– Slight Spoiler Review –
Written by Adam Christopher, Shadow of the Sith is one of the first big novels to explore a pivotal moment between the original and sequel trilogies, as it covers events first brought to light in The Rise of Skywalker regarding Rey’s past. While it wraps up several lingering threads which emerged once those details were revealed, in an entertaining, well-paced, and satisfying way, it builds off other works and injects some surprising and exciting new content to bolster the story to make for a memorable package that ascends its purpose. In a way, it reads like a classic Legends novel, expanding backstory only hinted at in the films while bringing in new elements, but also leaving a heavier dive into internal narration wanting.
No matter your feelings on The Rise of Skywalker, the backstory it revealed left a lot of questions the movie didn’t have time to answer or fully develop, but like the Expanded Universe days of old, Shadow of the Sith is publication’s attempt to step in and flesh out and smooth over the new additions. In question were several things: how and why Ochi of Bestoon wasn’t able to find Rey despite tracking down her parents, ending up sunken in the Shifting Mires aka quicksand of Pasaana instead; why she remembers seeing Ochi’s ship flying away after she’s dropped off on Jakku; why her parents would even leave her on such a desolate place; and more importantly how and why Lando Calrissian and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker never quite figured it out either, among other things. Not only is Adam Christopher’s prose entertaining, providing tension even with characters whose fates we already know, but he zips up all the seams for a satisfying series of revelations. And never once does Shadow of the Sith feel like it’s going out of its way to answer lingering questions, instead it reads like a natural set of events unfolding in the era, the decisions of characters and the outcomes all reasonable and feasible for what happens. A lot of this stems from Christopher’s internal narration for the book’s POV characters, and while I left SotS wanting more internal dialogue and exploration so the characters didn’t often feel like vessels for explaining what’s happening, the layer offered in the prose captures the characters we love and new ones enough we’re able to understand their reasonings and decisions, leading to the outcome we already know is coming. As I mentioned before, despite knowing the ending there’s plenty of tension throughout SotS, mainly from the return of a character from the Aftermath Trilogy and her part of the book, while Christopher uses that looming sense of failure to add an unnerving level of anxiety to the prose. That there’s a hopeful feeling at the end doesn’t stem from our knowledge with how the sequel trilogy ends, but rather how Christopher writes these characters’ journeys, and I found myself enjoying these characters more than uncovering the truth of what all went down. Shadow of the Sith will both manage to be everything you’d want it to be and so much more with its expansions and character focus.
One of the more fascinating aspects of SotS before reading it, for me at least, was the idea we’d meet Rey’s parents, their names revealed to be Dathan and Miramir, and discover their journey regardless of its tragic ending. It didn’t take long into Shadow of the Sith for me to start rooting for Dathan and Miramir and their attempts to escape his past for a better future for their daughter Rey, so when the inevitable strikes, it managed to bring me to some tears. If you’re looking to learn how Dathan fled Exegol, how he felt about his past, and how Miramir came into the picture and her hand in the decisions and fight for their daughter’s safety, Shadow of the Sith reveals just enough to be satisfying, while both characters’ hopes and dreams, and feelings about trust in regards to the larger galaxy, help make their ultimate choices and fate make even more sense. Miramir was my favorite of the two, and a standout in the overall novel, especially since it felt like Adam Christopher wrote her not only with Jody Comer in mind, but Rey as well, since may of Rey’s traits and gifts stem from her talented mother. Their deep love for Rey felt a little forced at first, but it’s so earnest and all-encompassing, it’s enduring and only adds to the growing emotional connection I had to the wayward parents, assisting in turning their fate from feeling inevitable to tragic, while how it still comes off as a victory of sorts only sweetens the deal. I would certainly enjoy exploring more of Dathan and Miramir’s past, especially with some teases about Miramir’s lineage, and it’s all thanks to the life Christopher breathes into them.
When it was revealed Lando’s daughter had been kidnapped and he never found her by the time of The Rise of Skywalker, it was quite the surprising turn of events, and saddening to hear for a much beloved character. While Shadow of the Sith doesn’t cover when his daughter, Kadara, was stolen from him or the search he conducted with friends and eventually alone, it does pick up some 6 years after and such a tragic outcome continues to haunt him. The emotional development and exploration, of how this has affected Lando, from his path, friendships, to his future, while still not as deep as I’d like, is fascinating to say the least and one of the strongest parts of the novel. Seeing a man we usually associate with so much confidence, swagger, and self-love diminished, hollow from the lack of resolution, was almost jarring, but Christopher manages to capture Lando’s charm and personality enough it’s easy to see the character we all know and love hiding underneath. It’s abundantly clear how important assisting Dathan and Miramir escape with their child is to Lando (and it feels naturally that he nor Luke ever learn their names), especially when he learns the Sith might be involved with their problems and maybe also with Kadara, but knowing the tragic ending to their story, I was biting my nails trying to figure out how Christopher would manage to bring Lando to the place we see him in TRoS, delightfully charming as ever while chilling on Pasaana, and that journey pulled me along page after page, and is thankfully a journey full of choices he makes on his own. Seeing him interact with Luke was also a highlight, as while the two have grown apart, considering Luke’s somewhat surprisingly strict adherence to some aspects of the Jedi Code/training the next era of Jedi and Lando’s own desire to escape the guilt he carries over how he feels about his missing daughter, they were close once and helped each other so them working it out again added a lot of flavor to their trajectories and gave some bittersweetness both to how it seems they won’t see each other again before Luke dies and to stories yet to be told in this timeframe. Shadow of the Sith definitely makes Lando’s renewed desire to search for his daughter/help Jannah find her family even more of a poetic and a fitting next place for the character to go after The Rise of Skywalker.
As we saw recently in The Book of Boba Fett (still weird to think it’s where it happened), Luke seems to, despite compassion and attachment helping him save his father and begin a new future for the Jedi, leaned rather hard into the non-attachment aspect of the Jedi Code. Regardless of how you feel about this choice, Shadow of the Sith makes it concrete, though Christopher explores how it’s affected various aspects of his life, even in the short moments with Padawan Ben Solo at his Temple on Ossus, but mainly in his interactions and time with Lando as they attempt to help this family escape the Sith and hunters chasing them. As I mentioned earlier, Lando and Luke together was a highlight of the book, especially with how Lando pushes against the aloof shell Luke’s built around himself just by being in his presence, but also how it helps Luke get out of his shell somewhat and be a friend again, not just a Jedi Master. But the Jedi Mastery on display here is riveting, as Luke has full trust and control of his place in the Force, happy with his choices and lack of attachments, the sacred duty of restoring the Jedi all he feels he needs, though how Christopher manages to challenge that through the return of a member of the Acolytes of the Beyond only aids in cementing Luke’s confidence in his place in the Force, his choices, and his path so far. Also, having Lor San Tekka join him for part of the book teases the great future of tales we could have about the two of them going around the galaxy, exploring and rounding up artifacts, but it also dives into the cracks of Luke’s choices, as keeping Ben at arm’s length (no longer taking his nephew on expeditions) and confiding only in Lor regarding a foreboding dream also help lead to the situation he finds himself in by the sequel trilogy; it makes sense why he feels he needs to be secluded, but it also sets the stage for how everything could go down. Once again with SotS, more internal narration in Luke’s sections could’ve brought more depth to the character and help explore his reasoning for choices or let us hear a bit about his thoughts on family (like Leia and Han, though I guess that’s part of his non-attachment goals we don’t read him thinking of them much), but what Christopher does bring to the page allows us a big enough window to get a good read on him during this timeframe and how he feels about the incomplete end of his quest alongside Lando. Seeing Luke on Tython, and it acknowledging the Doctor Aphra series’ visit to a polar region, was fulfilling, and if you read the thrilling first excerpt, well, let me tell you, the following chapter after that reveal is even more emotional, especially how it brings in a unused concept from the films. Fans will have plenty to pick apart and explore about this slice of Luke, though there’s no question it is Jedi Master Luke Skywalker on full display here, and will enjoy all the avenues it opens for future stories by not treading to far in either direction from this timeframe.
Which brings me to Kiza, the other character gracing the cover, whom was once an Acolyte of the Beyond, a group of dark side fanatics whom rose to prominence shortly after Return of the Jedi, and featured briefly in the Aftermath Trilogy. While I won’t dive into how she became separated from the group or what happened to them overall, that’s the book’s story to tell, her connection to the Sith mask she wears and the power reaching through it to control her is a creepy and fascinating aspect of the book. In fact, her whole story is spooky and the inevitability of her trajectory is a cautious tale hiding a lesson for other characters (and readers), while her part, and later Kiza’s fellow Acolyte Luke saved some time ago, are original slices in a tale full of expected moments that add memorable and unique flair to SotS the main story just wouldn’t be able to on its own. Learning the story of the mask is stunning and dark, fitting for the fun Dark Legends novel SotS does find inspiration from, and how Kiza does and doesn’t deal with its power pushes Luke and his abilities, his adherence to Jedi Codes, in interesting places. As much as I liked what Kiza brings to the story, her old friend and fellow Acolyte Komat was my favorite overall character in the book, as her isolated lifestyle after her time with the group, and how Luke and Lando’s presence challenges it for her, was a unique and compelling part of SotS. The planet she’s found to live her solitary lifestyle, alongside another stand out droid (itself a Legends reference!) that steals a few scenes, is one of the most beautifully described and distinctive planets I’ve read in a while, and the lesson one can learn from it also plays into the theme of inevitability; Kiza’s lair is unique in its own way, though not as memorable as Komat’s. The big showdown with Kiza and the mask is the culmination of Christopher’s riveting action scene sensibilities and several character arcs, while also being my favorite scene in Shadow of the Sith.
Shadow of the Sith also features Ochi of Bestoon, a character I’ve sort of come around on recently and I know is a lot of people’s Glup Shitto, aka obscure fan favorite, and Christopher mostly makes his spiral towards the Shifting Mires of Pasaana a sympathetic journey, so both myself and his fans will be pleased. Ochi’s time in the comics has been hit or miss for me since he’s been central to the Darth Vader run, though it was neat to have scenes from the series be important to his character development and mentioned here (and in another character’s POV section…), but Christopher does a great job on filling in the vital aspects so non-comic readers won’t feel left out. Ochi’s looking to be made whole again after his first visit to Exegol broke him in more than one way, though since he can’t find his way back, he’s eager for a way there, which drives his choices throughout and lead to his ultimate fate. When the Sith Eternal, and Palpatine’s ghastly voice itself, request him to bring home Rey, he sees his chance to be healed, but they give him a Sith dagger with the ominous line the blade will tell him the way to Exegol, and its influence slowly takes a deadly hunter into a bloodthirsty killer, and there’s palpable tension from his slide into madness, as the more unhinged he gets, the more dangerous it gets for anyone to be around him. Sith artifacts are dangerous, something we’ve seen before in the comics with Lord Momin and his helmet (which Lando wonderfully references at one point!), and SotS cranks their destructive influences up to harrowing levels, offering, like many other things in the novel, more avenues for stories.
Here are a few other things:
- While there isn’t as much internal narration as I’d like, which I mentioned a few times in my review, I do understand that could also come from Adam Christopher not wanting to step on any potential story toes coming down the line, as less rumination means less chance of having the characters mention something that could cause a contradiction in the future.
- D-O’s sad story is an interesting little detail to include, showing the droid’s usefulness and dutifulness despite the way Ochi treats it. But even more exciting was a very short glimpse of Ochi’s past as a Jedi hunter in the Clone Wars, something we’ve yet to truly see until now.
- The smallest nitpick but: I’m surprised no one thought to send a drone or other type of droid into the Shifting Mires to see what’s underneath, but it’s so minor and SotS does such an amazing job making all the other pieces fit, it’s excusable in the end.
- There are hints and characters teasing the larger picture of events in the era, like the New Republic squadron and their mysterious purpose that leads them to be in a place to temporarily save Rey and family or Beaumont Kin’s little appearance, but lack of resolution for the NR squad’s mission or the somewhat confusing purpose of Pryde’s inclusion made these moments intriguing but either feel unnecessary or distracting at times.
- There are quite a few interesting Legends pulls, but one based from a toy that never made it screen really showed Christopher’s deep knowledge. I particularly enjoyed a comics pull from IDW’s recent output and something from The High Republic, as well as a few other mentions from other recent canon works.
- Adam Christopher has been sharing his playlist for Shadow of the Sith on Twitter daily, leading up to the book’s release, and one fan was awesome enough to start the Spotify playlist and keep updating it so you won’t miss out on a song! It’s really neat authors keep sharing these!
- Beyond the opening quote of the novel being from the Revenge of the Sith novelization, isn’t not the only reference to the book, including one the recent Brotherhood used as well.
- Not only is Komat’s planet uniquely interesting, Christopher makes a lot of new locations memorable with strange features and well-written descriptive prose.
Adam Christopher’s Shadow of the Sith is the book fans have been waiting for to explore the still mysterious timeframe between original and sequel trilogies, revealing important details, clearing up some lingering questions, and offering several surprises along the way, all in a stylish, exciting read, even if it could’ve benefited from more internalization for its characters.
+ Satisfying answers to the many mysteries
+ Dathan and Miramir are ones you’ll root for despite knowing what’s coming
+ Lando’s journey is a real highlight
+ Glimpsing Master Luke
+ Komat and Kiza’s part of the story
– More internal narration
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book, through NetGalley, 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.
ALSO BY ADAM CHRISTOPHER:
“The Witness” – From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (novel) | “End of Watch” – From a Certain Point of View (novel)