Book review of “The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire”

The newest war of stars Book, Dr. Chris Kempshall Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empireis an absolute masterpiece that shows how to make canon work. About ten years ago, Disney decided to relaunch the canon by erasing the old Expanded Universe. Since then, there has been a constant stream of new content in so many different mediums – from movies to TV shows, comics to manga, novels to audiobooks. Unfortunately, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer variety of material.

Lucasfilm is releasing more and more tools to help you navigate it all. Star Wars: Timelines was a careful work of art that helped readers understand the sequence of events, but some other books have taken a more unusual approach. Dr. Chriis Kempshall’s Rise and Fall of the Galactic Richwhich was released last week is the perfect example; It is supposedly written from the perspective of historian Beaumont Kin, who researches the Galactic Empire.

Canon is so artistically made

You’ve all heard the heated debates; what is canon and what isn’t, did the latest cameo just break war of stars Kanon, how do you reconcile two different versions of events? Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire must grapple with all these questions and more, but does so in a wonderfully artistic way. Beaumont Kin is a historian who analyzes records, sometimes identifies points of conflict, sometimes reinterprets them, and sometimes is forced to decide between competing, contradictory sources.

This feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s an approach to canon that looks at everything as another piece of the puzzle and just has fun putting it all back together. It reminds me of the debates on the Jedi Council Forums during the Expanded Universe years, where we would watch the latest movie and then try to figure out how all the old stories we loved still fit together when George Lucas had just thrown everything out the window. It testifies to a creative joy that makes reading the book a pleasure.

It helps that Chris Kempshall is a huge fan, and his love for war of stars shines through in every paragraph he writes. This is a man living his dream and getting to write about a franchise he loves so much. He has admitted in interviews that this was the easiest project to research, as he already has all the books, comics, movies and TV shows at his fingertips. Kempshall’s familiarity with the lore is deeply impressive and you feel as if he is holding your hand as he takes you on a journey through Imperial history.

Related

Star Wars: Canon, Expanded Universe and Legends Explained

Ten years ago, the Star Wars canon underwent the biggest change in the franchise’s history. Here’s everything you need to know about the canon and the EU!

The structure is absolutely logical

Structurally, Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire follows the chronology of the universe. It is divided into four sections:

• Part One: Rise and Consolidation
• Part Two: Expansion and Oppression
• Part Three: The Galactic Civil War
• Part four: Fall and continuation

I initially tried to read the book from cover to cover, but I admit I found that difficult; two chapters on the political and economic structure of the Empire began to tire me out. Instead, I started reading individual chapters one at a time, and I think that’s the better approach; each chapter feels like a new revelation, a clever reinterpretation, or a masterful reweaving of canonicity. I won’t ignore these richer chapters, of course, but rather return to them and take my time.

Related

The Galactic Empire Timeline Explained: The Dark Times, the Rebellion and the Galactic Civil War

The Empire served as the backdrop for much of the world-building in the original Star Wars trilogy, but what was the regime’s rule really like?

The Star Wars galaxy feels very “present” in Kempshall’s phenomenal story

We have all heard the silly claims that war of stars should not be “political.” If you know about real history or current politics, then Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire will serve as a kind of wake-up call. There is something very powerful about Beaumont Kin’s analysis, something that makes the Empire’s problems seem very real and “present.” The text carefully avoids drawing parallels to the real world, but they are not difficult to spot and are often deeply disturbing – as they should be.

Like all historians, Beaumont Kin is not a neutral arbiter of history; he writes with a sense of purpose that permeates every page. He is the voice of a Resistance scholar, looking back at the Empire’s past and interpreting it in light of the return of the First Order. There is no trace of the triumphalism one might expect from historians of the New Republicbut rather a grim acceptance that the ghosts of the past are not easily exorcised and that this assessment serves the noble task of shedding light on their true nature. This, too, gives the book a sense of “current.”

Ultimately, it is this feeling of “presenteeism” that Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire so powerful and important. If you strip away all the science fiction and fantasy, this feels like a simple book that shows how totalitarian governments come to power in times of crisis and how they operate. It’s exactly the kind of message George Lucas wanted to send all along. war of starswhen he predicted how democracy would die in the face of thunderous applause. And it does feel like an important, timely lesson.

Buy “Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire” on Amazon