Guardians of the Whills

Sometimes I wonder if I'm enjoying the Star Wars books that are written for younger audiences more than the adult books.

Such isn't really true: it's all on a case by case basis. But it is true that some of the adult books lean more toward details of politics and science and battles, such things as I am less interested in. And because the children's/YA books are intentionally kept simpler to be friendly for younger readers, that means that they sometimes get quicker to the heart of the matter. The characters and the drama, that is. And that's what I keep returning to Star Wars for.

Rogue One set up a fantastic group of characters. I remember having little to no interest in any of them from that first group photo that they released. But when the movie came and I met them all and I saw what happened to them all, I felt like I knew who they were and I was both sad and glad for them. All of them. It was a great group.

Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka tells a story about Baze and Chirrut before the events of the movie. I think it's aimed at around the ten to twelve age group--or at least that's my guess. But that really don't matter. It's a little awkward to walk into the children's section of a bookstore, perhaps, but I don't consider this book limited to only one age group--this just means that it's accessible to younger readers. Greg Rucka also wrote a couple of the Journey to the Force Awakens books, which were similarly packaged for younger readers but also of interest to Star Wars readers in general (Guardians also has a few illustrations in the same grayscale-with-red style as those books had).

So this book is exactly what anyone who enjoyed Rogue One would want to read. It doesn't tell the story of how Baze and Chirrut met or started working together. In fact, it gives more backstory to Jedha than to them. And Saw Gerrera may have a hand in it all (which I didn't know until I started reading since I hadn't even read the book summary). At about 230 short pages, it's a quick read for adults. At the beginning of each chapter is a quote from a supposed collection of writings on the Force, which is a nice touch.

In fact, it feel like this book has more contemplations on the Force than any of the previous books I've read. Chirrut looks at the Force in a completely different way than Luke does, for instance. Because of this, Chirrut and Baze and Jedha are wonderful additions to the Stars Wars universe. This book may be short with a concise plot, yet it contains substance (and, you know, a second look at a couple of good characters). So it's as much worth picking up as any of the adult books--or perhaps more so.

Before the Awakening

I might make some mention of Episode VII, so be cautious if you haven't seen the movie yet.

I'll come in with another chocolate review next post, but for now while I'm still recovering from Christmastime, here is the latest Star Wars read. Before the Awakening came out on the same day as the movie, and I was only able to buy it that weekend because Wal-Mart is carrying it right now (I can't wait until I can go to Barnes & Noble this week to buy the movie art book--no, I don't want to buy it online). So in this case, thank you, Wal-Mart.

Although it's a short book like the Luke, Leia, and Han Solo adventure books (with the same red and black color scheme), it took me a few days to read it since it was Christmastime. Monday I was baking cookies, Tuesday I was trying to finish off regular tasks, Wednesday I think I was finishing some gift-wrapping, Thursday I was cleaning and prepping a turkey, Friday was Christmas (and the Doctor Who Christmas special, which I watched at midnight), Saturday was a day of rest (also the day in which I finished reading this book), and I can't quite remember what I did yesterday. So. It's a quick read if you have the time to sit there for a few minutes reading.

In a way, it feels like this book had more content than the previously-mentioned three. Maybe it feels that way because the trio are already established characters who were just having separate adventures in those books, while the new trio of this book is still, well, new. Even after seeing The Force Awakens, we still know only so much about them. So anything we glean about who they are (not just their identity, but also their character, since their characters are still being established) is significant.

Poe is the most established character. In the movie, his identity isn't really mysterious and his character is so straightforward as to be quick to establish. And this book explains his backstory. Finn, though not quite as straightforward, is also not too mysterious. The book takes off from what we know about him already and provides a look at the time before the movie scenes, showing that his decision wasn't quite spur-of-the-moment. Rey being the most mysterious character also has the least backstory in here: we just see her scavenging on Jakku and learn more about her state of mind than her identity or her history. It makes you realize more where she is emotionally and in terms of hope and resolve than anything else.

Each story was told on its own: the first section is for Finn, the second for Rey, and the third for Poe. Rey's was by far my favorite section (I love characters walking around the desert, I really do--battles are less interesting to me), and Finn's was probably my least favorite (part of the reason might be that it was a little dragging to keep reading him as FN-2187, though of course it's necessary for the story). For being such a short book with such a quick look at these characters, this story is a nice after-the-movie read to feed your craving for more without really taking away from the ultimate mysteries.

The Trio's Adventures

You know, it's possible that I might have skipped these three books if I hadn't seen them at Costco and figured that they were worth getting at Costco's prices. I thought they were going to be essentially just lengthy short stories, one for Han Solo (Smuggler's Run), one for Luke (Weapon of a Jedi), and one for Leia (Moving Target)--stories under the "young reader" label once again.

But I learned with Lost Stars that the young reader label doesn't necessarily mean a book doesn't have content. And these three "adventures" were just slightly longer than I was expecting. They're move novellas than lengthy short stories--and Leia's is probably long enough to just call a short book.

For being so short, it's a little odd that they're divided into three parts, plus the Prologue and Epilogue. And for the beginning of each section, there is a two-page illustration--I think the divisions in the book are there simply to give a place for pictures. They are good pictures, after all. They're sort of graphic novel style, in black and white and gray with some spots of red, like the covers. There is so much movement in these illustrations that I had to pause a moment to enjoy each one--I only wish that they didn't show scenes coming up instead of the ones that have just passed. I guess these aren't books where you need to be worried about spoilers, but still I wasn't entirely happy about a picture showing me what was going to happen next before I had a chance to read it.

Content-wise, they are just short adventures told fairly quickly without a lot of fluff. But it's kind of nice not to have a lot of fluff for a change. When I was reading A New Dawn, there were passages that I probably would have liked to have fast forwarded through to get straight to the characters. So with the more concise format of these three little books, I didn't have that problem. Each one has a different point that it sets out to illustrate through retelling (in frame format) a certain story.

It seems also that each book gets better as you go along. Han's is first, then Luke's, and then Leia's.

Han's story fills in the slight gap between Episodes IV and V to explain his growing interest in the Rebellion and its ideals. It also shows off his skills. Pretty straightforward. The "hints" at Episode VII are . . . slight and yet interesting. It feels like things that seem very insignificant now will gain much more meaning after the new movie comes out.

Luke's story is almost a continuation of Heir to the Jedi: Luke is continuing his quest to find out more about the Jedi now that his one living link to them is gone. That's all fun to watch--though I do wish he had done a little more or learned a little more at the temple. But then again, part of the message of this book seemed to be a lesson about patience, so I suppose it's fitting that Luke had to spend a lot of time slowly learning. The frame story in his book is the smallest out of the three--it's also the only one (I think) that takes place within the time frame of the OT and is definitely the only one where the character in question isn't actually present. These details must be significant.

Leia's story is on the grandest scale of the three and also involves the most stages. Being that her team's actions help lead to the final battle in Episode VI, it's a story I already felt invested in, even if it brought me to new worlds and new characters. The theme here was very worth noting. Star Wars is strange because it's in many ways about embracing and promoting peace--and yet it always has war. So this book helped explain that balance and the reasoning behind holding to the one philosophy (peace) while taking part in the cruel and chaotic action of war. The topic is duty--but the lesson is about the importance of the ties that bind different people together. And the hints in this book--well, Leia's acting very Force-sensitive, which of course she does a lot of in Episode VI, too (not quite as much in IV and V). And then there is that mention of names at the end of the book, giving us an idea of timelines (in relation to Episode VII). Once again, it feels like all the information is right there in front of us--just not quite decipherable until we've seen the movie. I feel like I'm missing a very important puzzle piece that will seem obvious once I get it but that I can't grasp on my own.

Just over a month from now.