When Ahsoka Tano made her debut in Clone Wars (both the movie and series) I will readily admit that I found the character precious and annoying. Star Wars was once again drowning the franchise in saccharine-covered dialog with a kid-friendly padawan. Maybe the show runners/writers realized this quickly because there was a shift within a couple seasons which led to her being one of my favorite Jedi. The show also had her grow older as the show (and war) progressed. Ahsoka being revealed as Fulcrum in Rebels filled me with glee too; it meant Order 66 either ignored her or she escaped alongside Obi-Wan and Yoda. Lastly, the voice actress (Ashley Eckstein) started a clothing store called Her Universe to accommodate female fans better due to most shirts being unisex, plus she really embrace her status as a geek/nerd icon.
Enough backstory regarding the character’s existence and voice. It’s about time Ahsoka received her own novel!
Ahsoka begins one year after Revenge of the Sith. Changing her name to Ashla, Ahsoka has been hiding out on the Outer Rim planet of Thabeska as a repair technician employed by a local family’s transport business, the Fardis. When the Empire enlarges its presence in order to gobble up more resources for Palpatine’s military build-up, she steals a ship and goes deeper into the galactic “boonies.” Ahsoka feels guilty about not fighting back but staying alive and unnoticed is more important. She finds an agricultural backwater moon called Raada to settle in on. Within a month, the Empire sets up a garrison there too, enslaving the workers to grow a crop which will leave their soil barren after a mere season. This tears it for our hero and she gets involved with the local resistance, primarily to guide them into waging a smarter campaign.
Little does Ahsoka know, the Empire has sent an inquisitor to investigate reports of somebody using the Force on Thabeska…and it’s one of the Fardi children, not her. So she realizes it has become to necessary to juggle her time between the two worlds, all without her lightsabers or demonstrating her Force powers; her famous blades were buried in a false grave on Mandalore to make the Empire believe she and Captain Rex died in the final days of the Clone Wars. Ahsoka’s covert actions don’t go unnoticed entirely, a certain Senator from Alderaan begins to receive intelligence reports of Jedi-like guerrilla warfare happening in the Outer Rim.
You need to read the book to find out more.
Johnston did a fantastic job balancing all the elements needed to make a good Star Wars novel: the nerdy details and pacing. It was hard to put down. The story is a must read for fans and I would go on a limb to recommend Ahsoka to casual Star Wars readers or watchers. I hope the people running the novels given the author another crack at filling in the gap leading to Rebels. A fanboy dream of mine would be see Ahsoka have a cameo in the upcoming Episode IX despite her being over 70.