Book Reveiws - A New Dawn

Greetings to old friends and new. Welcome to this book review of A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller.

Kanaan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla collide for the first time, with their plans and attitudes going in opposite directions. Yet, they’re forced to work together to save a planet, a moon, and some unlikely friends. A New Dawn is a fascinating sci-fi adventure through the corruption, oppression, and civilians of an Empire in a galaxy far, far, away.

                John Jackson Miller does exceedingly well in portraying Kanaan and Hera as they were presented in Star Wars: Rebels, and in building an atmosphere that is unmistakeably set in the Star Wars Universe. The characters that surround our two heroes are complex, they take actions that the audience may not expect, or agree with, but each time the decisions are undeniably in character and understandable, from a certain point of view.

                The four main characters “Mom, dad, grandma, and the weird uncle we keep in the basement,”, provide four separate reactions to living under and inside the oppressive regime of the empire. Fight, flight, extremism, and turning a blind eye even if you appear to see everything, the two villains provide a look into the fanaticism and brain-washed belief such oppression can create. This is done using the third person POV in which John Jackson Miller creates six distinct voices to tell the story with. This allows us to see the same events from their point of view, and understand their actions, however illogical they appear at first glance.

                Every now and again, there is a use of slang terms that take the reader out of the world of Star Wars. There can be some overly flirtatious moments on Kanaan’s part, and some light swearing. Thankfully, these moments are few, far-between, and easily forgotten about in the action, or humour, of the moment.

                Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The characters fascinated me, the humour amused me, and the action enthralled me. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter and interactions between Kanaan and Hera, as two of my favourite Rebels characters. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Rebels, Star Wars, and anyone who enjoys a good adventure with a discussion on political oppression in the background.

May the Force be with you!

“Seeing and doing nothing isn’t the worst thing,” Hera had said. “The worst thing is to see and not to care,” – John Jackson Miller, A New Dawn