Kindred Spirits

Star Wars Disney Canon Short Stories

by Christie Golden, Magali Villeneuve (Illustrator)

An exclusive prequel to the new novel, Dark Disciple!

Genres: Star Wars, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction

6 pages, Unknown Binding

First published July 1, 2015

About the author

Award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. She has over a million books in print.

2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.

In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.

2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book

Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.

Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.

Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .

The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .

Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.

Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is part of a series of short stories where each one is a stand alone. In this one Ventriss is helping someone retrieve an item.

I am not expecting much from these stories in this series but this one did not even meet those low expectations. The fault might be on me for this one though. This is a prequel story to the novel Dark Disciple. The problem is I read that years ago and I really do not remember much from that novel. While reading this story I had no idea who Ventriss was helping and if they play a significant role in the novel. I also had no idea what the significance of the item they were trying to retrieve either. In short I had no idea what was going on in this story and we all know that does not lead to an enjoying read. I could follow the proceedings but I kept on asking myself why are we here and what does this lead to.

For me this is the worst one of the series and again I am not sure if I am being fair. I do think it is up to the author to explain what is going on even if they have not read the connecting work. The problem is that this is a short story so there was limited room to include this. Without that exposition I was lost and just did not care about anything. I never thought I would say that with an adventure starring Ventriss who is enjoy so much.

[Dexcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but sweet, a short story about Ventress going bounty hunting.

[A Meneses · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. Too short to be more than a glance at what Ventress is doing and her character evolution, but is nice to see kick ass women in Star Wars doing kick ass things.

[Feli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh well... this wasn't bad. But also, it didn't really add to the canon or the character's development or to Ventress' story or anything. It was just a short story with some action scenes, fighting and drinking. Nothing really happened here 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This bonus short story came in my addition of Dark Disciple. What great characters, I’d love to read more about pirate queen Lassa and of course Ventress.

[youna · Rating 3 out of 5]

short but fun (HOW CAN I NOT LOVE IT WHEN THERE'S HONDO ??? AND VENTRESS ????) i don't know if it's the same characters in dark disciple, but I HOPE SO !

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read that is set not long before the events of 'Dark Disciple' (this short story is billed as a prequel and is also included in the paperback edition of the novel).

The story follows Asajj Ventress, former Sith apprentice turned bounty hunter, and pirate captain Lassa Rhayme. Rhayme and her crew had planned to steal the cargo from the ship, the Steady On, but instead of finding the ship, she finds damaged fighters floating in space and only one survivor; an injured Ventress and her damaged ship, the Banshee. Rhayme brings Ventress and her ship aboard the Opportunity, of which she's captain, and after her injuries heal and her ship repaired, Ventress teams up with Rhayme to track down the missing Steady On, which is now in the hands of the disreputable Honda Ohnaka, and then chaos ensues!

Its a good read, fast paced, energetic and an exciting pirate adventure. I liked the two leads, Ventress is bad ass, as always, and you can never go wrong with a kick ass pirate captain either, even though the story is unfortunately very brief, and by the end, you're left wanting more. As I like tales of swashbuckling and derring do, I would definitely read more stories like this, and with these characters, especially more escapades from Lassa Rhayme and her crew.

Originally published in 'Star Wars Insider' issue #159 with original illustrations by Magali Villeneuve.

[Kireth · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHY: Having pretty much immersed myself in Clone Wars TV show at this point, I am going for the full chronological experience. With a half-length Season 6 prematurely ending the show (until being revived for a proper finale in Season 7 that aired at the beginning of 2020), quite a few episode scripts were turned into the Dark Disciple novel. This short story is the prequel to that book.
STORY: Amazingly, this was like a condensed episode from the Clone Wars show, following reformed Bounty Hunter Asajj Ventress and a new ally Lassa Rhayme as they dealt with Weequay pirate Jiro and his boss Hondo on the well-established Florrum hideout. There is a small personal stake for Ventress, with one of the job's protected items making for a more impactful ending.
WRITING: Detailed enough to capture all the expressions and backstory you would expect from an episode of the TV series. Since I read this from a digital archive of the Star Wars Insider Magazine from September 2015, there was some fantastic artwork of the truly evolved character and her yellow lightsaber.
WHO: Whilst I'm unsure of Kindred Spirits exact link to Dark Disciple, it was definitely a fun read and I can whole-heartedly recommend the extremely short read to any Clone Wars fans curious about the character of Ventress after Season 6.

[Nemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really cute and fun and I liked it a lot more than I liked Dark Disciple.

I love how Ventress has the moment of 'oh shit, oh shit, she thinks I've betrayed her' and then it's later mirrored by Lassa hoping that Ventress won't betray her later. I LOVE Hondo's exasperation by another jedi in his hall, and his description as aristocratic, and his view that ransoming jedi is too much trouble.

I also really love at the end when Lassa offers Ventress a place with her. Major shipping vibes and also fantastic AU jumping off point. I will definitely go back to this story before I go back to Dark Disciple in the future.

[Richard L. Haas III · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured from the pages of Dark Disciple, this short story actually starts shortly before the novel. Follows Ventress on a Space Pirate adventure and for a short story it’s pretty concise and coherent; the Krennec short story seemed a bit rushed and leaves you wanting more but this I felt was a pallet cleanser. Great to see Ventress, Rhayme, and Hondo in action and felt like a webisode of The Clone Wars. I’d probably suggest reading this before Dark Disciple though in case you feel like it might leave you wanting more, as Rhayme’s friendship with Ventress is explored in that too.

[Natalee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Christie Golden’s really letting me down omfg...

I like the idea behind this short story— sincerely, I do. It just doesn’t do much for me in execution. For something that seems to promise insight into Ventress’s and Rhayme’s friendship, it barely does so. Their interactions feel flat, empty, stale. Even Ventress herself, who I grew attached to in Dark Disciple, felt lifeless here.

I think this story could have and should have been drafted into a novel(la). There’s hints at a bigger story that occurs offscreen. Give me the forbidden Ventress&Rhayme space pirate heist

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Kindred Spirits" is a companion piece which takes place just before the events of the novel Golden's "Dark Disciple," and it really showcases some pure girl power. Lassa Rhayme is an elected pirate captain with a fleet under her command, and she uses a code of her own to control when and how a mission will go down. Asajj Ventress is a former Sith Assassin turned bounty hunter with little to fear and nothing to lose. The combination of these characters catapults a very short story into what, for me, has become a favorite in the Star Wars Universe.

[Ahdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this action-packed side story in preparation for reading Dark Disciple. I really enjoyed the artwork and the characters, not to mention the return of a pesky Weequay pirate... Asajj Ventress has always been one of my favorite characters but I want more of this version of her! I guess I'll get it in Dark Disciple...

[Richard Eyres · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief story as a prelude to the novel Dark Disciple. It tells of an encounter with Asajj Ventress and Lassa Rhayme, which was hinted at in the novel.
Its a fairly standard story, but exactly what you want from 6 pages. There is fighting, bravado, and drinking.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another brief sojourn through what might have been, on our way to the novelisation of an eight episode arc of The Clone Wars that never made it to our screens. As always, it's the new additions to the canon that catch the eye...

[Andrew Benesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun story to connect to the Dark Disciple novel. It explores Ventress's character growth following the separation from Dooku, and is a quick and easy read.

[Matias Kjølstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars from me

[Eliška Jemelková · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need more Lassa Rhayme.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little bonus story to go with Dark Disciple. No major revelations or anything like that, but it's good to get to know characters a little better.

[Alex Mayfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5

TikTok Review - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeNdWbVe/

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gimme more Hondo.

[Lukas Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

verwarrend

[Mayumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Depois de ter lido Dark Disciple*: agora adoro Asajj Ventress e esse conto foi ótimo! Muito muito ótimo!

Ventress ajuda a capitã pirata Lassa Rhayme a reaver algo que foi roubado por Hondo Ohnaka, capitão de outra nave pirata, enquanto ela própria busca por algo.

Esses contos da Star Wars Insider têm o defeito em comum de serem muito curtos. Apesar disso, conseguimos apreciar a escrita de Christie Golden com uma ótima descrição de uma luta com sabres de luz, e entramos um pouquinho no psicológico de Asajj Ventress.

Depois de Kindred Spirits, tenho um tiquinho mais de empatia pela personagem principal e fiquei com vontade de ler esse livro Dark Disciple. Por isso, o conto cumpre seu papel.

[Marcin Kowalski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Golden has proven, that she is very competent ad capturing these characters and although the story of this short is rather forgettable, the writing is as vivid and energetic as the TV-Show itself.
So, as we truly approach the end of the Clone Wars in order to enter even darker times I think this was a great opportunity to meet up with those characters and have some escapist and rather meaningless fun.
In the end, if you have this story, you need to read it, but if you don’t I think there is no need to go out of yourself to acquire it.

[Dakeyras · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick companion tale to Star Wars Dark Disciple and part of Lucasfilm's on-going attempt to make Asajj Ventress a more sympathetic anti-hero. She'll never be a true "hero" but she's come a long way from her depiction at the start of the Clone Wars.

This tale involves Asajj assisting a pirate captain, Lassa Rhayme retrieve something that was stolen from her by another pirate, Hondo Ohnaka.

While it's a good short story, it's also forgettable.

[Armando Negron · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay short story. Just an anecdote of one of Ventress' many adventures as a bounty hunter. Not much to say of it. I enjoyed reading, though it really did not add anything to her story.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lovvvvve Ventress. I love her character's arc and I am really excited to read Dark Disciple to find out more of what happens to her. In the meantime, I enjoyed this brief pirate-y jaunt.

[Ale Pvente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado ver como Ventress y Lassa se convertían en compañeras y amigas.