Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I like Star Wars. One might even say I'm a fan of it. Watching Star Wars as a young lad, it pretty much dominated much of my imagination and play after that. I've seen the movies multiple times (especially the Original Trilogy), played many of the games and read quite a few of the books and comics. I'm hardly the biggest fan out there, not by a mile, but I'd like to think I have some credibility as a Star Wars-enthusiast.
But even for me this book is very... mediocre. Set between Episode 3 and Episode 4, it tells you the story of how two of the main characters of the animated series Star Wars Rebels. That's another barrier from entry, if you're not into Rebels the book has very little to actually add. Compared to the comedy and action of the series, from what I've seen, it's also surprisingly dark and gritty, telling of a fantastic plan of destroying a moon and sacrificing thousands of lives and a planet in the process. There's plenty of death and murder to go around and vicious Empire-men to fill the role of villains. Because we can't have nuance, can we? The Empire is just all bad, grrr, nothing good ever came of it!
It's such a black and white portrayal of good and evil that it's kind of dull. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the Empire was in the right but previous books I've read in the Star Wars expanded universe did a pretty good job of depicting that for all its evils, whether you lived under the Empire or Republic made less difference for the little guy. But here they're almost all comically evil.
Saying that will probably have me labeled as a fascist but ultimately it just wasn't a very interesting setting.
Made worse is that it's pretty much a standard fare as far as plot goes: unwilling hero meets a girl in trouble who he tries to get in bed with only to go on an adventure to impress where he remembers to be a good guy again and ends up being a hero. Having seen at least parts of Rebels before, knowing where the character inevitably end up also spoils much of what happens, at least in terms of story beat. And it takes so long to actually go anywhere in terms of story. It took almost 100 pages for me to get invested and I wouldn't blame anyone for putting it down and never picking it up before then. But even after that it's not a particularly engrossing story. It does its job well enough but for a lot of it it just felt meandering and uncertain where it was going to go. A little bit more expedience would've cut down the page count as well, this book did not need to be over 300 pages.
Perhaps what disappoints me the most about this is that it didn't really give me much more insight into the series Rebels. Meant as a prequel, I read it hoping it would give me greater understanding of the two characters Kanan and Hera and how their relationship worked but... it really doesn't say anything that the series doesn't already say. Yes, it does tell the story of how they met but that's about it. It doesn't really tell you anything about the characters that we didn't already know.
Mediocre is what I would call it. Not bad, it does its job well enough but it's not good either, never excelling in anything. When a friend asked me what I thought about "A New Dawn" I actually needed clarification on what he was referring to because I had completely forgotten the book existed between reading sessions. I had the book on the desk in front of me, front cover down, and I still didn't make the connection. Perhaps my brain was actively trying to file it away even while reading it. A mental exercise, nothing more, nothing of worth, nothing of note.
Do I regret reading it? It's certainly no Vostok, that's for sure, but if you're gonna get into Star Wars literature, there are FAR better places to start.
But even for me this book is very... mediocre. Set between Episode 3 and Episode 4, it tells you the story of how two of the main characters of the animated series Star Wars Rebels. That's another barrier from entry, if you're not into Rebels the book has very little to actually add. Compared to the comedy and action of the series, from what I've seen, it's also surprisingly dark and gritty, telling of a fantastic plan of destroying a moon and sacrificing thousands of lives and a planet in the process. There's plenty of death and murder to go around and vicious Empire-men to fill the role of villains. Because we can't have nuance, can we? The Empire is just all bad, grrr, nothing good ever came of it!
It's such a black and white portrayal of good and evil that it's kind of dull. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the Empire was in the right but previous books I've read in the Star Wars expanded universe did a pretty good job of depicting that for all its evils, whether you lived under the Empire or Republic made less difference for the little guy. But here they're almost all comically evil.
Saying that will probably have me labeled as a fascist but ultimately it just wasn't a very interesting setting.
Made worse is that it's pretty much a standard fare as far as plot goes: unwilling hero meets a girl in trouble who he tries to get in bed with only to go on an adventure to impress where he remembers to be a good guy again and ends up being a hero. Having seen at least parts of Rebels before, knowing where the character inevitably end up also spoils much of what happens, at least in terms of story beat. And it takes so long to actually go anywhere in terms of story. It took almost 100 pages for me to get invested and I wouldn't blame anyone for putting it down and never picking it up before then. But even after that it's not a particularly engrossing story. It does its job well enough but for a lot of it it just felt meandering and uncertain where it was going to go. A little bit more expedience would've cut down the page count as well, this book did not need to be over 300 pages.
Perhaps what disappoints me the most about this is that it didn't really give me much more insight into the series Rebels. Meant as a prequel, I read it hoping it would give me greater understanding of the two characters Kanan and Hera and how their relationship worked but... it really doesn't say anything that the series doesn't already say. Yes, it does tell the story of how they met but that's about it. It doesn't really tell you anything about the characters that we didn't already know.
Mediocre is what I would call it. Not bad, it does its job well enough but it's not good either, never excelling in anything. When a friend asked me what I thought about "A New Dawn" I actually needed clarification on what he was referring to because I had completely forgotten the book existed between reading sessions. I had the book on the desk in front of me, front cover down, and I still didn't make the connection. Perhaps my brain was actively trying to file it away even while reading it. A mental exercise, nothing more, nothing of worth, nothing of note.
Do I regret reading it? It's certainly no Vostok, that's for sure, but if you're gonna get into Star Wars literature, there are FAR better places to start.
Fun read, especially if you're watching Rebels. Good back story for Hera and Kanan.
I will defend this book until the end of time. I will defend the show to the end of time.
This is the Star Wars book I've been waiting for. Great dialogue, great character growth, great story... (the villain was awesome, oh my goodness) what else can I say that certainly won't spoil it? Practically nothing.
This I will say, however: the only quibble I have with the story is that the Kanan here is not exactly like the Kanan we see in Rebels. I don't know why, but the Kanan in rebels seems more mature, more grounded. This Kanan is that, but he's really outward on his feelings for Hera (which is something we don't see in the show). This Kanan likes to flirt, likes to be cheeky. The Kanan in the show does none of that. After reading it in the book, I wanted him to be like that in the show. :/
I really, really hope that JJM comes back and writes a story on how Hera and Kanan found Zeb, Sabine and Chopper. I also want to know how the Inquisitor came into play. There is still so much more story to tell and I really, REALLY want JJM to write it. So far, after reading this and Kenobi, I really like how he writes in the Star Wars world. Everyone else tries so hard to make it seem like a Star Wars book when they write that it sounds forced, cliched, and boggled with technical jargon. JJM doesn't do any of that, there is actual character development, paragraphs with no dialogue, and no forced dialogue.
So, hell with it, I'll defend the writer too. Bless this book.
This is the Star Wars book I've been waiting for. Great dialogue, great character growth, great story... (the villain was awesome, oh my goodness) what else can I say that certainly won't spoil it? Practically nothing.
Spoiler
This I will say, however: the only quibble I have with the story is that the Kanan here is not exactly like the Kanan we see in Rebels. I don't know why, but the Kanan in rebels seems more mature, more grounded. This Kanan is that, but he's really outward on his feelings for Hera (which is something we don't see in the show). This Kanan likes to flirt, likes to be cheeky. The Kanan in the show does none of that. After reading it in the book, I wanted him to be like that in the show. :/
I really, really hope that JJM comes back and writes a story on how Hera and Kanan found Zeb, Sabine and Chopper. I also want to know how the Inquisitor came into play. There is still so much more story to tell and I really, REALLY want JJM to write it. So far, after reading this and Kenobi, I really like how he writes in the Star Wars world. Everyone else tries so hard to make it seem like a Star Wars book when they write that it sounds forced, cliched, and boggled with technical jargon. JJM doesn't do any of that, there is actual character development, paragraphs with no dialogue, and no forced dialogue.
So, hell with it, I'll defend the writer too. Bless this book.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Good, not great. Probably wasnt necessary to read between Thrawn books one and two, but it will lend some background when I watch Rebels
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If this book wasn't about Hera and Kanan it would get 2 stars max. Alas....
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i thought there would be more kanera☹️
that being said, it was a pretty good start to disney’s expansion on the star wars universe, with a few discrepancies that only certain readers would notice.
that being said, it was a pretty good start to disney’s expansion on the star wars universe, with a few discrepancies that only certain readers would notice.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes