As a book/story, it's pretty good, and a nice coming-of-age story in the Star Wars Universe. As a part of the SW canon, it's bad and retcons a huge part of Poe's backstory just to justify Episode 9. ( )

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After the let down of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (in terms of Poe’s character development) I approached Poe Dameron: Free Fall with excitement and wariness. His life, I had thought, was pretty mapped out in the Dameron comics and in the Skywalker spin-off with Poe’s parents. The casual mention of Poe being a spice runner in the last sequel movie seemed random and out of place, yet Alex Segura stepped up to the plate and wove together a fun adventure that fit with the universe I thought I had known.

Poe Dameron, a rowdy 16 year old, struggles with the knowledge of the heroic achievements of his parents, while he lives a monotonous life on Yavin 4. Yearning for some stories of his own, he takes his first opportunity off-world and runs away from home. Learning after the fact that he threw in his lot with The Spice Runners of Kijimi, we are abruptly put into the seedy underbelly of the New Republic which comes with gnarly piloting and fast shoot-outs. His friendship with the Spice Runners blossoms as he struggles between his morals and his short-term goals. You find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering how far Poe will compromise his values to maintain his loyalty to the Spice Runners. What will be the last straw that sends him down the path to becoming a rebellion hero?

Segura does a fantastic job with creating a young Poe. You can see that he still has a lot of growing to do before he becomes the man we grew to love in the movies, yet his passion and drive are there. For any interested in a more fully fleshed out Poe Dameron, I’d highly recommend Poe Dameron: Free Fall. ( )