We are also granted a look into Jyn’s mind, her coping mechanisms for dealing with the constant feeling of rejection (first from Galen and then from Saw), and how she came to love, and trust, the Rebel Alliance, despite its sins against her. Expecting him to cower in fear from the blaster, we realize just how dedicated Krennic is to finishing his plan to build the Death Star and give it to the Emperor after manipulating Galen into finishing the work.

Why would she stand up to Death Troopers when she could have reasonably expected escape for her and Jyn at least? The novel gives us a fresh take, and gives us more insight into Lyra’s plan, and how she misjudged Krennic.

In the film, Lyra’s stand against Krennic didn’t strike me as very believable. Whereas a lot of TFA adaptations simply recounted the film’s events, Rogue One gives us deeper insight into every character and their motivations. The first reason that the novel should be required reading is that it allows us more time with the characters. Rather than being “good reading” in addition to the film, I argue that the novel is required reading.

Thankfully, Alexander Freed’s Rogue One novelization changes the pattern. Supplementary stories like Rey’s Story and Finn’s Story brought interesting new takes on the film, but didn’t add a lot of necessary material that made it worth recovering old ground. Chuck Wendig’s Marvel comic adaptation of TFA was a bare bones approach to the film, recognizing important scenes without letting them play out in any meaningful way (it was like watching the film on fast forward and on mute). Alan Dean Foster’s novelization of TFA was hampered by being based off an early script (thank the Maker that Rey was changed – she was easily the most dislikable character in the novel!), indecipherable prose, while missing the magic of the film. Most adaptations of the canon have been weak so far. How does Freed stack up when adapting a movie to a novel?

Despite it’s low-key status, Twilight Company may be one of the canon’s most solid novels. In 2015, Alexander Freed wrote Battlefront: Twilight Company, a great novel unfortunately surrounded by the Journey to The Force Awakens imprints and the actual movie itself in December.

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