Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.

This week, I am in a real Star Wars headspace, probably because the final movie in the Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker, is coming out very soon. By this time tomorrow, I should have seen this movie, and I am really hoping that they finish this final trilogy on a high note (especially after The Last Jedi, which I think we can all agree had some major flaws). In the meantime, as I have just posted a review of the tie-in novel Star Wars: Force Collector, I thought that this would be a good time to look at some of the Star Wars novels that are coming in 2020.

2019 has been an outstanding year for Star Wars expanded fiction, with some great books, such as Master & Apprentice (which recently made my Top Ten Favourite Audiobook’s of 2019 list); the surprisingly enjoyable tie-in to the Galaxy’s Edge theme park area at Disneyland, Black Spire; or the other The Rise of Skywalker tie-in novel, Resistance Reborn. There have also been some excellent comic book series, from the Vader: Dark Visions limited series, to the continuations of the Star Wars (2015) and Dr Aphra series (I just finished Volume 6 of Doctor Aphra last night and it was pretty darn epic). As a result, I am constantly keeping an eye on what new pieces of Star Wars fiction are coming out in the future (as it is guaranteed that I am going to read them), and, so far, three intriguing Star Wars novels are currently set for release in the first half of 2020.

Interestingly enough, all three of these upcoming Star Wars novels are closely related to books that came out in 2019. While it would have been cool to see some sort of new or original tie-in novel come out in the first half of the year, all of these new releases are following on from some very compelling storylines in their preceding books, and should prove to be an excellent addition to the current Star Wars canon.

The first of the books that I am going to feature in this article is the young adult novel, Queen’s Peril, by E. K. Johnston. This will be the third Star Wars novel from Johnston, who has previously written the amazing young adult novels, Ahsoka and Queen’s Shadow. Queen’s Peril looks like it is going to be a fascinating novel that will be closely associated with the plot of Queen’s Shadow, as the author once again focuses on Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens. However, while Queen’s Shadow followed Amidala as she became a senator for Naboo after the events of The Phantom Menace, Queen’s Peril is set before the film and will follow the character’s earlier life when she becomes Queen of Naboo. Queen’s Peril is set for release on 5 May 2020, and a detailed plot synopsis and fantastic cover are already available.

Goodreads Synopsis:

When fourteen-year-old Padmé Naberrie wins the election for Queen of Naboo, she adopts the name Amidala and leaves her family to the rule from the royal palace. To keep her safe and secure, she’ll need a group of skilled handmaidens who can be her assistants, confidantes, defenders, and decoys. Each girl is selected for her particular talents, but it will be up to Padmé to unite them as a group. When Naboo is invaded by forces of the Trade Federation, Queen Amidala and her handmaidens will face the greatest test–of themselves, and of each other.

This sounds like it is going to be a rather intriguing novel. While I would have enjoyed seeing some of the post-The Phantom Menace storylines that featured in Queen’s Shadow continued, focusing on the early days of Amidala’s reign has some great potential and I think it is going to result in an amazing story. Not only will we get to see how and why a 14-year-old girl becomes queen, and the various issues associated with that, but it looks like Johnston is going to continue to explore the unique culture of Naboo, as well as the intriguing lives of the queen’s handmaidens. Queen’s Shadow spent quite a lot of time not only showcasing the importance of the handmaidens, but also introducing the readers to these previously unnamed characters (well, unnamed in this canon). In particular, we got to know Sabé, Amidala’s decoy, who served as the secondary protagonist of the book, and we saw the close friendship she had with Amidala. I am very excited to learn more about Amidala and her handmaidens, and it will be great to see how they were initially brought together to engage in the complex game of galactic politics.

Based on the above synopsis, it looks like the book’s plot will be set over the course of a few years, as not only will it show Amidala becoming queen, but it also covers the occupation of Naboo by the Trade Federation. I reckon that this should result in a rather compelling story, and I am very interested in seeing the events that led up to the invasion of Naboo. It is also likely that we will see what happened to the various handmaidens during the course of The Phantom Menace. Some hints of this were given in Queen’s Shadow, such as the fact that one of them was tortured in an internment camp, and I am curious about what the others went through. It will also be extremely interesting to see the story of The Phantom Menace from Sabé’s point of view, especially as she spent a good part of the film disguised as Amidala.

I am hoping Johnson will expand on the intriguing story point that concluded her previous book. Queen’s Shadow ended with a flash-forward to Amidala’s funeral at the end of Revenge of the Sith and showed Sabé’s reaction to the death of her dearest friend. In this scene, Sabé expressed great scepticism towards the official Imperial story about Amidala’s death, and decides to investigate it herself. A storyline in Queen’s Peril that follows Sabé as she pokes around in the newly formed Empire trying to find the truth has some amazing potential, especially if she has to contend with Darth Vader or the Emperor. It wouldn’t be too hard to split the story into two separate periods, one of which focused the early days of Amidala’s reign, while the other followed Sabé’s investigation in the future, and it will be interesting to see what Johnston does.

I think that Queen’s Peril should prove to be a very compelling and exciting new addition to the Star Wars universe, and I am really keen to see what Johnston includes in this story. I will probably end up listening to this book’s audiobook format rather than grabbing a physical copy, and I really hope that they get Catherine Taber back to narrate the story. Taber, who voices Amidala in The Clone Wars animated series, did an outstanding job of narrating Queen’s Shadow, and it will be really cool to once again have one of the official voices of Amidala tell the story.

The next book that I am going to look at is Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn, the first book in the new Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy. Chaos Rising is probably the Star Wars book I am most looking forward to in 2020, as not only is it written by my favourite Star Wars fiction author, Timothy Zahn (I literally just finished listening to one of his Star Wars books last night and it was amazing), but it contains a prequel story for one of the franchise’s best characters, Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Grand Admiral Thrawn is an outstanding character who Zahn created back in the 1990s under the old Star Wars canon. One of the few alien officers in the Imperial Navy, Thrawn was portrayed as the ultimate tactical genius who was able to outthink and predict the actions of all his opponents. Thrawn was one of the few non-movie characters who exists in both the old Star Wars Legends canon and the new Disney canon, as he was reintroduced a couple of years ago as an antagonist in the Star Wars Rebels animated show. As part of this reintroduction, Zahn was contracted to write two new trilogies of Star Wars novels that focused on Thrawn. The Thrawn trilogy contained three exceptional Star Wars novels: Thrawn, Alliances and Treason, which was easily the Star Wars novel of this year. While I was kind of hoping that Zahn would shed some light on the eventual fate of Thrawn following his disappearance in the final episode of Rebels, it looks like Zahn is instead going back to explore the character’s youth.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The first book in a new trilogy set before Thrawn traveled to the Empire and became a Grand Admiral. Journey to the Unknown Regions and learn more about Thrawn’s origins and his home: The Chiss Ascendancy.

While a longer plot synopsis is probably in the works, this short blurb contains quite a lot of interesting information. In particular, it looks like dedicated Star Wars fans are going to get a brand-new origin story for this character. I am very excited to see what events formed the Thrawn we know and love, and I am curious to finally find out what he did to convince his people to infiltrate the Empire. No doubt, there will be all manner of battle and conflicts as Thrawn helps to defend his people against a bunch of alien threats, which will probably help showcase his initial tactical genius and unique way of seeing things.

One of the other intriguing things that the synopsis hints at is additional knowledge of the protagonist’s race, the Chiss. The mysterious Chiss Ascendancy is a legendary race which exists within the unknown regions of space outside of the bounds of the Republic or the Empire. Despite seeing some of the characters in the new Thrawn novels, very little is known about the Chiss (in this canon in particular). As a result, I am looking forward to finding out more about them, including details of their culture, military and the force-sensitive children they use as navigators. It is also going to be intriguing to see the events of the main Star Wars series through this alien species eyes. Based on Thrawn’s appearance during the events of Thrawn: Alliances, which was partially set during the Clone Wars, and the fact that the character was sent to infiltrate the Empire in order to help form some sort of alliance between them and the Chiss to help fight some of the dangers lurking in the Unknown Regions (something I also hope we find out more about), we know that the Chiss were keeping an eye on the events happening in Republic/Imperial space. I imagine that the Chiss characters will have some intriguing reactions to the wars and conflicts being fought between the Jedi and the Sith, and it should prove to be a great part of the series.

Based on how much I love Zahn’s previous work and on how awesome the character of Thrawn is, there is no way that I am not going to love this novel. I have no doubt that Chaos Rising is going to be an exception book, and I am excited to see what exciting adventures and wonderful universe building is contained within. I also have to say how much I love the recently released cover of this book. The understated design is pretty cool, and it leaves a definite impression. Chaos Rising is set for release on 5 May 2020, and hopefully I will be able to get an advanced copy of it to review.

The final book in this article is Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed. Shadow Fall, which currently has a release date of 23 June 2020, is the sequel to the 2019 book Alphabet Squadron, and is set to continue its action-focused story. The official cover for Shadow Fall is yet to be released, although I thought that the stand-in cover above is already really good.

Alphabet Squadron followed a small squadron of Rebel Alliance pilot, each of whom flies a different make of starfighter (e.g. one in an X-Wing, another in a Y-Wing, hence Alphabet Squadron), as the fight against the Imperial Remnant in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. Made up of a disparate group of pilots and led by former Imperial, Yrica Quell, Alphabet Squadron explored the darker side of the galaxy following the Rebel’s victory. Alphabet Squadron was also connected to the Star Wars: Tie Fighter (2019) comic book miniseries, as the main characters of the miniseries served as the book’s antagonists. Shadow Fall will continue the adventure started in the previous book, and it looks like this time more time will be spent on the Imperial characters who make up Shadow Wing.

Goodreads Synopsis:

After their narrow victory over Shadow Wing, Alphabet Squadron is on the attack, hunting their adversaries within the Imperial Remnant. Shadow Wing is desperate for direction and leadership–and they find both in the iron will of Major Keize, their former commander and Yrica Quell’s one-time mentor. As battle lines blur, Alphabet Squadron finds itself not only fighting their resurgent foes, but their leader’s own deadly shadow.

This should prove to be another excellent piece of Star Wars fiction, and I am looking forward to the plot, which will once again focus on a number of engagements between the two rival squads of fighters. Freed showed his ability to produce amazing space battle sequences in Alphabet Squadron, and no doubt this latest book will contain many more of these as well. I am also expecting that the author will continue to focus on the strained relationships of the five members of Alphabet Squadron, as they slowly meld together as an effective team, and there is likely to be more internal politics and manipulation from their shady New Republic Intelligence handler. My initial prediction for this book is that it will end in some form of major defeat for the protagonists, similar in the ending to Empire Strikes Back, but I have nothing to back that up with. I do think that Shadow Fall is going to be another awesome book from Freed, and I look forward to all the intense action and battle sequences it will contain.

As you can see, the first half of 2020 is shaping up to have some exceptional Star Wars novels. I am very excited for all three of these books, and I reckon that they will all turn out to be fantastic reads. I am also very curious to see what other novels are released in the latter half of the year, although it is pretty much guaranteed that I will end up reviewing all of them, no matter what. Until then, I’ve got a Star Wars movie to see, here’s hoping The Rise of Skywalker lives up to expectations.