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Star Wars Disney Canon Novel
Lost Stars
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.
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.
551 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2015
2120 people are currently reading
24078 people want to read
About the author
Claudia Gray
76 books14.1k followersClaudia Gray is not my real name. I didn't choose a pseudonym because my real name is unpleasant (it isn't), because I'd always dreamed of calling myself this (I haven't) or even because I'm hiding from the remnants of that international diamond-smuggling cartel I smashed in 2003 (Interpol has taken care of them). In short, I took a pseudonym for no real reason whatsoever. Sometimes this is actually the best reason to do things.
I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.
I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,015 reviews
October 29, 2025
This is a great book. Very rarely do you get a book that manages to tick every box. This is a love story, but this is not a fluffy story. Both the characters are likeable, intelligent, and principled. In fact, all the characters are written very well, to the point that as a reader, I was invested in each character, even the side characters. The book has great character development, and the story is set across the whole original trilogy and finishes a year after Return of the Jedi.
Usually in stories like this my biggest problem is the pace of the book, even this is done well, the book is off at a brisk pace Claudia Gray definitely know the right time to speed the story up and the time to slow it down at the correct times. Every time I finished a chapter, I would already want to read the next one and the next one.
The book starts off on the planet Jelucan. This is on the outer rim. The Jelucan society is decided into two groups the kindred valley people who are the original or early settlers, and the Second Wavers, who tend to be the richer people who settled later. Of course, neither group gets on with the other. That is till young Ciena Ree of the village and Thane Kyrell of the wavers meet. Both have similar dreams and ambitions to join the Imperial Accademy. They are both different but compliment each other very well. As steel sharpens steel, what starts as a mutually beneficial friendily competitiveness, blossoms into something so much more.
There are small thing in this book that make the book great, the show the Imperial propaganda machine in full effect, how people see the Empire as the law and order bringers, and how the Jedi and influential characters and scenes from the movies are seen though Imperial eyes. All the relationships and views are dynamic, continually moving, and interesting. This is a story done right in every way, I am sure even people who are not Star Wars fans will love this book.
Usually in stories like this my biggest problem is the pace of the book, even this is done well, the book is off at a brisk pace Claudia Gray definitely know the right time to speed the story up and the time to slow it down at the correct times. Every time I finished a chapter, I would already want to read the next one and the next one.
The book starts off on the planet Jelucan. This is on the outer rim. The Jelucan society is decided into two groups the kindred valley people who are the original or early settlers, and the Second Wavers, who tend to be the richer people who settled later. Of course, neither group gets on with the other. That is till young Ciena Ree of the village and Thane Kyrell of the wavers meet. Both have similar dreams and ambitions to join the Imperial Accademy. They are both different but compliment each other very well. As steel sharpens steel, what starts as a mutually beneficial friendily competitiveness, blossoms into something so much more.
There are small thing in this book that make the book great, the show the Imperial propaganda machine in full effect, how people see the Empire as the law and order bringers, and how the Jedi and influential characters and scenes from the movies are seen though Imperial eyes. All the relationships and views are dynamic, continually moving, and interesting. This is a story done right in every way, I am sure even people who are not Star Wars fans will love this book.
October 4, 2017
I'm free
November 18, 2015
4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/11/09/r...
And to think, I almost gave this one a pass when I was compiling a list of books I wanted to read from the new Star Wars canon. What a mistake that would have been. Yes, this is categorized as Young Adult, but to be sure, this is not the kind of Star Wars YA from the old EU when the stories tended to lean more towards middle-grade audiences and few children’s series stood out strongly enough to make an impression. Lost Stars, in a word, was awesome. I have been reading Star Was novels for years and have read many of them during that time, but this has got to be one of the best I’ve ever read.
The book tells the tale of two childhood friends who became lovers before ending up on opposite sides of the galactic war. Ciena and Thane grew up on the same planet just after annexation by the Imperials, but one was born in the more rural valley while the other came from an affluent second-waver family. However, the two met and bonded over a shared love for piloting and a dream to one day fly for the Empire. They entered the Imperial academy together, excited to be with each other as they made that dream come true. But as the war waged on, their fates diverged as one grew disillusioned with the Empire and joined the Rebel Alliance, while the other remained in Imperial service and rose through its ranks to become a high-ranking officer.
The beauty of this book is in its simplicity. At the heart of it is a love story, so you might not enjoy it as much if YA Romance isn’t your cup of tea. At the same time though, it is surprisingly free of the tropes that usually clog up this genre, and I didn’t feel as if the plot was made more complicated by any needless drama. Instead, all the good stuff comes through, themes like: honor versus duty, love and grief, opportunities lost and things left unsaid. Ciena and Thane are the loves of each other’s lives, but they were raised in very different homes, with very different values. Because of that, there will always be a part in each of them that can and never will be reconciled.
And you know what else is great? How deeply and intimately Lost Stars is tied to the original trilogy. You get to relive the major events of each movie from a whole different perspective. No doubt about it, while reading this book I felt like I was 100% in the Star Wars universe. And yet, the story also retains its own uniqueness. You ever think to yourself, surely, the Empire can’t be one homogenous body working in unison towards the same goal? Of course there had to be different factions, as well as good people in the Imperial forces who couldn’t stand by and do nothing while their side committed all sorts of atrocities. This book does a really good job showing this, and in a way it humanizes the Empire by portraying the protagonists as average everyday people.
Like anyone, both Ciena and Thane have close family and friends. They each have their own personal hopes and dreams. They experience desire and longing. My heart ached for the two of them and I wanted so badly for things to work out for them in the end. Move over Anakin and Padme and Episode II, because this is romance done right. Heck, this is “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” done right.
“Look through my eyes…look through my eyes.” *Happy sigh*
And to think, I almost gave this one a pass when I was compiling a list of books I wanted to read from the new Star Wars canon. What a mistake that would have been. Yes, this is categorized as Young Adult, but to be sure, this is not the kind of Star Wars YA from the old EU when the stories tended to lean more towards middle-grade audiences and few children’s series stood out strongly enough to make an impression. Lost Stars, in a word, was awesome. I have been reading Star Was novels for years and have read many of them during that time, but this has got to be one of the best I’ve ever read.
The book tells the tale of two childhood friends who became lovers before ending up on opposite sides of the galactic war. Ciena and Thane grew up on the same planet just after annexation by the Imperials, but one was born in the more rural valley while the other came from an affluent second-waver family. However, the two met and bonded over a shared love for piloting and a dream to one day fly for the Empire. They entered the Imperial academy together, excited to be with each other as they made that dream come true. But as the war waged on, their fates diverged as one grew disillusioned with the Empire and joined the Rebel Alliance, while the other remained in Imperial service and rose through its ranks to become a high-ranking officer.
The beauty of this book is in its simplicity. At the heart of it is a love story, so you might not enjoy it as much if YA Romance isn’t your cup of tea. At the same time though, it is surprisingly free of the tropes that usually clog up this genre, and I didn’t feel as if the plot was made more complicated by any needless drama. Instead, all the good stuff comes through, themes like: honor versus duty, love and grief, opportunities lost and things left unsaid. Ciena and Thane are the loves of each other’s lives, but they were raised in very different homes, with very different values. Because of that, there will always be a part in each of them that can and never will be reconciled.
And you know what else is great? How deeply and intimately Lost Stars is tied to the original trilogy. You get to relive the major events of each movie from a whole different perspective. No doubt about it, while reading this book I felt like I was 100% in the Star Wars universe. And yet, the story also retains its own uniqueness. You ever think to yourself, surely, the Empire can’t be one homogenous body working in unison towards the same goal? Of course there had to be different factions, as well as good people in the Imperial forces who couldn’t stand by and do nothing while their side committed all sorts of atrocities. This book does a really good job showing this, and in a way it humanizes the Empire by portraying the protagonists as average everyday people.
Like anyone, both Ciena and Thane have close family and friends. They each have their own personal hopes and dreams. They experience desire and longing. My heart ached for the two of them and I wanted so badly for things to work out for them in the end. Move over Anakin and Padme and Episode II, because this is romance done right. Heck, this is “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” done right.
“Look through my eyes…look through my eyes.” *Happy sigh*
October 23, 2015
(I'd give this a 4.5 if I could).
Wow. This one kind of came out of nowhere! I was so disappointed and let down with Aftermath that I didn't really think I had it in me to try another new Star Wars books so soon.
Am I ever glad I did.
What can I say? I loved everything about this book!
The story has two points of view. We follow, and skip between, Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree. Both of who, by the end of the book, I adore just as much as any of the classic cast from the movies.
The timeline covers events from, A New Hope up to Return of the Jedi (and afterward as well). It was pretty interesting seeing all those iconic moments that take place in the original trilogy through fresh and different eyes. I absolutely loved how Claudia Gray puts a face to the nameless soldiers, pilots, and Stormtroopers, that fight for the Empire. You really get a feel for how some of them must have felt. They were people. They had lives besides just chasing the Rebels around and looking for them inside trash compactors.
It was a really interesting take.
I'm not much of a 'love story' reader. This one, though, didn't slam me over the head with angsty teenage bullshit. The relationship between Thane and Ciena felt real and plausible - even though they were on different sides of a galactic struggle. I felt for them both and often found myself rooting for them and wishing that they could just...finally...be...together!
This book was a win! It's definitely one of the better Star Wars novels I have read. I love how it's connected to A Force Awakens. I love how, without even seeing the new movie, I know things that other Star Wars fans that have not read this book do not know.
If you are a fan, read this motherfucker! Don't let the YA thing fool you. Don't dismiss it because it's a love story. Read it because it's a damn good romp in a galaxy far, far away.
Anyways, FUCK YEAH!! STAR WARS!!
Wow. This one kind of came out of nowhere! I was so disappointed and let down with Aftermath that I didn't really think I had it in me to try another new Star Wars books so soon.
Am I ever glad I did.
What can I say? I loved everything about this book!
The story has two points of view. We follow, and skip between, Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree. Both of who, by the end of the book, I adore just as much as any of the classic cast from the movies.
The timeline covers events from, A New Hope up to Return of the Jedi (and afterward as well). It was pretty interesting seeing all those iconic moments that take place in the original trilogy through fresh and different eyes. I absolutely loved how Claudia Gray puts a face to the nameless soldiers, pilots, and Stormtroopers, that fight for the Empire. You really get a feel for how some of them must have felt. They were people. They had lives besides just chasing the Rebels around and looking for them inside trash compactors.
It was a really interesting take.
I'm not much of a 'love story' reader. This one, though, didn't slam me over the head with angsty teenage bullshit. The relationship between Thane and Ciena felt real and plausible - even though they were on different sides of a galactic struggle. I felt for them both and often found myself rooting for them and wishing that they could just...finally...be...together!
This book was a win! It's definitely one of the better Star Wars novels I have read. I love how it's connected to A Force Awakens. I love how, without even seeing the new movie, I know things that other Star Wars fans that have not read this book do not know.
If you are a fan, read this motherfucker! Don't let the YA thing fool you. Don't dismiss it because it's a love story. Read it because it's a damn good romp in a galaxy far, far away.
Anyways, FUCK YEAH!! STAR WARS!!
January 28, 2019
This IS the Star Wars book you're looking for!
I had so much fun buddy reading this with Sophie! Chatting with her about Star Wars history and our theories about what would happen in the book really made this a wonderful reading adventure!
This was my favorite Star Wars book of all time. And I'm saying this as a old curmudgeon who read a lot of the old Star Wars Expanded Universe books and was furious when Disney announced that those books were no longer considered canon. (Seriously, I shook my fist and told Disney to get off my lawn... it was kind of pathetic, actually!) Despite missing those old stories and the characters I grew to love within them, this book was brilliantly written enough to help me move on and accept that this is the new canon.
I'll write a full review when I have more time, but for now I'll say that this book represents everything I like about the Disney Star Wars movies and none of the problems I have with the newer films (mainly, the poor characterization of classic SW figures like Luke and Han). This book is the perfect blend of Disney and classic Star Wars!
I had so much fun buddy reading this with Sophie! Chatting with her about Star Wars history and our theories about what would happen in the book really made this a wonderful reading adventure!
This was my favorite Star Wars book of all time. And I'm saying this as a old curmudgeon who read a lot of the old Star Wars Expanded Universe books and was furious when Disney announced that those books were no longer considered canon. (Seriously, I shook my fist and told Disney to get off my lawn... it was kind of pathetic, actually!) Despite missing those old stories and the characters I grew to love within them, this book was brilliantly written enough to help me move on and accept that this is the new canon.
I'll write a full review when I have more time, but for now I'll say that this book represents everything I like about the Disney Star Wars movies and none of the problems I have with the newer films (mainly, the poor characterization of classic SW figures like Luke and Han). This book is the perfect blend of Disney and classic Star Wars!
September 28, 2017
Many of the major events of the original Star Wars trilogy are experienced through two childhood friends, Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell. Ciena and Thane are life long friends who find themselves on opposite sides of war.
Lost Stars covers the lives of Ciena and Thane who happen to have been born the same time as the Empire. Their story starts at age 8 and continues on until after the end of Return of the Jedi. The story was good, but I was expecting more.
The biggest surprise I experienced in this story was seeing how people could defend the Empire. I understand that there are two sides to every story, but once the Empire blew up a highly inhabited planet because it's leaders were traitors to the Empire, I couldn't believe anyone could continue defending it.
Thane and Ciena started off as really interesting down to Earth characters. It was easy to care for each of them despite their faults until Ciena became the dumbest woman in the history of the world, even dumber than Lois Lane taking forever to realize Clark Kent is Superman...who knew glasses were all it would take to escape an investigative reporter and co-worker's attention. Ciena comes up for rationalization after rationalization for why the Empire is good even after witnessing it destroying a planet and a number of other atrocities it committed. She refuses to break her oath because her sense of honor is more important than actual people's lives...except Thane's. Thane was surprisingly the most patient loving man as he kept fighting for Ciena despite her being the enemy and working forthe Devil Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and the Empire.
It was somewhat strange reading all these events through the new characters eyes because I knew the outcome of almost everything in the book. The only thing I didn't know was how events would effect Thane and Ciena.
Lost Stars was a good book that provided a fresh perspective on the original trilogy and it's effect on individuals.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Lost Stars covers the lives of Ciena and Thane who happen to have been born the same time as the Empire. Their story starts at age 8 and continues on until after the end of Return of the Jedi. The story was good, but I was expecting more.
The biggest surprise I experienced in this story was seeing how people could defend the Empire. I understand that there are two sides to every story, but once the Empire blew up a highly inhabited planet because it's leaders were traitors to the Empire, I couldn't believe anyone could continue defending it.
Thane and Ciena started off as really interesting down to Earth characters. It was easy to care for each of them despite their faults until Ciena became the dumbest woman in the history of the world, even dumber than Lois Lane taking forever to realize Clark Kent is Superman...who knew glasses were all it would take to escape an investigative reporter and co-worker's attention. Ciena comes up for rationalization after rationalization for why the Empire is good even after witnessing it destroying a planet and a number of other atrocities it committed. She refuses to break her oath because her sense of honor is more important than actual people's lives...except Thane's. Thane was surprisingly the most patient loving man as he kept fighting for Ciena despite her being the enemy and working for
It was somewhat strange reading all these events through the new characters eyes because I knew the outcome of almost everything in the book. The only thing I didn't know was how events would effect Thane and Ciena.
Lost Stars was a good book that provided a fresh perspective on the original trilogy and it's effect on individuals.
3.5 out of 5 stars
September 3, 2017
The Imperial training academy is an attractive place for naïve youngsters. For those that have never left their home-worlds, the magnificent space craft and disciplined soldiers look like a thing of wonder. They do not understand the harsh blood price the brutal Empire exacts; thus, Thane and Ciena are enamoured by the dreams of glory Tarkin gives them. They see the Empire as a machine, a mechanism of control, order and stability. And they want in.
“He and the girl ran inside, where everything was black and shiny and lit up with a hundred small lights. They were shown in the cockpit and even got to sit in the pilot’s seats. Grand Moff Tarkin stood just behind, rigid as a flagpole, his boots gleaming as brightly as the polished metal surrounding them.”
So they dedicate every moment of their young lives to prove that they are, indeed, worthy of getting in. Instead of playing like normal children, they dedicate their time in practice and training. In their ignorance, and their brainwashed state, they pursue a dream they do not fully comprehend. They succeed in the Empire, rising high above their peers and outshining other officers. They’ve known each other their entire lives, and they share a mutual love for the Empire. The attraction between the two is as natural as the stars, they fall in love.
However, such a thing is not permitted in the cold approach to ruling the Empire takes. They despise closeness and affection and try to drive a wedge between their members. In doing so doubts begin to form in the minds of the young couple. What is this thing they are serving that doesn’t allow for love? They are ready to get on with their duty when the Death Star approaches Alderan. It no secret what happens next: the Death Star fires and commits mass genocide. Evil is revealed at last.
The Rebel and the Imperial
“How many times had he said he’d stay in the Imperial Starfleet just so he’d get to fly the greatest ships in the galaxy? The words seemed so callow now. Juvenile, even.”
Thane wants out. Ciena does not. They find themselves on opposite sides of a brutal war that is about to erupt. They are both loyal to their causes, to Rebellion and Empire, but to each other even more so. The Galaxy seems a large place; they never expected to actually find each other in battle flying the enemies’ colours. Thane attempts to convince Ciena about the evil nature of Empire. She doesn’t want to listen; she can’t face the truth and is ready to fire on him. An impossible situation begins, one oozing with tension.
This was such a great idea for a Star Wars novel. The tone felt young adult at times, though it still worked surprisingly well. It’s certainly one of the better Star Wars books I’ve read. The story began during the time of A New Hope and ends slightly before The Force Awakens. Both characters are present for the destruction of the Death Star, the battle of Hoth and the annihilation of Vader and Palpatine’s fleet. The climax of the book even reveals the reason behind the derelict Star Destroyer we see on Jakku, an interesting easter egg for sure. It's definitely not a novel to be missed for Star Wars fans.
“He and the girl ran inside, where everything was black and shiny and lit up with a hundred small lights. They were shown in the cockpit and even got to sit in the pilot’s seats. Grand Moff Tarkin stood just behind, rigid as a flagpole, his boots gleaming as brightly as the polished metal surrounding them.”
So they dedicate every moment of their young lives to prove that they are, indeed, worthy of getting in. Instead of playing like normal children, they dedicate their time in practice and training. In their ignorance, and their brainwashed state, they pursue a dream they do not fully comprehend. They succeed in the Empire, rising high above their peers and outshining other officers. They’ve known each other their entire lives, and they share a mutual love for the Empire. The attraction between the two is as natural as the stars, they fall in love.
However, such a thing is not permitted in the cold approach to ruling the Empire takes. They despise closeness and affection and try to drive a wedge between their members. In doing so doubts begin to form in the minds of the young couple. What is this thing they are serving that doesn’t allow for love? They are ready to get on with their duty when the Death Star approaches Alderan. It no secret what happens next: the Death Star fires and commits mass genocide. Evil is revealed at last.
The Rebel and the Imperial
“How many times had he said he’d stay in the Imperial Starfleet just so he’d get to fly the greatest ships in the galaxy? The words seemed so callow now. Juvenile, even.”
Thane wants out. Ciena does not. They find themselves on opposite sides of a brutal war that is about to erupt. They are both loyal to their causes, to Rebellion and Empire, but to each other even more so. The Galaxy seems a large place; they never expected to actually find each other in battle flying the enemies’ colours. Thane attempts to convince Ciena about the evil nature of Empire. She doesn’t want to listen; she can’t face the truth and is ready to fire on him. An impossible situation begins, one oozing with tension.
This was such a great idea for a Star Wars novel. The tone felt young adult at times, though it still worked surprisingly well. It’s certainly one of the better Star Wars books I’ve read. The story began during the time of A New Hope and ends slightly before The Force Awakens. Both characters are present for the destruction of the Death Star, the battle of Hoth and the annihilation of Vader and Palpatine’s fleet. The climax of the book even reveals the reason behind the derelict Star Destroyer we see on Jakku, an interesting easter egg for sure. It's definitely not a novel to be missed for Star Wars fans.
October 23, 2015
I was a little disgusted with this book.
No, actually, I was very disgusted with this book.
If I was presented with an action-adventure novel wherein the main character was an apologist for Hioroshima and Nagasaki and throughout that novel kept saying things like "well, the US were only trying to prevent further death and stop the war from escalating" I would probably take that book and rip out every single page individually before setting it on fire.
Herein one of our two main characters is a Death Star apologist and we are meant to sympathise with her for approximately 400 pages. That's right, she repeatedly says things like "well, the Empire were just trying to prevent a war" as an excuse for why they blew up Alderaan.
No, I'm not kidding.
Oh yeah and the other hero is in love with her despite the fact that he's a member of the rebellion and she's a total fascist.
It's troubling that people think this is a really good novel.
If I didn't read this on the Kindle app I'd rip out every page individually and then set fire to it. As it is, I'm not too keen on destroying my tablet.
Move along, move along.
No, actually, I was very disgusted with this book.
If I was presented with an action-adventure novel wherein the main character was an apologist for Hioroshima and Nagasaki and throughout that novel kept saying things like "well, the US were only trying to prevent further death and stop the war from escalating" I would probably take that book and rip out every single page individually before setting it on fire.
Herein one of our two main characters is a Death Star apologist and we are meant to sympathise with her for approximately 400 pages. That's right, she repeatedly says things like "well, the Empire were just trying to prevent a war" as an excuse for why they blew up Alderaan.
No, I'm not kidding.
Oh yeah and the other hero is in love with her despite the fact that he's a member of the rebellion and she's a total fascist.
It's troubling that people think this is a really good novel.
If I didn't read this on the Kindle app I'd rip out every page individually and then set fire to it. As it is, I'm not too keen on destroying my tablet.
Move along, move along.
January 30, 2021
This is a super unpopular opinion oof but I just didn’t care about the characters at all (I actually hated one of them and could not see how the other character even liked them LOL).
May 9, 2018
On a cold, remote, seemingly backward planet with two distinct, isolationist cultures, a boy and a girl, he a settler and her a native, dream of being TIE pilots for the mighty Galactic Empire. Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree won’t let anything get in the way of their shared dream. But while they are strong together in the face of disapproval from their families and snobbery at their imperial piloting academy, they break apart when confronted with proof of the Empire’s evil. Thane, the firebrand, can’t stand for this and eventually joins the Rebellion. Ciena, the principled one, stays on an increasingly Dark Side due to a misapplied sense of honor.
But even as the War drags on, and these two childhood friends/on-again off-again lovers meet in battle after battle, they still can’t make themselves kill each other…
Content Advisory
Violence: The violence here is about the same amount and intensity as that of a Star Wars movie. Both Death Stars and a number of smaller spaceships get blown up—here we know some of the characters on those ships. Thane tries to convince Ciena to abandon her ship and reluctantly fights back when she strikes him (he is eventually able to capture her). As a child, Thane was regularly beaten by his father.
Sex: Thane and Ciena impulsively hook up twice, in spite of dire consequences for both should they be caught together. These scenes are not raunchy or overly detailed, but they do contain a lot of these two hormonal kids kissing, snuggling, and ogling each other. On another occasion, one of Thane’s bros makes a mild pass at Ciena, and continues to have a crush on her throughout. There is a brief reference to a boy watching a pornographic hologram in his dorm room. I will be ranting about this last point later in the review.
Language: A few “damns” and “hells”, in addition to nonsense words that are only swears in this universe.
Substance Abuse: Thane gets roaring drunk a few times to deal with his dreadful circumstances. One time Ciena joins him, but she usually has tighter self-control.
Nightmare Fuel: Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious is really creepy. So is Vader. I figured everyone here would know that, but one can never be sure.
Conclusions
In Lost Stars, Claudia Gray’s adorable enthusiasm for the Star Wars universe is on full display. Unfortunately, so are many regrettable tropes she probably picked up from the mainstream YA market.
While I certainly felt bad for Thane and Ciena, neither has much going on in their heads. If one were to draw maps of their brains, one hemisphere would be labeled “Hormones/Relationship Drama” and the other would be labeled “Getting in a TIE Fighter/X-Wing and Blowing Things Up.” Thane has three moods: miserable, angry, and enraged. Ciena is more stable, but she’s also willfully blind and unable to adjust to change. The most interesting character in the book is Thane’s pal Nash Windrider, who has a far bigger reason to hate the Empire than either protagonist (he’s from Alderaan) yet remains staunchly loyal because he’d go insane if he let what happened to his home planet sink in. Nash spends the bulk of the book with an unrequited crush on Ciena, and I kept hoping she’d give him a chance because unlike Thane, Nash actually has more than two thoughts.
As for the (excuse the pun) star-crossed romance at the center of this novel…it’s 99.9% pure raging hormones, which is odd because these two characters grew up together and would have noticed each other that way long ago if they were romantically compatible. If they’re really friends from early childhood, then their relationship should be less intense and more chastely portrayed. If they’re mutually attracted enemies who hate that they want each other, they should have met as young adults. But Thane and Ciena are so thoroughly marinated in lust, it’s like they barely know each other, yet we’re told that they have been inseparable since age eight. It just doesn’t add up.
My friends Neil and Angelica, in their reviews, pointed out that the culture portrayed in this book is very modern, frequently crass, and generally a lot more like Star Trek than Star Wars. The galaxy far, far away seems so old-fashioned in most ways that it seems unlikely that its members are this cavalier about sex or alcohol. Not to mention that the films themselves are some of the cleanest blockbusters on the market. The parts about Thane getting drunk, or his and Nash’s obnoxious roommate watching porn with them in the room, just felt weird. Like a Lord of the Rings fanfic where hobbits trade bawdy jokes, or a Narnia fic portraying Tumnus as a womanizer. It did not feel consistent with the spirit of the saga.
Aside from the romance, there is very little story here. The plot is a sped-up, abridged version of the original film trilogy, with Ciena and Thane just tagging along. It’s like the old PBS Kids show Liberty’s Kids, only with Star Wars instead of the American Revolution. This was a fine plot structure for Liberty’s Kids, because it was meant to teach history and aimed at eleven-year-olds. But this is ostensibly YA/adult and really ought to just have more going on in it. Take away the personal journeys of Luke, Leia and Han—and their connection with Vader, unknown to most around them—and there’s not much here but spaceships going kablooie.
Speaking of Liberty’s Kids, that’s not the only similarity between the two seemingly disparate works. The cartoon also featured two young folks on either side of the war, who started out zealots for their respective sides, became attracted to each other, and eventually came to seriously question the righteousness of their causes. In both cases the young man has only one mood, a plateau of angst, while the girl is more reserved and traditional but deadly when angered.
But the relationship between James Hiller and Sarah Phillips in LK is actually developed a lot better than that of Thane and Ciena. James and Sarah met in their mid-teens and immediately clashed. Yet it was obvious from the beginning that he was drawn to her, and she started (slowly) softening towards him when she realized that for a seditionist and traitor, he wasn’t a bad fellow. Both started out the war absolutely sure that they were right, but had to grapple with their beliefs when they witnessed both sides commit atrocities.
And because this was a middle-grade show (on PBS, not on Nickelodeon where Zuko could take his shirt off on a regular basis), James’ growing (and eventually reciprocated) interest had to be shown in subtle ways—he gave Sarah his coat when she was cold, he made her a necklace (with his dead mother’s ring for a pendant) when she lost her own choker, he got very annoyed whenever another young man paid her attention…I’m not saying that this book needed to be that buttoned-up, but if Thane had ever made a kind gesture like that for Ciena, or she for him, that would have meant so much. It would have proved that they actually cared about each other as people, that they felt love and empathy for each other as opposed to only lust.
The world Lucas created is interesting and fun, but does not hold up under close inspection. We’re talking about a universe where humans, humanoids, and other large sentient life-forms can thrive on all kinds of planets, including gas giants! All the planets appear to rotate on the exact same schedule and contain the same amount of gravity. Every atmosphere contains enough oxygen for humans to breathe and apparently no poisonous gases. Let’s not even discuss that time that two dudes in heavy robes had a sword fight on floating islands in a stream of lava—in our world or a world anything like ours, their blood would have boiled in their veins and their skulls might have exploded (just ask the poor citizens of Pompeii or Herculaneum).
What makes Star Wars magical for me, in spite of the massive suspension of disbelief required for its universe to exist, is the characters...
Anakin, the frightened (man)child forced into a destiny he was never ready for. Obi-Wan, the proud young warrior who learned too dearly the consequences of hubris. Padme, the gentle and lonely young queen who believed the best of her husband even when all the goodness in him was naught but a dulling ember. (The prequels had terrible scripts, but the characters’ struggles are compelling when described by anyone but Lucas)...
Luke, the fatherless boy whose worst fear came true. Leia, the dauntless princess whose only goal was to serve the galaxy. Han, the mercenary who found himself offering his own life to save his friends...
Poe, the reckless zealot with the Empire/First Order in his crosshairs. Rose, the tough and kind Resistance mechanic who never forgets what they’re fighting for. Finn, the traumatized Stormtrooper who might have altered the prophecies. Rey, the noble-minded scavenger with a heart full of anger, grief, and a frightening power. Kylo—Ben—the broken and beastly prince, the dark and splintered knight, a being of incredible strength and passion yet a haunted child still, slowly dying under the weight of his family’s sins, desperately reaching for the girl who cared enough to hold his hand from light-years away.
And that is ultimately why Lost Stars fell flat for me—the Skywalker-Solos were distant figures. Other than Vader, they didn’t even have any lines. And I missed them. Anything else would have been far-fetched, granted—there’s no Thane, Ciena, or Nash mentioned in the original films, so they can’t have been part of either Light or Dark inner circles. But still—the drama between these characters felt manufactured and cheap compared to the truly inspired, epic journeys of the core movie characters.
That said, I still like how Claudia Gray writes and would read more stuff by her, Star Wars or otherwise. Maybe they should commission her to write a book about Padme or Kylo. I share her sympathies for those characters and would love to read her take on them.
But even as the War drags on, and these two childhood friends/on-again off-again lovers meet in battle after battle, they still can’t make themselves kill each other…
Content Advisory
Violence: The violence here is about the same amount and intensity as that of a Star Wars movie. Both Death Stars and a number of smaller spaceships get blown up—here we know some of the characters on those ships. Thane tries to convince Ciena to abandon her ship and reluctantly fights back when she strikes him (he is eventually able to capture her). As a child, Thane was regularly beaten by his father.
Sex: Thane and Ciena impulsively hook up twice, in spite of dire consequences for both should they be caught together. These scenes are not raunchy or overly detailed, but they do contain a lot of these two hormonal kids kissing, snuggling, and ogling each other. On another occasion, one of Thane’s bros makes a mild pass at Ciena, and continues to have a crush on her throughout. There is a brief reference to a boy watching a pornographic hologram in his dorm room. I will be ranting about this last point later in the review.
Language: A few “damns” and “hells”, in addition to nonsense words that are only swears in this universe.
Substance Abuse: Thane gets roaring drunk a few times to deal with his dreadful circumstances. One time Ciena joins him, but she usually has tighter self-control.
Nightmare Fuel: Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious is really creepy. So is Vader. I figured everyone here would know that, but one can never be sure.
Conclusions
In Lost Stars, Claudia Gray’s adorable enthusiasm for the Star Wars universe is on full display. Unfortunately, so are many regrettable tropes she probably picked up from the mainstream YA market.
While I certainly felt bad for Thane and Ciena, neither has much going on in their heads. If one were to draw maps of their brains, one hemisphere would be labeled “Hormones/Relationship Drama” and the other would be labeled “Getting in a TIE Fighter/X-Wing and Blowing Things Up.” Thane has three moods: miserable, angry, and enraged. Ciena is more stable, but she’s also willfully blind and unable to adjust to change. The most interesting character in the book is Thane’s pal Nash Windrider, who has a far bigger reason to hate the Empire than either protagonist (he’s from Alderaan) yet remains staunchly loyal because he’d go insane if he let what happened to his home planet sink in. Nash spends the bulk of the book with an unrequited crush on Ciena, and I kept hoping she’d give him a chance because unlike Thane, Nash actually has more than two thoughts.
As for the (excuse the pun) star-crossed romance at the center of this novel…it’s 99.9% pure raging hormones, which is odd because these two characters grew up together and would have noticed each other that way long ago if they were romantically compatible. If they’re really friends from early childhood, then their relationship should be less intense and more chastely portrayed. If they’re mutually attracted enemies who hate that they want each other, they should have met as young adults. But Thane and Ciena are so thoroughly marinated in lust, it’s like they barely know each other, yet we’re told that they have been inseparable since age eight. It just doesn’t add up.
My friends Neil and Angelica, in their reviews, pointed out that the culture portrayed in this book is very modern, frequently crass, and generally a lot more like Star Trek than Star Wars. The galaxy far, far away seems so old-fashioned in most ways that it seems unlikely that its members are this cavalier about sex or alcohol. Not to mention that the films themselves are some of the cleanest blockbusters on the market. The parts about Thane getting drunk, or his and Nash’s obnoxious roommate watching porn with them in the room, just felt weird. Like a Lord of the Rings fanfic where hobbits trade bawdy jokes, or a Narnia fic portraying Tumnus as a womanizer. It did not feel consistent with the spirit of the saga.
Aside from the romance, there is very little story here. The plot is a sped-up, abridged version of the original film trilogy, with Ciena and Thane just tagging along. It’s like the old PBS Kids show Liberty’s Kids, only with Star Wars instead of the American Revolution. This was a fine plot structure for Liberty’s Kids, because it was meant to teach history and aimed at eleven-year-olds. But this is ostensibly YA/adult and really ought to just have more going on in it. Take away the personal journeys of Luke, Leia and Han—and their connection with Vader, unknown to most around them—and there’s not much here but spaceships going kablooie.
Speaking of Liberty’s Kids, that’s not the only similarity between the two seemingly disparate works. The cartoon also featured two young folks on either side of the war, who started out zealots for their respective sides, became attracted to each other, and eventually came to seriously question the righteousness of their causes. In both cases the young man has only one mood, a plateau of angst, while the girl is more reserved and traditional but deadly when angered.
But the relationship between James Hiller and Sarah Phillips in LK is actually developed a lot better than that of Thane and Ciena. James and Sarah met in their mid-teens and immediately clashed. Yet it was obvious from the beginning that he was drawn to her, and she started (slowly) softening towards him when she realized that for a seditionist and traitor, he wasn’t a bad fellow. Both started out the war absolutely sure that they were right, but had to grapple with their beliefs when they witnessed both sides commit atrocities.
And because this was a middle-grade show (on PBS, not on Nickelodeon where Zuko could take his shirt off on a regular basis), James’ growing (and eventually reciprocated) interest had to be shown in subtle ways—he gave Sarah his coat when she was cold, he made her a necklace (with his dead mother’s ring for a pendant) when she lost her own choker, he got very annoyed whenever another young man paid her attention…I’m not saying that this book needed to be that buttoned-up, but if Thane had ever made a kind gesture like that for Ciena, or she for him, that would have meant so much. It would have proved that they actually cared about each other as people, that they felt love and empathy for each other as opposed to only lust.
The world Lucas created is interesting and fun, but does not hold up under close inspection. We’re talking about a universe where humans, humanoids, and other large sentient life-forms can thrive on all kinds of planets, including gas giants! All the planets appear to rotate on the exact same schedule and contain the same amount of gravity. Every atmosphere contains enough oxygen for humans to breathe and apparently no poisonous gases. Let’s not even discuss that time that two dudes in heavy robes had a sword fight on floating islands in a stream of lava—in our world or a world anything like ours, their blood would have boiled in their veins and their skulls might have exploded (just ask the poor citizens of Pompeii or Herculaneum).
What makes Star Wars magical for me, in spite of the massive suspension of disbelief required for its universe to exist, is the characters...
Anakin, the frightened (man)child forced into a destiny he was never ready for. Obi-Wan, the proud young warrior who learned too dearly the consequences of hubris. Padme, the gentle and lonely young queen who believed the best of her husband even when all the goodness in him was naught but a dulling ember. (The prequels had terrible scripts, but the characters’ struggles are compelling when described by anyone but Lucas)...
Luke, the fatherless boy whose worst fear came true. Leia, the dauntless princess whose only goal was to serve the galaxy. Han, the mercenary who found himself offering his own life to save his friends...
Poe, the reckless zealot with the Empire/First Order in his crosshairs. Rose, the tough and kind Resistance mechanic who never forgets what they’re fighting for. Finn, the traumatized Stormtrooper who might have altered the prophecies. Rey, the noble-minded scavenger with a heart full of anger, grief, and a frightening power. Kylo—Ben—the broken and beastly prince, the dark and splintered knight, a being of incredible strength and passion yet a haunted child still, slowly dying under the weight of his family’s sins, desperately reaching for the girl who cared enough to hold his hand from light-years away.
And that is ultimately why Lost Stars fell flat for me—the Skywalker-Solos were distant figures. Other than Vader, they didn’t even have any lines. And I missed them. Anything else would have been far-fetched, granted—there’s no Thane, Ciena, or Nash mentioned in the original films, so they can’t have been part of either Light or Dark inner circles. But still—the drama between these characters felt manufactured and cheap compared to the truly inspired, epic journeys of the core movie characters.
That said, I still like how Claudia Gray writes and would read more stuff by her, Star Wars or otherwise. Maybe they should commission her to write a book about Padme or Kylo. I share her sympathies for those characters and would love to read her take on them.
April 21, 2017
In a lot of ways, Lost Stars is perhaps the perfect Star Wars book. If nothing else it's easily my favorite book in the new Star Wars canon and perhaps my favorite Star Wars book in general. As someone who grew up on the old extended universe, that's saying a lot. But I mean every word of what I've said. Lost Stars is everything I ever wanted from a Star Wars book.
The author does a fantastic job of inventing her own story while fitting it seamlessly into the Star Wars narrative. She creates two interesting characters from a new, unique planet and culture. And then she takes us through their lives from the first time they meet at eight years old until the period shortly after Return of the Jedi when they are well into their twenties. They provide a refreshingly unique perspective on Star Wars, giving us insight on what it was like to be apart of the Empire when Alderaan was destroyed and how difficult it can be to balance duty with what is right. We meet new characters and old favorites in scenes that have real substance rather than coming off as merely fan service. We see the relationship between Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree grow and evolve over years and insurmountable odds. It's Star Wars but it's more than that. It's a whole new story that goes deeper than we have seen before on screen.
I really love this book. I know that there are people out there who hesitate to read it because it's been shoe-horned into the YA genre and because it's got a heavy emphasis on Thane and Ciena's relationship. But that really shouldn't stop people from picking this book and reading it. Everyone's talking about Aftermath by Chuck Wendig but, really, this is the book we should be talking about. This is the book that deserves credit for starting the post-ROTJ canon off strong.
The author does a fantastic job of inventing her own story while fitting it seamlessly into the Star Wars narrative. She creates two interesting characters from a new, unique planet and culture. And then she takes us through their lives from the first time they meet at eight years old until the period shortly after Return of the Jedi when they are well into their twenties. They provide a refreshingly unique perspective on Star Wars, giving us insight on what it was like to be apart of the Empire when Alderaan was destroyed and how difficult it can be to balance duty with what is right. We meet new characters and old favorites in scenes that have real substance rather than coming off as merely fan service. We see the relationship between Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree grow and evolve over years and insurmountable odds. It's Star Wars but it's more than that. It's a whole new story that goes deeper than we have seen before on screen.
I really love this book. I know that there are people out there who hesitate to read it because it's been shoe-horned into the YA genre and because it's got a heavy emphasis on Thane and Ciena's relationship. But that really shouldn't stop people from picking this book and reading it. Everyone's talking about Aftermath by Chuck Wendig but, really, this is the book we should be talking about. This is the book that deserves credit for starting the post-ROTJ canon off strong.
November 7, 2015
I gave one star to Divergent and Hunger Games, and I consider the film Titanic as 194 minutes of my life wasted. In short: I am not the target audience for Claudia Gray's Lost Stars. I am, however, a big Star Wars fan, and have been since almost the beginning (I was 2 in 1977; I caught up as soon as I could, and I have no memories of life before Star Wars). I really want the fictional world of Star Wars to be as good as it can be, and I'm disappointed by books, movies, or other media that don't measure up. The Prequel Trilogy was a trial, and more recently Chuck Wendig's truly awful novel Aftermath was a major failure. So even though I'm not the audience Gray was writing her YA romance Star Wars novel for, I still care about that world and what happens in it. Lost Stars, though not as bad as Aftermath, is not a great book.
The idea of a YA romance set in the Star Wars universe is fine, but the execution of this book is flawed in a number of ways--some of which are Gray's fault, and others which are just inherently difficult when writing a novel about Star Wars. One of those inherent difficulties is simply bridging from the movies, which will always be the primary standard for Star Wars, to a novel, which has to do its work through words rather than visual images. Star Wars is primarily a visual story. The beauty and coherence of the visuals overcomes (most) of the illogic of what's really happening, or what is happening just off-screen at various moments. The novelist has a nearly impossible task of translating a visual method of storytelling into words. James Luceno, in his novel Tarkin, does this very successfully; Gray (and most other Star Wars authors I've read) does not. The movies can focus mostly on the action, the moments of intensity and urgency and excitement. So when Gray shows us scenes of little teen romances and joking around happening between Imperial officers in the hallways of the Death Star, it starts to feel a lot more like Star Trek and a lot less like Star Wars. For me, this just feels wrong.
It's clear that one of Disney's purposes in the new Star Wars book canon, leading up to The Force Awakens, is to humanize the Imperials, showing us that they are not entirely evil, even though they serve a thoroughly evil Emperor. I understand why they need to do this, and I don't disagree with that perspective. But taking that perspective already makes the story feel very different from the original trilogy. In those movies, you could imagine that individuals within the Empire were not evil, but basically the Imperials were presented pretty uniformly as either evil or brainless. To have a story that now assures us that just off-screen those same monolithic Imperials were actually joking around, getting drunk, swearing, having one-night stands, etc., is awkward. Gray continually drives in the point that some of the Imperials were upset by the Death Star and other actions of the Empire, but it just makes it more difficult to reconcile how anyone would continue to serve wholeheartedly in the Empire, after witnessing such enormity. In trying to solve the problem of humanizing the Imperials, she has left, or perhaps even enlarged, the problem of how the Empire makes sense in the first place, for anyone.
The YA romance genre is tough to pull off in Star Wars because the author ends up writing sentences that don't seem to fit into that universe at all--sentences like this one: "The soft violet-blue fabric sparkled subtly, and both the short cape and the long skirt flowed around her as if in an unseen breeze" (126). Also, because the YA genre seems to require a certain amount of grunginess in its characters' speech and activities, the Star Wars universe now includes a lot more swearing, sex, and drunkenness than it has before. For me, it didn't feel right, and sentences like this one just take me right out of the story: "Flying into battle with no hope of survival turned out to be the secret to kicking ass" (461). That kind of attitude makes sense in Firefly or The Matrix; not in Star Wars. The kind of contemporary grunge in the young protagonists made them seem, to me, less noble, not characters I particularly cared about.
Probably the most annoying thing for me about Lost Stars was the way that Gray inserted her young characters into many key moments of the original trilogy. On both Death Stars? Yes. On Darth Vader's ship the Executor? Yes. In the battle on Hoth? Yes. And on and on. One of Gray's characters is the Imperial who discovers the danger in the Rebels' attack on the first Death Star; another character is sitting right next to the Star Destroyer gunner who doesn't shot the escape pod at the beginning of Episode 4. This frustrates me first because I think it's a too-easy doorway for a novelist. Rather than fully imagining a new story, she can simply take what's already there and insist that her characters were there all along. But it also bothers me that Lost Stars is part of the new canon of Star Wars, so until Disney wipes the slate clean and starts over again, this is to be understood as what really happened. So what Gray has done, in inserting her characters all over the place in the key points of the original movies, seems almost arrogant. She's grabbed all those "just off-screen" spots forever, putting them in service of a story that, in my opinion, is undeserving.
One of the main reasons people will read books in the new canon right now is to find clues about what will happen in The Force Awakens. As in Aftermath, it seems to me like the hints in this book are rather sparse. The biggest connection is near the end of the book, which presumably explains the crashed Star Destroyer on Jakku seen in the trailers. Of course, this being a Star Wars book, we can't escape at least one utterance of "I've got a bad feeling about this"--on page 424, in this case. I look forward to the day when Star Wars authors don't feel they need to include that line in every single book.
December 24, 2015
This novel went down very smooth, with two well-drawn characters destined to be best friends, lovers, and eventually bitter enemies. What could make it better? Being in the Star Wars universe with cameo appearances of both iconic characters and situations.
But, you ask, "But wouldn't that take away from the impact of a well-drawn adventure following these two children well into adulthood?" And I reply, "No, not really, unless you're a die-hard snob who believes that an entirely new worldbuilding scenario is necessary to be considered good SF."
And then there's the other side of the equation: Those people who are die-hard fans of the franchise suddenly being treated to a nice and classic tale done very well.
It's a Star Wars Gaiden. A side-story. No less important than the primary tales we know, it fleshes out the universe delightfully while never bogging us down. It's a simple tale, but rather powerfully executed and very easy to eat.
Popcorn adventure? Sure. Well-written popcorn adventure.
It also serves to enflame my joy after having seen that wonderful new movie that I have practically no complaints about. Not even reused space-battle tropes. Can you believe it? I mean, let's face it, the old galaxy was never known for its intelligence, so I can't fault them for performing the same crap tactics that led to defeat over and over again. I'm not even blaming the writers.
Oh. Wait. I'm an apologist. Um. I think that also means I'm one of those insane SW fanboys I read so much about.
Oh who am I kidding. Yeah. I am. I always have been. I thought I had grown out of it after reading through the Kevin J. Anderson SW books. I thought I was only testing the waters when I played (read: GM'd) the SW RPGs of 3.5 and later, the 4.0 systems. I was just doing my cultural duty when I played all six episodes 3 times for my 3 year old and play the SW soundtracks for Xmas.
I'm not a fanboy. No. Not really. I know there are worse examples out there. I don't actually own a SW costume. (Anymore.)
Okay. I got that out of my system.
Yeah. If you're a fan of Star Wars, you'll enjoy this novel. Even if you don't really care for SW, I can pretty much promise you that you'll still like this. The intersections with 4-6 are mildly geekworthy, but they're strictly Otaku.
Thank you, everyone, who promised me that this would be a decent book to read. I should not doubt so much. :)
But, you ask, "But wouldn't that take away from the impact of a well-drawn adventure following these two children well into adulthood?" And I reply, "No, not really, unless you're a die-hard snob who believes that an entirely new worldbuilding scenario is necessary to be considered good SF."
And then there's the other side of the equation: Those people who are die-hard fans of the franchise suddenly being treated to a nice and classic tale done very well.
It's a Star Wars Gaiden. A side-story. No less important than the primary tales we know, it fleshes out the universe delightfully while never bogging us down. It's a simple tale, but rather powerfully executed and very easy to eat.
Popcorn adventure? Sure. Well-written popcorn adventure.
It also serves to enflame my joy after having seen that wonderful new movie that I have practically no complaints about. Not even reused space-battle tropes. Can you believe it? I mean, let's face it, the old galaxy was never known for its intelligence, so I can't fault them for performing the same crap tactics that led to defeat over and over again. I'm not even blaming the writers.
Oh. Wait. I'm an apologist. Um. I think that also means I'm one of those insane SW fanboys I read so much about.
Oh who am I kidding. Yeah. I am. I always have been. I thought I had grown out of it after reading through the Kevin J. Anderson SW books. I thought I was only testing the waters when I played (read: GM'd) the SW RPGs of 3.5 and later, the 4.0 systems. I was just doing my cultural duty when I played all six episodes 3 times for my 3 year old and play the SW soundtracks for Xmas.
I'm not a fanboy. No. Not really. I know there are worse examples out there. I don't actually own a SW costume. (Anymore.)
Okay. I got that out of my system.
Yeah. If you're a fan of Star Wars, you'll enjoy this novel. Even if you don't really care for SW, I can pretty much promise you that you'll still like this. The intersections with 4-6 are mildly geekworthy, but they're strictly Otaku.
Thank you, everyone, who promised me that this would be a decent book to read. I should not doubt so much. :)
May 7, 2025
Hitler, I’m sure, never saw himself as a villain. In his heart, he probably saw himself as the hero of his own life and the savior of Germany. He truly believed that what he was doing was the right thing to do. Likewise, his goose-stepping Nazi soldiers imagined themselves, I'm sure, doing God’s work, helping to rid the world of something that they considered an evil. They weren’t killing humans---innocent men, women, and children. They were eradicating a Jewish plague upon the Earth.
One never thinks that what one is doing is evil. Rationalizations and justifications are always made to help assuage any semblance of guilt or doubt. Questioning yourself, questioning your actions: these only lead to feelings of confusion and self-doubt and the dangerous sense that, maybe, what one is doing is actually evil.
This is the beauty of nationalistic extremism: Blind patriotism and committing one’s self to a policy of unquestioning loyalty to an ideal, a country, a flag, a nation, a ruler. When one can’t---or won’t---ever admit to being wrong, it’s easy to vilify and demonize those who disagree with you, those who criticize you, those who question your core beliefs. How can you be wrong when you have God on your side?
In every totalitarian society that isn’t a theocracy, the dictator or the small body of rulers takes the place of the religion. The Supreme Leader, in essence, becomes a God. Questioning the dictator becomes a crime of the state. Protesting becomes a mortal sin. Mockery or criticism of the dictator is a subversive act, punishable by death. This is across the board. It’s the way it’s always been throughout history, and it will be this way for all eternity, until the very last oppressed human breathes his or her last breath.
The brilliant thing about Claudia Gray’s fantastic novel “Lost Stars” isn’t that it can be read and enjoyed simply as a love story set in the “Star Wars” universe. It’s not that it is targeted at a young adult audience. It isn’t because it is extremely unsettling in its parallels with the current state of the U.S. All of that is true.
The brilliant thing is that it makes us understand what life is like in a totalitarian society. It is brilliant because the reader easily sympathizes with, and cares about, characters who most “Star Wars” fans would simply write off as evil.
The protagonists in Gray’s novel are Imperial officers. They are children of the Empire. They have grown up within a system that is designed to glorify the Emperor, who has promised wealth and security and peace throughout the galaxy.
They are children who have learned to justify the fact that their wealth comes at the expense of the subjugation and slavery of others, namely non-humans, because they have been brainwashed with the racist belief that humans are the only superior race in the galaxy.
They are children who have learned to justify the fact that security has been achieved through the destruction of individualism and privacy. All thought and action is done for the sake of the Emperor. No thought or action is made against the Emperor without being reported to authorities for correction. All art and literature and music is created for the glory of the Emperor.
They are children who have learned to justify that peace can only be achieved through war against those that rebel against the Empire. Only until every rebel is eradicated will true law and order be achieved.
“Lost Stars” follows the lives of Ciena and Thane, two children from the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan. From a very young age, they both wanted to be a part of the Empire. They enrolled in and graduated from the Imperial Academy, both quickly rising in the ranks of the Imperial Fleet: Ciena as a technician on a Star Destroyer and Thane as a Tie-fighter pilot.
Despite the Imperial codes of conduct which forbade platonic and sexual relationships among officers, Ciena and Thane fell in love. Therein lies the tragedy...
Thane begins to question Imperial policies and practices. Ciena remains faithful to the Empire. Thane begins to understand the type of freedom and sense of individual value for which the Rebellion is fighting. Ciena refuses to even entertain the possibility that the Rebel Alliance is anything more than a terrorist organization.
Then, one day, Thane has a revelation when he sees a young boy screaming obscenities at a slave and then receiving a pat on the head by a stormtrooper: “That was how evil magnified itself: it took root in the young and grew along with them. Each generation provided the next level of abuse. We’re teaching children to approve of slavery. We’re teaching them cruelty is a virtue. " (p. 210)
Thane and Ciena’s love story follows the narrative arc of the original series, starting with the destruction of the first Death Star (“A New Hope”), to the Battle of Hoth (“The Empire Strikes Back”), to the Battle of Endor (“Return of the Jedi”), to the Battle of Jakku (events that foreshadow and lead into “The Force Awakens”).
It is cleverly and masterfully done, and Gray does a stellar job of tying her characters’ stories into the stories that fans already know and love.
Some reviews have called this the “Romeo and Juliet” of Star Wars stories, and the comparisons are, of course, inevitable. Like Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed couple, Gray’s lovebirds are doomed from the start, but their journey toward their eventual fate is a beautiful one. It is also a tragic, disturbing journey through nationalism and totalitarianism taken to the galactic extreme.
One never thinks that what one is doing is evil. Rationalizations and justifications are always made to help assuage any semblance of guilt or doubt. Questioning yourself, questioning your actions: these only lead to feelings of confusion and self-doubt and the dangerous sense that, maybe, what one is doing is actually evil.
This is the beauty of nationalistic extremism: Blind patriotism and committing one’s self to a policy of unquestioning loyalty to an ideal, a country, a flag, a nation, a ruler. When one can’t---or won’t---ever admit to being wrong, it’s easy to vilify and demonize those who disagree with you, those who criticize you, those who question your core beliefs. How can you be wrong when you have God on your side?
In every totalitarian society that isn’t a theocracy, the dictator or the small body of rulers takes the place of the religion. The Supreme Leader, in essence, becomes a God. Questioning the dictator becomes a crime of the state. Protesting becomes a mortal sin. Mockery or criticism of the dictator is a subversive act, punishable by death. This is across the board. It’s the way it’s always been throughout history, and it will be this way for all eternity, until the very last oppressed human breathes his or her last breath.
The brilliant thing about Claudia Gray’s fantastic novel “Lost Stars” isn’t that it can be read and enjoyed simply as a love story set in the “Star Wars” universe. It’s not that it is targeted at a young adult audience. It isn’t because it is extremely unsettling in its parallels with the current state of the U.S. All of that is true.
The brilliant thing is that it makes us understand what life is like in a totalitarian society. It is brilliant because the reader easily sympathizes with, and cares about, characters who most “Star Wars” fans would simply write off as evil.
The protagonists in Gray’s novel are Imperial officers. They are children of the Empire. They have grown up within a system that is designed to glorify the Emperor, who has promised wealth and security and peace throughout the galaxy.
They are children who have learned to justify the fact that their wealth comes at the expense of the subjugation and slavery of others, namely non-humans, because they have been brainwashed with the racist belief that humans are the only superior race in the galaxy.
They are children who have learned to justify the fact that security has been achieved through the destruction of individualism and privacy. All thought and action is done for the sake of the Emperor. No thought or action is made against the Emperor without being reported to authorities for correction. All art and literature and music is created for the glory of the Emperor.
They are children who have learned to justify that peace can only be achieved through war against those that rebel against the Empire. Only until every rebel is eradicated will true law and order be achieved.
“Lost Stars” follows the lives of Ciena and Thane, two children from the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan. From a very young age, they both wanted to be a part of the Empire. They enrolled in and graduated from the Imperial Academy, both quickly rising in the ranks of the Imperial Fleet: Ciena as a technician on a Star Destroyer and Thane as a Tie-fighter pilot.
Despite the Imperial codes of conduct which forbade platonic and sexual relationships among officers, Ciena and Thane fell in love. Therein lies the tragedy...
Thane begins to question Imperial policies and practices. Ciena remains faithful to the Empire. Thane begins to understand the type of freedom and sense of individual value for which the Rebellion is fighting. Ciena refuses to even entertain the possibility that the Rebel Alliance is anything more than a terrorist organization.
Then, one day, Thane has a revelation when he sees a young boy screaming obscenities at a slave and then receiving a pat on the head by a stormtrooper: “That was how evil magnified itself: it took root in the young and grew along with them. Each generation provided the next level of abuse. We’re teaching children to approve of slavery. We’re teaching them cruelty is a virtue. " (p. 210)
Thane and Ciena’s love story follows the narrative arc of the original series, starting with the destruction of the first Death Star (“A New Hope”), to the Battle of Hoth (“The Empire Strikes Back”), to the Battle of Endor (“Return of the Jedi”), to the Battle of Jakku (events that foreshadow and lead into “The Force Awakens”).
It is cleverly and masterfully done, and Gray does a stellar job of tying her characters’ stories into the stories that fans already know and love.
Some reviews have called this the “Romeo and Juliet” of Star Wars stories, and the comparisons are, of course, inevitable. Like Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed couple, Gray’s lovebirds are doomed from the start, but their journey toward their eventual fate is a beautiful one. It is also a tragic, disturbing journey through nationalism and totalitarianism taken to the galactic extreme.
June 25, 2025
A Star Wars Romeo and Juliet tale that takes place through the original trilogy of movies. Of course there is the usual name dropping and cameos but nothing that is jarring or out of place. The storyline flowed nicely and was interesting and character driven. I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting.
February 28, 2016
Oh wait there was a romance in this?
I was distracted by the horrifying Life and Times of Nash Windrider
I was distracted by the horrifying Life and Times of Nash Windrider
April 20, 2023
CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS EXCELLENCE
April 12, 2018
Oh.my.gosh. This book was.so.tedious.
And somehow still infuriating.
Ciena's cultural beliefs were so stupid! Sooo, you think so highly of yourself that you are willing to sacrifice thousands of lives just to avoid breaking a promise you don't even believe in because you think it will make you look bad? Just kill me.
And this was pretty much the basis of the whole book, Thane and Ciena not being able to be together because of their different values. I honestly don't know if that kind of love is even realistic. I don't think I could love someone who was so different from me on such a deep level.
And we don’t even find out what happens. It just ends. I should give up on Star Wars novels. As much as I love the movies the novels never do it for me.
And somehow still infuriating.
Ciena's cultural beliefs were so stupid! Sooo, you think so highly of yourself that you are willing to sacrifice thousands of lives just to avoid breaking a promise you don't even believe in because you think it will make you look bad? Just kill me.
And this was pretty much the basis of the whole book, Thane and Ciena not being able to be together because of their different values. I honestly don't know if that kind of love is even realistic. I don't think I could love someone who was so different from me on such a deep level.
And we don’t even find out what happens. It just ends. I should give up on Star Wars novels. As much as I love the movies the novels never do it for me.
November 3, 2019
95% of the "story" revolves around romance. Other 5% consists of conveniently placing the main characters in almost every key moment that happened in the main trilogy. It just wasn't believable.
July 7, 2018
This is the third of the canon books I have read, the other two being Rebel Rising and Leia: Princess of Alderaan (also by Claudia Gray), and I enjoyed it just as much as those previous two books. In Lost Stars I loved the overlap touching on events in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, and also the setup event the remnants of which make an appearance in The Force Awakens. I liked the story a lot: childhood friends Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell train and enter Imperial service together, but it turns out not to be all they thought it would. One stays and one leaves, but they can't stop being friends or loving each other.
It was just fabulous getting a view from an Imperial officer who isn't a bad person and also a Rebel alliance member who isn't completely sold on the whole thing. My only unhappiness is that I would really like to have more on these two wonderful characters who don't seem to make a reappearance anywhere else in the canon timeline. Oh well.
The audio was quite good, with excellent touches of sound and music. I wasn't in love with the narrator, but I thought he was good enough. I would definitely recommend this one for Star Wars fans, especially if you like a bit of romance mixed in with the action.
It was just fabulous getting a view from an Imperial officer who isn't a bad person and also a Rebel alliance member who isn't completely sold on the whole thing. My only unhappiness is that I would really like to have more on these two wonderful characters who don't seem to make a reappearance anywhere else in the canon timeline. Oh well.
The audio was quite good, with excellent touches of sound and music. I wasn't in love with the narrator, but I thought he was good enough. I would definitely recommend this one for Star Wars fans, especially if you like a bit of romance mixed in with the action.
December 26, 2015
STAR WARS + ROMEO AND JULIET + CLAUDIA GRAY = EPIC
WHY DIDN'T I KNOW OF THIS BOOK SOONER??!??!!???!!!!!
EDIT 12/26/2015
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! I love how there are some snippets into The Force Awakens. This book is so smart and brilliantly written. I also highly recommend the audiobook. It features the iconic Star Wars scores and it was an amazing production. I am blown away.
WHY DIDN'T I KNOW OF THIS BOOK SOONER??!??!!???!!!!!
EDIT 12/26/2015
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! I love how there are some snippets into The Force Awakens. This book is so smart and brilliantly written. I also highly recommend the audiobook. It features the iconic Star Wars scores and it was an amazing production. I am blown away.
July 27, 2018
Wow, I just..... wow. What an experience.
To see the original trilogy and even post ROTJ/Battle of Jakku (!!!!!! I YELLED !!!!!!) content through the eyes of this fated couple on the front lines was magical. Their dynamic reminded me of Mulder and Scully - their views on life and their beliefs couldn't be more different at times but their belief and trust in each other was more important than anything else.
The character development in this novel was astounding; I felt like I grew with these characters, even the supporting ones, over all these years. Just the right amount of film based cameos to keep you grounded in the original trilogy but not too much to take away from the story being told. I'm in love.
This was truly a gift - I believe I would have enjoyed and respected this novel even if I wasn't a rabid Star Wars fan.
Claudia, you have killed me again in the best way.
Thanks for sharing your love for this Skywalker mess of a universe with the rest of us fans.
To see the original trilogy and even post ROTJ/Battle of Jakku (!!!!!! I YELLED !!!!!!) content through the eyes of this fated couple on the front lines was magical. Their dynamic reminded me of Mulder and Scully - their views on life and their beliefs couldn't be more different at times but their belief and trust in each other was more important than anything else.
The character development in this novel was astounding; I felt like I grew with these characters, even the supporting ones, over all these years. Just the right amount of film based cameos to keep you grounded in the original trilogy but not too much to take away from the story being told. I'm in love.
This was truly a gift - I believe I would have enjoyed and respected this novel even if I wasn't a rabid Star Wars fan.
Claudia, you have killed me again in the best way.
Thanks for sharing your love for this Skywalker mess of a universe with the rest of us fans.
May 30, 2025
“Sometimes we're loyal to more than one thing. When there's conflict, we have to choose which loyalty to honor.”
This is my third time reading this book, so how come the ending can still wreck me and leave me in such an emotional mess? I know how it plays out already. I know how it ends. So HOW? How can it still play with my emotions like this and leave them in such a mess???
It's still a favorite of mine when it comes to Star Wars books.
One day I hope we’ll see the return of Thane Kyrell, Ciena Ree, and Kendy Idele. It would even be interesting to see Nash Windrider again. Whether in the form of cameos, mentions, or better yet: a sequel. In all seriousness, though, watching these characters grow into the people they become is incredible. The pacing, the development of the characters, everything about this book is just amazing.
This is my third time reading this book, so how come the ending can still wreck me and leave me in such an emotional mess? I know how it plays out already. I know how it ends. So HOW? How can it still play with my emotions like this and leave them in such a mess???
It's still a favorite of mine when it comes to Star Wars books.
One day I hope we’ll see the return of Thane Kyrell, Ciena Ree, and Kendy Idele. It would even be interesting to see Nash Windrider again. Whether in the form of cameos, mentions, or better yet: a sequel. In all seriousness, though, watching these characters grow into the people they become is incredible. The pacing, the development of the characters, everything about this book is just amazing.
November 11, 2025
Weaving through the events of the original Star Wars trilogy, Lost Stars offers some surprising insights into the inner workings of both the Rebellion and the Empire — from the point of view of the “little people” (and I don’t mean Ewoks). It’s a bit too YA to be taken completely seriously, especially in the first third, which mostly plays like “OMG, they like each other!!” The ending feels unsatisfying, likely left open for a sequel, but overall it’s harmless fun — a lighter, more human take on that galaxy far, far away.
December 15, 2015
So, this book basically came out of nowhere, right?
I only heard about it a couple of months ago thanks to some GR friends, all of whom were also completely surprised by how good this book was. (Granted, I think a lot of them don't regularly read YA and might be unaware of some of the wonderful authors currently working in the genre.) But still. Even with all of those reviews, the book still managed to surprise me. Because what's so surprising about it isn't that it's good, but HOW it's good.
The basic plot of this book is that it follows two young citizens of the Empire from the age of eight living on an Outer Rim planet, through their time at the Imperial Academy, and their eventual deployment and involvement with the Empire during its stable years, and as the fight with the Rebellion begins. The major events of all three original films are seen from the other side, and when I heard this I was worried it would seem gimmicky, but it doesn't play out that way.
The characters of Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell are always front and center. The story is always about them, and nothing seemed stretched to include them. In fact, quite the opposite. This book fleshed out the world of Star Wars in a way that no other expanded universe novel has for me quite yet. Those have always focused on the Rebellion and our main heroes, and tended to view them in a more heroic light. This book, with so many of its (very human) characters on the side of the Empire (at least, most of them, for most of the time) had the opposite effect. It complicates the world of Star Wars away from black and white. It humanizes the citizens of the Empire, from the most ardent Imperialist, all the way down to the citizens of backwater, exploited planets.
This isn't to say the book takes the position that the Empire is good. It doesn't. At several different points, several different characters state that the Empire is evil. But what it does complicate are the people who make up the Empire. How they could ever support it, how the degrading political and economic situation in the galaxy affects those opinions. And how someone who is supposedly a good person could still live with themselves after seeing the atrocities committed in the Empire's name. In a lot of ways, this novel is really a psychological character study; it isn't afraid to delve deep into its characters' motivations and have them make complicated decisions.
It's also a love story. The blurb advertises it as Star Wars doing Romeo and Juliet, but that's not very accurate, excepting the fact that Ciena and Thane are quite literally star-crossed. But the love story is never simple or predictable, and because of their at times very conflicting beliefs and political leanings, it's never simple, either. The writing is at times a little unfulfilling, but the story and the characters and the structure of the thing more than make up for it. The hints for what's to come in the new movies were also tantalizing. If this book is anything to go by, the galaxy our heroes and villains will be living in for the next while will be an interesting one.
Definitely recommend this for Star Wars fans, and would also recommend if you've never read a Star Wars book in your life. Some knowledge of the movies would be helpful, but you don't need to be hardcore to enjoy this story. Young adult fans, romance fans, sci-fi fans, any of y'all might enjoy this.
I only heard about it a couple of months ago thanks to some GR friends, all of whom were also completely surprised by how good this book was. (Granted, I think a lot of them don't regularly read YA and might be unaware of some of the wonderful authors currently working in the genre.) But still. Even with all of those reviews, the book still managed to surprise me. Because what's so surprising about it isn't that it's good, but HOW it's good.
The basic plot of this book is that it follows two young citizens of the Empire from the age of eight living on an Outer Rim planet, through their time at the Imperial Academy, and their eventual deployment and involvement with the Empire during its stable years, and as the fight with the Rebellion begins. The major events of all three original films are seen from the other side, and when I heard this I was worried it would seem gimmicky, but it doesn't play out that way.
The characters of Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell are always front and center. The story is always about them, and nothing seemed stretched to include them. In fact, quite the opposite. This book fleshed out the world of Star Wars in a way that no other expanded universe novel has for me quite yet. Those have always focused on the Rebellion and our main heroes, and tended to view them in a more heroic light. This book, with so many of its (very human) characters on the side of the Empire (at least, most of them, for most of the time) had the opposite effect. It complicates the world of Star Wars away from black and white. It humanizes the citizens of the Empire, from the most ardent Imperialist, all the way down to the citizens of backwater, exploited planets.
This isn't to say the book takes the position that the Empire is good. It doesn't. At several different points, several different characters state that the Empire is evil. But what it does complicate are the people who make up the Empire. How they could ever support it, how the degrading political and economic situation in the galaxy affects those opinions. And how someone who is supposedly a good person could still live with themselves after seeing the atrocities committed in the Empire's name. In a lot of ways, this novel is really a psychological character study; it isn't afraid to delve deep into its characters' motivations and have them make complicated decisions.
It's also a love story. The blurb advertises it as Star Wars doing Romeo and Juliet, but that's not very accurate, excepting the fact that Ciena and Thane are quite literally star-crossed. But the love story is never simple or predictable, and because of their at times very conflicting beliefs and political leanings, it's never simple, either. The writing is at times a little unfulfilling, but the story and the characters and the structure of the thing more than make up for it. The hints for what's to come in the new movies were also tantalizing. If this book is anything to go by, the galaxy our heroes and villains will be living in for the next while will be an interesting one.
Definitely recommend this for Star Wars fans, and would also recommend if you've never read a Star Wars book in your life. Some knowledge of the movies would be helpful, but you don't need to be hardcore to enjoy this story. Young adult fans, romance fans, sci-fi fans, any of y'all might enjoy this.
October 4, 2025
Now that I’m finally off work, I can sit down and properly say this: Lost Stars was absolutely amazing!
Ciena is such a compelling character, not just as a strong female lead, but as a strong character, period. Her depth, loyalty, and inner conflicts made her incredibly memorable. The love story between Ciena and Thane added so much emotional weight and made it easier to get immersed in the dense and complex world of Star Wars.
As someone who’s never read or watched anything from Star Wars before, I was honestly intimidated going in. I expected to be confused or lost in the lore. But to my surprise, it was incredibly accessible.
Telling a Star Wars story through the lens of two lovers was something I didn’t expect, but it completely worked, and it’s what pulled me in. Even though I came for the romance, I’m now genuinely interested in exploring more of the Star Wars universe, even if future stories don’t use love as a narrative anchor 💞
Ciena is such a compelling character, not just as a strong female lead, but as a strong character, period. Her depth, loyalty, and inner conflicts made her incredibly memorable. The love story between Ciena and Thane added so much emotional weight and made it easier to get immersed in the dense and complex world of Star Wars.
As someone who’s never read or watched anything from Star Wars before, I was honestly intimidated going in. I expected to be confused or lost in the lore. But to my surprise, it was incredibly accessible.
Telling a Star Wars story through the lens of two lovers was something I didn’t expect, but it completely worked, and it’s what pulled me in. Even though I came for the romance, I’m now genuinely interested in exploring more of the Star Wars universe, even if future stories don’t use love as a narrative anchor 💞
September 13, 2015
This book was, simply put, astounding. I was so, so, so excited for THE VERY FIRST Star Wars YA book, and I could not be more impressed by the book Claudia Gray wrote.
There were amazing parts of this book that took place far away from the well known plot-lines of the OT, and there were some that took place breathtakingly, heartbreakingly close. I can't even pick which I like more; I'm so glad we got to see both, and everything in between. That flash of recognition when a familiar character walks on screen, and inevitability of characters we've just met running into a future we already know made for an excruciatingly compelling read.
Ciena and Thane were masterfully done. Their relationship was deft and brilliant, and real, and didn't feel like anything else I've ever read in the Star Wars universe. Nash, oh god, I can't yet. And Kendy (get it, girl. GET. IT.) was a delight. (Aside: HOW GLAD WAS I about the girls in this book who were friends with Ciena? I WAS VERY GLAD.)
Also, this book was very long, but set up against the pacing of the OT, it never flagged. Sometimes, in fact, *I* had to set it down and take a breath.
ALSO THE EASTER EGG IS GOING TO KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF.
You should definitely buy it, is what I am saying.
There were amazing parts of this book that took place far away from the well known plot-lines of the OT, and there were some that took place breathtakingly, heartbreakingly close. I can't even pick which I like more; I'm so glad we got to see both, and everything in between. That flash of recognition when a familiar character walks on screen, and inevitability of characters we've just met running into a future we already know made for an excruciatingly compelling read.
Ciena and Thane were masterfully done. Their relationship was deft and brilliant, and real, and didn't feel like anything else I've ever read in the Star Wars universe. Nash, oh god, I can't yet. And Kendy (get it, girl. GET. IT.) was a delight. (Aside: HOW GLAD WAS I about the girls in this book who were friends with Ciena? I WAS VERY GLAD.)
Also, this book was very long, but set up against the pacing of the OT, it never flagged. Sometimes, in fact, *I* had to set it down and take a breath.
ALSO THE EASTER EGG IS GOING TO KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF.
You should definitely buy it, is what I am saying.
January 16, 2019
WHAT! WHERE IS MY ENDING?! WHERE IS MY NEXT BOOK?! I only have MORE questions now. I loved absolutely every second of this. Literal and actual star crossed lovers. I don’t wanna give anything away, but this one is definitely worth the read to find out if Cienna and Thane will find a way to work it out.
Lost Stars is filled with side characters we have never met before, alongside and participating actively in the events from the destruction of the Death Star, to the battle of Endor, and to the foundation of the New Republic. I am glad that this story focused on introducing completely new characters instead of dragging the same ole ones we know and love. Of course we LOVE the OGs of the Star Wars universe, but it’s not all about them, ya know?
And this concludes my very first review and finished book of 2019.
Lost Stars is filled with side characters we have never met before, alongside and participating actively in the events from the destruction of the Death Star, to the battle of Endor, and to the foundation of the New Republic. I am glad that this story focused on introducing completely new characters instead of dragging the same ole ones we know and love. Of course we LOVE the OGs of the Star Wars universe, but it’s not all about them, ya know?
And this concludes my very first review and finished book of 2019.
October 1, 2015
Review originally posted here at Geek of Oz.
Other 'Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens reviews':
Star Wars: Aftermath
---
The acronym 'YA' (Young Adult) carries a bit of a stigma in some literary circles. As the median between kids' and 'adult books, YA can be seen as softer, less interesting and only appealing to a niche demographic of teens and early 20s. That is, it can be seen as such if you're not willing to ignore such rigid styles of classification and enjoy a book entirely on its own merits.
I mention this because I was hesitant about diving into Lost Stars. My past experience with 'younger' Star Wars titles - in particular those awful Young Jedi Knights books from back in the day - had given me trepidation for current ones. All those kinds of books felt diluted, as if some of the writers didn't respect the emotional intelligence and maturity of the demographic they had targeted. They were the kind of 'soft' books, even by younger readers' standards, that contribute to the ill-deserved YA stigma.
But Lost Stars, YA or no, doesn't deserve to be slapped with any stigma. Because it is damn awesome.
Unlike Aftermath, clearly billed as the first step in the umbrella 'Journey to The Force Awakens' title, Lost Stars is a hybrid Original Trilogy recontextualisation and lower deck episode. The story follows Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree, a pair of star-crossed lovers from the planet Jelucan. After a masterful used-car-salesman pitch from Grand Moff Tarkin, they join the Empire in the early days of its formation. Over time Thane and Ciena's love grows in proportion to their respective disillusionment with the Empire. Honour and loyalty threaten to tear Thane and Ciena apart while the events of the Original Trilogy - and one particular event after it - occur around them.
The spine of the story is the romance between Thane and Ciena, he a brash young man from the upper echelon and she an honour-bound woman borne from the lower class. It might sound like the kind of tawdry, teen-angst drama waiting to happen that could turn less discerning readers off YA, but it really works. Writer Claudia Gray has crafted a solid, believable relationship between our two leads, who never feel like they're pushed together for plot's sake and never become entirely co-dependent on each other (Ciena is never a damsel waiting to be rescued by the heroic Thane, and vice versa). The reasoning behind their conflicts with each other, as Thane considers leaving the Empire that Ciena is determined to continue loyally serving, is also solid and believable. If you think you've got problems when you argue with your spouse over whose turn it is to do the bins, consider what it might be like for two lovers caught in the middle of a tyrannical intergalactic regime.
Surrounding Thane and Ciena are a plethora of supporting characters, including a couple we're familiar with a bunch that quickly become the same. Though sometimes only briefly sketched out, the supporting players feel like distinct, likeable characters. As much as I liked Aftermath's cast, I cared a lot more for the actions - and deaths - of a few of Lost Stars' people, and it's a credit to Gray's writing skill that I can feel such a reaction to the passing of a character I've only know for a hundred pages or so. The dialogue also crackles, further adding to the realism of the characters. We may be in a galaxy far, far away, but a lot of these people could be going through the same stuff you are, just on a bigger, fate-of-the-galaxy-hanging-in-the-balance kind of scale.
The plot itself is also pretty invigorating. While retelling events of the films from different characters' perspectives isn't a new Star Wars trick - lookin' at you, Death Star - it's presented in such a way here that it never feels like the trilogy's events are banging you over the head. Cursory appearances from characters like Wedge Antilles (who, between this and Aftermath, seems to be getting a ton of book-related exposure recently) serve to tether the protagonists to those events without them becoming inextricably integral to them. The story focuses, for the most part, on Thane and Ciena's love story, as well as their respective duties and responsibilities to both themselves and the organisations they throw in with. That story is interesting enough on its own, and having the occasional run-in with a Death Star or a trip to Hoth amongst those personal events makes the story a clear part of the new ongoing canon.
On the subject of the writing, as opposed to Aftermath's present tense that turned a lot of people off, Lost Stars flicks between characters with a snappy third-person style which deftly articulates introspection and character's thoughts without copious pages of text. The pace is such that the book never lags; while it could stand to dwell a little on certain moments or scenes to really flesh the world out a bit more, it's refreshing to have a book that feels purposeful and on a very solid course from Page 1. This is Gray's first foray into Star Wars, and I'd certainly be keen on seeing more work from her here.
My only bone of contention is the latter section of the book, once we've gotten past the end of Return of the Jedi. While the events of the book's ending are well-handled - and provide an explanation for something seen in one of The Force Awakens' trailers - they feel somewhat rushed and compressed. I get the feeling Gray might've liked to expand some parts of that ending, but seeing as the book already clocks in at close to 600 pages that may not have been possible. As it is, that section still works pretty well.
Whether you read it and think of it as YA or not, you should really go check out Lost Stars. This is especially true for anyone who was let down by Aftermath; if the writing style, plotting and characters of that book weren't to your taste, Lost Stars may have you covered. I didn't think I'd be keen on what is ostensibly a Star Wars-inflected retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but it turned out I am when it's written this expertly. Lost Stars did not fail to impress.
Other 'Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens reviews':
Star Wars: Aftermath
---
The acronym 'YA' (Young Adult) carries a bit of a stigma in some literary circles. As the median between kids' and 'adult books, YA can be seen as softer, less interesting and only appealing to a niche demographic of teens and early 20s. That is, it can be seen as such if you're not willing to ignore such rigid styles of classification and enjoy a book entirely on its own merits.
I mention this because I was hesitant about diving into Lost Stars. My past experience with 'younger' Star Wars titles - in particular those awful Young Jedi Knights books from back in the day - had given me trepidation for current ones. All those kinds of books felt diluted, as if some of the writers didn't respect the emotional intelligence and maturity of the demographic they had targeted. They were the kind of 'soft' books, even by younger readers' standards, that contribute to the ill-deserved YA stigma.
But Lost Stars, YA or no, doesn't deserve to be slapped with any stigma. Because it is damn awesome.
Unlike Aftermath, clearly billed as the first step in the umbrella 'Journey to The Force Awakens' title, Lost Stars is a hybrid Original Trilogy recontextualisation and lower deck episode. The story follows Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree, a pair of star-crossed lovers from the planet Jelucan. After a masterful used-car-salesman pitch from Grand Moff Tarkin, they join the Empire in the early days of its formation. Over time Thane and Ciena's love grows in proportion to their respective disillusionment with the Empire. Honour and loyalty threaten to tear Thane and Ciena apart while the events of the Original Trilogy - and one particular event after it - occur around them.
The spine of the story is the romance between Thane and Ciena, he a brash young man from the upper echelon and she an honour-bound woman borne from the lower class. It might sound like the kind of tawdry, teen-angst drama waiting to happen that could turn less discerning readers off YA, but it really works. Writer Claudia Gray has crafted a solid, believable relationship between our two leads, who never feel like they're pushed together for plot's sake and never become entirely co-dependent on each other (Ciena is never a damsel waiting to be rescued by the heroic Thane, and vice versa). The reasoning behind their conflicts with each other, as Thane considers leaving the Empire that Ciena is determined to continue loyally serving, is also solid and believable. If you think you've got problems when you argue with your spouse over whose turn it is to do the bins, consider what it might be like for two lovers caught in the middle of a tyrannical intergalactic regime.
Surrounding Thane and Ciena are a plethora of supporting characters, including a couple we're familiar with a bunch that quickly become the same. Though sometimes only briefly sketched out, the supporting players feel like distinct, likeable characters. As much as I liked Aftermath's cast, I cared a lot more for the actions - and deaths - of a few of Lost Stars' people, and it's a credit to Gray's writing skill that I can feel such a reaction to the passing of a character I've only know for a hundred pages or so. The dialogue also crackles, further adding to the realism of the characters. We may be in a galaxy far, far away, but a lot of these people could be going through the same stuff you are, just on a bigger, fate-of-the-galaxy-hanging-in-the-balance kind of scale.
The plot itself is also pretty invigorating. While retelling events of the films from different characters' perspectives isn't a new Star Wars trick - lookin' at you, Death Star - it's presented in such a way here that it never feels like the trilogy's events are banging you over the head. Cursory appearances from characters like Wedge Antilles (who, between this and Aftermath, seems to be getting a ton of book-related exposure recently) serve to tether the protagonists to those events without them becoming inextricably integral to them. The story focuses, for the most part, on Thane and Ciena's love story, as well as their respective duties and responsibilities to both themselves and the organisations they throw in with. That story is interesting enough on its own, and having the occasional run-in with a Death Star or a trip to Hoth amongst those personal events makes the story a clear part of the new ongoing canon.
On the subject of the writing, as opposed to Aftermath's present tense that turned a lot of people off, Lost Stars flicks between characters with a snappy third-person style which deftly articulates introspection and character's thoughts without copious pages of text. The pace is such that the book never lags; while it could stand to dwell a little on certain moments or scenes to really flesh the world out a bit more, it's refreshing to have a book that feels purposeful and on a very solid course from Page 1. This is Gray's first foray into Star Wars, and I'd certainly be keen on seeing more work from her here.
My only bone of contention is the latter section of the book, once we've gotten past the end of Return of the Jedi. While the events of the book's ending are well-handled - and provide an explanation for something seen in one of The Force Awakens' trailers - they feel somewhat rushed and compressed. I get the feeling Gray might've liked to expand some parts of that ending, but seeing as the book already clocks in at close to 600 pages that may not have been possible. As it is, that section still works pretty well.
Whether you read it and think of it as YA or not, you should really go check out Lost Stars. This is especially true for anyone who was let down by Aftermath; if the writing style, plotting and characters of that book weren't to your taste, Lost Stars may have you covered. I didn't think I'd be keen on what is ostensibly a Star Wars-inflected retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but it turned out I am when it's written this expertly. Lost Stars did not fail to impress.
August 30, 2025
Я чесно не чекала, що книга по Зоряним війнам може мені аж настільки сподобатись. Я якось більше звикла то фільмів, серіалів і не думала, що в текстоаому форматі мені сильно сподобається. Але як я помилялася. Таки недарма кажуть, що це найкраща книга з цієї франшизи.
Сеттінг тут з перших трьох фільмів, точніше 4,5 і 6 частини, але усі ці події ми спеостерігаємо з позиції звичайних (малєнькіх) людей, і як від цього змінюється сприйняття історії це просто 🤯 Маст рід для фанатів Зоряних воєн
Сеттінг тут з перших трьох фільмів, точніше 4,5 і 6 частини, але усі ці події ми спеостерігаємо з позиції звичайних (малєнькіх) людей, і як від цього змінюється сприйняття історії це просто 🤯 Маст рід для фанатів Зоряних воєн
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