Reviewing Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel
I'm so honored to share that I had the absolute privilege to read Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel in advance! Not just once, either. I just wrapped up my third re-read, and I'm gearing up for a fourth.
I won't get into any spoilers, obviously, because I want you all to experience this incredible story for yourselves the way it's meant to be experienced, but I will provide some non-spoiler specifics about this amazing book that have stood out to me through each and every re-read.
This book reads like an episode of The Bad Batch show, if not an entire arc. I could clearly hear each line of dialogue in the characters' voices, and the new characters added to this story were so intriguing, charming, and three-dimensional that they truly felt real. I'm convinced this story had to be a book because none of us would survive the real thing on-screen.
The tone of this book, however, is much more mature than the show, and it's fitting. There's a lot we learn about Clone Force 99 that truly enhances their story in the past, present, and future. I won't lie; this book will make "Plan 99" unwatchable if it isn't already purely because of the depth it adds to this family's dynamic and Tech himself, but that's a good thing, trust me.
Here are some of my highlights for all the characters we know are a part of this story:
If you follow me here, you know how I feel about Hunter. He's my favorite character right up there with Din Djarin. Somehow, though, this book made me love him more. Being inside his mind, and truly seeing how he thinks about everyone and everything, is just absolutely incredible. The arc he takes in this book is also beautifully significant for his character.
Omega gets some very important backstory and other character development that proves why she's truly just the most incredible being in the entire galaxy. This book does such a wonderful job of balancing the fact that she's still a child with the fact that she's also an incredibly intelligent, empathetic, strong, and capable individual who can already hold her own.
I was overjoyed for how Wrecker was depicted in this book as well. While he maintains the joyful and silly characteristics we've always loved in his character, he also gains a depth that I've found missing from the show in many ways. It's truly amended here.
Seeing Tech in his final days without him knowing they're his final days is nothing short of heartbreaking, but at the same time, it's everything and more. No one, and I mean no one, will ever be able to deny what he had with Phee anymore after this book. Tech is truly such an anchor within this family, and seeing how his mind works is so precious.
Phee proves in this book why it's a crime that she didn't appear more in The Bad Batch season 3. She's such a natural addition to the family dynamic amongst Clone Force 99, and even on her own, she's just such a wonderful character that I sincerely hope we get to see more from in the future.
Crosshair and Echo aren't with the Bad Batch in this part of the timeline (between S2E13 and S2E14), but their impact on the characters and their story ought not to be underestimated. They are a constant presence, with some potential surprises along the way...
There is so much more I could say, and likely will say, over the course of the next two weeks until Sanctuary arrives, but what's for certain is that this is a book I'm going to read over and over and over again (as I already have). It's so true to every single character, and there are so many moments that haven't left my mind ever since I read them for the first time.
Prepare for your perspective to be changed on the Bad Batch as a group and as a story forever in the best way possible. You won't watch The Clone Wars season 7 or The Bad Batch the same way ever again with this context.
I mean nothing but the best when I say that I was audibly asking myself, "Is this a fanfic?" multiple times as I read it, solely because Lamar Giles just gets it. There are so many things that feel so personal to us, fandom-wide headcanons that come into true being in a way that proves he really did create the best kind of love letter this fandom could have ever asked for.
All in all, here's my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel hits shelves August 5th! Secure your copy now, because you're going to want to have it and indulge in it. Trust me.
