Ricky Church reviews Star Wars: Inquisitor – Rise of the Red Blade…
By now in the Star Wars franchise we’ve seen several stories of various Jedi escaping death during the infamous Order 66, whether that’s from comics, Jedi: Fallen Order, the conclusion to The Clone Wars or The Bad Batch. However, it has been rare when we’ve seen a former Jedi who survived Order 66 or another Force-sensitive individual join the Inquisitors, a group of dark side users under Darth Vader whose job it is to hunt the remaining Jedi and enforce the Empire’s power on the galaxy. In Delilah S. Dawson’s latest Star Wars novel we see just that in the pages of Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade.
The novel follows Iskat Akaris, a Jedi padawan whose life is turned upside down when her master is promptly killed in the Battle of Geonosis at the start of the Clone Wars. As she struggles with her training, she has to deal with suspicion regarding her unusual Force powers and the reality the Jedi might not know what’s best after all. As the Jedi Order falls down around her she chooses the only path forward that ensures not only her survival, but everything she’s ever wanted.
Dawson is no stranger to writing dark, complex characters after Star Wars: Phasma and The Perfect Weapon and her skill continues here with Iskat as she navigates her journey from the light to dark side. With Dawson Iskat is a relatable character whose story is not a wholly unfamiliar one to Star Wars fans: a padawan with a uniquely strong connection to the Force is met with unease and suspicion by both their peers and the Jedi Council, whose strength and abilities are seemingly held back and a Jedi Council ignorant of its own failings and hypocrisies which cause the Jedi Knight to question how good they are. The parallels between Iskat and Anakin Skywalker are evident, but where Anakin had Obi-Wan Keonbi’s guidance (as well as the weight of a prophecy at his back) Iskat has none of that as she’s saddled with a Jedi Master who is as disinterested in teaching as she is concerned with Iskat controlling her emotions and power after an unfortunate training incident.
Dawson provides Iskat with intriguing insight into her character and how she views the world around her. Her struggle to meet the expectations of the many Jedi Masters is one readers will relate to as she tries to discover who she is. You feel for her with the lack of proper guidance she’s given or how other padawans and knights view her, coming to understand her developing views of the Jedi Order and her own potential even if they become misguided through her resentment. Even as readers feel for her Dawson doesn’t completely vindicate her from her actions or behaviour as there’s an aspect of unreliable narrator and ‘it’s all about me’ fixation to her character, making Iskat a well-rounded and complex protagonist.
As for the supporting characters, Dawson makes good use of new and familiar faces to further explore the divide between Iskat and the Jedi. There’s Tualon, a Twi’lek who is Iskat’s best friend (and romantic interest despite her attempts to push those feelings aside) and is a mirror to Iskat in almost every way. Tualon doesn’t question the Jedi Masters and tries to follow their orders to the letter, rigidly so, and doesn’t wish to rock the boat. There is also Master Klefan, the master to Iskat’s former master who takes a vested interest in Iskat’s training after the Battle of Geonosis, a man who is also rigid in his teachings and platitudes to Iskat throughout the war. Mace Windu has a small role as a foil to Iskat as Dawson draws on Windu’s gruff and blunt demeanor, not to mention his own hypocritical stances as seen in The Clone Wars, while other characters from across the franchise make appearances that serve more than just glorified cameos as they either explore the inner turmoil in the Jedi Order or push Iskat along on her journey to the dark side.
The book’s pacing is good as Dawson focuses on Iskat’s character growth interspersed with Clone Wars missions, though some of the major events of the war are skipped or not mentioned entirely which makes some of the later timeline seem rather abrupt given the stakes. Still, the book moves along well with Dawson giving interesting insight into the Jedi from someone who considers herself an outsider even within the Order and there are few points where the story is ever dragging its feet or making you wish it would get to the Empire-era faster.
Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is an introspective character study from a Star Wars subject we rarely see. Dawson makes Iskat and her story compelling and presents intriguing ideas of what power and control means as an individual as well as within the Jedi Order and Inquisitorius. This is a good read for fans whether you like the more typical Star Wars adventures or lean more toward the darker, character driven stories of the galaxy far, far away.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
