“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. . . .
The first Star Wars novel created in collaboration with the Lucasfilm Story Group, Star Wars: A New Dawn is set during the legendary “Dark Times” between Episodes III and IV and tells the story of how two of the lead characters from the animated series Star Wars Rebels first came to cross paths. Featuring a foreword by Dave Filoni.
Praise for A New Dawn
“A New Dawn is a fine start to the new Expanded Universe. [John Jackson] Miller steps confidently into the unexplored territory and owns it; he’s crafted a story with pacing and dialogue that feels like classic Star Wars.”—Nerdist
“An entertaining adventure . . . with a cast of heroes that mixes laughter with intriguing depths of character. . . . John Jackson Miller packs in plenty of action and surprises.”—Roqoo Depot
“A confidently told story that gives fans a lot of reason to be hopeful about what’s to come as we move into this new phase of Star Wars . . . The book certainly got me even more excited for Rebels and to see more of Kanan and Hera’s adventures. We’re also introduced to other characters I would love to see again at some point, whether on Rebels, in another book or, who knows, in live-action at some point.”—IGN
“A New Dawn delivers a classic Star Wars experience that fans of all ages will be able to enjoy. It is extremely well-written, with an incredibly diverse cast too. Miller’s prose can easily suck readers in, and leave them speechless when 100 pages have flown by in the blink of an eye.”—Far Far Away Radio
“A New Dawn brings us into this new dawn of storytelling with energy, excitement, and characters that have become instantly ensconced into the Star Wars vernacular, and the results will satisfy Star Wars fans of many different palates.”—Coffee with Kenobi
“A New Dawn is a well-written novel full of intrigue and twists and turns that does an excellent job of letting Star Wars fans get to know Kanan and Hera.”—Tosche Station
“A New Dawn finds an era never before written about in the Star Wars universe—the years prior to the original movie, Episode IV—in robust good health. The narrative takes place on two worlds and a handful of ships in between them, but as with the best of all Star Wars moments, hints at hidden depths beyond.”—Mashable
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!
