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Star Wars Disney Canon Novel
The Last Order
New York Times best-selling author Kwame Mbalia makes his Star Wars debut with this exciting YA novel!
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, 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.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2025
44 people are currently reading
482 people want to read
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May 7, 2025please give Finn the good writing he deserves
November 23, 2025
(2.5 rounded up)
I’ve got “feelings” about John Boyega’s Finn. The storyline of a stormtrooper breaking free of his conditioning, deserting and becoming a Star Wars hero had a lot of potential yet Lucasfilm squandered that potential and Boyega’s talents as the Sequel Trilogy progressed. My feelings on Naomi Ackie’s Jannah are more straightforward, through no fault on Ackie’s part the character feels like an (almost forgettable) afterthought added quickly to “The Rise of Skywalker” to give Finn someone to interact with as they were unfairly cutting back on Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose. The most interesting thing about Jannah’s character, being inspired to desert like Finn had, was not shown but delivered via exposition dump, something I honestly really didn’t like watching the movie the first time.
“The Last Order” attempts to give more about both characters in a post-Episode IX mission to free potential stormtrooper recruits from First Order remnants. But like the recent “Master of Evil”, Last Order is different from how it was advertised in that this mission barely takes up any time in the story. Doing so reveals one of my biggest problems with Canon Star Wars books, they’re often incredibly restrained by what they can and can’t do around certain time frames and projects lest they get retconned by whatever shows or movies in that era. So until Daisy Ridley's solo Rey movie comes out (or Disney revives “The Hunt for Ben Solo”), books like Last Order can’t do too much exploring life in the Galaxy in this time period. Even with what we got, I can’t say it's truly groundbreaking material. There is an interesting resolution to the villain’s arc in this time period (although some may find it cheesy and it happens in the final pages with a rushed feel to it), but otherwise there’s not much here.
Everything else in the book is a series of flashbacks to Finn and Jannah’s stormtrooper days. Truthfully I didn’t get too much out of Finn’s storyline, it just continued to show the conflicting accounts of Finn’s character, simultaneously a competent trooper (who still gets put on sanitation duty???) that wants to/can excel, a man scared of the First Order/wants to get away, and a socially inept dork. Jannah’s storyline meanwhile I actually really did enjoy as we see the lead-up to her defection. It's an effective sequence that again would have had more of an impact if we actually saw it on screen when she was introduced. But it's still a nice scene and I liked her interactions with her fellow troopers. Besides this, there were parts of both flashback sequences I also enjoyed, like seeing Captain Cardinal from the “Phasma” novel return.
Ultimately I don’t think “The Last Order” justifies its status as the first major post “Rise of Skywalker” story in the Disney Canon as those scenes are minimal. I think this book with just the flashbacks could have been released before Episode IX and it may have worked better. I wasn’t blown away, it doesn’t feel too essential, but it's mostly harmless and could be entertaining.
I’ve got “feelings” about John Boyega’s Finn. The storyline of a stormtrooper breaking free of his conditioning, deserting and becoming a Star Wars hero had a lot of potential yet Lucasfilm squandered that potential and Boyega’s talents as the Sequel Trilogy progressed. My feelings on Naomi Ackie’s Jannah are more straightforward, through no fault on Ackie’s part the character feels like an (almost forgettable) afterthought added quickly to “The Rise of Skywalker” to give Finn someone to interact with as they were unfairly cutting back on Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose. The most interesting thing about Jannah’s character, being inspired to desert like Finn had, was not shown but delivered via exposition dump, something I honestly really didn’t like watching the movie the first time.
“The Last Order” attempts to give more about both characters in a post-Episode IX mission to free potential stormtrooper recruits from First Order remnants. But like the recent “Master of Evil”, Last Order is different from how it was advertised in that this mission barely takes up any time in the story. Doing so reveals one of my biggest problems with Canon Star Wars books, they’re often incredibly restrained by what they can and can’t do around certain time frames and projects lest they get retconned by whatever shows or movies in that era. So until Daisy Ridley's solo Rey movie comes out (or Disney revives “The Hunt for Ben Solo”), books like Last Order can’t do too much exploring life in the Galaxy in this time period. Even with what we got, I can’t say it's truly groundbreaking material. There is an interesting resolution to the villain’s arc in this time period (although some may find it cheesy and it happens in the final pages with a rushed feel to it), but otherwise there’s not much here.
Everything else in the book is a series of flashbacks to Finn and Jannah’s stormtrooper days. Truthfully I didn’t get too much out of Finn’s storyline, it just continued to show the conflicting accounts of Finn’s character, simultaneously a competent trooper (who still gets put on sanitation duty???) that wants to/can excel, a man scared of the First Order/wants to get away, and a socially inept dork. Jannah’s storyline meanwhile I actually really did enjoy as we see the lead-up to her defection. It's an effective sequence that again would have had more of an impact if we actually saw it on screen when she was introduced. But it's still a nice scene and I liked her interactions with her fellow troopers. Besides this, there were parts of both flashback sequences I also enjoyed, like seeing Captain Cardinal from the “Phasma” novel return.
Ultimately I don’t think “The Last Order” justifies its status as the first major post “Rise of Skywalker” story in the Disney Canon as those scenes are minimal. I think this book with just the flashbacks could have been released before Episode IX and it may have worked better. I wasn’t blown away, it doesn’t feel too essential, but it's mostly harmless and could be entertaining.
November 4, 2025
An interesting title for the (currently planned) last release by "Disney-Lucasfilm" press before the YA line of books moves over to Random House/Delacorte. "The Last Order" by Kwambe Mbalia is partially incorrectly marketed, but that doens't mean its bad.
In fact, the book is substantially better than I anticipated.
The book was mostly marketable as taking place after "The Rise of Skywalker", and it partially includes that storyline. Unfortunately, it's only about 15% of the book. The other 85% is all flashbacks to the First Order from before the Force Awakens. We see Finn and Jannah as they have separate storylines that have the same theme: seeds of rebellion.
First of all: I really enjoyed the way that Mbalia wrote the two storylines. We see Finn (FN 2187) have to work for Major Gohl and we see the Seeds of his disobedience that we later see in The Force Awakens. I thought it added a lot of context to his character and makes it gel a lot better.
We also see a lot of Jannah's storyline, which I thought was much more interesting. Here she's known as "Boss" and she is in charge of a squad of troopers that goes on various missions. I knew where it had to end up (as does anyone who has seen The Rise of Skywalker and remembers her talking about the Battle of Ansett Island), but I really enjoyed the various missions and squad dynamics.
I was a bit apprehensive at the beginning of the book (after Chapter 1) when all of the First Order Stormtroopers were only referred to by their designator (ie FN 2187). However, they all either got nicknames or we the audience were easily clued in on who was who. It was not an easy tightrope for Mbalia to walk.
The book does deal with themes about when to follow orders and when not to. How to balance order vs freedom, and for a YA book I think the themes fit. The vocabulary used and the character dynamics doesn't seem to fit YA, and this easily could have been converted to an adult book. Maybe Disney-Lucasfilm Press was trying to go for a male audience? Although sadly this isn't the book to market to that audience.
The Post TROS storyline actually had a ton of potential. I can totally see what Mbalia was going for here. Unfortuantely, because it is so little of the book, it doesn't have enough time to breathe, so the big character decisions here just don't hit like they're supposed to. Had the book had another 100-150 pages of the Post TROS story where we could get to know the other characters better, I think it not only would hit harder, but wouldn't seem as jarring to readers as it currently does being a flashback-primarily book.
Overall, I did enjoy the book a lot more than I thought I would. It's nowhere near the top tier of YA books, but its entertaining none the less. I'd definitely recommend to a sequel-era fan, but it's not required reading by any means. Still, a fun read. 7.5 out of 10!
In fact, the book is substantially better than I anticipated.
The book was mostly marketable as taking place after "The Rise of Skywalker", and it partially includes that storyline. Unfortunately, it's only about 15% of the book. The other 85% is all flashbacks to the First Order from before the Force Awakens. We see Finn and Jannah as they have separate storylines that have the same theme: seeds of rebellion.
First of all: I really enjoyed the way that Mbalia wrote the two storylines. We see Finn (FN 2187) have to work for Major Gohl and we see the Seeds of his disobedience that we later see in The Force Awakens. I thought it added a lot of context to his character and makes it gel a lot better.
We also see a lot of Jannah's storyline, which I thought was much more interesting. Here she's known as "Boss" and she is in charge of a squad of troopers that goes on various missions. I knew where it had to end up (as does anyone who has seen The Rise of Skywalker and remembers her talking about the Battle of Ansett Island), but I really enjoyed the various missions and squad dynamics.
I was a bit apprehensive at the beginning of the book (after Chapter 1) when all of the First Order Stormtroopers were only referred to by their designator (ie FN 2187). However, they all either got nicknames or we the audience were easily clued in on who was who. It was not an easy tightrope for Mbalia to walk.
The book does deal with themes about when to follow orders and when not to. How to balance order vs freedom, and for a YA book I think the themes fit. The vocabulary used and the character dynamics doesn't seem to fit YA, and this easily could have been converted to an adult book. Maybe Disney-Lucasfilm Press was trying to go for a male audience? Although sadly this isn't the book to market to that audience.
The Post TROS storyline actually had a ton of potential. I can totally see what Mbalia was going for here. Unfortuantely, because it is so little of the book, it doesn't have enough time to breathe, so the big character decisions here just don't hit like they're supposed to. Had the book had another 100-150 pages of the Post TROS story where we could get to know the other characters better, I think it not only would hit harder, but wouldn't seem as jarring to readers as it currently does being a flashback-primarily book.
Overall, I did enjoy the book a lot more than I thought I would. It's nowhere near the top tier of YA books, but its entertaining none the less. I'd definitely recommend to a sequel-era fan, but it's not required reading by any means. Still, a fun read. 7.5 out of 10!
October 28, 2025
Finished the novel this evening. I rate it an enjoyable but not exceptional 3.5 out of 5.
There was a solid sense of adventure throughout this story, and for the most part, I thought the pacing was pretty strong, although the last portion where all the storylines were meant to come together felt a tad rushed to me. My favorite aspect of the novel overall was how Finn and Jannah's backstories with the First Order were fleshed out more than they could be in the films and how their growing disillusionment with the First Order and increasing awareness of its corruption, cruelty, and misleading propaganda is developed.
The post-TROS elements of the story did largely feel like mere frame for the bulk of the book, which to me focused more on looking at the lives of Finn and Jannah pre-TFA and explaining both their decisions to ultimately desert the First Order.
It's by no means an essential read in my opinion, but I would certainly recommend it to fans of the ST or fans of Finn and Jannah as characters since the majority of the story is focused on them, and the book in my opinion is at its best when it focuses on them.
On a whole, even though I am not the biggest fan of the ST, I still enjoyed this book for what it was.
There was a solid sense of adventure throughout this story, and for the most part, I thought the pacing was pretty strong, although the last portion where all the storylines were meant to come together felt a tad rushed to me. My favorite aspect of the novel overall was how Finn and Jannah's backstories with the First Order were fleshed out more than they could be in the films and how their growing disillusionment with the First Order and increasing awareness of its corruption, cruelty, and misleading propaganda is developed.
The post-TROS elements of the story did largely feel like mere frame for the bulk of the book, which to me focused more on looking at the lives of Finn and Jannah pre-TFA and explaining both their decisions to ultimately desert the First Order.
It's by no means an essential read in my opinion, but I would certainly recommend it to fans of the ST or fans of Finn and Jannah as characters since the majority of the story is focused on them, and the book in my opinion is at its best when it focuses on them.
On a whole, even though I am not the biggest fan of the ST, I still enjoyed this book for what it was.
December 22, 2025
It’s a bit of a muddle, and the ending is entirely underdeveloped.
November 10, 2025
This is a solid story; I think it’s better than the average Star Wars novel recently. The audiobook narrator was good too.
It starts with a post-TRoS story involving a new character, Coy, who accidentally ends up on a mission with Finn and Jannah to track down a First Order leader, someone both Finn and Jannah had experience with before they defected and the First Order was defeated. Then the story spends most of its time in Finn and Jannah’s First Order past as stormtroopers—which was well-written and interesting, but it started to make the “present-day” set-up feel a little useless. I thought for a while it might be a 3-star book because of that, but the author actually brought it all together well in the end. This book still doesn’t give a lot of time to post-TRoS events, which may disappoint some people, but I thought it was a really solid story that fits into existing events and fleshes them out a bit more, giving a lot more character to both Finn and Jannah than you get to see in the movies.
As a YA story, it’s also nice to see it grappling with the question of when to stop following authority that you realize is corrupt. It shows how the stormtroopers had bought into the First Order propaganda (“morale sessions”) and then some of them through various events realized they weren’t actually serving good but evil. There’s a moral core to this story that I really appreciate.
It starts with a post-TRoS story involving a new character, Coy, who accidentally ends up on a mission with Finn and Jannah to track down a First Order leader, someone both Finn and Jannah had experience with before they defected and the First Order was defeated. Then the story spends most of its time in Finn and Jannah’s First Order past as stormtroopers—which was well-written and interesting, but it started to make the “present-day” set-up feel a little useless. I thought for a while it might be a 3-star book because of that, but the author actually brought it all together well in the end. This book still doesn’t give a lot of time to post-TRoS events, which may disappoint some people, but I thought it was a really solid story that fits into existing events and fleshes them out a bit more, giving a lot more character to both Finn and Jannah than you get to see in the movies.
As a YA story, it’s also nice to see it grappling with the question of when to stop following authority that you realize is corrupt. It shows how the stormtroopers had bought into the First Order propaganda (“morale sessions”) and then some of them through various events realized they weren’t actually serving good but evil. There’s a moral core to this story that I really appreciate.
December 17, 2025
This Star Wars title has definite potential, but it unfortunately doesn't live up to it in my opinion. The action unfolds across three different timelines, one of which at least should have automatic appeal for any fan -- it's canonically the latest story yet in this setting, as the first novel to take place following the 2019 movie The Rise of Skywalker. How disappointing, then, that that era turns out to be little beyond a framing device, with only the barest sketch of a post-Exegol galaxy revealed to us. (I assume Disney holds more blame there than author Kwame Mbalia, but recognizing that does nothing to make the work any stronger. It's been six years, folks!)
The other two sequences are told in flashback, flimsily justified by the mission that the Resistance protagonists are on in the present. Here we see film heroes Finn and Jannah when they were still loyal First Order soldiers, although the established canon requires that they never met back then. Thus FN-2187 and TZ-1719's plot threads don't intersect directly, resulting in another structural weakness for the book. Each considered as a standalone novella wouldn't be so bad, and they cover similar thematic territory as the separate troopers both grow disillusioned with their situation and the amorality of their superior officers, but overall this is the sort of prequel that contains few surprises. Events play out basically as we would expect them to, bringing the young man to near the headspace he was in for The Force Awakens (2015) and expanding on the woman's own defection that she mentioned in Rise. It's all competent enough, and I'm glad the corporation entrusted these Black characters to a bestselling Black writer, but the end result is hardly a showstopper.
[Content warning for gun violence and child kidnapping / exploitation.]
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The other two sequences are told in flashback, flimsily justified by the mission that the Resistance protagonists are on in the present. Here we see film heroes Finn and Jannah when they were still loyal First Order soldiers, although the established canon requires that they never met back then. Thus FN-2187 and TZ-1719's plot threads don't intersect directly, resulting in another structural weakness for the book. Each considered as a standalone novella wouldn't be so bad, and they cover similar thematic territory as the separate troopers both grow disillusioned with their situation and the amorality of their superior officers, but overall this is the sort of prequel that contains few surprises. Events play out basically as we would expect them to, bringing the young man to near the headspace he was in for The Force Awakens (2015) and expanding on the woman's own defection that she mentioned in Rise. It's all competent enough, and I'm glad the corporation entrusted these Black characters to a bestselling Black writer, but the end result is hardly a showstopper.
[Content warning for gun violence and child kidnapping / exploitation.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/lesserjoke
--Or click here to browse through all my reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
January 23, 2026
The first post-Rise of Skywalker story... allegedly.
This book is somewhat awkwardly split between three different stories: the main story, set shortly after TROS, and then two flashbacks from Finn's and Jannah's POVs respectively, which both take place years before.
The main story is pretty barren. It's a small part of the book, and I legit forgot what the characters were supposed to be doing midway through. That's okay, though, because it doesn't go anywhere or lead to anything substantial.
Finn's story isn't bad, per se, it's mostly just a bit dull. He goes on a mission with an officer and a buddy, but the officer is already set up as the bad guy, so his betrayal holds little weight, and I never got the impression that Finn and the other stormtrooper liked each other all that much, even though the book wants them to be friends.
And that's what I was expecting, really-- a brief YA story that's well written, if a bit bland, meant to fill in a gap or two, though ultimately pretty skippable...
...is what I would say if Jannah's story wasn't great. The small bits of worldbuilding are very welcome, I liked her dynamic with her squad, her turn is gradual and believable, and the moment when she breaks is excellent and the best scene in the book IMO. It took a cardboard cutout supporting character from the franchise's worst film and turned her into, frankly, my favorite character in this part of the franchise thus far (the fact that they haven't been trying very hard on that front notwithstanding). I'm honestly a little bit puzzled by it. If this book were just about her, I imagine I'd be giving it another star.
In any case, this book did its job and made me at least a little more interested in seeing more sequel-era content, so mission accomplished, I guess.
2.5 stars.
This book is somewhat awkwardly split between three different stories: the main story, set shortly after TROS, and then two flashbacks from Finn's and Jannah's POVs respectively, which both take place years before.
The main story is pretty barren. It's a small part of the book, and I legit forgot what the characters were supposed to be doing midway through. That's okay, though, because it doesn't go anywhere or lead to anything substantial.
Finn's story isn't bad, per se, it's mostly just a bit dull. He goes on a mission with an officer and a buddy, but the officer is already set up as the bad guy, so his betrayal holds little weight, and I never got the impression that Finn and the other stormtrooper liked each other all that much, even though the book wants them to be friends.
And that's what I was expecting, really-- a brief YA story that's well written, if a bit bland, meant to fill in a gap or two, though ultimately pretty skippable...
...is what I would say if Jannah's story wasn't great. The small bits of worldbuilding are very welcome, I liked her dynamic with her squad, her turn is gradual and believable, and the moment when she breaks is excellent and the best scene in the book IMO. It took a cardboard cutout supporting character from the franchise's worst film and turned her into, frankly, my favorite character in this part of the franchise thus far (the fact that they haven't been trying very hard on that front notwithstanding). I'm honestly a little bit puzzled by it. If this book were just about her, I imagine I'd be giving it another star.
In any case, this book did its job and made me at least a little more interested in seeing more sequel-era content, so mission accomplished, I guess.
2.5 stars.
November 14, 2025
What a great debut star wars book from Kwame mbalia!!
I do feel like this book was miss marketed with the book being a big 180 on my expectations for it, With a large majority of the book being a flashback of Finn and Janna early years in the first order which I thoroughly loved getting so much information on their younger selves and the moments that eventually lead to them leaving the first order.
While Janna is a squad leader and finn still being a cadet, they both get wrapped up in separate first order investigations that do expose them to the horrors and reality of being apart of the first order but both at the end of the day just trying to keep their fellow troopers safe from their enemies and the wrath of first order officers.
we get looks into the first order brain washing and satiations where the children could be coming from and the star wars book nerd in me loved getting First order officer cardinal turning up again for the first time since Black spire book from Delilah s Dawson.
in the end i loved my time with this book giving us so much on finn and Janna and how their past's within the first order connects to the present day mission of hunting down someone from their past and saving children from a life of slavery.
I do feel like this book was miss marketed with the book being a big 180 on my expectations for it, With a large majority of the book being a flashback of Finn and Janna early years in the first order which I thoroughly loved getting so much information on their younger selves and the moments that eventually lead to them leaving the first order.
While Janna is a squad leader and finn still being a cadet, they both get wrapped up in separate first order investigations that do expose them to the horrors and reality of being apart of the first order but both at the end of the day just trying to keep their fellow troopers safe from their enemies and the wrath of first order officers.
we get looks into the first order brain washing and satiations where the children could be coming from and the star wars book nerd in me loved getting First order officer cardinal turning up again for the first time since Black spire book from Delilah s Dawson.
in the end i loved my time with this book giving us so much on finn and Janna and how their past's within the first order connects to the present day mission of hunting down someone from their past and saving children from a life of slavery.
October 26, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
For being the first book set after the sequels, it's clear Disney didn't give the author a lot of room to play. Most of the story is flashbacks from Finn and Jannah's time as stormtroopers. Other than their trooper numbers, it was hard to tell the POVs apart, they were both written so similarly.
It was an easy listen but I was hoping for more.
For being the first book set after the sequels, it's clear Disney didn't give the author a lot of room to play. Most of the story is flashbacks from Finn and Jannah's time as stormtroopers. Other than their trooper numbers, it was hard to tell the POVs apart, they were both written so similarly.
It was an easy listen but I was hoping for more.
October 28, 2025
The most utterly boring SW book I have ever read.
January 10, 2026
This was a bit of a rough one for me. I wanted to like it more than I did but the mostly flashback story didn’t do it for me. I’d like to see the author get another shot at a Star Wars book where he’s not hamstrung by the hard stop after the sequels.
December 28, 2025
So a very high 3 star but not quite a 4. I liked the writing style and character development overall, but the flashback storyline was much better laid out and paced than the present one. I would have rather the novel be a bit longer and better develop the present timeline story. The end felt very rushed or too quickly paced in comparison to the rest. I did like that the ending didn't do some useless wrap up and just ended on a good moment. Would recommend overall but not a priority Star Wars read.
December 21, 2025
Unfortunately this book was not what I expected or hoped for. The marketing and synopsis make you think it take place AFTER Episode 9 but there are only a few chapters that do, most of the book is memory POV from Finn & Jannah from when they were stormtroopers in the First Order, prior to the events of the Sequel Trilogy. Jannah’s chapters are the strongest parts of the book but unfortunately this doesn’t save it from the disappointment caused by misleading promise.
December 9, 2025
I love Star Wars. No, that’s not right. I live Star Wars. Been a fan since I saw Empire in theaters in 1980 as a little kid (I was four). I give just about everything I consume that is Star Wars five stars. I say that to emphasize how disappointing the this book, The Last Order, was for me. It had a promising premise but was so boring. I almost quit it several times. Maybe other readers will like it. Maybe you’ll read this and take it as a challenge to love it—and you will. I hope so. We could all use hope. Maybe a new hope? (Too much?)
December 7, 2025
The story started off promising, the first novel that takes place after The Rise of Skywalker. However, the vast majority of the book actually tells the story of Finn and Jannah when they were First Order troopers. I quickly lost interest and had to push through, only to get to an ending that was rushed and so unsatisfying. I only recommend this to completists of Star Wars fiction, like myself.
January 15, 2026
The 1st book I read in 2026, both overall and Star Wars related, Star Wars: Master of Evil, by Adam Christopher was released last year, 2025, to mark the 20th anniversary of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Well, it wasn't the only Star Wars movie to reach a major milestone anniversary last year. Around the time of ROTS' 20th anniversary, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back turned 45. Then just last month, on December 18, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens turned 10. While it came out in October of last year, it's obvious that Star Wars: The Last Order is meant to commemorate that anniversary.
TFA is the movie that introduced us to Finn, AKA FN-2187, played by John Boyega. He's a First Order Stormtropper who defected at the beginning of the movie and joined the Resistance. In 2019's Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, we met Jannah, AKA TZ-1719, played by Naomi Acki. She is another former Stormtrooper. Some of the chapters of Star Wars: The Last Order take place after the events of TROS. But most the book focuses on Finn and Jannah long before TFA even began, when they were just teenage Stormtroopers.
Around this time last year, I read the book Star Wars: Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss, by Steven Barnes. I noted in my review that it only has an average Goodreads of rating of 3.37 stars out of 5, with the bulk of the reviews being 3-star reviews. History has repeated itself. As of now, Star Wars: The Last Order has an average rating of 3.32 stars out of 5, again, with most of those being 3-star reviews. There is a very obvious reason for this, one that I think were all aware of. (Of course, I will reiterate something I brought up in my review of The Glass Abyss: I don't think that's the case for every single low rating or poor review. But we cannot ignore it as a factor.) For me, when I learned Finn and Jannah were getting their own book, and it was to be written by Kwame Mbalia, an author I already adore, I knew I had to read it. Now having read it, it wasn't perfect. But I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Kwame definitely understood the assignment. And what's funny is I actually got 2 books by him for Christmas. The 2nd was Jax Freeman and the Tournament of Spirits, which will be my next book to read.
TFA is the movie that introduced us to Finn, AKA FN-2187, played by John Boyega. He's a First Order Stormtropper who defected at the beginning of the movie and joined the Resistance. In 2019's Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, we met Jannah, AKA TZ-1719, played by Naomi Acki. She is another former Stormtrooper. Some of the chapters of Star Wars: The Last Order take place after the events of TROS. But most the book focuses on Finn and Jannah long before TFA even began, when they were just teenage Stormtroopers.
Around this time last year, I read the book Star Wars: Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss, by Steven Barnes. I noted in my review that it only has an average Goodreads of rating of 3.37 stars out of 5, with the bulk of the reviews being 3-star reviews. History has repeated itself. As of now, Star Wars: The Last Order has an average rating of 3.32 stars out of 5, again, with most of those being 3-star reviews. There is a very obvious reason for this, one that I think were all aware of. (Of course, I will reiterate something I brought up in my review of The Glass Abyss: I don't think that's the case for every single low rating or poor review. But we cannot ignore it as a factor.) For me, when I learned Finn and Jannah were getting their own book, and it was to be written by Kwame Mbalia, an author I already adore, I knew I had to read it. Now having read it, it wasn't perfect. But I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Kwame definitely understood the assignment. And what's funny is I actually got 2 books by him for Christmas. The 2nd was Jax Freeman and the Tournament of Spirits, which will be my next book to read.
February 8, 2026
Disappointing as hell which isn't really Kwame Mbalia's fault, so I feel bad rating 'The Last Order' this low. He is a great writer and there is lots to appreciate about this novel but the marketing completely mis-represents what it actually is. This has been advertised as the first canon story after 'The Rise of Skywalker' which to a certain extent it is, however about 90% of the book is actually set before 'The Force Awakens'.
We spend most of the novel switching between Finn and Jannah's perspectives as they are on separate Stormtrooper missions for the First Order. Both were interesting, with Jannah's being more so, but when I realised that this was going to be most of the book I couldn't help but feel frustrated. I enjoyed reading about Finn's rivalry with another trooper as they battle for promotion, and I really liked the team dynamics going on with Jannah's company. The way they interact, spoke to and cared about each other while still trying to be good Stormtroopers was interesting. Mbalia puts a lot of emphasise on the internal propaganda of the First Order and how that shapes the Stormtrooper's opinions on the world which was a clever addition to the novel.
The post-'TROS' story is so weak though and to be honest, should just be removed. It doesn't teach us anything about Finn, Jannah, their dynamic together or what they will get up to next. We see this section of the story through the eyes of a new character Coy and I liked him but he is completely forgettable. This whole part of the book feels tacked on and unnecessarily, but they advertise it as though this is the main section of the story. I do like 'The Last Order' and I hope that Mbalia gets the chance to write another 'Star Wars' canon book again because he is a talented author, this just wasn't the grand finale to the sequel timeline that I believed it to be.
You can find all of my 'Star Wars' book reviews here.
We spend most of the novel switching between Finn and Jannah's perspectives as they are on separate Stormtrooper missions for the First Order. Both were interesting, with Jannah's being more so, but when I realised that this was going to be most of the book I couldn't help but feel frustrated. I enjoyed reading about Finn's rivalry with another trooper as they battle for promotion, and I really liked the team dynamics going on with Jannah's company. The way they interact, spoke to and cared about each other while still trying to be good Stormtroopers was interesting. Mbalia puts a lot of emphasise on the internal propaganda of the First Order and how that shapes the Stormtrooper's opinions on the world which was a clever addition to the novel.
The post-'TROS' story is so weak though and to be honest, should just be removed. It doesn't teach us anything about Finn, Jannah, their dynamic together or what they will get up to next. We see this section of the story through the eyes of a new character Coy and I liked him but he is completely forgettable. This whole part of the book feels tacked on and unnecessarily, but they advertise it as though this is the main section of the story. I do like 'The Last Order' and I hope that Mbalia gets the chance to write another 'Star Wars' canon book again because he is a talented author, this just wasn't the grand finale to the sequel timeline that I believed it to be.
You can find all of my 'Star Wars' book reviews here.
October 21, 2025
My copy on Apple Books dropped last night at 10:00 MST (9:00 pm in LA, 12:00 midnight in New York). I binge-read last night and this morning (and still got a decent amount of sleep, how about that?)
SPOILERS!
[spoiler]I thought this book was well-written. The author did pretty good describing the characters, the settings, and the fight choreography. The characters were well-written as well. Decent read.
However... there's a couple continuity snarls (and one big, explosive (pun intended) one):
-BB-8 was with Rey at the end of The Rise of Skywalker. So, he's back with Poe, but where's Rey? She wasn't mentioned at all.
-Poe's ship, Black One, was destroyed in TLJ, he had a completely different colored X-Wing in TROS, so why/how did Black One "somehow return"? On another note, I was wondering what the next Poe retcon would be!
Also, Calrissian completely disappeared after the first chapter, and Poe was never mentioned again and disappeared after chapter 7.
Also, I felt the ending kind of ended abruptly. No conclusion or bow to tie it up.
As for Poe barely appearing, I want to believe they have something big planned for Poe (and that it would somehow tie into Rey's adventures), but I won't hold my breath.
Speaking of Rey, I'm guessing they don't want to tell her post-TROS story until after Rey's New Jedi Order movie comes out (if it ever comes out, anyway).
I was hoping we'd find out how exactly Jannah and Finn were captured and inducted into the First Order (unless I missed it...).
Also, that ending when Coy was still in love with Niila, even though she turned out to be Evil All Along, and Finn being against that.... Somewhere in the galaxy, Rey is sweating nervously and has no idea why.
3/5 stars
SPOILERS!
[spoiler]I thought this book was well-written. The author did pretty good describing the characters, the settings, and the fight choreography. The characters were well-written as well. Decent read.
However... there's a couple continuity snarls (and one big, explosive (pun intended) one):
-BB-8 was with Rey at the end of The Rise of Skywalker. So, he's back with Poe, but where's Rey? She wasn't mentioned at all.
-Poe's ship, Black One, was destroyed in TLJ, he had a completely different colored X-Wing in TROS, so why/how did Black One "somehow return"? On another note, I was wondering what the next Poe retcon would be!
Also, Calrissian completely disappeared after the first chapter, and Poe was never mentioned again and disappeared after chapter 7.
Also, I felt the ending kind of ended abruptly. No conclusion or bow to tie it up.
As for Poe barely appearing, I want to believe they have something big planned for Poe (and that it would somehow tie into Rey's adventures), but I won't hold my breath.
Speaking of Rey, I'm guessing they don't want to tell her post-TROS story until after Rey's New Jedi Order movie comes out (if it ever comes out, anyway).
I was hoping we'd find out how exactly Jannah and Finn were captured and inducted into the First Order (unless I missed it...).
Also, that ending when Coy was still in love with Niila, even though she turned out to be Evil All Along, and Finn being against that.... Somewhere in the galaxy, Rey is sweating nervously and has no idea why.
3/5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2025
I was excited to read this book because Finn and Jannah are among my favorite Star Wars characters. I thought it started out a bit slow, but paid off in the end: Finn and Jannah's arcs dovetail really nicely with the movies, giving the characters more depth and helping us to understand how they got to where they were in the sequel trilogy.
In this book, we see:
*How Finn became someone who protects his friends at all costs
*The heroics that presumably led to Finn's demotion to janitor
*What led to Jannah laying down her weapon at the Battle of Ansett Island
*How Jannah got her name
*Finn's attempts to learn how to pilot
*What Finn really thinks about enemies-to-lovers relationships
I also enjoyed the glimpses into the lives of stormtroopers, during both training and actual missions, as Finn and Jannah slowly realize the First Order isn't what they thought it was. This reminded me of Captain Cardinal's story in the novels Phasma and Black Spire, and we even get appearances by Cardinal and Phasma in this book, which was fun.
Overall I think this is worth reading if you are a fan of the sequel trilogy. If you pick it up, stick with it until the end--you'll be glad you did!
In this book, we see:
*How Finn became someone who protects his friends at all costs
*The heroics that presumably led to Finn's demotion to janitor
*What led to Jannah laying down her weapon at the Battle of Ansett Island
*How Jannah got her name
*Finn's attempts to learn how to pilot
*What Finn really thinks about enemies-to-lovers relationships
I also enjoyed the glimpses into the lives of stormtroopers, during both training and actual missions, as Finn and Jannah slowly realize the First Order isn't what they thought it was. This reminded me of Captain Cardinal's story in the novels Phasma and Black Spire, and we even get appearances by Cardinal and Phasma in this book, which was fun.
Overall I think this is worth reading if you are a fan of the sequel trilogy. If you pick it up, stick with it until the end--you'll be glad you did!
November 27, 2025
I listened to this book as an audiobook (the first time I’ve done this during my Star Wars readings) and it made for some confusing moments.
I did really enjoy seeing the daily life and interactions of storm troopers, it did a great job of humanizing them in the same way the clone wars showed us so much about the clones. It gave context to how they became troopers and are manipulated into believing the order is in the right, and how they grapple with doubt when faced with injustice.
Other reviews reference the time frame being misleading, and it is true that the majority of the book is flashbacks, with the main current timeline “story” feeling a bit rushed at the end. I will say that the context from the two flashback stories were 100% necessary for the dialogue/actions in the current timeline, so I can understand this structure. The ending was different than most bad vs good conflict we see, and looking back gives me a feeling of the conflict seeming unfinished (but it was).
I will say the ending was not what I expected and almost wish there were more hints or foreshadowing before hand. But maybe this would be resolved if i had read the book instead of listened.
Ultimately is a good addition to the canon timeline, and was an enjoyable read for a star wars fan.
I did really enjoy seeing the daily life and interactions of storm troopers, it did a great job of humanizing them in the same way the clone wars showed us so much about the clones. It gave context to how they became troopers and are manipulated into believing the order is in the right, and how they grapple with doubt when faced with injustice.
Other reviews reference the time frame being misleading, and it is true that the majority of the book is flashbacks, with the main current timeline “story” feeling a bit rushed at the end. I will say that the context from the two flashback stories were 100% necessary for the dialogue/actions in the current timeline, so I can understand this structure. The ending was different than most bad vs good conflict we see, and looking back gives me a feeling of the conflict seeming unfinished (but it was).
I will say the ending was not what I expected and almost wish there were more hints or foreshadowing before hand. But maybe this would be resolved if i had read the book instead of listened.
Ultimately is a good addition to the canon timeline, and was an enjoyable read for a star wars fan.
December 11, 2025
The First Order has lost, but its terrible deeds are still causing pain in the galaxy. The past has a strong influence on the present. Finn and Jannah, with the help of tea farmer Coy and orphan Niila, are on the way to intercept Major Gohl, who was once in charge of First Order propaganda. Finn and Jannah both have reasons to make sure he never causes trouble again.
If you're looking forward to this because it's the first post-TROS book, then stow the excitement. That era is only used as a framing device for exploring the pasts of Finn and Jannah and how they became disillusioned with the First Order, which I did enjoy, but I'd rather get the ACTUAL book that is being marketed to me (this is becoming quite the problem with Star Wars books...). I was able to put aside this personal gripe because Mbalia writes excellent prose that immediately draws you in and never gets dull, not even in slower moments. I really need to check out his other stuff.
In a nutshell: the look into Finn's and Jannah's pasts is brilliantly done, but the plot in the later timeline is thin and receives a very rushed resolution.
If you're looking forward to this because it's the first post-TROS book, then stow the excitement. That era is only used as a framing device for exploring the pasts of Finn and Jannah and how they became disillusioned with the First Order, which I did enjoy, but I'd rather get the ACTUAL book that is being marketed to me (this is becoming quite the problem with Star Wars books...). I was able to put aside this personal gripe because Mbalia writes excellent prose that immediately draws you in and never gets dull, not even in slower moments. I really need to check out his other stuff.
In a nutshell: the look into Finn's and Jannah's pasts is brilliantly done, but the plot in the later timeline is thin and receives a very rushed resolution.
November 1, 2025
I listened to this book via Audible.
The Last Order takes place shortly after Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker but is a smaller story in the galaxy far, far away. It focuses on Finn and Jannah with extensive flashbacks to their time as First Order stormtroopers.
I wasn't really impressed with this book. The idea of developing some backstory for Finn and Jannah was nice, but it felt like it conflicted with existing books about Finn. It tried to force a shared story between the two that didn't really work for me. The action in the present day was equally forced, requiring you to suspend disbelief - and not in a magic Force kind of way.
I wanted to enjoy The Last Order, but all in all it was just alright. If you enjoy Star Wars and want some more adventures with Finn and Jannah, check this out.
The Last Order takes place shortly after Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker but is a smaller story in the galaxy far, far away. It focuses on Finn and Jannah with extensive flashbacks to their time as First Order stormtroopers.
I wasn't really impressed with this book. The idea of developing some backstory for Finn and Jannah was nice, but it felt like it conflicted with existing books about Finn. It tried to force a shared story between the two that didn't really work for me. The action in the present day was equally forced, requiring you to suspend disbelief - and not in a magic Force kind of way.
I wanted to enjoy The Last Order, but all in all it was just alright. If you enjoy Star Wars and want some more adventures with Finn and Jannah, check this out.
January 23, 2026
While I used to be a big fan of the "Legends" novels, I admittedly am somewhat lost when it comes to some of the stories in the new canon. Not the films, not the adult novels, but the comic books and YA items that sometimes are referenced on new canon novels - simply don't get the references.
The Last Order at the end was an entertaining book, however I didn't start off with knowing that Finn was FN, that didn't dawn on me until late in the novel. The timeline jumps back and forth were a little confusing, as was the usage of trooper numbers rather than nicknames at certain points. The story itself was good, I just often feel removed from the Star Wars saga I used to know. That's not the author's fault.
The Last Order at the end was an entertaining book, however I didn't start off with knowing that Finn was FN, that didn't dawn on me until late in the novel. The timeline jumps back and forth were a little confusing, as was the usage of trooper numbers rather than nicknames at certain points. The story itself was good, I just often feel removed from the Star Wars saga I used to know. That's not the author's fault.
December 23, 2025
This book feels like it was built for me in a lot of ways, it expands upon my favorite faction in Star Wars, and has lots of amazing references to others First Order stories. Overall, the flashback stories are very well written and engaging, but the present day sections bring down the overall rating of the book. It brilliantly uses characters from the Phasma book, and even perfectly lines up with the start of before the awakening, so I’m excited to go reread that story with all the new context! Also Jannah was greatly improved by this story in my eyes, actually seeing her time in the First Order greatly improves her lines in 9 about her companies time there.
January 4, 2026
Honestly, I'm just kinda really bored reading this one.
This was the only new Star Wars novel of last year i hadn't read, and i knew going in i would be disappointed in the lack of post TROS stuff. What i didn't realise was how bored I would be during the flashbacks.
Then I lost my place in the audiobook, and couldn't find where I was, and couldn't speed it up or track it very easily. And I was just really bored. so this is technically a DNF but I read most of it, and just couldn't be bothered with finishing it.
I just wanted more from post TROS and the flashbacks just didnt keep me invested. The whole book just felt like a giant nothing burger.
This was the only new Star Wars novel of last year i hadn't read, and i knew going in i would be disappointed in the lack of post TROS stuff. What i didn't realise was how bored I would be during the flashbacks.
Then I lost my place in the audiobook, and couldn't find where I was, and couldn't speed it up or track it very easily. And I was just really bored. so this is technically a DNF but I read most of it, and just couldn't be bothered with finishing it.
I just wanted more from post TROS and the flashbacks just didnt keep me invested. The whole book just felt like a giant nothing burger.
November 23, 2025
This felt like a trilogy series crammed into one book: a story about Finn in the First Order, a story about Jannah in the First Order, and a post-Rise of Skywalker story about them both that felt rushed in the last 3 chapters. I thought this story would be more about the First Order’s exploitation of children and minorities in their military, but even though it wasn’t, it was still a very good book!
December 6, 2025
3.5 rating! I wished I liked this one more but alas I had the main issue of the story mostly happening in the past with Finn and Janna still being a part of the First Order. The story itself was well written but I really did not care about most of the characters besides the core group of Finn, Janna, and Poe (who was in a scene or two). I wouldn't have minded about the flashback otherwise if was a compelling story.
November 3, 2025
Honestly one of my favorite Star Wars books of the year! The story was super entertaining and I loved learning more about these characters! Loved the found family aspects! I don’t really understand why they did the flashbacks… it should’ve just been set before the force awakens. Also probably could have been a little shorter.
November 12, 2025
One of the most misleading marketing campaigns for a book in recent Star Wars memory, which ultimately takes away from Mbalia's fairly compelling flashback story.
Check out our full thoughts in our video review here:
https://youtu.be/1E_ktGBTHbU
Check out our full thoughts in our video review here:
https://youtu.be/1E_ktGBTHbU
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