The Rebel Files

The Rebel Files is the latest book in the series of Chronicle Books by Dan Wallace. It’s similar to The Jedi Path, Book of the Sith and The Bounty Hunter Code, but this one focuses on the Rebellion and their history. It starts off somewhere in between Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels as it chronicles the members of the Rebellion and acts of rebellion across the galaxy from other rebels like Saw Gerrera and Cham Syndulla. Through various journal entries, communications and news articles, it works its way through history up until just prior to the attack on the second Death Star. It’s kind of a weird book to read cover-to-cover, but it’s interesting.

The book is done with the idea that this is a collection of files put together by a historian from the Rebellion named Hendri Underholt. Thus the collection helps shed light on how the Rebellion formed and changed over the years, the actions they undertook, and some insight into what their leaders were thinking. Hendri was sent on a decoy mission prior to the attack on the second Death Star, and things went wrong, thus she hid the documents in a bunker where they were discovered later. At this point, key members of the Resistance were tasked to review the files and share any notes they might have. So you get little notes in the margins from Leia, Poe, Ackbar, Holdo, etc.

There’s no overarching narrative as the whole book is a collection of notes, messages, files, articles and the like. It’s like reading a history formed by snippets of information from rotating sources. One moment there’s a message from Mon Mothma to one of her generals, then there’s a news article on a member of the Rebel Alliance or some key battle, then there’s little chat messages between Mon Mothma and Hendri. Then there might be a security dossier highlighting pieces of Imperial equipment. One of the nice things about the book is that it incorporates information and events from the books, like Twilight Company and Inferno Squad, the Star Wars comics, and the television show Star Wars Rebels. This helps create a cohesive view of how all these events fell into place and help form the Rebellion. The drawback of doing a book like this is that it can be disjointed. You’re getting pieces of the story here and there.

At 176 pages, The Rebel Files does cover a lot of ground and offers some interesting information in a creative format. It’s a nice hardcover book, not too big, not too bulky or heavy, and it includes some good illustrations throughout. It’s not going to be the most engrossing, entertaining book you’ve ever read, but if you’re a Star Wars fan who is looking to learn more about the Rebellion, this one could be useful. It’s a good book for getting a better grasp on the bigger picture, and it dives into some interesting little character highlights. Keep in mind this book isn’t considered official canon, but these books are considered by the creatives when working on future stories. They can still be a source of inspiration. Regardless, The Rebel Files is a book for Star Wars fans looking to dig deeper into the Rebellion. I give it a three out of five metal bikinis. It’s worth a look, but probably not for everyone.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.