Books Star Wars: Hunters: Battle for the Arena by Mark Oshiro

Spoiler

Lando Calrissian, Jango Fett, and Asajj Ventress may not seem like obvious inspirations for a new anti-hero. But in this trio of driven, often self-serving characters, author Mark Oshiro found the elements they needed to tell the story of Rieve from Star Wars: Hunters.

Today, StarWars.com is pleased to reveal the cover of Oshiro’s new book, Star Wars: Hunters: Battle for the Arena, based on the forthcoming game. The story will transport us to the world of Vespaara where newcomer Rieve, a Force-sensitive orphan from Corellia, is finding her footing as a Hunter in the Arena. But it’s not long before her past comes back to haunt her…


Recently, Oshiro sat down to talk about their love of Star Wars, how their life experience is woven throughout their writing, and why Grozz is their favorite of the Arena warriors.

StarWars.com: Congratulations on the book! A dark-side warrior is an interesting choice for the hero of your tale. What can you tell us about Rieve and her place in your story?

Mark Oshiro: Rieve is a walking mystery. She’s vague about her past, and she doesn’t like vulnerability. So becoming a Hunter seems like a good idea to her! She can disappear into this Sith Lord persona, and the Arena provides her an outlet for her quietly chaotic powers. She’s very much an anti-hero because she has no interest in others.


StarWars.com: As soon as I heard she was a charmer from Corellia, she reminded me of Han Solo. What existing Star Wars characters were you looking to for inspiration to capture her charisma and her strengths? What about her flaws and struggles?

Mark Oshiro: As we fleshed out Rieve, I was looking for inspiration from characters like Lando Calrissian, Jango Fett, and even Asajj Ventress from The Clone Wars. I love antagonistic people who have a reason for their antagonism. So I wanted her to be someone who, from another character’s point of view, might almost seem like a villain. As an orphan, she’s used to having to watch her own back, so one of her biggest flaws is her flat-out refusal to trust most people. It’s all part of her drive for self-preservation, but as you’ll see, it also does her a disservice.

StarWars.com: You previously wrote the account of a very sympathetic wampa in search of its clan in From A Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. What draws you to characters who are not routinely the focus? As someone who is queer, nonbinary, and latinx, how does your own life experience translate into your stories?

Mark Oshiro: A lot of that is rooted in what I’ve been through. People like me are so routinely ignored in mainstream fiction that I tend to be attracted to the outsiders. In Rieve’s case, it was so easy to slip into this character who has had to deal with feeling alone and abandoned. In particular, though, thanks to the suggestion and support of Lucasfilm, I got to write a character dealing with PTSD. Her past has a traumatic incident that directly influences her current state, so treating that with care and dignity was very freeing.

StarWars.com: How did you first get introduced to Star Wars as a fan? How does it feel to contribute more to the galaxy with your writing?

Mark Oshiro: My parents introduced it to me before I could actually remember watching them! Return of the Jedi came out just before I was born, and there is nothing I watched more growing up than that original trilogy. As a teenager, I discovered the novelizations and original novels, and I disappeared into the Heir to the Empire trilogy. So it is quite literally a dream come true to be able to write my own Star Wars story.


StarWars.com: Totally judging your book by its cover here, it looks like we’ll also be spending time with Imara Vex, the Jawa twins Utooni, and Grozz the Wookiee. Who’s your personal favorite among the arena warriors and why?

Mark Oshiro: Oh, Grozz. Absolutely. He’s a big goof who channels my childhood love of professional wrestling, but he also gets to have a fascinating relationship with Rieve. He was also a huge challenge to write because Rieve doesn’t speak Shyriiwook, so I had to come up with all these fun ways to have them communicate.

StarWars.com: What do you hope readers and gamers take away from the book?

Mark Oshiro: The power of found family. Rieve’s journey is one of self-acceptance, and I hope readers and gamers take that idea to heart. You deserve to be loved and appreciated.

 

Not sure if the book will be for me but I love the character and environment design for the game. Seem like great old-school Lucasarts style characters.

 

This is a mobile game, isn't it? I wouldn't have thought it would get a book tie-in (or adaptation?).

 

Not entirely, it's also hitting the Switch.

 

Same here. I like the design and concepts for a lot of these characters, so I am glad they aren't entirely limited to the game.

Given the stormtrooper character's whole thing is continuing to fly the flag despite the empire having fallen, I believe that is a safe assumption.

 

Statements on starwars.com do place the game after "the fall of the Empire," so yeah, probably after Jakku.

So whatever happened to this game? I thought it launched in certain parts of Asia last year, but that's the last I've heard anything about it outside of this tie-in book. I guess if the book is still happening then the game must be, but it sure seems like they're taking their time bringing it to Western markets.

 

I saw someone with a testing account, but that was months ago

 

Out of the blue, early and almost forgotten already it existed, this nugget arrived today with me and looks good!

I like the interior illustrations and what I glimpsed from the text, it seems very well written, full of details, pulling from SW all over. A welcome surprise! Digging in soon!

*puts it on the "to read" pile* I won't forget about you again, I promise... *can hear the other books in the pile complain*

 

Did the game come out after, then?

 

After a flurry of early publicity and a very limited release to certain regions only, the game itself really sort of fell into development hell with no word on wide release other than "sometime in 2023." The book didn't get cancelled, so that bodes well for the game, at least. Maybe we'll get some news on March 7 (the US release date of the book), or at Celebration.

 

Sooo, has anyone already read this? Is it good?

 

For a book intended to introduce a multiplayer mobile game it has a surprising depth. As Sinrebirth has said, the main character is very well developed. The other characters (all of whom will appear in the game) are also sufficiently sketched. The main story is somewhat fun, although the plot twist is quite obvious. Of course, since its main purpose is to serve as a companion book, it cannot reach the heights achieved by other YA works (such as those of Claudia Gray and Justina Ireland), but I found it more enjoyable than some recent SW books with more serious aspirations.

 

In case it wasn't self-evident, the global launch of the game this novel was intended to promote has now slipped to 2024. The word is that this is due to "exciting new features" being developed for it. I'm scared my phone is going to be too out-of-date to play this when and if it finally launches

 

Is it Aspyr developing this one?

 

Wikipedia says NaturalMotion, a subsidiary of Zynga. The list of games they've developed isn't particularly inspiring but their animation tech is apparently solid, having been used by Lucasarts for TFU and Rockstar for GTA 4/5 and RDR1/2.

 

I like that it is kinda like wrestling.

 

Yeah. Really shocked me, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Particularly some of the ways it affects individual characters.

 

Okay for anyone else who owns the Audiobook version can you confirm or deny that chapters 34 and 35 are switched chapters 40 and 41 respectively in the audiobook selection.

I just want to know if for some reason I have a **** copy or if everyone’s is broken.