Delilah S. Dawson’s Inquisitor: Rise of the Red
Blade is the Star Wars book that I think ticks almost all of the
boxes that I was missing as I read more of the Star Wars books. Set during and in the immediate aftermath of
the prequel trilogy, this novel is a look at the rise of the Empire from one of
the survivors of the Jedi, surviving by becoming part of a group of Jedi tasked
with ensuring the destruction of the order takes place after the initial
massacres. The Inquisitors are the
Emperor’s elite group of essentially brainwashed ex-Jedi into being an elite
group of bounty hunter assassins. As far
as I can tell this is one aspect of Star Wars largely explored in the current
canon with only some mentions in the Legends canon, and as an idea it
makes a lot of sense. It helps explain
how certain Jedi could survive and giving several options for authors to
explore, but perhaps what makes Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade work
for me is its focus. Delilah S. Dawson
has a central protagonist she is tracking the entire life of, though a
character not created by Dawson whose ending had to be recounted in the epilogue
of the novel. The epilogue of this novel
is where due to Iskat Akaris being introduced and subsequently killed in a
comic book, those events have to play out.
As a chapter it is problematic because it is Dawson trying to fit her
story into a larger story and the loop for the character has to close, but in
doing so it is disconnected in style and in plot from the rest of the novel. Only the final line feels particularly like
Dawson is writing something original, tying into themes of the cyclical nature
of violence and corruption making the epilogue at least make sense even if it
is largely set apart from the rest of the novel.
Dawson as an author has an incredibly intimate style
of writing as well as pouring much of her own life experience in different ways
into her novel. Iskat Akaris is far from
a self-insert character, she is very much characterized in her own unique way,
but with every good author there is some of Dawson in her character, prefaced
in a very touching forward to the novel.
Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is largely exploring the
hypocrisy of the Jedi Order and a subtle aspect to how Palpatine was able to
corrupt other Jedi and bring them to his cause to become Inquisitors. This is all through Iskat’s perspective, the
perspective of a woman trying to discover her identity and freedom. Iskat does not know her own species, being
given to the Jedi Order at a very young age and being from a species on the
outskirts of the galaxy. The numerous
roadblocks to Iskat discovering her identity and family is initially the
bureaucracy of the Jedi Order until Palpatine’s takeover and then it becomes
the control of the Inquisitors over themselves.
Iskat is a woman who yearns for freedom, believing at several points in
her life that different things will gain her that freedom, though the common throughline
is discovering her identity.
Iskat as a character
is not so much easily manipulated, but is less able to devote herself to the
very strict ideals of the Jedi, letting emotions rule herself and eventually
let rage in slowly. Dawson is brilliant
at moving that line that Iskat will cross throughout the novel, the first time
happening at the end of the first part of the novel before slowly pushing and
pushing it. Iskat becomes a woman able
to manipulate those around her to gain her trust which is the clear cliff that
leads her down the path to becoming an Inquisitor. One other aspect explored, however briefly, is
the fact that certain Inquisitors are not Inquisitors by choice but by explicit
brainwashing. This brainwashing is not
the cult like brainwashing of the environment of the Sith that all Inquisitors
are subjected to, but a torturous brainwashing that implies the torture
continues afterwards to keep people in line.
It’s an environment that promotes anger, backstabbing, and violence in
Iskat which adds to the tragedy of her inability to truly find her identity
after getting what she wants, until she finds a horrific one in the end, all leading
up to the point where she is going to fall which is honestly great.
Overall, Inquisitors: Rise of the Red Blade was
a particularly good surprise, Delilah S. Dawson working so well at writing this
character study. The fact that it is a
standalone that doesn’t need much knowledge of Star Wars on the whole
definitely helps, Dawson recaps even the film information in the worldbuilding and
writes as if she is writing her own science fiction world instead of a media
tie in. Iskat is a compelling
protagonist and while this review didn’t discuss it, her relationships with
others is what helps Dawson elevate this novel into something amazing. 9/10.
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