Status
Available
Series
Publication
Disney Lucasfilm Press (2017), Edition: Reprint, 384 pages
Description
Science Fiction & Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. Fans have long wondered what happened to Ahsoka after she left the Jedi Order near the end of the Clone Wars, and before she re-appeared as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum in Rebels. Finally, her story will begin to be told. Following her experiences with the Jedi and the devastation of Order 66, Ahsoka is unsure she can be part of a larger whole ever again. But her desire to fight the evils of the Empire and protect those who need it will lead her right to Bail Organa, and the Rebel Alliance....
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User reviews
LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
In Star Wars Ahsoka, E.K. Johnston traces Ahsoka Tano's journey from former Padawan at the end of Star Wars: The Clone Wars to Fulcrum in Star Wars Rebels. Following Order 66 and the rise of the Empire, Ahsoka moved from place to place, lying low and coming to grips with the sudden void in the
Johnston fills in the gap in Ahsoka's background while showing how she became Fulcrum. The origin of Ahsoka's white lightsabers neatly fits into the Rebels-era theme of hope. Johnston does not fill in every gap in Ahsoka's timeline, but she gives enough to tell an entertaining story that leaves room for further exploration. Fans of the character and The Clone Wars will particularly enjoy the more introspective scenes, in which Ahsoka deals with the legacy of that war and what she lost. Johnston also uses short interludes to provide a look at what's going on in the larger galaxy, including Obi-Wan Kenobi's attempts to communicate with Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit. Like Claudia Gray and Greg Rucka before her, Johnston demonstrates how these YA Star Wars novels are on par with, if not superior to, the "adult" novels currently available.
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Force where she used to sense the Jedi. When Imperial forces arrive on a planet she's hiding on, she moves to an agricultural moon. Soon, the Empire shows up there and puts the local population to work farming a crop the Empire uses for nutritional supplements that also depletes the soil. Ahsoka tries to organize an insurgency, but things go wrong and, having demonstrated her powers, she has to flee. On the run, she realizes that it's her calling to work against the Empire, networks with Bail Organa, and leads the fledgling Rebellion back to the agricultural moon to face a Sith Inquisitor and rescue the locals.Johnston fills in the gap in Ahsoka's background while showing how she became Fulcrum. The origin of Ahsoka's white lightsabers neatly fits into the Rebels-era theme of hope. Johnston does not fill in every gap in Ahsoka's timeline, but she gives enough to tell an entertaining story that leaves room for further exploration. Fans of the character and The Clone Wars will particularly enjoy the more introspective scenes, in which Ahsoka deals with the legacy of that war and what she lost. Johnston also uses short interludes to provide a look at what's going on in the larger galaxy, including Obi-Wan Kenobi's attempts to communicate with Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit. Like Claudia Gray and Greg Rucka before her, Johnston demonstrates how these YA Star Wars novels are on par with, if not superior to, the "adult" novels currently available.
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LibraryThing member TheMadTurtle
This is required reading for any fans of Star Wars Rebels. It's great to read a book that answers a lot of questions about what has happened between the Clone Wars and Rebels or even Episode IV. Johnston does a great job of filling in some gaps between Clone Wars and Rebels. The only think I didn't
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like is that it left me wanting more! That's actually a good thing... Show Less
LibraryThing member Lucky-Loki
Somewhat bland at times, but is still engaging, and does a splendid job weaving the character's last appearance on Clone Wars together with her reappearance on Rebels. Getting the actress portraying the part on the shows to do the audio book narration is a nice bonus treat.
LibraryThing member benuathanasia
For the audiobook version: Holy crap are the ambient background noises, sound effects, and music infuriating!!!
LibraryThing member carriehh
I loved this glimpse into Ahsoka Tano in between Clone Wars and Rebels. It fills a nice little hole that the series left me with. EK Johnston has snuck onto my list as one of my favourite authors, she writes her characters so well while pushing great story lines forward. I think her portrayal of
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Ahsoka was spot on, and while the story line was a bit basic, it was an engaging read that I found myself unable to put down. Nice little addition to the Star Wars cannon. Show Less
LibraryThing member ZelmerWilson
I loved it. I think a movie should be made about her
LibraryThing member KevinRubin
I just read “Ahsoka” by E.K. Johnston and mostly enjoyed it. The novel follows Ahsoka’s adventures quite soon after the ending of the movie, “Revenge of the Sith” and some time before the animated TV show “Rebels”.
In the Clone Wars the young Jedi apprentice, Ahsoka Tano was falsely
This novel opens with Ahsoka hiding out on a small planet in the outer rim of the galaxy, far, far away from the center of things, hoping to escape notice of the new Empire, knowing that the Emperor and his evil enforcer are hunting down and killing any remaining Jedi, and despite leaving the order, she would still be considered one of them.
She finds work as a mechanic, a skill she learned from her former Jedi teacher, Anakin. She also learns that outside the Jedi temple there’s lots of opportunities for people who are good at what they do, even if they’re not the prodigies found in the temple. She learns, as well, to avoid using the Force in any way people might notice.
When the Empire comes to the planet she steals a spaceship from her employer and leaves. Finding a small moon with a farming colony where she can work as a mechanic, befriending some of the poor farmers.
But then the Empire comes there, intending to exploit the farmlands on the moon. She helps her friends rebel, but they don’t follow orders and she’s forced to flee yet again, with no option except to reveal herself as a Force user, and with the intention of coming back prepared to rescue her friends. This sets things off, leading to some of what can be gleaned from the cover painting of Ahsoka with her pair of white lightsabers.
Johnston also gives us a peek at Alderaan Senator Bail Organa beginning to organize the Rebel Alliance, and trying to keep his young, prodigious daughter from knowing what he’s really up to, at least until she’s older (and we know she’ll play a much bigger role in things later on, in the story’s chronology).
Johnston also manages to work R2-D2 into an active character in this novel. She gratuitously mentions C-3P0, though he has no role, as well as Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi who are really outside the scope of Ahsoka’s story.
I think this novel was written for younger readers than myself, as the writing and language usage were fairly simplistic. But I enjoyed the story, and was an Ahsoka fan from the “Clone Wars” TV show, so it was nice to get a further tale of her.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend this novel for anyone who hasn’t watched the “Clone Wars” TV show, and reading this before “Rebels” would spoil one of the fun reveals in “Rebels”. And obviously someone who hasn’t seen “Revenge of the Sith” wouldn’t know the galaxy-wide background of this novel’s situation….
In the Clone Wars the young Jedi apprentice, Ahsoka Tano was falsely
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accused of a crime, and once vindicated decided to leave the Jedi order instead of completing her training. This may well have saved her from the infamous Order 66 in “Revenge of the Sith”. She hasn’t, however, left the ideals of the Jedi knights.This novel opens with Ahsoka hiding out on a small planet in the outer rim of the galaxy, far, far away from the center of things, hoping to escape notice of the new Empire, knowing that the Emperor and his evil enforcer are hunting down and killing any remaining Jedi, and despite leaving the order, she would still be considered one of them.
She finds work as a mechanic, a skill she learned from her former Jedi teacher, Anakin. She also learns that outside the Jedi temple there’s lots of opportunities for people who are good at what they do, even if they’re not the prodigies found in the temple. She learns, as well, to avoid using the Force in any way people might notice.
When the Empire comes to the planet she steals a spaceship from her employer and leaves. Finding a small moon with a farming colony where she can work as a mechanic, befriending some of the poor farmers.
But then the Empire comes there, intending to exploit the farmlands on the moon. She helps her friends rebel, but they don’t follow orders and she’s forced to flee yet again, with no option except to reveal herself as a Force user, and with the intention of coming back prepared to rescue her friends. This sets things off, leading to some of what can be gleaned from the cover painting of Ahsoka with her pair of white lightsabers.
Johnston also gives us a peek at Alderaan Senator Bail Organa beginning to organize the Rebel Alliance, and trying to keep his young, prodigious daughter from knowing what he’s really up to, at least until she’s older (and we know she’ll play a much bigger role in things later on, in the story’s chronology).
Johnston also manages to work R2-D2 into an active character in this novel. She gratuitously mentions C-3P0, though he has no role, as well as Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi who are really outside the scope of Ahsoka’s story.
I think this novel was written for younger readers than myself, as the writing and language usage were fairly simplistic. But I enjoyed the story, and was an Ahsoka fan from the “Clone Wars” TV show, so it was nice to get a further tale of her.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend this novel for anyone who hasn’t watched the “Clone Wars” TV show, and reading this before “Rebels” would spoil one of the fun reveals in “Rebels”. And obviously someone who hasn’t seen “Revenge of the Sith” wouldn’t know the galaxy-wide background of this novel’s situation….
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LibraryThing member ftbooklover
Ahsoka is definitely meant for those who are Star Wars fans and want more of the behind the scenes story. This book follows Ashoka Tano in the aftermath of Order 66, ending the lives of thousands of Jedis and Younglings. Ahsoka hides her roots in the Force and uses her other abilities to help a
This book starts very slowly as Ahsoka's relationships in the farming community on the moon called Raada are established, but heats up quite a bit when an Imperial presence assumes control. To understand everything in this story, readers need to have seen all of the six original Star Wars movies as well as the Clone Wars television series leading right up to the current Rebels series. Fans of these shows and movies will love this story as it connects and explains so much.
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smuggling operation and then a farming community where she inadvertently puts the residents in danger. She vows to come back and help the friends she has made but also knows that if she doesn't escape, she can't help anyone. She must come to terms with what it means to be trained as a Jedi and what her future may hold. This book starts very slowly as Ahsoka's relationships in the farming community on the moon called Raada are established, but heats up quite a bit when an Imperial presence assumes control. To understand everything in this story, readers need to have seen all of the six original Star Wars movies as well as the Clone Wars television series leading right up to the current Rebels series. Fans of these shows and movies will love this story as it connects and explains so much.
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LibraryThing member invisiblelizard
This book is exactly what it's meant to be: a YA episode of the prequel-era Star Wars shows revolving around Ahsoka Tano, the fantastic character introduced in The Clone Wars as an opposite/foil to Anakin Skywalker. Specifically, this book details what happens to Ahsoka after TCW and before Rebels,
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and this was, at the the time of its publication, an unknown span of time for this character. Is it entirely predictable? Yes. Does it tread new ground? No. Is Johnston going to blow anybody away with her prose and literary style? Of course not. (No disrespect intended. She writes a perfectly fine YA novel, but that's all this is.) But if you're a fan of this character, you'll probably enjoy this book. My recommendation: get the audio book. It's narrated by Ashley Eckstein who voiced the character in the various animated shows in which she appears, so you get a greater sense of continuity between this book and those series. Also the production includes some light sound effects and music interludes reminiscent of the Star Wars universe. I don't usually go for that sort of thing (I find them distracting) but for this book they really added a nice element. Show Less
LibraryThing member wanderlustlover
Spring 2019 - audiobook;
This book was a heartbreaker and yet so well done, so well detailed, setting itself into that great wide gray divide of years from where Child!Ahsoka was last seen in the Clone Wars cartoon (walking away after the Jedi Order betrayed her) and first seen again as an adult in
I was very touched and this being my second EK Johnston book, I'm going to be here in her worlds for a long time to come.
This book was a heartbreaker and yet so well done, so well detailed, setting itself into that great wide gray divide of years from where Child!Ahsoka was last seen in the Clone Wars cartoon (walking away after the Jedi Order betrayed her) and first seen again as an adult in
Show More
Star Wars: Rebels. The setting for this book is a short while after Order66 and the assumption and on the run life of 'the last jedi' alive, who has no clue what happened given when she left. It's heartbreaking and beautiful, but with very realistic repercussions, both for Ahsoka and those around her (both those who figure out what she is and those who don't).I was very touched and this being my second EK Johnston book, I'm going to be here in her worlds for a long time to come.
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LibraryThing member Kavinay
A fairly dull first act, but that's by design: living on the run is depressing. Gets better from there.
LibraryThing member qaphsiel
If I were to attempt to rate this more objectively, I'd probably give it three stars, I think. But, for me personally, it rates four.
I'm assuming anyone interested in reading this is at least familiar with the movies, and thus things like what happens to the Jedi in episode 3. If not, there are one
I was a huge fan of the original trilogy (OT), though a little skeptical of putting cutesy spear-wielding teddy bears in episode 6, Return of the Jedi. (Side note, the episode numbering is in-universe chronological, not the real-world release order.)
However, I found the subsequent movies in the meh to shitty range. Except for episode 9, as the shittiness of episodes 7 and 8 had driven any desire to see it out of me. Just... bad dialogue, painfully bad humor, inexplicable character behavior. Anyhow... not a Stars Wars movie series review. And in any event, I still love the SW universe and mythology.
When the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series came out, I ignored it, though friends told me it was pretty good. Like many, I was just in it for the movies. I've read the novelization of Empire, and four of the early non-canon books. (For the uninitiated, a lot of the early books and at least one early series have been declared non-canonical in the wake of the creation of a coherent Star Wars cinematic universe.)
Finally, I took a leap of faith and started watching The Mandalorian. It still had some flaws, but they were the flaws of A New Hope and Empire, not the painful shit from the later films. And it was pretty damn good. I mean, really surprisingly good. Really, if someone came to you and said, "I want to make a million dollar [or whatever it cost] an episode show, about a mercenary and his little green, toddler, alien sidekick, oh, and you'll never see the mercenary's face because he always wears armor." You would laugh in their face. But, because it's SW and because Disney, for all its faults, does know how to make good shows, it works. And works well.
Anyhow, so with Mandalorian watched and my interest in SW rekindled, I decide to give Clone Wars a go. And it's pretty damn good too. Plus, it develops the universe and mythology a lot, explores many characters (Obi Wan, Yoda, Mace Windu, Anakin, Bail Organa, Padme), and introduces a few new ones, including Anakin's padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka quickly became a fan favorite, got her own book (obviously), and has a limited series coming (next year, at a guess).
In the timeline of the movies, the series runs roughly from episode 2 through to the end of episode 3, but, being seven seasons long, adds a lot of detail to the period. It's also about 30 times better written.
So, now I feel like I can write a couple paragraphs about the book after writing a six-paragraph-long prelude. The Star Wars universe is a big, complicated thing.
I'll tell you right now, this is brain candy. It's a solid book. I didn't notice any glaring flaws in continuity or logical flow. As near as I can tell, this was Johnston's first SW novel (she subsequently wrote two others), and I can only wonder how much backstory a new writer in the SW universe has to wade through before they can actually write something that fits into the grand scheme of things. So, an A for presumed effort there. It helps that Ahsoka is fairly self-contained. It doesn't touch on too much outside of Ahsoka and the backwater planets she's on. And maybe that's typical for new SW authors so they don't have to spend three months reading backstory notes right off the bat. In fact, one of the story's principle tasks is to (re)connect her to what's going on (that being the start of the rebellion).
Ahsoka is popular for good reasons. First, she's one of the few major female characters. Though that hardly explains it, and it would be insulting to suggest that simply being female is what makes Ahsoka popular, both to the writers and to, well, most humans.
There is one big reason to be skeptical, at least without seeing the series. She begins the series as a sidekick (Anakin's), and so often the sidekick role gets botched terribly. Plus, she's the only major new character, which seems to enhance the botchability in these things. The writers, to their credit, did not make her annoying. She's not just there for comic relief or to do stupid shit to create plot points. She's a kid to be sure (maybe mid-to-late-teens at the start of the show), and does screw up at times to be sure, but she's learning -- and she does learn. She grows, she gains new responsibilities and independence. She leads trooper into battle. She has agency. And she's never sexualized.
Ahsoka the book extends this arc of Ahsoka the character into her becoming a full adult. She is one of the few Jedi to survive Order 66, but as she was away from the Jedi Temple, she does not know who else survived, only that she can no longer sense other Jedi through the Force. She is young, quite alone, quite sad, and constantly in fear of being discovered by Imperials.
As the Empire expands into the outer rim of the galaxy, Ahsoka skips from world to world, until she finally decides to stay and help the few hundred inhabitants of a moon about to have the resources wrung out of it by the Empire.
The plot is nothing intricate -- this is Star Wars after all. It took me just a couple dozen words to explain it. But the action is fast, you care about the characters, and you hate the bad guys. Sweetness for your cerebellum (don't come at me with your neuroanatomy).
Ahsoka's a bad ass -- she's a trained Jedi -- but not too bad ass. Her training is incomplete for one thing. And she just not as powerful as some of the more famous force wielders like Obi Wan, Luke, or Vader (to say nothing of Yoda or Palpatine). And she is as aware of these limitations as she is of her abilities. Years of fighting in the Clone Wars given her a lot of practical knowledge of strategy and tactics, as well as experience in tangling with other force-wielders. It makes for a satisfying story, especially when coupled with the strong reasons she has to keep her identity as a Force-wielder (to say nothing of as a mostly-Jedi) secret. And along the way, you do get to meet a couple old favorites to boot: R2-D2 and Bail Organa.
The audiobook is a delight. It's read by Ahsoka's voice actress, Ashley Eckstein, and comes complete with lightsaber and other sound effects, R2-D2 beeps, and various stirring bars of John Williams's SW score. Eckstein's a pro voice actress and you always know which character's speaking from the distinct voices she gives them.
Bottom line: If you're a disillusioned SW movie fan, or just never ventured beyond the films, give Clone Wars a shot and then read this. I sincerely doubt you'll be disappointed.
Though I have not watched it yet, as I understand it, Ahsoka's story continues in the Star Wars Rebels animated series, though she is not a regular in it, and after that, the eponymous, upcoming limited series.
I'm assuming anyone interested in reading this is at least familiar with the movies, and thus things like what happens to the Jedi in episode 3. If not, there are one
Show More
or two spoilers below. You've been warned.I was a huge fan of the original trilogy (OT), though a little skeptical of putting cutesy spear-wielding teddy bears in episode 6, Return of the Jedi. (Side note, the episode numbering is in-universe chronological, not the real-world release order.)
However, I found the subsequent movies in the meh to shitty range. Except for episode 9, as the shittiness of episodes 7 and 8 had driven any desire to see it out of me. Just... bad dialogue, painfully bad humor, inexplicable character behavior. Anyhow... not a Stars Wars movie series review. And in any event, I still love the SW universe and mythology.
When the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series came out, I ignored it, though friends told me it was pretty good. Like many, I was just in it for the movies. I've read the novelization of Empire, and four of the early non-canon books. (For the uninitiated, a lot of the early books and at least one early series have been declared non-canonical in the wake of the creation of a coherent Star Wars cinematic universe.)
Finally, I took a leap of faith and started watching The Mandalorian. It still had some flaws, but they were the flaws of A New Hope and Empire, not the painful shit from the later films. And it was pretty damn good. I mean, really surprisingly good. Really, if someone came to you and said, "I want to make a million dollar [or whatever it cost] an episode show, about a mercenary and his little green, toddler, alien sidekick, oh, and you'll never see the mercenary's face because he always wears armor." You would laugh in their face. But, because it's SW and because Disney, for all its faults, does know how to make good shows, it works. And works well.
Anyhow, so with Mandalorian watched and my interest in SW rekindled, I decide to give Clone Wars a go. And it's pretty damn good too. Plus, it develops the universe and mythology a lot, explores many characters (Obi Wan, Yoda, Mace Windu, Anakin, Bail Organa, Padme), and introduces a few new ones, including Anakin's padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka quickly became a fan favorite, got her own book (obviously), and has a limited series coming (next year, at a guess).
In the timeline of the movies, the series runs roughly from episode 2 through to the end of episode 3, but, being seven seasons long, adds a lot of detail to the period. It's also about 30 times better written.
So, now I feel like I can write a couple paragraphs about the book after writing a six-paragraph-long prelude. The Star Wars universe is a big, complicated thing.
I'll tell you right now, this is brain candy. It's a solid book. I didn't notice any glaring flaws in continuity or logical flow. As near as I can tell, this was Johnston's first SW novel (she subsequently wrote two others), and I can only wonder how much backstory a new writer in the SW universe has to wade through before they can actually write something that fits into the grand scheme of things. So, an A for presumed effort there. It helps that Ahsoka is fairly self-contained. It doesn't touch on too much outside of Ahsoka and the backwater planets she's on. And maybe that's typical for new SW authors so they don't have to spend three months reading backstory notes right off the bat. In fact, one of the story's principle tasks is to (re)connect her to what's going on (that being the start of the rebellion).
Ahsoka is popular for good reasons. First, she's one of the few major female characters. Though that hardly explains it, and it would be insulting to suggest that simply being female is what makes Ahsoka popular, both to the writers and to, well, most humans.
There is one big reason to be skeptical, at least without seeing the series. She begins the series as a sidekick (Anakin's), and so often the sidekick role gets botched terribly. Plus, she's the only major new character, which seems to enhance the botchability in these things. The writers, to their credit, did not make her annoying. She's not just there for comic relief or to do stupid shit to create plot points. She's a kid to be sure (maybe mid-to-late-teens at the start of the show), and does screw up at times to be sure, but she's learning -- and she does learn. She grows, she gains new responsibilities and independence. She leads trooper into battle. She has agency. And she's never sexualized.
Ahsoka the book extends this arc of Ahsoka the character into her becoming a full adult. She is one of the few Jedi to survive Order 66, but as she was away from the Jedi Temple, she does not know who else survived, only that she can no longer sense other Jedi through the Force. She is young, quite alone, quite sad, and constantly in fear of being discovered by Imperials.
As the Empire expands into the outer rim of the galaxy, Ahsoka skips from world to world, until she finally decides to stay and help the few hundred inhabitants of a moon about to have the resources wrung out of it by the Empire.
The plot is nothing intricate -- this is Star Wars after all. It took me just a couple dozen words to explain it. But the action is fast, you care about the characters, and you hate the bad guys. Sweetness for your cerebellum (don't come at me with your neuroanatomy).
Ahsoka's a bad ass -- she's a trained Jedi -- but not too bad ass. Her training is incomplete for one thing. And she just not as powerful as some of the more famous force wielders like Obi Wan, Luke, or Vader (to say nothing of Yoda or Palpatine). And she is as aware of these limitations as she is of her abilities. Years of fighting in the Clone Wars given her a lot of practical knowledge of strategy and tactics, as well as experience in tangling with other force-wielders. It makes for a satisfying story, especially when coupled with the strong reasons she has to keep her identity as a Force-wielder (to say nothing of as a mostly-Jedi) secret. And along the way, you do get to meet a couple old favorites to boot: R2-D2 and Bail Organa.
The audiobook is a delight. It's read by Ahsoka's voice actress, Ashley Eckstein, and comes complete with lightsaber and other sound effects, R2-D2 beeps, and various stirring bars of John Williams's SW score. Eckstein's a pro voice actress and you always know which character's speaking from the distinct voices she gives them.
Bottom line: If you're a disillusioned SW movie fan, or just never ventured beyond the films, give Clone Wars a shot and then read this. I sincerely doubt you'll be disappointed.
Though I have not watched it yet, as I understand it, Ahsoka's story continues in the Star Wars Rebels animated series, though she is not a regular in it, and after that, the eponymous, upcoming limited series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member admiralfinnegan
While Johnston's structure as a writer is sound, this book feels simply like it's checking off points on an editorial to-do list. It's clearly burdened with this list of tasks but to also be a compelling story with character development it probably needs to be twice or three times longer (or
Show More
perhaps a trilogy). I've read worse, this is just flat, boring, and a lost opportunity. Show Less
Awards
Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (Fiction)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2016-10-11
Physical description
8.25 inches
ISBN
1484782313 / 9781484782316