Star Wars: Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

*All posts in the Star Wars Canon series contain minor spoilers

 

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“[Lyra] was willing to accept that the Jedi hadn’t scratched the surface of the crystals’ power, but she held on to her belief that the Order felt that surface wasn’t meant to be scratched.” –Star Wars: Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel.

Star Wars: Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel is about Galen and Lyra Erso as Orson Krennic of the newly formed Empire tries to use Galen’s intelligence to further his own career.

Written by: James Luceno (author of Tarkin)

Published: November 15, 2016

When does Catalyst take place?

The story spans over several years. The beginning takes place one year after Attack of the Clones in 21 BBY and ends a few years after Revenge of the Sith around 17 BBY.

Synopsis:

It’s a race between the Republic and the Separatists to build a superweapon that will end the Clone Wars. Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic knows of a scientist who will be able to aid the Republic in their completion of their weapon, but Galen Erso does not want to join either side of the war. Instead he and his wife Lyra continue his research of synthetic kyber crystals on the remote planet of Vallt. There he is captured by the Separatists in an attempt to join Dooku’s side. During his detention, Lyra gives birth to their daughter Jyn.

Krennic rescues his old friend in secret hopes that Galen will join the superweapon project, but Galen is still determined not to join in the war. It isn’t until after the Galactic Empire has formed that he is convinced to join Project Celestial Power. Only he has no idea what he is actually building. Galen thinks he is working on renewable energy research using kyber crystals, but Lyra is suspicious there is something bigger at play. She is able to convince her husband they could be in great danger and with the help of resistance fighter, Saw Gerrera, the Ersos escape out from under Krennic’s watchful eye.

~

I have to be honest in that I found Catalyst to be extremely dry—there were definitely some moments of wanting to give up and marking it as a DNF. Really the only redeeming factor was that, as mentioned in Ahsoka, it takes place during the start of the Empire and the Rebellion which is a timeline I really enjoy. I also really liked the character of Lyra and she played a large part in making the plot actually interesting. She was also used to explore a deeper meaning of the Force; Lyra is able to feel the Force but not use it. It was interesting to read about what the Force means to someone who isn’t a Jedi.

This book had a lot of fluff. There was a lot of unnecessary background information in huge chunks of narrative that I tended to just glance over.

I also really, really dislike Krennic. Not in a ‘love to hate him’ villain sort of way but in a ‘can’t stand him’ way. He isn’t even an interesting and complex villain like Vader or even Tarkin; he is just sleazy. Though speaking of Tarkin, Catalyst explains why he is referred to as both Grand Moff (though in this book he was only Moff) and Governor. Tarkin was once the governor of his home planet Eriadu and the name stuck and is even his preferred title. (This is how dry the book was—Tarkin’s title was the most interesting thing I learnt from it.)

I find it hard to say that I would recommend this book, but if you do like the characters of Krennic, and Galen and Lyra Erso then it would be an interesting read. I love the movie Rogue One, but this book doesn’t give any background information that enhances the film.

Have you read Star Wars: Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel? Do you love it or hate it?

 

Next week: Lords of the Sith

Complete list of Star Wars Canon novels