Star Wars: Leia: Princess of Alderaan

Set a few years before ‘A New Hope’, this is a novel concerned with Leia as a teenage princess living under the shadow of the Empire as the rebellion begins to develop. As such, it acts somewhat like a coming of age style story for the character as she slowly becomes embroiled in her parents plans to defy the rule of Emperor Palpatine.This is Leia as more of a ‘princess’ than a rebel leader. Thus, it is not the fully formed Leia we first meet in ‘A New Hope’ but a strong shadow of her and that potential. The main strength of this novel is in the characterisation of a younger, teenage Leia who possesses all the elements that will develop her into the influential figure she becomes. Gray has done a superb job of believingly portraying this earlier version of the character we know and love.The nature of the storyline does mean that the tone, particularly in the early stages, seems a bit more teenage orientated with issues of fitting in amongst your peers and a romance interest for Leia forming a bit of a subplot. However, as events progress it begins to feel more like Star Wars as political conspiracies develop and the threat of the Empire becomes more visceral with the presence of Tarkin.The novel works very well in conjunction with Gray’s earlier book, ‘Bloodline’, which focussed upon Leia in the political climate some years after the events of the Empire’s fall. There she portrays a version of Leia that bridges some of the gap in Leia’s life between ‘Return of the Jedi’ and ‘The Force Awakens’ whereas this does a similar thing between ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘A New Hope’.The novel also features Amilyn Holdo quite heavily by charting the growing/developing relationship between her and Leia during their work together in the Apprentice Legislature. She’s an entertaining character in the novel and works well within it, but her portrayal seems very different to that seen in ‘The Last Jedi’. This can possibly be put down to the passage of years, but it is a little hard to accept them as same person.It is a rewarding read that adds to the Star Wars universe/canon and it provides an interesting look at a younger Leia that we haven’t really seen before.

She nailed it spot on. Claudia Grey nailed Leia’s character and characteristics perfectly. I don’t mean to disrespect anybody but I honestly don’t think anyone could have written a better origin story for Leia.At the beginning of the book, I felt a little disappointed that it was going to be a about young Leia, but book was incredible. Like I said Claudia showed every aspect of Leia’s personality. The princess, the warrior, the patient in-control negotiator, and fiery tempered hellcat.This Leia’s coming of age story. However another great think about this books is also that Claudia did a great job on the side characters. As any Star Wars fan knows how much Leia’s “father” Bail Organa was involved in the rebellion, but not enough credit was given to her “mother” Breha. Many of her talents if not learned from nurture it was definitely enhanced from there. The final not of praise is the was research and loose ends and cameos in this book. For me everything is this book was spot on.

Claudia Gray has once again delivered a fantastic star wars story! She writes Leia so well, I wouldn't want anyone else to write a story on Leia, Claudia captures Leia so well!This story follows 16 year old Leia, about to start her trials in order to be named official heir of Alderaan. This basically Leia's coming of age story, it shows Leia's development and how she ends up to be the Leia we see in the films.I love that we get to see more of Leia's adoptive parents and her home planet of Alderaan.It's a really really great story, I highly recommend to any star wars fans out there.

Brilliant read, perfect for any Princess Leia fans out there. The print of some of the pages was a little smudged but it was still readable.

Fantastic story by Claudia gray who wows again. For any fan of Princess Leia especially if you’ve ever wondered how leia got involved with the rebellion.

There is no better writer of Star Wars novels than Claudia Gray and her understanding of the SW universe and especially Leia helps make this another superb work from her.

A gift for a collector of Star Wars. He was thrilled with it.

If you’re a Star Wars fan this is a book you need to pick up. Not only does it show a new side of Princess Leia and her family but it also introduces characters and locations from The Last Jedi.