The book also does a good job of showing day-to-day life under the First Order. Leia in this book is so tired but so strong, and her reactions to pieces of her past coming back into play are written with real heart. Leia’s voice as written by Roanhorse is wry and irreverent, evoking Carrie Fisher’s humor and depth of character without ever sounding out of place. Fans of the Leia-centric adventure Bloodline may find Resistance Reborn feels like a return to that Star Warshigh point.
When it comes to movie characters, the focus is on Poe and his controversial (in-universe and on Twitter) moves in The Last Jedi, as well as on Leia. The book is a continuation of the Poe Dameron comic books in a lot of ways, and the interplay between the Black Squadron teammates is also written well. Rey in particular gets intriguing glimpses of characterization here, but they’re just glimpses. Finn and Poe also thoroughly charm, and Zay and Shriv from Battlefront II have energy and pathos. Some of those conversations are lovely: in particular, Rey and Leia have the same kind of endearingly awkward rapport they did in The Force Awakens. It’s clear from the movies the Resistance is in dire stakes, but how exactly that danger is going to present itself in the book isn’t strongly reinforced until we reach the villain’s point of view. The best battle scene comes around the 3/4th mark, and it highlights the lack of momentum in the action elsewhere. Rebecca Roanhorse’s original fiction combines social commentary with brisk story and exciting action scenes, but Resistance Reborn’s story doesn’t allow her to stretch those muscles. Description is sparse but the prose is fine. There are more impressive moments than outright flaws, but the first half fails to create momentum. This isn’t an essential book, nor is it the most tightly plotted of the Star Wars offerings.
Right in the middle of all of that is Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, whose mutiny during The Last Jedi leaves him in an uncertain place. Her plan is four-fold: visit an old political ally on Ryloth steal back captured Resistance ships headed for a First Order scrap yard find some ex-Imperial contacts who have no love for the First Order and rescue political prisoners who could bring the Resistance valuable leadership skills. With the Resistance down to only enough crew members to fit on the Millennium Falcon, General Organa calls for help. As far as Star Wars novels go, this is a thoroughly average one from an accomplished author, and even if I didn’t love this book, I’d love to see more Star Wars from Rebecca Roanhorse. It explains some of what happened after the battle on Crait, while Poe Dameron reckons with his actions during Episode VIII. Star Wars: Resistance Rebornis in a difficult spot: ostensibly filling in the gaps between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker but also constrained by the mystery of the latter.
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