Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher

The Plot and My Thoughts

My rating: 3.5/5

Pub Date: June 28, 2022

Legends/Canon: Canon

Timeline: 21 ABY

Wow. The first picture I took myself instead of borrowing from the internet.

Welcome back to the Star Wars Book Club! Today we’re covering one of the most recent releases, Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher. This book came out at the end of June and serves as a kind of a prequel to the sequels by giving us some interesting background on Rey’s parents, along with the Sith relics we see in The Rise of Skywalker like the wayfinder and the dagger.

The Sith Dagger as seen in The Rise of Skywalker. Also known as Ochi of Bestoon’s Blade, which makes sense after reading this book. Picture from starwars.fandom.com

Mixed in with the wayfinder, dagger, and Rey’s parents are Luke’s quest to restart the Jedi, Lando’s minor bout of depression, a multitude of villains with various levels of bloodlust, and lots and lots of shadows. Basically, this book was long. Like, really long. The length is what’s prompting the change in structure of this review. It’s more of a stream of consciousness exercise where I discuss my likes and dislikes, versus the more in-depth, theme heavy reviews I’ve done previously.

It’s at this juncture that I have to make it clear that Adam Christopher did his due diligence in writing this book. The details surrounding the artifacts were one of my very favorite parts of the book, the lore was seamlessly included, and the actual writing was wonderful. So why was this book not a standout for me?

I’ve been so entirely engrossed in the prequels lately that jumping forward in the timeline might have given me a little bit of whiplash. The sequels are something I’m just generally not as familiar with. Add to that the fact that I personally don’t like that Rey is a Palpatine, and I’m definitely not this book’s perfect target audience. That being said, I did enjoy seeing the relationship between Dathan and Miramir (Rey’s parents). They were a wonderful couple and I liked their scenes a lot.

The other thing I struggled with in this book was Lando.

I think I’ve discovered that he’s not my favorite character in the Star Wars universe. I was not invested in the subplot about his kidnapped daughter, and I don’t know, he just didn’t interest me that much.

On a more positive note, the villains were outstanding. Ochi of Bestoon was an unexpected slice of, dare I say, straight up horror. His ways were violent (but not overly gory to me), while his motivations were strangely understandable. The other villain is one I don’t want to spoil, but let me just say that the concept behind them and the inclusion of the ancient Sith mask was a fascinating plot point.

Overall the book was a little on the long side for me, and while there were interesting sections, it was missing that indescribable something. That little spark that makes a book your new favorite. So, my recommendation is this: if you’re interested in the sequel trilogy or ancient Sith artifacts then you would probably enjoy this book.

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Thanks for reading! Now for a little bit of housekeeping.

Due to Andor’s release date being pushed back, I’m adjusting my August reading list. It will now be as follows:

Padawan by Kiersten White (review coming August 14)

Kenobi by John Jackson Miller (review coming August 21)

A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller (review coming August 28)

If you’ve read any of these books, or are planning to, please consider subscribing and joining the Star Wars Book Club to hear my thoughts and discuss the wonderful world of Star Wars.