Books Leia Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray

This is really one of the most depressing of either the new or old novels. Breha, Bail, and Leia loved each other so much. They were so happy together, even when the galaxy turned against them.

So I finished it... definitely that Tarkin scene at the dinner party was one of the most hilarious in a long time. Bail and Breha screaming over the table about Mon Mothma's affair, Mon all in a huff, Leia genuinely balling her eyes out, Tarkin finally just going "get me the **** out of here you crazy Elder House weirdos" and slamming the door behind him. Which is a hilarious image, because they describe those doors as being gargantuan wooden ones, so I can see Tarkin trying to push this giantass wooden door after his "I BID YOU GOOD DAY!" but it takes him like a full minute while everyone at the dinner table is watching him struggle. This is truly the best scene.

It's also why he probably killed them all... ehhhh... but you know, I always wondered what Tarkin was thinking ANH. What memories, if any, did he have of Alderaan? Apparently now we know.

 

No matter the continuity, Tarkin's memories of Alderaan are irritating.

 

It's interesting that some of the earliest new canon works on Leia incorporated stuff from the Tales comics, specifically that one and First Impressions.

Actually in general it seems like non-canon stuff got used a lot - Old Wounds heavily obviously, but the Infinities comics were the first ones to use stuff like the New Republic being led by a Chancellor, and Palpatine turning the Jedi Temple into the Imperial Palace.

 

I know, that scene freaking killed me. I forgot about it until you mentioned it, but yeah, I remember how absolutely hysterical I thought that whole thing was. One of the few times I've ever found Tarkin to be even a smidge sympathetic. The poor guy having to sit through all that (so he believed) family drama...dang.

 

I never cared for that Legends comic. Sure, I can see Tarkin having a grudge against Bail, or suspecting Alderaan of Rebel sympathies. But the idea that he was planning to blow up Alderaan for years, the implication that it was revenge for water balloons . . . it turns a serious tragedy and example of the Empire's evil, into a farce about a grumpy obsessed sitcom neighbor. It turns the destruction of Alderaan into the space equivalent of that Family Guy sketch were a scrawny Hitler is glaring at a Jewish body builder.

But if we wana talk about funny scenes done right, yeah, the dinner scene was hilarious. I think it's the fact that we see these larger than life characters, who are big in the Star Wars lore and founded the Rebellion, improvising a brief play where they act like they're on Jerry Springer: Space Edition.

 

Another thing I forgot to bring up before, but I'm pretty sure must have been intentional on Gray's part and probably discussed by the editor crowd: Palpatine and Leia. They're never in the same scene. All the senate sessions Leia attends are managed by Tarkin. It had crossed my mind a while back -- and I know probably for most people at one point in time or another -- that if Leia were on Coruscant, surely she must have run into Palpatine, in which case you'd think he'd be able to figure out who she is (if Panaka could without the Force, Palps definitely could). But if their paths never crossed, it's more believable he was unaware. One might even go so far as to speculate (and granted it's a stretch) that if Palpatine did sense anything on Coruscant, maybe he thought it was Vader. And apparently Leia wasn't on Coruscant much before she was 16, so there's at least a large chunk of time for Palpatine's spidey sense not to go off.

 

But we know from other sources that Leia was in Palpatine's presence at least a few times.

 

Correct, Moving Target references the scene of Leia's first meeting with Palpatine from the First Impressions story from Tales.

 

But it's really unreliable.

 

I have finished this book and it was amazing, Claudia Gray keeps delivering book after book, she snapped with Leia and Alderaan here.

The story gives so much depth to not only Leia, Breha and Bail but also lays out connective tissue to Rogue One, Rebels, ANH/Tarkin, TLJ/Holdo and Bloodline.

We get to know so much about Leia but also the first steps of the rebels, but we still need to learn about the origins of it. Now I need to rewatch: Rebels episode with Leia, Bail and Mon; Rogue One and ANH.

The book is quite short, and it does feels like ‘episodes’ of a tv series, because it doesn’t have quite a linear structure but like small chapters, but it was great I would say:

1-Bloodlines
2-Lost Stars
2.5-Leia

 

Ok, I'm assuming I haven't read nearly as much content as most you, but this is easily one of the best Star Wars books I've ever read. And it's the first book by Claudia Grey I've read, so I finally understand why she's showered with endless praise! She really nailed the characterizations. Leia feels like Leia. Bail feels like Bail. Mon Mothma feels like everyone's mom.

The best part about this book is that it'd be great even if it weren't a Star Wars book. It's a classic coming of age story that just so happens to be set in the Star Wars universe. It's the perfect Leia origin story, and the perfect love letter to us Bail fans. That man is too pure for the cruel, cruel universe he inhabits.

10/10.

Spoiler

Also loved how Claudia made a point to bring up Tarkin's boney, cold hands whenever she could.

 

Need this, you do not.

Seriously, it doesn't matter what anyone else has or hasn't read - shouldn't affect how you see the book.

Oh and either, go on to Bloodline or Master and Apprentice - kind of a touch choice that.

After years of neglect, Bail's finally got some development! With respect to the character, get yourself a copy of Queen's Shadow.

 

Thankfully I actually read both Queen's Shadow and Rebel Rising before this one. I think it really made the book more impactful for me, especially the Naboo chapters.

You're not the first to recommend Bloodline and I'm sure you won't be the last. Though my copy of Master and Apprentice finally arrived in the mail yesterday so I think we have a winner.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Me likey, me likey a lot.

 

Wow, I've got to the paperback when it comes out.

 

I... simply can’t!


Korpil
http://sequart.org/books/47

 

I'm almost done with this. Its good, the only issue I have is at times the empire seems cartoonishly evil to a ridiculous degree (which is far considering they build super weapons) which is stretching credibility on how they managed to last as long as they they did.

 

Manga looks gorgeous!

 

I just finished this today and really liked it, 5/5

I really liked seeing her relationship w/Breha and Bail and how complex it was over the period of the early rebellion. Also I liked the Pathfinding scenes, it made you see how well she did on different planets over the years. Also it was cool over the period of the book we see her unknowingly use the Force. I really liked that. It also gave us some insight into her relationship w/Tarkin. It makes you view ANH differently now knowing they had history. I thought Amilyn's development was also cool and really wish we could see how she got as far as she did now. Gray did another killer job with Leia overall.