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. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday article, and in honour of May the Fourth, better known as Star Wars Day, I am going to look at a couple of awesome Star Wars novels coming out later this year.
As readers of my blog are well aware, I love all things Star Wars and have made a great effort to read and review multiple Star Wars tie-in novels and comics over the last few years (make sure to check out the list of my favourite Star Wars novels I published yesterday). 2022 has already been a pretty good year for Star Wars fiction, seeing the end of the first phase of The High Republic series, as well as featuring some other fun reads, comics and shows. While I haven’t had the chance to read a couple of the latest Star Wars novels yet, I fully intend to in the next few months, and I also have the intriguing Brotherhood by Mike Chen coming out in a few days’ time (I will have to try and read that before the new Obi-Wan Kenobi show comes out). However, there are also three other great Star Wars novels coming out in the next few months that have caught my attention, and I thought today would be the best opportunity to highlight them in advance. All three of these upcoming books sound really cool, and it will be nice to have a bit of a break away from the current High Republic range.
The first of these upcoming books is the fantastic and intense Shadow of the Sith from Adam Christopher. Christopher, who has previously released several intriguing Star Wars short stories, looks set to deliver a major entry to the current canon in late June 2022, as Shadow of the Sith attempts to fill in some of the gaps created by The Rise of Skywalker.
Synopsis:
Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian return in this essential novel set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
The Empire is dead. Nearly two decades on from the Battle of Endor, the tattered remnants of Palpatine’s forces have fled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. But for the heroes of the New Republic, danger and loss are ever-present companions, even in this newly forged era of peace.
Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is haunted by visions of the dark side, foretelling an ominous secret growing somewhere in the depths of space, on a dead world called Exegol. The disturbance in the Force is undeniable…and Luke’s worst fears are confirmed when his old friend, Lando Calrissian, comes to him with reports of a new Sith menace.
After his daughter was stolen from his arms, Lando searched the stars for any trace of his lost child. But every new rumor only led to dead ends and fading hopes-until he crossed paths with Ochi of Bestoon, a Sith assassin tasked with kidnapping a young girl.
Ochi’s true motives remain shrouded to Luke and Lando. For on a junkyard moon, a mysterious envoy of the Sith Eternal has bequeathed a sacred blade to the assassin, promising that it will give him answers to the questions that have haunted him since the Empire fell. In exchange, he must complete a final mission: return to Exegol with the key to the Sith’s glorious rebirth-the granddaughter of Darth Sidious himself, Rey.
As Ochi hunts Rey and her parents to the edge of the galaxy, Luke and Lando race into the mystery of the Sith’s lingering shadow and aid a young family running for their lives.
Ooh, now this is an intriguing sounding Star Wars novel and one that I think could turn out to be very awesome. Christopher is looking to tell an extremely ambitious story with Shadow of the Sith, and I am really hoping that it will pay off. I already love the idea of a story that follows both Luke and Lando as they traverse the galaxy together (it’s not a partnership you see a lot of) and having them try to get to grips with the rising Sith threat, as well as the Emperor’s hidden base on Exegol, is pretty cool and could result in some amazing storylines. I am also quite interesting in seeing more of compelling side character, Ochi of Bestoon, who has been getting a bit of love in the recent Darth Vader comic series. I am quite curious to see what happens to this character after the fall of the Emperor, and finding out about his latest mission will be very fascinating. Finally, it will be great to finally have some more information about Rey’s childhood and parents, especially as there were only minor details featured in The Rise of Skywalker.
Out of all the upcoming Star Wars novels, I think that Shadow of the Sith has the most potential. Not only will it bring together some great characters in an emotional journey, but it will hopefully fil in a lot of lore gaps and try to explain some of the plot holes from the film. If done right, Shadow of the Sith could become quite the invaluable read in the current Star Wars canon, and I am extremely intrigued to see what reveals and revelations it contains.
The second upcoming Star Wars book I want to highlight is the young adult novel, Padawan by Kiersten White, a talented author with a lot of experience in both young adult fiction and tie-in novels. Padawan, which is coming out on 26 July, is a compelling prequel novel that will serve as one of the earlier Skywalker Saga novels in the current canon. This book will follow a young Obi-Wan Kenobi as he goes on his first mission, with disastrous results.
Synopsis:
BEING A TEENAGER IS HARD ENOUGH WITHOUT ALSO TRAINING TO BE A JEDI….
Obi-Wan Kenobi has not been apprenticed long to Qui-Gon Jinn, and he is chafing at Qui-Gon’s training style: all meditation, no action. Obi-Wan yearns to prove himself on a mission, but when he and Qui-Gon are finally set to leave on an assignment, Qui-Gon is nowhere to be found. Angered by his master’s abandonment, Obi-Wan sets out on the mission alone, determined to prove himself. On a mysterious planet he encounters a pack of feral, Force-wielding teens who seem to be the planet’s only inhabitants. As he experiences wild freedom with them and wonders if this isn’t the life he was meant for, Obi-Wan can’t escape the nagging sense that something is wrong with the Force there. Growing attachments, startling revelations, and a looming threat to both the planet and his new friends will bring Obi-Wan face-to-face with his worst fear: that maybe he was never supposed to be a Jedi at all. Can he connect with the living Force in time to save himself and everyone around him?
It’s the star of the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ limited series as you’ve never seen him before….
This is another fantastic sounding Star Wars novel that could also turn out to be quite a good read. We seem to be getting several Obi-Wan Kenobi centric stories coming out this year (I wonder why?), although I am not complaining as I really want to see more about his backstory and the formative moments of his life. I like the idea of a moody, teenage Obi-Wan rebelliously going off on a mission, only to get trapped with some other rebellious Force users, and I am curious to see what impact that has on him. I do slightly worry that Padawan might rehash some of the character development and conflict between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn that was featured a couple of years ago in Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray. However, I feel that there is some real possibility for a compelling story here in this plot synopsis and I am personally curious to see how it all turns out.
The final book that I wanted to highlight in this post is the fun sounding The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis, which alas I don’t yet have a cover for. Revis, who has already written the Star Wars novel, Rebel Rising, will present a new chapter in the unique romance between Han Solo and Princess Leia. Set for release in mid-August 2022, The Princess and the Scoundrel will focus on this unlikely pairing’s wedding and extravagant honeymoon. Of course, nothing ever goes to plan for these two, so their honeymoon will turn into more of an action romp than a romantic journey.
Synopsis:
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo.
The Death Star is destroyed. Darth Vader is dead. The Empire is desolated. But on the forest moon of Endor, amongst the chaos of a changing galaxy, time stands still for a princess and her scoundrel.
After being frozen in carbonite, then risking everything for the Rebellion, Han is eager to stop living his life for other people. He and Leia have earned their future together, a thousand times over. And when he proposes to Leia, it’s the first time in a long time he’s had a good feeling about this. For Leia, a lifetime of fighting doesn’t truly seem over. There is work still to do, penance to pay for the dark secret she now knows runs through her veins. Her brother, Luke, is offering her that chance — one that comes with family and the promise of the Force. But when Han asks her to marry him, Leia finds her answer immediately on her lips . . . Yes.
But happily ever after doesn’t come easily. As soon as Han and Leia depart their idyllic ceremony on Endor for their honeymoon, they find themselves on the grandest and most glamorous stage of all: the Halcyon, a luxury vessel on a very public journey to the most wondrous worlds in the galaxy. Their marriage, and the peace and prosperity it represents, is a lightning rod for everyone in the galaxy — including Imperial remnants still clinging to power.
Facing their most desperate hour, the soldiers of the Empire have dispersed across the galaxy, retrenching on isolated worlds vulnerable to their influence. As the Halcyon travels from world to world, one thing becomes abundantly clear: The war is not over. But as danger draws closer, Han and Leia find that they fight their best battles not alone but as husband and wife.
Despite my general lack of enthusiasm for romance stories (I know, I’m such a guy sometimes), I am pretty excited for The Princess and the Scoundrel. Not only do you get to see more a development of the relationship between Han and Leia after Return of the Jedi (which is mostly missing from the current canon), but this novel will also continue to explore the absolute chaos that followed the destruction of the second Death Star and the continued war. I love the idea of the Han and Leia’s honeymoon being a big PR campaign that will showcase how many planets are going during this period and having Imperial remnant elements coming after them will add a certain amount of excitement and intrigue to the mix. I think that The Princess and the Scoundrel will turn out to be a really good Star Wars novel and I cannot wait to see what sort of compelling story Revis writes around these great characters.
As you can no doubt see, there are some outstanding and brilliant sounding Star Wars novels coming out in the next few months. All three of the above novels sound like excellent entries in the current Star Wars canon and I am very excited to see the amazing stories they contain. It looks like these cool books will have a real focus on examining some of the main characters in the franchise, and I cannot wait to see what unique and powerful adventures they end up happening. I already know I am going to have an incredible time checking these Star Wars books out and they should all be pretty epic. Hopefully you will find the above books interesting, and, as always, May the Fourth by with you!
The Unseen Library 