Book Reviews: 'Star Wars: Queen's Shadow'
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| Cover art by Tara Philips. © 2019 Disney-Lucasfilm Press |
On March 5, Disney-Lucasfilm Press published E.K. Johnston's Star Wars: Queen's Shadow, a novel set four years after the events of Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In this all-new canonical novel by the author of Star Wars: Ahsoka, we get to follow the 18-year-old Padme as she makes the life-changing transition from being the elected monarch of Naboo to the challenging and perhaps even perilous world of galactic politics as she accepts the new Queen's request to represent her homeworld in the Senate on Coruscant.
Written for the "young adult" market (hence its publication by a licensee other than Del Rey Books) but still part of the official Star Wars mythos, Queen's Shadow begins 28 years before the events of A New Hope and six years before Padme is reunited with Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker.
The end of her reign is just the beginning....
When Padmé Amidala steps down from her position as Queen of Naboo, she is ready to set aside her title and return to life out of the spotlight. But to her surprise, the new queen asks Padmé to continue serving their people—this time in the Galactic Senate. Padmé is unsure about the new role but cannot turn down the request, especially since, thanks to her dearest friend—and decoy—Sabé, she can be in two places at once. So while Padmé plunges into politics, Sabé sets off on a mission dear to Padmé's heart.
On the glistening capital planet Coruscant, Padmé's new Senate colleagues regard her with curiosity—and with suspicion for her role in ousting the previous chancellor. Posing as a merchant on Tatooine, Sabé has fewer resources than she thought and fewer options than she needs.
Together with Padmé's loyal handmaidens, Padmé and Sabé must navigate treacherous politics, adapt to constantly changing landscapes, and forge a new identity beyond the queen's shadow. - Publisher's dust-jacket blurb, Star Wars: Queen's Shadow
Star Wars: Queen's Shadow begins with a recollection by Sabe, one of Queen Amidala's handmaidens, of a pivotal event in The Phantom Menace: the start of the climactic battle for the Palace in Theed, Naboo's capital, during the Trade Federation's occupation of the planet. It ends just as Sabe emerges disguised as the Queen, while the real Amidala goes about her business in her Padme Naberrie guise.
Johnston then starts the main narrative four years later, on the day in which Queen Amidala is set to end her second and final two-year term; despite a popular petition to extend her reign, the now-adult Padme feels duty-bound to abide by the term-limits law, even though she still hasn't decided what she'll do next.
To the now-former ruler's surprise, Queen Réillata, who had served as Naboo's ruler when Padme was still a young girl, has been re-elected - and has a favor to ask of the beloved hero who saved Naboo from the droid armies of the Federaton. Senator Oshadam, the man who replaced Sheev Palpatine in the Galactic Congress' upper house after Palpatine's election as Supreme Chancellor, is retiring and needs to be replaced. Would Padme be willing to take the post?
Readers who have seen Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones know how Padme responds: As she later tells Anakin during their secret trip to Naboo to escape an assassination attempt on her life,
"I was relieved when my two terms were up. But when the Queen asked me to serve as Senator, I couldn't refuse her."
What follows is Padme's coming-of-age as the new Senator from Naboo and her introduction to the Machiavellian world of Coruscant politics. In Queen's Shadow, she sees the first subtle hints that her seemigly loyal friend and fellow Naboo politician, Sheev Palpatine, isn't the unassuming and friendly man he seemed to be when he served as her representative in the Senate. She is also aware that the distrust and dislike she feels toward Lott Dod and the Trade Federation is mutual, and she is frustrated that after three trials in the court system, Nute Gunray is still free after leading the invasion and cruel occupation of Naboo four years earlier.
Star Wars fans will also note that Johnston's Queen's Shadow also chronicles Padme's first meetings with Rush Clovis, the Senator from Scipio, and Mina Bonteri, an idealistic anti-corruption crusader who will, in six years' time, be one of the Separatist movement's most effective politicians. And here, too, she'll meet Bail Organa of Alderaan and Mon Mothma, a Senator from Chandrila.
Events and characters from the Prequel Trilogy are mentioned either directly (such as Padme's concern over slavery on Tatooine) or alluded to (Anakin, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan) and tie Queen's Shadow to The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, The Clone Wars, and even Revenge of the Sith. There are also "excerpts" from Trade Federation "fake news" outlets to illustrate that Padme is not universally loved in her new role as Naboo's Senator.
Though published by an imprint (Disney-Lucasfilm Press) with a YA audience in mind, Queen's Shadow is an enjoyable novel that most readers, including 1977 Generation fans like Yours Truly can enjoy. E.K. Johnston's style is vivid, descriptive, and often witty, and even though a few errors in the characters' names pop up here and there ("Gregor Typho" instead of "Gregar Typho," for instance), the novel is a delight to read.
So if you want to go on a literary joyride with Padme Amidala (a character who is usually portrayed as a supporting cast member rather than in a leading role) that will take you from Naboo to Coruscant, Tatooine, and beyond, you need to get a copy of Star Wars: Queen's Shadow.
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