“Sometimes we’re loyal to more than one thing…”
It has been eight years since the fall of the Republic, and only a few recalcitrant voices like Bail Organa of Alderaan are still daring to challenge the rule of the Emperor, (Palpatine has been busy conquering the last remaining Outer Rim planets). One such planet is Jelucan, an undesirable backwater world that was colonized late in galactic history by impoverished settlers of a long-forgotten civil war (they were expelled from a previous planet before settling Jelucan). These original settlers are known as the “valley people” –a proud, timocratic culture of laborers who honor their oaths and traditions above all else. One such dweller of this valley is Ciena Ree, a poor, muunyak-riding girl who dreams of becoming a pilot one day. She is descended from the original settler loyalists who were cast out of their homeworld after the overthrow of their king. But now, the planet Jelucan is being “liberated” by the Empire which has cast its shadow across the galaxy.
During a celebratory Jelucan parade of the ascendant Empire, we meet “second-waver” (i.e. a wealthier, new arrival on Jelucan) named Thane Kyrell, an impassioned boy who shares Ciena’s dreams of exploring the stars. He was born in same year as the Empire, and he has an older brother named Dalven who is sent off for Imperial cadet training. The Kyrells descend from an aristocratic family, but their father is abusive and demanding. During the parade, Thane witnesses Ciena being bullied and he decides to help her after she is mocked by a group of kids. A friendship between Thane and Ciena quickly blossoms (they are also mutually inspired by Grand Moff Tarkin who encourages them to join the Empire one day, while all the elders on Jelucan are skeptical and gravely concerned about the rise of the Empire).
In time, Ciena and Thane become very close. They fly across Jelucan together from the city of Valentia to a remote cave they have fashioned called “the Fortress.” We learn that Ciena was born with a twin named Wynett who died and she has since vowed to live for both of them, so that Wynett can “look through my eyes.” We follow Ciena and Thane across years, including through their training at the Imperial Academy on Coruscant, where they work together in various competitions but they are sabotaged because of the threat their unity poses, and they are later given different Imperial assignments. Thane is dispatched for defense over a classified project later revealed to be the Death Star, while Ciena is sent to serve on a top Star Destroyer called the Devastator (the same Star Destroyer captures the rebel blockade runner Tantive IV at the beginning of A New Hope). There are plenty of nods to the original Star Wars trilogy in this book –cameos by Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and the extenuating plot line revolving around the destruction of Alderaan. Indeed, the Empire’s decision to obliterate Alderaan serves as a chief impetus for many defections within their ranks (people fear that the Empire’s promise to bring order to a chaotic galaxy has grown arrogant and tyrannical). Surprisingly, one such defector is Thane. He deserts his duty on a spice mining planet called Kerev Doi after witnessing the horrid treatment of the Bodach’i. He goes into hiding, while a shocked Ciena is dispatched by the Empire to find him on their home planet of Jelucan. Their love for one another continues to grow, despite Ciena’s commitment to the Empire and Thane’s decision to join the rebellion. Thane sees the rebellion as a principled rejection against tyranny while Ciena claims the rebels are little more than nihilistic terrorists. All of this occurs as the first Death Star is destroyed.
“The Empire’s taken us from each other forever” (243).
Ciena reports that Thane is dead a week later while he escapes aboard the Mighty Oak Apocalypse or “MOA” freighter which is under the command of a Wookiee captain named Lohgarra. While on Zeitooine delivering medical supplies during a storm, Thane meets Wedge Antilles who persuades him to join the rebels on Hoth where he becomes an X-Wing pilot in Corona Squadron, while Ciena rises in the Imperial ranks and is transferred to the Executor while chasing the Millennium Falcon to Bespin. Another Imperial cadet, Nash (from Alderaan), who has risen up through the Imperial ranks, attempts to court Ciena, but she remains steadfast in her love for Thane. And when the Battle of Endor arrives, both Ciena and Thane believe the other has died, but after several twists and turns –including the false arrest and imprisonment of Ciena’s mother for allegedly embezzling funds from the mines on Jelucan—Thane finds his way back to a recovered Ciena, who has been placed in charge of a Star Destroyer called the Inflictor. In the Battle of Jakku (a la The Force Awakens), she attempts kamikaze-scuttle the ship on the planet after rebels infiltrate the Star Destroyer, but among the invading rebels is none other than Thane who manages to stun and rescue Ciena. She is then imprisoned by the rebellion. Here, we end the tale as the galaxy falls into chaos following the dissolution of the Empire. Ciena remains stoically committed to her honor and duty, while Thane hopes to persuade her to join the rebellion. Their love remains strong.
“But for the first time, her oath to the Empire did not sustain Ciena. The feeling she had worked hard to keep at bay for the last three years –the one she had never allowed herself to consciously think of before—could be held back no longer: Doubt” (348).
And in a coda to the story, one Imperial contingent remains in the shadows. Nash has been joined by Thane’s brother, Dalven. They “posthumously” award Ciena the distinguished medal of Imperial honor –the highest award the Empire can give—and the Empire ominously vows to hunt down all the rebels…
This was my first foray into reading a new Disney era “Canon” Star Wars novel, and I was delighted to read it jointly with a good friend. Lost Stars is often regarded favorably by fans, regularly ranked among the best of the new Canon books. When I read it, I wasn’t fully aware it was technically a “young adult” novel. At any rate, while Lost Stars is far from my favorite Star Wars book, there are still plenty of things to appreciate here. Lost Stars is a breezy, slightly superficial Star Wars novel –a tale of romance between two star-crossed lovers who are divided by politics and circumstance. They are unfamiliar characters whose lives unfold across the three original trilogy films and beyond. I can appreciate the unique idea of two paramours trapped on opposite sides of the Galactic Civil War –and in particular, I was drawn to the depiction of chaos which ensues after fall of the Empire (i.e. post-Return of the Jedi) while warring factions still linger for years to come. The dialectic between perceived Imperial order contrasted with Rebel chaos is well-taken, and a sequel seems all but guaranteed in the future.
Gray, Claudia. Lost Stars. Lucasfilm Press, NY, 2017.
Dedicated to the memory of Karen Jones, “a friend and fangirl extraordinaire.”