Rise of the Red Blade
I recently went camping and was forced to sit next to a lake and read all day. It was terrible, I tell you. The book more than made up for it, and I read the whole thing in a single day. This is my spoiler-free review of Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson.
Publisher’s Summary
When the Jedi Order falls, an Inquisitor rises.
Padawan Iskat Akaris has dedicated her life to traveling the galaxy alongside her master, learning the ways of the Force to become a good Jedi. Despite Iskat’s dedication, peace and control have remained elusive, and with each setback, she feels her fellow Jedi grow more distrustful of her. Already uncertain about her future in the Jedi Order, Iskat faces tragedy when her master is killed and the Clone Wars engulf the galaxy in chaos.
Now a general on the front lines contributing to that chaos, she is often reminded: Trust in your training. Trust in the wisdom of the Council. Trust in the Force. Yet as the shadows of doubt take hold, Iskat begins to ask questions that no Jedi is supposed to ask: Questions about her own unknown past. Questions the Jedi Masters would consider dangerous.
As the years pass and the war endures, Iskat’s faith in the Jedi wanes. If they would grant her more freedom, she is certain she could do more to protect the galaxy. If they would trust her with more knowledge, she could finally cast aside the shadows that have begun to consume her. When the Jedi Order finally falls, Iskat seizes the chance to forge a path of her own. She embraces the salvation of Order 66.
As an Inquisitor, Iskat finds the freedom she has always craved: to question, to want. And with each strike of her red blade, Iskat moves closer to claiming her new destiny in the Force—whatever the cost.
What are the Inquisitors?
If you’ve only ever watched the main Star Wars movies, you may not know about the Inquisitors. After Order 66, the Galactic Empire used dark side users to hunt down the remaining Jedi. These Inquisitors were not Sith Lords. Many were former Jedi, seduced by the dark side.
We ran into them frequently in the series Rebels. They played a key part in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series as the primary antagonists, other than Darth Vader, of course.
My thoughts on Rise of the Red Blade
I mentioned I finished it in one day, so that should tell you a lot! I could not pull my attention from it and didn’t notice how cold it was getting while I finished it next to the fire that night.
The falls to the dark side can be a hard sell in some Star Wars media, probably because on video it is more difficult to show the thoughts and feelings of those characters who end up taking the slide. The novel did a fantastic job showing the path of Iskat and her descent into darkness. It did not feel contrived at all.
I loved the moments I could see why she’d think the way she thought, even while at the same time knowing she was incorrect in her thinking. There were also more than a few times she was correct in her thinking, but the Jedi ignored her.
The Jedi were depicted well. Not as the good guy always wears white and always wins type heroes, but normal heroes trying to do the best they can with limited resources during the Clone Wars. They were still very incompetent when it came to mentoring an ambitious young person in a time of turmoil.
Perhaps most of them had lived in an era where “just meditate more” worked, but it clearly did not work for the child soldiers they made generals in the Clone Wars. Iskat’s ability to think differently and be assertive served her well in battle, but she was not well received. The inability to express or process her feelings made it impossible for her to continue in the light.
Sending her to go meditate more felt an awful like the thought you just need to “pray more” or “pray harder” in some Christian circles when it comes to dealing with difficult things. Ignoring your feelings is not the way to inner peace.
By the time Order 66 rolled around, I was ready for this clearly talented but also unstable warrior to fall for the Empire’s trap. The rest of the novel was brutal but well earned.
The pacing was fantastic. Around the time I’d wonder if we were going to get to the next part of the timeline, that chapter would arrive.
There were a few pieces that didn’t sit quite right with me as a reader, but I didn’t notice them until after I finished the novel. I thought several of the relationships could have been explored more fully, and it seemed the ending was rushed.
Overall, I highly recommend this book.
What did you think of this novel? What should I read next?
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