Today at the New York Comic Con panel on Lucasfilm Publishing, alongside a number of different spotlights and announcements was the unveiling of a brand new novel: Star Wars Inquisitors: Rise of the Red Blade.
The book is written by Delilah S. Dawson, author of Phasma, Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, and The Skywalker Saga, and it will release on July 18, 2023. The story centers around Iskat, a former Jedi who survived Order 66 and joined the Inquisitorious instead – having apparently been forcibly conscripted into service. She follows this path “with the hope of uncovering the truth about her past.”
She actually first appeared in Charles Soule’s Darth Vader comic run, but we didn’t know her name then or much at all about her. So this story will expand upon her story, and presumably upon the whole Inquisitorious in turn.
The Imperial Inquisitors have been a major player in Empire-era Star Wars stories over the past decade, featuring heavily in Star Wars Rebels, the Darth Vader comic series, and most recently the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The latter project brought the Inquisitors to a much broader audience, introducing them to the Grand Inquisitor, the Fifth Brother, the Third Sister (Reva), and more. It’s cool how the focus on this group is continuing into publishing as well, and I’m excited both for the story itself and the connections and world building that could come from it.
As a refresher, the Inquisitorious was made up of former Jedi who, under the leadership of Darth Vader, were tasked with hunting down and destroying the remaining Jedi Knights who had survived Order 66. They were not formally Sith, but they shared much in common with them – particularly their distrust for others and selfish ambition to get ahead. I can’t wait to see how Iskat fits into all of that.
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