The Resistance is in ruins. In the wake of their harrowing escape from Crait, what was once an army has been reduced to a handful of wounded heroes. Finn, Poe, Rey, Rose, Chewbacca, Leia Organa—their names are famous among the oppressed worlds they fight to liberate. But names can only get you so far, and Leia’s last desperate call for aid has gone unanswered. 

 From the jungles of Ryloth to the shipyards of Corellia, the shadow of the First Order looms large, and those with the bravery to face the darkness are scattered and isolated. If hope is to survive, the Resistance must journey throughout the galaxy, seeking out more leaders—including those who, in days gone by, helped a nascent rebellion topple an empire. Battles will be fought, alliances will be forged, and the Resistance will be reborn.

So, you folks know I like Star Wars books, yes? Like, a lot. Like…a wicked lot. I get excited about pretty much any new Star Wars book that’s announced, but my excitement for Resistance Reborn was this kind of constantly evolving thing.

When Rebecca Roanhorse first announced she was writing a Star War, I was fucking giddy. I adore her Sixth World books, and I just couldn’t wait to see what her contribution to the galaxy far, far away would be like. And then when it was clear that the book was going to be set after The Last Jedi, bridging the gap to The Rise of Skywalker, I just about lost my mind.

And then at some point leading up to the release, it really dawned on me: this would be the first adult Star Wars novel (not including the novelizations for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi) that would feature Rey, Finn, and Poe. And that was just like…huge. As evidenced by the cover, Resistance Reborn is a largely Poe-centric novel, but still…the handful of scenes with Rey (my favorite Star Wars character) were something like magic.

The story picks up shortly after the end of The Last Jedi…which, I guess if you haven’t seen The Last Jedi & plan to, you might want to bail out on this review!!

Regardless of Leia’s optimism at the end of The Last Jedi, the Resistance is in total disarray. But of course, we’ve all seen the trailer for The Rise of Skywalker and seen the size of the Resistance fleet. So, how did they get there? And that’s a big part of what this book is about. Leia & the Resistance do get a brief moment of respite, and a safe place to regroup. And then they get to work recruiting.

What Resistance Reborn does extremely well is to give Poe Dameron a chance to try & redeem himself. I mean, face facts…no matter how dashing & cool he is, or how nice his hair is (something that’s remarked upon more than once in this book), the guy fucked up in The Last Jedi. Like, majorly fucked up and so many people died. And he carries that burden in a really heavy & honest way, and Roanhorse does a great job stripping away some of Poe’s bravado (just some), and showing us how broken he is. It’s really some of the best & most emotional character work in any of the new Star Wars canon.

Another place where Resistance Reborn shines is in bringing together characters from…well, everywhere. And not just from the movies & books, but even from the video games (and I’m sure there are connections to some of the comic books, none of which I’ve read). Honestly, this fucking delighted me. It was like a who’s who of the Star Wars novels…it wasn’t like there were loose ends being tied up. But more like…Roanhorse went into this with all these different threads from other sources in her hands, and got to weave them all together for this one amazing book.

One character in particular that stood out to me was Teza Nasz. Wookieepedia tells me that this is her first Star Wars appearance (I wasn’t sure if maybe she was in one of the comics), and oh my god, is she a fucking trip. Unabashedly badass, and probably the most gleefully violent character this side of Chuck Wendig’s Mister Bones. I’M GONNA NEED MORE OF TEZA NASZ PLEASE!!!

I absolutely loved Resistance Reborn…this feels like such an important Star Wars novel, and it’s left me even more excited for The Rise of Skywalker than I already was. Rebecca Roanhorse gives us a Resistance that is battered but not broken, and a First Order that is relentless in its cruelty. This book brings together so many great characters from all over the galaxy, all working towards a brighter future against seemingly insurmountable odds. THIS ONE HAS ALL THE FEELS!!!

Light.

Darkness.

A balance.

The Force will be with you, always.