From the very beginning of Delilah S. Dawson’s new novel, Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, it’s clear that the main character, Iskat Akaris, is not the normal Padawan. She doesn’t fit in. She struggles with the simplest things like controlling her emotions and powers. Worse still, she doesn’t even know where she’s from or what her race is called. From the start, it’s as if she’s existing in two worlds, caught between the known and unknown. As a result, as Yoda would say, in her much fear can be sensed.

It isn’t long into her training, however, before disagreement with the Separatists turns into outright war. Called back with her master to Coruscant, she learns the news. Jedi are trapped on Geonosis, and they need help. Before she knows it, she’s trading the cloistered walls of the Jedi Temple for live action combat. As is the case with most Padawans, the transition is a rough one. But her reaction isn’t typical. While the Battle of Geonosis is a wake up call, it isn’t unwelcome. That’s because Iskat discovers something vitally important about herself. That she’s actually good at something. Something she shouldn’t be — killing.

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Of course, that isn’t ideal, her being a Jedi. It’s not like she can put that on her resume. Yet, the revelation makes sense to her. Immediately, she understands why her master was so distant. Why it is the Jedi hierarchy never seemed to accept her. And why it was that her own class of Padawans feared her and thought her broken. It makes sense and leads her to believe that her talents are being wasted. That every moment she spends meditating and trying to center herself is a moment taken away from her true calling.

Bad to the Bone
Iskat Akaris, caught between two worlds.
While Jessica Rabbit may be able to claim that she isn’t bad, that she’s just drawn that way, Iskat isn’t like that. Iskat is bad. Truly, and she knows it. In fact, she’s known it — deep down — for some time. But at every turn, she’s fought the impulse to be her true self. With the Jedi guiding her, she’s fought against her inner self, projecting what the Order wants her to be instead of who the Force meant for her to be.

However, after Geonosis, she no longer pretends. At least, not to herself. Rather, she begins to explore. She starts to test herself in the long hours that she has alone. As the war wages on and the Jedi lose handfuls of members daily, Iskat betters herself. She works out, she trains with her lightsaber. She learns how to wield two sabers. And she waits for the moment when the Jedi Council will see her worth in combat and allow her to go out on missions.

Of course, the Council is wary but eventually they have to concede. There are too few Jedi left. In fact, the situation becomes so dire that they elevate Padawans early, pushing out a new class of Jedi Knights just to have users in the field. Iskat is among those anointed, but when her time comes and her mission is set, she allows her emotions to guide her. And they lead her astray. Definitely not in the direction the Council was hoping.

What’s Thule Got to Do With It?
The planet Thule in Rise of the Red Blade
It’s on her mission to Thule that Iskat begins to reveal her true self. Drawn as she is to the planet — a dark and somber place devoid of life — Iskat is further drawn to a Sith altar there. It’s at this altar’s base that she sleeps the night through. For the first time she feels complete as she hears whispers of knowledge the Jedi have denied her. Yet, it’s in how she treats a fellow Jedi — allowing him to fall without aid — that her greatest shift is accomplished. For in that non-action, she solidifies her direction in the Force.

Thule, for the Jedi, is not a success. Certainly not by the standards set by the Council. Yet, Iskat believes her part was competently done. That it was ultimately to the betterment of the Republic. For her, what did it matter if the mission directive wasn’t technically achieved? A member was lost and yet her team still managed to neutralize the target. Moreover, Iskat was finally able to unleash her powers, using her emotions to keep the enemy at bay and to ultimately turn the tide.

In Iskat’s mind, Thule becomes the crossing over point. That imaginary line where freedom is achieved and the hypocrisy of the Jedi is revealed. After Thule, Iskat turns from a Jedi with redeeming qualities into a Jedi skittering inexorably toward the Dark Side.

Rise of the Red Blade
Inquisitors in Rise of the Red Blade
On her next mission — this one a seek-and-recruit effort — Iskat’s attitude ruffles some very familiar feathers. Leading the team is a fellow member of her Padawan class. A male Twi’lek Iskat once fancied and continues to find attractive. His name is Tualon and he, more than anyone else, has the power to truly get under her skin. Annoyingly for her, his opinion matters to her, so when he acts distantly toward her she reacts.

She steps in when Tualon falters in a leadership role, taking center stage as if the Council had put her in charge. This doesn’t bode well, even though her efforts are successful. It’s made even worse when the mission is deemed a success because the Council believes Tualon was the mastermind behind it. When he fails to correct that opinion, Iskat turns on him. She pushes him away and gives in to the dark path, abandoning the last vestiges of faith she has in the Jedi Order.

While Iskat doesn’t do anything outwardly evil, her intent has solidified. She no longer trusts the Jedi command, believing the Order to be callous and against the intent of the Republic. In her eyes, the Jedi aloofness and sense of calm is just a lie, perpetrated by individuals too ignorant and afraid to know anything else. She no longer obeys them. Not in her two hearts and barely in her actions.

The Order Is Given
Iskat Akaris in Rise of the Red Blade
As with many Jedi, Order 66 is a momentous occasion for Iskat. Unlike those many Jedi, she’s given a choice. Turn or be killed. Unsurprisingly, she chooses to turn, having already walked her soul into darkness. It’s a sign of her betrayal to everything she once knew that along with her is another Jedi. A Jedi that she allows to die without barely a moments thought.

Gladly Iskat joins the Inquisitorius, believing it’ll be the salve for all her doubts and pains. Yet, once she numbers among its elite, she discovers something rather unsettling. The Inquisitors aren’t what she wanted them to be. Their missions, their lack of camaraderie, their slavish dedication to someone else’s cause, it all smacks of restraint. The very thing she derided the Jedi Order about.

Unfortunately for her, the Emperor isn’t as forgiving as Yoda or Mace Windu. He and his minions aren’t the sort to allow free thought and action. While they entertain her search for her past, trying to discover where she came from and what her race is, the leash is pulled tight quickly. Before she can even think about escaping to a life of peaceful existence — far from the Jedi or the Sith — her deepest emotions cause her fall to ruin.

A Far, Far Better Place
Iskat Akaris, caught between two worlds
Iskat begins her life growing up in the world of Jedi. She falls from grace, is claimed by the Sith, and then tries to break away. But the Dark Side isn’t something she can escape. While she longs for freedom, to choose as she pleases and to take orders from no one, that world isn’t for her. Despite her plans and dreams, it isn’t meant to be.

Rather, the bottomless hole into which she’s fallen can lead to only one destination. One that’s lined with the Jedi who took the time to nurture her, the Jedi who tried to pull her back, and the Jedi who wanted nothing more than to love her. In the end, her path is sealed. Along with those who gave her assistance, it lacks a future. It has only the briefest of substance before disappearing like mist under a noonday sun.

Rating Rise of the Red Blade
It’s a rarity to get a book about the Dark Side. To get a novel that actually delves into the Sith rather than pay it lip service. What Dawson is able to achieve here will hopefully become more commonplace as Dark Jedi are further explored. And there are inklings of it. We already have the Vader comics. The High Republic phase 2. And coming is the Acolyte TV show.

Still, just slapping Sith on a book doesn’t mean it’ll be good. Thankfully, Dawson doesn’t rest on the subject matter. Instead, she creates a full fleshed out character. Iskat isn’t one dimensional. She isn’t obviously good or bad. And she definitely isn’t a trope. She has flaws and doubts and, while she is powerful, she isn’t overpowered. Like most Force sensitive beings, she has enough rope to hang herself with. And the noose only gets tighter as the novel progresses.

Rise of the Red Blade is an engaging read. It has good pacing and enough action to keep Iskat’s internal thoughts fresh and worthwhile. And the ending is well-earned. Despite coming along suddenly, it doesn’t feel too forced or too derivative. It’s simply emphatic, much like the novel as a whole.

Star Wars books continue to tell stories that fill in the gaps of the established timeline. This novel gives us an in depth look at a former Jedi Knight's choice to join the Inquisitors. Through the eyes of Iskat Akaris we see the cracks in the Jedi order that made her feel unwelcome and estranged. Delilah is a perfect match for this story. She brings an edge to the action in this book and gives us insight to every emotional hardship that leads to her fall.

I did the audio version of this story and I really loved the narrator and the audio background elements. After reading this book I highly suggest reading the Darth Vader run written by Charles Soule . Dawson used a lot of the elements about the Inquisitors lives from this book while also adding her special narrative touches to it.

Overall, Rise of the Red Blade was very enjoyable. I did feel like there were some parts that dragged on during Iskat’s journey. But I think those were necessary to understand how she didn’t fit in with the Jedi Order.

We see these characters struggle and question themselves and the war around them. A little bit of the darker side of the war and the toll it took on the Jedi before Order 66. If Disney decides to do more Tales of the Jedi I would love to see them adapt some prequel-era books and bring these characters to the screen.

Not the story I was expecting but it was heavy yet compelling from start to finish! As an avid prequel fan, this was something I didn’t know I needed but am glad to have! Delilah Dawson never ceases to disappoint with her contributions to Star Wars, and I’m looking forward to what she does next!

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade van Delilah S. Dawson vertelt het verhaal van Iskat Akaris, een Jedi Padawan die zich nooit geaccepteerd gevoeld heeft. Een padawan die al van jongs af aan gemeden werd door haar mede younglings en padawans. Een Padawan met een meester die interesses had waar Iskat zich helemaal niet in kon vinden. Een Padawan die zonder pardon in de Clone Wars terecht kwam en daar eindelijk ontdekte waar ze goed in was: het doden van tegenstanders op het slagveld.

We volgen Iskat van haar tijd als Padawan, door de Clone Wars, voorbij Order 66, en gedurende haar tijd als Inquisitor. En tegelijkertijd krijgen we door het hele boek wat flashbacks naar een gebeurtenis toen ze een Youngling was, die er mede voor zorgde dat ze min of meer verstoten werd door haar medestudenten. We zien een hoop gebeurtenissen door Iskat’s ogen die nog niet eerder echt toegelicht zijn. We zien de Battle of Geonosis vanuit het oogpunt van Jedi die aankwamen om Obi-Wan te bevrijden, en op de tribunes van de arena vochten tegen de Geonosians. We zien welke impact de Clone Wars op de Jedi hadden. We zien begrafenis na begrafenis, en krijgen daadwerkelijk het gevoel dat de Jedi Temple gedurende de oorlog steeds leger werd. We zien Order 66 nog een keer voltrekken, en zien hoe die gebeurtenis onttrok rondom Jedi die de Emperor als waardevol zag. En we krijgen voor het eerst een echt kijkje in de Inquisitorius. We zien hoe deze groep gevormd is, waar ze zich dagelijks mee bezig hielden, hoe ze met elkaar omgingen, en welke rol Darth Vader speelde in hun toetreding. En het belangrijkste van alles: we zien hoe een jonge Jedi gedurende haar leven zo gedesillusioneerd kan raken, dat je mengen bij een groep Dark Side Force users die geleid worden door twee Sith Lords een goede, en zelfs logische keus lijkt.

Iskat’s val naar de Dark Side kwam niet door een enkele, grote gebeurtenis. Het was subtiel, een samenhoping van een levens lang gevoel van eenzaamheid, en afkeur van haar mede Jedi. Een meester die ook geen echte connectie met haar leek te hebben, de ontdekking dat vechten haar ligt als niets anders. De lezer ziet al deze gebeurtenissen ophopen, en krijgt medelijden met haar, en zelfs begrip voor haar keuzes. Ondanks dat we zien dat haar keuzes verkeerd zijn, snappen we waarom ze deze keuzes maakt, en dat maakt het nog tragischer om te realiseren dat het de Jedi Order is die haar deze kant opduwt. Ze falen in het ondersteunen van een persoon dat net even anders is dan de rest, in plaats van haar gave te erkennen, geven ze haar het gevoel dat ze minder is dan de rest. En dit alles keer op keer zien gebeuren gedurende een periode van jaren, maakt haar val erg tragisch. En hoe cru ook, dus ook erg begrijpelijk.

Rise of the Red Blade heeft een goed tempo en is – ondanks dat er niet heel veel actie is – een vrij (emotioneel) spannend boek dat moeilijk weg te leggen is. Dawson’s schrijfstijl is indrukwekkend, ze weet erg veel emotie in haar werk te leggen, en ondanks dat we het verhaal enkel vanuit Iskat’s perspectief zien, krijgen we genoeg mee van andere personages om te zien hoe zij zich voelen. Maar ik had wel graag wat meer gezien, zowel van Iskat de Padawan, als Iskat de Inquisitor. Of dat nu hier als veel langer boek geweest was, of in een duologie geweest was, één boek dat zich vóór Order 66 afspeelde, en één boek dat zich erna afspeelde. Ik had graag meer tijd met Iskat doorgebracht. De manier waarop Dawson dit verhaal neerzet laat de lezer zich inleven in een slechterik. Iemand daar empathie mee laten krijgen is niet makkelijk, maar Dawson krijgt dat uitstekend voor elkaar.

Het dertien uur durende audioboek wordt voorgelezen door Kristen Sieh, die eerder ook al een rolletje had in The Battle of Jedha. Hoewel ik altijd een groot fan ben van de gebruikelijke Star Wars gezichten van Marc Thompson, Saskia Maarleveld en January LaVoy, moet ik zeggen dat ik ook erg te spreken ben over de nieuwe namen die de laatste tijd ingezet worden voor Star Wars audioboeken. Ook Sieh kan erg prettig voorlezen, leeft zich in in de personages en weet iedereen een persoonlijk en herkenbaar tintje te geven. Al had ze het accent dat ze de Seventh Sister geeft achterwegen mogen laten. Haar Yoda stem is de eerste zin enkel lachwekkend te noemen, maar na die eerste reactie ga je in het verhaal op en klinkt ook die niet anders dan natuurlijk. In dezelfde trend is ook de huidige stijl van gematigd gebruik van geluidseffecten en muziek weer perfect in balans met de stem, dus voor de mensen die liever naar een boek luisteren dan het lezen is dit zeker weer een aanrader.

Een minpuntje vond ik wel het feit dat er veel over dingen heen geskipt wordt, het gebeurt nogal dat een complete gebeurtenis – zoals een gevecht bijvoorbeeld – in enkele woorden samengevat wordt. Of dat een periode van maanden of zelfs jaren, in een paragraaf beschreven wordt. Het boek verlengen of opsplitsen had het wat mij betreft dus goed gedaan. Maar los daarvan valt er wat mij betreft bar weinig op te merken aan Rise of the Red Blade.

Voor iedereen die meer wil weten over de Inquisitors, of die een dieper kijkje wil nemen in het leven van de gewone Jedi is Rise of the Red Blade een must read, wat mij betreft. Het leest lekker vlot weg en is zeker een leuke aanvulling op het grotere Star Wars gevoel. Je mist niets als je het boek overslaat, maar als je de tijd er voor hebt zul je er zeker geen spijt van krijgen. En elk boek met rollen voor Kelleran Beq en Noxi Kell is sowieso al de moeite waard!

There is not a lack of Star Wars books in 2023 (or in general). But it's not often a Star Wars book comes along that leaves you feeling a desperate need to read all of them again ... especially the one you just finished.

INQUISITOR: RISE OF THE RED BLADE is technically an origin story, but not in the same design as others that have come before it. The story's main character does not bear the burden of being a "legacy" name. In fact, they are, by definition, meant to be forgotten by the masses (in the story, anyway). And that's not even the most heart-shattering element of the book.

RED BLADE asks an important question: How does a Jedi cross a forbidden line and agree to become an Inquisitor? But it asks so many more in the process of answering that one. In war, who is remembered? In times of tragedy, who is given the chance to become a hero? Why are some steered along the path of notoriety, while others are left in the shadows with no explanation as to why?

This book broke me, stitched me back together, and broke me again. I saw myself in so much of the story the author told. Seeing the Jedi from this perspective has had me thinking a lot about the prequels, and there are some books I may schedule a reread for in the near future.

One of the best and most important Star Wars stories I've ever read.

From my review for Dork Side of the Force:

In the newest adult Star Wars novel by Delilah S. Dawson, Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade will make you happy to see the destruction of the Jedi Order.

Rise of the Red Blade is one of the boldest and darkest entries in Star Wars publishing yet. It offers heartbreaking yet illuminating perspectives of the Clone Wars, the Jedi Order’s suppressive religious dogma, and Order 66. This thrilling and introspective novel is clearly written for the biggest fans of the prequel era, especially those who question the righteousness and arrogance of the Jedi during this period.

Iskat Akaris is the star of Rise of the Red Blade. Starting as a Padawan to Master Sember Vey, Iskat is nearly a pariah amongst her peers. She struggles with control and inner peace, and as a youngling, her emotions exploded and caused a column to fall on and gravely injure another young Jedi.

Then the Clone Wars erupt after the Battle of Geonosis – in this book, depicted as an intense, chaotic, and violent warfare that results in the deaths of far too many Jedi. Iskat and a bunch of other Padawans are then hastily turned into Jedi Knights and generals, sent on missions with little intel and clone troopers under their command.

When Iskat is sidelined after her first mission, her distrust and confusion with the Jedi Order grows and grows as the years of war drag on. Without giving too much away, Order 66 happens and Iskat is given a chance at the type of freedom and answers she’s sought all of her life – by joining the Inquisitors.

Spending more time during the Clone Wars in a novel with “Inquisitor” in the title is far from a bad thing. Rise of the Red Blade’s goal is to show why a Jedi would fall to the dark side and become a Jedi hunter.

The book answers this question with memorable and devastating moments, ones that show just how badly the Order failed Jedi like Iskat and Anakin Skywalker. Even when Iskat is at her most rageful and violent, you can’t help but empathize with her (sometimes murderous) actions.

Author Dawson has a penchant for writing multi-layered, sympathetic “villains,” and Rise of the Red Blade is no different. Iskat is relatable right from page one, and that relatability keeps growing even through her Inquisitor days.

Dawson’s newest book absolutely shines in its character work and action scenes, as well as plenty of Easter egg moments and alternative perspective parallels to other Star Wars media like Attack of the Clones, Mike Chen’s Brotherhood, and Revenge of the Sith.

The novel has a tangible tonal shift in its last quarter or so. There are times when it feels like reading an entirely different story, but Dawson still manages to keep the pacing steady and focused on Iskat’s journey amid a few jarring time jumps.

The only complaint I have with the book is a minor one – I wanted more with Inquisitor Iskat. And I definitely wanted more with Iskat and Tualon in their new toxic but intoxicating relationship.

Still, Rise of the Red Blade is a red-hot piece of Star Wars storytelling, and contains some of the most important messages for its prequel era – the destruction of the Jedi Order was largely to blame on the Jedi themselves and their inability to see past their own hubris. The Jedi are not the heroes in this story, and many actively do irreparable harm to young people like Iskat.

George Lucas’s Star Wars has always been a fantastical fight of good vs. evil. But stories like Rise of the Red Blade and Dawson’s Phasma show the blurry lines between what constitutes a “good guy” and a “bad guy.”

Combine that with Dawson’s strong writing and command of multifaceted women who behave badly, and Rise of the Red Blade is one of the best Star Wars books – stories – we’ve gotten in the last decade.

Thanks to Random House Worlds and Penguin Random House Audio for physical and audio review copies of this book.

This dad read Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson! I have been eagerly awaiting this book’s publication as it’s the first time the Inquisitorius has been explored in a Star Wars novel, plus I’m a massive fan of Dawson’s work (Phasma is one of my favorites). Did the book live up to my internal hype? Let’s discuss.

The central character of Rise of the Red Blade is Iskat Akaris who, up until this point, has only appeared in Charles Soule’s 2017 Darth Vader Marvel comic book series. Going into the book, I was not familiar with Iskat as a character or her ultimate fate in the comic. Having previous knowledge is neither here nor there, as Blade jumps back into Iskat’s past and dives deeply into the tortured and unfortunate past of a gifted Force user. 

The Akaris we’re introduced to in Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is a Jedi Padawan who, putting it lightly, doesn’t fit in. She and her Master, Sember Vey, travel the galaxy collecting Force artifacts for the Jedi Archives; an assignment that she feels has purposefully kept her away from Coruscant and her Padawan peers. An accident involving Iskat took place in the not-too-distant past at the Jedi Temple, one that unfortunately caused a friend to leave the Order and has her living in a state of fear, and we all know where that leads. Iskat finds herself back on Coruscant with a new mission, to help rescue fellow Jedi from the Separatists on Geonosis; an event which, combined with her attraction to Sith artifacts, more fully opens her eyes to her true nature. Throw in her survival of Order 66 and her eventual recruitment to the Inquisitorious and you’ve got one dark and angst-filled origin story.

Dawson has crafted a novel that gave me Darth Bane vibes; Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade isn’t afraid to go to the dark side in terms of plot, themes, and characterization. In this respect, Blade stands out as a unique canonical Star Wars novel. After recently reading Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void and Phase II of The High Republic, my opinion of the Jedi Order has been morphing. I don’t know if I can get behind a group that pulls children from their homes and indoctrinates them into a strict view of the Force. Star Wars has (for the most part) told us that the Jedi are the good guys, but time and again we see their flaws and shortcomings, and these types of stories are, to me, fascinating and entertaining. I love that books like Rise of the Red Blade force readers to take a hard look at the Jedi Order and examine it in a critical way. Iskat is definitely the type of sentient who’s nature and personality isn’t one that can thrive under the Order’s strict guidelines. Now, do I think becoming an Inquistor Sister and steeping herself in the dark side is ultimately best? Not at all. Time and again, the lesson that Star Wars teaches is one of balance. There is light and dark in all of us but it’s everyone’s responsibility to find a balance that helps contribute to a harmonious world. Rise of the Red Blade does a stunning job of telling a cautionary tale of how not to help someone who doesn’t fit the traditional mold.

Speaking of balance, I’d be remiss if I said I outright loved every aspect of this book. I am a huge fan of Dawson’s writing, and it remains high quality here, but some pacing irregularities threw me. Over half of Blade takes place before Iskat joins the Inquisitorious, with numerous chapters and internal dialogue hitting home the point that she feels like a misunderstood outsider. I know this aspect of the book is deeply personal to Dawson, so no disrespect to this thematic exploration (I found myself relating to Iskat time and time again), but in general I would have liked to have had more of a balanced story, half of the novel light side and half dark. It seemed like a lot of “rise” and I was wanting more “red blade.”

Ultimately, Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade does more than simply fill in the gap of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her side character. It exposes the interior of a tortured soul and examines a life filled with choices, some made for her and others her own. I couldn’t help but be reminded of how every day I also make dozens of choices that affect both those around me and my own internal being. Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade treads on deep and dark territory that will linger with you long after you put the book down.

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade features amazing cover art by Anthony Jones and also comes in audiobook format, narrated by Kristen Sieh. However you decide to read this book, you’re guaranteed a good time. I give Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade 🧢🧢🧢/5 - recommend!

The Inquisitors have always been one of the more mysterious organizations in Star Wars and Charles Soules Darth Vader comics back in 2017, some light was shed on many of them. Now the unnamed red skinned Inquisitor, who first debuted in those comics, has her own story masterfully penned by Delilah S. Dawson in what is definitely one of my favorite Star Wars books to date.

The book follows Iskat who struggles to find her place in the force. We see her journey from the beginning of the Clone Wars, through Order 66, and beyond. It is a very personal story, she knows nothing about her past and the Jedi deny her those answers when she attempts to find them. It’s easy to see why her and so many others perceive the Jedi as villains. Of course we know they aren’t but their flaws are made even clearer when presented through a perspective such as this.

I loved how some mysteries of the Inquisitorious are unraveled in this book. They have been around for a long time and anyone who wants to learn more needs to read this book right away!

Overall this books was a fantastic read, one of my favorites of the year and definitely one of my favorite Star Wars books!

In Charles Soule’s Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith, we spend a lot of time with Darth Vader after he was defeated on Mustafar. Part of spending time with Vader was seeing how he interacted with the Inquisitors, who were (mostly) fallen Jedi, who were commissioned by the Emperor to track down Jedi who survived Order 66 and eliminate them. In one of the story arcs, we meet two unnamed Inquisitors, whom Vader chases across Coruscant after he suspects them of treason. This story, in the comic, was the motivation for Palpatine to give Vader Mustafar, where he built his fortress. Delilah S. Dawson, author of Phasma and Black Spire, took these characters and built an entire novel around them, hoping to expand their stories a bit. This novel was birthed out of that desire, and it comes years after the comic. The question is: was it worth the wait? Is this a story worth telling? And, ultimately, I’m leaning toward: maybe it was worth being told, but this novel made me wish that it hadn’t been.

Perhaps the biggest problem I ran into while reading the novel is that I simply did not like Iskat, the main character. Red Blades focuses, almost exclusively, on Iskat Akaris. We follow the events of the novel through her POV, rather than following a few characters in different contexts. This has its strengths, but it also has some weaknesses. There have been some Star Wars novels in the recent past that have followed simply far too many points of view, like Cataclysm. Following too many POVs can muddy a story, ruin the pace, and become confusing. By following only a singular point of view, we definitely get to know Iskat better, and we learn a lot about her as we see the galaxy through her eyes. But the thing is…the longer I read the novel, the less I figured I wanted to read the galaxy through her eyes. I never quite connected with Iskat, and I think her story relied on you connecting with her. Because I didn’t, I found her slightly grating at times, and I couldn’t quite buy her motivations across the board.

The novel was, from the title alone, clearly pointing toward Iskat becoming an Inquisitor. I personally do not gravitate toward novels that are based on the villain and their point of view, as I usually prefer to read novels where I want the main character to succeed, rather than find out how they fail. In this case, this novel was already facing an uphill battle for me. Unfortunately, I never really felt like I wanted to see Iskat succeed, nor was I terribly concerned how she would be stopped. Until the end of the novel, I never truly understood why her questions would really drive her to the Dark Side, rather than be something of a minor teenage existential crisis. I rarely sympathized with the way that she sought help or interacted with the characters around her. There’s a tragedy to Iskat that’s really baked into the novel, but the novel rarely focuses on it long enough to let us sympathize with her – there’s simply too much going on as the novel tries to get her closer to the darkness more quickly.

inquisitor rise of the red blade full coverI think having a few other points of view may have actually helped here. For example, Iskat believes that her fellow Jedi are either afraid of her or hate her. But we can only take her word for it, as we never investigate the mindset of these other Jedi. I think this would’ve helped me connect with her more, or realize how much her mind was twisted by the Dark Side. I personally think it would’ve been more interesting to learn whether characters truly feared her, or if it was entirely within Iskat’s mind. (You might argue that it’s not important what the reality was, only what Iskat’s perception was. In some cases, I agree, but I don’t think it helps me become empathetic or sympathetic when I don’t know for sure.) Without any other points of view, I felt like the entirety of the side cast fell too flat for me. Even without talking about Iskat’s relationship with these side characters, other characters should still have some sort of story arc within the book, even if it’s not about them. While one character, Tualon, has an arc, it happens almost entirely off-page, which is a major disappointment, and takes a lot out of the climax of the novel. Tualon’s story follows him as a Jedi, who somewhat believes in Iskat and wants to help her, and (kind of) traces his turn into an Inquisitor. In some ways, that I won’t get into because of spoilers, Tualon may have the more interesting story here, but it’s developed off-page, therefore removing from the story entirely. There are a few other key characters that I think would’ve benefitted majorly from a quick point of view change, like Charlin or some of her former Jedi mentors. Unfortunately, characters fall more flat as the novel goes along, leaving the Inquisitors (when the book finally gets there) to be entirely underdeveloped, and Iskat never really seems to fit in their story, either.

I also found the pacing to be really slow, which took the wind out of the sails of the novel very early. Iskat’s turn into an Inquisitor doesn’t happen until after the halfway point – more like the 60% percent mark, if you were reading on a Kindle. This may be one place where better-managed expectations would serve the reader. I expected a novel about an Inquisitor, when the novel is more concerned about tracing her entire journey. As I waited for her to become an Inquisitor, I felt myself less and less interested in the Jedi aspects of her story and wanted to move on to Nur and the Dark Times. This also means that some elements, like an inherent romantic sub-plot, are developed far too late in the novel.

I also found the scenes within the Inquisitorious lacking, as well. Even though they were one-sided, I thought reading about Iskat’s relationship with the Jedi around her helped me to understand her a little bit better. When it comes to the Inquisitors, we don’t really see them interact at all, outside of Tualon. I felt like most scenes where she interacted with an Inquisitor that wasn’t the Grand Inquisitor could’ve been anybody. She has a conflict with the Seventh Sister, but outside of a few minor details, the conflict could’ve just as easily been with the Ninth Sister or Tenth Brother. There are some glaring omissions within the Inquisitorious that made me feel like this book was written before Jedi: Fallen Order and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I do want to make one more comment that I feel is important when talking about a Delilah S. Dawson novel. I found Phasma to be overly violent for the franchise, despite liking the rest of the novel. Black Spire, on the other hand, turned the violence in the wrong direction, aiming it almost entirely at Vi Moradi. Poor Vi spends the entire novel getting the crap beat out of her, all of which seems like violence for the sake of making the book more violent. This has been heavily criticized, and for good reason. I am sad to report that Iskat also gets the snot kicked out of her in this novel, which is a troubling continuation of the too-violent trends I find within her writing. While Iskat is not a black woman, as Vi is, there are still troubling elements in this writing to me. The violence is a little more “in-context” here, as it comes by the hands of fellow Inquisitors, but it still felt like violence for violence’s sake. We could’ve learned about the rivalry between Inquisitors without the gruesome details of how they physically break one another.

In a lot of ways, I think that this novel would’ve been better in say, 2017, than it is now. Seeing the evolution of an Inquisitor, after only really seeing them on Rebels, would have been a really interesting way to open up the galaxy. But now, after stories like Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi video game series have explored Inquisitors with a lot more nuance, this book feels too…simple. While I think Iskat does provide an interesting look into the mind of a single Inquisitor, it feels too underdeveloped compared to the story of almost any other Inquisitor. Unfortunately, the novel doesn’t provide a much greater look into the Inquisitorious either, which would’ve been welcome after we’ve been to Nur multiple times. I read this book with the feeling that Dawson was blocked from the most interesting parts of the Inquisitorious because other projects already had dibs, leaving this story incredibly hampered. Overall, I don’t recommend this novel, and probably will not revisit this one as time goes on.

You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor!

DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.

Delilah S. Dawson returns to Star Wars storytelling with Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade. The Inquisitorius has been first introduced in the animated series Rebels, further explored in Charles Soule’s Darth Vader (2017) comic books, in the video game Jedi: Fallen Order, and lately appeared in live-action in Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, fans had to wait until now to get a proper novel featuring the Force-sensitive servants of the Empire. To say that Rise of the Red Blade is the best dark side novel since the Darth Bane trilogy is an understatement; Dawson created a poignant tale that explores what it’s like for your true nature to be suppressed your whole life by the archaic views of the Jedi Order (during the time of the Prequels). Most Star Wars tales talk about the corruption of the dark side and how the Jedi way is a way of light. Dawson almost flips the whole concept, diving into the fallibility of the Jedi Order where any emotions, attachment, and even mistakes are forbidden and not counseled.

The protagonist of Rise of the Red Blade is Iskat Akaris, a Padawan whose mysterious past and unconventional talents have left her marginalized from her peers. After a nearly fatal accident caused by her uncontrolled Force abilities, her life in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant changes forever. The Council secretly keeps a constant eye on her every doing for fear that she is too powerful and that her passion and drive don’t align with the peaceful ways of the Jedi. Sound familiar? It’s fascinating how Iskat’s experience as a Jedi is very similar to Anakin Skywalker’s, and believe it or not, Iskat has it worse. She wants to be the best Jedi she can be, but Mace Windu and the rest of the masters do everything to keep her out of the field during the Clone Wars. Everyone thinks she’s a freak of nature, someone not to be trusted, a wild animal that needs to be tamed by indoctrination of the Jedi Code and hours of meditation.

Throughout Rise of the Red Blade, the reader experiences Iskat’s journey through her thoughts and actions. Having a sole point of view for the entirety of the book makes it feel all the more immersive into the psyche of Iskat as she goes through years of disappointment, loss, and marginalization. Although this is an Inquisitor book, the main character doesn’t join the Inquisitorius until you’ve ventured through about 60% of the story, which compels the reader to keep turning page after page to finally see the character blossom into a flower of darkness.

For fans of Charles Soule’s Darth Vader comic run, the characters of Iskat Akaris and the other protagonist of Rise of the Red Blade Tualon will be familiar as they both appeared in issues #19 and #20. However, if you haven’t read the comics yet, make sure to wait until the very end of the novel as the events of Darth Vader (2017) will spoil the fate of the beloved characters.

Are you ready to witness the rise of the Inquisitors? Then make sure to pick up a copy of Rise of the Red Blade (with stunning cover by Anthony Jones) now, also available in audiobook format read by Kristen Sieh, and let us know what you thought about this incredible dark side tale on our social media platforms!

“Your future is more important than your past. Make it count.”

Jocasta Nu

Jedi Padawan Iskat Akaris finds her path leading further from the Jedi tenets she has lived with her entire life. When she is offered another path, she feels more herself than ever.

Begun the Clone Wars have! Seeing through the lies of the Jedi! Embracing passions! Spinny sabers! And the Inquisitorious!

Delilah Dawson weaves a tale of solitude, untapped potential, loneliness, and roiling anger. As Iskat goes from Jedi to Inquisitor, her thoughts, feelings, and reasoning lead her further down a dark path. As the Clone War ends and the Jedi fall, Iskat finds a future, unlike anything she could imagine.

And it seems to suit her well.

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is haunting, cynical, and unforgiving. It takes us from one side of the Force to the other while making consequences clear and understandable, no matter how difficult. It lets us understand how a person can find themselves at home in the most unexpected places. Choice, freedom, connections, and empathy are all strong themes explored by Akaris. Dawson once again gives us another amazing tale of a character choosing to walk the darkest path.

This is a must-read for anyone looking for more than just the narrow dogmatic view of the Jedi and fully giving themselves to the dark side!

Sal P.

“You are not broken. We are all imperfect beings, striving for enlightenment. You just have to strive a little more than most.”

Sember Vey

A personal story about choosing the dark side of the Force when the light side holds back your true self.

This will be a mostly spoiler-free review but content warning that the book does contain reference to suicide.

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade pushes us to follow a Jedi Padawan that finds herself at a crossroads in her Jedi path and how the inaction from certain Jedi from the Order might push someone to give themselves to a side they have been trained their whole life to avoid and keep inside. In a knighting ceremony that included Anakin Skywalker, Iskat Akaris is granted the title of Jedi Knight but instead of giving her more freedoms, it came with more constraints from the Jedi. Iskat is not sent on any additional missions, and is restricted to the Temple, meditating and more importantly, or hurtful, told to hide away parts of herself. The parts of her that made her feel alive but had no place in a Jedi.

This journey of self discovery, done alone and in secret, takes Iskat to hidden parts of the Jedi Temple as she forms a bond with a droid technician that encourages her to follow her true path. After another “failed” mission and two years spent in the Temple teaching younglings, Iskat is finally sent on another mission which turns out to be her final one as a Jedi as Order 66 is initiated.

Was she good enough? Why did the other Padawans not like her? Was she different or broken? All these thoughts are something that a lot of us go through at different stages of our lives and Delilah S. Dawson is not afraid to explore them through this Jedi that is not even sure if she should be a Jedi. What happens when the people you trust the most keep you at arm's length and seem not to understand you and then evil forces come along and promise you what you’ve always longed-for?

Her counterpart throughout most of her journey is fellow Jedi, Tualon Yaluna. A by-the-book Jedi, defender of peace, that when the time came to trust Iskat’s intuitions, throws her under the bus and reveals his true self as just another Jedi that did not understand her. You might say that they are a tortured version of star-crossed-lovers. Will they? Won’t they? This goes for falling in love and for killing each other.

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade may not be for everyone but Delilah S. Dawson is unapologetic in showcasing a troubled and misunderstood Jedi that try as she may, might not be suited for a life as a keeper of peace inside the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. The all knowing Jedi are shown as hiding too much, bending the truth and omitting details to serve their purpose and their belief system. For some readers this might be unappealing but to others it might cement their headcanon that the Jedi are to blame for their fall.

Not everyone's journey as a Jedi takes the same paths and sometimes that path always led to the dark side of the Force.

If there’s one recurring nightmare Star Wars fans have to live through, it’s easily Order 66. The massacre that ended both the Jedi order and the Clone Wars is an event we have seen depicted time and time again - in animation, writing, video games, and live-action. Last year’s Obi-Wan Kenobi scratched the surface of what it meant to go from terrified Jedi Padawan to ruthless Inquisitor with the character of Reva, but in Delilah S. Dawson’s Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, we dive a little deeper into that transition, through the eyes of Padawan Iskat Akaris. 

Iskat is a Padawan out of place, growing up and training just as the Clone Wars are on the verge of breaking out (not that any of them know it, of course). But with war comes massive loss, and the more the loss adds up, the angrier Iskat gets - the type of anger that is not compatible with life in the Jedi order. Iskat has a history of rage and darkness, one her fellow apprentices hold against her, using it as an excuse to keep her apart. 

Iskat is shut down at every turn as she tries to learn more about herself - she is the only being of her kind on Coruscant, and no one else knows where she comes from - and as she tries to make sense of her Masters dying words. As the frustration becomes unbearable, the Republic falls, and Iskat is given the chance to be remade, this time as an Inquisitor. 

As a premise, this story is fascinating. We’ve seen what it looks like when a Jedi is tortured, brainwashed and forced into compliance as an Inquisitor, but one who willingly falls? Who embraces what they see as the gifts of being an Inquisitor? I might not want that for myself, but I can certainly see how the late days of the Jedi order would lead someone there. 

The beginning of Iskat’s story set this fall up perfectly. She feels angry and misunderstood in an environment where both those sentiments are looked down on, and receives the sort of advice from her Masters that is the rough equivalent of telling a clinically depressed person to drink some water and go for a long walk to feel better. Dawson really builds up not only who Iskat is as a disgruntled Padawan, but what her relationships with her peers are like, and what the Jedi order was like far from the spotlight that is Kenobi and Skywalker. 

If there is one major bump in Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, it is the timing of Iskat’s fall. It doesn’t happen until roughly the two-thirds mark, leaving only one-third of the novel to tell the story of her years with the Inquisitorious. If the whole story was to be confined to one novel, I would have expected the fall at the halfway point, and if that was not to be, then I found myself wishing this had been a duology instead: one novel for the rise, one novel for the fall. 

Because the rise of it all, the time spent with Iskat as a Padawan, is so thorough, it seems a shame to devote only 100 or so pages to her “liberation” with the Inquisitorious. There are plot elements there that I would have loved to see developed over an entire novel instead of confined to the final third. Padawans who fall to the dark, we have seen before. Padawans who relish the fall are something new, and I wish we’d had more time to really dig into that. 

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade is out July 18. Special thank you to Random House Worlds for the advance copy for review purposes.

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson charts a more unusual path for a Jedi…how one falls and joins the deadly organization known as the Inquisitors! Picking up in thrills once Iskat Akaris finds herself in the Inquisitorious halls, which comes far too late in the novel, Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade’s fatalistic attitude, repetition, brushing over certain aspects, and concerns over character coding holds it back.

Fans first met Iskat Akaris in Charles Soule’s Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic, who I originally called “Shades” since she didn’t have a name, but we catch her at the end of her story there and at the time I felt like we’d never know her motivations and if what Vader tells Emperor Palpatine about what she did was true or not. Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade answers the lingering questions, provides some new ones and answers to go with them, but it takes too long to get there, among other things, and the whole reason for the first question gets lost along the way anyways. As a one-of-a-kind species, Iskat’s immediately othered being so different, mainly by her peers, and it only gets worse after she hurts a fellow Padawan in a training accident (sometime before the book starts). Not knowing much about herself, and the Jedi treating her differently due to her earlier actions, she constantly feels like the galaxy is out to get her; this is repeated often and becomes one-note very quickly, used as a shorthand to only tell us how messed up the Jedi's priorities are, not show us. When it turns out her Master, who dies early in the book, knew more about her than she let on, her search for answers about her past does lead to some interesting developments, once again much later in the book, but there are some lingering concerns over the representation they seem to be based off on. With a mindset so focused on proving everyone right about her, and the suggestion an interaction with a Sith artifact could almost let her choices slide as it was all predetermined anyways, Iskat isn’t the easiest character to read nor to sympathize with, and her being the sole point-of-view becomes grating towards the end, though the recounting of the Vader comic story and it’s tone embracing what this novel felt it was supposed to be is one bright spot far too late.

Coming into Red Blade, I liked the idea we’d be seeing the Jedi from a different point-of-view, as the Jedi Order in this era had its failings as it got swept up in a Sith Lord’s machinations with the Clone Wars and it’s always interesting how creatives point out the good with the bad. Iskat Akaris is the lens through which we see this side of the Order, a Padawan who quickly becomes a Jedi Knight due to the Clone Wars who doesn’t feel like her Master understands her and thinks the Jedi Order is holding her back because they’re worried about her after a training incident when she was younger. This point-of-view certainly starts interesting, as we see the Battle of Geonosis in a whole new way, while once Iskat actually goes on missions (she spends portions of the book wandering the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant hoping for her chance to prove herself again, complaining and telling us how bad the Jedi are, not showing us) we get more opportunities with it, but her narration ends up too repetitious and fatalistic, almost nihilistic, for its own good. Iskat is written in such a way she’s doing mental gymnastics to frame everything the Order does and says to her to fit her beliefs on how they are always against her, though Red Blade doesn’t try to show the Order in any other light to help prove or offer counterviews of her points, missing any nuance and devolving the story and motivations into simple black and white when we know there’s a lot more to the whole situation. Case in point, in what feels like a rebuttal to The Clone Wars swashbuckling fun, Iskat is reprimanded and looked down on for improvising on a mission by talking to their contact when everyone else couldn’t come up with anything worthwhile to gain their compliance. Because of her actions, the mission is a success, and it’s hard not to think Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi would’ve done something similar and it’d be played for laughs, but whereas they face no consequences she’s essentially held back and grounded, so it’s hard to make peace with the Order as Dawson writes it versus everything else we’ve seen from it during this era, as these two feel mutually exclusive when they shouldn’t. This would be interesting if we had a more well-rounded look at the Order, but every bad thing Iskat has to say about them becomes truth, so who are we to argue? Every step on her fall felt fatalistic then, almost predetermined, like how she believes the Jedi felt about her and her not-so-terrible accident at a young age, yet the ending some readers know is coming bursts forth in such a way, you wonder why we didn’t get a chance to see her accept and embrace her life more until the very, literal end.

By the time the book gets to the Inquisitor aspect of Iskat’s life, which is well over halfway through the book to its own detriment, her self-fulling prophecy of how she was treated by the Jedi finds its home, but as readers we’re worn out on the viewpoint already. This then feels like the perfect moment to support Iskat’s views by introducing us to the Inquisitors she’ll come to call brother and sister, letting us see how the Jedi Order failed them too, helping build a case why we should believe her, but Red Blade decides against this. Instead, familiar Inquisitors from across games, comics, novels, and shows appear and somehow, off-screen at some point and time, Iskat seems to have already met them, as if the novel just assumes everyone knows these characters and so should Iskat. There are interactions with recognizable Inquisitors but it never feels like anything more than a cameo, even a rivalry that forms between Iskat and the Seventh Sister (as seen in Star Wars Rebels), as the amount of violence done to the two women feels excessive much like the unnecessary torture in Dawson’s Black Spire and it only serves to tell us why the latter uses her little probe droids and nothing about her. Each Brother and Sister, and even the Grand Inquisitor, exists, fully formed and subservient to their new life, allowing Iskat to once again find ways to fulfill her viewpoint of the system always being out to get her, and while it makes sense the other Inquisitors might not be open books, this just feels like a big missed opportunity to explore them to any degree. In fact, most of her time with the Inquisitors feels this way, as part of this section is her being idle at the compound and training/having a rivalry, there’s a ceremony for her receiving her robes and blade but it happens in the span of a sentence, and we don’t really learn anything new about the organization we didn’t already from their appearances elsewhere. If we hadn’t already had material featuring Inquisitors so far, this would’ve been fine, but after shows and games and comics were they’ve taken center stage, having a book with ‘Inquisitor’ in the title and barely scratching the surface dulls this sharper quarter of the book. Red Blade is about Iskat, in the end, so it wasn’t on this book to answer any big questions on the Inquisitorious, but even in her parts after joining the group, it’s all to serve what she’s already decided about herself, so this section doesn’t feel like it adds more to her arc than just finally leading into acceptance of the dark side, but when she sees and we’ve been told she has no other option this whole time, it could’ve happened far sooner in the book since it’s such a foregone conclusion.

Serving as a supporting character, fellow Jedi and eventual Inquisitor Tualon, whom we also saw in the Vader comic, doesn’t offer too much to the story. Iskat and Tualon have a tenuous friendship, one which is mostly on the fritz while they are both Jedi, as she’s such an odd duck out and he’s trying to be a good, proper little Jedi despite his own concerns so associating with her will bring him down. There’s an underlying tension, as because of course Iskat is both more violent and has urges for him, but it’s never able to develop fully until they both turn bad. When Iskat finds Tualon amongst the ranks of the Inquisitors, he’s been brainwashed, but like everything else with the Inquisitorious, it’s both never explored and undercooked. It makes him unhinged, as he’s still sort of fighting it when they meet, and he ends up stabbing her with his new lightsaber because she left him for dead at Order 66, but this seems to clear the fog for him and then they’re on to romance, her wily ways and mindset pulling him along and helping him embrace the new life. It all seems so easy for this twisted brainwashing process to be over so quickly and, like many other things, too late in the book to really make an impact when he appears again. He’s not fleshed out enough to be an interesting secondary character in the first place and the novel’s fatalistic approach to Iskat’s narration makes hoping he had a bigger part not feel worth it, especially knowing he’s going to die anyways; it could’ve been like caring so much for Rey’s parents I was left on the edge of my seat they might escape their fates, where instead here I was just hoping we’d get to the moment of his death. I also got the sense Iskat was often looking for her self-worth from him through most of the novel instead of through herself, so when she does find it on her own towards the book’s end, it’s rather disheartening she makes a realization she’s needed him this whole time before they die, undercutting her earlier progress.

When we finally meet Iskat’s people, a matriarchal society devoid of technology and no desire to see the stars, it’s quite an interesting turn for the book. Iskat feels loved and accepted for the first time and it makes sense with how caring and open the women of her family are towards her. They extend an invitation to stay with them, to learn their simple, yet purposeful and hardworking lives, but of course she rejects this, on multiple levels, one of them being concern for their safety from the likely retaliatory Inquisitorious if she were to leave. Her people are described with a heavy focus on their hair style, that they are strong, willful women, and they all sort of look alike. With Iskat already othered for her alien look, it’s hard not to feel like she’s coded as a real-life Person of Color, and it’s not uncommon for alien or animated characters to be seen as coded Black specifically, so it makes choices with her personality concerning: she's more aggressive than other Jedi around her while other Jedi seem to think she’s aggressive when she gets to voice her opinions, known as the “sapphire” caricature of black women; she’s sexual in nature and can finally give in later in the novel, acting as a temptress to Tualon to give into the dark side fully, known as the “jezebel” caricature. Having her people described so specifically with attention to hair and a society of strong, abled women with strong opinions, can’t help but make the connection to them being Black coded as well, like Iskat. Once you factor in Feyra’s story, of a mother who succumbs to drugs and abandons her child, later killing herself because she can’t overcome her problems (Black women have a higher mortality rate when it comes to pregnancies, with racism a giant factor), and there’s no knowledge of who the father is and he’s not in the picture at all (just look at Harold Perrineau and what he fought against with his character on LOST as that's another harmful stereotype), it takes the coding of these characters to an even more uncomfortable level. I could be totally wrong and I am not sure if Dawson specifically meant to match such Black stereotypes on purpose or on accident, but given some questionable history with her Black Spire work (where were the sensitivity readers then?), the aro-ace stereotypes in Phasma, and a sense of unease from her short story in FaCPOV - The Empire Strikes Back, it’s hard not to be concerned regarding the intentions (where are the sensitivity readers now?). {there are a lot of links in this section, but they don't carry over to Netgalley's feedback area, but they can be found in my review at the Manor after July 5}

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah Dawson, through one-sided point-of-views, fatalistic attitudes, and concerning representation, is more of a fall/fail than a rise.