Ricky Church reviews Star Wars: Resistance Reborn…
As we approach the anticipated release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, one of the biggest questions going into the film is how the Resistance manages to come back together after their devastating losses in The Last Jedi. Author Rebecca Roanhorse has the difficult task of bridging Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker, but does so very well in a story that sees Rey, Poe, Finn and Leia trying to rebuild the Resistance with help from the few allies available to them. Star Wars: Resistance Reborn is a page-turning adventure that addresses the events the characters have gone through while planting plenty of seeds for what fans may expect in just a couple weeks.
Beginning a few days after The Last Jedi, the Resistance is still in shambles but Leia and Poe put together a collection of the allies they have and launch some desperate missions to gather more allies and supplies for their fight against the First Order. Roanhorse uses the opportunity as a bit of a ‘who’s who’ of Star Wars, utilizing multiple characters seen across the franchise for the story whether they were introduced in previous films, books, comics or the Star Wars: Battlefront II campaign. For longtime fans it’s pretty cool to see how she integrates such a diverse group from various media together and creates some interesting pairings with the characters. She also makes some memorable new ones, such as the ex-Imperial Teza Nasz who os part Han Solo and part Mad Max. And when it comes to very familiar franchise characters like Leia and Poe she captures their voices really well throughout the story.
Poe in particular is quite good as the story’s central character. Roanhorse doesn’t waste time examining the decisions Poe made throughout The Last Jedi that led the Resistance to the state it is in and uses the fallout to develop him further into a better leader. He’s still the dashing rogue fans know, but now he’s more careful with his plans and feels the full weight of responsibility for those under his command. It’s a struggle he goes through for the length of the book and Roanhorse shows Poe’s initial unease and uncertainty with his new role quite well, especially when he’s later called out by new recruits for the stories they’ve heard. As said, Roanhorse really captures Poe’s voice to the point it’s easy to hear Oscar Isaac saying his lines, whether its venting his frustration or the friendly banter with Finn and his squad.
One of the more intriguing aspects to Resistance Reborn is how the book splits into a few mini-adventures as Poe and the rag-tag Resistance launch several operations simultaneously to help rebuild their organization. It helps keep the narrative fresh and creates tension in many places, but Roanhorse balances each subplot pretty well. A couple are given more prominence than others, but they each work and blend into each other nicely. It adds to the full scope of just what the Resistance is fighting against, particularly with how fragmented they are. The only downside is that while the plot gives Poe, Leia, Wedge Antilles and others a fair bit to do, other characters like Rey, Finn and Chewie are relegated more to the sidelines and don’t have much impact on the story even on a surface level. Granted, it’s nice to see so many characters from other Star Wars media get some time to shine, but it is a shame more of the bigger players didn’t have more to do.
Roanhorse’s style makes Resistance Reborn a pretty quick read. She’s got a fast-paced narrative and cuts between the missions at the right points to keep readers invested and guessing what will happen next. She balances the action and character work well enough that the central characters of the narrative and their journeys are never sacrificed in order to get to the next plot development. It’s impressive since Roanhorse juggles so many different subplots once the second act begins as the Resistance leave for their missions, but nothing feels lost and it only enhances the book’s readability as she cuts back and forth between groups with ease. However, those looking for any major clues to The Rise of Skywalker or hoping for any information to be revealed will be left disappointed as the book largely functions as its own thing. The insight it offers to Poe or Leia’s mindset not only helps give some context to their choices, but also where they might be mentally come the next film. It’s still not quite enough, though, to act as both a sequel to The Last Jedi and a lead in to The Rise of Skywalker.
Rebecca Roanhorse leaves a nice impression with Star Wars: Resistance Reborn thanks to her focus on the characters and balance of several plots. Poe’s arc is the strongest aspect to the book as he slowly becomes a more responsible and strong leader in the Resistance while it is great to see so many other characters across the franchise’s vast media pop up. Despite its loose connections to The Rise of Skywalker, fans will likely enjoy this outing to a galaxy far, far away.
Rating: 7/10
Ricky Church
