“To truly be a Barsha, you need to know when to say something or stay quiet. That’s how you get what you want out of people.”
– Roisem Barsha
Jaylen Barsha is the heir apparent to his family’s empire: the Barsha corporation, bloodline, fortune, and shadowy dealings. But when the Empire brings down the entire family, Jaylen is left with nothing but his wits and a new reprogrammed commando droid companion, ND-5, to survive. As Jaylen and ND build their reputation in the underworld, they search to find who killed Jaylen’s family.
Nepo babies! Government intervention! Murder party! And ISB entanglements!
The Little Prince
Jaylen Barsha is the firstborn son of Nnytyl and Roisem Barsha. He is the favored son, unlike his half-brother Sleero. While Jaylen does enjoy a life of luxury, he does feel for Sleero. Not enough to defy his parents, but enough to offer some kinship when he sees Sleero needs it. When an attack on the Barshas leaves Jaylen as the only survivor, Jaylen is forced to leave behind the Barsha name and make his way in the underworld. Alongside his only ally, ND-5, Jaylen uses every skill his family taught him to build his reputation, contacts, credits, and uncover the mystery of who killed his family and what happened to his half-brother.
Killer Replacement
ND-5‘s mission is interrupted, and this ex-commando droid is reprogrammed to protect Jaylen. While his skills and programming make ND invaluable, there’s always a chance he could revert to his original programming and be a danger. As a droid, ND doesn’t have a lot of free will, especially with some of his more dangerous programming locked by Jaylen for safety. As ND travels and experiences new things, he starts to wonder if some of his forbidden skills could be an asset and worth the risk of unlocking.
“You wanna survive? Know the players.”
This is an underworld story. As Jaylen and ND make their moves, they’ve got no choice but to deal with the syndicates. The Hutts. Crimson Dawn. Even Imperial entanglements are dangerous for Jaylen. Everyone they meet could be an ally or an enemy. Trust is hard to come by, but no one can do anything alone. ND-5 and Jaylen meet some great characters throughout this story. Some familiar, some new. I love what the interactions tell us about each of them. Jaylen and ND each react differently to everyone, and it tells us a lot about their mindset, goals, and outlooks.
Bits and Pieces
Mike Chen gives us a story about two fantastic characters we met in Star Wars Outlaws. Jaylen Vrax… who I didn’t like very much, and ND-5… who I liked too much. The story starts off strong and throws our characters immediately into the deep end of a chaotic galaxy where the only thing they can depend on is each other. I came away with a much better appreciation for Jaylen, a begrudging one, as I spent all of my Star Wars Outlaws gaming experience mad at him. And ND-5 could never do anything wrong. I loved the first-person style of ND-5’s parts of the book. Much like Justina Ireland’s The Acolyte: Wayseeker, the first-person narrative style really gets you into ND-5’s mindset. The story is personal and also very much matches some of the themes and tone of Star Wars Outlaws. Jaylen Vrax is surviving under the radar, building his reputation and connections, all while trying to solve the mystery of his family’s downfall. The audiobook is voiced by both Jay Rincon and Eric Johnson, who are the voices of ND-5 and Jaylen Vrax, respectively, in Star Wars Outlaws! This was a wonderful casting decision that gave each character an added layer of authenticity for those of us who played the video game. Throughout their travels, we get to see a few familiar faces, of course. Not only faces we know from the underworld, but Chen manages to fit in a few faces from his own stories! All in all, a solid Star Wars underworld story packed with action, shady dealings, family drama, and mystery!
This is a must-read for Star Wars Outlaws fans looking for an underworld mystery and LOTS more ND-5!
- Sal P.
“We work well together.”
ND-5
Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon is available now!
Check out the Rogue Rebels Books and Stories playlist here!
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- Star Wars Outlaws
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Last Shot
- Bounty Hunters
- War of the Bounty Hunters
- Doctor Aphra (2016)
- Battlefront II: Inferno Squad
The Rogue Rebels 