Catalyst Part 1

[colls]

Welcome to our first of THREE check-in and discussion posts for our Book of the Month.

This month’s book is Catalyst by James Luceno
Part 1: Life During Wartime (ch. 1-13)

Catalyst Part 1

1. What do you make of Galen and Krennic's history and seeming friendship?

2. Any thoughts on how the author worked in the allusions to Order 66 and the fate of the Jedi?

3. Is Lyra's backstory and the circumstances surrounding Jyn's birth surprising?

4. How are you liking it so far?



FYI - There's no need to answer all (or any) of the questions above - they're just talking points to get us started. Informal chatter is more than welcome! In-person book clubs often veer off topic, it's okay if we do as well. :)
All I ask is that you try to avoid spoilers for things past Part I of the book.

Comments

[colls]

This is a re-read for me, so I will be abstaining from my usual ramblings on what I think is going on. I will try to remain vague and spoiler-free.

1. I'm calling this the fake-friendship (based on what happens in the movie), but on this re-read I really noticed how unsettled and awkward their relationship is - Galen thinks he owes Krennic and yet.... it feels off. I think the author uses Lyra's discomfort of Krennic to pull this off, because Galen seems kind of clueless. Or that could just be because WE as the audience all know Krennic's motives.

2. I have no deep thoughts here other than I thought it was interesting to see those events happen in the background vs. front and center.

3. The character of Lyra was originally going to be Jedi, so her connection to Jedi things makes sense. Making her a geologist brings Lyra into that connection with kyber and links her to both Jyn (necklace from the movie) and Galen (research). Maybe because today is Mother's Day, but it's nice to see a mother have an independent connection with family members that's unique and nuanced - even if the story is largely focused on the father-daughter relationship. I'd forgotten the tidbit about her own mother still being alive and living as an artist.
Also, Lyra's connection with the force - in that she can sense it, finds peace in it, but isn't able to actively interact with it like a Jedi can - reminds me a bit of Chirrut and the Guardians of the Whills. I think this was alluded to in the movie, but it's nice to see her POV fleshed out a bit here.

4. I'm really enjoying the writing and pacing.

[brokenmnemonic]

I like your observations about Lyra and her connections to her family. Are there many characters in the SW canon with a similar kind of connection with the force as Lyra's?

[colls]

There's Chirrut in Rogue One, who had us all saying "I am one with the Force, the Force is with me".

In TROS it is implied that Finn has a connection, although I gathered that more from interviews than the movie itself.

In my mind, everyone has the potential to. Luke alludes to the idea in TLJ that ANYONE can study and connect with the Force, that it's not just reserved for those who can control or manipulate it. So basically the door has been left wide open.

[brokenmnemonic]

1. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book going in, because I wasn't sure that I really needed the back story for Galen, Krennic and Lyra to be expanded beyond what I saw in Rogue One. However, reading it, I'm finding that some aspects of it much more interesting than I expected to. Krennic feels like someone who is very much focussed on how he can use other people to his advantage, but I'm wondering if that was the case even when he was in university with Galen, or if it was something he began doing after he left university. I certainly don't think that at the time of the novels, he's Galen's friend. Galen being written as someone who feels like they're neurodivergent in some fashion, and seeing him accept Krennic's comments at face value, adds an edge to the opening of Rogue One that I wasn't expecting. It's also got me comparing and contrasting very much the relationship between Lyra and Galen and that between Galen and Krennic. Both of them see Galen as someone special, but their relationships with him couldn't be more different at heart, no matter the outward appearance.

2. I think the author's doing a good (and understated) job of foreshadowing Order 66 and the deaths of the Jedi. I think setting the start of the book on a world that's Seperatist-but-not-really and contrasting that overarching war and political play with the much lower-level relationships between Lyra, Galen, their friends and their captors was a really good way of setting up how distant things can suddenly have much more impact than you might expect.

3. I'm very much enjoying the idea that Lyra is force-sensitive without actually being able to manipulate the Force - I really like the idea of there being people out there who can sense the Force, be aware of it and draw a sense of peace/calm from it, without being capable of becoming active force users. It feels ... nicer? Than a system where you're either a force-user or a muggle. I think the most surprising thing about Jyn's birth is that she didn't end up with a gaggle of axe-wielding alien viking godparents...

4. I'm enjoying this so far. It's not the most gripping or pacey of Star Wars novels, but it's really interesting to me to see the era when the Empire really began being fleshed out, from the perspective of both people who're involved (Krennic) and people who are caught up on it from the outside, seeing how things are changing but with no ability to influence it. It's fleshing out the background for me in an interesting fashion, and I've found myself oddly enjoying Tarkin's occasional appearance.

[colls]

I felt much the same when I approached it - I wasn't overly interested in Galen or Krennic either, but am enjoying this book. I think Krennic is actually very interesting in this and such a good villain. He strategizes and manipulates people so well.