A review of Star Wars: Outcast
Alan M Rogers
I’ve been a Star Wars fan for a very long time; I can’t really remember a time I haven’t loved it; space knights and laser swords and heroics across the board. Star Wars was my real introduction to heroic archetype, black hat villains, and evil overlords. As a kid, I read Star Wars novels written for kids, stories about Jabba the Hutt’s father trying to kill Princess Leia and stories about Chewbacca and Han visiting the Wookie home world. There was no Coruscant or Kashyyk and I didn’t know the difference between a Jedi and a Sith.
I haven’t stopped reading Star Wars fiction since then.
In the past thirty years, the Star Wars universe has expanded, becoming a rich and textured tapestry of stories and characters, complete with hundreds of thousands of years of history, heroes and villains.
One of the most recent Star Wars tales I’ve had the pleasure of reading was Star Wars: Outcast by Aaron Allston. The first of the Fate of the Jedi series exploring what happens to the Jedi after Jacen Solo’s fall to the Dark Side as Darth Caedus and his subsequent defeat by his sister.
Star Wars: Outcast is just that – Star Wars. Aaron Allston’s concise prose gives me the same feelings of wonder and excitement that I get from watching the original three Star Wars movies. Luke Skywalker is arrested and facing trial for his failure to stop Jacen Solo from becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith and the entire Jedi Order is under scrutiny by the Galactic Alliance and Chief of State Nataasi Daala while Jedi Valin Horn (and later, others) are dealing with what appear to be psychotic breaks.
A master of character writing, Aaron Allston breathes new life into the classic Star Wars characters as they deal with the newest crises to galactic peace and security. Whether it’s Han Solo offering to play sabacc for Luke’s bail money or it’s Leia calmly taking control, the characters are obviously the same characters we fell in love with watching the original movies. However, Aaron Allston also manages to shade the characters with the maturity and wisdom that have come with their many years of experience at the center of interstellar
upheaval.
Allston also brings in many of the characters that have appeared in novels over the years, including Nawara Ven, the Twi’lek lawyer who once flew with Corran Horn and Rogue Squadron and his wife Rhysati Ynr as part of Luke’s defense team, writing them with the same panache and subtlety as he does the classic characters. It’s during Luke’s trial that this novel really begins to shine; Nawara Ven’s expert handling of the recalcitrant Jedi Grand Master and the fantastic political dialogue with Nataasi Daala
that finally explores some of the real differences between Imperial and
Republic doctrines sets the stage for the beginnings of what certainly be one of
the most fantastic journeys in Star Wars history.
Luke Skywalker must go into exile and prove there was no way he – or any of the Jedi – could have prevented Jacen Solo’s fall. His son, Ben, decides to go with him, to atone for and come to terms with his own part in Darth Caedus’ brutal war. After one of the best-written farewell scenes I’ve read in many a year, Luke and Ben set out to retrace Jacen’s travels and studies, starting with the Baran Do Sages’ Temple on Dorin.
Meanwhile, Han and Leia travel to Kessel to help Lando Calrissian and his wife Tendra (another awesome Star Wars character who doesn’t get nearly as much screen time as she should!) find out what’s going on with new ground quakes.
Of course, during this all, Valin Horn has been dealing with what seems to be a psychotic break, which causes the Galactic Alliance to assign every Jedi an observer. Jaina Solo, who is dealing with her (mostly) secret love affair with Jag Fel, has her world shaken when she is assigned the man who now looks like her deceased brother Anakin – something that shakes both her and Anakin’s former love, Tahiri Veila.
I won’t even give you a hint as to the end, because not even I saw it coming (and between you and I, that is saying something.) This novel is classic Star Wars at it’s best, with Jedi walking into the darkness to discover its secrets, political machinations, and forbidden love.
If you haven’t read a Star Wars book in awhile – or ever – this is a great place to pick up and read. Aaron Allston does a great job of making the story accessible and enjoyable, even if you haven’t read a single Star Wars book before this one, much like the first Star Wars movie did, the story manages to put us in the middle of events but doesn’t leave us lost.
It does, however, leave us wanting the next book.
CREATORS & WRITERS: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
STORY: Christopher Leone & Laura Harkcom
