Star Wars Visions: Ronin

A Visions Novel (Inspired by The Duel)

By: Emma Mieko Candon

Narrated by: Joel de la Fuente

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A mysterious former Sith wanders the galaxy in this stunning Star Wars tale, an original novel inspired by the world of The Duel from the Star Wars Visions animated anthology.

The Jedi are the most loyal servants of the Empire.

Two decades ago, Jedi clans clashed in service to feuding lords. Sickened by this endless cycle, a sect of Jedi rebelled, seeking to control their own destiny and claim power in service of no master. They called themselves Sith.

The Sith rebellion failed, succumbing to infighting and betrayal, and the once rival lords unified to create an Empire . . . but even an Empire at peace is not free from violence.

Far on the edge of the Outer Rim, one former Sith wanders, accompanied only by a faithful droid and the ghost of a less civilized age. He carries a lightsaber, but claims lineage to no Jedi clan, and pledges allegiance to no lord. Little is known about him, including his name, for he never speaks of his past, nor his regrets. His history is as guarded as the red blade of destruction he carries sheathed at his side.

As the galaxy's perpetual cycle of violence continues to interrupt his self-imposed exile, and he is forced to duel an enigmatic bandit claiming the title of Sith, it becomes clear that no amount of wandering will ever let him outpace the specters of his former life.

great book and great universe

love the way the book combined the star wars universe with it's own twist that made it truly great.

Like Catching Lightning in a Bottle

There’s a lot of Star Wars content, but this is the first piece that has brought the same joy and the same intensity that watching old VHS tapes of the original trilogy or going to the theater to watch episode 1 gave me.

The prose was elegant, the narrator was suited for the role, the sound effects and music really did make it feel like a audio drama.

I hope we get to see these characters again some day.

It's Star Wars. I liked it.....uhm...

TL;DR : Great characters and cool Edo-era inspired world are held back by flowery rhetoric and abstract world building. Star Wars fans will enjoy it, but I think they'd rather it had been a visual adaptation.

So, before getting started. I'll preface this by letting you guys know I listen to this on my way to work or shopping and I have been known to let my mind wonder. So let's get into it.

This is a continuation of the NON-CANNON Star Wars Visions story "The Duel" and barrows heavily from the likes of Akira Kurosawa and Samurai films of old. Thus leads to some interesting things with Star Wars. On one hand they have the liberty to do new things that hadn't been done and don't need to be bogged down by tons of exposition to world-building because... Well it's Star Wars. We know how it works.

The downside??? It's Star Wars and there are fundamental things that are different in this world that I feel could be better explained. The world... and the entire story for that fact is very abstract. I'm sure some of that is intentional. But it often left me confused on what was happening at any given time. The larger plot beats are easy enough to follow and the characters are great! But I very often didn't even know we're the characters need until I heard something like "and then they ran down the stairs of the Temple". When did they get to a temple?

I don't like a story that spends a lot of time "painting the picture", but this book spent so much time explaining how things felt and waxing poetic that I got lost in the minutiae of it all. Even I'm the Star Wars audio dramas you which are pretty much exclusively dialogue better balance grounding the scene without having characters spout of "we are on the bridge of the ship now".

Like, I said. I listen to this while going to work or doing other miscellaneous tasks, so it may just be me. And I think the characters are super strong and have fantastic chemistry! Learning about them through the way they interact is my favorite type of character writing. I just don't quite understand how we got from one plot point to the other. or quite how this world works vs the normal Star Wars one.

I think any Star Wars fan will like it. Samurai and all! And it does build and interesting world that I wish was a bit more clear to see.

Not Canon

A good Star Wars like story, and great individual story on its own. Just not really a canon novel.

Incredible Self Contained Story

The Ronin is a deep emotional story that peels away layer after layer of characters we met in Star Wars Visions and new unique ones. The narration is so great and the story doesn't feel like it's asking you to jump in for a new franchise.