Jordan’s Review : “Ahsoka” by E.K. Johnston

ahsoka_novel_coverIt’s been said that a tiger can’t change its stripes, but as Ahsoka’s first appearance in Rebels showed us – apparently, a Togruta can. In her novel  Ahsoka, author E.K. Johnston shows us that the change in the book’s titular ex-Jedi goes much deeper than the stripes on her lekku and montrals, as she answers some important questions about the gap in Ahsoka’s story between Clone Wars and Rebels. Read on for the full review.

 

Our very own Jelena Bidin did an awesome spoiler-filled review of this book last week (here), so I will skip a lot of the juicy details that she has already covered in her review.  Instead, I will focus on the importance of this story to the overall canon and try to help you decide if it’s worth your time to swing by the bookstore and check it out if you haven’t already.

 

Lucasfilm has definitely been making a push for strong female characters in Star Wars ever since Kathleen Kennedy took the reigns from George Lucas back in 2012.  With a woman at the helm and a story group that is almost 70% female, it should come as no surprise to fans that Ahsoka continues that trend. This book is full of women.  Even the possible love interest in the story is a woman named Kaeden (although Ahsoka does not reciprocate those feelings to her).  That being said, Ahsoka is so much more than a simple ploy to gain a larger female fanbase.

 

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Ahsoka’s first appearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

 

Ahsoka is not just a strong woman – she is, as this book demonstrates, now one of the most important characters in the Star Wars canon. Ahsoka is a well-written book that places way more emphasis on story and character-building than it ever does on any perceived attempts at so called “female empowerment”.  Ahsoka is an empowering story for everyone who reads it.

 

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The reason for this is that the book’s main character, Ahsoka Tano, transcends these perceptions.  She’s no damsel, she’s no lady (despite Maul’s comments to that effect) and she’s no Jedi. Ahsoka is a superhero (for lack of a better term).  At least, that’s how she is presented in this story. Although she has abandoned the Jedi way – her training and her compassion remain – compelling her to take action in the face of injustice, wherever it may arise along the way.

 

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She may be among the last remnants of a fading legacy, but her new purpose goes far beyond the call of a Jedi Knight. She is a warrior – fighting for the rights of all sentient life against a tyrannical and oppressive rule that would leave its people in ruin and despair – all the while working to keep her true identity a secret from those around her.

 

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As the story progresses, Ahsoka realizes day by day that the galaxy and her new place in it is infinitely more complex than how it appeared to her as a Jedi padawan. She understands that as a soldier of the light side, she will have to go to places both physically and spiritually that no Jedi would have ever attempted before the ascension of the Empire. She’s a Jedi no longer…and because of that, she becomes something more, something greater.

 

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Ahsoka with Barriss Offee in the Clone Wars TV series

 

Ahsoka takes our heroine on a journey of self as she discovers who she is meant to be by learning from her past failures and victories while adapting to her present situation. She learns to trust her instincts, to let go of her mistakes, and to allow herself to discover her own path in the Force moving forward.

 

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Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order

 

However, as she soon discovers, opening herself up to helping others also exposes her (and those indebted to her heroics) to great danger, leading her to ultimately decide on a more hands-off role in aiding the rebellion against the Empire.

 

Fans of the Rebels TV show already know that Ahsoka would eventually become the rebel agent known as “Fulcrum”, who was responsible for passing along intel and mission objectives to the various rebel cells scattered throughout the galaxy in an effort to grow and unite a larger rebellion.

 

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Ahsoka (right) as the rebel agent “Fulcrum”

 

We now know that there are actually multiple agents with this designation working within the communications network of the rebellion, but – as this book reveals – Ahsoka was the first to take on this role, and in doing so, she helped Bail Organa organize a network of people that would eventually grow to be able to launch a full scale war against the might of the Galactic Empire.

 

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Without Ahsoka, the rebellion would simply not exist as we find it by the time of A New Hope. For this reason alone, I would say that this book is a worthy read for any Star Wars fan.  If that’s not enough, how about a glimpse of Obi-Wan on Tatooine at the grave of Shmi Skywalker, apologizing for losing her son? Or Obi-Wan finally being able to hear Qui-Gon’s voice during his exile?

 

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What about the first chronological appearance of the Inquisitors? Or Bail Organa plotting his rebellion in secret from his Alderaanian home as his little girl plays across the room? Or the answer to how lightsaber crystals get their color? These moments are small in comparison to the overall story of the book, but they are definitely cool little additions.

 

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Author E.K. Johnston

 

The fingerprints of Dave Filoni, Pablo Hidalgo, and the LFL Story Group are glaringly evident in this book as it packs a lot of interesting tid bits concerning the Force and the state of the Empire and the rebellion in their infancy, but Johnston’s unique voice is also loud and clear.  Her understanding of the character of Ahsoka and her ability to get into her head sucked me into this novel from the start, and although it was a bit slow at times during the first and second acts, the latter half of the book brought a lot of nice elements into the story, and Johnston delivered a satisfying and hopeful conclusion to Ahsoka’s arc from the Clone Wars series while constructing a natural segue into her appearance in Rebels.

 

This is a must-read for fans of Clone Wars or Rebels and a recommended read for any fan of Star Wars. I look forward to reading more Star Wars stories from E.K. Johnston, and I can’t wait to see what LFL has in store for the character in Rebels season 3 and onward – cause you know she ain’t dead!

 

 

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Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

Jordan Pate (Hard Case)

Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

4 thoughts on “Jordan’s Review : “Ahsoka” by E.K. Johnston

  • October 21, 2016 at 2:42 am
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    I’d love to get my hands on this. I like how it delves into some more of the canon stuff like the lightsaber crystals and how they get their color.

  • October 21, 2016 at 4:06 am
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    I overall enjoyed this book mostly for the canon tidbits as I don’t really connect to Ahsoka at all. Her story though was an interesting one and really sets up the state of the Galaxy and the view of it from the common people. The audible version is around 7 hours so a fairly quick read. Definitely recommend!

  • October 21, 2016 at 4:20 am
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    The tie ins to the new canon were about the only things in this novel to work for me. That and the flashbacks. Sadly I found a lot of the action and plot fell out of believability and you could almost feel the rush and stress this author was under to complete her novel.
    I believe she is a good writer, and parts are really well done. The rest could have been better without the stresses of a deadline and given the time to rewrite what was weak.

  • November 1, 2016 at 2:05 pm
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    Finished it yesterday. I liked it, though at times it felt as an early season Clone Wars arc, focused solely on Ahsoka.
    As others stated, the hints at the overall new canon were the most interesting.

    Concerning the crystals, this was a great and interesting inclusion. Did anyone else get the hint about Ilum?

    The remark about bigger crystals that everyone can see (and smaller ones that only call to a specific person), combined with the Empire are practically destroying Ilum to retreive crystals, makes it clear to me this is what’s being used for the Death Star.

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