In this pivotal prequel to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the heroes of the Resistance—Poe Dameron, General Leia Organa, Rey, and Finn—must fight back from the edge of oblivion.The Resistance is in ruins. In the wake of their harrowing escape from Crait, what was once an army has been reduced to a handful of wounded heroes. Finn, Poe, Rey, Rose, Chewbacca, Leia Organa—their names are famous … Organa—their names are famous among the oppressed worlds they fight to liberate. But names can only get you so far, and Leia’s last desperate call for aid has gone unanswered.
From the jungles of Ryloth to the shipyards of Corellia, the shadow of the First Order looms large, and those with the bravery to face the darkness are scattered and isolated. If hope is to survive, the Resistance must journey throughout the galaxy, seeking out more leaders—including those who, in days gone by, helped a nascent rebellion topple an empire. Battles will be fought, alliances will be forged, and the Resistance will be reborn.
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Unless I’m mistaken, Resistance Reborn is the first adult prose tie-in novel to feature Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron, the new heroes of the Resistance. As an official prequel to the forthcoming film, The Rise of Skywalker, it has some big narrative shoes to fill following Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. Author Rebecca Roanhorse stages her story in the immediate aftermath of that film, with the fragmented remains of the Resistance having escaped the First Order following the Battle of Crait.
Resistance Reborn covers only a scant amount of time in the year separating Episodes VIII and Episode IX and establishes those first, sometimes tentative, steps toward rebuilding an army to resist the might of the fascist First Order that has swept across the galaxy. In order to light the spark of resistance, though, some old allies are needed and some familiar faces are pulled out retirement, like former Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles and his wife, Norra Wexley. I have to give huge props to Roanhorse for bringing Wexley back following her introduction in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy, and knowing that Wedge, and Norra’s son Snap, is slated to appear in The Rise of Skywalker gives me hope that we might, at long last, get to see a cinematic depiction of Wendig’s character. Drawing these previously established characters into the fold helps give a good bit of legacy and weight to these proceedings, and shows a welcome mindfulness to the history of Star Wars itself, as well as post-Disney Star Wars cannon. Also, it was a welcome relief to finally get official confirmation that Wedge and Norra survived the First Order’s destruction of Hosnian Prime in The Force Awakens!
There’s a lot of fan service in Resistance Reborn, but that’s in no way a bad thing here. Roanhorse does a great job handling the relationships between the characters, particularly the established on-screen dynamics between General Leia Organa and Poe, and Poe and Finn. Roanhorse has a lot of fun with the latter’s bromance, even teasing the potential for something deeper, perhaps in response to fandom’s hope that the two will become icons for the gay community, encouraged in no small part by actor John Boyega’s professed love for FinnPoe shippers. While Roanhorse doesn’t go quite as far as some internet storytellers may, it’s fun seeing her having fun with the idea. As to the former relationship, though, Poe is definitely in full recovery mode following some poor choices made during The Last Jedi, and he’s working hard on reestablishing his place in the Resistance. Rey, sadly, doesn’t get a whole lot to do here, but there are some nice sequences between her and Leia that should help position her into a more dominant role, particularly since they didn’t get a lot of screen-time together in the preceding films. It’s a welcome bit of relationship building, which is really where this book’s strengths lie. If you’ve been enjoying this new cast of characters in the Skywalker Saga, Resistance Reborn is as good an excuse as any to spend even more time with them.
Narrator Marc Thompson does, as usual, a wonderful job narrating. He nails Finn’s vocal tics and captures the energy of Finn and Poe’s conversations, as well Rey’s quiet timidness in the presence of larger-than-life Rebel heroes like Leia. And there’s the usual LucasFilm touches that give the audiobook a true Star Wars feel, replete with sound effects and musical score. It’s these added post-production elements that have made Star Wars books a must-listen, rather than a must-read, grab for me.
I, for one, am quite happy that Del Rey Books have finally brought these new heroes of the Resistance to print after having spent the last several years so heavily focused on filling in the time gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, or centering titles around tertiary characters like Captain Phasma, or reintroducing previously-cannon figures like Thrawn over a series of novels (and with more to come!). I do hope this is the start of more literary adventures for this new trio, and that they’ll extend beyond whatever the finale The Rise of Skywalker brings.
Rebecca Roanhorse is a new author to the Star Wars stage, and I’d say her debut was a success.
Before discussing the book itself, I think it’s worth noting she was given a herculean task: write a novel between The Last Jedi—the most controversial Star Wars story in history—and The Rise of Skywalker. The latter is the culmination of over forty years of storytelling.
No big deal Rebecca, just fill in the gaps and you’ll be fine.
I’d say she succeeded.
Resistance Reborn follows the heroes of The Last Jedi as they attempt to rebuild the resistance following the events on Crait. We get a number of characters as POVs we’ve not really seen before in novels: Poe Dameron, for instance. And old favorites: Leia Organa, and it’s nice to see her story continue with grace after the death of Carrie Fisher. And then Wedge Antilles returns, along with the intriguing Maz Kanata. The list goes on. Roanhorse even brings in characters from stories throughout the franchise, including Star Wars: Battlefront II’s campaign and the Aftermath trilogy.
It’s a lot of fun.
And she tells a story illustrating the pain of these characters as they realize the First Order has won.
In reaction, they find new ways to fight. And through the fight, they find new ways to resist with skill. The book ends on a cliff-hanger, as it should—The Rise of Skywalker will finish it, after all. But Resistance Reborn wasn’t about telling the whole story. It’s about telling how the characters pick up the pieces after loss, and (in particular for Poe) how to handle the mental toll of failure.
Though embedded in a fairly run-of-the-mill action heist plot, Roanhorse gives readers a fantastic opportunity to sit down with their favorite characters before the end. Because who knows what’s going to happen on December 20.
I give Resistance Reborn four stars.