Books Aftermath: Empire's End (book 3) by Chuck Wendig

I reckon this novel will give us the closest look at the Battle of Jakku we've had so far, but I don't think we'll get much (if anything) about Snoke. It'll be like Bloodline, in that it pushes thinks forward in a more subtle manner.

I'd also love for Luke to show up, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

I can't stand Wendig style but at the same time I can't wait for this book. I have so many question, the biggest are of course the fates of our heroes.
I want Rae to survive even if it seems unlikely, same with Sinjir. I wonder if we get another Lost Stars tie-in (like with Yendor on Ryloth). I don't think they would put Snoke revelation in the book, but there may be some hints.

 

I'd love to see Sloane get through this and try to survive in a post-Empire galaxy.

Perhaps the NR will imprison her? It'd be cool if she ultimately fought the First Order, since she doesn't like Rax's style and it seems close to that group's philosophies.

The possibilities with Snoke are dizzying. Rax appears to be following Palpatine's final plan and it seems to be leading towards the rise of Snoke. So is the First Order the result of the Emperor's backup plan? I love Palpatine, so I'd be happy to see his influence lingering long after his death (without any clones).

 

I'm hoping that she'll eventually realize what she got her self into and just "retire" to leave peacefully for the rest of her days, not bothered by the New Republic or the rising First Order.

 

OK...So Sloane...I like her too. But she's still a really bad person.

I would like her to survive the series too...But I want her atrocities to have consequences. Not a walk off into the sunset or any kind of redemption.

She is in full playing the game of thrones mode...And I don't think she'll win.

I would either like to see her get captured or have some kind of role in laying the groundwork for the FO.

 

I agree that Sloane is a bad person but I don't see her fitting into the First Order. There's a strong ideological divide between her and Rax. Sloane is very much a believer in the Empire as it was between ROTS and ROTJ. Rax is more of an extension of Palpatine's ideology. He wants to transform the Empire into something new and he will kill Imperials that he thinks stand in the way of this. He is far more in line with what will become the First Order and everything he's done has disgusted Sloane. That doesn't make her a good person, but she is a different sort of villain. Juxtaposed I feel like her and Rax illustrate what the Empire was and what will become the new enemies of the New Republic.

 

Rax may be the one to bite it. Who knows. I can see Sloane starting a sort of hidden Imperial rebellion that gives rise to what we see developing in Bloodlines.

And when you look at the very strict conforming to military authoritarianism we see in people like Phasma...that could be Sloane's influence that Snoke co-opts for his purposes.

Remember the politics of the centrist party...They want a strong leader with centralized control...but who is not an overt monster like Sheev.

I can absolutely see Sloane being in favor of that.

*Addendum: I'm also curious to see the relationship, if any, of Sloane to Thrawn. Where the hell has he been in all of this? Dead? Unknown regions? Podracing?

 

I'm really curious about Sloane's and Thrawn's relationship as well. At the very, very least, Thrawn deserves a mention from Sloane. And I am in the camp that considers Thrawn being killed any time soon in the timeline since his appearance in Rebels would be a waste. Ideally, he'd be in the Unkown regions in canon as well, since that explanation was perfect in the Thrawn trilogy. The reason why he's there and the outcome can be completely different in canon, that I wouldn't mind.

 

My money is on Sloane being the one that takes Rax down, but the damage he intended is already done and she is forced to surrender. Honestly I would like her to be exonerated of the brainwashed assassin plot, but still get tried for all the horrible things shes done in service to the empire.

 

I'd have to see what happens next to be sure if i think Sloane would keep fighting. I could see her deciding the war caused enough damage and that it's hopeless and so chooses to surrender. However, if she had forces loyal to her after Jakku, it wouldn't be unbelievable for her to continue fighting. The story group has already set it up for Imperials to fight the NR after Jakku by mentioning Imperial holdouts refusing to abide by the treaty. Sloane could link up with such a group. Still, I don't see her ever joining what becomes the First Order. Sloane would know that fighting for them would create something different from the Empire she is loyal to, which isn't worthwhile for Sloane. She believes in the Empire too much. She knows Rax's ideology to be opposed to her own. Sloane's willingness to put herself in conflict with him while a part of the Imperial fleet, shows she doesn't consider supporting Imperial forces worth compromising her own ideology. If anything she'd be a more threatening holdout the NR has to respond to after Jakku.

I'm not sure Phasma could represent Sloane's influence since Phasma still believes they need to build something better than the Empire. Sloane would likely reply by saying the Empire didn't need to be transformed into something new, it was already good enough.

I could see Sloane fitting in with the Centrist party and a lot did join the FO. It is very possible that many who would have opposed Snoke's beliefs and methodology joined without knowing who the leader truly was. This doesn't fit Sloane who by the end of the GCW was in the upper echelons of the Empire. Even if Rax isn't Snoke, Sloane will have scene enough of this ideology to know what the FO represented. I'm sure she'll know of the survival of the fleet; she already suspects ships have been hidden. Therefore, she has a good idea of what's going on. I could see her being suspicious of any FO activity. When the Imperial fleet escapes into the unknown regions, Sloane will have enough knowledge of what's going on to stay away.

I definitely hope they keep Thrawn beyond Rebels and make use to him post Jakku. He's a good character with a lot of potential. I'd like to see him and Sloane work together.

 

looking forward to this expecting the battle of jakku as an elaborate trap to get rid of all the forces rax deems weak. still think that place he was guarding will prove important to the rest of the saga

 

Well Palpatine said that Jakku was relevant a 1000 years ago. Still curious to learn what happened back then? Maybe the extinction of the Sith? Or the manifestation of some sort of Dark-Side doomsday weapon?

 

I wonder if Jakku could be the NU Ruusan.

 

I hope we get something on how they got to Coruscant and built a shrine there

 

Malachor more seems like it fits the use of Ruusan from the EU, with the massive ancient Jedi and Sith battle there halted by a Sith weapon that 'froze' both sides.

This is definitely a well I hope they stop going back to. So far we have the Jedi building their Coruscant temple over an ancient Sith temple, Vader building his fortress on Mustafar over an ancient Sith temple, an ancient Sith temple on Malachor.

 

Ok, place your bets. Does Palpatine's dig on Jakku have anything to do with the Consectrated Eremite?

I say yes.

 

You know ... involving Thrawn is an interesting idea. (remember how so many thought Rax WAS Thrawn?) Will Rebels S3 be finished by its release date? Very interesting if we learn he survives in the show, and then he arrives in the book. Would steal the show's thunder if it involved him, and came out before the final Thrawn episode of the season.

But awesome progression would be:
Season 3 ends, we learn that Thrawn indeed survives.
Empire's End comes out, we see his post ROTJ story
Thrawn novel comes out, and we get more backstory which retroactively sets up material in both Rebels and EE.

 

The biggest expectation of this book from me is just that we get a hint on who Snoke is, and confirmed in episode VIII.

 

I expect that Rax will kill Sloane simply because what the Empire eventually evolves into as seen in TFA is much more consistent with Rax's vision than Sloane's. It's seemed pretty clear from the start that his side won. Even if he's not Snoke, which I don't think he will be.