Star Wars A New Dawn, by John Jackson Miller – A Book Review

Taking place after Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and before the animated series, Star Wars Rebels. ‘Star Wars A New Dawn’ is the story of how Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus first met.

Check out a review for another Star Wars Book: Ahsoka.

The Story for Star Wars A New Dawn

We kick off with a young Caleb Dume who was studying to be a Jedi. Only to quickly fast forward to after when Order 66 was executed. Caleb, now Kanan Jarrus, is forced (no pun intended) to hide his Jedi ways so as to stay alive. Watching his master be murdered in front of him, and then having to find a way to survive on his own has made him a frequent cantina visitor with a very hard shell. He’s not the Kanan we first met in Star Wars Rebels.

While living this secret unfulfilled life, he meets Hera Syndulla, and is instantly smitten. The feelings are not mutual. As the two find themselves up against a chaotic evil mission they quickly end up working together and learning who they thought each other were, wasn’t entirely correct. The more they uncover, the more the mystery unfolds creating more questions, as they gain more trust and respect for each other. While also unraveling another mystery of the Empire.

Check out a review for another book by John Jackson Miller: Batman Resurrection.

Overall Grade: 7/10

The Kanan Jarrus so many of us know and love, was not the one that first showed up in the pages of Star Wars A New Dawn. He was feisty, and just wanted to get a drink. After spending 4 seasons watching him do nothing but good, and always trying to do better, I really enjoyed this younger version. Young Kanan was sarcastic, funny, and a bit obnoxious. Seeing this, made me love where he gets to later even more than I already did. Despite his drunken sarcastic mood, and the fact he had to hide his jedi powers and his lightsaber, Kanan couldn’t completely hide who he truly was.

A New Dawn isn’t just about Kanan getting pulled out of the hole he had to hide in. There’s a fantastic story being unfolded as well. The Empire is everywhere. Any planet with resources the Empire wants is vulnerable. However, in ‘Star Wars A New Dawn’ there’s more to the potential destruction of this planet than just draining their people and resources. The person behind it all, isn’t who they think, or who they say they are.

Is there a Star Wars book you recommend? Let us know in the comments.

For more from Lauren, check out ‘Hops GEEK News.’