‘The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire’ Excerpt Untangles Palpatine’s Design for the Clone Wars
The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by historian and Star Wars fan Dr. Chris Kempshall looks at Palpatine’s Empire from a historical perspective and will release on July 4th. Ahead of its release, a sample chapter has been made available, which analyses Palpatine’s machinations in the Clone Wars, shared by Dr. Kempshall on his Twitter account.
So, I've noticed that there definitely seems to be an excited audience for 'The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire'. Well, as you've all been so good, maybe you can have a little sample chapter as a treat.
Who wants to hear about The Clone Wars…?https://t.co/1Raa9ykb0C pic.twitter.com/SQlvSvbbsz
— Chris Kempshall (@ChrisKempshall) April 11, 2024
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that it’s an in-universe historical document written by Resistance soldier Beamont Kin (Dominic Monaghan), who is referred to as a historian in the Visual Dictionary for The Rise of Skywalker. Being written after the fall of the First/Final Order Kin is able to look back with access to information that we, as the film audience, know but would be largely hidden from the citizens of the galaxy.
“The details that have been retrieved from within the archives of both the Empire and the record of the First Order can, when combined with the new material being uncovered on Exegol, help tell a different story about the Clone Wars.”
This alone is fascinating to me, the idea that the galaxy can finally access Palpatine’s hidden records and see how the Sith manipulated the galaxy. The chapter doesn’t bring any huge revelations but it does offer a new perspective on the conflict. The citizens of the galaxy, and us as viewers of the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars, view the conflict as a battle of two sides but the book changes the focus to see the conflict as ultimately a game that Palpatine was playing with no opponent but himself.
“Though there was very real danger to thoise involved in fighting the war, there was no real jeopardy for Palpatine himself, as he was going to win regardless. Instead, we should focus our attentions on the moves and decisions that were taken to herald the age of the Empire that Palpatine had always intended. Within these plans and schemes we can see the actual lasting impact of the Clone Wars on both sides that were supposedly fighting it.”
The chapter is a fascinating analysis of how the Clone Wars was all engineered to manipulate the galaxy into being battered and worn and ready for a safe and secure society and how he achieved his ultimate goal of alienating the galaxy from the Jedi so that the Sith could finally have their revenge and rule the galaxy through him.
You can read the full chapter sample of The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, and pre-order the book on Amazon, ready for its release on July 4th.
A teacher from Wales in the UK, Aled has loved Star Wars ever since that Star Destroyer flew over his head and blew his mind.
