A New Dawn: Star Wars

by John Jackson Miller

Dave Filoni (Foreword)

Discover how Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus, two of the lead characters from Star Wars Rebels, originally met in this thrilling novel set between Episodes III and IV.

“The war is over. The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning.”—Emperor Palpatine

For a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights brought peace and order to the Galactic Republic, aided by their connection to the mystical energy field known as the Force. But they were betrayed—and the entire galaxy has paid the price. It is the Age of the Empire.
 
Now Emperor Palpatine, once chancellor of the Republic and secretly a Sith follower of the dark side of the Force, has brought his own peace and order to the galaxy: peace through brutal repression, and order through increasing control of his subjects’ lives.
 
But even as the Emperor tightens his iron grip, others have begun to question his means and motives. And still others, whose lives were destroyed by Palpatine’s machinations, lay scattered about the galaxy like unexploded bombs, waiting to go off. . . .

• ISBN10: 055339147X
• ISBN13: 9780553391473
• Publish Date: 31 March 2015 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House Worlds
• Format: Paperback (US Tall Rack)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780553391473

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

While watching Star Wars: Rebels did you ever find yourself wondering how the characters ended up meeting each other in the first place? A New Dawn doesn’t tell us the full story, but it does tell us how Hera and Kanan met, and since they’re both my favorites of the series (cough totally not biased cough) I’m inclined to consider their meeting the most important.
As far as where A New Dawn fits in with the rest of the canon series, I can give you a pretty good estimate for that one. Movie wise it fits in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. As far as the books go it’s tucked between Thrawn and Lost Stars (both are fantastic, in case you were wondering).



A New Dawn is not quite what I was expecting, but I loved it anyway. This was a great prelude to the Rebels series, if I may say so. I for one have always had questions about many of the characters in Rebels, but in particular I’ve been wondering about Kanan and Hera, and this novel finally gives me a few of the answers I’ve been hoping for. Granted, it doesn’t tell me everything, but I’ll take what I can get!
For some reason I had always assumed that Kanan had gotten Hera into the Rebellion, rather than the other way around, but I’ve officially been proven wrong. In this novel we have Kanan essentially in hiding after the fall of the Jedi (for more information on how Kanan survived that, go ahead and read his graphic novels). Meanwhile Hera is the bold and brave agent trying to gather information and make a difference in the galaxy. I wasn’t expecting that twist, and while Kanan immediately steps up to help Hera out, the fact remains that he may not have had she not been there. It’s interesting food for thought.
I loved the character interactions in this story, as well as getting a chance to know the characters without having the others around (not that I don’t love them all – especially Chopper). So often we’ve been forced to see one or both of them guarded, but here they’re a bit more open. Okay, that’s not completely true, as they both have a lot of secrets, but there’s an instant connection between the two that draws them to each other (okay, it’s mostly Kanan being drawn to Hera, but still).
It was interesting to see both characters in a different point in their lives. Hera is confident in her abilities, but she hasn’t hit the point where she feels comfortable working in a team (even thought that is vital for finishing many of the missions she hopes to take on). Meanwhile Kanan is still hurting from his past, and unsure of what he should make of his future. By joining the Rebellion he’s essentially decided to stop sitting on the sideline and instead start fighting for hope. It’s a great change for him, and is wonderful to see it happen.
The antagonist for the series is an interesting one. While he is more physically intimidating than Tarkin, I almost want to put him on the same level. Vidian is a scary dude – and that’s before taking his cyborg body into account. He’s cold and calculating and clearly has no problem coming to lethal conclusions for the sake of business. In short he’s the perfect antagonist for our newly founded team.
I know I’m biased because I love Hera and Kanan (though mostly Hera – she’s one of my favorite characters in all of Star Wars, which is saying something), but I really enjoyed this novel. It’s fast paced and witty and everything else one would hope to find in a Star Wars novel. Even the battle scenes (the few that there were) were pretty great. I know it’s unlikely we’ll see another full novel about any of the Rebels characters, but I would so love it should another one come out. Here’s hoping!


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[inlibrisveritas]

A New Dawn is aptly named, as it is the first new Star Wars novel after the rest of the Extended Universe. A change that sort of broke me in half when it was announced, because I basically saw all the years and actual effort I put into learning all of this random lore….loving characters from several different eras of history….just vanish with a swipe of a hand. I’ll admit I was pissed, bitter even. There was not really a lot of time between when I found out and when I decided to force myself into the new EU where I didn’t say something along the lines of ‘f— Disney’ every time I thought about it. But like with songs on the radio, you might hate them to begin with but if you hear it enough times your brain suddenly latches onto it and you even find yourself enjoying it. Thus began operation ‘Re-education’. I borrowed the library audiobook and bought the paperback, and forced myself to start reading.

We have several key players in A New Dawn: Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Zaluna, Skelly, Captain Sloane, and Count Vidian; and we meet them all fairly quickly. This doesn’t have specifically marked sections of character so there is a bit of jumping around within a chapter, but I didn’t find the transitions jarring at all in either the text or the audio. Kanan is most definitely not a favorite of mine, but I do like him as a character. Having known what his character is like in the episode of Rebels that I’ve watched I see that he has a lot of growing to do both in the maturity area and in the self discovery area. He’s a bit bitter, and some of that frustrations is misplaced. I do like his humor though and the fact that he is brash, quick to act, and angry….all things he really shouldn’t be. Hera is pure badass in a Twi’lek body. She’s an excellent pilot who isn’t afraid to do what is needed to help her cause, and she is very much loyal to that cause…no pretty face or temptation is pretty or strong enough to make her forget that. She’s iron willed and intelligent…and I can honestly say that if I start watching Rebels it will be for her. Count Vidian is a formidable adversary and very much the definition of what the Empire stands for. He is the embodiment of how the Empire runs. It’s all about out put and efficiency and that is exactly what Count Vidian is good at, and why he’s sent to a mining planet to begin with. I will say that without the audio he might come off as a bland villain, although smart, and I really think the audio does him a lot of favors and lends him a really stand out voice. The plot is quick, wonderfully detailed and holds true to the Star Wars novel ‘feel’ that I’m already use to.

The audiobook version is pure amazing-ness. I’ve never listened to a Star Wars audio before and now I’m convinced that it’s the only way to ‘read’ the books…and all other audiobooks should be ashamed. The reader is excellent and lends his vocal talents to a ton of people. There is background noises like ships flying, blaster bolts, actual side conversations and just general ambient noise. It’s like listening to an actual play and a fully immersive experience that truly can’t be beat.

So do I recommend the new start to the new Star Wars? Yes! It’s a fun read that you’ll have no trouble getting through. For the older fans it will ease you into it gently and you’ll feel at home with it, for the new fans you are getting a great starting point with just enough to whet your appetite and make you want more. If you enjoy Star Wars and audiobooks, I implore you to go listen to the sample…it’s the most fun I’ve had listening to a book in a very long time.