Queen's Peril - E.K. Johnston - Review
This book is the prequel to Queen's Shadow, and I've heard that one should technically read this "douology" in the order it was published, because certain parts of this book hit differently if you've read Queen's Shadow first, but I went ahead and read Queen's Peril first because I wanted to read the books in chronological order. (Also, I'm checking these books out from the library, and Queen's Peril was available, and I had to put Queen's Shadow on hold.)
Anyway, Queen's Shadow goes into the backstory of Queen Amidala and her handmaidens, detailing how each of them was recruited by Captain Panaka, and the roles each of them fills.
The relationship between Padme/Amidala and Sabe, her first handmaiden, and their de facto leader, gets most of the spotlight, though each girl has their moment to shine.
I feel like this book is something I've been waiting for a long-ass time, and didn't even know it. It fleshes out a lot of little details about the handmaidens, and the things they came up with to help protect the Queen match up so well to what we see in the movie, you would think that was what George Lucas had intended for them all along.
The book overlaps with the events of The Phantom Menace, from the Trade Federation blockade all the way to the battle of Naboo.
Because E.K. Johnston hadn't set out to completely retell Phantom Menace, it skips around a bit. Some of the scenes are short, but offer just a little more detail into that particular part of the story, like how it was no coincidence that Darth Maul ended up fighting Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon at the power generator. He had chosen that as their battlefield. That being said, some of the transitions are a little jarring. A couple of them took me right out of the story, just because it made a huge jump. I don't know what the author could have done better, so I can kind of give it a pass.
Overall, I enjoyed Queen's Peril. In fact, I went back and re-watched Phantom Menace, just so I could pay a bit more attention to the handmaidens. I'm also gearing up to re-read the prequel trilogy books. This will hold me off while I wait for Queen's Shadow, which takes place when Amidala is a senator, so I'm assuming it picks up around Episode II.
Anyway, Queen's Shadow goes into the backstory of Queen Amidala and her handmaidens, detailing how each of them was recruited by Captain Panaka, and the roles each of them fills.
The relationship between Padme/Amidala and Sabe, her first handmaiden, and their de facto leader, gets most of the spotlight, though each girl has their moment to shine.
I feel like this book is something I've been waiting for a long-ass time, and didn't even know it. It fleshes out a lot of little details about the handmaidens, and the things they came up with to help protect the Queen match up so well to what we see in the movie, you would think that was what George Lucas had intended for them all along.
The book overlaps with the events of The Phantom Menace, from the Trade Federation blockade all the way to the battle of Naboo.
Because E.K. Johnston hadn't set out to completely retell Phantom Menace, it skips around a bit. Some of the scenes are short, but offer just a little more detail into that particular part of the story, like how it was no coincidence that Darth Maul ended up fighting Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon at the power generator. He had chosen that as their battlefield. That being said, some of the transitions are a little jarring. A couple of them took me right out of the story, just because it made a huge jump. I don't know what the author could have done better, so I can kind of give it a pass.
Overall, I enjoyed Queen's Peril. In fact, I went back and re-watched Phantom Menace, just so I could pay a bit more attention to the handmaidens. I'm also gearing up to re-read the prequel trilogy books. This will hold me off while I wait for Queen's Shadow, which takes place when Amidala is a senator, so I'm assuming it picks up around Episode II.