I don’t normally do book reviews, but Claudia Gray’s book Bloodline is probably one of the most important books in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU).
When Disney bought the Star Wars franchise from George Lucas in 2012, many fans were excited at the thought of the films using the characters from the EU initially created by Timothy Zahn and others. However, Lucasfilm announced in April 2014 that all previously released expanded universe content would be declared non-canon to the franchise and rebranded as Star Wars Legends. The bottom line is that books and comics published before 2014 are useless in explaining the events between the 1983 Return of the Jedi and the 2015 The Force Awakens.
What events you might ask? Well, events like: 1) Who are the First Order and 2) Why is Leia a General leading the Resistance (again) and not the Republic? Enter the book Bloodline to answer those questions. From the movie The Force Awakens we know that Leia and Han Solo get married, have a son, get divorce, the son trains to be a Jedi and falls to the dark side and that Luke has hidden himself from the galaxy. What we don’t know is how did the First Order rise in the first place and why wasn’t Princess Leia Organa a leader in the new Republic government? Bloodline fills in that gap by asking the question: What happens when the galaxy finds out that the leader of the Rebellion against the Empire, the one called the Hutt Slayer, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan is actually the daughter of the feared Lord Vader, the dreaded enforcer for Emperor Palpatine?
Do you need to read Bloodline to enjoy the Star War movies? Of course not, but reading this novel will help bridge some of the data gaps between Return of the Jedi and the events of The Force Awakens. Most importantly, you’ll understand why no planet seemed to answer the call for help from the Resistance at the conclusion of The Last Jedi.
If you only read one book from the Star Wars Expanded Universe, make it Bloodline. You won’t be disappointed.
