Summary
- Delilah S. Dawson's latest Star Wars novel is one of the best since Disney relaunched the canon, offering a unique, character-focused story that explores the fall of a Jedi Padawan and showcases Palpatine's manipulation of Jedi.
- Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade parallels Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side, highlighting the struggles and losses of both characters. The flaws of the Jedi Order and the mysteries surrounding Iskat Akaris' past are revealed, making her a compelling and sympathetic protagonist even after she turns to the dark side.
- Not every villain needs redemption to be captivating, as this book proves. The narrative of the fall to the dark side is powerful on its own, and hopefully, this is the beginning of more Star Wars stories exploring the Inquisitors.
Delilah S. Dawson's latest Star Wars novel, Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, is one of the best novels since Disney relaunched the canon. Star Wars has always been a lot more than just a film franchise; George Lucas' true genius lay in realizing he had created something that could expand across countless different mediums. Right now, Star Wars books are going through something of a golden age - not least because of Star Wars: The High Republic, a transmedia initiative set centuries before the movies.
Lucasfilm Publishing has recently released Delilah S. Dawson's Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, a unique book centered on a (mostly) original character named Iskat Akaris. A Jedi who was knighted at the beginning of the Clone Wars, Iskat is destined to become one of Darth Vader's Inquisitors. The novel is a unique, character-focused story exploring what can cause a Jedi to become an Inquisitor. It shines a light on Palpatine's true genius, showing how he manipulated these Jedi, and engineered events during Order 66 to offer potential recruits a chance to live. It's easily one of the best Star Wars stories in canon.
Inquisitor: Rise Of The Red Blade Turns A Villain Into A Hero
Delilah S. Dawson is one of Star Wars' most compelling authors, and she's particularly skilled at telling villain stories. Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is particularly impressive, though, in the way it draws readers into the fall of a Jedi Padawan. It would be an exaggeration to call Iskat naive; she was never a particularly good fit for the Jedi Order, with a natural predilection toward the dark side. Jedi orthodoxy is completely unable to prepare Iskat for the brutal realities of the Clone Wars;the conflict and violence awakens something within her, something the Jedi had trained her to suppress, and it's easy to understand how she draws Palpatine's attention.
Iskat Akaris' Story Parallels Anakin Skywalker's - With No Redemption
Dawson headed straight to Matt Stover's novelization of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith for inspiration. This is widely considered one of the best Star Wars books of all time, and Dawson's book - incredibly - feels like a worthy companion to it. There are striking parallels between Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side and Iskat Akaris'; both struggle to fit in among the Jedi, and both have a great deal of loss in their pasts. In Iskat's case, though, the tragedies are a whole lot more mysterious; The Jedi keep a massive amount of Iskat's history secret - refusing to even tell her what race she is - and the answers offered aren't entirely convincing. But that's actually part of the book's genius; they are equally dissatisfying for Iskat herself, just the way they are meant to be.
It's a truism that every person sees themselves as the hero of their own story. Dawson pulls it off in the most remarkable way, though, making Iskat entirely sympathetic right until the moment she es the point of no return. The flaws of the Jedi Order are writ large in Iskat's story - albeit exaggerated on occasion, but to be fair this story is from Iskat's point of view. Even when Iskat finally falls to the dark side, even when she becomes an Inquisitor and begins to kill the Jedi, she is still a compelling protagonist. Readers have traveled so far down this dark path with Iskat, they are unable to turn away.
There's ultimately no redemption for Iskat Akaris; she is dark side through and through. Delilah S. Dawson's latest Star Wars book proves that not every villain needs redemption to be compelling; the fall to the dark side is a powerful narrative in its own right. Hopefully Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is the first of many Star Wars stories exploring the Inquisitors.
