Review: Star Wars- A New Dawn

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The premiere of Star Wars Rebels is creeping closer by the day.  Advertisements are airing nonstop on Disney XD, and on a routine visit to the Star Wars aisle at Toys R Us, I discovered a variety of Rebels merchandise ranging from masks and Lego sets, to large scale figures and even an alarm clock.  At this point my interest has piqued.  I want to watch Rebels…and I want to watch it now!

Sadly, no amount of wishing it would get here sooner will make Disney air this show any faster.  Fortunately, the Star Wars gods smiled upon me.  While playing Star Wars Commander on my iPad, there was a knock at my door.  And who did I find standing on my doorstep?  The real question dear reader, is WHAT did I find on my doorstep?  It seems an Imperial operative, it may have just been my mailman…but who could know for sure, left a small box on my doorstep.  Inside the box, a Star Wars novel.  But not just any Star Wars novel, this was Star Wars – A New Dawn.

For all intents and purposes, a very important book.  Now you may be asking yourself “And why is this book so important?”  Well, you may recall me telling you that Disney and Lucasfilm had decided to wipe clean the Star Wars Expanded Universe.  That as far as they were concerned, the only material that would be considered canon in the Star Wars Universe would be the existing six films and The Clone Wars animated series.  To that they would add the Rebels animated series, and additional material as they saw fit.  That, is where this book comes in.  Star Wars – A New Dawn is the first book to be released as part of the new canon.  Add to that, A New Dawn focuses on Kanan and Hera, two of the main characters in the Rebels animated series.  Don’t misunderstand, this novel is no kids book.

“For a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights brought peace and order to the Galactic Republic, aided by their connection to the mystical energy field known as the Force.  But they were betrayed—and the entire galaxy has paid the price.  It is the Age of the Empire.

Now Emperor Palpatine, once Chancellor of the Republic and secretly a Sith follower of the dark side of the Force, has brought his own peace and order to the galaxy.  Peace through brutal repression, and order through increasing control of his subjects’ lives.

But even as the Emperor tightens his iron grip, others have begun to question his means and motives.  And still others, whose lives were destroyed by Palpatine’s machinations, lay scattered about the galaxy like unexploded bombs, waiting to go off. . . .”

Kanan, is beautifully introduced and developed within the books pages.  While I understand that this book is aimed at a slightly older audience than the animated series, I can only hope that a fraction of this characters depth makes it’s way into the television series.  Hera’s character isn’t nearly as well explored as Kanan, but she wasn’t the stories focus.  Just the same, she too was well developed.