Star Wars: The Last Order Book Review
“Star Wars: The Last Order” is long and drawn out.
Author Kwame Mbalia makes his Star Wars novel debut with “Star Wars: The Last Order” which is set both before the events of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and after the events of “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” and focuses on the characters of Finn and Jannah. The wraparound story as it were finds a pilot/tea former (Coy Tria) delivering a message to the Resistance only to get swooped up into a mission alongside Finn, Jannah, and the secretive Niila to stop Major Gohl- a dangerous First Order Security Bureau agent. The mission is not quite what it seems though and may tie in to Finn and or Jannah’s past. Mixed in throughout that story are two flashbacks revolving around both Finn and Jannah’s time in the First Order. In Finn;s (AKA FN-2187) flashback, we see him as a Cadet who trains and embarks on a mission with fellow Cadet FO-7155 before getting caught up in a plot involving Major Gohl and storage containers. In Jannah’s flashback (AKA TZ-1719), she is a Squad Leader who is haunted by a violent past conflict known as the Merchant Uprising. She is assigned to various duties involving pirates (Xen Runners), a miners crisis, and blaster shipments.
However one may feel about the sequel trilogy itself, there’s no denying that there is a lot of room for exploration for the characters in that timeline. With “Star Wars: The Last Order,” the concept of learning more about Finn and Jannah proved to be enticing, but unfortunately, the story underwhelms more often than not.
Having previously penned the short story “Fortuna Favors The Blood” in “From A Certain Point Of View: Return Of The Jedi,” Kwame Mbalia makes the move to writing a full-length Star Wars novel. It certainly feels like the work of a first time Star Wars novelist. While the author’s drive to explore Finn and Jannah’s time in the First Order is admirable, it’s constructed in a really dry and drawn out way. The construction of the novel is rather puzzling. The jumping between the 3 time periods with the present and both Finn and Jannah’s past is clunky. The flashbacks ramble on when something shorter and more concise would have sufficed. It felt like the story in the present would have been more compelling, but even that falls apart at the end of the novel with an eye-rolling twist ending. It’s no secret that a lot of fans probably would have liked to have read more adventures of Finn and Jannah post-Skywalker. Yes, Mbalia may have been hamstrung by what he could go into if there are future films with these characters in the works, but a more substantial story would have benefited the book as a whole. Or at least a story that captured the Star Wars feeling more.
On the plus side, there are elements of the flashbacks that do work well. Seeing both Finn and Jannah become disillusioned by the First Order was effective. They were brainwashed into thinking a certain way and that they would be helping the galaxy, but their own messed up experiences and interactions with clearly corrupt First Order officials changed their outlook. It’s also fun (as always) to see familiar faces from the sequel trilogy pop-up. No spoilers as to who appears, but sequel trilogy fans will undoubtedly be happy.
If you love the sequel trilogy, “Star Wars: The Last Order” might be up your alley. If that era of Star Wars is not your thing, this novel will do nothing for you.
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