Revisiting ‘Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel’ And Possible Connections To ‘Andor’
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Andor is now upon us, and because of that, lots of Star Wars fans are making time to ensure they are ready for the show. Naturally, many of them are returning to the movie that started it all, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the story of a group of Rebels who are ready to steal the Death Star plans. However, some people don’t know that Rogue One, a prequel to A New Hope, also has a prequel. A book titled Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by the legendary Star Wars author, James Luceno.
Catalyst is the prequel to Rogue One, which focuses on the two men who will be responsible for the construction of the Death Star, Orson Krennic and Galen Erso. Old friends, one a scientist and the other an engineer, both men have very different goals and ambitions throughout the book. It begins during the early years of the Clone Wars. The Republic and Separatist battle for control of the galaxy, and a young Krennic trying to rise through the ranks, especially in the administration of Chancellor Palpatine.
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Throughout the story, Galen is still an apolitical scientist at the time. He believes what he is doing will help the galaxy and thus is willing to help so long as he gets funding. Through Krennic, he gets his commission from the Republic, unaware that the research is going into a secret project, a weapon that will help wipe out the Separatist during the Clone Wars once and for all. Once the war is over, Galen will continue to work for the Empire on his research, only to be manipulated by Krennic again into helping with the development of the Death Star.
It was interesting throughout the story to see Galen and Krennic’s relationship and Galen’s wife, Lyra, in the mix. Galen is far more the apathetic one of the trio. He just wants to do scientific research for good but doesn’t dig deep into the Empire’s machinations. Lyra, for her part, is far more suspicious of the Empire. First, because of her connections to the Force, her belief in the ways of the Jedi, and her natural suspicions of Krennic, she is a lot more willing to investigate just what her husband is doing with the Kyber Crystals.
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The book also compares and contrasts the Republic and the Empire and how one slowly becomes the other. It is a very politically heavy book that shows the intricacies of the bureaucracy of both organizations dealing with the likes of Mas Amedda and Tarkin. It also displays Krennic trying to rise through the ranks and achieve high praise, even meeting the Emperor himself.
Eventually, Galen realizes what Krennic is doing, and with the help of Rebel Partisan Saw Gerrera, they manage to escape Krennic grasp, but only for a while. However, this causes Krennic to serve a bit of a setback at first, but one he plans to undo as he climbs through the ranks again, leading up to the events we see at the start of Rogue One.
Like any good prequel, Catalyst deals with the events of the past leading up to the present. It expands on a character whose legacy looms large over Rogue One. It’s an excellent book to read, especially for getting into the Rogue One era of the Star Wars universe. Many connections to Andor will likely be seen in the background, but there are implications. The Death Star is coming, and the rebellion will have to destroy it or risk being destroyed.
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