Bloodline—Claudia Gray
5
stars
Coby Cat
The Senate is turning into a political quagmire.
She folded her legs beneath her
on the sofa and began unbraiding her hair, a lengthy process she had always found
calming. And it’s our own fault. After Palpatine, nobody wanted to hand over that
much power again, so we don’t have an executive, only a chancellor with no real
authority. Mon Mothma got things done through sheer charisma, but almost every
chancellor since her has been…
Han finished the sentence for her: Useless.
I wasn't really sold on the setting of the sequel series while watching The Force Awakens and
The Last Jedi. To me it seemed that by the start of the sequel trilogy, the galaxy had pretty
much been brought back to
square one for no good reason.
This book provides that good reason, and so much more.
In the years leading up to the events of The Force Awakens, the New Republic has stagnated. Two
major political parties dominate the senate. For the Populists, heirs of the Rebel Alliance, centralized power
is forever tainted by the dark shadow of the Empire. Increased autonomy of planets combined with scaling back
the fleet has allowed cartels and crimelords to grow between the cracks. Meanwhile, the Centrists who advocate
for centralized government seem to want to bring back a whole lot more of the Empire as well.
Due to senate meddling, senator Leia Organa is forced to bring along a Centrist senator when investigating a
specific cartel. Visiting senator Ransolm Casterfo's office, the tone is already set with his collection of
Imperial militaria.
Spoilers
The moment this book fully hooked me was when after establishing Casterfo as a right-wing politician and a
collector of what, in the Star Wars universe, is basically Nazi militaria, he turns out to be a genuinely
good and likable person. He’s a character I hope to see more of in the future.
Lost Stars—Claudia Gray
4.5
stars
Coby Cat
As the events of the Original Trilogy play out, two star-crossed lovers (hah) from a remote planet find
themselves on opposing sides of the Galactic Civil War. This book was recommended to me as “Romeo &
Juliet in space”, making me rather hesitant to read it. I shouldn't have been. Like Gray's other book
Bloodline, this was a very fun and engaging little book.
Leia, Princess of Alderaan—Claudia Gray
4
stars
Coby Cat
Another great Star Wars novel by Claudia Gray. It's not as essential as Bloodline, or as broad
in scope as
Lost Stars, but it's still a great coming of age story.
Master & Apprentice—Claudia Gray
4
stars
Coby Cat
I'm glad the period right before The Phantom Menace is finally being explored in the new canon,
and I'm especially glad this first foray was handled by Claudia Gray
The main focus of the book is the
bond between Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, which means it provides an excellent foundation for
the first of the prequels.
Queen's Shadow—E.K. Johnston
4
stars
Coby Cat
While I would have preferred to see Claudia Gray tackle this book, mostly to compare and contrast Padmé with
the Leia written in Princess of Alderaan, Johnston still delivered a fairly competent character
study. It also neatly ties in with Princess of Alderaan. The actual plot is perhaps a tad too dull.
