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Star Wars: Battle Of Jakku (2024)
Star Wars: Battle of Jakku - Republic Under Siege (2024) #1
STILL REELING FROM THE EVENTS OF INSURGENCY RISES, LUKE MUST SEEK OUT A RELIC THAT COULD HOLD CLUES TO THE FUTURE OF THE JEDI ORDER! LUKE SKYWALKER and a new friend find themselves cornered! Can two Imperial powerhouses find common ground against the nascent New Republic? Where are Han and Chewbacca? The heroes find themselves saved in the nick of time - by a fan-favorite guest star and ally!
34 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2024
12 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Alex Segura
274 books572 followersAlex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, which The New York Times called “wittily original” and named an Editor’s Choice. NPR described the novel as “masterful” and The L.A. Times called it “a magnetic read.”
Secret Identity received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, was listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, Booklist, LitReactor, Gizmodo, BOLO Books, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Hardcover, the Lefty and Barry Awards for Best Novel, the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel, and won the LA Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category.
His upcoming work includes the YA superhero adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow, the follow-up to Secret Identity, Alter Ego, and the sci-fi/espionage thriller, Dark Space (with Rob Hart). Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Anthony Award-nominated Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books – including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened, Mara Llave – Keeper of Time, Blood Oath, stories featuring Marvel heroes the Avengers, Sunspot, White Tiger, Spider-Man and DC’s Superman, Sinestro, and The Question, to name a few.
His short story, “90 Miles” was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories for 2021 and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. Another short story,“Red Zone,” won the 2020 Anthony Award for Best Short Story.
Alex is also the co-creator of the Lethal Lit podcast, named one of the best fiction podcasts of 2018 by The New York Times.
A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.
Secret Identity received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, was listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, Booklist, LitReactor, Gizmodo, BOLO Books, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Hardcover, the Lefty and Barry Awards for Best Novel, the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel, and won the LA Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category.
His upcoming work includes the YA superhero adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow, the follow-up to Secret Identity, Alter Ego, and the sci-fi/espionage thriller, Dark Space (with Rob Hart). Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Anthony Award-nominated Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books – including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened, Mara Llave – Keeper of Time, Blood Oath, stories featuring Marvel heroes the Avengers, Sunspot, White Tiger, Spider-Man and DC’s Superman, Sinestro, and The Question, to name a few.
His short story, “90 Miles” was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories for 2021 and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. Another short story,“Red Zone,” won the 2020 Anthony Award for Best Short Story.
Alex is also the co-creator of the Lethal Lit podcast, named one of the best fiction podcasts of 2018 by The New York Times.
A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 23, 2025
“In her brightest dreams, it never went like this for Princess Leia Organa. When she allowed herself to form a bold, new hope – it was clearer. Uncomplicated. The Rebellion won. The Empire lay defeated. The New Republic was born. But reality is more complicated than dreams. Even the ones that seem to come true.”
The New Republic's team managed to delay Adelhard's plans to bring back the Empire - but not for good. As he is building new alliances, Leia tries to figure out the best way to lead and Luke is on a mission to find a relic which could, in wrong hands, create chaos.
I've been meaning to get back to this series for a long time and, finally, I picked up this first issue. It was fun being back in this chaotic time right after ROTJ and to once again spend time with some of my favorite characters ever - and some new cool characters, like Rynn.
While Adelhard doesn't strike me as anything superb - he is an okay villain but not that interesting, I've always been, in SW, a rebel girlie at heart - I had a blast with Leia and Luke's scenes. The conversation between Leia and Mon Mothma about what it means to rebuild a new order while also continuing to fight - whether it is possible to hold on to the ideals of the Rebellion in this new perilous state - was wonderful, and everything with Luke and Rynn relic-hunting was fun. I'm always up for more Force lore and wacky Force artefacts. The surprise at the end of the issue made me gasp and grin like a buffoon! I had no idea
I'm eager to continue this series now, especially after that ending. It's gonna be cool to see how that character plays into this story and also, in general, see how everything that is going on will hurtle towards its inevitable conclusion: the Battle of Jakku.
The New Republic's team managed to delay Adelhard's plans to bring back the Empire - but not for good. As he is building new alliances, Leia tries to figure out the best way to lead and Luke is on a mission to find a relic which could, in wrong hands, create chaos.
I've been meaning to get back to this series for a long time and, finally, I picked up this first issue. It was fun being back in this chaotic time right after ROTJ and to once again spend time with some of my favorite characters ever - and some new cool characters, like Rynn.
While Adelhard doesn't strike me as anything superb - he is an okay villain but not that interesting, I've always been, in SW, a rebel girlie at heart - I had a blast with Leia and Luke's scenes. The conversation between Leia and Mon Mothma about what it means to rebuild a new order while also continuing to fight - whether it is possible to hold on to the ideals of the Rebellion in this new perilous state - was wonderful, and everything with Luke and Rynn relic-hunting was fun. I'm always up for more Force lore and wacky Force artefacts. The surprise at the end of the issue made me gasp and grin like a buffoon! I had no idea
I'm eager to continue this series now, especially after that ending. It's gonna be cool to see how that character plays into this story and also, in general, see how everything that is going on will hurtle towards its inevitable conclusion: the Battle of Jakku.
November 23, 2024
3.5/5 stars
No, no, no, no. Not her!!!! Please, not her. Why would you do this to me, Alex Segura?
It's hardly a spoiler that Doctor Aphra is joining the Battle of Jakku maxiseries. I've never been an Aphra fan. She joins other fan favourites whose popularity I just do not understand (Bo-Katan and Rae Sloane are also on that list). Beyond that though, there's a chance I'll be pleasantly surprised. Segura has proved himself quite great at characters, which makes me hope that Aphra's appearance will be justified beyond the "oh-it's-her" moment. That being said, saving Aphra for Issue 1's cliffhanger left me with a nagging worry: how many other characters are going to be brought into this story? While I'm not necessarily against this as a rule, it runs the risk of this series becoming too crowded. A sign of that in this issue? Rynn Zenat feels like a sidekick here.
Fortunately, that's where my complaints end. Republic Under Siege started on a high note and, more importantly, is clearly building towards something.
The worldbuilding is still the best part of the Battle of Jakku. In Insurgency Rising, the Empire's defeat at Endor changed the face of the war. The Rebel Alliance became the New Republic, no longer an armed insurgency but a genuine attempt to form a galactic government. Meanwhile, the Empire are now the underdogs, splintered without the unifying figure of the Emperor or the dread inspired by Darth Vader, a theme both Dave Filoni and Chuck Wendig leaned into in Ahsoka and Aftermath respectively. Both had their own Imperial faction, so Segura chose his own, drawing from the old Expanded Universe for inspiration. Where Filoni's Thrawn wants to take the Empire from where it was to a more 'perfect' form, and Wendig's Gallius Rax (briefly featured in Issue 2 of Insurgency Rising) has his own goal (), Adelhard represents neither: he embodies what some in the old EU called 'purism', a post-Endor philosophy that advanced that the Empire as it had been didn't need to change, emphasising its reestablishment over needed reforms for it to survive.
Issue 1 of Republic Under Siege and its Adelhard-centric companion piece Consolidation show his faction gaining ground, forming alliances with other factions against the New Republic. Segura features a character from the Aftermath and Alphabet Squadron trilogies to illustrate this point: the self-proclaimed Grand General Kenner Loring. Only mentioned in both, Loring's role was as an unseen menace, an opponent to Gallius Rax in the first and the commander of Shadow Wing's Imperial faction in the other. Since neither series put him front and center, Segura can use Loring to represent another Imperial of the post-Endor landscape: the one in it for himself. The way Adelhard deals with Loring is the same kind of politicking and intrigue the Rebels used in Star Wars Rebels and Andor, if more ruthless. In Insurgency Rising, Adelhard contented himself with squeezing the Rebellion in his sector, only responding to offers of alliance rather than seeking them out himself. Now, he is forcing alliances in a 'Join, or Die' manner perfectly echoes the tactics of Luthen Rael and Saw Gerrera, further bluring the lines between the former Rebellion and the Empire. More worrying, though, is that Adelhard's 'purism' is fundementally flawed: it has no sustainable endgame. But is that changing? Is Adelhard's new desire for alliances, especially with the Acolytes of the Beyond, a reflection of a quest for something deeper?
Beyond these Imperial intrigues, Segura continues to make the most of building up this story. Republic Under Siege is an interesting title. The threat from the Empire is obvious, but what about the threats from within? Insurgency Rising started building up that theme with Leia. She's clearly being built towards something. Just like with Han (who remains absent from this series, although what he's up to is mentioned), Segura has less leeway about where he can take Leia; both characters featured quite prominently in the Aftermath trilogy. Instead then, Segura gives her a personal character moment, allowing him to ask the big question: how far has the New Republic besieged itself? To what extent should it sacrifice its beliefs as it establishes itself? It's a fascinating echo to our modern governments: why do we choose to delay needed reforms until the time is 'right'? How often do governments sacrifice what little time they have to try something, delaying it in the hope of getting more time to do it later? It's a frustration intrinsically linked to government: where is the line between management and leadership? Including Mon Mothma in the conversation was a great choice because her more questionable choices in Andor have given us a different appreciation for the character. And it ties Leia into the wider questions that Star Wars has been asking over the past few years. Can the princess's idealism survive the unavoidable realities any new government must face? How far will she allow herself to be tied down by its conventions? Had the sequel trilogy not chosen to tap into the familiar so much, these are the questions it could have tackled (and kind of did in a limited way with Poe's arc in The Last Jedi). And that's just one of the reasons I'm so glad to see them being used here.
At the end of the day, when Segura can effortlessly interweave such excellent worldbuilding, theme and characterisation, does it matter how I feel about Aphra or the possibility the editors are trying to cram too many characters into an already-crowded series? Not when Battle of Jakku has clearly learnt the mistakes of building up a series with no endgame. In a cheeky meta way, Adelhard's conservative Imperial restoration lacking an endgame hammers home the best thing about this maxiseries.
Alex Segura knows where Battle of Jakku is going.
No, no, no, no. Not her!!!! Please, not her. Why would you do this to me, Alex Segura?
It's hardly a spoiler that Doctor Aphra is joining the Battle of Jakku maxiseries. I've never been an Aphra fan. She joins other fan favourites whose popularity I just do not understand (Bo-Katan and Rae Sloane are also on that list). Beyond that though, there's a chance I'll be pleasantly surprised. Segura has proved himself quite great at characters, which makes me hope that Aphra's appearance will be justified beyond the "oh-it's-her" moment. That being said, saving Aphra for Issue 1's cliffhanger left me with a nagging worry: how many other characters are going to be brought into this story? While I'm not necessarily against this as a rule, it runs the risk of this series becoming too crowded. A sign of that in this issue? Rynn Zenat feels like a sidekick here.
Fortunately, that's where my complaints end. Republic Under Siege started on a high note and, more importantly, is clearly building towards something.
The worldbuilding is still the best part of the Battle of Jakku. In Insurgency Rising, the Empire's defeat at Endor changed the face of the war. The Rebel Alliance became the New Republic, no longer an armed insurgency but a genuine attempt to form a galactic government. Meanwhile, the Empire are now the underdogs, splintered without the unifying figure of the Emperor or the dread inspired by Darth Vader, a theme both Dave Filoni and Chuck Wendig leaned into in Ahsoka and Aftermath respectively. Both had their own Imperial faction, so Segura chose his own, drawing from the old Expanded Universe for inspiration. Where Filoni's Thrawn wants to take the Empire from where it was to a more 'perfect' form, and Wendig's Gallius Rax (briefly featured in Issue 2 of Insurgency Rising) has his own goal (), Adelhard represents neither: he embodies what some in the old EU called 'purism', a post-Endor philosophy that advanced that the Empire as it had been didn't need to change, emphasising its reestablishment over needed reforms for it to survive.
Issue 1 of Republic Under Siege and its Adelhard-centric companion piece Consolidation show his faction gaining ground, forming alliances with other factions against the New Republic. Segura features a character from the Aftermath and Alphabet Squadron trilogies to illustrate this point: the self-proclaimed Grand General Kenner Loring. Only mentioned in both, Loring's role was as an unseen menace, an opponent to Gallius Rax in the first and the commander of Shadow Wing's Imperial faction in the other. Since neither series put him front and center, Segura can use Loring to represent another Imperial of the post-Endor landscape: the one in it for himself. The way Adelhard deals with Loring is the same kind of politicking and intrigue the Rebels used in Star Wars Rebels and Andor, if more ruthless. In Insurgency Rising, Adelhard contented himself with squeezing the Rebellion in his sector, only responding to offers of alliance rather than seeking them out himself. Now, he is forcing alliances in a 'Join, or Die' manner perfectly echoes the tactics of Luthen Rael and Saw Gerrera, further bluring the lines between the former Rebellion and the Empire. More worrying, though, is that Adelhard's 'purism' is fundementally flawed: it has no sustainable endgame. But is that changing? Is Adelhard's new desire for alliances, especially with the Acolytes of the Beyond, a reflection of a quest for something deeper?
Beyond these Imperial intrigues, Segura continues to make the most of building up this story. Republic Under Siege is an interesting title. The threat from the Empire is obvious, but what about the threats from within? Insurgency Rising started building up that theme with Leia. She's clearly being built towards something. Just like with Han (who remains absent from this series, although what he's up to is mentioned), Segura has less leeway about where he can take Leia; both characters featured quite prominently in the Aftermath trilogy. Instead then, Segura gives her a personal character moment, allowing him to ask the big question: how far has the New Republic besieged itself? To what extent should it sacrifice its beliefs as it establishes itself? It's a fascinating echo to our modern governments: why do we choose to delay needed reforms until the time is 'right'? How often do governments sacrifice what little time they have to try something, delaying it in the hope of getting more time to do it later? It's a frustration intrinsically linked to government: where is the line between management and leadership? Including Mon Mothma in the conversation was a great choice because her more questionable choices in Andor have given us a different appreciation for the character. And it ties Leia into the wider questions that Star Wars has been asking over the past few years. Can the princess's idealism survive the unavoidable realities any new government must face? How far will she allow herself to be tied down by its conventions? Had the sequel trilogy not chosen to tap into the familiar so much, these are the questions it could have tackled (and kind of did in a limited way with Poe's arc in The Last Jedi). And that's just one of the reasons I'm so glad to see them being used here.
At the end of the day, when Segura can effortlessly interweave such excellent worldbuilding, theme and characterisation, does it matter how I feel about Aphra or the possibility the editors are trying to cram too many characters into an already-crowded series? Not when Battle of Jakku has clearly learnt the mistakes of building up a series with no endgame. In a cheeky meta way, Adelhard's conservative Imperial restoration lacking an endgame hammers home the best thing about this maxiseries.
Alex Segura knows where Battle of Jakku is going.
December 26, 2025
The start of a continuation from the beginning of the saga. Just as when you think that the battle against the Empire had ended, the remnants of the Empire are as much dangerous! The story also reveals that Moff Adelhard is also not a easy target and makes plans to make steps ahead of his adversaries, even those in the Empire who are his peers.
A great start to a major Star Wars 12 part story arc.
A great start to a major Star Wars 12 part story arc.
May 5, 2025
After Endor one Grand Moff is trying to make a power play and the New Republic has to continue the fight while also forming their government. While I picked this up for Doctor Aphra and her excellent cameo as I haven’t been following the other Star Wars lines, it was fun and has everything I love about Star Wars and was easy to pick up the storyline.
May 22, 2025
The battle between the newly formed New Republic and the remains of The Empire continues. The self appointed heir to the Empire has gathered forces to continue his crusade by any means necessary to succeed.
The Battle lines are drawn and this is just the beginning.
The Battle lines are drawn and this is just the beginning.
December 4, 2024
Eh! Stoked to see Aphra back but there’s not a lot of stuff going on here that’s interesting me. Oh well. I’ll see where it goes.
April 7, 2025
Kinda felt like they’d been Mara Jade-baiting with this character. Curious about a certain someone being in a new era at the end though.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews