The title “Star Wars: Bloodline” from the upcoming novel by Claudia Gray definitely caught the attention of fans when it was first announced, as well as the information revealed that it would take place a few years before “The Force Awakens.” Well now we have a better idea of what the title Bloodline refers to, as USA Today has gotten the exclusive reveal that the title of Claudia Gray’s new novel is all about Leia!
Here are those new details about “Star Wars: Bloodline” from USA Today, including some word’s from Claudia Gray on what we can expect to learn about Leia in the new book:
The new novel Star Wars: Bloodline gives Leia Organa — once a princess, later a general — a story, a journey and an adventure all her own.
“I find myself remembering the Episode I posters, where you see the boy Anakin with Vader’s shadow stretching out behind him,” she says. “In this book, we find out just how far Vader’s shadow falls.”
Leia (played by Carrie Fisher in the movies) is professionally at a good place, as a senator and leader in a peaceful New Republic decades after the fall of Vader and the Emperor’s stranglehold on the galaxy. However, Gray says that a new generation doesn’t remember the lessons of the Rebellion or recognize the wrongs of the Empire, and Leia begins to see the cracks in the foundation that could lead to a dangerous future for the galaxy.
Family is a major theme overall in the Star Wars films and it plays a key role in one of the book’s most significant events, “one that has pretty far-reaching repercussions for several characters,” Gray says. “However, this novel isn’t fundamentally about Leia as a wife, sister or mom; this is about the role she’s created for herself since the fall of the Empire, and the one she takes up by the time of (The Force Awakens).”
Some characters from the recent film make an appearance in Bloodline, though Gray is introducing a lot of new players. The most important is Ransolm Casterfo, a guy Gray describes as “an ambitious young senator who’s Leia’s political opposite in virtually every way. He even collects artifacts from the Empire, like pro-Palpatine banners, pieces of armor, and so on.”
Being a big fan of “Star Wars: Lost Stars,” I was already excited about “Star Wars: Bloodline” just because it was another “Star Wars” novel by Claudia Gray. But now knowing it will focus on Leia a few years before “The Force Awakens,” I absolutely cant wait to start reading it. The possibilities of what new information we can also learn about Leia’s relationship with Han, Luke, and Kylo Ren during this time period has me super excited!
Be sure to head on over to USA Today to read an excerpt from “Star Wars: Bloodline.”