The latest Star Wars novel takes fans into the mind of an Inquisitor, showcasing why a former Jedi would take up such a life in a thrilling, mostly satisfying, new adventure.
Delilah S. Dawson (Phasma, Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire) returns to the galaxy far, far away with another spotlight on one of the more…villainous characters. This time around, we’re following the journey of Iskat Akaris as she comes to embrace her ultimate destiny as an Inquisitor for the Empire.
Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade
Written By: Delilah S. Dawson
Published By: Random House Worlds
Release Date: July 18, 2023
Purchase [affiliate link]: https://amzn.to/43aTgTG
In her previous Star Wars works, Dawson has shown a penchant for tackling “bad guy” characters and giving them engaging stories while still emphasizing the wrongness of certain actions. Rise of the Red Blade is no different, and delivers a compelling origin story where I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough…Then the final quarter of the book comes into play and feels like something entirely different. It’s strange, and I’m still not entirely sure what to think about it. So let’s dive in!
Story Basics
I’m not going into any specific spoilers here, so I’ll keep this part relatively short. As mentioned, Rise of the Red Blade puts the focus entirely on Iskat Akaris, a padawan who doesn’t quite fit within the Jedi order. While being an alien species isn’t exactly uncommon, the fact that Iskat has never seen another person like her (anywhere) makes her a bit of an unknown.
Moreso, she finds herself struggling to adhere to the typical Jedi tenets and find peace within herself. As other Padawans seemingly fear her, and her own Master cold and unapproachable, Iskat feels isolated and adrift within the Order even as she desperately tries to be the ideal Jedi.
When the Clone Wars erupt, Iskat finds herself Knighted and thrust into war. Just as she begins to feel like she’s finding her path in the Force, she is sidelined by the Council for reasons she can’t quite understand. Frustrated and wanting answers, only to find distrust thrown her direction, Iskat’s disillusionment with the Order grows. Longing for freedom, and answers to her past, the end of the war brings Iskat a choice that will shape her destiny: joining the Inquisitors.
There’s not a whole lot more I can talk about without getting into some spoilers. As you can likely gather, however, the bulk of the novel is actually spent with Iskat during her time in the Clone Wars. There’s not as much time spent with her being an Inquisitor as I initially thought (based off the reveal details and cover), but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, seeing Iskat’s turmoil within the Order and how she comes to view herself within the Force makes for the most compelling aspect of the novel. Coming to understand HOW a Jedi would make the choice to be an Inquisitor is where this novel is strongest, and made for some genuinely memorable moments. In Iskat, we see how the Order failed so many (beyond just Anakin) and come to understand certain choices, even if we don’t condone them.
Character Strengths
One of the things Dawson has always done well (aside from crafting dynamic action sequences) is give us interesting, and nuanced, characters. Even the side characters, who can be largely one-dimensional in their overall purpose, feel like they have a sense of history and life to them. Rise of the Red Blade is no different, and as the book keeps the perspective tight on Iskat, she quickly becomes its greatest asset.
What impressed me most with Iskat is the amount of empathy I found myself feeling for her as the story progressed. Early on, she’s pretty much instantly relatable. In essence, Iskat’s story is akin to an awkward teenager at school, doing everything she can to fit in. Aside from being a big, red alien, who can’t relate to something like that?
It’s easy to feel for her in those early moments as she struggles to find peace within herself and kinship with others. On top of that, she has a more questioning approach to the Jedi philosophy; one that the audience can easily connect to as many of us would feel the same regarding views on life and death.
As the story moves along, it’s easy to see why she makes certain decisions. Her fall to the Dark Side is a more subtle one. Not a single pivotal event, but rather a series of small things and feelings that build up to a singular decision point. In many ways, this makes her fall feel even more tragic. While we can understand the reasoning behind the things she does, even empathize with many of them, we know that many of these actions are wrong. It’s possible to see how things could have been different for Iskat with a better support system and an Order more able/willing to see their own failings.
Combine that amount of character depth/engagement, with a number of swanky action scenes, and it’s easy to see why it was so difficult to put this book down…for the most part.
Final Act Troubles
Throughout a majority of Rise of the Red Blade, I was having an absolute blast and couldn’t get through it quick enough. After turning the final pages, however, I wasn’t exactly sure how to feel. Pretty much from the moment she became an Inquisitor is when things take a turn. The last 25-30% (not even a full third) of the book just feels…different. In some ways, it almost feels like it’s telling a new story rather than continuing what came before.
It’s not bad. The writing is still strong and fun, but it felt like the primary (interesting) story was already wrapped up. As such, everything that came after with her Inquisitor life felt tacked on. It was more slice of life and didn’t have the same driving purpose the first 3/4 of the book had (the build-up to her turn) after just felt rudderless.
There’s definitely a really good story to be told all within her time in the Inquisitorious, but there isn’t enough time to tell it within this novel. Because of that, there’s a rushed feeling to the entire final act. It’s more prevalent in the epilogue, which feels more concerned with connecting to other events seen in comics than giving Iskat’s story a satisfying end.
It just killed the momentum for me and felt like some odd choices were being made. There were shining moments there, don’t get me wrong, but again those were more like crumbs of a larger story I wanted to see.
I’m sure this won’t be the case for everyone (generally speaking, I don’t care for ANY slice-of-life storytelling structure), and it doesn’t change the fact that a majority of the novel whipped a lot of ass. I simply wish it had stuck the landing a bit better for me.
