Battlefront: Twilight Company (Star Wars)

ByAlexander Freed

Release Date: 2015-11-03
Genre: Science Fiction

Score: 4.5

4.5

From 252 Ratings

Description

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED • A companion novel inspired by Star Wars: Battlefront, this action-packed adventure follows a squad of soldiers caught in the trenches of the ultimate galactic war between good and evil.

The bravest soldiers. The toughest warriors. The ultimate survivors.

Among the stars and across the vast expanses of space, the Galactic Civil War rages. On the battlefields of multiple worlds in the Mid Rim, legions of ruthless stormtroopers—bent on crushing resistance to the Empire wherever it arises—are waging close and brutal combat against an armada of freedom fighters. In the streets and alleys of ravaged cities, the front-line forces of the Rebel Alliance are taking the fight to the enemy, pushing deeper into Imperial territory and grappling with the savage flesh-and-blood realities of war on the ground.

Leading the charge are the soldiers—men and women, human and nonhuman—of the Sixty-First Mobile Infantry, better known as Twilight Company. Hard-bitten, war-weary, and ferociously loyal to one another, the members of this renegade outfit doggedly survive where others perish, and defiance is their most powerful weapon against the deadliest odds. When orders come down for the rebels to fall back in the face of superior opposition numbers and firepower, Twilight reluctantly complies. Then an unlikely ally radically changes the strategic equation—and gives the Alliance’s hardest-fighting warriors a crucial chance to turn retreat into resurgence.

Orders or not, alone and outgunned but unbowed, Twilight Company locks, loads, and prepares to make its boldest maneuver—trading down-and-dirty battle in the trenches for a game-changing strike at the ultimate target: the very heart of the Empire’s military machine.

Praise for Battlefront: Twilight Company

“A novel that ties in to a video game based on a sprawling sci-fi franchise shouldn’t be this good. . . . Battlefront: Twilight Company effortlessly thrusts readers onto the frontlines of the Galactic Civil War in a gripping tale.”—New York Daily News

“Compelling . . . an entertaining journey through a galaxy in turmoil . . . Battlefront: Twilight Company explores what happens to the cannon fodder fighting and dying in the background of space opera’s cinematic action sequences. Focusing on the life of a few low-ranking Rebel grunts caught up in a vast interstellar conflict, the novel is an enjoyable tale of interstellar adventure and drama.”—IGN

“Satisfyingly complex, immersive and moving . . . a war story unlike any Star Wars book that’s come before it.”—Roqoo Depot

“A military thriller [with] some pretty impressive actions scenes [and] the lived-in, gritty feel of the original trilogy . . . [Alexander] Freed shows us the military side of the Star Wars universe in a way that we haven’t seen much before, while also giving readers new perspectives on classic characters and moments.”—Tech Times

“Twilight Company is one of the greatest Star Wars stories ever about someone doggedly, cynically coming to understand why acting according to the light side is important.”—Den of Geek

“The strongest canon piece of Star Wars literature thus far . . . sure to be a fan-pleasing favorite . . . Explosive action scenes and dark humor only punctuate this character-driven tale [with] heavy world-building and cameos from other characters throughout the Star Wars pantheon.”—Alternative Nation

Reviews

Bad overall
1
By ben jam tra
The novel is descent by itself
But it fall apart when you remember there is other Star Wars content. It just doesn’t make sense.
War is hell, even in Star Wars
2
By BlindGeek
I get what the author was trying to do here, but for me, it didn't work. To me, Star Wars has always been about characters first and foremost, with action a close second. The problem here is that I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters in the story, so the action scenes lacked any depth and just became mindless and ponderous. While I think it was an admirable idea to try to show that "the hell of war" even applies to something like Star Wars, with all of its space opera and such, this just didn't feel like a Star Wars story. There are flashbacks throughout the book which try to give some depth to at least a couple of the characters, but they are so disjointed that the attempts fall flat. It's too bad, because as I said, had I gotten to really care about what happens to any of the characters, it would've made it much more when good or bad things befell them through the course of the events depicted here. As it was, this wound up being a fast-paced slogfest for me.
Simply an Awesome Read
5
By GoMBlue21
This is a tremendous piece of work from Alexander Freed. It is a great story with compelling characters. This book should absolutely be adapted into a major motion picture, it's that good. I absolutely love it.
Very good
5
By Blkarrow3171
This is one of the better books to come out since the "cannon" was discarded. It bounces around a little, but overall very good. Character development was good, but relationship development was not quite there other for a couple. I would consider this above average in comparison to "cannon".
Star Wars fans into military genre will enjoy this
4
By Porfinicle
Star Wars fans that are into the military genre will enjoy this book. While personally this is not my favorite style, the novel had some interesting characters and gave a glimpse into the lives of the everyday soldiers during the era of the classic trilogy. While most of novel was from the Rebel's point of view, it also gave perspectives from of a vengeful Imperial defector and a naive Imperial stormtrooper.

We all know what the key players of the Star Wars saga are up to between Empire and Jedi. Twilight Company shows how the Galactic Civil War affects the rest of the galaxy. It adds a weight to the war that we have not really seen before.

I had a few complaints, but they were minor. There were some random flashbacks of the main character scattered throughout the book that I found hard to follow. They didn't really add a lot to the story, and I didn't feel they were adequately concluded. Some major characters die in this book, but they occur off page (off screen?). It was rather disappointing to connect with some of these characters and later on find out they died. I was hoping this would tie into the game, possibly the Battle of Jakku, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Nonetheless it was a good read.
Not as good as Lost Stars, but...
5
By ThiccShaxx
It was one hell of a read. I wish It hadn't ended!
Wow - this one came out of nowhere
4
By jtefft
I wasn't expecting this book to be as good as it was. It was a surprising, engaging read that was very easy to get into and enjoy. While we start knowing none of the characters, a few familiar names appear here and there, and the characters we meet for the first time will be hard to forget. Character development was done very well. I'd love to see a follow up to this book with many of the same crew playing a part in the next adventure.
Great book
5
By ArcticJwalkz
Truly a great book that shows the rebellion from a very interesting perspective.
Meh-Just Not Good
2
By DocEvans007
I have read a great many Star Wars books and video game books and this book was just not very good. I didn't care for the main characters at all. They were whining so much that at one point I was praying for a blaster bolt to hit me and put me out of my misery. The most consistent part of this book was that it was terrible all the way through with a ending that was just idiotic. My advice is to just wait a few more days until The Force Awakens comes out to get your Star Wars fix because this book just won't do it for you.
Action-packed, thought provoking
5
By Highball_2814
I wasn’t expecting much out of this book, and was more than pleasantly surprised to love it. I have not played the most recent game, but am very familiar with it. I can see where this ties into the game, which isn’t a story driven game. You get that here. If you are a fan of Star Wars or military/war novels, this is definitely a book to read.