Thursday, June 30, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Star Wars: Queen's Shadow by E.K. Johnston

 


Star Wars Queen's Shadow is the first book in a trilogy of books written by E.K. Johnston featuring Padme Amidala and her handmaidens - although this book is entirely stand alone, and it certainly seems like the trilogy was created more out of the success of the first book than out of intention.  I actually read the third book of the trilogy, Queen's Hope, first thanks to Netgalley and I kind of loved it, as it dealt with Padme after Attack of the Clones and featured Padme and her Handmaidens adapting and finding new paths forward in a dangerous galaxy riven by war - it was just a delightful character work even if there wasn't a single coherent plot or conflict to deal with.  So I wanted to come back and track down the other such books, starting with this book, which takes place midway between Episodes 1 and 2 and details Padme's first days as a Senator, and how she and her handmaidens - who are more like special agents than simple handmaidens - adjust to the new role and try to figure out how to move forward and help their people, the galaxy, and stay true to themselves.  

And the result is just as delightful as book 1, even if the epilogue (set after Episode 3) is very much out of place if this is considered part of a trilogy.  Padme and her handmaiden's earnest attempts to use their skills - taking each other's places, espionage and diplomacy, and just sheer determination - to help people and to show that they're not just some figurehead to be taken advantage of is just really enjoyable to read, as Johnston's character work of a really charming cast just finding ways to do things well amidst a Star Wars universe we're kind of familiar with is pretty great.  

-------------------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------------
Padme Amidala's term as Queen is ending, and she and her handmaidens are unsure of what comes next.  She knows that she wants to go to Tattooine to fight the slave trade the best that she can, but otherwise there isn't a clear path forward for her after she sees her new niece and her family, and her handmaidens - the people she has trusted with all of her life and secrets - go their own ways.  Until the new Queen offers Padme a surprise job: to be Naboo's new senator in the Galactic Senate.  It's a role Padme never imagined, but once offered she knows she has to take it.  

But it's a role that Padme has no idea how to do, even as she intends to use it to do good for the rest of the galaxy.  It's also a role that requires her to get used to new people, as she's forced to take on new handmaidens, with her closest handmaiden, and her closest companion and shadow Sabé going to Tattooine in her place.  But as Padme attempts to convince her fellow senators that she is not some mere figurehead, and is instead a worthy ally who wants to change things for the better - among a senate that is corrupt and resistant to change and helping others do good - she soon realizes she will need Sabé once more if she's going to gain allies and work to do good in the Galaxy....a Galaxy where a sinister force is working behind the scenes for his own selfish gain.....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Queen's Shadow features Padme and Sabé as it's main characters and takes place at a time in middle of the first two prequels which is just sort of taken for granted in the movies - that Padme would be a senator and would become one influential enough to be a threat or to be manipulated by others, and that she would find herself allied with the pro-republic senators despite her role in Palpatine's rise to power.  But of course as this book emphasizes, that was certainly not a given in a Galaxy where Palpatine is pulling the strings, the trade federation and its greedy allies try to prevent things from getting done in ways that they can't profit off of, and well just other planets and their representatives not trusting others enough to actually help when there isn't a direct benefit.  And then there's of course the fact that Padme was last seen on the Galactic Stage putting Palpatine in power, making her look like a figurehead, especially when she comes back there and some of those who are generous and caring are not in Palpatine's good graces.  So Padme absolutely could have faced all that and not been successful.  

But what this book does a great job of showing is how Padme and her allies manage to push through all that.  And how she does that is by combining her determination with taking advice from various people, and utilizing her unique skills and people to cleave through it all.  So Padme uses her handmaidens to try and get extra intel, either by slicing into records, sending them for intel runs, or by using their ability to change places to be in two places at once - especially if Sabé is taken into account, with Sabé knowing Padme better than anyone else.  And then there's just her ability to recognize when things are going poorly and how she needs to work in ways to show her intentions to others who have no reason to trust her....even if that means joining boring committees she has no reason to care about just to show she can be a team player interested in actually making policy - and thus gains allies such as Bail Organa and Mon Mothma.  And then at the same time you see Sabé, who gladly helps Padme, but also feels desperate to help free slaves directly on Tattooine and finds herself downhearted with how little her efforts manage to do at first, blundering about and resulting in the wrong people trusting her and the right people distrusting her.  It's some great stuff among this short novel, which comes together in a final bit that shows Padme working against Palpatine's allies (without her realizing it) in pulling people together to help a desperate injured planet, through really tricky diplomacy.  

Not everything works completely - there's a fellow freshman senator who's heavily implied to have a crush on Padme, which Padme is warned about but doesn't quite understand....leading to a very embarrassing misunderstanding in the end that just makes Padme seem far more naïve than she should be, and doesn't really go anywhere or make sense...I just wish it was not actually included, because it felt out of place.  And while the epilogue is a nice way to wrap things up, it kind of feels offputting compared to the tone of this book with how negative it is after Padme's death, to say nothing of it not fitting with the other book I read in this series.  

Still, this is just a delightful short novel as it details Padme's first steps as a Senator, and I'll be back for the second Padme book (a prequel) at some point this year just to get more.  

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)