Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade Makes You Glad the Jedi Fell

We’ve had a lot of stories in Star Wars that delve into the hubris of the Jedi, their struggle in the Clone Wars, and the ultimate turn of Anakin Skywalker and subsequent fall of the Republic. We’ve had an entire show, The Clone Wars, dedicated to an exploration of this war from the viewpoints of clones, separatists, bounty hunters, Jedi, Sith, and many, many more. Ultimately, we can clearly see that on a big picture, Palpatine’s plan was genius in turning the Republic into an Empire — and we know that on this level, the Jedi were doomed from the moment they entered the war.

But the Jedi were doomed for other reasons entirely.

The Jedi Order became doomed the instant they forced their members to suppress emotions too natural to shut down — curiosity, fear, frustration, and anger. They became doomed the instant they focused on the good of the Order over the good of the individual. They became doomed the instant they ignored even a single one of their members, made them feel like they didn’t belong, that there was no place for them in this community. They became an Order filled with pariahs.

And when the Republic became the Empire, there was no question where these pariahs would go and who they would become.

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is a canon novel by Delilah S. Dawson that was released fairly recently on July 18, 2023. It covers the life of Iskat Akaris, a character who we first meet in the Vader comics. Along the way, it delves into her life with the Jedi Order as a Padawan, then as a Knight, and ultimately, her life with the Empire as an Inquisitor.

I truly believe this is one of the best Star Wars books I’ve ever read, and here are the (non-spoiler) reasons why you should check it out:

It finally helps us understand the Inquisitors

While this book focuses on a single character, Iskat, it provides a full picture of the Inquisitorius. We learn that even during the Clone Wars, Palpatine had methods in place to scout out those who were discontent with the Jedi to potentially be future Inquisitors. We explore the two ways that one can become an Inquisitor — by choice, like Iskat, or by embracing the dark side through torture, like others in this novel.

Above all, Dawson’s writing is incredibly introspective and takes us step-by-step through Iskat’s mental journey. We experience every emotion that she does, we understand her hopes and her fears, and above all, we completely understand why she fell to the dark side. Iskat is one of the most multi-dimensional and well-written Star Wars characters I’ve seen in a long time. There are a lot of subtle bits in her characterization that make her relatable to us all in small ways, such as the way we sometimes feel out of place, or the way we feel sheer frustration when a door is shut in our faces. Every one of these emotions is written to perfection in an incredibly relatable way — and when Iskat becomes an Inquisitor, we root for her.

We understand that just like Iskat, the other Inquisitors experienced similar journeys during their time with the Jedi to get to where they were. The Grand Inquisitor, the Seventh Sister, the Fifth Brother — they’re no longer complete mysteries. Through Iskat, we understand them all.

It gives us the darkest take on the Clone Wars yet

While the Clone Wars series had its share of dark moments, this book featured an extremely gritty take on the war that honestly reminded me of Alexander Freed’s writing. Jedi are killed through the most mundane things that come up on missions rather than getting a big, heroic sacrifice. Characters that weave in and out of the first part of the story are killed offscreen during the war — and the narrative simply moves on. Iskat sees funeral after funeral and becomes numb to them after a point.

It is remarkably evident in this novel that the Jedi were simply out of their league during the Clone Wars. They’d been peacekeepers, only raising their lightsabers during training or during infrequent skirmishes against, say, bounty hunters or smugglers. And when the war began with the Battle of Geonosis begun, twenty-nine Jedi survived out of a strike force of 212. Padawans were hurriedly promoted to Knights, Knights were promoted to Masters, younglings’ trainings were accelerated — this book does a phenomenal job of portraying the horror of the war through the eyes of Iskat. We’d previously only seen this initial phase of the war through the eyes of Anakin and Obi-Wan, but by telling this story from the viewpoint of a relatively unknown Jedi, Dawson is able to explore how hard the Order was hit in the early days of the war in a really compelling way — and the way the Jedi around Iskat respond to this and deal with their traumas was incredibly fascinating to read about.

It makes the Jedi Order feel big

While this book does feature cameo appearances from numerous Star Wars characters, such as Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, etc…these are few and far between, and we are introduced to a LOT of new Jedi. Tualon was one of the standout characters for me — his relationship with Iskat has ups and downs throughout the war, and it was really compelling to see how a model Jedi such as Tualon became hardened and bitter as the war went on. Iskat’s mentors — Sember Vey and Klefan Opus — are some of the Jedi who force Iskat to suppress her emotions and ultimately contribute to her fall, and their writing was very realistically done without being too over-the-top. Heezo was another standout character for me, a simple temple worker who Iskat befriends. Some of Iskat’s peers, Charlin and Onielle, were also memorable in how they continually bully and berate Iskat, and Iskat’s conflict with them throughout the book reaches a very memorable climax. As a whole, I really appreciated the sheer volume of new Jedi introduced — the Order had thousands of Jedi, not just the ones we see in the Clone Wars, and I enjoyed all the new characters we met.

It has something to say about our world

At its core, this is a story about feeling rejected by a community. It’s a story of how, on paper, the Jedi represent a community dedicated to helping the galaxy, but in reality, they can’t even help their own members. It’s a story of how basic emotions — fear, anger, frustration, attachment — just cannot be shut down as if they don’t exist.

For asking basic questions about her past, Iskat is belittled. For being skilled at lightsaber combat and battle, Iskat is bullied by her peers because they feel uncomfortable around her. For trying to improvise when a mission went south, Iskat is grounded. For feeling sadness when Jedi around her fell, Iskat is given only vague platitudes of Jedi becoming one with the Force. For feeling even the slightest sense of frustration or curiosity beyond her role as a Jedi Knight, Iskat is talked down to.

And when Iskat is forced by the Order to clean out the room and belongings of a fallen Jedi she knew well before being told to simply carry on as if nothing had occurred, it was truly sickening.

If Iskat had been a Jedi during the High Republic, I believe that she would have found a path with a more flexible Jedi Order. Unfortunately, just as the Clone Wars-era Jedi Order failed Anakin Skywalker, just as it failed twenty other Inquisitors, it failed Iskat.

Without spoilers, the way Dawson handles writing some of these darker topics — especially the truth about Iskat’s past revealed near the end of the story — is handled in an incredibly respectful and impactful way. It’s not dark for the sake of being dark, it’s dark because it adds to the message of the story. There are emotions that cannot be suppressed as if they don’t exist, and in this way, the Jedi Order truly failed their members.

Above all, this is one of the most impactful Star Wars novels I have read, and I would highly recommend it to everyone.