I tend to overthink media, and one thing I’ve been overthinking recently is whether books and radio are more ethical media than television and film, because I understand the former (perhaps naïvely) as involving less waste of resources for the sake of entertainment.

I bring this up not because I’m convinced by the argument (which I haven’t really thought through) but because the second season of Andor had me back on the side of television, because how else could you tell such a great story as that? Here’s the thing, though: This (audio)book had me mulling over the question again, because I might like it more than Andor.

This is a great end to a great series, and maybe the best use of Star Wars to ask hard questions that I’ve ever encountered. If Andor confronts the violence inherent in the franchise by arguing that it’s necessary to fight fascism, this book asks whether violence is truly justified—and whether those complicit in fascism can be redeemed and reconciled. It doesn’t give easy answers to either question, but that just makes the story more compelling.

I liked this a lot.

• Victory's Price
• Alexander Freed
• January LaVoy
• non-violence
• Andor
• Alphabet Squadron
• Star Wars
• Star Wars Disney canon