Queen's Shadow

Spring 2019 - Book/Kindle/Audiobook,

I waited twenty years for this book to exist and it did not disappoint. This tale is set at the end of Padme's reign as queen through the first year of her being a Senator, and I am in love with everything about it.

I love the careful attention given to the handmaidens everywhere in this book. I love the absolute heartbreak choice of how she started chapter one and mirrored it the start of the epilogue (which I will leave that vague so as not to spoiler anyone who hasn't read/doesn't know the reference yet). I love how she's made to pay politically the hard game of fixing the fact the Senate has no reason to trust anything she says after he absolute rejection of them at 14. I love how slow she show more figures out what she's good at and how the relationships with Bal and Monmothma actually come about (with slow, canny wariness).

Read it. Read all of it. Tell your friends. Especially all your girl-friends. show less

Queen’s Shadow is one of those books where everything that has been said about it (both positive and negative) is true. Is it an amazing book that us Star Wars fangirls have been waiting for forever? YES. Is it a slow-moving book with a barely visible plot? YES. Whether or not you’re going to like this book relies entirely on if you enjoy character-driven stories and/or if you love Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens.

I loved this book. I loved all the details about the strategic decisions behind political Naboo fashion. I loved the chance to focus on the handmaidens who are always in the background of Padmé’s story. And, last but not least, I loved getting to know Padmé more. This book takes place between TPM and AotC when show more Naboo’s newly elected queen requests that Padmé take a seat in the senate. As Queen of Naboo, Padmé created a specific persona with her handmaidens both for protection so that it could be easily copied and for political strategy. Now that she’s no longer Queen, Padmé has to discover who she really is and what she wants from her life. The description of how Padmé compartmentalized her life in order to be queen (and later senator) adds a layer of dysfunction that makes her crazy decision to secretly marry Anakin make more sense.

There are multiple perspectives in this novel, but Padmé’s and Sabé’s appear most frequently. Sabé—portrayed by Kiera Knightley in TPM—is a badass Hufflepuff and her loyalty to Padmé means that she is always a part of whatever mission Padmé has taken up. This story belongs to both of them and their friendship is beautiful.

This novel shines a light on the amazing Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens and adds beautiful color and pattern to the fabric of their stories. The details Johnston brings to the SW universe make this a book a treasure and adds to enjoyment of the films. I can’t wait to read more adventures of Padmé and her handmaidens. show less

I also wrote a review for this book on my blog:
The Real World According To Sam

What young me always wanted

This book was what I've been wanting since I was a child. I'm 25 right now. I was a fan of The Phantom Menace, despite its flaws which I only noticed later. I loved Padme and the person's and image of Queen Amidala always amazed me. This book does what the movies did not fully do and what The Clone Wars animated series began. It gives Padme her full voice. It gives one of the most promising female characters a full spectrum of opportunity, in a way that 3 movies could not. I love this book. I'm so glad Disney offered it for free during this quarantine period. I will cherish this ebook I have for years to come and I'm sure that I will show more re-read it in the future, fondly. This book gives us background, quiet conflict, internal strength, and beautiful female companionship. This is the Star Wars book that I simultaneously always and never knew I needed. Highly recommend for anyone who loves Padme, or maybe wants to know her better since her story seemed to end before it truly began. This shows how much diversity in story type the expanded universe of Star Wars has to offer. show less

E.K. Johnston’s Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow is the first of Disney’s new canon of Star Wars novels to take place prior to the Clone Wars. The story focuses on Padmé Amidala’s transition from Queen of Naboo to Galactic Senator. Discussing the change, Johnston writes, “Who was she, after all, when she was not Queen of Naboo? She had entered politics so early and with such zeal that she had no other identity” (pg. 16). The question of identity runs through the novel, with Padmé and her handmaidens adopting different personas, tones of voice, and poses depending on their audience or the situation as well as Padmé’s own identity change from leader of a planet to a single part of a much larger bureaucracy.

Building upon the show more events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Johnston portrays Padmé working to free the enslaved people on Tatooine through Sabé as her agent, in particular trying to find Shmi Skywalker (pg. 115), though, unknown to her, Shmi is already with Cliegg at this time. Other links between the events of The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones include Padmé enlisting R2-D2 to help her based on his bravery when she previously fled Naboo (pg. 122), building a coalition with Mon Mothma and Bail Organa (pg. 150), and sending Sabé to gather information at Dex’s Diner (pg. 161). Padmé also begins to experience the strains in her relationships with Rush Clovis and Mina Bonteri that will play a role in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (pgs. 178, 192). Johnston works to link this with other novels in the new canon through a scene in which Padmé visits Alderaan at the behest of Queen Breha, drawing upon material from Claudia Gray’s Leia: Princess of Alderaan (pg. 223-226).

Much as Padmé Amidala’s comments regarding the death of democracy in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith appeared prescient against the political backdrop of 2005, Johnston’s scene of Senators Organa and Amidala discussing democracy is equally apt in 2019:
“‘Loyalty to the Republic is paramount,’ Organa said. He managed not to make it sound patronizing, which Padmé appreciated. ‘Loyalty to democracy.’
“‘And what if democracy does not return the favor?’ Padmé asked.
“‘Then you must work to restore the democratic process,’ Organa said” (pgs. 191-192).

The overall effect of Queen’s Shadow is one of the strongest character studies in the current Star Wars canon of novels. Like Johnston’s previous book and the work of Claudia Gray, these books demonstrate that the young adult novels often have more to offer than the works marketed to adult readers in their detailed examinations of the characters. show less

I love reading about Padme. This covers the time between Revenge of the Sith and the Clone Wars and provides an excellent look into the beginning of her senate run, including the development of her relationships with Mon Mothma and Organa.

The character of Padmé Amidala (and all of her gorgeous costumes) was my favorite part of the prequel trilogy, and I'm so happy that (20 years later) she finally gets a story of her own. Sure, parts of it were slow-moving and the focus was more on politics, but I think it succeeded in filling in the blanks of Padmé's story that the movies didn't tell.

I had my doubts about how well this story would be written, but I was pleasantly surprised. In some ways, it took me back 25 years to when I first started reading books in the Star Wars (then) canon, like The Truce at Bakura and The Courtship of Princess Leia among others. My number one complaint? It ended too soon - there's definitely more story to be told, both for Padmé, but show more also (especially) Sabé. show less

This was a decent read. I've recently fallen in love with the Star Wars universe, but I'm not much of an action fan—this novel was a very refreshing addition to the canon material I've engaged with, so far. I appreciated its attempt to flesh out Padme's day to day existence and aspects of senatorial life in Coruscant, its focus on worldbuilding and side-characters. At the same time, I do think that its main themes and characterization suffered due to the trappings of the demographic it was written for (YA) and could not fully develop the complexity one may wish of a book delving into the topic of intergalactic politics, but it was still a satisfying story, as long as one approaches it with those expectations in mind.

I would say that show more my biggest issue is how it paints Padme's relationship during Episode II as, possibly, even more difficult to imagine—due to the maturity, competence and intelligence she's depicted to possess here. It's especially jarring to reconcile due to the way book Padme navigated and dealt with Senator Clovis' improper behavior and advances.

When it takes place: largely during the time between Episode I and II, epilogue set after Episode III. show less