Last week, I decided to catch up on some reading and finished Ahsoka by EK Johnston. Unfortunately, I didn't love the novel, although I do think that there are a few interesting tidbits in the story, including how Ahsoka decided to help the Rebellion, which leads up to Season 4 of Rebels, and how she got the kyber crystals for her two lightsabers. After reading Ahsoka, I was left wanting and decided to try something different: Rebel Rising. I was going on a week-long scout camp and knew that I'd have some down time. I'm so glad I grabbed Revis' novel because not only was it really good, but it really did a great job answering questions I had about Jyn and Saw and helped me understand them much better and like them immensely. Although I had issues with the last two-thirds of the story, I loved the book and finished it quickly. I would highly recommend it. The main reason I really liked Rebels Rising is how much more I understand Jyn. Even though I loved her character in Rogue One, I admit that I don't understand her much more than seeing her parents being taken away from her by the Empire. In Rebel Rising, Beth Revis tells her story from when Saw finds her to when she's rescued by the Rebels on Wobani. The reader sees how Jyn grew up under Saw's eye and explains why Saw left her as a 15 year-old. Rebels Rising shows us Jyn's isolation and shows how she developed as a woman and human alone in the galaxy without family or a home. It tells us why Jyn always wears a scarf (and why such a minor detail is so important to the story) and we even see her fall in love and be betrayed, not only by Galen and Saw, but by both the Empire and the Rebellion. We learn how savvy Jyn is at forgery in Rebels Rising and why she's been put into prison. Rebels Rising shows us the pain and suffering Jyn suffered in the work camps on Wobani and even shows that in the work camp, Jyn inadvertently worked on and helped the Empire build the Death Star. At the end of the story, we find out why a very neutral Jyn is willing to help the Rebellion and see the story connect to the beginning of the Star Wars anthology film Rogue One. In Rebels Rising, Beth Revis also shows us a much more human and even loving Saw Guerrera. In Rogue One, Saw is basically an insane, radicalized rebel and I couldn't ever see him raising Jyn as a father figure. Their relationship wasn't developed well. In the book, we understand why Saw loves Jyn so much: he respected the Ersos immensely and Jyn reminded him a lot of his own sister, Steela, from the Clone Wars. Revis shows us how much Saw loved Jyn even though he used her, as well as why Saw desperately left 15 year-old Jyn on her own, knowing how dangerous that decision could be. In Rebels Rising, we find out why Saw doesn't trust ANYBODY & why his body is broken: after being betrayed by one of his men, he shielded Jyn from a Tie blast. Knowing that Saw's evident injuries in Rogue One are from protecting Jyn makes him so much more compelling. We also see why Saw Guerrera immediately took Bodhi Rook to Bor Gullet in Rogue One. He didn't trust anyone connected to Galen because he thought that Jyn's father truly was an Imperial sympathizer. Saw is a much more likeable character in Rebel Rising and I appreciate their relationship more now when I watch Rogue One Rebels Rising also offers other insights into the Star Wars universe. @bethrevis shows us the planet and people the Imperials enslaved to build the Death Star: Tamsye Prime. Jyn befriends other races and people we haven't seen before and we are given are broader view of the galaxy. The Empire is both weak and uncompromising in the story, which is really interesting. Rebels Rising shows us how the Rebellion obtained the information necessary to track down Jyn at the work camp on Wobani. All this being said, I wish Beth Revis would have spent more time developing Saw in the story. I started to like him enough that I wanted the story just to be about him and Jyn until they separated. Instead, my huge issue with Rebels Rising is that the last 2/3 of the novel until right before the end seems like an anthology of short stories about Jyn after Saw has left her rather than one complete story. The story is so unfocused that I can't find myself being able to like the characters and places she meets and visits because I'm spending too much time trying to transition between plot events, including when Jyn meets a boy that she falls in love with. I wish that Revis had focused more on one or two of these stories, not five or six. There's just too much going on until the end of the book. The ending, where it explains how Jyn betrays a group of rebels to the Empire, is really good and connects to the beginning of Rogue One really well. If you loved Rogue One and want to understand Jyn Erso and Saw Guerrera more in-depth, you need to read Rebel Rising. The story connects the dots & fills in gaps we needed to better understand Jyn and Saw in Rogue One. This is what good Star Wars Literature should do. Having read Catalyst, Dark Disciple, Lost Stars, Bloodline, the Rogue One novelization, and Rebels Rising, my favorite is @bethrevis novel. I just received my copy of Inferno Squadron a few days ago and I can't wait to read more solid Star Wars Literature.
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AuthorThree-time Spartan Beast. Utah Jazz fan. Cougar. Aggie. Pioneer. Colt. Teacher. Auror. Earthbender. Ranger. Jedi. Hero of the Lance. Guardian of the Galaxy. Archives
December 2017
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