Ricky Church reviews Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston…
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and the beginning of George Lucas’ Prequel Trilogy of the Star Wars franchise. It’s pretty surprising though given two decades and the wealth of Prequel content – both in Legends and now canon continuities – Padmé Amidala hasn’t had a whole lot of stories of her own. Episodes of The Clone Wars were dedicated to her dealings in the Senate as she tried brokering peace between the Republic and Separatists to end the war, but a story dedicated entirely to her without a big picture war and Jedi involved? There hasn’t been one until now.
Author E.K. Johnston, who previously wrote Star Wars: Ahsoka, returns to the galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow, a story detailing the years between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones where Padmé transitioned from being Naboo’s Queen to Senator and adjusting to politics on a galactic scale. More than that, however, Johnston really fleshes out the camaraderie and friendship between Padmé and the handmaidens sworn to protect her, particularly Sabé – the decoy queen as played by Keira Knightley in The Phantom Menace. Queen’s Shadow is more of a character study than an exciting adventure to save the galaxy as Johnston displays a great handle on Padmé’s character while delivering a very detailed look at how she and her handmaidens operate, especially in such a drastically different place like Coruscant. It’s a very interesting book that puts a spotlight on one of the most underutilized characters in the Star Wars franchise.
Beginning on Padmé’s final day as Queen of Naboo a few years after the Trade Federation’s invasion, Johnston doesn’t waste any time jumping into the interesting dynamics between Padmé, Sabé and her handmaidens. As she faces uncertainty in what to do next as her handmaidens find other roles in Naboo society, Padmé is asked by the newly elected queen if she could serve as the planet’s new senator. Accepting the offer, Padmé has to adjust to the very different realities between being a monarch and a senator as she is treated with skepticism and suspicion for her role in ousting Chancellor Valorum. Johnston depicts a very good journey for Padmé as she makes allies despite the disadvantages she faces and focuses in on what truly drives her. It’s easy to picture Natalie Portman and hear her voice, showing just how well Johnston captures the character. She shows a certain amount of fire within Padmé as she’s determined to break through the Senate’s (as well as the media’s) view of her as a naive newcomer. Johnston also captures how quick and intelligent Padmé can be as she spots connections between various senators and their goals, but also doesn’t shy away from the help she receives from her team. As capable as Padmé is, Johnston makes it clear how much she values her handmaidens. It definitely adds to the character and nicely fills in the gap between films.
Padmé isn’t the only character to receive an interesting character study as Johnston gives a great amount of focus to Sabé, arguably an unsung hero of Episode I with how well she proves to be a decoy for Padmé. While Padmé has to figure out what to do next in her career, Sabé instead faces a much more existential conflict as she has to face who she is without Padmé Amidala. Their friendship is given such a strong focus given how close they had to grow up and learn from each other as Sabé had to mirror Padmé perfectly. The personality and voice Johnston gives Sabé allows her to become a character in her own right as she helps Padmé behind the scenes while considering what type of life she could lead now that she’s no longer in the queen’s service. Both characters have an interesting parallel arc as they move beyond being a queen and further into the murky workings of the Republic.
Since there are no planetary invasions or Jedi majorly involved, the story isn’t quite as exciting as most other Star Wars stories. Rather, Queen’s Shadow shares more similarities with many Padmé-focused Clone Wars episodes, or even Claudia Gray’s Leia-centric Bloodline novel, that detail her political work. While most Star Wars fans may find the series’ political plots from Phantom Menace and Clone Wars to be boring, Johnston makes Padmé’s senatorial transition pretty interesting. There’s not really any central plot to the story beyond Padmé finding her footing in the Senate, but the book details the various contacts she makes, from her friendships with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma to the origins of her relationships with The Clone Wars‘ Rush Clovis and Mina Bonteri, two characters who would play pivotal roles in the formation of the Separatist union. Johnston also adds some interesting dynamics to Padmé’s relationship with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine now that their roles have shifted where she answers to him. Johnston uses Palpatine sparingly throughout the story, but it’s interesting knowing who he truly is how he uses some underhanded methods to sideline her work and role while Padmé attempts to circumvent his authority so it won’t appear as if she’s had any help from the Chancellor, thereby lessening any criticism on conflicts of interest and carving her own path. Johnston creates a pretty compelling narrative for Padmé’s growth as well as an intriguing look at how the Republic operated prior to the Clone Wars.
While Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow isn’t the most exciting book, Johnston’s introspective focus on Padmé’s character more than makes up for any perceived shortcomings in the action. The political intrigue is interesting, but it’s the characters that make the story worth reading. Padmé’s given quite a nice amount of depth, but the relationship and difficulties she and Sabé face are quite compelling in how they overcome them both personally and professionally. Fans looking for more information on Padmé’s history or the intervening decade between prequels will find a lot to enjoy with Johnston’s character study.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church
