Upcoming Book 'Shadow Of The Sith' Could Answer Some Questions From The Sequel Trilogy
Lucasfilm and its publishing partners are starting to fill the 30-year gap between the end of Return of the Jedi and the beginning of The Force Awakens with new stories. By doing so, they hope to remedy some of the plot holes of the sequel trilogy as a whole and The Rise of Skywalker especially. So far most of the books and comics that have been published in this era were set relatively close to the Battle of Endor, like Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath, or Alexander Freed’s Alphabet Squadron trilogy, which deals with the Empire’s last stand at Jakku, and the seemingly disappearance of its remnants into the Unknown Regions after that. Other books were set more closely to the sequel trilogy, like the stories of Rey, Finn, and Poe before they met in The Force Awakens. There are a few exceptions that give us a hint at the state of the galaxy between the formation of the New Republic and the rise of the First Order, like Claudia Gray’s Bloodline, that covers with the end of Leia’s political career after her heritage becomes public knowledge and the growing schism in the New Republic into a more peaceful and a more aggressive faction.
Next summer will see the release of another novel that is set in this time period, Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher. This book will not be his first foray into the galaxy far, far away, as he has written one short story for each of the From A Certain Point of View anthology books and he was contracted to write a tie-in book to The Mandalorian before this project was canceled.
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The book will deal with Luke’s and Lando’s search the latter’s daughter, who was abducted at a very young age. The first paragraph of the publisher’s summary for Shadow of the Sith reads:
“The Empire is dead. Nearly two decades on from the Battle of Endor, the tattered remnants of Palpatine's forces have fled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. But for the heroes of the New Republic, danger and loss are ever-present companions, even in this newly forged era of peace.”
This puts the time period of the story in a curious place as The Rise of Skywalker - The Visual Dictionary puts the birth of Lando’s daughter at 9 years after Return of the Jedi and her abduction 2 years later.
While Lando is searching for his child, Luke is haunted by visions of a growing evil on the planet Exegol, deep in the Unknown Regions. Trying to solve both mysteries, the old friends come into contact with Ochi of Bestoon, a Sith assassin who was first mentioned in The Rise of Skywalker, and who is also featured in the current Darth Vader comic series by Marvel.
The Visual Dictionary also mentions Lando’s and Luke’s encounter with Ochi, who at this point is tasked with finding Palpatine’s granddaughter Rey, whom her parents have been hiding from the Sith Lord. This event is set 17 years after the battle of Endor (21 years after the Battle of Yavin), which solidifies the “nearly two decades” from the publisher’s summary and implies that Lando has been searching for his daughter for 6 years. 21 ABY is also the year when Rey’s parents leave their daughter behind on Jakku before being killed by Ochi shortly after. Thus, it is quite plausible that this event will be part of the story of Shadow of the Sith.
At this time the galaxy overall is still more or less in peace. All traces of the Empire have vanished from the galaxy and the First Order under Snoke’s leadership may be growing and rising to power somewhere on the edges of the galaxy. However, at this point in time, they are still more or less a “phantom menace.” Palpatine and the Sith Eternal are continuing to build their grand fleet on Exegol, as they have been for more than two decades, and Ben Solo is still a Padawan in Luke’s Jedi academy. Leia’s ousting from the senate, Luke sensing the darkness in his nephew, and his self-proclaimed exile on Ahch-To is still seven years away.
Amidst this calm before the storm, Shadow of The Sith might answer some of the questions that were left open after The Rise of Skywalker. What did Luke do after he learned about the existence of a Sith threat on Exegol? How were Rey’s parents murdered? What is the secret behind the dagger with the Sith writing on it, which lead to the discovery of the second Sith wayfinder? Is the First Order deserter Jannah, as it was to some extent implied in Rise of Skywalker, actually Lando’s long missing daughter? Hopefully, the answers can be found in this upcoming novel.
Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher will be released on June 28, 2022.
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Source(s): CBR, The Rise of Skywalker - The Visual Dictionary