The highs were high! But the lows, very low.

The opening chapter created a ton of excitement! This was needed, because the 3.5 hours that followed were slow, boring, forced and really not needed. It seemed like there was a great story outlined, but Johnson needed filler to make it long enough to be called a novel. It's unfortunate that this book was either rushed, or just not thought out, because Ashoka is one of my favorite characters. Raised in the force by Master Plo Koon and trained and fought directly under Anakin Skywalker, Ashoka is an extremely powerful force user! The new canon on saber crystals was interesting, and as always Senator Organa was a welcomed addition! One timeline question that confused me is that Ashoka is just joining the rebellion, yet Antilles is already a part of it. Rebels has Ashoka already intertwined, and possibly dead, when Antilles defects from the Empire and joins the rebellion. This confused me. As I said in my title, the highs were high, which luckily kept me going, as the last 2 hours was very enjoyable. Ashley Eckstein has a very welcoming voice, probably because we already know her as Ashoka, which added an extra star to my overall review. Just like Aftermath, the inner plot was rushed, and it's a real shame. More meat, less lumpy potatoes. Lol. Give it a listen, but know that only about a third of the book is actually worth it, the rest is pointless dribble.

56 people found this helpful

Better Audible Version Than Book Version

Review from a 13 year old Ahsoka fan: “Ahsoka is a story that explains the time period between Order 66 and Ahsoka joining the rebellion. It starts off with Ahsoka on the run from the newly established empire, which forces her to the outer rims of the galaxy. Searching for somewhere to settle down and lay low she stumbles upon Thabeska, a planet inhabited by the Fardi family. Getting to know the family well Ahsoka notices something extraordinary among one of the family members before being forced to leave due to imperial arrival. Later landing on Raada a moon for farming, and getting to know the small amount of inhabitants there. Ahsoka quickly finds herself troubled when once again the empire arrives and causes all kinds of troubles on the small moon. While worried about what to do to help her friends Ahsoka teams up with old allies. But new enemies are following not too far behind. In the end Ahsoka is forced to make hard decisions while only herself to rely on in the process.

Ahsoka Tano in the said book was almost on point, only being a little too timid to be the Ahsoka we fans truly love. Other characters like Miara or Kaeden were a little too bland and underdeveloped along with the rest of the Raada inhabitants. Another thing that was quite annoying was the switching in the point of views later in the book after focusing only on Ahsoka for the first part.

Positive was the nice and steady plot; it was great to have a simple one instead of it being packed with too much action. Another thing that was on point was that it felt like a Star Wars type of setting, including the empire and how they reacted to different events.

In all, the book was fine but in many ways could have been better, and doing fine on living up to the high standards that were placed upon it. Interesting to read but small errors character wise.

Definitely the Audible version was worth it to hear Ashley Eckstein narrate.

9 people found this helpful

An act of kindness is a revolutionary act

In an era of darkness, kindness is a revolutionary act. After the events of Revenge of the Sith, Ahsoka is trying to find herself and her place in the age of the Empire. I really enjoyed the audiobook especially since Ashley gets to read her character's story. The story itself plays out like an episode of The Clone Wars. There are interludes like in the Aftermath series, however these actually have something to do with Ahoska or the characters she has interacted with over the years. There are hints that the Empire is working on something big, although it is never directly mentioned. There are also appearances by characters that play an important part in the formation of the rebellion. The book leaves open other adventures with Ahsoka which I hope they do. This is probably my third favorite book after Lost Stars and Bloodlines.

14 people found this helpful

Another great story.

i am enjoying the new canon. this when was performed well and it's great to hear Ashley Eckstein read it.

5 people found this helpful

So much potential thrown away...

What disappointed you about Star Wars: Ahsoka?

The characters beside Ahsoka are poorly introduced, barely described, and feel so very unimportant. It feels like they were thrown out there for drama building, but since the author couldn't make me care about them, it just felt boring. Honestly, they had 15 years of undefined Ahsoka lore they could create, and they chose this?? It's like this book was rushed in writing and production...

What three words best describe Ashley Eckstein’s performance?

She had fun. We can feel that she really liked doing this. That's a good thing. The bad thing is that her range of voices is very limited... so pretty much every characted sounded like Ahsoka. Plus, her narrating shifted depending on what was going on and who was doing what... and it felt weird. The direction wasn't the best.

What character would you cut from Star Wars: Ahsoka?

Every farmer. Also every chapter that had nothing to do with the story. It felt as if they were added to compensate for the boring story. Prehaps with those cuts they could have taken the time to write more character building around the bad guys.

Any additional comments?

I really like Ahsoka, the character. The book, however, is very bad. I don't understand how it got so many 5 stars... If you've already purchased it, be patient... the story gets a little bit interesting at chapter 25 of 32... but not that much.

38 people found this helpful

It's just plain bad...

Being part of the YA genre is no excuse for your story, characters, and plot to suck. Tons of people I have heard recommend the book as a vital piece of Ahsoka Tano's story between the Clone Wars and Rebels TV shows. Well, it isn't.
They had 14 years of time to play with, but decided only to encompass a few months of said time in the book. There are cameos from classic characters like Anakin and Obi-wan, but it contributes nothing to the story, gives us no new information, leads nowhere, and has nothing to do with Ahsoka. Jenneth Pillar, the villain originally setup in the book? forgotten and ignored later. Will Ahsoka discover how to be more than a Jedi, or figure out what that is? nope, just refigure out how to be a Jedi again and then play word games about it. Will she learn to form any new significant relationships? nah. What about the Force sensitive Fardi child? we're never told what happens. There are dozens of other important questions and events Ahsoka could've been involved in during this time period, but the it's like they deliberately tried to make it boring and inconsequential to the bigger picture. With the exception of Bail Organa, all the new male characters are evil, incompetent or corrupt, while the female characters are mostly teenagers with too many "a" sounds in their names with interchangeable voices and personalities alternately fretting over everything or fangirling over Ahsoka....smh. Don't forget a healthy dash of queerbaiting to top it off. Dave Filoni said he had extensive backstory mapped out for Ahsoka. So much so, in fact, that a good bit of it would never make in on screen. Well, where is it? Because this sure isn't it.

4 people found this helpful

Really enjoyed this.

The fact the Ashely narrates the entire thing makes it that much better because you are literally getting to hear Ahsoka tell her story. Filled with extra small inserts from other well loved characters that I won't spoil but that truly add to the entire story. In my opinion this is a great set up prior to her appearance in Rebels and yes you do finally find out how where she got her light sabers from. There is background music and sound added through out the entire story which really add to a much fuller experience compared to reading through pages. Well done E.K & Ashley.

28 people found this helpful

Lack of Depth cont for new Star Wars books

I feel like every new canon Star Wars books (minus Dark Disciple and the Tarkin book, which a great) lack any really depth. The books seem great for young Star Wars fans but are missing character development and heavy plots like the Thrawn, Bane or Jedi academy book.

14 people found this helpful

Amazing Audiobook

Ashley Eckstein did an amazing job. The story was intriguing. The music and sounds went perfectly with her voice and the story. Definitely recommend!

24 people found this helpful

Great addition to the canon

Usually, I am wary of this sort of story, but as a fan of Star Wars Rebels and a casual viewer of Clone Wars, I knew of Ahsoka and some of her background and followed her storyline in Rebels. This novel is a terrific as the connector between point A and point B.

The way the character evolves is believable and the juxtaposition of flashbacks and alternate POV characters narrating offers insight into the context that the main character operates within.

As the voice of Ahsoka in Clone Wars and Rebels, Ashley Eckstein is fantastic. She brings a lot of that wonderful energy and understanding of the character to the narration. I have two minor issues that didn't detract from my enjoyment - she spoke quickly at times (tho always clearly) and there is one time when she slips and instead of using Ahsoka's pseudonym/cover name, she says her real name as a character who isn't supposed to know her real name yet. That was confusing as that character was also Togruta so for a minute I thought it was on purpose.

Good story, good pacing and action and a nice way to tie a few loose ends together.

2 people found this helpful