Review of @starwarsanv's 'Star Wars: Heralds of Fury,' by @CarolinaC
All my reviews for Tevun Krus have been reviews of short stories – until today. Today, we're going to talk about a full-length novel.
Star Wars: Heralds of Fury is clearly a labour of love. With 55 chapters of story and some 20 chapters of supplementary material, the pair of writers who call themselves @starwarsanv have created a thoroughly-imagined world with wonderfully complex, sympathetic characters.
The story does not follow the established Star Wars canon. Whether you want to consider this a fix fic or an alternate universe fic is up to you; it is the first in a series of completely unique prequels for the original 1977-1983 trilogy. Ignoring The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, @starwarsanv attempt to create a plausible alternate backstory that avoids such dubious delights as trade disputes and Jar Jar Binks.
The reader is thrown immediately into the first few minutes of a terrorist attack on a mining facility on the planet Rodia. The attack highlights a growing distrust within the Galactic Republic. Non-humans feel disenfranchised, the Jedi are looked on with wariness, and there is a lack of confidence in the Republic's institutions. In the middle of this, a pair of brothers – Anakin and Owen Skywalker (yes, that Anakin Skywalker)– are kidnapped by the ruthless leaders of the Rodian independence movement. Jedi Knight Ben Kenobi (yes, that Ben Kenobi) puts together a team to extricate the hostages.
Although I have not yet read the entire story, I can confidently say that it is fast-paced and exciting. There are numerous plot threads, and I'm looking forward to watching them converge. The characters are remarkably complex and nuanced; nobody is all good or all bad, and even the villains have sophisticated motivations. The sense of setting is strong – the descriptions fell like the gritty, lived-in reality of a Star Wars movie; you can almost hear a John Williams score playing the background. The writing is visceral and immediate, and very character-oriented. In short, this story is an easy recommendation.
Of course, Herald of Fury isn't for everyone. If you are fond of Lucas' prequels, or even elements of them, you will find this story to be immensely frustrating. If, however, you're curious to see an alternate way to set up the events of A New Hope, you could do much worse than this exciting, carefully plotted tale.