Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire

I was just one of many who were skeptical of Star Wars books being written around a Disney theme park. Thankfully my assumptions were completely misguided, and both this book and A CRASH OF FATE were amazing. You can tell within the first page that Delilah S. Dawson not only "gets" Star Wars, but loves it. She is a great storyteller, and her original characters never fail to disappoint. This book might be much more important to the Skywalker saga as a whole than we initially realized, and I feel confident in saying this is not a Star Wars book you should skip. If you thought the First Order was awful before, just wait until you're done here. This book is going to make you feel things. Be prepared. And get ready for an amazing ride.

Minor gripes aside, Black Spire is an absolutely incredible ride. Once again, we see that the old trope of throwing together a band of characters with little to nothing in common makes for riveting storytelling. Vi...Archex...Kriki...Zade...these are all names that may not be known by casual Star Wars fans, but absolutely should be! As an Expanded Universe reader, these are the types of projects that you should feel lucky are reserved for you. Definitely pick this book up and give it a try.

The follow-up to Deliah Dawson's Phasma novel follows Resistance agent Vi Moradi as she is tasked with establishing a Resistance base on the planet of Batuu by General Leia Organa herself. Vi has her work cut out for her though, as she has to escape the notice of the First Order and persuade the people of the planet to fight back against tyranny which they mostly see as "not their problem." For that thematic reason alone, this was a Star Wars book that meant more than your average space adventure. Dawson builds a fantastic supporting cast of characters and expands on the character of Archex—formerly Captain Cardinal—in an epic, heroic, and meaningful way. Ultimately, the book came across cringey and cheesy at points and Vi is a truly maddening character, but all-in-all it was a perfectly enjoyable book—one I read twice within the span of a few months.