[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Disney Lucasfilm Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
At 16, Poe Dameron wants nothing more than to be a pilot, find some adventure, and leave Yavin 4. And after another huge fight with his dad and crashing his mom’s A-wing, the only thing he really had left of hers, he is feeling the need to escape his life, and fast.
So when he dances with a girl at a bar, and she says her friends need a pilot, he’s intrigued. When she says they are “smugglers,” he hesitates, but decides the gig meets his three wants perfectly. But by the time he finds out they are infamous spice runners, he’s in too far to get out.
Review
This book is designed to fill in some backstory tied to the last Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker. Poe Dameron has a hidden history as a spice runner that comes as a shock to his Resistance friends. This book tells that secret story.
I liked the set up. A teen longing to start his “real” life is a perfect protagonist for a YA novel. The author does a great job early on with Poe’s mixed feelings about his new “friends” and the choices they make in the course of their work. He sticks with them in part because he feels trapped by the choices he’s already made. But he also stays because of a girl. Just when he thinks he understands her, and what the Spice Runners of Kijimi are up to, the stakes are raised.
The potential romance here is pretty light. The book also includes typical Star Wars levels of violence. And because the spice runners are villains/scoundrels of a sort, there’s plenty of questionable ethics and choices for Poe to wrestle with. He’s also wrestling with his legacy as a child of two Resistance fighters, especially considering what he does with his new crew.
There’s a ton of potential here, but it never really clicked for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters in a strong way. This might be a function of the fact that they are “bad guys” in the larger Star Wars universe. It felt like Poe’s relationship with his dad had a bit of a Prodigal Son vibe to it. I enjoyed that part of the book, but it was only a small part of the story. I stuck with the book because I did want to see what finally pushes Poe toward the Resistance. And now I know. Yet I don’t feel like that knowledge really changes my understanding of the characters from the movie, which would have been a nice layer to the storytelling.
Big Star Wars fans and Poe Dameron fans might enjoy this, especially if you have been wondering for the last 8 months what the backstory is. If you are looking for a rich, character-focused story from the Star Wars universe, your mileage may vary with this one. You can read some of my other reviews of Star Wars books here.