Last night I had
the displeasure of attending a high-school graduation ceremony. Gotta
say, it's been quite a while since I've endured such a perfect storm
of pomp, empty platitudes, bad music, painfully contradictory life
advice, and weak analogies. Still, I suppose it's worth putting up
with to see one of your own move ahead into something new, much the
same way Star Wars moved onto something greater with the
release of it's first side-story film last December. How's that for a
lousy analogy?
A common complaint
against Rogue One was that the cast of characters were
underdeveloped. I found it odd for people to point this out as if it
were a new phenomenon within this franchise. Admittedly this
particular film did have quite the sizable cast squeezed into one
movie, which leaves the heavy lifting of further character
development in the hands of expanded universe novels. Today we'll be
taking a look at one such novel with author Greg Rucka's Guardians
of the Whills.
Guardians
is a very short, young adult novel focused on Chirrut Imwe and Baze
Malbus. Formerly guardians of the Jedi temple in the holy city of
Jedha, the pair now spend their days protecting their fellow citizens
from the hardships of imperial occupation. However the two begin to
question whether their efforts are honestly making life better for
anyone, yet they lack the power to accomplish much else until a rebel
fanatic named Saw Gerrera reaches out to them.
The story plays a
fairly subtle game in regards to revealing it's true narrative. Early
on I feared that it would meander like far too many of the books
we've covered thus far. Thankfully once the primary conflict revealed
itself, I found it'd been in place the whole time. Likewise the flow
of events felt very natural, never too rushed or forced. For that
reason alone I feel it's best to not reveal too much, as the steady
flow of events really helps to push the book along, making for a fun
read.
Author Greg Rucka
has previously proven himself able to properly capture the voices of
characters from the screen, his portrayal of Leia in Before the
Awakening being the prime example. He puts that skill to great
use here, especially when it comes to Chirrut. It's so easy to
imagine the dialogue and mannerisms here being delivered by Donnie
Yen that it's an absolute treat to read.
That strong use of
character voice is all the more important when you consider that this
is one of the most talkative books in the franchise so far. Like many
young adult books, descriptions of environments are kept light and
sparse, leaving those pages to be filled with back and forth
bickering. It's good stuff too. The friendship between these two
aging heroes feels natural and comfortable, like there's a truly
immense shared history between them.
The universe
building here is slight yet intriguing all the same. We don't get a
ton of information on our leads pasts, leaving room I'm sure for
another novel someday. What we do get however is a good look at their
life shortly before joining Jyn Erso's mission in the film. Along
with that slice of life are glimpses into daily activity in the holy
city along with hints of the different religions that worship the
force. Peppered throughout the book are various prayers and poems
from these sects, including a Sith prayer of all things. I'm
continually pleased to see that there's more to faith in this
universe than those stuck-up Jedi.
Honestly, I'm
having a tough time finding things to criticize here, as Guardians
made for such a pleasant surprise. Possibly the biggest flaw is also
one of it's largest strengths, which is how streamlined and simple it
all is. Unlike Thrawn or Twilight Company, this one
doesn't go off on large tangents that add little outside of a page
count. At the same time, I would have liked a little more detail on
different topics. Still, that's a difficult balance to strike and I
think this one accomplished it better than most.
The absolute
biggest compliment I can give this book is that it really does
accomplish the mission of adding value to what we've seen these
characters do on screen. The extra depth given to this friendship,
and each individuals outlooks on faith and the universe make their
big moments within the film all the more meaningful and compelling.
I'm gonna have to
give Guardians of the Whills a huge recommendation. I actually
took the opportunity to read this in one day, and all the way through
I knew it was easily top five material. Frankly it was good enough
that it's casting a shadow over the title I'm currently reading.
Don't let it's small size or young adult banner get in the way of
reading this one, as it is easily one of the most enjoyable entries
in the new continuity
1. Lost Stars by
Claudia Gray
2. New Dawn by
John Jackson Miller
3. Bloodline by
Claudia Gray
4. Guardians of
the Whills by Greg Rucka
5.
Ashoka by E.K.
Johnston
6. Tarkin by
James Luceno
7. Thrawn by
Timothy Zahn
8. Battlefont
Twilight Company by Alexander Freed
9. Moving Target
by Cecil Castelluci and Jason Fry
10. Before the
Awakening by Greg Rucka
11. Smuggler's
Run by Greg Rucka
12. Heir to the
Jedi by Kevin Hearne
13.Aftermath by
Chuck Wendig
14.The Weapon of
a Jedi by Jason Fry
Before I head out,
got a few small announcements to make. There will be some new types
of articles and changes to some long standing features coming this
month. Recently I've felt like I'm finally getting on top of things
so June is going to mark the point of kicking this year in the ass.
So stay tuned for some new goodies, along with some work for another
site, and of course more Star Wars and lackluster analogies.
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