Ahsoka

Executive Summary: I really enjoyed this, but it's probably best for those who are caught up on the Star Wars TV shows. I do wish it had been a bit longer but it does a good job in filling in the gaps after the Clone Wars.

Audiobook: So for anyone who doesn't know Ashley Eckstein is the voice of Ahsoka Tano, making her the perfect choice for an audio book about the character. She doesn't do a ton of voices, but I thought she did a good job as a narrator overall.

Full Review
I was late to game with Star War: Clone Wars. I didn't really care for the prequel movies, and the show was aimed at kids, so it was bound to be bad, right? Apparently not. While not every episode is a classic, the series as a whole was quite great, and one of the reasons was Ahsoka Tano.

It being a kid's show, they obviously wanted someone that kids could identify with, and Anakin Skywalker is no longer a Padawan. Enter Ahsoka Tano. I didn't love her right away, but she grew to become one of my favorite characters in Star Wars canon, and that's saying a lot.

When Disney bought Lucas, they invalidated most of the EU as “Legends”, but kept the Clone Wars show as cannon. Unfortunately, since the show aired on Cartoon Network, it was quickly cancelled in favor of a new show on a Disney owned network, leaving Ahsoka's story not only incomplete, but left off in a pretty awful place.

This book takes place after Clone Wars, and before the new show Rebels. It's a bit on the short side and I found the start a little meandering. However once things get going it was a lot of fun, and provided most of the answers I was looking for.

If your a fan of the Star Wars TV shows, there is a lot to like here. If you haven't seen them, I'd suggest checking them out first before picking this one up. You really don't get a lot of backstory on Ahsoka, so it may be less appealing.

I've never read a book by E.K. Johnston, but I feel like she did a good job with the book. I'd love to see a sequel, further exploring her activities before the start of Rebels. Really, I just want more Ahsoka stories. Maybe Disney will do a stand alone movie with her some day.

Overall, I'm happy I picked up this book, and it's nice that Disney provided some answers to its fans.

Ahsoka Tano may very well be one of the most beloved (if not THE most) characters of the new Star Wars Expanded Universe. We already know plenty about her from The Clone Wars and Rebels, but there are still a few huge gaps in her story. This book is the first to try to fill some of those gaps.

And it's great! We find out A LOT! Lots of things that were casually referenced in Rebels or more on certain characters and events from The Clone Wars (even including some interludes with POVs of a few familiar characters). But also more on Kyber Crystals and how Ahsoka ends up in the Rebellion. And just in general Ahsoka reflecting on her life in the Jedi Order and Order 66.

It's a fun read, and I heartily recommend getting the audiobook, narrated by Ahsoka's voice actress Ashley Eckstein. She made the whole book come alive, which really adds to it.