SWNN Reviews – Battlefront: Twilight Company.

Twilight CompanyWith the hotly-anticipated Star Wars Battlefront nearly here, now is more than a good enough time to get entrenched in the tie-in novel. Easily one of the grittiest Star Wars books in the new canon, the book provides a fresh perspective into the trials and tribulations of soldiers fighting in the Galactic Civil War.

 

The book follows the Sixty-First Mobile Infantry of the Rebel Alliance – the titular “Twilight Company” – in the waning years of the Galactic Civil War. After months of advancing throughout the Galaxy and reclaiming territory from the Empire, the Twilight Company is told that it needs to make a strategic retreat. In the process of retreat, the Twilight Company receives unexpected help from a defecting Imperial Governor, who devises a plan to undermine the Imperial war machine by utilizing hit-and-run tactics on Imperial production planets, including Kuat and Sullust. However, Twilight Company has to survive the evacuation of Hoth first, and even then, the soldiers will face the threat of obliteration before a glimmer of hope can present itself.

 

The book itself is probably one of the most gritty narratives in the current Star Wars canon. Wartime wounds and illnesses are described in unpleasant detail. Many named characters die in brutal and sudden ways. There is a real sense that Twilight Company itself is going to fail in its goals, even though we already know that the Rebel Alliance as a whole will prevail. It really gets into the technical details of the war, not shying away from how the soldiers manage to carry out continued assaults with minimal resources, and how they react to the deaths of their own.

TwilightCompany_2upI really liked the two lead characters in the book – Hazram Namir and Everi Chalis. Namir distinct as a character in that he comes from what is effectively a primal world – he’s been fighting in wars ever since he was a child, and is actually much less familiar with the Galaxy than most of the soldiers that report to him, and his cynical, self-doubting personality is one that is of stark contrast to the typical hero in the setting. Chalis is also interesting in that she comes across as an infectiously likable character in spite of being so self-centered and manipulative – in her own way, she’s one of the more sympathetic characters in the story. The absence of major characters from the films – aside from one moderately-important appearance from Darth Vader, and Nien Nunb’s occasional involvement – helps the story itself keep itself focused on the “little guys” as opposed to trying too hard to tie into everything.

 

The prose feels like it hits all the right marks in conveying what the characters think, how they feel, and what actions they take. The pacing of the novel is solid, describing guerrilla skirmishes succinctly while being considerably more elaborate with the major battles. The fights never seem like they drag on, nor do they feel like they’re ever cut short. As it stands, the novel serves as an excellent standalone tale and an equally-good tie-in to Battlefront itself. If you’re into detailed war stories or want a change of pace from reading stories about Han, Luke, and Leia, then this is the Star Wars book for you.

 

Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company is on shelves right now. Be sure to come back to Star Wars News Net for the latest news, reviews, and discussions about the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

 

+ posts

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

31 thoughts on “SWNN Reviews – Battlefront: Twilight Company.

  • November 9, 2015 at 12:40 am
    Permalink

    Cool review. Thanks!

  • November 9, 2015 at 1:25 am
    Permalink

    How does it compare tot he war on the ground type novels from before? The Rep Commando books and such…

    • November 9, 2015 at 5:07 am
      Permalink

      Allston’s dead, Stackpole is probably never coming back, and Traviss is persona non-grata to Lucasfilm now so I’m really hoping this is the next best thing.

      • November 9, 2015 at 5:24 pm
        Permalink

        I liked Traviss’ RC books and enjoyed Allston’s and Stackpoles X-wing novels as well, but with the last couple series Allston was very much part of the problem. The LotF and FotJ novels were just bad (IMO) and felt so disjointed from book to book that they barely felt like they were supposed to be a series in some aspects. The authors were so wrapped up in their own characters and their own different visions for what they wanted Star Wars to be that I think they just lost focus on what Star Wars actually IS. No author should be above the story, which is what they very much got away from in the early 00’s and just never got back on track with. It’s almost like once the NJO started, the authors (in general) took it away from being Star Wars and just turned it into another generic Sci-fi universe. When you take the charm and tone of SW out, only to replace it with brutality and an endless assault of war loving masochists, all while killing off central characters to “drive the point home” and inflate the importance of their own characters, you’re left with generic slop that you can quite literally find in HUNDREDS of sci-fi novels.

        • November 10, 2015 at 10:54 am
          Permalink

          I think his poor health probably had a lot to do with his declining writing abilities but even at his worst, I haven’t read anything in the new EU that makes me care about any of the new characters outside possibly Lost Stars which many outside the fan community have dismissed as YA crap. Even if that book is not getting a sequel yet, I’m glad the author is back as she’s the only new one I read who seems to understand what the the Star Wars is about and able to create thre dimensional characters.

          • November 10, 2015 at 4:19 pm
            Permalink

            I’d agree with most of what you said other than the characters bit. You’re looking back at characters that have 20 years of history in the books. Once the newer characters get fleshed out a bit there will be characters t relate to and follow through things. If you remember though the EU relied on known characters to bring people in. They did it for years until there was enough history for characters to stand on their own. They even did it for the non-force centered stories like the X-wing novels and such. Wendig may not be that great but I think he’s got potential, plus the first couple rounds of books are going to be “universe builders” anyway to set the stage for the future of the novels and other media.

          • November 10, 2015 at 4:27 pm
            Permalink

            I hope so but we’ll find out in a few years. I wasn’t expecting much from Lost Stars but those characters immediatly connected with me in ways that the ones from the “adult” novels of the EU did not. Then again, I did like most all the YA novels of the old EU too back before the genre was trendy. I like that they get right into the story and dialogue with no meandering around. The 180 page word count sucks but the books I hated the most were ones that had too much technobabble and had chapters of planetary descriptions. I’d like to see more anthology books full of short stories as well, The rarely went wrong with those.

          • November 10, 2015 at 4:44 pm
            Permalink

            Agreed, straight across the board. 😀 The attachment to the YA novels and characters though was one of the problems with the later old EU. The authors couldn’t get past what THEY wanted from the non-movie characters. You can’t tell me that the NJO, FotJ, or LotF series were something fans were asking for? The Scoundrels novel was something fans wanted, because it was one of the first Eu novel to FEEL like Star Wars in almost a decade(or more) and centered around a traditional(ish) Han story.

          • November 10, 2015 at 4:58 pm
            Permalink

            Oh, By YA I meant Jedi Apprentice, Jedi Quest, Last Of The Jedi, Young Jedi Knights, Junior Jedi Knights, and even that Galaxy Of Fear crap which were all Scholastic books. They were sold in the kids section but wound up being strangle more mature than the NJO/FOTJ/LOTF series which I only read because I was curious to see how the story ended with no new films ever happening. I was far more interested in the KOTOR era books which they should revisit now that the slate is wiped clean since I liked the whole dark fantasy aspect of those books.

          • November 10, 2015 at 5:22 pm
            Permalink

            Yeah, I knew the YA novels you meant, the Jacen/Jaina novels. They were much more coherant and thought out than ANYTHING the characters were used in after that. The final few series were just trash. More like “in universe fiction” than anything else. While reading the FotJ/LotF novels I kept wondering “what would Luke think of the ridiculousness that they’ve turned him into.” It’s actually not a bad way to look at the EU as “in universe fiction”. Falls in line with how they’ve placed the Legends books anyway kind of…

          • November 10, 2015 at 5:36 pm
            Permalink

            Ah, Okay. Funny thing is that Kevin J. Anderson wrote some of those and his YA books were far superior to his Jedi Academy trilogy. Yeah, They should call it the AU for Alternate Universe now that we know those probably exist. They should have stopped at the NJO and only done books that take place before Jedi from then on. It’s why I hope the OT cast dies in this new trilogy since there’s literally nowhere for them to go when they get old. I don’t want them to go out like bitch as Mace did in III though but they do need to go before IX.

          • November 10, 2015 at 5:49 pm
            Permalink

            I don’t think they need to go necessarily but they need to have closure and a solid send off.

          • November 10, 2015 at 5:56 pm
            Permalink

            Luke probably does though due to his power but I don’t want it to be an extension if The Expendables series where senior citizens are saving the day all the time either.

          • November 10, 2015 at 5:59 pm
            Permalink

            Fair enough as I don’t think anyone wants that.

          • November 10, 2015 at 6:12 pm
            Permalink

            There were rumors of X-XII but until I see the new cast, I’m not sure how I will feel about that. I think they should wait a good 10 years to do it, So 2030 or so. Any more is overkill but people might sick of the series fast with 6 films in 6 years coming out, they need to pace themselves,

          • November 10, 2015 at 5:58 pm
            Permalink

            Oh okay. I thought you meant the run of J/J Solo books that were actually considered YA novels (albeit larger ones than those you mentioned). My mistake. Still agree though as those books were solid too, read them with my kid and we even still have many of them on the shelf.

          • November 10, 2015 at 6:10 pm
            Permalink

            Only just got this one but yes. Even though they are no longer canon, They were my favorite portrayal of young Anakin/Obi-Wan before the Clone Wars came out. It’s sickening how great Matt Lanter was as him and was probably one if the million better choices Lucas turned diwn in favor Hayden.

    • November 9, 2015 at 5:20 am
      Permalink

      I can’t say much for the Republic Commando novels (as I haven’t read them), but I can tell you it’s kind of a mix between the tones of the Republic Commando game and the Rogue Squadron games, which I would presume is probably something along the lines of the content of the RC novels.

      – Pomojema

      • November 9, 2015 at 5:01 pm
        Permalink

        Sounds about right. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll probably give it a go in a couple weeks after Fallout and BF drop. I’ve always liked the books that kind of get you right into things and show aspects of the various conflicts outside of Jedi and the Force and such.

  • November 9, 2015 at 1:45 am
    Permalink

    Great review, Pomo! I just started it over the last few days and love how different it is from the previous novels in terms of its grit and grime.

    • November 9, 2015 at 2:01 am
      Permalink

      “how different it is from the previous novels in terms of its grit and grime.”
      That’s good to know.

    • November 9, 2015 at 5:15 am
      Permalink

      Arigato!

      – Pomojema

  • November 9, 2015 at 5:04 am
    Permalink

    i don’t like that this is a battlefront tie in cause nothing ive seen of Battlefront screams ‘canon’

    • November 9, 2015 at 9:23 pm
      Permalink

      It isn’t a “tie-in” like you think, unless they have some big plans for mission/story-based DLC that none of us are aware of.

  • November 9, 2015 at 5:06 am
    Permalink

    I hope it’s like the X-Wing/Wraith books since that’s what the new canon is severely lacking in – characters you actually give a damn about that were not in the films.

  • November 9, 2015 at 6:46 am
    Permalink

    i really enjoyed this book if only rouge one can be like this

    • November 10, 2015 at 3:07 pm
      Permalink

      I have a feeling Rogue One will be a lot like this. I think it will be a touch like Twilight Company and “Landing at Point Rain” with some Windtalkers and We Were Soldiers and Pearl Harbor influences.

  • November 9, 2015 at 1:34 pm
    Permalink

    Very nice, now I am looking even more to reading it. I have a book already, but also a ton of work, plus these SW trailers/TV spots keep distracting me. 😀

  • November 9, 2015 at 3:17 pm
    Permalink

    Very excited to read this soon

  • November 10, 2015 at 3:18 pm
    Permalink

    I have no idea why they did that. My response does not change, however. Read the book.

Comments are closed.

LATEST POSTS ON MOVIE NEWS NET