Star Wars: Rebel Rising
- Doomacheal
- Dec 26, 2017
- 3 min read
Rebel Rising is a young adult novel written by Beth Revis which focuses on the main protagonist from the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Jyn Erso. The book covers thirteen years of Jyn's life, between the opening and the main events of Rogue One when she was a rebel fighter alongside Saw Gerrera and survived on her own afterwards.
After seeing Rogue One last year Jyn instantly became a favourite of mine. I loved her courage and determination against all the odds and I loved just how human her character was compared to a lot of other Star Wars characters we've been introduced to over the years. I didn't want Rogue One to be the end of the Jyn Erso story because I knew there was more story to tell and Rebel Rising is able to skillfully fill in those gaps and satisfy my want for more information.
Revis had a pretty tough job in writing Rebel Rising. Not only did she have to craft an engaging and exciting story, but she also had to create a character arc for Jyn which ended with her being an angry, bitter person who wanted nothing to do with the Rebels or anyone really, all of which needed to be narratively satisfying. How do you go about writing a character arc that ends with the Jyn Erso we meet at the beginning of Rogue One and not have it feel like anything more than an extended prologue to the film? Is it even possible to do this?
The answer is yes. There are a few instances where Revis gets some mileage out retelling a couple of Rogue One scenes from Jyn's point of view but for the most part the book explores the period's in Jyn's life that we previously knew nothing about.
Sometimes authors can miss the mark when trying to write for a character that has already been previously established but Revis is able to capture the Jyn Erso we see in Rogue One in a very convincing way. She is engaging, compelling and believable. The themes behind Rebel Rising are themes that permeate throughout most of the Star Wars saga, hope and trust. They are continuously explored throughout the duration of the story. Mainly with Jyn, but also with the other characters as well. Jyn's personal journey is full of many ups and downs, hate and love, fear and hope but never does any of it feel arbitrary or contrite, it all feels very true to the character. Along the way Jyn meets many different people both good and bad who influence her, challenge her and provide enough spice to the story that keeps the reader guessing as to what will happen next even though ultimately we know where the story will end.
Some people may have come out of Rogue One feeling that Jyn's character may have been a bit hollow and her motivations behind hating both the Empire and the Rebels was unclear and unfounded but Rebel Rising is able to address these issues and provide Jyn with some really solid character growth and backstory that will make future viewings of Rogue One much more insightful with the added knowledge provided by this book.
This may be a young adults novel but it never shies away from darkness, violence and tragedy. The plot very much focuses on war and there are sections of the book that really hit home with me and reminds you that it's not always so clear cut between who the bad and the good guys are.
If you found Jyn Erso to be compelling in Rogue One and came out of the film wanting to know more about her character then this is the book your looking for. It fills in the missing time that I really wanted to know more about and now I feel like I know the Jyn Erso story from start to finish which I'm both happy and sad about because I wished that we could have had more time with her. All in all, this book fleshed out Jyn in a way that makes you understand her motivations in Rogue One so if that's something you struggled with watching that film this may also be a good read for you that will enhance future viewings of Rogue One.
I'm not much of a reader but I can safely say that this is one of those rare books that I am likely to re-read sometime in the future simply because of the engaging content found within. Jyn Erso's story may be over, but this novel with greatly help keep her character's memory going for many years to come.
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