Star Wars: Before the Awakening by Greg RuckaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Star Wars: Before the Awakening appealed to me as it really stands as a sort of beginning of an expanded universe for this new series in the Star Wars canon. That it focused on our new trio, and happen to be written by one of my favourite comic writers, Greg Ruka, were just happy bonuses, truth be told. I had been wanting to get into the Star Wars expanded universe for a while now, but there's so much and with no real idea where to start, I found myself a bit overwhelmed. Then comes the news of a new movie, and the EU is tossed out of the window, ready to begin all over again. So this time, I have a chance of catching up.
As much as I would love to go into huge detail about every single section, considering it's not even been a month since the movie was released at the time of this writing, I will hold my excitement and instead try to give a simple overview. The book is split into three sections, for Finn, Rey, and Poe Dameron in that order. Finn's - or FN-2187 which happens to his Storm Trooper designation and thus his 'name' - section shows us what life is like for those who work for the First Order. For those who get shades of Big Brother, you're not wrong. Rey's section shows us one instance of life on Jakku, the junkyard trader planet, and how desperate life was for her. Poe's shows us the life of someone who works in the Resistance.
Each section of the book does well at both fleshing out the characters that we come to know and love far more in the movie, as well as helping to flesh out the new world we are introduced to in general. It has been 30 years since Return of the Jedi, after all, and life has changed for everyone in a galaxy far, far away. These three very different points of view do not just help to show us why each character is strong enough to hold a movie on their own, but also helps to show them as a person, and help our feelings go out to them more than the movie already does. They also answer some of the question that could have been left over from seeing The Force Awakens, which I'm sure will please many people.
Long story short, it's worth picking up if you like just one of these three characters. Rucka's writing is descriptive and emotive in the best of ways, and is also clear enough for all ages to be able to read, though younger readers may need a hand here or there.
5 out of 5 stars from me, and I really cannot wait to find more books that build up the new canon for Star Wars. How else can I end this but: May the Force be with you.
View all my reviews
Comments
Post a Comment