'Sanctuary: A Bad Batch' Novel Review

The Bad Batch was one of the biggest surprises that the Star Wars community has experienced in years. What began as a spin-off of a spin-off of a sequel quickly turned into one of the most emotionally harrowing, technologically beautiful, and stunningly impactful shows a galaxy far, far away had ever seen.

It was also a lot of fun.

Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel marks the first full novel chronicling the adventures of Clone Force 99, and author Lamar Giles has created something so tonally perfect that you’d swear that this adventure came directly from the pages of a lost script. By thrusting Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Tech directly into a chaotic mess that combines the nefarious nature of the ISB with the need to rebuild their home, Giles captures the exact balance of joy and intensity that made the series such a hit.

Much like its namesake, Sanctuary will undoubtedly be a welcome surprise for every fan that cracks its cover.

PLOT

Sanctuary begins by throwing the reader directly into the action. Taking place after Season 2’s episode “Pabu”, Hunter, Wrecker, Omega, and Tech have joined forces with Phee Genoa in order to raise funds to rebuild their adopted island home. Naturally, Phee has set up a job that doesn’t quite go to plan, and after the crew picks up a few stowaways in the shadows of calamity, the larger story begins to take shape.

What follows is a story about identity, falsehoods, and the lengths you must go to sacrifice for family, and it’s impossible to believe that it wasn’t originally an arc of the series.

Inkstone Books

Giles captures the feel of The Bad Batch perfectly throughout the story of the book. Just like the series, Sanctuary rides a perfect wave of energy as he weaves in thrilling action scenes with introspective conversations onboard the Marauder - a balance made all the more impressive as he introduces his original villains who are just as malevolent as the best antagonists of the source material.

Every moment and evolution of the plot also feels natural and logical. Whereas some adaptations can feel like they’re trying too hard to replicate the feeling of a visual story, Sanctuary’s scenes actually place the storyboard directly into your mind’s eye. We never stay with one group too long, we never rely too heavily on a singular mcguffin – we simply follow the story through every twist and turn until we come upon an ending that is thankfully just as satisfying as its exquisite setup.

Inkstone Books

However, just because the plot of Sanctuary may be described as simple and straightforward, that doesn’t rob it of emotional complexity. Giles’s story is confined between a couple of episodes of the series, but he’s still able to add in some pretty illuminating character development - especially for Hunter. Much like the best episodes of the series, the story uses the adventure and the action to broaden the horizons of the main crew in order to continue their evolution into some of the most well rounded characters in Canon.

And, of course, the strength of those characters has always been where The Bad Batch can truly shine.

CHARACTERS

If you love the main characters in The Bad Batch, you will love them in this book. After three seasons, the voices of Hunter, Wrecker, Omega, Tech, and even Phee are pretty intensely grafted onto our brains, and Giles writes them picture perfectly…with a little bit extra on top.

One of the best things about Star Wars books is their ability to expand the characterizations of some of our favorite heroes we see onscreen. Even though Clone Force 99 is able to show massive character growth throughout their visual arc, Giles goes even a bit deeper in Sanctuary, and the product is all the richer for his efforts.

Lucasfilm

Omega is a bit more reasonable and responsible with her actions, the affection between Tech and Phee is given time to breathe, Wrecker has a bit more agency than his stereotype as a rather large child, and Hunter is gifted a truly beautiful arc that forms the backbone of the entire story.

One of the hardest things about the end of a series is the feeling of missing characters, and Sanctuary really does make it feel like these folks never left us.

But as strong as these characterizations are, they’re somehow not the most impressive aspect of Giles’s character writing. Adding original characters to intermingle with previously established fan favorites can always pose a sort of risk for IP authors, but luckily…Lamar Giles does not have that problem.

Random House Worlds

Every original addition to Sanctuary feels specifically tailored to fit inside the world of The Bad Batch. Much like Season 3’s addition of the chilling Dr. Hemlock, the introductions of Sendril Crane, an ISB operative, and Cellia Moten, a wealthy socialite with a devastating secret, make the world feel so much more real and, most importantly, dangerous. These two antagonists along with the aforementioned stowaways fill Giles’s Bad Batch universe with color in a way that simultaneously places the story firmly in the previously established world and creates something entirely new.

To put it simply, Lamar Giles has written a story where every single character commands your attention. No matter the point of view of the current chapter, the story remains exciting thanks to every single character commanding similar levels of excitement and intrigue – a testament not only to Gile’s mastery of character work, but also his sensational technical skill as a writer.

WRITING

Lamar Giles fits perfectly in Star Wars.

Although Sanctuary is his first full length Star Wars novel, Giles previously appeared in our favorite Star Wars author pipeline, the From a Certain Point of View series with “Twenty and Out”, a story about two Death Star technicians from Return of the Jedi. His aptitude for writing military-centric tales may have been obvious from FACPOV, but after witnessing an entire book from his pen, there is no doubt that we should be receiving many more stories from him in a galaxy far, far away.

Lamar Giles

Nailing the pacing of a Star Wars book can prove to be a significant challenge for new authors. Sometimes, it takes a while for the rhythm of the universe to lock in, and when it comes to taking the queue from visual material like The Bad Batch, books can adopt an air of artificiality that creates a sense of disconnection from the audience.

Lamar Giles suffered none of these issues.

Reading Sanctuary is, quite simply, an exquisitely enjoyable experience. Thanks to Giles’s use of short chapters and efficient yet calculated POV changes, the adventure absolutely flies by yet still encompasses a complete, satisfying arc. Near the end, some of the final action sequences do overlap each other just a bit which can lead to some slight confusion regarding the blocking of certain blasterfire and explosions, but in no way does this cacophony lessen the quality of the entire reading experience.

The Bad Batch became such a hit thanks to its seamless combination of high-intensity action and somber, emotional storytelling, and Giles has translated that to the page in a way that should all but guarantee that his next Star Wars entry will be coming sooner rather than later.

ENTERTAINMENT

If you are entertained by The Bad Batch, you will be entertained by Sanctuary. As much as this comparative theme has been repeated, it bears stating yet again, because Giles has somehow captured the exact exhilaration of watching a brand new episode on Disney+ and spread it out over a 300 page adventure.

Random House Worlds

The action scenes are explosive, the witticisms ring with exactly the right type of humor, the locations are luscious, the Imperial war machine is terrifying, and the crew at the center of it is filled with so much heart that you can’t help but root for them. What separates The Bad Batch from other similar projects is the sincerity of its protagonists and the darkness of their enemies, and Giles taps into both sides of that spectrum wonderfully.

And naturally, there are some especially entertaining surprises along the way.

Finally…this book is just so much fun. Star Wars readers are lucky, because we get to experience our favorite galaxy in books that range in intensity, subject matter, and even genre, and sometimes, we do sacrifice the fun of Star Wars in service of a different journey. Sanctuary, however, takes all the fun of being a fan of clones and spaceships and heists and infuses it with just enough substance to keep you turning the pages at a truly ferocious clip until you hit the back cover.

OVERALL

The Bad Batch is back, and it’s not outlandish to say that they’re better than ever.

Sanctuary is exactly the type of fun, epic adventure the Star Wars community needs as we look ahead to the next evolution of our favorite franchise, and there was nobody better than Lamar Giles to take on this task. Let’s hope that we see his name on another cover as soon as possible, because it’s clear that his story with Star Wars is just beginning.

Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel is available now wherever books are sold as well as on audio where it is narrated by Marc Thompson.

Our rating: Incredible

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