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Lit Books Ahsoka - Novel (Spoilers Allowed)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Sproj, Jan 16, 2022.

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What Rating Would You Give Ahsoka - The Novel?

  1. 10

    2 vote(s)
    25.0%
  2. 9

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
  3. 8

    4 vote(s)
    50.0%
  4. 7

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  5. 6

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
  6. 5

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. 4

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. 3

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  9. 2

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  10. 1

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Sproj

    Sproj Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2019
    I have long had this book and never actually had the opportunity to read it and just have - it is excellent!

    I have read a number of other novels, The Thrawn Trilogy really being stand outs but so many good ones. I didn't love Aphabet Squadron but that was because I didn't really have much connection to the team from the outset.

    This book was different, Ahsoka is an excellent character and this book was excellent at building the post-republic / dawn of the empire time period. I feel like it is an excellent companion piece to The Bad Batch really and fills in the gap between Siege of Mandalore (a couple of retcons sure but nothing overly important mind you) and her Rebels entrance.

    Anywho, I love this book and would love to discuss it. I've added a poll to get a sense of how many people have actually had the opportunity to read it.
     
    clone commander bossk likes this.
  2. silentfault

    silentfault Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 5, 2021
    I liked it. Great book if you are interested in Ahsoka's character. Survivor's guilt, PTSD, all of that depressing stuff was very well done, and it's an important link between TCW and Rebels, adds a lot of layers to both the Siege of Mandalore and her confrontation with Vader. The author captured all of that psychological stuff very well and understood Ahsoka's character. Getting in her head was interesting, as there aren't that many books with Ahsoka, and all of them aren't canon anymore. TCW novelization didn't have any Ahsoka POV (strangely enough, but it had plenty of Rex POV; thanks, Karen Traviss), No Prisoners by Traviss and the others by Karen Miller did, but not a lot.

    As far as general Star Wars worldbuilding goes, we learned about the state of the Empire and the Galaxy one year after RotS, the clones mostly being replaced by regular stormtroopers by that time (I thought it was way too fast, IMO - the clones could have served for another decade or so, you could make a lot of nice stories out of it; but that's the problem with new canon in general - just one year after RotS, it's basically Empire from ANH with classic Star Destroyers and TIE fighters - it's like they want to move on to the OT as fast as possible for no reason), Ilum being turned into Starkiller Base, and of course kyber crystal bleeding and purification, which is also somewhat controversial to some people, mainly EU fans with their synthetic crystals. I thought it's an interesting change, and it was clearly inferred from TCW Ilum arc, or maybe it was directly from Filoni, who discussed that stuff with Lucas during TCW development, and told the author of the novel. There's also Bail Organa. I like Bail Organa, so that's nice. There was also a nice Obi-Wan intermission, which I am sure will be contradicted by the upcoming Obi-Wan show.

    My only gripe with that book was that she immediately went into hiding after the Siege of Mandalore, and I was hoping she'd travel with Rex for some time, especially since The Siege of Mandalore we got in TCW implied that. So that essentially killed any early Dark Times storytelling potential with her, but whatever. And I felt like it dragged when it focused on those farmers, and not on Ahsoka. Those side characters weren't that interesting.

    As far as Ahsoka novels go, I'd like more. There's 16 years of her life between Ahsoka novel and Rebels unexplored, you could make a good novel out of it, she's a head of Rebel intelligence, lots of potential for a good, adult story. But it's on Filoni, since he holds complete control over anything related to Ahsoka.

    All in all, it's alright. Good character book. As someone who likes the character, I enjoyed it.
     
  3. Sproj

    Sproj Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2019
    Excellent post and I feel like you've summed my thoughts up pretty well also. A couple of things to add though that I liked. You really get the sense that Bail hit the nail on the head when he calls Ahsoka basically not a Jedi in name only and even though there are hints in the book where she is sort of doing things a little bit un-Jedi like, for the most part, even in the story presented, she is more Jedi than a lot of the Jedi were by the time the purge occurred.

    I like that there is a lot of contrasts in colouring throughout the book too, everything imperial is essentially grey or turns to grey and everything untouched by them is vibrant, colourful, etc. I really loved the way she got her new light sabres, you could see it coming from the start but that didn't make the pay off any less when it happened. I liked the deeper understanding given to the psychology that contributes to light or dark.

    Also, so I guess Raada is now essentially the birth of the rebellion? Or you like it in factions and Raada was the birth of the rebellion as we know it, Onderon? was the birth of the extremist rebellion, Lothal showed it could be successful, Scarif sparked the rebellion and Yavin is where it came to life. You could argue against most of those points but even so, it is cool to see how it gained pace, all really from Raada which makes that insignificant moon extremely significant in the grand scheme of things.

    I agree the farmer characters were all pretty meh, except the other Togruta but we didn't really get to know him that much throughout. I love that Ahsoka just couldn't help it, she had to help out - to me that's a true Jedi!
     
    silentfault likes this.
  4. silentfault

    silentfault Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 5, 2021
    I think Saw Gerrera and Onderon are considered the birthplace of the rebellion, as Lucas conceived it in TCW. Politically, it was conceived by Padmé, Bail and Mothma in RotS, but active rebellion by actual people was first started by Saw and his group, I believe. He was also trained by Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex, which is rather poetic. Raada may be considered the first revolt against the Empire led by a Force user, unless there is some another story I am not aware of.
    But then again, this fighting and loss of life took a heavy toll on her, especially combined with everything she went through since TCW S5, so her choosing to help the Rebellion in a way other than fighting was a nice conclusion. Jedi are not supposed to be soldiers.
     
    Sproj likes this.
  5. Sproj

    Sproj Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2019
    Yeah I loved the direction she jumped at when she noticed where there was a need that she could definitely fulfil. I like that they highlighted it wasn't just her force abilities that made her valuable, it was also her know-how and battle experience, which was a strength of the book as a whole, showing that she was levels above the farmers she lead (and while succeeding to an extent, failed in many ways). She is such a compelling character.

    One thing I would love to see explored more directly, whether in book form / TV series or whatever, is what Ahsoka (and Kanan) later did with the force sensitive kids. I thought that was one of the cool subplots in the book and I'd love to know what happened with the Fardi girl because the unsure Ahsoka that left her on her planet was different to the determined Ahsoka at the end of the book. Given how that plotline continued unfulfilled in Rebels and was also a big part of Fallen Order, I'd love to know what the remaining and active Jedi during the dark times did with these kids. I would love for them to somehow have survived until post-ST but I don't know how you could do that and have it making more sense than Palpatine's return. In any case, I'd love to see this unresolved plotline end up being the building blocks of a successful post-Skywalker Jedi order or resolved tragically if need be.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2022
    Iron_lord likes this.
  6. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    From what I remember, this sort of feels like a rough draft version of the Ahsoka arc that came along in the final season of TCW, if only because Ahsoka hooks up with a pair of mechanically inclined siblings. And of course the opening flashbacks to Maul & Order 66 & Battle of Mandalore and her having a (fake) gravesite for Rex. I think a few ideas that were in the hopper for TCW's final season got integrated into here and then integrated back into the real final season when Disney uncancelled it.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2022
  7. Vialco

    Vialco Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2007
    I gave this book a 6 out of 10. It’s done relatively well, but the book suffers horribly from being written years before the Siege of Mandalore actually aired. There are so many missing gaps and the events prior to and during Order 66 being alluded to that it’s hard to make this story work with what happened to Ahsoka during Order 66. Well written and light hearted, but I feel that this could have been so much more impactful if they’d waited to write it after Season 7 of the Clone Wars had aired.