By George & Josh Bate
The first canon novel to be set after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuts just in time to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Kwame Mbalia’s The Last Order may not live up to its lofty expectations as a post-Episode IX story, but it nonetheless compels as an exciting adventure that fleshes out Finn and Jannah, in addition to adding greater depth and context to key moments from the sequel trilogy.
The publisher’s summary of The Last Order reads as follows: “Following the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the Resistance rescues a ship full of young passengers who had been kidnapped by the First Order. As Finn and Jannah set out to find the First Order officer responsible before he can endanger any more children, the two former stormtroopers must wrestle with their own complicated pasts as soldiers of the oppressive regime. Take a deep dive into the pasts of popular characters Finn and Jannah in this richly-drawn, action-packed story that fans have been asking for.”
“Following the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” Finn and Jannah setting out to find the First Order officer responsible for their capture. A story that fans have been asking for. Needless to say, The Last Order quickly rose to be among our most anticipated Star Wars books of 2025 given the potential to explore, for the first time, what the galaxy looks like following the Battle of Exegol, as well as the chance to understand the inner-workings of Finn and Jannah more in delivering a storyline many wanted, but didn’t get, from the sequel trilogy. In reading The Last Order, we can say that the book didn’t quite live up to our admittedly lofty expectations, but, once it becomes clear that these expectations will not be met and you immerse yourself more in the story being told, there’s a lot to enjoy about the new novel.
Perhaps most surprising about The Last Order is the extent to which its pages are dedicated to flashbacks set before The Force Awakens, rather than chronicling the aftermath of The Rise of Skywalker. We’d estimate that about 75% of the novel takes place in the past, in turn leaving relatively little room to finally explore the post-Episode IX era. The chapters that do explore this era primarily follow Coy Tria, a new character who joined the Resistance to fight the Battle of Exegol and continues to commit himself to the cause. Coy makes for a fairly interesting character, albeit one who is limited by the infrequency with which we revisit his story. Just when we are getting invested in the flashbacks, we’re pulled back to the present, which takes a moment to reorient ourselves to Coy’s story.
The parts of the book set after The Rise of Skywalker primarily fall victim to expectations derived from the aforementioned publisher’s summary. Heading into the book, we expected at least some expansion on Finn’s newfound Force sensitivity and maybe a catch-up with Rey, Poe, and other key Resistance figures. But, unfortunately, none of this is the case as the novel is absent of overt references to Finn’s Force abilities and does not feature Rey. It is likely not Kwame Mbalia’s fault for these exclusions as it seems, throughout The Last Order, that the author was restricted in what he was allowed to include in his novel. While this bodes well for Star Wars fans like us hoping to see the post-Episode IX era further developed in subsequent movies and shows, it does render reading The Last Order a tad disappointing.
As stated, the vast majority of the book takes place prior to The Force Awakens. More specifically, it takes place Before the Awakening, the 10-year-old junior readers anthology book written by Greg Rucka. If you don’t recall the details of that book though, that’s okay, because Mbalia crafts an approachable novel that does not hinge on one’s understanding of any other Star Wars story beyond Episodes VII-IX. Mbalia also succeeds in writing a YA novel with appeal and accessibility that broadens beyond the YA audience. Anyone who feels deterred from reading The Last Order because it is a YA novel should be relieved in knowing their concerns are unfounded (in fact, some of the best Star Wars novels in recent years have actually been YA novels – we’re looking at you, Lost Stars and Leia: Princess of Alderaan).
A testament to Mbalia’s reverence for and strong handling of the characters, The Last Order triumphs in replicating the Finn we know from the movies and adding unexpected depth to his characters. Mbalia deftly evokes the innocence, wittiness, and unconditional kindness of Finn from The Force Awakens, attributes that made him our favorite new character from the first installment of the sequel trilogy. There’s never a moment in reading The Last Order that you feel you are not reading about the same character who eventually defects from the First Order, joins up with Rey, and fights on Starkiller Base, Crait, and Exegol. The focus on Finn also builds out his slowly mounting resistance to the First Order, retroactively adding depth to his eventual turn in The Force Awakens. Mbalia and the Lucasfilm Story Group ensure that The Last Order never contradicts the events and characters of the sequel trilogy; instead, they enrich the sequel trilogy with a story focused on a character who was deemed, by many, to be underserved in Episodes VII-IX.
Given Jannah’s more limited role in the sequel trilogy and the fact that we know less about her, Mbalia is afforded more creative liberties to develop the stormtrooper who eventually fights in the Battle of Exegol. The scene in The Rise of Skywalker in which Finn and Jannah reminisce about their shared past with the First Order, with the latter detailing a stormtrooper uprising on Ansett Island, will be viewed in an entirely different light after reading Mbalia’s novel. In fact, the uprising itself may be the highlight of the novel and certainly sees The Last Order at its more exhilarating and high-stakes.
On the more villainous side of things, The Last Order bolsters a distinct antagonist in Major Gohl. At this point, it would seem near-impossible to craft an Imperial/First Order villain who stands apart from the others, but Mbalia does a serviceable job ensuring that Gohl is a memorable and unique antagonist. Other villains pop up in cameo appearances that will satisfy fans of Delilah S. Dawson’s novel Phasma. There’s some attempts to add a bit to the lore of the First Order, such as minor details on how they operate in the Unknown Regions, but don’t expect any groundbreaking revelations in the novel. Where Mbalia excels the most in writing the forces opposing Finn and Jannah is his willingness to integrate unexpectedly timely commentary about the use and spread of misinformation as a political tool. Dating back to George Lucas’ original story in 1977, Star Wars has never shied away from being political, and it’s great to see Mbalia continue this tradition.
VERDICT:
The Last Order may not live up to lofty expectations that suggested a revelatory post-Episode IX tale was in store, but it nonetheless excels in deepening the characters of Finn and Jannah and retroactively enriching key moments from the sequel trilogy. The new YA novel by Kwame Mbalia diverged from our expectations in primarily taking place prior to The Force Awakens, with chapters set after The Rise of Skywalker failing to comment on Finn’s newfound Force sensitivity, Rey Skywalker, or the state of the galaxy following the Battle of Exegol. Greater success, however, is found in Mbalia’s handling of Finn as strong writing and a clear reverence for the sequels sees the author deftly evoke the innocence, wittiness, and unconditional kindness we adored about Finn in The Force Awakens. In addition to further fleshing out Finn’s eventual turn against the First Order, the novel also expands on Jannah, offering insight into her uprising on Ansett Island and, in turn, enriching The Rise of Skywalker after the fact. The lead antagonist, Major Gohl, largely stands out amongst the myriad of other Imperial and First Order villains that populate Star Wars publishing, while fans of Delilah S. Dawson’s novel Phasma will be delighted with a variety of cameos in the new book. Mbalia additionally impresses with his willingness to integrate unexpectedly timely political commentary into his story as he discusses the use and spread of misinformation as a political tool and, therefore, continuing the long-standing tradition established by George Lucas to never shy away from politics in making a Star Wars story. The Last Order is certainly a recommended read, primarily due to its enhancement of various elements of the sequel trilogy, but readers should temper their expectations if their primary motivation to read the novel is to learn more about Finn, Jannah, and the rest of the galaxy in the post-Episode IX era.
The Last Order is now available wherever books are sold.
