A long time ago, on a blog far away...

Title: Phasma
Author: Delilah Dawson
Genres: books to movies, Star Wars, scifi

I recently saw The Last Jedi in theaters and while I liked the movie overall, I was disappointed with the lack of Phasma’s screen time- she only had about 5 lines in the film. We’ve been told that Phasma is a badass but there has been no background story or character development in the last two movies that live up to the hype. So imagine my delight when I saw Phasma by Delilah Dawson available for checkout at my local library- finally, I can get some background info on Star Wars’ latest mysterious character!

Vi Moradi is a Resistance spy captured by the First Order; she is secretly interrogated by a mysterious red-clad Stormtrooper known as The Cardinal. The Cardinal is obsessed with Phasma- he was the cream of the crop under General Brendol Hux, and Hux’s personal bodyguard, until General Hux brought Phasma into the First Order. Now The Cardinal is intent on ruining Phasma and he needs information extracted from Vi Moradi to do it. While under duress, Vi Moradi tells The Cardinal about Phasma’s tough upbringing on Parnassos (this part reminded me of Scheherazade in Arabian Nights- she draws out the story as long as she can to save her own neck).

Phasma was the tallest and strongest warrior and a respected co-leader in a small, hardscrabble band of people on Parnassos, the Scyre. The Scyre lived on an inhospitable part of Parnassos and constantly fought for survival against geography, the elements, and other small groups of people desperate for what little resources were left. The Scyre were an egalitarian group with an uncertain future since miscarriages and childhood mortality were common misfortunes. One day, a starship crashes on Parnassos and Phasma and her warriors rescue Brendol Hux and his Stormtroopers. Phasma uses this opportunity to learn more about the First Order and to strike a deal with Hux to get her people off of Parnassos to ensure their survival. Unfortunately, the longer Phasma is around Brendol Hux, the more she starts to think only for herself and less about the Scyre’s survival.  Phasma uses this opportunity to shed herself of the Scyre with tragic results (for the Scyre). The Cardinal (and the reader) learns that Phasma’s heart is as cold as the chrome armor she wears.