A few weeks ago I wrote a piece talking about the upcoming book Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston. I focused on what I expected the book would cover and what I hoped it would shed light on. Well, I just recently finished the tale of the tagruta and now I’m ready to talk about it.
I am going to keep this somewhat spoiler free, but I will be talking about various aspects of the plot. So if you want to read the book with a fresh perspective, you may want to stop reading this post now.
Are you still with me? Good, let’s get started.
The Story
Ahsoka takes place shortly after the events of Order 66. Ahsoka Tano moves from planet to planet trying to keep a low profile. Any time she gets too close to the locals or the empire moves next door, Ahsoka hits the skids. The story starts off with this very scenario.
Ahsoka has been working as a mechanic on an out of the way planet for a less-than-legit shipping magnate, the Fardis. The Fardi family have grown fond of Ahsoka, or as she is known on this planet, Ashla. But on the anniversary of the formation of the Galactic Empire, stormtroopers arrive on this new planet, and Ahsoka plans to leave.
Before she does, she notices that the youngest daughter of the Fardi clan is one with the force. Not knowing what to do, the former Jedi leaves the young girl, without guidance, and without protection. No matter what she does, Ahsoka can’t seem to shake the Jedi life.
Eventually, Ahsoka finds a backwater moon where she can set up shop and keep a low profile. But, as it tends to happen, the Empire shows up and all hell breaks loose.
The story seems to jump back and forth between these two planets. While the story is mostly told from Ahsoka’s perspective, we do occasionally get a POV from other characters. The main story focuses on Ahsoka’s predicament, but there are enough flashbacks that help bridge the gap between the events in the Clone Wars and Rebels.
Initial Reaction
My initial reaction to the book is a simple one: If you liked Ahsoka from the cartoons, then this is a good read. If you don’t know who Ahsoka is and don’t really care about her backstory, then you may want to skip this one.
Like most Star Wars canon, this book was a quick read. Since this book is classified as Young Adult, the story is easy to consume and the language simple to understand. And for those of you who dismiss this story simply because it falls into the Young Adult classification, I must caution you; Lost Stars was a Star Wars Young Adult novel, and it was amazing!
This is not to say that there aren’t problems with the story. We are introduced to an imperial contractor that gets a lot of screen time in the story but doesn’t ever seem to do anything. Maybe he is being set up for something in another story, but he seemed unneeded in this one.
Additionally, the final fight between Ahsoka and the antagonist, I won’t reveal who that is because it’s pretty awesome, was anti-climactic at best. Johnston was focused on a different aspect of the story during the fight, so maybe that’s why it seemed weaker than it could be.
There were some serious questions that were answered about Ahsoka’s whereabouts after she left the Jedi Order. We also begin to see how Rex escapes the 501st. The story even seems to tie into the canonical comic Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir. But one of the coolest bits of information we got in this novel was the new explanation as to how a lightsaber gets its color.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I give Ahsoka a 4/5 stars. If you loved Ahsoka in the Clone Wars and like her Rebels, then you should look into buying the book. Amazon has the hardcover listed at just over 10 dollars and the Kindle and Audible versions under 14. It’s worth looking into. But if you don’t know who Ahsoka is, you could skip this book and you’d only miss out on another fun Star Wars story.
I will cover the important aspects of the book in another, more spoilery, post later next week. If you read the book, what did you think? Leave a comment in the section below.
Nov 6 2016
Ahsoka: Book Review
A few weeks ago I wrote a piece talking about the upcoming book Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston. I focused on what I expected the book would cover and what I hoped it would shed light on. Well, I just recently finished the tale of the tagruta and now I’m ready to talk about it.
I am going to keep this somewhat spoiler free, but I will be talking about various aspects of the plot. So if you want to read the book with a fresh perspective, you may want to stop reading this post now.
Are you still with me? Good, let’s get started.
The Story
Ahsoka takes place shortly after the events of Order 66. Ahsoka Tano moves from planet to planet trying to keep a low profile. Any time she gets too close to the locals or the empire moves next door, Ahsoka hits the skids. The story starts off with this very scenario.
Ahsoka has been working as a mechanic on an out of the way planet for a less-than-legit shipping magnate, the Fardis. The Fardi family have grown fond of Ahsoka, or as she is known on this planet, Ashla. But on the anniversary of the formation of the Galactic Empire, stormtroopers arrive on this new planet, and Ahsoka plans to leave.
Before she does, she notices that the youngest daughter of the Fardi clan is one with the force. Not knowing what to do, the former Jedi leaves the young girl, without guidance, and without protection. No matter what she does, Ahsoka can’t seem to shake the Jedi life.
Eventually, Ahsoka finds a backwater moon where she can set up shop and keep a low profile. But, as it tends to happen, the Empire shows up and all hell breaks loose.
The story seems to jump back and forth between these two planets. While the story is mostly told from Ahsoka’s perspective, we do occasionally get a POV from other characters. The main story focuses on Ahsoka’s predicament, but there are enough flashbacks that help bridge the gap between the events in the Clone Wars and Rebels.
Initial Reaction
My initial reaction to the book is a simple one: If you liked Ahsoka from the cartoons, then this is a good read. If you don’t know who Ahsoka is and don’t really care about her backstory, then you may want to skip this one.
Like most Star Wars canon, this book was a quick read. Since this book is classified as Young Adult, the story is easy to consume and the language simple to understand. And for those of you who dismiss this story simply because it falls into the Young Adult classification, I must caution you; Lost Stars was a Star Wars Young Adult novel, and it was amazing!
This is not to say that there aren’t problems with the story. We are introduced to an imperial contractor that gets a lot of screen time in the story but doesn’t ever seem to do anything. Maybe he is being set up for something in another story, but he seemed unneeded in this one.
Additionally, the final fight between Ahsoka and the antagonist, I won’t reveal who that is because it’s pretty awesome, was anti-climactic at best. Johnston was focused on a different aspect of the story during the fight, so maybe that’s why it seemed weaker than it could be.
There were some serious questions that were answered about Ahsoka’s whereabouts after she left the Jedi Order. We also begin to see how Rex escapes the 501st. The story even seems to tie into the canonical comic Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir. But one of the coolest bits of information we got in this novel was the new explanation as to how a lightsaber gets its color.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I give Ahsoka a 4/5 stars. If you loved Ahsoka in the Clone Wars and like her Rebels, then you should look into buying the book. Amazon has the hardcover listed at just over 10 dollars and the Kindle and Audible versions under 14. It’s worth looking into. But if you don’t know who Ahsoka is, you could skip this book and you’d only miss out on another fun Star Wars story.
I will cover the important aspects of the book in another, more spoilery, post later next week. If you read the book, what did you think? Leave a comment in the section below.
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By Thaddaeus Brodrick • Book • • Tags: Ahsoka Novel, Ahsoka Spoilers, Book Review, Star Wars