A New Dawn: Star Wars

By: John Jackson Miller

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....

"The war is over. The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning." (Emperor Palpatine)

For a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights brought peace and order to the Galactic Republic, aided by their connection to the mystical energy field known as the Force. But they were betrayed - and the entire galaxy has paid the price. It is the Age of the Empire.

Now Emperor Palpatine, once Chancellor of the Republic and secretly a Sith follower of the dark side of the Force, has brought his own peace and order to the galaxy. Peace through brutal repression, and order through increasing control of his subjects’ lives.

But even as the Emperor tightens his iron grip, others have begun to question his means and motives. And still others, whose lives were destroyed by Palpatine’s machinations, lay scattered about the galaxy like unexploded bombs, waiting to go off....

The first Star Wars novel created in collaboration with the Lucasfilm Story Group, Star Wars: A New Dawn is set during the legendary "Dark Times" between Episodes III and IV and tells the story of how two of the lead characters from the animated series Star Wars Rebels first came to cross paths. Featuring a foreword by Dave Filoni.

©2014 John Jackson Miller (P)2014 Random House Audio

A pleasant surprise! I despised this author.

Where does A New Dawn: Star Wars rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd rank this one with The Fate of the Jedi series. They were amazing! This one easily fits in their rankings.

What did you like best about this story?

Never a dull moment. It was put together very well. I was shocked. I hated his past work so I had no faith going in. He did something right for once and excelled doing so. The story has great progression, great scenes that feel like they have importance. He never adds scenes that feel like fluff. Everything is in there for a purpose and foreshadows to something about to happen.

Which scene was your favorite?

Anything with the male lead. He never takes himself seriously.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Return to form of how SW should be.

Any additional comments?

Only prob I had was no romance in it. The author almost flirts with it, but never actually does it EVER! They made absolutely no progress in this area and it seemed like it should have the entire book.

One of my favorites

I wasn't expecting much from this book especially that it's just a prequel to the Star Wars Rebel series. I was presently surprised with an in depth story and a fun adventure. I'm glad I picked this one up and would even consider listening to it a second time.

Another Great Part Of The Universe!

Love the characters!!! Awesome performance, great story, kept me glued the whole story! Awesome words from Dave at the end! Definitely listening to this one again!!! Am I at 15 words yet!?

lots of fun

good story. without giving spoilers. sadly this book is not how the entire crew met.

Kanan :,)

great story. loved hearing what happened before Rebels. still lots of feels for Kanan. Great characters in the story too

Good for rebels fans

I have been watching all the rebels episodes and most been enjoying them. This book was great background for the series. Not a crazy original piece of writing, but a good example of fun star wars lore.

Great start to a new story line.

This was a great start to a new story. I loved getting the background on all these characters.

Great character development.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Great Kanan and Hera backstory. Love the character development and it plays well into their relationship on Rebels.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved Kanan's personal conflict and how much he's matured since the beginning of this book to where he is today on Rebels.

What about Marc Thompson’s performance did you like?

Great voices for each of the characters. Well performed.

Any additional comments?

I wish the plot had a better tie-in to the rest of the SW universe. Seemed to be pretty isolated without much reference to other happenings.

A new Dawn

Great Star Wars book. Fresh and new. Would like to hear more. Good characters. A great start to a new series. I know about the tv show. But this was way better. Hope for more.

Awesome New Story-Arc (Setting BetweenTrilogies)

Any additional comments?

Like many of you (if not ALL reading this review) I LOVE Star Wars!! Movies, books, comics, animated shows, etc/whatever!! I am usually a wee-bit hesitant in starting new "arcs" in the SW-Universe, and the only reason I can think of (well 2 actually) is that first, I love to savor the anticipation of a new adventure - because to me, these stories just can't be released fast enough, and the second, is that I tend to wonder if the next "saga-story" is going to be the one that strays far enough away from all that I truly appreciate about the series, so that I question continuing on ahead with future stories... Maybe I am/was just a bit worried when Lucas sold the rights to Star Wars - to Disney - that they may want to make it "their own"... Well, without diving in too deep into that philosophy, this was a breath of fresh air (and a great "prequel" to the animated show Star Wars Rebels (which I also was skeptical about, but ended up really enjoying it)... If you haven't seen the show, or even if you have, and are looking to jump into a new "Chapter" of the Star Wars Saga, this is a great book!! Not much like what you may have come from (in previous jedi-stories), but truly great (especially for those fascinated with inter-world/inter-species societies and political agenda) Really trying not to throw down any spoilers here, so forgive the vagueness... It may not be what you expected, but I really enjoyed it, and look forward to future adventures and newcomers to this crew!! If you're on the fence, take the chance!! Use a credit or purchase, the story is worth it, and you should all know by now that the production quality and voice actor Marc Thompson is phenomenal (as always)!! The note from "production-writer?" at the end was a great touch to add to your excitement for upcoming stories in this "arc" of the Saga!!