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teachinsci's review against another edition
4.0
This is not a Star Wars book per se... It is a book about war set in the Star Wars universe. This book seemed to have three major themes: War has a cost. There are two sides to every war. Everyone is the hero of their own story.
The cost of war is inarguably the principle theme of this book. Twilight Company is a group of soldiers who are always sent into the worst environments to fight the hardest battles and, often, to die doing so. The members of the company are constantly being replaced and the method of sending off comrades is an important part of the culture of the group because of that. The soldiers themselves are seen through the eyes of a soldier named Namir whose life story we see in flashbacks throughout the book. He is not a rebel as much as a warrior and the life of fighting an dying is what he knows.
The other side of war is exemplified by a storm trooper. She lives on the planet Sullust and through a story that is told in snippets throughout the novel, we find that she originally joined for the money but soon realized that the Empire offered a structure that she came to appreciate. It is in this attitude that we see the thought processes of those who will zealously defend the status quo to contrast with the views of those who want overthrow the same structure. The author does a good job of making you question the idea (as much as possible) of all the a Empire being bad and all the Rebellion being good.
Lastly, there is the Imperial turned pseudo-rebel who worries that she is being chased by all the forces of the Empire. Whether she is or not, she seems to see herself as the fulcrum on which the fate of the Empure and Rebellion will hinge. It honestly doesn't matter if she is right though. Through her, we see how everyone wants to believe that what they do and what they gave to offer is what everyone is looking for.
Maybe I read more into this book than others, but I certainly think it is higher than a 3-star book (maybe 3.5). I settled on a 4 because of the layers of thought that were provoked in me by reading it.
The cost of war is inarguably the principle theme of this book. Twilight Company is a group of soldiers who are always sent into the worst environments to fight the hardest battles and, often, to die doing so. The members of the company are constantly being replaced and the method of sending off comrades is an important part of the culture of the group because of that. The soldiers themselves are seen through the eyes of a soldier named Namir whose life story we see in flashbacks throughout the book. He is not a rebel as much as a warrior and the life of fighting an dying is what he knows.
The other side of war is exemplified by a storm trooper. She lives on the planet Sullust and through a story that is told in snippets throughout the novel, we find that she originally joined for the money but soon realized that the Empire offered a structure that she came to appreciate. It is in this attitude that we see the thought processes of those who will zealously defend the status quo to contrast with the views of those who want overthrow the same structure. The author does a good job of making you question the idea (as much as possible) of all the a Empire being bad and all the Rebellion being good.
Lastly, there is the Imperial turned pseudo-rebel who worries that she is being chased by all the forces of the Empire. Whether she is or not, she seems to see herself as the fulcrum on which the fate of the Empure and Rebellion will hinge. It honestly doesn't matter if she is right though. Through her, we see how everyone wants to believe that what they do and what they gave to offer is what everyone is looking for.
Maybe I read more into this book than others, but I certainly think it is higher than a 3-star book (maybe 3.5). I settled on a 4 because of the layers of thought that were provoked in me by reading it.
careydnelson's review against another edition
5.0
Is Star Wars sci fi or fantasy? I don't have an answer for you, I'm just curious. It doesn't have too much to do with this book except that there's no jedi running around with magic swords. No, what we have here is a great war story. But wait, the main arc of one character is measured by her relationship to a terrifying dark warrior of myth. When finally confronted by that myth she is permanently transformed physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Her turning point marks the turning point for the book, and personally I found that through-line to be more interesting than the main character's arc.
What I'm saying is, even a Star Wars book without jedi is still haunted by legends and magic.
This is a good book regardless.
What I'm saying is, even a Star Wars book without jedi is still haunted by legends and magic.
This is a good book regardless.
reickel's review against another edition
2.0
There was plenty to like, but there was far too much of everything else. With some more decisive editing and plot structure this could've been a shockingly good treat.
stevefiori's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this. As a big Star Wars fan and someone who enjoys the Battlefront game, it was great to see stories of soldiers who are basically the front line and just basically really likely to get killed in large numbers.
It's showing the grimmer part of this war, and is set in both the lead-up to Hoth, during that battle (best part of the book - it's actually intense!), and during the rest of Empire Strikes Back. Only two recognisable Star Wars characters appear in two one-chapter cameos - No spoilers - and a third and fourth (being the rebellion and empire, you can probably guess who) is mentioned.
Like 'Lost Stars' by Claudia Gray, it's a story that doesn't really follow major characters and works.
It's showing the grimmer part of this war, and is set in both the lead-up to Hoth, during that battle (best part of the book - it's actually intense!), and during the rest of Empire Strikes Back. Only two recognisable Star Wars characters appear in two one-chapter cameos - No spoilers - and a third and fourth (being the rebellion and empire, you can probably guess who) is mentioned.
Like 'Lost Stars' by Claudia Gray, it's a story that doesn't really follow major characters and works.
mvhs40's review against another edition
3.0
decent book just had a hard time caring about the characters interests would peak when i heard a name i knew but soon would drop again
sqeeker's review against another edition
2.0
- I didn't care for this book. It didn't feel like a Star Wars book to me.
- I didn't like that the main characters didn't believe in what they were fighting for, and they were just waiting for an opportunity to leave Twilight Company. That isn't what the Rebels are about.
- Some of the battles were fun, but most of the book was pretty slow.
- I love the Battlefront games, but I haven't played the new one. I was worried they wouldn't be able to make a story out of the game, and I was right.
- I didn't like that the main characters didn't believe in what they were fighting for, and they were just waiting for an opportunity to leave Twilight Company. That isn't what the Rebels are about.
- Some of the battles were fun, but most of the book was pretty slow.
- I love the Battlefront games, but I haven't played the new one. I was worried they wouldn't be able to make a story out of the game, and I was right.
bbretterson's review against another edition
5.0
Much, much better than any book nominally based on a video game based on a movie has any right to be. I hope Freed gets another chance at a Star Wars novel in the future!
mitthrawnu's review against another edition
3.0
Battlefront #1: Twilight Company was an exhilarating journey of what it means to be apart of something greater than yourself, and what truly motivates us in our most desperate of times. I confess that I have not played the Battlefront game, so my opinion may be slightly skewed, but I feel that it was enjoyable nonetheless. In recent years, Star Wars media has shifted to show you the grit of the Rebellion— the boots on the ground that fought for breath, the pain and death and destruction wrought on every side.
The curtain of heroics established by the original movie trilogy — just as admirable, don’t mistake me — has lifted to make room for visual stories like Andor, Kenobi, even The Bad Batch. Books like Catalyst, A New Dawn, the Rogue Squadron series— these and many more show how dark the times were during the age of the Rebellion. They spell out for you the hopelessness of so many battles; they show you how, at every turn, there were actions taken that felt like they amounted to nothing. People whose names that history would never mark down who made the Rebellion possible; people who died in battles brought by human hubris, something that existed even in our Rebel Alliance.
Battlefront #1 is no different. It tells the story of a company of soldiers who came from every walk of life; who bled and hated and cried and hoped and loved just as any one of us do. Twilight soldiers who died in droves for battles that might not even make a blip on the radar of High Command. And yet, their story holds a thread of power to it that I really, deeply enjoyed.
CHARACTERS
Battlefront #1 featured an endless cast of characters, so I’ll try to be more succinct in my efforts to review these parts.
1. Howl. What an interesting character indeed; I found myself just about as fond of Howl as Namir was. His behavior felt erratic at times, his motives unclear, and his reasons for fighting seemed murky at some points. Yet there is an edge to his character that I respected, as a man who told things, occasionally, how they were. Frankly, he knew how to give a speech:
2. Gadren. Truly one of the best characters of the entire book; frankly, if you pushed me, I’d likely say he was my true favorite. Gadren was as strong and steady in heart as he seemed to be in stature; when hope was lost, he never fell in the clutches. He was not overtly optimistic, nor did he sugarcoat bad situations. Rather, Gadren is a beautiful example of man of principle, who has beliefs and an air of significance that he wields like the tides coming back to the shore: a force of nature, and a forever constant, washing away the debris and jagged edges of the sand of his comrades and their pains.
3. Prelate Verge, Tabor. I combine these two because I feel like my emotions on them are intrinsically tied to the other. Prelate Verge is, in my opinion, an example of the genius mind behind this book— he is a carefully crafted villain of the most insidious kind. He was raised in the clutches of the empire so deeply that it is part of him, he is not Verge without the Empire. His delusions of success for the Emperor prevent him from any logic— even faced with Chalis’ offer of crucial Rebellion intelligence, he refused on ‘imperial’ principle. Tabor is a relic of the age before the Empire, and though his background is not quite clear, the reader can tell he is a seasoned, efficient and capable leader. His decision in the end (I won’t spoil) is something that shocked me to my core. The beliefs that he held steady- the care of his men- how does one reconcile that with his actions?
4. Thara. If I’m being honest, Thara is where Battlefront lost me just a bit. Her storyline was intriguing, yes, but its relevance to the plot is rather insignificant. Perhaps this storyline is one that makes more sense with the game, but I felt that her character was an attempt at humanizing the stormtroopers, and it fell short of my expectations.
5. Chalis. God, my emotions towards her were on a rollercoaster nearly the entirety of the novel. Her character has twists and turns that keep you guessing for the duration of the book— even at the end, you hang on to her words because you don’t know her next thought. Her arc was a reflection of our most base needs for survival— was she fighting for her life? For most of the novel, not necessarily. But Chalis’ story before coming to Twilight is a tangled web of someone who fought against being underestimated because it mattered for her survival. Her actions are frustrating — infuriating, maddening, heartbreaking — but they are understandable. Her dialogue was some of the most scathing truth in the novel:
You hate her, you love her, you loathe her actions or you root for her better nature, but the entire time you cannot say that it’s impossible to see where she reaches her conclusions. She’s somewhat of a parallel to Brand, in that way.
6. Namir. I saved Namir for last, and it’s because of my frustration, really. I love his character so much that I’m unsure of how to put my thoughts into words. He’s a mix of so many themes that it’s hard to pinpoint all of them, but I’d like to focus on his journey to leadership in Twilight Company. There’s a special edge to showing a character born to harsh realities, who has spent their life enduring and surviving rather than truly living it. It’s even more special that Namir is completely aware of this. He’s keenly aware of his flaws; he is doubtful of himself and sometimes his skills.
He holds himself accountable, too. By the end, the Namir we know has cracked to give way to a man who is committed to a fault — no matter how many times he says he’s going to leave, he doesn’t. He’s loyal to a fault, committed in his entirety to the spirit of his soldiers. He is a leader, and regardless of one’s feelings on his actions, Namir proves time and time again that he can believe in what he describes to be their cause, but by the end, Namir has thawed to it too. Perhaps it is the love of the individual that puts the love of the whole into context.
PLOT
Once again, my inexperience with the video games will likely prove important here. I found the book very hard to follow in the beginning— it was slow, a little disjointed and fractured as the characters were introduced. There were parts that felt like they were a bit over explained.
However, overall, this was a very enjoyable book. If you’re looking for action and excitement, with a side helping of motivation in the face of looming defeat, and a story of the human will to survive… well, here you f*cking have it. I felt inspired by so many of the speeches written throughout the novel, and I appreciated the message and moral of a story with so many ups and downs. There was a mastery in how the book was written, so as to give the reader a sense that you are there. I felt included, honestly, in most of the high command meetings.
I leave with a final quote, and one that I quite loved:
Human perseverance. A beautiful thing, really.
The curtain of heroics established by the original movie trilogy — just as admirable, don’t mistake me — has lifted to make room for visual stories like Andor, Kenobi, even The Bad Batch. Books like Catalyst, A New Dawn, the Rogue Squadron series— these and many more show how dark the times were during the age of the Rebellion. They spell out for you the hopelessness of so many battles; they show you how, at every turn, there were actions taken that felt like they amounted to nothing. People whose names that history would never mark down who made the Rebellion possible; people who died in battles brought by human hubris, something that existed even in our Rebel Alliance.
Battlefront #1 is no different. It tells the story of a company of soldiers who came from every walk of life; who bled and hated and cried and hoped and loved just as any one of us do. Twilight soldiers who died in droves for battles that might not even make a blip on the radar of High Command. And yet, their story holds a thread of power to it that I really, deeply enjoyed.
CHARACTERS
Battlefront #1 featured an endless cast of characters, so I’ll try to be more succinct in my efforts to review these parts.
1. Howl. What an interesting character indeed; I found myself just about as fond of Howl as Namir was. His behavior felt erratic at times, his motives unclear, and his reasons for fighting seemed murky at some points. Yet there is an edge to his character that I respected, as a man who told things, occasionally, how they were. Frankly, he knew how to give a speech:
“We are a catalyst; where Rebellion comes into contact with Empire, change must occur. The substance of oppression becomes the substance of freedom—and as with any such change, terrible energies are released: war, victory, and defeat.”
2. Gadren. Truly one of the best characters of the entire book; frankly, if you pushed me, I’d likely say he was my true favorite. Gadren was as strong and steady in heart as he seemed to be in stature; when hope was lost, he never fell in the clutches. He was not overtly optimistic, nor did he sugarcoat bad situations. Rather, Gadren is a beautiful example of man of principle, who has beliefs and an air of significance that he wields like the tides coming back to the shore: a force of nature, and a forever constant, washing away the debris and jagged edges of the sand of his comrades and their pains.
3. Prelate Verge, Tabor. I combine these two because I feel like my emotions on them are intrinsically tied to the other. Prelate Verge is, in my opinion, an example of the genius mind behind this book— he is a carefully crafted villain of the most insidious kind. He was raised in the clutches of the empire so deeply that it is part of him, he is not Verge without the Empire. His delusions of success for the Emperor prevent him from any logic— even faced with Chalis’ offer of crucial Rebellion intelligence, he refused on ‘imperial’ principle. Tabor is a relic of the age before the Empire, and though his background is not quite clear, the reader can tell he is a seasoned, efficient and capable leader. His decision in the end (I won’t spoil) is something that shocked me to my core. The beliefs that he held steady- the care of his men- how does one reconcile that with his actions?
4. Thara. If I’m being honest, Thara is where Battlefront lost me just a bit. Her storyline was intriguing, yes, but its relevance to the plot is rather insignificant. Perhaps this storyline is one that makes more sense with the game, but I felt that her character was an attempt at humanizing the stormtroopers, and it fell short of my expectations.
5. Chalis. God, my emotions towards her were on a rollercoaster nearly the entirety of the novel. Her character has twists and turns that keep you guessing for the duration of the book— even at the end, you hang on to her words because you don’t know her next thought. Her arc was a reflection of our most base needs for survival— was she fighting for her life? For most of the novel, not necessarily. But Chalis’ story before coming to Twilight is a tangled web of someone who fought against being underestimated because it mattered for her survival. Her actions are frustrating — infuriating, maddening, heartbreaking — but they are understandable. Her dialogue was some of the most scathing truth in the novel:
“Ships,” Chalis said softly, as if quoting someone else, “like men, must be used until they break.”
You hate her, you love her, you loathe her actions or you root for her better nature, but the entire time you cannot say that it’s impossible to see where she reaches her conclusions. She’s somewhat of a parallel to Brand, in that way.
6. Namir. I saved Namir for last, and it’s because of my frustration, really. I love his character so much that I’m unsure of how to put my thoughts into words. He’s a mix of so many themes that it’s hard to pinpoint all of them, but I’d like to focus on his journey to leadership in Twilight Company. There’s a special edge to showing a character born to harsh realities, who has spent their life enduring and surviving rather than truly living it. It’s even more special that Namir is completely aware of this. He’s keenly aware of his flaws; he is doubtful of himself and sometimes his skills.
He holds himself accountable, too. By the end, the Namir we know has cracked to give way to a man who is committed to a fault — no matter how many times he says he’s going to leave, he doesn’t. He’s loyal to a fault, committed in his entirety to the spirit of his soldiers. He is a leader, and regardless of one’s feelings on his actions, Namir proves time and time again that he can believe in what he describes to be their cause, but by the end, Namir has thawed to it too. Perhaps it is the love of the individual that puts the love of the whole into context.
PLOT
Once again, my inexperience with the video games will likely prove important here. I found the book very hard to follow in the beginning— it was slow, a little disjointed and fractured as the characters were introduced. There were parts that felt like they were a bit over explained.
However, overall, this was a very enjoyable book. If you’re looking for action and excitement, with a side helping of motivation in the face of looming defeat, and a story of the human will to survive… well, here you f*cking have it. I felt inspired by so many of the speeches written throughout the novel, and I appreciated the message and moral of a story with so many ups and downs. There was a mastery in how the book was written, so as to give the reader a sense that you are there. I felt included, honestly, in most of the high command meetings.
I leave with a final quote, and one that I quite loved:
“Twilight Company always survived its battles. No matter how dear the losses, no matter how bloody the fight or how bad the defeat, it survived.”
Human perseverance. A beautiful thing, really.
fisk42's review against another edition
5.0
And to think I almost bypassed this book without a second thought. This has easily one of better Star Wars novels ever. Mostly this comes through in the little things for me, but Freed also does a couple huge things well.
The characters are all well rounded and generally not just taken from background solider cliches. In this regard Twilight Company is absolutely the spiritual successor to the X-Wing series of books in the old EU. A band of rebels who you can really get to know and love. I only hope there will continue to be books in this series that give more focus to the other characters.
The plot of this book was pretty solid too. No McGuffins to search after as is way too common in Star Wars novels. Not only was my interest highly sustained by the main plot, but there were several plots that kicked the stakes up a few notches.
The characters are all well rounded and generally not just taken from background solider cliches. In this regard Twilight Company is absolutely the spiritual successor to the X-Wing series of books in the old EU. A band of rebels who you can really get to know and love. I only hope there will continue to be books in this series that give more focus to the other characters.
The plot of this book was pretty solid too. No McGuffins to search after as is way too common in Star Wars novels. Not only was my interest highly sustained by the main plot, but there were several plots that kicked the stakes up a few notches.