Author Topic: The Force Awakens - Novel  (Read 6408 times)

Offline GrandMoffNick

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The Force Awakens - Novel
« on: January 12, 2016, 11:36 PM »
Picked up "The Force Awakens" today. Super excited for the extra details the books always have.
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Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #1 on: February 2, 2016, 11:47 PM »
Finally got a chance to read "The Force Awakens". Not as much extra info as I was hoping, BUT Kylo Ren certainly knows who Rey is pre-Force Awakens.
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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #2 on: February 3, 2016, 12:15 AM »
And she is?
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Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #3 on: February 3, 2016, 06:41 AM »
And she is?

It's not specific, but I've heard a lot of people saying they'd like her to just be "a girl" who becomes a part of the story and doesn't have to be Kylo's sister, Luke's daughter, the other survivor from Luke's academy, etc. and that possibility is gone.
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Offline EdSolo

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #4 on: February 3, 2016, 09:48 AM »
Not sure they will go this way, but if the numbered episodes are supposed to be the story of the Skywalker clan, then she has to be Luke's daughter.  Otherwise, the Skywalker name will be gone by the end of this trilogy, assuming Luke goes the way of Obi-wan.  With the possible pairing with Finn, it works out perfectly since he has no last name and could take the name Skywalker upon a marriage to Rey.

If she is a Solo, it seems way too cold that she isn't acknowledged by her parents in the film.

Offline JediJman

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #5 on: February 3, 2016, 04:26 PM »
Well, I think she is clearly set up to be a Skywalker.  Being Luke or Leia's daughter would set that up fine for me - I'm not sure Star Wars carries the same conventional married last name traditions as people in the real world. 

That said, the reactions by Han and Leia were pretty cold if she's a daughter or a niece, assuming they know who she is as well.  They have been searching for Skywalker all this time - would be kind of odd to treat his daughter as something of a stranger if they really knew who she was.  Recall that Vader locked up his daughter on the Death Star and tortured her without realizing she was his child, so wouldn't be crazy if Han or Leia didn't really know Rey...especially since "Rey" might not be her given name. 

Nick - was the book worth reading?  Curious to know more about how Ren knows of Rey prior to the events in the movie. 
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Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #6 on: February 3, 2016, 06:07 PM »
I always enjoy reading the SW novel after having seen the movie multiple times.

That being said, it didn't add a ton.
unkar pluut in maz's castle
more about how starkiller weapon works
poe getting from crashed tie fighter to safety
some of rey's inner thoughts about the force/dark side

And there isn't really anything kylo ren thinks or says that is specific about who or how he knows rey. But there are things the book says that tells you he does. And snoke says to hux "I think kylo was right about rey"

Also enjoyed the han death scene. What han and kylo were thinking.

And snoke is a lot more pissed with kylo about some of his decisions

That was kind of all over but hope it helps
« Last Edit: February 3, 2016, 06:09 PM by GrandMoffNick »
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Offline EdSolo

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #7 on: February 4, 2016, 09:01 AM »
I always enjoy reading the SW novel after having seen the movie multiple times.

That being said, it didn't add a ton.
unkar pluut in maz's castle
more about how starkiller weapon works
poe getting from crashed tie fighter to safety
some of rey's inner thoughts about the force/dark side

And there isn't really anything kylo ren thinks or says that is specific about who or how he knows rey. But there are things the book says that tells you he does. And snoke says to hux "I think kylo was right about rey"

Also enjoyed the han death scene. What han and kylo were thinking.

And snoke is a lot more pissed with kylo about some of his decisions

That was kind of all over but hope it helps

Isn't the line during the last lightsaber battle, "it is you" said by Kylo Ren?  That could mean who know who she is or it could refer to the "awakening" in the Force and that she is the lightsider that he and Snoke had felt.

Offline EdSolo

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #8 on: February 4, 2016, 09:22 AM »
Well, I think she is clearly set up to be a Skywalker.  Being Luke or Leia's daughter would set that up fine for me - I'm not sure Star Wars carries the same conventional married last name traditions as people in the real world. 

That said, the reactions by Han and Leia were pretty cold if she's a daughter or a niece, assuming they know who she is as well.  They have been searching for Skywalker all this time - would be kind of odd to treat his daughter as something of a stranger if they really knew who she was.  Recall that Vader locked up his daughter on the Death Star and tortured her without realizing she was his child, so wouldn't be crazy if Han or Leia didn't really know Rey...especially since "Rey" might not be her given name. 

Nick - was the book worth reading?  Curious to know more about how Ren knows of Rey prior to the events in the movie.

Regardless of how the marital naming goes in the Star Wars universe, Leia has never taken the name Skywalker and is General Organa in the movie...not even Organa-Solo.  The book makes it seem like they were married.  The movie didn't quite come out and say that.  Heck, we aren't sure if it is Ben Solo, Ben Organa, or Ben Organa-Solo.  Maybe the "I used to be" line could mean he took Leia's name and became Han Organa, but I think it was just meant to be a funny line.

That all being said, if Rey is Han's or Leia's or both of their daughter, then it is really cold that they don't say anything.  I think she gets much more from Han than Leia as he seems a bit protective over her with the job offer and all.  If Leia could feel Han's death, I would think she could sense if Rey was her daughter.  Coupled with the fact that if they had sent their daughter into hiding when Ben became Kylo Ren, I would think it wouldn't be that hard to put two and two together even if they had no clue where their daughter was sent.  In conclusion, if Rey were a Solo or Organa, while still a grandchild of Anakin Skywalker, she wouldn't directly have the Skywalker name.

Now, if Han and Leia had no clue Luke had a daughter, that could explain things.  If they knew that he did, but never met her since she seems to be three or four in the flashback, it is understandable that they don't recognize her off the bat, especially if as you said, Rey is not her true name.  I believe that Kylo Ren's age has been worked out to be 29 in this movie or just shy of 30.  Pablo Hidalgo states he was born just after Endor, so I would say 29.  Rey is 19.  If she is abandoned at age 4, assuming it is due to Kylo Ren, that would mean he has been with Snoke for 15 years.  Not sure if they mean for Rey to be older in the vision, if Kylo Ren first went to Snoke leading Rey to be abandoned then Kylo Ren came back to take out the students at a later date, or something else.  Since Rey appears quite young in the vision, I would think it would be easy for Han and Leia either to not know she exists or who she is if she is Luke's daughter. 

My take is that Han and Leia may have been aware of Luke having a child and I think that they work it out during the movie.  I believe that is why Leia sends Rey to find Luke and why Chewie and R2 stay with the ship.  I don't think it would make sense for Leia to send Rey to Luke for Luke to tell her that Han and Leia are her parents.  It would also make sense if Luke was the one who left her on Jakku if Rey just happens to not be related to the Skywalkers at all.  It doesn't make sense for her to be sent to find Luke if she is Han or Leia's daughter.


Offline JediJman

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #9 on: February 5, 2016, 02:44 PM »

Well there are a few assumptions in that.  I don't agree that Leia would easily sense Rey is her daughter.  Maybe she thought her daughter or Luke's daughter was killed like everyone else?  Vader was not able to sense Leia was his despite having a lot more time with her.  Vader is far more force sensitive than Leia too, and was in the same room while Leia was being tortured, yet he had no clue Leia was his daughter.  How would Leia, who is far less force sensitive, know that Rey is her kid from a few quick meetings?  Of course she can sense Han's death - she has spent the better part of her life with him, so I would expect her minimal force abilities to pick up on the death of her soulmate and/or the decent of her son towards the dark side in the same moment.

I'm also not sure Leia "sends" Rey to go get Skywalker.  They may have agreed on that approach, but do we ever hear that Chewie or Rey (or the Falcon) are part of Leia's Resistance group?  Whether she is related to the Skywalkers or Solos, I would want her to go find Luke because she's the only other light side force user they know of.  If Luke wanted to continue to stay hidden, he'd probably have a good chance of doing so unless the person looking could sense him in the force. Leia doesn't sound like she can do much with the force and is probably needed elsewhere, so Rey just makes the most sense, especially since she has Luke's saber, needs training, and may or may not be related.
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Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #10 on: February 5, 2016, 08:25 PM »
My prediction made with no research other than 4 viewings of the movie and reading the book once.

Ben is the star student at Luke's academy. He's got a little fandom towards his grandpa and a big ego. A younger girl shows up and is very force strong. Ben finds out who she is, Luke's kid, realizes his open path to the next big thing Jedi isn't so guaranteed now. Snoke starts putting ideas in his mind (in book leia mentions snoke was watching Ben for a long time). Next thing Ben destroys academy with luke and daughter only survivors. Luke goes to his mountain. Rey to Jakku to hide and here we are.
This is the water, and this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes, and dark within

Offline Muftak

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #11 on: February 6, 2016, 08:04 PM »
Finished this up recently.

The book was very verbose, especially for something under 300 pages. Lots of descriptive text except where you'd really want it--like the X-Wing assault or the Duel in the Forest. I've always liked Foster's writing, but this go around seemed...off.

That said, there were some interesting additions to the story. Unkar Plutt and Rey have much more interaction than in the film. He seems like a creeper with an eye on Rey that reminded me of Jabba and Leia. After implying his intentions during the Jakku scenes, he and his goons follow our heroes (via the same tracker that Han used to find the Falcon which is, apparently, the same one Tarkin and Vader installed when it was aboard the ol' Death Star) to Maz's castle, where they try to nab Rey...

...but Chewie follows them in to rescue Rey, and rips Unkar Plutt's arm off in the process. This all happens between Finn leaving and Rey being called down to the vaults. Pretty neat addition, I thought.

By contrast, the scene of Poe getting off Jakku was pretty forgettable. The humor just doesn't play in the novel, and Poe spends the whole time joking, so it all falls flat.

We get more Resistance with Leia sending her envoy to the Republic capital to ask for more help...and it is through her that we witness the Starkiller's killer shot. Threepio is responsible for finding BB-8 and he reveals that he forgot to activate a tracker built into the droid. Instead he consults with the powered-dpwn Artoo and devises a plan to send out a galaxy-wide droid "Amber Alert" which explains why it is a droid at Maz's Castle that reports back to the Resistance when BB-8 shows up.

Snoke and Ren's relationship gets a bit of fleshing out as well. Snoke spells out the need for Ren to cut ties with Solo (pun intended) because it was Vader's emotional attachment that led to the Empire's defeat. Leia talks to Han about Snoke at depth, saying he had been watching their son for a while in his youth. To me this implies a relationship between Luke and Snoke before the rise of the First Order.

Ren's interrogation of Rey leads to his discovery of a mental block in her brain denying him access. Working against that is what allows her into his mind to discover his Vader obsession.

The infamous cut scene where Ren takes snowtroopers to the Falcon underwhelms in the book. I was expecting some reflection/introspection on Ren's part, but he just looks for people aboard and then gets distracted by the start of the X-Wing assault.

Ren expects the power of the Dark Side to increase in him when he deals with Solo, but he immediately feels weaker.

When Ren and Rey both summon Anakin's lightsaber and it goes to her, he exclaims "It is you!" but does not elaborate further. After Rey bests him, she resists the impulse to kill him, and recognizes that she is being called by the dark side.

Rey (and therefore us as well) witnesses Hux's shuttle landing and taking Ren away before Starkiller becomes a sun, which at least clears up the ambiguity of the movie. In his orders to Hux, Snoke agrees that Ren was "right about the girl." Again we don't get any elaboration on what that means exactly.

Rey finally meets Poe while randomly hugging him after the map is assembled.

Chewbacca insists that Rey sit in the Captain's chair on the Falcon when they ship out to get Luke. We don't get any kind of insight once we get there.

Like I said, the book is kind of a slog for how short it is, and IMO misses the beats of the action sequences and the crucial scene between Ren and Han. And the humor continually falls flat.

Offline Dave

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #12 on: March 10, 2016, 03:59 PM »
Finally read the book last week.  I was really bummed with the lack of anything really new.  It almost seemed like the author watched the movie and then wrote the book.  There was very little new dialog or inner thoughts, and only the couple of really minor scenes previously mentioned.


Offline EdSolo

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Re: The Force Awakens - Novel
« Reply #13 on: March 10, 2016, 04:16 PM »
The author had the script when writing the book.  Hence, why there are some differences.   The audio book came out the same day as the movie.