On opposite sides of the war, will two star-crossed lovers reunite, or will duty tear them–and the galaxy–apart?
Star Wars: Lost Stars is only one of many books that have recently been released as part of the newly-dubbed official Star Wars canon. While Star Wars: Aftermath was the biggest release of them all, I hate to see Lost Stars getting, well, lost, among Aftermath and all the other new stories, because it is a truly great book that fans of Star Wars need to read.
First off, Lost Stars takes place a little before, during, and a bit after the events of the original trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi). It is the story of two childhood friends, Thane and Ciena, who both dream of becoming officers in the Imperial Fleet. When Thane witnesses the brutality and ruthlessness of the Empire, he defects and ultimately joins the Rebel Alliance. Ciena, however, is bound to the Empire by her sense of duty and honor. Over the course of the novel, we get an in-depth look at the characters and worlds that we don’t see in the primary story of the films. We do, however, get glimpses of characters and events that we have seen– or will see in upcoming films– through the eyes of Thane and Ciena. Claudia Gray does a wonderful job molding both of these characters into humans that we can love and truly understand even if we don’t agree with them. We also get to see the humanity of servants of the Empire such as Grand Miff Tarkin, making us understand that they are not all completely evil.
Despite the novel being marketed as a romance novel for young adults, Lost Stars can easily be enjoyed by anybody who considers themselves to be a fan of Star Wars. There is action, intrigue, and much more. Don’t get me wrong, there is romance in this book, and it takes center stage a number of times, but Claudia Gray effortlessly ties the relational aspect of the story in with the moral dilemmas and decisions both of the main characters must face and make. There is very little in this book that you’d find Ina typical romance novel with a picture of a shirtless man on the cover. Adults are sure to enjoy this novel as much– if not more– than the book’s intended audience. As stated before, Lost Stars focuses a lot on the internal struggles in its characters which, often times, move the romantic plot to the side and take center stage.
Star Wars: Lost Stars is a novel that rightly deserves to be revered as one of the best– and one of the most important– additions to the new canon.
Evan W.S. Morgan 