“At the edge of the galaxy
So far away
Black was the spire
That called me to stay.
A beacon for drifters
Forgotten and lost
The spires summoned those
Broken and tossed.
Come stay here forever
Or just pass on through.
The spirit of Black Spire
Will forever change you.”
–Old Batuuan Ballad
Delilah S. Dawson’s Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire (2019) is a unique tie-in adventure novel that presents the story behind Disney’s theme park locale “Galaxy’s Edge.” The book follows the adventures of Resistance spy, Vi Moradi (codename: “Magpie”), as she helps to rebuild the Resistance following the events depicted in one of the worst Star Wars films The Last Jedi. I was hopeful, but a bit skeptical, while embarking on this reading project. It takes place a few weeks after Vi recovers from the brutal wounds she sustained while being tortured aboard the Absolution in the previous novel Phasma also by Delilah Dawson. In it, Vi was sent to the forgotten planet of Parnassos to gather intel on the First Order’s Captain Phasma only to be captured by Cardinal who sought to exploit a weakness in Phasma for his own gain. However, when he confronted her, Phasma poisoned him. Now, in Black Spire, Vi is dispatched by General Leia Organa from the hidden Resistance base on D’Qar to the remote Black Spire Outpost (BSO) on the planet Batuu in the Trilon sector to build a base of support far from the watchful eye of the First Order (though she is briefly delayed by the “Hosnian Cataclysm” in which the entire Hosnian System has been destroyed by the First Order’s Starkiller base, as featured in the film The Force Awakens). While once serving as a necessary stop for traders, after the advent of hyperspace lanes Batuu has since become an overlooked haven for smugglers at the edge of Wild Space.
“It’s out on the edge of Wild Space. The main settlement is called Black spire Outpost. It’s rough. Primitive. Seedy. Exciting. Smugglers consider it a good place to hide or hop a ship that can’t be tracked” (8).
Strangely enough, Leia insists that Vi partner on this mission with her former First Order torturer, Cardinal, who now goes by his childhood name Archex. How does this make any sense? Why would Leia force her top spy, Vi, to work together with the man who tortured her? This smells suspiciously like a cheap way to introduce character tension into the novel. Indeed, throughout the story, Archex’s loyalties seem uncertain and he is still horribly wounded from his fight with Phasma. Again, why send him on this supposedly critical mission? He is skeptical of the Resistance for placing an ankle monitor on him. Vi picks him up him from the outsider citadel recovery facility on Cerea and they head to the planet Batuu with Vi’s amusingly melancholic droid “Pook” (a large PK-Ultra worker droid who replaced Vi’s last droid U5-GG or simply “Gigi” whose memory was wiped before Vi was captured in Phasma). It is reiterated in this novel that Vi enjoys knitting using Bantha fur while traveling through hyperspace.
“The stars came back into view, and Batuu shone below, a jewel against the indigo curtain of infinity, just as full of natural beauty and boring peace as Cerea. Beyond it, Wild Space spread across the viewport, mysterious planets and unmapped stars twinkling” (39).
They arrive at Batuu in the midst of a smuggler dogfight which forces them to crashland in the jungle outside Black Spire Outpost. While they are still unconscious, their ship is stripped of all valuables by a local gang led by Oga Garra. Thus, with nowhere to turn and no ability to contact the Resistance, Vi is forced to make friends with the locals, particularly a woman named Salju who helps Vi get a job to earn credits as one of the “Gatherers” at Savi & Son Salvage shop (Savi seems to have a strong affinity for the Resistance and the Jedi though he would never admit it) so she can buy back her stolen gear. In what are unquestionably the best scenes in the book, Vi is given a tour of Black Spire Outpost by Salju –she walks through the bustling marketplace where she learns the local colloquial phrases “bright suns” (Batuu has three suns), “rising moons” (Batuu has two moons), “may the spires keep you,” “’til the spire,” “may the spires watch over you,” “now and til the spire” (a toast) and so on. The locals have a customary religion about the spires that spring up around BSO, particularly one large black spire (hence the outpost’s name). The spires are actually the remains of petrified remains of ancient trees and golden lichen is often scraped off the rock; it is called “gold dust,” a local delicacy which is sold for Spira (the local currency on Batuu). Vi also learns about the quiet rivalry between Savi and Dok Ondar, a shady local antiquities dealer, and she visits Oga Carra’s cantina just in time to see her angrily attack her unfaithful Wookiee lover.
The following list details some of the colorful cast of characters Vi meets around Black Spire:
- Salju – who runs the filling station in Black Spire Outpost.
- Savi – who runs the main scrapyard Savi & Son Salvage, a scavenging business, he was rumored to have ties to the Jedi years ago (he was friends with Lor San Tekka, a friend of Luke Skywalker). Ylena, who is friendly to the Jedi, also works for Savi as one of the Gatherers.
- Mubo’s droid depot – run by a goggle-wearing Utai named Mubo.
- Arta Kleidun – Twi-lek woman who runs a clothing shop.
- Oga Garra – a Blutopian gangster who owns the cantina and runs much of the underground criminal business in Black Spire Outpost. Her second in command is Rusko, and she also employs a Wookiee named N’arrghela. She often seen grotesquely sucking on tentacled stone snails and clamfruit.
- Ronto Roasters – a meat market whose owner is crazy about podracing even though it’s been outlawed. The owner known as “The Butcher” though his real name is Bakkar. Podracing has been outlawed but it is still active in the Galma vicinity. The most popular food is the “Ronto wrap.”
- The milk stand run by an Aqualish farmer named Bubo Wamba who was new to this planet and who spends most of his time with his banthas or in his stall.
- Zabaka the Toydarian toymaker who is loyal to Oga Garra.
- Kat Saka – who runs the popped grain stall, Kat is a fourth generation Batuuan and owns several farms.
- Jewels of Bith – a jewelry stand in the marketplace rum by Kamka Lira.
- Creature Stall – run by Bina.
- A Trandoshan named Kasif – who runs runs a supply cart.
- Hondo Ohnaka – the infamous pirate who needs no introduction.
- Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities – Dok-Ondar is an Ithorian and is in competition with Savi for discovering artifacts. While Dok is focused on rare black market treasures, Savi looking for old religious or spiritual items.
- The Trilon Wishing Tree – a special tree outside Savi’s where people can tie a piece of fabric and send a wish out into the universe. If it disintegrates, they believe the galaxy grants your boon.
- An artiodac operator named “Cookie” who runs a weekly food freighter called Tuggs’ Grub. He used to work at Maz Kanata’s castle.
- Zade Kalliday – a drunken smuggler with a ship called the Midnight Blade.
“They walked through the market, and Vi saw stalls selling refreshments, lanterns, toys, pets, and artifacts. People chatted with neighbors, wove on lap looms, or ground grains into masa on worn stones. Sunlight slanted down through strips of fabric overhead, and small avians flitted everywhere, darting from the crumb-laden stone floor to nests hidden in the eaves. Lanterns of all sizes and shapes dangled from gently swooping power cords, casting warm light into even the most shadowy corners. Vi couldn’t help stopping to inspect some charming carvings in a shop that appeared to be closed; she was especially interested in one showing the Jedi crest, flanked as it was by two pudgy and curious-looking bird statues… The local architecture favored domes and swags and three-quarter arches, and the windows were all divided into smaller panes of glass, making everything feel decorative, like the icing on a cake. Balconies and turrets made patches of shade over handwoven baskets of fresh vegetables and fruit and mounds of powdered spices. Vi loved visiting markets like this, where she could exchange credits for goods farmed or crafted by callused hands and taste food one step away from nature” (63-64).
At any rate, this is but a taste of the depth and richness to the lore on Batuu. As time goes by, Vi strikes up a deal with Oga Garra to retrieve a rare artifact from the planet’s ancient ruins –a necklace that seems to permeate with the dark side of the force. In exchange, Vi will be given back all (or most) of her stolen items and she may also use the ancient ruins as a Resistance base. However, the First Order is mysteriously alerted to Vi’s presence on Batuu (later revealed to be exposed by Oga Garra) and General Hux dispatches Lieutenant Wulfgar Kath and twenty stormtroopers to investigate. In their first confrontation, Vi narrowly escapes, though she is poisoned. She is rescued by a stultified farmboy named Dolin and his grandmother (they have a pig-like truffleboar named Waba). Dolin agrees to join the Resistance, much to his grandmother’s dismay, and slowly she begins to build allies on Batuu.
However, from here the novel wanders. Vi is twice captured and tortured by Kath of the First Order (the scenes are graphically described in their brutality) while Cardinal/Archex has been left behind with Pook their damaged ship in the jungle. After escaping, Vi dons an Ubese helmet to hide her identity (a nice nod to Return of the Jedi). But then, at one point Cardinal/Archex confusedly tries to kiss Vi who calmly rejects him by simply admitting she is asexual… This is where the whole novel starts to fall apart in my view. Since when did a character’s identity/sexuality play such a significant role in Star Wars? It’s pretty obvious what sort of pandering this novel is trying to do with this kind of stuff and it comes across as really lazy. And Vi Moradi quickly comes to light as an annoying character who is always snidely arguing with people before delivering lengthy cringeworthy platitude-filled speeches about the evils of the First Order and so on. It all becomes a bit nauseating and very boring.
Anyway, Vi and her ragtag band of friends on Batuu (Ylena, Dolin, Zade, and a small Chadra-Fan named Kriki among others) hatch a plan to take down Kath and the First Order presence, but naturally things go awry until they are rescued by none other than Cardinal/Archex now wearing his red armor again. He sacrifices himself and dies aboard Kath’s ship as it explodes. But unfortunately it is a wasted sacrifice since, in the book’s epilogue, while training new Resistance recruits in the new Resistance base in the planet’s ancient ruins, Vi looks up to see a star destroyer suddenly appear over Batuu carrying Kylo Ren and members of his fearsome 709th legion. The First Order arrives on Battu anyway and in even greater numbers.
**************
While Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, was obviously written to create a backstory to the Disneyland the park attraction, the plot and characterization of this novel leaves much to be desired. There are many unanswered questions like: Who were the ancient race that once populated Batuu (they are frequently referenced in the book)? And what was the necklace Vi recovered for Oga Garra and whatever happened to it? What was the point of Leia dispatching her top spy, a snarky, unlikable figure with little experience rallying people to a cause, to a remote outpost to do exactly that? Wouldn’t she want her alleged top spy to do more serious reconnaissance work? And why would she send Cardinal/Archex along with Vi? How does this make any sense? And what exactly does “the glean” mean (it is referenced as a situation in which the force takes a shine to someone)? Perhaps fans of The Last Jedi will enjoy this book more than I did, but the notion that the Battle of Crait has left the Resistance with a tiny group, maybe a couple dozen members along with the Millennium Falcon (as explicitly mention in the novel), does not clarify why in the world the First Order would continue to track them down with such overwhelming force throughout the galaxy. And it also doesn’t explain why Leia would send her best spy out to the far reaches of the galaxy on a mission of nation-building for the Resistance.
Still, I found the world-building in this novel compelling, from Smuggler’s Alley to the marketplace, Batuu is a fascinating backwater world. And we do learn a bit more about Vi’s backstory here, namely that she grew up on the planet Chaaktil and has a brother who is gay on Pantora (again, personal identity/sexuality seems to take a central role in these new “Canon” Star Wars novels). But there were some fun nods to Indiana Jones as Vi went venturing deep into the planet’s ancient ruins to recover the necklace for Oga Garra, and the lore of Black Spire Outpost is fun and alluring. However, the character who stood out most to me is the mysterious Ithorian antiquities dealer Dok-Ondar, owner of the Den of Antiquities. Consider the following passage inside his shop:
“The shop was immediately compelling, with a carved stone showing an ancient battle that included lightsabers. On the other side of the mural se discovered a tall and curious chamber filled with fascinating artifacts, objects, and actual paper books. Everywhere she looked, something drew her eye. On a high mezzanine, she noticed a variety of ceremonial headdresses and masks, on another tall wall she goggled at taxidermied beasts with menacing teeth, including a terrifying Nexu, a bug-eyed Kod’yok, and a shaggy white snow monster. A special tank housed a baby sarlacc, its revealed belly glowing under the sand. One object in particular looked promising until she realized it was a Kaleesh mask, which would only make her stand out more. Ithorian weather chimes dangled from chandelier of interlocking circles, adding shifting shadows and an esoteric grandeur to the space” (238-239).
Perhaps somewhere down the road I will encounter more of Dok-Ondar. Anyway, would I recommend Black Spire to fellow readers? Not particularly. But fans of the theme park attraction and fans of the Disney era of Star Wars more broadly just might find something of value here.
Dawson, Delilah S. Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire. Del Rey Mass Market Paperbacks, New York, New York (2019-2020). It is dedicated to Rhys who named “Waba” and for Rex who invented the starmarks (a species of bird on Batuu).