Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Star Wars: Resistance Reborn. This is author Rebecca Roanhorse’s first foray into the galaxy far, far away and she has no easy task with such a large cast of characters especially since it’s one of the first major stories set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. How’d this story of a Resistance in desperate need of people fare? To mission control for the verdict!

Bria: Resistance Reborn is one big family reunion. Set almost immediately after The Last Jedi, it begins with the biggest question for the Resistance: what comes next and how the heck do we go on from here? Leia’s comment about how “we already have everything we need” was nice and inspirational but not entirely true: they need supplies and they need allies. Sweet Force, did I dance around with glee at some of the allies the Resistance collected here. As the world’s biggest Battlefront II fan, the inclusion of Zay and Shriv delighted me to no end and I was thrilled to see them make their return and to have fairly significant roles. I was also happy to see more of Wedge Freaking Antilles. This is also very much a Poe Dameron book. He’s still coming to terms with his mutiny and all of its ramifications and learning how to move on from it. It feels incredibly necessary and Rebecca Roanhorse handles his state of mind deftly. Honestly, there’s a heck of a lot to love about the book but I really don’t want to spoil any more of it for readers as each new revelation or character inclusion was a joy to discover as I read. The short version is this: Resistance Reborn is a story that will delight readers who’ve read broadly across canon and that feels like a necessary step forward for the Resistance between Episodes VIII and IX. Resistance Reborn gets a strong GO from me.

Nanci: It’s no secret that I’ve been critical about some of the decisions made in The Last Jedi. One of the biggest mistakes, in my opinion, is setting the movie immediately after The Force Awakens. Not only did that not give the characters a chance to breathe and develop between movies, but it didn’t give the story a chance to grow, either. Because of that, we missed out on books, comics, video games, and all the other supplemental stories that usually fill in the gaps between the movies. I’m so, so, so happy there’s a time jump between TLJ  and The Rise of Skywalker, if only because it gave us a wonderful book like Resistance Reborn. Rebecca Roanhorse is the perfect choice to write this story. Not only does she bring in a ton of familiar characters, but she crafts a perfectly logical story after the end of TLJ. The concept might be predictable — the Resistance has to go find more allies — but she pulls it off with wonderful aplomb. All the point of view characters in this novel are wonderful, from SHRIV to General Leia to WEDGE FREAKING ANTILLES. (Yes, we are all thrilled he is back. We have a brand.)

But the true star of this novel is Poe Dameron. He is my favorite character of the new trilogy, and Roanhorse writes him spectacularly. He’s brash, cocky, but also coming to terms with his mutiny on the Raddus, which lead to the death of Holdo. It’s not an understatement to say his actions are literally shoved in his face in this book, and he has to learn to move on and become the leader Leia expects him to be. The leader he wants to be. One scene in particular tugged at my heartstrings and brought tears to my eyes, and leaped to the top of my favorites among the canon books.

I’ve been hesitantly excited about The Rise of Skywalker, but this book ramped up my excitement tenfold. If the big fleet battle we saw in the trailer is anything like this book suggests it will be, we are in for the most amazing treat. Resistance Reborn gets an enthusiastic GO from me.

Brian: Star Wars’ s hottest book is Resistance Reborn. It. Has. Everything. Badass In Charge Leia. Major character development for Poe Dameron. Shriv needing ointment for a rash.

Okay I’ll dispense with the bit now. It’s difficult to properly articulate just how much I adored Resistance Reborn as it did so many things that deeply resonated with me. One part of it is a love letter to this new era of Star Wars storytelling we’ve been enjoying since 2014, bringing together a ragtag band of characters spanning multiple books, video games, and films. And of course, Wedge. Wedge Freaking Antilles is back, along with wife and ace pilot Norra Wexley from the Aftermath novels. Suffice to say my personal Star Wars brand was given a wonderful gift by this book. As excited and overjoyed I was by a pair of my favorites returning to the pages of Star Wars, perhaps the most important thing this novel did was give Poe Dameron an arc he so richly deserved. Roanhorse writes Poe deftly and thoughtfully. Never does she gloss over his actions in The Last Jedi, detailing the painful consequences he faces and will continue to face. She also doesn’t let his failures define him, for penance is there for those who actively seek it. Resistance Reborn is an incredible addition to the Star Wars universe and if it isn’t clear how I feel by now, it gets an emphatic GO from me.

Manda: I have so many feelings about this book that I have to go full theatre geek in order to express them. This book is Into The Fire. This book is Do You Hear the People Sing. This book is Quintet from West Side Story. This book is every ever-building up-tempo fugue and anthem ever written to signal the approach of an epic climax. This book is the literary equivalent of the phrase “Avengers Assemble”. Are you getting it? This book is exactly the thing I needed to get my mind and heart ready for the upcoming conclusion to the Skywalker saga. I laughed, I cried (rather a lot), I squealed with delight, and I swore aloud more than a couple of times. Rebecca Roanhorse is a real master of her craft and her skill at peering into a character’s psyche shines particularly bright in this evocative, joy-bringing, brilliant volume. If you’re the kind of fan who enjoys Star Wars stories across mediums, you will particularly enjoy Resistance Reborn. This fantastic addition to the canon gets a heartfelt GO from me.

Flight Director’s Ruling: Resistance Reborn is a GO for launch!