This thrilling Young Adult novel gives readers a macro view of some of the most important events in the Star Wars universe, from the rise of the Rebellion to the fall of the Empire. Readers will experience these major moments through the eyes of two childhood friends–Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell–who have grown up to become an Imperial officer and a Rebel pilot. Now on opposite sides of the war, … war, will these two star-crossed lovers reunite, or will duty tear them–and the galaxy–apart? Star Wars: Lost Stars also includes all-new post- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi content, as well as hints and clues about the upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, making this a must-read for all Star Wars fans.
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I think this book is good for kids my age
Read the real Star Wars and buy Legends books instead. Tell Disney to continue the Legends timeline.
This book was entertaining. The story spans across events of the original movie trilogy, and looks at the most important events through the eyes of two ordinary humans from a distant Imperial planet. The writer handles the mental anguish of the characters exceptionally well, but the account of events (battles, small details like training days at the academy, etc.) could have been portrayed with more depth. The story appeals to emotion rather well, but leaves out logical details (such as how the empire musters the strength to build battle stations, large sets of troops etc.). However, it was a refreshing look at the Star Wars universe, leaving out the Skywalker family and bringing in entirely new characters who happen to be ordinary people who find themselves in the middle of a devastating war. It draws parallels to the Rogue One movie in that sense.
I didn’t know what to think of this book when I first started it. It’s a YA Star Wars book about two friends, Ciena and Thane, who grow up in different class sections of their world, become Imperial officers, fall in love (the friends to lovers trope here is well done), and then one defects and fights for the Rebel Alliance. In the end, I really enjoyed this book, and Claudia Gray captured my attention so fiercely, I had trouble putting my Kindle down.
Things I liked about this book: seeing the events of STAR WARS, EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and RETURN OF THE JEDI, plus more between those movies and THE FORCE AWAKENS from the viewpoint of other characters. Now I know why there’s that crashed Star Destroyer on Jakku! I also loved the chemistry between Ciena and Thane, and though I was frustrated with Ciena’s sense of duty, she was totally believable throughout.
LOST STARS by Claudia Gray is probably one of my top five Star Wars books with the others being THE THRAWN TRILOGY by Timothy Zahn and SHATTERPOINT by Matthew Stover. It is a book which doesn’t talk about Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han, or the other characters but follows two original characters through the events of the Galactic Civil War (A New Hope to the Battle of Jakku following Return of the Jedi).
The premise of the books is a variation on Romeo and Juliet in Space. In this case, aristocrat Thane Kyrell and rural poor-girl Ciena Ree are born on the same planet in the Outer Rim territories. Both of them are extremely good pilots, though, and manage to qualify to go to the Imperial Academy on Coruscant due to a chance encounter with Grand Moff Tarkin on a good day. Once enrolled, Thane Kyrell becomes increasingly disillusioned with the Empire while Ciena becomes increasingly fervernt. The pair fall in love but their politics manage to separate them just before the Death Star’s completion signals the beginning of a new age in the galaxy.
The story rests on its protagonists with Ciena Ree being a Force-believing, moral, and exceptionally idealistic young woman. I.e. She’s the person you normally would think would be drawn to the Rebellion. However, Ciena Ree comes from a culture which strongly emphasizes oaths and tradition. Once she’s sworn allegiance to the Galactic Empire, that is it and you don’t go against your home government. Thane is a snooty rich kid but he has a passionate loathing of authority thanks to his abusive father and sees that attitude everywhere in the Empire.
Honestly, Thane is a character which didn’t need to be one of the protagonists because he comes off as a fairly vanilla character compared to Ciena. We’ve seen kids with daddy issues and disrespect for authority join the Rebellion many times before. He could have easily been a supporting character in Ciena’s story and it would have probably made a (slightly) stronger novel.
Ciena Ree, by contrast, is a fascinating character who has a lot of dynamic changes over the course of the story as well as several interesting moral dilemmas. She wants desperately to believe the Empire is the “good guys” and even manages to rationalize away the destruction of Alderaan before the creation of a Second Death Star destroys even that fragile collection of delusions. Her status at the end of the book is questionable and I’m honestly interested in a sequel because I’d like to know what happens to her.
I like how the characters Forrest Gump their way through various events in Star Wars without feeling too forced. After all, they’re assigned to Darth Vader’s flagship and the elite of the Rebellion, so they’re always going to be just off-camera so to speak. It gives a nice “boots on the ground” perspective to the cosmic conflict between good and evil going on around our protagonists.
I also appreciated the handling of Ciena Ree as she’s a good deconstruction of the “Good Imperial.” A lot of Timothy Zahn’s writings show Imperials as just normal people following their government and questioning why it’s so bad to be a soldier for the Emperor. Ciena Ree’s perspective is a nightmare for a moral person and shows exactly why you can’t be a good person for an organization underneath Palpatine and Vader. Justifying their atrocities makes you evil or deluded.
Indeed, the one character who fell flat for me was Nash Windrider who is an Alderaanian Imperial who goes insane trying to justify his loyalty to the Empire after his planet’s destruction. Ciena is repulsed by him and hates him for going after Thane Kyrios. However, Nash is doing the exact same thing she is doing and Thane tried to kill him so Ciena just comes off as a huge hypocrite.
Despite dealing with serious subject matter, the book is often quite humorous. One of the best parts of the book is how both characters completely misunderstand their respective factions. While Ciena Ree believes the Empire to be good and the Rebellion evil, Thane refuses to believe the Rebels could be as idealistic or noble as they claim. It takes Mon Mothma helping him through a drunken pity party to help him realize they are as down to Earth (Tatooine?) as heroes should be.
In conclusion, there’s a lot to recommend this book and it is one of the better Star Wars Expanded Universe novels. This takes place in the post-Disney “canon” timeline but can be read by anyone who has watched the movies with no difficulty.
Amazing!
I listened to the audio book, but this is a must read/listen to, for all Star Wars fans. Interesting perspective from the Imperial side as well as hitting on known events in Episodes IV – VII.