'Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon' Book Review
Image Source: Wookieepedia
When Star Wars Outlaws launched, this writer was left puzzled at the lack of any written tie-in material for the project as, without fail, Lucasfilm or its partners have produced at least one piece of written tie-in media to every video game they’ve launched over the past decade. However, we finally got our answer when Low Red Moon was revealed, and with the book having been released on February 3rd, we have our review, though it comes a little late.
WARNING: This review contains MINOR spoilers for Star Wars Outlaws and Low Red Moon due to the nature of the novel.
Low Red Moon is an interesting novel for how one of its core concepts involves a key reveal in Outlaws, unlike most other Star Wars video game tie-ins where the story ends up avoiding major elements of the video game, simply instead focusing on characters or particular ideas. We will avoid mentioning this concept as well, and indeed, keep our review to a minimum, out of a desire to urge our readers to pick either Outlaws up, or Low Red Moon, if not both!
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Image Source: StarWars.com
But we can discuss the characters and some elements of the plot. The main character with a dominant POV throughout the novel is Jaylen, and he’s a younger, less skilled and less savvy operator than the figure seen in Outlaws. He’s suffered a tremendous loss, and on the run, he seeks answers across the galaxy while engaging with the criminal underworld to earn a living. He’s a sympathetic character for most of the model, someone whose actions we understand to have been significantly shaped by his truly awful, overbearing, and manipulative parents, but he is still someone who makes his own choices in the end and who we can condemn as a result.
In alliance with him is ND-5, a Separatist commando droid activated to initially hunt Jaylen but then turned to his service after sustaining significant damage. Low Red Moon is unique for how ND has notable POV sections written in the first person, giving us an excellent look at the mindset of a droid, a great rarity for Star Wars, which often has others translate droids or uses them for comedic relief over more heartfelt moments. We also understand that, in droid terms, ND is suffering from trauma, the end of the Clone Wars forcing an abrupt shift in his priorities and mindset, even before he is thrown together with Jaylen. The novel adds a good deal more to an already fan-beloved character and explains where he got his signature trench coat in the process!
Image Source: StarWars.com
As for the plot and structure of the novel, Low Red Moon is broken into three Parts, with each section featuring a rise of action, before a slow trail-away clearing the approach to the next rise. There is also a significant timejump between Parts 1 and 2, while 2 and 3 are linked at the hip. We think a more gradual scale of time, with small jumps between each Part might have created a greater build in tension or development, because as it stands, a lot has to be processed within a few weeks across Parts 2 and 3, though this sudden burst of manic activity does serve Jaylen’s story very well.
One last thing we’ll mention is the vast number of cameos and easter eggs for other Star Wars stories, Outlaws and not, which help to create a truly interconnected world. The acknowledgements at the end of the novel outline thanks to not just family and book-making staff, but also other Star Wars creatives who supplied author Mike Chen with information and advice on certain elements of the galaxy far, far away associated with their stories. The book shows its collaborative spirit and highlights the novel’s overall themes through this, making it a truly spectacular story.
With excellent exploration of its main character, ample yet reasonable links to its source material alongside a solid structure to its story, Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon continues the trend of solid, if not stupendous, video game tie-ins released over the years. We hope for more Outlaws storytelling in the near future, as well as more fantastic Star Wars projects from author Mike Chen.
Rating: 9/10
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Source(s): Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon
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