Books Ronin novel - all spoilers

The more I reread this beauty of a book, the more nuances are there to pick up.

While it fits perfectly into a OneCanon past time as Sinre spearheaded, I could see the same story take place with a few twists in other eras.

Imagine this talented author had written a story akin to this one but about Kylo Ren/Ben Solo had he lived post TROS. Wandering ex-Sith, hunted by some, helped by others, talking to his spirits and demons. The post IX setting in general offers interesting takes on the awakened Force, spirits talking to the living and interacting with them and necromancy and raising the dead could be a theme for that era to heal the living with the dead or it even tying into a Mortis theme.

Likewise the same scenario fits Legends with a Jacen Solo surviving "LOTF Invincible" wandering the galaxy, with an interesting role then for Allana even and other Legends cast members maybe matching some Ronin characters? A kinda dark fate for Allana may have her become a vessel or body for Abeloth, which would put her entire vision future into an entirely different spin. Allana on the Throne of Balance could thus mean Abeloth on it, or does it happen after she got freed of Abeloth maybe then. That'd be a nice storytwist unheard of so far. I mean, what if both visions, her surrounded by friends and the dark one surrounded by Sith are both false and wrong and the real one might be a way more balanced approach of her surrounded by friends and Sith, in harmony and jointly agreeing to a balance? (I even would tie this concept into Krayt's two different eye colors later on somehow as a nod if I were to write this.) Bonus points given her dathomiri descent, Allana would be quite a Witch character and especially so if she figured out how the Witches can raise the dead and make them their demon army... uhoh!

I do seriously wonder how Miss Candon would have written Abeloth cause there are definitely some of the same vibes (yet better written in Ronin) in her character of the Witch.

Furthermore, for OneCanon and the past setting, might one involve Abeloth even? Even if pulling strings from behind the scenes but not released in the flesh from her prison in the Maw?

Some What if ideas:
What if Abeloth, trapped by a cluster of Black Holes.. over time learned to utilize them. Not only to talk to people nearby the cluster but to talk through the black holes. If scientific theory is true that everything that goes in either comes out a white hole elsewhere or as radiation etc. then she might have found a way via the Force to kinda use the black holes like a telephone and reach out of any other hole in the galaxy connected to her lot of black holes, thus widening her reach significantly to other black holes and clusters of them.

With Rei'izu vanished but characters thinking it reacheable still, at first it read as if it was in some folded pocket of space like Otherspace or rendered invisible and unreachable by being surrounded by blackholes Maw style.

The state of the galaxy with various Princes and their domains vying for dominance and the Jedi Lords loyality also split between them kinda totally invokes FOTJ with the Jedi loyality no longer unified behind a galactic government but several vying for control and some Imperial Knights loyal to the Felpire, others to Hapes, yet others to themselves etc. The One Sith in that scenario as wildcards with some corrupted out of the Jedi works too. Add in the Clone crisis that Paul Kemp never got to finish that may have been Legends version of the demons rising from the dead as clones of dead people appear suddendly in the galaxy. It all seems to work out way too familiar.

Same for post IX canon splintered states galaxy some favor, a Ronin, Ben if he would have lived, hunting and killing former Sith Eternal that got away and try to hide. Various Jedi schools emerging not unified again yet as each lifeline of the order kinda follows its own Jedi Lord in a complicated galaxy with various nations and loyalities. Ben could even have died in TROS and been resurrected himself by some kind of Witch to finish what he started. The entire demon concept and dead men walking could totally work with Yoda and Luke quite physically interacting in the ST as ghosts. So why not some others too that do not reveal they actually are ghosts but just switch the glow and blue hue off and walk amongst the living as if they are living too. That'd make for an interesting meeting again for Ben and Rey.

I feel this author and story of the Ronin evolved from a more direct Sequel continuation idea perhaps and got moved to the Visionsverse instead? Could it be?

 

The author's afterword suggests not.

 

I really don't understand the drive to wedge this story into a timeline or universe it really doesn't fit in. The entire tone is so separate from canon or Legends Star Wars.

It is best understood as a "what if Star Wars were made purely though a Japanese cultural lens."

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

naw its fine

 

For anyone not on social media, Emma has posted many detailed responses to questions on Tumblr (here's the tag) and some lengthy threads on Twitter (do some searching/browsing--worth it!). Some are very detailed and serious (like psychology and Japanese folklore influences.)

Others are "Darth Meathead."

 

someone please screenshot or otherwise save these to archive them as they are really good. twitter is so damn hard to get all in one screenshot or all threads sidethreads etc.

 

I can see this a lot. Thanks!

I'm a bit more than halfway through and I really like how most of the book is written. The cadence is different than I'm used to, but it really fits with the Visions episode.

Spoiler

Until Ekiya comes in. Her language and snarkiness is such a contrast to that of the rest of the book that she throws me out of the story. I'm rushing through her parts and just want her out of the way. In any other book I'd probably like her just fine, but it does not fit at all with this one, IMO. I am glossing through so much I didn't even realize the Ronin was captured until the scene when he wakes up in a cell guarded by the Jedi.

And now I'm feeling bored with this which is the fault of my headspace and choppy reading blocks I've been having throughout the novel (and Ekiya) and much less the fault of Candon's writing style with this book. I don't want to be bored, so I hope the last half gets better (and maybe Ekiya dies by a lightsaber through an eye or something).

 

Spoiler: Hey SWpants

Sorry to disappoint you, but...

 

alas. I figured it wouldn’t happen.
But I am strangely content with the odd end. I need to reread this next year when I’m in a better headspace cause I know I could grow to like it more.

 

Ok, finally getting around to this one. I'm only a few chapters in, but...

...is this the Knight's Tale?

It kinda started to seem that way went the knight ronin dude met the flamboyant bard/storyteller on the road. But then the ronin dude used the "was found wanting" quote in a pivotal scene recounting his own life. That sort of nailed it.

Also, is B5 a blastomech, like Aphra's BT-1? Because he sure acts like it, throwing torpedos everywhere.

 

I know I can't spoil you if you are not done yet, buuuuuuut... the paralells will only increase.

Though there is a decent Princess Bride influence as well!

 

ARGGGGGGGGHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

THIS BOOK!!!

I had so many emotions reading the end of this book yesterday. I really had to sit on it. I generally like most Star Wars books, but rarely do I find one that really throws me for an emotional loop like this. This was NJO: Traitor-level good.

Actually, several parts of this novel distinctly remind me of both Traitor and Into the Void (that little-read DotJ novel). I thought this was going to be a boring book because I didn’t much care for The Duel. But geeeeez this book was amazing. It rode on its characters, but it also had a decent amount of clever sci-fi and new inventions. The last planet was really neat... I wish we can see it someday in something, even just a source book illustration. It was very... different. Beautiful in an eerie way.

I love the Traveler/Fox. I’m pretty sure they’re my new favorite character. They’re an absolute joy to read.

The double-triple-quadruple twists toward the end were great. There were a few points where it seemed the story was going to go one way, but it went somewhere else instead. I had expected to be dissatisfied regarding the explanations of certain things (like the twist regarding The Duel's end, in the second or third chapter), but the story wrapped up most of the mysteries pretty thoroughly.

Also kudos to the author regarding the use of color, or lack thereof. Like the show, almost everything is described as black, white, gray, or silver. Occasionally the droid’s button and the lightsabers and crystals have color. The few animals that show up seem to have color in their eyes, but there’s very little mention of color besides that unless it’s light/dark/black/white.

 

Does anyone know if the upcoming Visions comic will adapt this novel, or merely take place in the same continuity as the short and this novel?

 

I am hoping that particular practice has been discontinued....permanently discontinued.

 

I finished Ronin. I liked the book itself, and although it may be a matter of translation, the book itself is a bit strangely written when it comes to language, although the content itself drew me in. As for the universe itself, which it presents, it is very interesting and the background drew me in so much that I am curious how it will all go on, both on a macro scale in the form of the entire Empire, and on a micro scale with Ronin, a droid, a pilot and the person he found . I liked the presentation of the world, that here we have an Empire whose Jedi are the protectors and just like the Samurai are supposed to serve their masters, because of them they are completely clean, because of the Sith rebellion itself, it was different shades of gray. I hope that the Roninverse will continue to appear and maybe we will get a continuation of the book, showing this universe even more broadly. I know that a comic book has come out in this universe, which I will check when I have the opportunity, but for now I have to read Mission to Disaster, which recently came out for me.


Pardon for my English, Im not native speaker.

 

Pretty certain your English beats my non-existent skill with your native language.

 

This was a good story. Some good action, great world building, with the Jedi, Sith, Magic and Empire.

The ending was good and the finally 'enemy' was good too. But it did lose me from time to time.

Spoiler

I liked the characters and would be good to see more of them in the future.