Synopsis:
The reign of the Galactic Empire has reached the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan, where aristocratic Thane Kyrell and rural villager Ciena Ree bond over their love of flying. Enrolling at the Imperial Academy together to become fighter pilots for the glorious Empire is nothing less than a dream come true for the both of them. But Thane sours on the dream when he sees firsthand the horrific tactics the Empire uses to maintain its ironclad rule.
Bitter and disillusioned, Thane joins the fledgling Rebellion—putting Ciena in an unbearable position to choose between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for the man she’s known since childhood.
Now on opposite sides of the war, will these friends turned foes find a way to be together, or will duty tear them—and the galaxy—apart.
Review:
This is my second favourite Star Wars novel after Heir to the Empire.
It’s Romeo and Juliet. I mean, childhood friends Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell from an Outer Rim planet who join the Imperial Academy to become pilots, only to be torn apart when Thane defects to the Rebel Alliance.
The boy from a rich, political family. A girl teased and ridiculed for her backwards ideals. Despite it all, they find solace in each other. They test each other, support, trust, and even love each other.
You can tell Claudia ‘gets’ Star Wars in terms of characters caught in the crossfire and their potential internal conflicts.
These two have known nothing different, they think the Empire is the law, is justice. They are motivated by honour and loyalty, specifically Ciena where her familiarly cultural hinges on it.
By getting us to root for cadets in service to the Empire, to cheer for their progression even as it furthers the Empire’s rule; Claudia does an incredible job at making you question the reality of war and good vs evil.
Ciena and Thane are well-developed and have good characters arcs. Their trajectory is set in the stars, so to say.
The pace is where this slightly falters when the characters separate and the latter half seems slightly less exciting. However, the ending, whilst slightly rushed, felt satisfying and in tune with the Star Wars theme.
I am very excited as I have more Claudia Gray books on my tbr!
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