Claudia Gray’s Star Wars: Bloodline is unmissable. Her previous Star Wars book, the young adult novel Lost Stars, was thoroughly enjoyable, but Bloodline’s tense politics, vivid new characters, and perfectly characterized Leia make it feel as central to the Star Wars universe as one of the films. It’s a vital piece of connective tissue, a story that takes place at a key moment in the life of Leia Organa while reflecting on all she’s done—and giving us the rich backstory to the events we know are coming.
Almost 25 years after the defeat of the Empire, the New Republic is at a stalemate, the Senate divided between Centrists and Populists. The fractious government can’t agree on anything except that the other side is wrong. (Sound familiar?) At the dedication of a statue of Bail Organa, Leia watches the crowd, sharply observing the invisible divide between her political peers. She is the person we know—the temperamental, intuitive, impatient, sympathetic, brilliant woman we met in A New Hope, grown into adulthood with a huge weight on her shoulders. She’s done this for so long that when one of her smart young staffers asks what she wants to do, she answers honestly: She wants to quit.
But even Han is skeptical that she’ll throw in the political towel. When a Twi’lek emissary asks the Senate to investigate a cartel that’s endangering trade around his planet, Leia volunteers, thinking it will be her last useful task before she leaves politics for good. That plan changes when a royalty-obsessed Centrist senator, Lady Carise Sindian, suggests that with the Senate in a perpetual stalemate, what they need is a First Senator, a single leader with true authority.
The Populists think Leia is the only choice—but just imagine how this whole concept looks to a former leader of the Rebellion. It’s just what allowed the Empire to form: too much authority in the hands of one person. Both political factions have started to mythologize their history; one of the Centrists’ shining stars, Ransolm Casterfo, thinks the only real problem with the Empire was that it had the wrong Emperor.
Handsome, popular, and very fond of velvet cloaks, Ransolm joins Leia’s investigation to represent the Centrists, much to her chagrin. No one eyerolls in his general direction as often as Greer Sonnel, Leia’s extremely efficient right-hand woman. A former pilot, she clearly misses flying but won’t admit it—which makes her all the more interesting to Joph Seastriker, a young X-Wing pilot assigned to Leia’s team. You know the type: Impulsive, cheerfully confident, often having way more fun than he should be under the circumstances. His cautious opposite is Korr Sella, Leia’s 16-year-old intern, who is just starting to dip her toe in the cynicism of politics.
It’s hard to resist getting too attached to these new characters, even though practicality tells me not to. (Remember the Hosnian system.) They’re bright, endearing additions to the Star Wars universe, and an unabashed reminder that Star Wars is for everyone: you don’t have to age out, and you’re never too young to matter. (The galaxy continues to grow more inclusive as well; Joph mentions his moms, and many of the new human characters are described as having coppery, tan, or dark skin.) Leia, who never forgets just how young she was when she got into politics, trusts them as much as she does C-3PO (who’s as nervous as ever).
Bloodline is a political thriller with a strong emotional core and a handful of vivid action sequences, but what really makes Gray’s novel so strong, and makes it feel so important, is simple: Leia. This is the Leia I fell in love with as a kid, the one I wanted to be: unafraid to speak her mind, intensely capable of getting things done, liable to get herself in over her head and then back out again. Bloodline is the Leia book I didn’t know I really, really wanted. Its heroine is solidly in middle age, but no less badass for it. She’s prickly and passionate, angry and disappointed, more complicated than ever. It’s an absolute delight to have her perspective; she gets in her own way, sometimes, but she also gets a chance at something she never had before: understanding and compromise with someone from the other side.
In both this book and Lost Stars, Gray excels at illustrating the way the person you are is the result of the choices you make, not something determined by where you come from. Each of her characters faces a defining moment: to share a secret, or to keep it? To take a shot, or take your chances with a criminal? To trust a friend, or to give in to anger?
These choices have echoes in the rest of the Star Wars mythology, and Gray deftly weaves the threads that connect Bloodline to the bigger Star Wars universe. Politics are central to this story, but the bittersweet personal tone keeps it from ever getting wonky. Despite Leia’s intense sense of duty, her family is always on her mind: her relationship with Han, though mostly long distance, is loving and communicative, nothing like the broken pair we saw in The Force Awakens. She worries about Luke and Ben, wherever they are in the galaxy. And while people see her as her father’s daughter, she’s her mother’s as well. When Leia reflects on the ways she and her mother are alike, it’s a welcome reminder of who Padme was before Revenge of the Sith sidelined her into pearly nightgowns and a concerned frown.
Most of all, though, Leia is her own person. And through this story, we come to understand why our usually vibrant princess-turned-senator-turned-general is so tired, so drawn, by the time of The Force Awakens. It’s not just losing Ben. It’s not just that Luke’s missing, or that Han left. It’s that she was just about ready to quit fighting when a whole new enemy presented itself.
What does all this mean for the cinematic story so far? Well, quite a bit. Everything below is spoilers and speculation. If you don’t want to know anything, avert your eyes!
*SPOILERS*
Bloodline‘s big reveal answers one important question, and the answer isn’t at all what I’d expected: Why is the Resistance, in The Force Awakens, so heartbreakingly small? Now we know: its leader is no longer Princess Leia, Bail Organa’s daughter, hero of the Rebellion; she is Leia, daughter of Darth Vader, politically disgraced and betrayed when her true father is revealed. We see nearly everyone reject her, and those who might’ve stood by her taken out of the equation. Very few will fight on her side. Gray does an excellent job of reminding us how awful Vader was; even Leia feels a degree of skepticism about his redemptive final moments. I’m not always convinced by I-hate-you-because-of-your-parents plotlines, but as far as those go, this is about as believable as can be. Vader’s shadow fell on so many people that almost no one can accept that his children are on their own path.
But there’s always hope, and here it comes in quiet scenes: Joph sizing up his fellow pilots. Leia in the hangar bar, taking a cup of hooch and watching the races just like everyone else. That little gesture earns her a certain amount of trust and goodwill. Leia’s staff are only going to be more important in the coming years, and I really hope some of them make it to the movies.
The book’s glimpse at the First Order is also surprising. It’s already forming behind the scenes, a tangle of criminals, Empire sympathizers, and Centrist funding. When one Centrist raises a fist while speaking in the Senate, it’s an innocuous enough gesture—but we know where that leads. A brief reference to an older member of the Hux family is a fodder for a dozen theories, and the hints about the Amaxine warriors are tantalizing: are they future stormtroopers? If the First Order has, at the time of The Force Awakens, been taking very young children for at least 15-20 years (based on Finn’s age), how much of its formation is still hidden? Where is Snoke in all of this?
And what about Luke, and young Ben Solo? They’re off exploring the galaxy somewhere, which surprised me: I’d thought that by this point in Ben’s life—he’s probably in his early twenties—Luke was already training a new generation of Jedi. Now it seems likely that Luke’s eventual gaggle of young Jedi is a direct response to the First Order being uncovered, in which case they would have only been training for a few years. It’s also likely that Ben’s turn to the dark side is spurred by the revelation that his parents kept such a huge family secret from him. Did he ever see his parents again once he learned about his grandfather? How long did he harbor that rage before the massacre we know happens?
I’m curious what the fallout is for Han, too. In Bloodline he’s mentoring young pilots; overseeing the Five Sabers, a piloting championship; and running a semi-legitimate business. Does he get blacklisted? Does he ditch all semblance of responsibility—and stop interacting with the younger generation—when Ben turns dark? We know that what happens with Ben makes him run from Leia, so maybe he just ran from everything. Gray is not shy about tugging your heartstrings when it comes to Han, but really, there’s affecting emotional depth to every one of Leia’s relationships: the way she misses Han; the sympathy she has for everything Luke has endured; the anger she has toward Vader; the way the loss of Alderaan is never far from her mind. It’s entirely clear why she might want to ditch it all, to quit politics and leave behind her responsibilities. And I kind of wished she could. But Anakin Skywalker’s kids still have work to do.
Bloodline is available now from Del Rey.
Molly Templeton is trying to resist the temptation to read every other Star Wars book about Leia now, canon or no. She welcomes your recommendations on Twitter.
So this is … about eight years before the events in The Force Awakens? I had the impression that Han and Leia had been separated for longer than that. Interesting.
Yeah, I have serious questions regarding the timeline of events here. I’m downloading that book now. This is 25 years after the defeat of the Empire? Or 25 years after the death of Palpatine? Those are not the same things. The Empire kept fighting for a few years, according to the new material.
It seems like 25 years is too long into this. That puts the slaughter at the academy and Luke’s disappearance at a mere five to seven years prior to the events of The Force Awakens, which is 32 years after the death of Palpatine. That seems too short.
@1 & @2 – It’s not 100% clear. Del Rey tweeted, some time back, that this story takes place six years before The Force Awakens, but I agree that that seems really short! Before I saw that dating, I also figured it for about eight years before TFA.
@3:
The opening line of the book says the New Republic has ruled for over two decades. Geesh. That blows away my Rey theory, and suddenly makes Rey’s visions of the slaughter at the academy much less clear. That means the visions were not at all chronological, like I thought, because the slaughter at the academy would have happened long AFTER she was dropped off on Jakku.
@2:
The official timeline is that the Empire’s last stand (above Jakku) was exactly one year after the Emperor’s death.
@@.-@ – I still feel like “two decades” is a little vague! But yeah, it definitely messes with some theories. There’s no way Rey was anywhere near that massacre, but she must have some connection to it, or someone who was there, or someTHING that was there, or it wouldn’t have been in her vision, right? Now I’m going down a whole new rabbit hole.
Well, two decades is at least 20 years. That’s only 12 years before The Force Awakens. Or perhaps 11, depending on if that 20 years in Bloodline is from the Battle of Endor or the Battle of Jakku. That still doesn’t leave enough time, I feel. I’m listening to the audio book now.
If Del Rey says 6 years, then 25 years makes perfect sense. Someone needs to hit up Pablo Hidalgo on Twitter and get clarification on when these events take place. Just knowing the timeline has severe implications on how to read TFA.
@6:
As far as what it means in connection to the visions. It means that
a) They were not chronological
b) Rey wasn’t at most of them
My theory regarding the visions is that they were sent to her by Kenobi. While we hear the voices of Yoda and Luke in the visions, only Kenobi speaks directly to her. This doesn’t impact that. And she could receive them in any order. But I was using the timeline of the visions, the presumption, based on the timeline, and the visions themselves that Rey was at all of the visions except the first one on Bespin, as evidence that Obi-wan was unlocking repressed memories. This theory helped make sense of a lot of TFA that didn’t make sense; Rey was at the Academy, and had been trained as a youngling.
Immediately after that, she’s able to use the Force against Daniel Craig’s stormtrooper, and it helps make sense of her defeating Kylo Ren. But in this timeline, it looks like she was on Jakku before the academy was even FOUNDED. So, that’s a no go. I’m going to have to seriously re-evaluate The Force Awakens in the aftermath of this information. It will gall me if I find out that, yes, the haters were right, the plot makes no sense.
Of course, it could also just mean that the new EU is subject to the same contradictions and continuity lapses that the old EU was subject to, regardless of the fact that there is now a continuity Czar who is supposed to make sure that doesn’t happen.
@9 One would have hoped it would take longer to fall apart than this though.
@10;
Well, its too early to make the claim that its falling apart. We’ll have to see what Episode 8 has to tell us first, I’d guess. I’m just sore that my pet theory has been blown to shite.
I’m about 1/3 of the way through the book, and Leia thought to herself that she is a “woman in her late 40s”.
According to Wookiepedia, Leia and Luke were 19 during the Battle of Yavin, and the Battle of Endor was 4 years after that, making them 23. Jakku and the foundation of the NEw Republic, was 1 year after that, making them 24. So, 25 years would be 49 years old during the events of this book so, that fits.
But, gosh, they look a lot older than 55 years old in The Force Awakens. Then again, Carrie Fisher was only 57 while filming, so that’s actually accurate. Hamill was 62 while filming. So its not that far off.
And Sir Alec Guiness was 61 while filming A New Hope. And Ob-Wan Kenobi was 57 during the events of that story.
So, all that to say, I guess the ages fit. and yes, this story is firmly dated as 5-6 years before The Force Awakens.
So that means all of this happens in five years, in some order, prior to the opening of the film:
• The First Order is revealed
• Luke starts a Jedi academy
• Snoke reveals himself to Ben
• Ben falls to the Dark Side
• The Resistance is formed
• The Knights of Ren are formed and/or Ben becomes their leader
• The Academy is destroyed
• Luke finds the map to the first Jedi temple (I assume thats what he and Ben are off searching for)
• Luke puts it into Threepio and give the other piece to Lors San Tekka, who is the leader of the Jedi mystery cult that has formed around Luke Skywalker
• Luke goes into hiding
• Han leaves Leia and goes back to smuggling (none of which has happened yet at the beginning of this book)
• Lor San Tekka ends up on Jakku (This may be just where the mystery cult ended up to hide from the Knights of Ren)
Thats… a lot that needs to happen in a short amount of time. Perhaps unreasonably short, and certainly MUCH shorter of a time frame than is presented in the movie. But without doubt, Rey was on Jakku when all of this was happening. She was most definitely NOT at Luke’s academy as a small child.
You shouldn’t assume that was an “academy” that Rey witnessed during the slaughter (or even use that word anymore).
She was seeing things the lightsaber was present for and also things she might have seen. We don’t know which is which.
@8
“I’m going to have to seriously re-evaluate The Force Awakens in the aftermath of this information. It will gall me if I find out that, yes, the haters were right, the plot makes no sense.”
I don’t understand this statement. How does any of this make TFA not make sense?
Someone needs to chill and stop making all these worried assumptions. I’m sure Hidalgo’s got everything in order.
People keep assuming the slaughter we see in Rey’s visions is Luke’s Academy–but according to Pablo Hidalgo of Lucasfillm, that’s not what that scene is showing.
Here’s an article that has the information, which is slightly spoilery: http://moviepilot.com/posts/3713302
@13:
I’m using the word academy because thats the word JJ Abrams used, and he explained what each vision was of.
Just read @16. I’m looking for the Abrams interview now.
Pablo also said academy is not the right term for it.
A lot of these things make more sense by the end of the book.
Also, Korr Sella is in Episode VII, she’s the woman with the horrified expression on Hosnian Prime. Apparently she actually had scenes originally, but they were cut.
Brendol Hux, meanwhile, is in Servants of the Empire, and was the mastermind behind the First Order’s training/indoctrination program, creating it secretly pre-ANH.
I loved this book. And I want Ransolm Casterfo to come back. All the references to the wider universe (like the Hux thing) are a great testament to the work the Lucasfilm Story Group is doing.
Regarding Casterfo’s fascination with the Empire, it’s even more scary for me (at least until we learn his backstory), because my country was under a military dictatorship between 73 and 85. The military abducted, tortured, executed, and forcibly disappeared people whose bodies have not been found ever again, and they also abducted children from female prisoners who gave birth and gave them up for adoption, deleting all traces of their actual identities. While some remains have been found, and some of those then-babies have had their actual identities revealed by the tireless work of some organizatiosn and people, many still remain lost.
My family was lucky in that my father was wanted by the military governement, but he managed to go into exile abroad (along with my mother and siblings, I was born abroad) before being apprehended.
But there are still some people who lived through that period and say it wasn’t that bad, that you only had to fear the military government if you had done something wrong (yeahm like wanting constitutional and human rights respected). What’s worse, is that there are people who didn’t live through that who join these people online in saying “with the military this kind of things didn’t happen” whenever they want to protest crime levelss or unpopular government decisions. They keep asking for “the boots to return”. Chilling.
Casterfo is actually not like them after you learn his backstory, but he combines his love for tighter government control and order with his like for Imperial military regalia… I mean, I can admire Soviet and Nazi military gear for their aesthetical value, while actually being a rabid opposer of what they stood for.
@12 – Anthony: The Resistance is formed in this very book, before Ben falling to the Dark Side. Also, Luke put part of the map into R2, not 3P0, but I guess that was a typo.
@12
The First Order is revealed
• Luke starts a Jedi academy
• Snoke reveals himself to Ben
• Ben falls to the Dark Side
• The Resistance is formed
• The Knights of Ren are formed and/or Ben becomes their leader
• The Academy is destroyed
• Luke finds the map to the first Jedi temple (I assume thats what he and Ben are off searching for)
• Luke puts it into Threepio and give the other piece to Lors San Tekka, who is the leader of the Jedi mystery cult that has formed around Luke Skywalker
• Luke goes into hiding
• Han leaves Leia and goes back to smuggling (none of which has happened yet at the beginning of this book)
• Lor San Tekka ends up on Jakku (This may be just where the mystery cult ended up to hide from the Knights of Ren)
Sounds like a great Star Wars movie to me.