– Spoiler Review –
Spark of the Resistance is a middle grade novel released as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Rise Skywalker program, which follows Rey, Rose, and Poe on a mission to help those in need as they try to rebuild the Resistance after the events of The Last Jedi. Written by Justina Ireland, the reading level is easy to look past thanks to complex, intriguing character portrayals, the depth of history involved in the new world, and the absolute fun of the adventure with sequel trilogy leads.
Rey, Rose, Poe, and BB-8, finishing up a supply mission, hear a distress signal from Minfar regarding assistance beating back the First Order. Checking it out, the group ends up embroiled with events on Minfar, assisting an underground dwelling race, the Zixon, with beating back the First Order, who is there to retrieve and use a mysterious weapon to help bring an end to the Resistance. If you’re an older reader, it might take a moment to adjust to the more simplistic way characters speak, internally and externally, but it’s very easy to get used to when the story and characters holds such hidden depths. In particular, I really enjoyed how the weapon and its history are tied to the past of the Zixon, and the part Glenna Kip, a female scientist working with the First Order, plays in the whole story. Kip might be my favorite character of the novel, as her motivations are murky and hidden for most of the book, and just when you think you have her figured out, the final reveal will prove a pleasant surprise. Likewise, the Zixon are one of my favorite new species introduced in the sequel trilogy era, though they don’t have much competition considering how little the films, novels, and comics in the era have focused on newer species, as they have a great, fuzzy design, while their home and planet are just as fleshed out and full of life as they are portrayed here. Even the First Order Commander Spiftz is a fun character to hate, as his ambitions and tunnel vision for promotions, and how he writes off of his underlings/Kip leading to his downfall, are portrayed with more nuance than other officers we’ve met in higher-grade material.
Of course the real delight of Spark was seeing Rey, Rose, and Poe off on adventures together, which the novel doesn’t disappoint. Rey is struggling with her connection to the Force, a point Allegiance is also exploring,* but she learns to not only rely on herself again without it, much like she did pre-The Force Awakens, but also those around her since she doesn’t have to be alone anymore. I’m intrigued by her interest in learning about the Force from non-Jedi and I hope more material releases that shows some of Rey’s journeys to understanding the Force more, especially since by The Rise of Skywalker she seems rather confident about it all. Rose brims with excitement and wonder, which is infectiously brought across by writer Ireland, and it makes me even more excited we have such a great character in Star Wars, while her mechanic instincts lead to a really fun moment late in the novel where she discovers something that helps the team against the FO; her still being pissed about DJ’s choice in TLJ was a nice touch. Poe is restless to fly and making amends with his choices in TLJ, being more careful and thinking through problems first, but Ireland retains much of his charm and wit, showing him growing up only makes him a better character. And BB-8, well of course the little ball is ever so useful, maybe a little too useful but he’s always a blast to have around.
And what I always want around more, just like I felt with the YA Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens books about Leia, Luke, and Han, is Phil Noto’s illustrations, as he has less than a handful here. Most of his work can be seen in the preview at the official site and it’s great to see our sequel trilogy heroes together in the Falcon, but I feel like more wouldn’t have hindered the book in any form, but only added to it. In the end, we’re lucky to have as much as we do, so I’ll take what we get!
Here are a few other things:
- *For those who are curious: From what I can gather so far from the two released “Journey to” entries, Spark of the Resistance is the furthest along in the timeline between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, as Spark mentions events in Allegiance.† As for Resistance Reborn, Executive Editor Jennifer Heddle believes Reborn is set before Allegiance, and while Story Group member Matt Martin is staying mum on confirming, considering the first Reborn excerpt included a reference to the final arc of the Poe Dameron comic, itself taking place very shortly after The Last Jedi, it would be safe to say these go Reborn, Allegiance, and Spark. However, Reborn could cover a larger swath of time, initially starting off much earlier and then end up taking place after Spark, but only time will tell!
- †And by mention events, it basically spoils Allegiance considering it name drops a Mon Cala individual from the comic and Spark released a week before the official site even revealed the character was in the comic, with their appearance coming two weeks later.
- It was weird for the heroes to constantly shoot stormtroopers on stun, taking great care to imprison them or tie them up, considering we’ve seen them in the movies do the exact opposite, but this is a middle grade readers book so it makes sense they’d act this way. Though it seems it’s okay for the stormtroopers to be eaten by monsters…thank goodness for monsters.
Spark of the Resistance shouldn’t be overlooked, as it’s a quick, fun, journey with great hidden depths everyone can enjoy.
+ Rey, Rose, and Poe being the face of the Resistance
+ Complex, deeper history to planet, new characters/race
+ Sequel heroes brought to life
– Very minor nitpicks due to reading level
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER REVIEWS:
Allegiance (comic miniseries) | Resistance Reborn (novel)