The Star Wars series has never been good at fleshing out the villains. We had to wait 30 years for an entire trilogy of films before we learned the backstory of Darth Vader, so it's no surprise we learn next to nothing about the characters that make up the face of the First Order in the new films.
As before with the original trilogy, fans interested in a deeper exploration of their favorite characters can turn to the novels to find out more, and a look into the chrome suited warrior Captain Phasma is a great place to start.
Phasma begins with the capture of a young spy, Vi Moradi, by the First Order during a scouting mission for the resistance. Instead of being taken for routine processing however, Vi is placed under a secret interrogation by a high ranking Stormtrooper in scarlet armour, Cardinal.
Locking the spy deep in the bowels of a First Order ship, Cardinal bargains with Vi for information on his military rival, the enigmatic Captain Phasma, and so Vi must become a space-faring Scheherazade, playing to Cardinal's curiosity and telling the stories of Phasma's origins, all the while seeking a way to steal her freedom.
After my disappointment with the recent Thrawn novel, I was a little hesitant to dive back into the new Star Wars novels. I wasn't convinced yet.
Where Thrawn felt like treading all too familiar territory with a character we've dealt with many times before, Phasma takes a refreshing attitude to the Star Wars universe, showing us a character we've never seen before, in ways a little unexpected.
It follows the adventures of a barbaric group of warriors across a wasteland of conflict, complete with a moving setting, road-adventure feel, and many of the elements of a classic sci-fi fantasy magazine that you might not expect from a Star Wars story.
Our protagonists are a hard edged group of young men and women who face bloodshed and horror with smiles and bare blades. Encounters like finding themselves in a bloody arena of death for crazed spectators or catching the attentions of an abandoned mine full of lost droids gone mad all feel lively and visceral like the adventures one might encounter reading Conan or Richard Blade. Oftentimes in novels the important fantasy element of Star Wars is forgotten in favor of pure science fiction, but Phasma brings it in wonderfully.
Blending the hard edged barbarian heroes with the strict precision of the First Order characters is a lot of fun, and it reminded me of reading some of those wild Star Wars comics from the 70's that really played with the fantasy element. Thankfully Phasma doesn't stray too far from its purpose either, featuring a lot of character development for the leading lady, and, perhaps just as interesting, a lot explored about the sinister child indoctrination of the villainous First Order.
A common problem with books focusing on minor characters is the tendency to lose track of the elements that made those characters likable in the first place. If you like Phasma because she's a mysterious, practically faceless warrior, that image isn't tarnished within the pages of the book. Her strength is not undercut by her backstory, and neither is her enigmatic nature over-explained and ruined. The book isn't a who of Phasma, but a why.
Phasma builds to a satisfying conclusion, and perhaps most successfully of all, makes me like the titular character a lot more than before I'd read it. It's clearly a work of love from the author, and it made me eager to see what's next. You could say I'm convinced.
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