnite users. Greg Grunberg didn’t even know his character was married in the comics and novels. They can’t come up with some little something new about Cad Bane?

“Maybe it was the end of the Republic, maybe she would lose everything else, but she would not lose her soul.”

Padmé Amidala is a personal favorite and the “Pursuit of Peace” by Anne Ursu met expectations. It’s always a pleasure to see her in action, both defending herself and as senator. However, it’s also sad. She fought so hard to protect the galaxy from a fate that now seems inevitable. Then, her daughter followed in her footsteps so completely that she also fruitlessly tried to protect the republic from hostile forces, only to have others finish what she started. Both plans hatched by Palpatine even. So many of their friends died. At least there’s the fun of Ahsoka palling around with Padmé. Did Ahsoka ever realize who Leia really was?

It’s funny how Hondo Ohnaka has evolved from a random villain to anti-hero to person Chewbacca would trust with the Millennium Falcon on Batuu. He’s one of the few characters to be found in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels and novels during the Resistance. He pops up often in these stories from the Clone Wars. Some readers already know that his ship on Batuu is named Katooni, just like the Jedi youngling he once knew. Did he meet her later as a woman? Or did their brief time together in the Clone Wars make that much of an impression. One hopes the answer will be revealed one day.  Other questions remain. Will other anthologies address them? The Mandalorian? The Bad Batch? In the meantime, there are multiple re-reads of Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark at your favorite bookseller or library. It’s worth it.

*”Bug” by E. Anne Convery wasn’t included in preview copy

8.0 out of 10

Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall FULL REVIEW SPOILERS

SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS BIGGER THAN JABBA THE HUTT!!!

Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura, with cover art by Phil Noto, answers many of the questions we’ve been asking since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker or even before. How did Shara Bey die? Why wasn’t Shara Bey’s A-Wing in the final battle? How come Kes Dameron hasn’t been involved like Wedge Antilles? When did Poe learn that “shifty stuff”? Who is Zorii? Does Poe being a Spice Smuggler retcon his time in the New Republic Navy established in Star Wars: Before the Awakening? When will Poe and Finn kiss already? All of these questions are answered in the new book except that last one which continues to only happen in our hearts and imagination.

The fourth moon of Yavin has lush jungles, exotic creatures, and mysterious temples, but even less friends Poe’s own age than Luke had on barren Tatooine. Shara Bey’s A-Wing came with her from the Rebellion. It was where Poe learned how to fly by sitting on his mother’s lap. Now eight years after her untimely death, it’s the only place where he can feel like she’s still around and he’s destroyed it in a crash that should have killed him as well. His almost death isn’t as important as his mother’s A-Wing or his argument with his father over flying. Of course, Kes doesn’t want to lose him the same way he lost Shara. Poe has too much of his mother in him to be a farmer…a gender-bent plot that’s all too familiar to original fans of the series. Lacking an old Jedi Master, Poe heads for the local equivalent of Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina and accidentally agrees to be a pilot for the Spice Runners of Kijimi.

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Amilyn Holdo declared of Poe, “That one’s a trouble-maker. I like him.” She spoke for most of the audience, too. This book gives us the chance to see him progress from that grieving, yearning sixteen-year-old to a wiser, experienced eighteen-year-old. Segura does an excellent job characterizing who Poe was and what made him into the person we know while also incorporating those tidbits that the last film dropped about Zorii and Babu Frik. Zorii could have fallen into a Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope that so many assumed she was with her mysterious gold helmet and scenes that furthered Poe’s backstory more than anything. Segura lifts her above that. She’s just a teenager, about the same age as Poe, with her own motives and her own decisions to make about her future. It’s almost a shame that we already know how it’ll turn out, but it doesn’t kill the suspense of the story. Just to warn you, if you’re looking for romance, this isn’t your book. Go read Star Wars: Lost Stars again. Zorii and Poe kiss, they hug. They kiss. Whether they have sex seems to be ambiguous.

 Kes Dameron may not have that many pages to himself. However, he's a constant presence in the book driving Poe’s actions just as much as Shara even if Poe doesn’t want to admit it. Kes doesn’t often receive the same fandom love as Shara since he’s not a pilot or known for special skills. He’s not even confirmed to be on-screen on Endor with the rest of the Pathfinders like Lucasfilm did with Rex. What Kes does have is tremendous love for his son even if he can’t show it the way Poe wants. It’s a very lovely moment later in the book when they’re reunited again and makes one all the more curious about what happens to him after that and when Poe joins the Resistance. He doesn’t appear to lose his Pathfinder skills or prowess. There are lots of wonderful details to expand on previous canon knowledge of Yavin IV, the Rebellion, the New Republic and these characters. On first reading, they can blend into the story so well as to be overlooked, but less casual fans will to take their time discovering all this new information like what Shara did after the Rebellion, Zorii’s parentage and that Poe once had a fear of droids. It’s been almost three months since I received my Advanced Reader Copy and it’s been hard to keep the spoilers to myself. Well, there’s my mom, but even she has her limit of how much I can discuss Poe being with Zorii compared to Poe being with Finn. Pick up your copy today at any bookseller!

9.5 out of 10

https://books.disney.com/book/poe-dameron-free-fall/

Star Wars The Clone Wars Stories of Light and Dark Review

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark is the latest anthology to be published in that fandom. There’s a long tradition of books reliving classic scenes from the films but seeing them from a different point of view; maybe even a minor character. In July 1995, what’s now known as the Legends canon released Star Wars: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina with assorted stories. Twenty-five years later, Stories of Light and Dark has the distinction of being the first anthology based off a television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Each story comes from a different episode. It’s also aimed towards younger readers, aged 8-12 years old unlike the other adult compilations.

In a proper ice cream store can be an endless number of choices. Sometimes, they might even give away a sample in small spoons. Some ice cream is scrumptious. It must be had in a proper size. Some ice cream isn’t an individual’s personal taste. It’s too sweet, too bitter, too much bits or too little. Stories of Light and Dark feels like those sample servings. The stories are about thirty pages long. Almost half the authors have their own Star Wars book, and all have other works. The short stories are like a sampler for finding which style a reader likes better and who a reader should look for at their bookstore or library.

On one hand, having an anthology with very different authors and styles means a little something for everyone. If one story isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps the next one will be. On the other hand, it can be annoying or jarring to go from a story with depth of character and vivid descriptions to one where the author focused on dialogue and pacing. It can also be a bit hard going from an omniscient narrator to first person. However, this could make the book work well as a book just before night-time, with just one story a night instead of binging it in one go.

One of the stories that stands out the most is “Dark Vengeance” by Rebecca Roanhorse. It’s a tale told by Darth Maul himself. At times, it feels like a ghost story told around a campfire while gorging on s’mores. Creepy word usage, life beyond death, ruined bodies, revenge and “witches” makes for a traditional gothic horror story within its Star Wars confines. It’s a treat to behold. Maybe one day there could be a gothic romance?

Another favorite was “The Lost Nightsister” by Zoraida Córdova. Of course, Córdova has a definite advantage in writing about the Witches of Dathomir and one that’s found herself far from home. Still, the images painted by her words and the emotions captured feel like it’s part of a much larger book than just a short story. Not all the authors treated their contributions the same way.

“Kenobi’s Shadow” by Greg van Eekhout must also be mentioned. Kenobi is forced to question his beliefs and morals in a way he never had before. He feels the pull of the Dark Side. It’s a wonderful character study. Other favorites will have to wait for the spoiler ban to be lifted.

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark contains just about everyone’s favorite character from Anakin to Hondo to Huyang, the droid voiced by David Tennant. For those less familiar with the series, it could cause renewed interest. For others, a re-watch will be needed to see what they missed that the stories have pointed out. It’s a beautiful marriage that’s sure to be followed by the other series, like Star Wars: Rebels. Be sure to pre-order Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark at your favorite book seller before August 25^th!

https://books.disney.com/book/the-clone-wars-stories-of-light-and-dark/