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Lost Stars |
BOOK STORY |
Claudia Gray |
Disney-Lucasfilm Press |
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Story published as:
Hardback Book [US] (2015) Paperback Book [UK] (2015) e-Book
[US] (2015) Audio Book (2015) Paperback Book [US]
(2017)
Story also published as: Online Comic Series (2017)
Graphic Novel
(2018) |
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Rating:
If you have read this book, please
rate it:
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Reviews:
1 review [Review
score: 3 / 5] |
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Synopsis:
The reign of the Galactic Empire has reached the Outer
Rim planet of Jelucan, where aristocratic Thane Kyrell
and rural villager Ciena Ree bond over their love of
flying. Enrolling at the Imperial Academy together to
become fighter pilots for the glorious Empire is nothing
less than a dream come true for the both of them. But
Thane sours on the dream when he sees firsthand the
horrific tactics the Empire uses to maintain its
ironclad rule. Bitter and disillusioned, Thane joins
the fledgling Rebellion, putting Ciena in an unbearable
position to choose between her loyalty to the Empire and
her love for the man she’s known since childhood. Now
on opposite sides of the war, will these friends turned
foes find a way to be together, or will duty tear them
and the galaxy apart?
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Chronology:
This story
begins approximately 11 years before Episode IV: A New Hope. |
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Related Stories (in
chronological order):
- Revenge of the Sith
- Lost Stars
- A New Hope
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I never
read a romance novel in my life, and I never thought I missed out...
and to be honest I still do not feel that way. Don't get me wrong,
the book is quite alright, but it is going through the motions,
there is not much new here, not much surprise either. The overall
story is very simple: We follow a young couple from their first
childhood meeting 8 years after the Clone Wars all the way to the
aftermath of the battle of Jakku. The romance part, as well as
the Star Wars part are both treated very suave, rarely going outside
the established mold for both and not offering any new things
(besides some interesting insights into the already established
canon). The romance part is constructed like any other Romeo and
Juliet clone (pun intended). On their home planet both belong to
opposing people and after a short time in the service in the
Imperial Navy both end up on opposing sides of the conflict. Both
strongly convicted, loyal and true to their oaths. What follows is
the well-known game of cat and mouse and will they or won't they.
The Star Wars part is also nothing too exciting, as we basically do
not get any new stuff here . Both characters are special in their
units, but they are still for the most part just regular soldiers,
so we get to see the OT through their eyes (without them knowing why
Vader wants the Millennium Falcon, or who the hell this Solo guy
is). It is refreshing to see those events through the eyes of the
everymen, but besides that it boils down to a lot of rehashes. The
best part of the book is the impact of the first Death Star on our
characters, as well as the informational chaos regarding its first
victim and its own destruction. This was hands down one of the best
retellings of the events surrounding the Death Star. What lacks here
nevertheless is adding something to what we know in a way that
Battlefront: Twilight Company did in a grandiose way for the battle
of Hoth. After the battle of Yavin I got the feeling the book
just wanted to check all boxes needed to check, it shoehorned our
characters into movie scenes, it retold whole elements just with
less detail and the further we got in the timeline, the less focused
it all became. In the end this is a cliché romance novel mixed
with a mostly well written Star Wars book with an unexciting plot
and a great retelling of the battles of the first Death Star. I
might be in the minority but overall I liked the Aftermath trilogy
much more.
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