Star Wars: Bloodline - New Republic

By: Claudia Gray

Narrated by: January LaVoy

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Star Wars: Lost Stars comes a thrilling novel set in the years before the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

“Unmissable . . . Bloodline’s tense politics, vivid new characters, and perfectly characterized Leia make it feel as central to the Star Wars universe as one of the films.”—Tordotcom

WITNESS THE BIRTH OF THE RESISTANCE

When the Rebellion defeated the Empire in the skies above Endor, Leia Organa believed it was the beginning to a lasting peace. But after decades of vicious infighting and partisan gridlock in the New Republic Senate, that hope seems like a distant memory.

Now a respected senator, Leia must grapple with the dangers that threaten to cripple the fledgling democracy—from both within and without. Underworld kingpins, treacherous politicians, and Imperial loyalists are sowing chaos in the galaxy. Desperate to take action, senators are calling for the election of a First Senator. It is their hope that this influential post will bring strong leadership to a divided galaxy.

As the daughter of Darth Vader, Leia faces with distrust the prospect of any one person holding such a powerful position—even when supporters suggest Leia herself for the job. But a new enemy may make this path Leia’s only option. For at the edges of the galaxy, a mysterious threat is growing. . . .

Praise for Bloodline

“[Claudia] Gray paints a much more complete galaxy than we often get to see on the big screen. . . . Knowing that Rian Johnson (writer, director of Star Wars: Episode VIII) had some creative input on the novel provides hope that we haven’t seen the last of all of these wonderful characters. . . . Star Wars: Bloodline isn’t just a great Star Wars book, or a great Leia book, or a great book; it’s a great introduction into the larger world of Star Wars in general.”—ComicBookdotcom

“Bloodline is a nonstop page-turner that grabs at heartstrings that you weren’t aware of and yanks down on every one of them. The story is loaded with context for The Force Awakens that plants the seeds for The First Order in perfectly haunting ways, and leaves the reader grasping for more details on newly discovered favorite characters.”—Inverse

Critic reviews

“Unmissable . . . Bloodline’s tense politics, vivid new characters, and perfectly characterized Leia make it feel as central to the Star Wars universe as one of the films.”—Tordotcom

“[Claudia] Gray paints a much more complete galaxy than we often get to see on the big screen. . . . Knowing that Rian Johnson (writer, director of Star Wars: Episode VIII) had some creative input on the novel provides hope that we haven’t seen the last of all of these wonderful characters. . . . Star Wars: Bloodline isn’t just a great Star Wars book, or a great Leia book, or a great book; it’s a great introduction into the larger world of Star Wars in general.”—ComicBookdotcom

“Bloodline is a nonstop page-turner that grabs at heartstrings that you weren’t aware of and yanks down on every one of them. The story is loaded with context for The Force Awakens that plants the seeds for The First Order in perfectly haunting ways, and leaves the reader grasping for more details on newly discovered favorite characters.”—Inverse

Fantastic

The politics of Star Wars are best done in book form. This is Exhibit A

a new angle

while I am a die hard Expanded universe fan, I have to say Bloodlines explored the vast politic consequences of Leia's connection to Lord Vader.

previous stories kind of made it seem the galaxy. got over it. in this story it showed that despite her sterling record, it would seem that blood connection had severe consequences.

A worthy story and definitely adds a piece on how the Resistance was started.

fantastic entry into star wars

was a great story and well played out by the voice actors in the audible version. awesome details on the unraveling of the new Republic.

All Hail The Princess

If you love Leia, you’ll love this book. It helps to know who the writer had in mind of the characters you see, but this book is provocative, deeply political while action-packed and really feeds that curiosity of “How the hell did we get HERE?!” That Force Awakens brought out in me. I loved, loved, LOVED getting to see more of Han, because it also took their separation from seeming really sad and unlikely to more a product of their lives and it’s less upsetting. Overall, can’t recommend it enough. Those last few chapters had me crying in spots. Also, January LaVoy does an AMAZING job with all the characters! The production quality’s awesome, too, with scoring and full SFX to immerse you. I will be listening to this again when I miss our Princess...

Decent story, but left wanting

I enjoyed the book. Nice to have references and tie ins throughout the story of episodes past. However, I could have used some more context of the rest of the galaxy (don't want to spoil this book for you). Perhaps I'll find it in the next book of the series.