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Review via Yodasnews Contributor Jacob Burdis:

 (Spoiler Free)

With the new Star Wars anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story just around the corner, excitement and anticipation levels are at an all-time high in the Star Wars community. Catalyst was released exactly one month before the movie premier to build on the excitement and anticipation, and give some of the backstory of Rogue One’s main characters Jyn Erso, Orson Krennic, and Saw Gerrera. The book is mostly supplemental and not essential to read to enjoy the film, and since it was published in advance it is mostly spoiler-free.

Catalyst was written by James Luceno, who also wrote the novel Tarkin. I read all of the Star Wars Canon literature in chronological order before watching Episode VII, and Tarkin was among my favorite of the novels. I actually just finished it a second time in my preparations for Rogue One. Luceno is a fantastic author who expertly helps readers dive deep into understanding the key characters. I believe it was this ability that led to him being chosen to write Catalyst. To be frank, the storyline is somewhat bland, and the “I just couldn’t put it down” factor is almost non-existent; so if you are looking for an action-packed novel with light-sabers, dog-fights and epic battles you will be disappointed. But if you are looking to gain a better understanding of the backstory and context of the characters, you will be richly rewarded.

The book centers mainly on two characters: Galen Erso and Orson Krennic. Galen is a brilliant scientist who is determined to harness the power of crystals, including kyber crystals (the same ones that power jedi lightsabers) to create a renewable energy source. His vision is to improve the lives of people on countless underprivileged worlds throughout the galaxy. He is adamantly opposed to weaponizing his research. Krennic is a smart, strategically-minded official in the government (the Republic and later the Galactic Empire) who is one of very few assigned to work on Palpatine’s top-secret mobile battlestation. His specific assignment becomes leading the Special Weapons Group in charge of developing the super laser for the station. His primary motivation is to do whatever is necessary to elevate his status in the eyes of the emperor and move up the chain of command. Oh, and did I mention that Erso and Krennic are actually old friends who studied together in a program for the gifted individuals in the republic?

The story follows Galen, his adventurous wife Lyra and their young daughter Jyn as their lives are whipped around by the subtle and covert manipulations of Krennic as he strives to corner Galen into contributing to the development of the super laser. In addition to the Ersos and Krennic, we get a glimpse into Tarkin and Krennic’s rivalry, and we also learn how Saw Gerrera becomes a close friend to the Ersos.

Overall, this is a very well-written novel that does a phenomenal job at diving deeper into the context and backstory that I believe will greatly enhance my enjoyment of Rogue One. However, in my opinion this novel is a step lower than the other novels I’ve read recently because it doesn’t stand on it’s own. The novel is relatively slow, uneventful and lacks the suspense and plot twists necessary to pull me in as a reader. I anticipate it will be a great companion to Rogue One and it has done its job in getting me even more excited for the film, but it’s probably not one I will pick up and read again.

That being said, I recommend Catalyst for all Star Wars fans, especially as a step in preparing for the Rogue One Anthology Film (read more about how I recommend preparing for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).

Click Here or the image below to pick this up via digital, audio or physical form.  We would like to thank Del Rey/Penguin Random House for providing the review sample.

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