– Mild Spoiler Review –
Jannah and Finn left their lives as stormtroopers of the First Order behind, yet their pasts continue to haunt them even after the Battle of Exegol in Kwame Mbalia’s The Last Order. Find out why the novel is a wonderful character study, as it provides fans more of Finn and expands Jannah, even if it feels drawn out getting there, in my review below.
Much of Kwame Mbalia’s The Last Order lives in the past, truly matching what it says on the tin regarding a deep-dive into the pasts of Finn and Jannah while they were First Order stormtroopers, though a smattering of sections take place shortly after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. In the past, chapters alternative between Finn and Jannah’s experiences, and while the characters never overlap, Mbalia does a great job of making these explorations important to the present set sections of the book, which follows a new character named Coy Tria. Maybe because Lucasfilm is still figuring out what the post-TRoS galaxy is going to be like, maybe because it’s just not the scope of The Last Order, the present-set story is very short and narrowly focused, which fits well given the emotional throughline and character exploration in the past, but it’s too spread out when we return to it, making it feel drawn out, even though I also wanted it to be longer, and I often felt disconnected from the newer characters until the final few chapters; given what happens by the present’s story end, I did change my mind about the characters, but I won’t say more! The past is an engrossing and interesting character-focused story where we learn much more about Jannah and Finn than the films ever could’ve hoped, with Mbalia’s characterizations so wonderfully spot-on, he can come back any time to pick up their story. Though as engaging as the past’s story is, it feels too long and drawn out as well, in part because characters are too frequently pulled from their thoughts for the sake of the deep explorations, while it can be confusing or overwhelming at times with all the stormtrooper ID numbers, as while plenty of the side characters with Finn and Jannah either have nicknames or we meet named characters, remembering who is 2187 or 1719 (aka Finn or Jannah) plus all the trooper numbers around them bogged down sections and stole a small bite from bigger moments; your mileage may vary with this, however, as it might be easier for some, and I know it was unavoidable on Mbalia’s part. In short, The Last Order reveals itself as an exhaustive and engrossing exploration of Finn and Jannah, which adds to Finn’s story and provides what was missing from Jannah’s, even though it takes too long to get where it wants.
When it comes to Finn, since he had his own journey through the films and we’ve already seen some of his past thanks to Before the Awakening,* I was most curious what Mbalia would attempt to explore. Since he has the benefit of three films worth of Finn and more details about the sequel era overall, whereas Awakening was published the same day as The Force Awakens, Mbalia offers a refinement and sharpening of the Finn we know and love. Because while the past sections don’t reveal totally new details about who Finn is, though the sections in the present give hints at how he might be in the years following TRoS, Mbalia’s ability to capture John Boyega’s performance and put it behind the stromtrooper mask blooms a better picture of both how the First Order indoctrinated its captured youth and how the real Finn was beneath the surface despite their efforts, all along. Given Last Order leads right into Awakening, which itself leads into Force Awakens, the throughline developed here makes for an even stronger journey of Finn’s self-discovery and choices in the sequel trilogy, while it’s also neat to have little hints at his connection to the Force. Through Finn’s sections, we peer into the hypocrisies of the First Order’s propaganda as he works as a bodyguard for Major Gohl, a member of the Security Bureau and the one who creates their morale videos shared with the troopers, who’s mission for Finn and trooper FO-7155 cracks their assumptions about the real goals and purpose of the First Order. The dichotomies of the First Order bleed into Jannah’s sections as well and develop a fuller picture of what reads like Mbalia’s timely comment on the rise of misinformation and the way governments (especially here in America under the fascist Trump administration) are increasingly silencing their opponents, especially under the guise of safety and security, really making the sequel trilogy feel even more prescient in hindsight with its story of the returning threat of the Empire, just under a new name and less overt tactics (at least in the time before the films).
As for Jannah, she was the character I was most excited to learn more about, especially given the unexplored story of her whole company’s mutiny at Ansett Island and how her future might include teaming with Lando to help locate where she’s from. The section in the present plays into said premise in a way, as she, Finn, and Coy help a young woman rescue her friends from the reported return of Major Gohl, though Lando’s only in a few chapters so expect that storyline in another story, hopefully. Through Jannah’s past, where she thankfully has more named characters around her than those with only numbers, we gain a much better understanding of what drives her, haunts her, and how she inspires the loyalty of others to join her in a mutiny. Her kindness and leadership are interesting juxtapositions to the First Order way, putting her in conflict against superiors, and how her and her team constantly circumvent orders yet still complete the mission is interesting to watch. Jannah has infrequent but still jarring flashbacks to what’s known as the Merchant Uprising, which the superior she gets stuck working under again later in this story pushed them to commit, and watching her use her sense of right and wrong to make up for those sins really makes her sections stand out more from Finn’s. And in a way, it feels like Mbalia connects Jannah’s latent Force sensitivity to her mind’s revulsion against her forced actions in the horrible ‘Uprising’, as if it’s trying to help push her in the right direction, while he sprinkles in smaller references to said sensitivity. How she comes to be on Kef Bir and riding orbaks, as well as the mutiny she helps lead against the First Order, doesn’t feel like ticking off items from a list, rather they are interestingly peppered in and built up to based on her actions, with the mutiny itself being a big highlight of the novel.
As I said earlier, I would’ve been more connected to Coy Tria if the returns to the present-set story weren’t so infrequent, as I had to consult my notes to remind myself of what had happened, but there’s much to appreciate about the newcomer. For starters, I found it fascinating to hear the perspective of someone who joined up with the Citizen’s Fleet above Exegol, and I suspect we’ll get to hear this from more characters in the years to come, especially someone who joined only because he was told to, and how he’s been wrestling with the thrill of the moment and the call of safety and comfort back home. This push and pull hovers over all his decisions and interactions, and watching him grow and make his choice ends up being interesting, and since I know how it ends now, I almost want to just reread the present sections together to keep the story more cohesive. Through Coy, we get to see how far Finn and Jannah have come since their stormtrooper days, but he’s also like an audience surrogate as his unique viewpoint on their situation can be read as Mbalia keeping the two honest about actually seeking change, rather than perpetuate any cycles, like how the First Order’s rise perpetrating the Empire affected their lives. Coy also marks a very positive representation of a disability, as he has to wear a special respirator to breathe, and yet he’s in the thick of it with big heroes like Finn and Jannah, makes the vital choice in the book’s finale, and characters never doubt him because of his situation, just over his nervousness about getting involved over going home instead. The depth of how the present connects to the past was a nice reward, as it takes some more enigmatic characters and gives us a new perspective on their stories, and I feel like it’s just the start of how storytelling, especially publishing, could deal with the fallout from the Sequel Trilogy.
Here are a few other things:
- *Before the Awakening recently was rereleased with a brand-new audio edition with three different narrators for the three characters!
- Working both Captain Phasma and Captain Cardinal into the flashbacks helped flesh out the First Order more and allowed Mbalia to have some fun with what he know happens to both of them, all while building up their characterizations a touch more.
- What else is coming out down the line in the post-The Rise of Skywalker era? 2027 will see the release of Starfighter, the upcoming film set 5 years after TRoS with Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Flynn Gray, and more, while Rey’s New Jedi Order film, set 15 years after, is still working on its script. As for publishing, October 11’s NYCC panel revealed publishing was focused more on building up the sequel era, especially with the big Rey and Leia novel set between Episodes VIII & IX!
- And randomly, on the eve of this book’s release, we learned Disney denied Adam Driver’s return as Ben Solo in a post-TROS film! Maybe it’ll make its way back to life one day…
The Last Order by Kwame Mbalia could’ve used some tightening in some places and expansions in others, but it fills up its space with Finn and Jannah, and some new characters, in an entertaining way that earns your trust in the end.
+ Deep-dive into Jannah takes the cake
+ Tightening of Finn’s journey
+ Comments on the real world and not perpetrating the cycle
– Too long in the past and too spread out in the ‘present’
– Characters pulled from their thoughts too much
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.
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