A Glup
Shitto refers to basically any Star Wars character that would not be
recognizable to the mainstream audience.
Star Wars fans may feel incredibly passionate about them, especially
if they are characters featured in the expanded universe. They are not inherently bad characters, they
are inherently obscure characters. There
is even an argument to be made that Qui-Gon Jinn could be considered a Glup
Shitto as secondary protagonist of exactly one film, one of the much less loved
prequels at that. The Living Force
is best described as a tribute to all of the Glup Shitto characters in the background
of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, focusing almost entirely
on the members of the Jedi Council.
Sure, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are also here but their roles feel
more of a supporting capacity when you take into account that author John
Jackson Miller writes for a whopping twelve protagonists in addition to those
two. This is a book that could best be described
as for the fans, because coming from my perspective of someone who has seen The
Phantom Menace but could only name maybe one or two council members not
played by Frank Oz or Samuel L. Jackson it’s essentially reading about original
characters. This isn’t a bad thing,
Miller even wraps everything up in a story that does not have much to do with
the plot of The Phantom Menace, making The Living Force an
exciting chance for pre-Empire worldbuilding within the framework of the
rebooted canon.
The Jedi
are a flawed order, that is something central to the conflict to both the
prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. The
Living Force uses that as a starting point for this story; the Council as a
whole represent the isolationism of the Order to be a particular problem that
will lead to their downfall. Qui-Gon
Jinn as a character is the only one banging the drum that the Council needs to
do far more with their position instead of just sitting while the republic slowly
becomes more and more bureaucratic. Miller’s
choice of villain for a novel like this is the correct decision to eschew any
hints that the Sith exist, outside of a few choice scenes featuring Senator
Palpatine which do sadly read a little like the fanservice they are (especially
an epilogue scene that directly ties into The Phantom Menace), instead
having the Jedi Council facing off between a group of space pirates. Tonally this harkens back to the many of the science
fiction adventure serials that inspired George Lucas to make Star Wars
in the first place. For those following the
Star Wars books there are also quite a few direct connections to The High
Republic publishing line, though Miller does include enough context that the
setting’s connection to that history is made apparent and the parallels between
the Jedi then and now form a proper backbone to the argument against the order
being isolationist. The villain of the novel’s
final fate is also interesting, the Jedi giving her some leniency and mercy in
prison which is an interesting indication that there is something more to the
Council in their ability to learn.
John Jackson
Miller is given a difficult task in writing The Living Force. This is a novel celebrating 25 years since
the premiere of The Phantom Menace and each member of the Jedi Council
is supposed to have a part to play.
While the novel certainly has the space to use the twelve characters,
they are a bit uneven in their portrayal.
Mace Windu and Yoda are actually given a fair amount of balance in their
appearances here, taking up perhaps a bit too much time but nowhere near as
much as a lesser author may be tempted to do.
The ten other members at least get one big moment to shine and delve
into character more than what The Phantom Menace would allow. Yaddle’s personality, that is the female member
of Yoda’s species, is perhaps the most fun due to Miller using her as a
trickster closer to how Yoda was portrayed during his introductory scenes in The
Empire Strikes Back. The most depth
of a character for me is the running gag involving Ki-Adi-Mundi and an ice
cream vendor. It’s a philosophical joke
about the nature of flavors and the Jedi enjoying basically ice flavor. There’s a lot of the character’s personality
surrounding this running gag and how kind he actually can be. He is also flirted with at several points
through the novel and is portrayed almost as the perfect Jedi, being unable to form
an attachment.
Overall, The
Living Force is a book that’s clearly aimed at longtime fans. Casual Star Wars viewers, including
myself, will struggle just a little bit with remembering who each of the
protagonists are as John Jackson Miller juggles a dozen protagonists, most of
which falling into the category of Glup Shitto.
There is an admirable effort in making each of them have at least one
scene to establish who they are and add something to the central theme of anti-isolationism,
however it is a novel that has perhaps too many. Character work on a whole is particularly
strong and the plot is light enough that even with the multitude of
protagonists it is fun, but there is some great stuff being held back because
of just how many plates are being spun.
7/10.
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