REVIEW:  The Rise Of Klyo Ren & Jedi Fallen Order - Dark Temple

Bantha Skull literary reviews are back, streamlined for today’s busy Star Wars nerd on the go. As if you have anywhere to go; nevertheless, time is precious, you need to know what is worth your time and what isn’t. We are back with condensed and collated reviews. I never stopped reading, but I did stop taking notes, because again, who has time? But I don’t need notes to tell me if something sucked or not. We’ve also got a pithy new rating system: buy it, borrow it, or burn it. Alliteration! So let’s look at some stuff I consumed in 2020 and maybe help you decide if it is worth your time if you haven’t already imbibed.

---

The Rise of Kylo Ren
By Charles Soule and Will Sliney, trade paperback published 8/11/20


I think this one piqued the interest of a lot of people who don't normally follow the comics. Why? Probably because the films of the Sequel Trilogy were so light on backstory and (coherent/consistent) character building and this was a good opportunity for that. It was also a good opportunity to show Jedi Master Luke Skywalker kicking some butt in his prime. I don't know if you've noticed but a lot of people are in to that sort of thing. This story definitely delivers on that, although not quite as much as I was hoping. The art is good. The pastoral scenes from Luke's academy prior to its destruction and Snoke's inexplicable hat are worth the price of admission. If you like any part of the ST, I say "buy it". If not, "burn it".

[Editor's Note: Buy it. It's very good.]

---

Jedi Fallen Order - Dark Temple
By Matthew Rosenberg and Paolo Villanelli, trade paperback published 9/15/20


This is a prequel to the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order; a game that I finally got around to playing and am about 0.5% done with (I'm not very good at video games). It follows Cere Junda and her master Eno Cordova as they undertake a mission to explore an ancient temple. Unfortunately, it turns out possession of this ancient religious site is the subject of violent conflict. I'm glad we don't have to deal with stuff like that in the real world. As a tie in to another more prominent product, this could have been a crass cash grab, but it's really not. It's a sincere cash grab, and I enjoyed it. Keep in mind that I read it without having played the game, and that didn't affect my enjoyment. If you're like me and you love nearly any pre-Empire Jedi story, or if you want some backstory on characters from the game: "buy it".

---

There you have it. Comic book production and distribution have not been doing well during the pandemic. That Kylo mini took forever to get published and my local store never did get the trade, I ended up buying a digital copy. I've read the first volumes of the new Vader and Bounty Hunters series but still haven't gotten Vol. 1 of the new Star Wars series. Plus the High Republic stuff got pushed back (I am planning to read most of it). What's everybody else been reading?

---

comments powered by Disqus