Revis, Beth
About the Author:
Beth Revis hails from North Carolina, USA, where she lives with her husband and son.
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3 out of 5
(1 book)
Star Wars: Rebel Rising
Beginning at the prologue of 'Rogue One' (as novelised by Alexander Freed), where eight year old Jyn Erso witnesses her mother's death and her father's capture by the Empire, this book tells the story of how she went from heartbroken child to hard-as-nails criminal over the ensuing years.
This is a brilliant book for anyone who really liked Jyn's character in 'Rogue One' or, in my case, who want to know more about the early days of the Rebel Alliance and their relationship to Saw Gerrera's partisans. In fact, it is Jyn's training under Saw that makes up the best part of this book. He's simultaneously a caring father-figure and a ruthless taskmaster; a paranoid terrorist and a dedicated freedom fighter. In regard to Jyn, we get a good exploration of all the major bits of her character history mentioned in the film (including exactly how she ended up imprisoned on a long list of charges) as well as an understanding of how her character can embrace both the cynical out-for-herself criminal from the start of the movie and the passionate young woman espousing hope towards the end.
One major downside to this book is that the periods of Jyn's life it covers are very compartmentalised. It begins with her time with Saw but when that ends it's very abrupt. The same then happens when Jyn spends time on a peaceful world where she falls in love but that too ends abruptly. Finally, her time as a criminal codeslicer and Imperial stooge also has too neat a closure. They're more like linked short stories in some ways than a continuous novel. However, the biggest downside to this book is that it never gets to complete it's story arc (due to that happening in 'Rogue One') meaning that you're left very unsatisfied by its ending. If you have the chance, then go straight on an read Freed's novelisation.
Also, at time Revis' writing drags a little and, combined with scenes where Jyn doesn't do very much, it makes parts of the book a bit of a chore.
Overall, not a bad book (and a much better 'Rogue One' lead-in than James Luceno's 'Catalyst'), but not quite as dynamic and satisfying as I would have liked.
3 out of 5
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