Go beyond the blockbusters to today’s smartest, most exciting science fiction novels and novellas. Here are our top picks for October 2021:
Star Wars: Ronin
Type: Novel
Publisher: Del Rey
Release date: Oct. 12
Den of Geek says: Candon’s debut novel brings Star Wars into a new dimension with an expansion on the short anime episode “The Duel” in Star Wars: Visions. Taking place as if one step aside from the universe we know and love, it’s an inventive and thoughtful story that also never forgets the initial concept: that a samurai Sith is very cool.
Publisher’s summary: The Jedi are the most loyal servants of the Empire.
Two decades ago, Jedi clans clashed in service to feuding lords. Sickened by this endless cycle, a sect of Jedi rebelled, seeking to control their own destiny and claim power in service of no master. They called themselves Sith.
The Sith rebellion failed, succumbing to infighting and betrayal, and the once rival lords unified to create an Empire . . . but even an Empire at peace is not free from violence.
Far on the edge of the Outer Rim, one former Sith wanders, accompanied only by a faithful droid and the ghost of a less civilized age. He carries a lightsaber, but claims lineage to no Jedi clan, and pledges allegiance to no lord. Little is known about him, including his name, for he never speaks of his past, nor his regrets. His history is as guarded as the red blade of destruction he carries sheathed at his side.
As the galaxy’s perpetual cycle of violence continues to interrupt his self-imposed exile, and he is forced to duel an enigmatic bandit claiming the title of Sith, it becomes clear that no amount of wandering will ever let him outpace the specters of his former life.
Buy Star Wars: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon
Source: Den of Geek
