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Star Wars: Rebel Rising Book Review

“Star Wars: Rebel Rising” is a must read.

For those who wanted to know more about the characters of Jyn Erso and Saw Gerrera after seeing “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” you’re in luck as “Star Wars: Rebel Rising” provides a great deal of backstory on these two characters. In this Jyn centric novel, author Beth Revis focuses on two timelines in Jyn’s life. It begins with Jyn in the Imperial detention center in Wobani (where we see her in “Rogue One”). We learn about her rough, brutal, and soul crushing life there before she is eventually broken out by the Rebels. The other timeline focuses on what happens with Jyn leading up to that point in her life after Saw rescues her. Without delving into too many spoilers, you learn about her life with Saw (and without her parents), her loss of innocence, how she becomes a soldier, how Saw abandons her, how she became angry at both the Empire and Rebellion and how Jyn lives and survives on her own. On top of that, the novel also shows how Saw’s character becomes a more hardened, violent, and paranoid person who has his own rogue faction.

As a big fan of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” I was really looking forward to “Rebel Rising” and it certainly did not disappoint in any way shape or form. It’s far and away one of the best novels of the new canon. How and why it isn’t getting more attention from “Star Wars” fans is beyond me. At any rate, the novel really succeeds in feeling like a perfect lead-in and companion piece to the 2016 film. Not only does it provide so much more context to the lives of these characters, but in fills in gaps and questions viewers may have had while watching the film. Once you rewatch “Rogue One” now, you will understand the characters so much more and realize what they have been through. It’s that impactful of a novel.

One element that really surprised me about “Rebel Rising” is how utterly dark it is. Even though it’s technically a YA novel it certainly doesn’t feel like it most of the time. Yes, there’s a small romantic element, but there are several deeply grizzly and tragic moments that show just how ruthless the Empire really is.

Overall Thoughts: “Rebel Rising” is a fantastic character centric “Star Wars” novel that adds so much to “Rogue One.” Hopefully Beth Revis will have the opportunity to write more “Star Wars” fiction in the near future.

June 20, 2017 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | Jyn Erso, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Saw, Star Wars Book, Star Wars: Rebel Rising Book Review