Queen’s Shadow

Posted by James on 04/03/19 at 12:20 PM Category: Comic Books

Queen’s Shadow

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Introduction

Queen’s Shadow was written by E.K. Johnston and published by Disney-Lucasfilm press on March 5, 2019.

Synopsis

Four years after The Phantom Menace, Padmé Amidala is about to conclude her second and final term as queen of Naboo. As she and her handmaidens prepare to go their separate ways and pursue new paths, we see how the shadow of Queen Amidala continues to linger over all of their lives. When Padmé answers the new queen’s call to serve in the Senate, she has difficulty navigating her new role. She finds her place as one of many Senators in a big galaxy to be a far cry from her experience as the beloved queen of pacifist Naboo.

Review

Here’s the Chris “I don’t have time to read stuff on my own website” Swanski cliff notes review for Queen’s Shadow: It’s a really good book for people who like books where nothing really happens. I mean both of those things quite sincerely. It’s a good book, but it’s a leisurely stroll in the park; so, if you’re looking for a race you are going to be waiting and waiting, growing ever more anxious, and then the book is going to end. You’re going to be like, “what?” and the book is going to be like, “that’s it”. You’ll say, “What the heck was that”? The book will be like, “I’m a character study”. “A what?”, you’ll say. “A character study”, the book will respond; “plot and conflict are secondary to exploring the inner life and psychological/emotional growth of the characters.” “But there wasn’t a single blasterfight, or activated lightsaber in the whole thing”, you’ll point out. “So?” the book will retort. “So, it’s Star WARS”, you say. “What about that space battle near the end?” the book will point out. You’ll bow your head, pinching the bridge of your nose as your glasses rise slightly, “You mean the short space battle with basically no consequences? The one where a certain character could have been tragically but importantly killed off while saving the life of her best friend which would have given the book a real emotional punch?” This will go on for a while, getting louder and concerning the neighbors. Police will be called, and finding you having a violent argument with a book, court mandated psych evals will be ordered. Appointments will be missed, medications will be forgotten, and the cycle will continue.

On the other hand, it’s not a terrible book. As a character study, and an exploration of the theme of identity, it works pretty well. We get valuable insights into Padmé and her handmaidens that I found interesting. Beyond a couple of very small moments in the movies, the relationship between Padmé and her handmaidens is never really explored. Here we learn about their training under Capt. Panaka, their dedication to Padmé that goes beyond service and into a real sense of sisterly intimacy, and we get explorations of each of them as individuals. That’s pretty good for characters that were, for the most part, accessories in the movies. On the subject of identity, the book really explores the idea that “Amidala” is almost a separate person from Padmé. Both as Queen and as Senator, Amidala is a persona crafted not only by Padmé but by the handmaidens as well. Padmé’s transition from Queen to Senator is not an easy one for her as she is beset by bad press and an assassination attempt shortly after her arrival on Coruscant. She is not well liked by most of the Senate as they remember her move to oust Chancellor Valorum which then resulted in her planet’s Senator ascending to the high office. In the book we see the seeds of future conflict being sown. Padmé is conflicted between serving the interests of her home planet and putting the good of the whole Galaxy first. We see the beginning of her friendship with Mina Bonteri (who, it is implied, is already being drawn in to the Separatist movement) and her forging alliances with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma; with the latter two initially questioning her conviction to serve the Galaxy at large and uphold the integrity of the Senate. It’s actually pretty refreshing that she is not shown being immediate best friends with the two people who would figure so prominently in her later life and legacy. Rush Clovis also appears quite prominently and we see him and Padmé first meeting and their burgeoning relationship; except, not really. He comes on the scene as a new Senator like her, she finds him fairly annoying at first, starts to warm up to him a little, and then he lunges at her and she rebuffs with extreme prejudice. Is that all there was to their relationship? He must have made a comeback because I was under the impression that they were pretty hot and heavy for a while. If that’s all there was then that Sonny Corleone style beat-down that Anakin laid on his [butt] was especially gratuitous. I remember Rush being somewhat suave, but this guy approaches women like a 2 year old trying to open a juice box: a lot of poking around until you’re just left with a wet mess on the floor.

So, in the end, what we have here is a book with some really good ideas and moments in it that just doesn’t seem to break the barrier between mildly entertaining and great. Again, I enjoyed this book; but it won’t be for everyone. The stakes are never really that high until almost the end when Padmé has to deal with a humanitarian crisis; but Padmé is never in any danger. There is an assassination attempt when she arrives on Coruscant; except it’s not really an attempt because nothing happens. She is politely redirected out of an area set for demolition after being sent there by her Senate issued protocol droid. No shots are fired, no explosions occur. There is a sub-plot at the beginning where Sabé is sent to Tatooine to free some slaves; in particular she is tasked with locating Shmi Skyalker. Nothing much comes of it. There’s a trip to Alderaan that is described beautifully, but aside from giving Padmé an opportunity to meet Breha Organa, it’s fairly inconsequential. In some ways the book is a series of vignettes, some of which could be removed without affecting the overall plot of the book. This book has its strengths; but whether or not those strengths will appeal to you as a reader is not a foregone conclusion.

Notes

Capt. Quarsh Panaka’s relationship with Padmé is shown to be strained at the beginning of the book due to his more hawkish views on implementing defenses for Naboo. This is a nice set-up for his eventual role as an Imperial Moff. His wife Mariek Panaka becomes Padme’s head of security when she leaves for the Senate; her nephew Gregar Tyhpo is a sergeant serving under her.

Here’s a rundown of Padme’s handmaidens in the book. At the beginning, when still Queen: Sabé (Keira Knightley in TPM), Eirtae (the blonde one from TPM), Rabé (the one in TPM who talks to Anakin when he comes to see Padme), Saché (Sofia Coppola in TPM), and Yané. As Senator: Cordé (killed at the beginning of AOTC), Versé (killed at the beginning of AOTC), Dormé (Rose Byrne in AOTC), and Sabé.

The book takes place four years after The Phantom Menace and mentions Palpatine already having his red guards at this point; an epilogue takes place during and immediately after Padmé’s funeral in ROTS.

Depa Billaba appears as a Jedi envoy when Padmé and others investigate a humanitarian crisis. She is the only Jedi to appear in the book.

At one point Padmé overhears Mina Bonteri conferring with a mysterious figure via holo. As he is described as having a deep voice, I assume it is Dooku.

Action figure Wish List:

From what I can tell there have been (debatably) 3 handmaiden action figures released, and two of them are Sabé disguised as Amidala. So really, there has been one handmaiden figure and that was Rabé from the OTC. I don’t know that anyone is clamoring for more, but I think Dormé deserves one given her noticeable role in AOTC. Eirtae would also be a good choice since she stands out from the rest with her fair hair.

Score:

Would that I could give half Skulls, because this is the consummate 2 and ½ Skull book. I can’t, though. Subjectively, I would give it 3 Skulls; but if I’m being totally objective I have to say: 2 Skulls.