QUEEN’S SHADOW: THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS

We are brave, your Highness

Padmé Amidala has been one of my favourite characters from Star Wars since I first saw her way back in 1998. Though she was under used and often overlooked in the prequels (when you look at how The Phantom Menace is structured, she’s literally the main character despite her often being absent), Padmé is a vital player in the Star Wars universe as a whole. We see glimpses of her political ambitions and personal crusades in the films, which are then expanded on in The Clone Wars, but never has more light been shed on Padmé than in Queen’s Shadow.

Written by E. K. Johnston, Queen’s Shadow is a love letter to Padmé, her handmaidens and Naboo retinue, the prequels and kicking ass all over the galaxy. Especially the handmaidens, who mostly became set dressing in the films asides from a few scenes, become fully rounded characters in their own right. Sabé in particular, played by Keira Knightley in The Phantom Menace, who is the other side of Padmé’s coin more so than any of the other handmaidens, and is the other POV in the book.

One of my favourite things about Queen’s Shadow is it’s portrayal of power. Power is such a core concept for Star Wars, from too much of it to the lack thereof, and Padmé on paper represents significant power. She’s a Queen-turned-Senator, with people trained to lay down their lives for her, and she is fully aware of that weight. Throughout Queen’s Shadow Padmé is confronted with the power of both herself and Amidala (there is a clear distinction between the two) and how she could, if she asked, change the course of her handmaidens lives by asking them to stay with her. Sabé is explicit in her willingness to do anything to protect Padmé, whatever the cost, and Saché (the decoy left behind in TPM) bears the scars of torture from her loyalty to Padmé and the people of Naboo. The fact that Padmé is aware of this delicate balance and doesn’t act on that power, though she could without reprisal, is paramount to Padmé’s character; it’s how she later behaves with Anakin, and how she expects him to behave towards her in return. Where Padmé does use the weight of her character however is in politics, again reflective of how she behaves throughout the prequels. Whether it’s through her own intellect, political manoeuvring or deployment of the handmaidens as decoys, Padmé’s ultimate goal is to help those in need, as quickly as possible.

Another reason why Queen’s Shadow stands out among Star Wars novels in general is that the characters actually learn from and remember their past experiences. Often I find, especially with significantly tragic and traumatic events that would stay with a living person, things are almost immediately forgotten by characters in most forms of media. In Queen’s Shadow the events of The Phantom Menace lurk behind all of them. Through the suffering of their own people, the handmaidens are driven a whole host of different careers but with the same core of helping. Padmé is the same, as she works on the relief mission for a natural disaster (the crux of the political storyline), with impacts that echo what happened on Naboo. All of those who had been present at the Battle of Naboo or the occupation in TPM have a level of distrust for politics and politicians, Padmé included though she works to improve politics from the inside, which again echoes similar conversations in Attack of the Clones between Padmé and Anakin.

Finally, the most striking and poignant note that I saw in Queen’s Shadow is the issue of duality between Padmé and Amidala. Padmé is finishing her reign as Queen, where she became Amidala for her planet. Sabé and Saché were also Amidala for short periods of time. All of the handmaidens altered their names to have an é ending name out of loyalty to Padmé, and by extension Amidala. Amidala is a show; with make up, history laden and regal clothing, a deeper voice and Naboo being her central concern. Amidala is also a form of defence, a shield to hide behind when Padmé didn’t want to show her true intentions. Where Padmé is the ‘real’ person, Amidala is the vessel of her political intentions, as Padmé keeps the name for her political career. This dichotomy between Padmé’s own desires and her overriding political ones to help, in the form of Amidala, are part of the problems that will develop later between Padmé and Anakin. Or at least, a tool that is used against them to drive Anakin to his destruction. It’s poignant because you see a young woman who is striving to do better, for everyone, because (almost) the worst possible thing happened to her planet and her people, under her watch. You see the handmaidens building their lives back up post Amidala though they are ready to drop everything at a moments notice, apart from Sabé who can’t live without Amidala or Padmé, choosing instead to live undercover as an informant.

Queen’s Shadow is pacey, wonderfully written and clearly in love with Naboo and it’s inhabitants. E. K. Johnston has breathed new life into Padmé, bridging the leap from Queen to Senator, and most importantly into those that lived in her orbit. Those that fought for her and why they did so. Those that would mourn her when she was gone. I’ve not gone into much detail on the handmaidens individual journeys in the book, because I want you to read them for yourself. These women were brave, they were fallible, and they were a team. Their dedication to Padmé defined them but they also struck out on their own courses. Thank you so much for writing this wonderful book, E. K. I can’t wait for the next one.

PS: My copy of Queen’s Shadow is extra special to me, as it’s signed by E. K. Johnston. One of my good friends met her at SWCC, and as it happened to be my birthday that day, asked E.K. to wish me happy birthday in it. I love it very much.

Queen’s Shadow is written by E. K. Johnston, and was published March 5th 2019. UK ISBN is 9781368024259. Queen’s Peril, the next book about Amidala from Johnston, is set to be published in June 2020. Needless to say, I am very excited.

Other things of note:

- The US cover is a lot cooler than the standard UK one in my opinion and features really beautiful artwork by Tara C Phillips. Try to track down that version either in hardback or paperback (or take a look at them online) There’s also a bonus poster of Padmé in her Clone Wars action gear, done by the same artist that comes free with Barnes and Noble hardback copies of the Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn book, Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray.