Since it was announced back in May as part of the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker Rebecca Roanhorse’s novel, Resistance Reborn, has been my most anticipated piece of Star Wars content this year (excluding Episode IX). The premise is simple- it’s the story of General Leia and the gang rebuilding The Resistance after the events of Episode VIII. This alone was enough to excite me, but when Lucasfilm began teasing the inclusion of dozens of characters from the books, comics, games and original films, it seemed like this would be the Avengers: Endgame of Star Wars and I just couldn’t wait.
In a lot of ways, I think it was a successful culmination of all these years of storytelling- it brought in a number of characters, some of which I was worried we’d never see again (such as Shriv Suurgav from Star Wars Battlefront II and Norra Wexley from Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy). It was great revisiting them and Roanhorse writes them all perfectly, capturing their motivations and way of speaking with such authenticity that it’s easy to forget she wasn’t their original writer. Another strong point in the novel is Poe Dameron’s transformation into a true Resistance leader. There seems to be a new story of Poe overcoming his arrogance every week, but what sets this story apart is the fact he is dealing with a large amount of guilt (which is fair enough- he did get a LOT of people killed in The Last Jedi.) The parts of Resistance Reborn that deal with Poe’s inner struggle (and his struggle to regain the trust of those around him) are the strongest and most engaging parts of the novel.
“One of the main controversies is how do some of the older pilots, especially Wedge’s old friends that he’s going to round up and bring in, how do they feel about Poe?” she says. “I mean, he really messed up, right? So a lot of the book deals with him coming to terms with his insubordination.” Rebecca Roanhorse on Poe's arc.
However, I am sad to say that, other than Poe’s story, Resistance Reborn fails to deliver much beyond the surface-level fan service. With Episode IX just around the corner, it felt as though Roanhorse was restricted in how deeply she could dive into the minds and lives of the main film characters. The character who seems most side-lined is Rey, who does and says very little. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to wait and see her story play out on-screen but to have her so notably absent from the majority of this book feels really off. When it comes to the returning Expanded Universe characters, they all have a few really great moments, but they rarely feel like they have something meaningful to contribute to the story. More often than not, their missions feel closer to whimsical episodes of a TV series than events consequential enough to warrant a novel. While I didn’t dislike the book, I don’t think it ever truly justified its existence (beyond the superficial Ready Player One-esque montage of familiar and popular things). I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed.
Overall, I imagine Martin Scorsese would say Resistance Reborn is more like a theme park than a piece of literature. The novel is not without merit and, if you’re here to marvel at the large number of call-backs and references, you won’t be disappointed. Rebecca Roanhorse has drawn from all corners of the Star Wars catalogue and (as a big fan of the games, comics, books and animated series) it feels very rewarding to see all this content tied together. However, the book falls flat when it comes to establishing its own identity and, with so many characters included, I find it hard to care much about any of them. Without wanting to sound too pretentious, I’d prefer to read a Star Wars novel with a bit more depth. On that front, I’d recommend Delilah S Dawson’s Black Spire - it has a small cast of characters, but Dawson does a phenomenal job making you connect with and care about all of them. Despite being based on a literal theme park, it’s far closer to Martin Scorsese would consider a “real” book.