A New Dawn: Star Wars

I was among the many fans disappointed to find out that the Expanded Universe was ending, declared non-canon, and rebranded “Legends” by Lucasfilm/Disney. However, I was hopeful that it would truly mean what was being promised: a new, cohesive canon, where the films, shows, games, books, and comics all intertwine and reference one another.

And that promise came true. We now have a Clone Wars character in Rogue One, Thrawn in Rebels and his own upcoming novel, Rae Sloane in multiple novels and the comics… It’s a better time than ever to be a Star Wars fan, and it all starts here, with A New Dawn, the first canon novel.

The novel itself is a great read. John Jackson Miller, who I already loved for his KotOR comics and Knight Errant, does these characters justice in a way that’s especially impressive considering Rebels hadn’t yet begun when he wrote this book. It has adventure, heart, and sets up characters who have become incredibly important and beloved.

Star Wars novels get bashed for being simplistically written at times, which is occasionally warranted. However, JJM has been my consistently favorite Star Wars author, especially after reading "Kenobi" and "The Lost Tribe of the Sith" short stories. While I'm still recovering from the seemingly erasure of the Expanded Universe at the hands of Mickey Mouse, my irritation was met equally with excitement that the new canon novels would begin with another hopeful gem from JJM.

Unfortunately, while the book is good, the downsides of it are very widely promoted on forums and reviews. For the first 30-40% of the book, the story spends entirely too much time reciting unnecessary details about mining and not enough character development. By the end, some of these complaints are redeemed, specifically understanding of the main characters that will be featured in the Star Wars: Rebels series. However, as I've also read in many places, it just doesn't have the complete feel of a true Star Wars story.

Placement-wise, it's between Episode III and IV. While there are other books that cover how the clones transition into stormtroopers, there are elements of this book that just seem to happen. Eliminating some of cool elements of the former Expanded Universe will eventually be overwhelmed with new material that many younger readers probably won't care, but for those of us in this from the beginning, it seems a bit arrogant to have discarded some elements of the Expanded Universe that were actually interesting storylines.

The characters in this novel seem like altered versions of characters we've already seen before, so attaching emotion or interest in these characters is a little more difficult to achieve. I didn't want to dislike this book because of its importance, especially the expectations of having JJM write it. However. this was also his first book written by committee. The feel, the voice, is more elementary, possibly even generic, which is unlike JJM, so my gut tells me there were too many chiefs involved in its creation.

Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps the older generation is no longer the target audience, which would make more sense after reading this book. Perhaps it will work. There are a line of more interesting novels coming that may help provide some depth to these characters that we are allegedly supposed to embrace. Let's hope so.

Excellent read! Another great Star Wars book, based in a great TV show, Star Wars rebels. An intimate look into the meeting of Hera and Kanin!
Would recommend to any Star Wars fan!