Although the fifth book in the next era of Star Wars canon has yet to be given an official title, we do know it will feature dark assassin Asajj Ventress and unorthodox Jedi Quinlan Vos.
The announcement for the next adult novel came at Del Rey’s A New Dawn panel at last months SDCC. You can view the panel in its entirety here. The announcement came as quite a surprise to many fans, as they certainly weren’t expecting the next novel to feature characters from the Prequel era, let alone two relatively minor characters from this time frame.
Lucasfilm and Disney have previously appeared to take quite a stance in championing the Original Trilogy era over any Prequel content. Personally I’m glad to see a new Prequel based adult novel on the horizon, and I’m also rather interested to see if the characters of Ventress and Vos have the depth to carry a story of their own.
The fact the story is based around unaired Clone Wars scripts with a degree of involvement from series Supervising Director Dave Filoni, and Star Wars creator George Lucas, can only mean good things. Filoni had this to say when he unveiled the novel:
"“Ventress had become one of the most interesting characters… we had all this material, we had all these designs… This is based on scripts we had written with George Lucas… I’m super excited about this book.”"
Written by Fate Of The Jedi: Omen author Christie Golden and due for release on the 7th July 2015, the possible synopsis has just been revealed:
"The last story never told in The Clone Wars television saga: A tale of trust, betrayal, love, and evil starring the hugely popular ex-Sith/never-Jedi female bounty hunter, Asajj Ventress! A tale written but never aired, now turned into a brand-new novel with the creative collaboration of the Lucasfilm Story Group and Dave Filoni, Executive Producer and Director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels!When the Jedi decide to target Count Dooku—Darth Tyranus—himself, they turn to his ex-apprentice, Asajj Ventress, for help in getting close to the slippery Sith Lord. But when unexpected sparks fly between Ventress and Quinlan Vos, the unorthodox Jedi sent to work with her, the mission becomes a web of betrayal, alliances, secrets, and dark plotting that might just be the undoing of both Jedi and Sith—and everything in between!"
Here’s how the new era of canon is shaping up to date:
A New Dawn, John Jackson Miller – 2nd September 2014
Tarkin, James Luceno – 4th November 2014
Heir To The Jedi, Kevin Hearne – 17th February 2015
Lords Of The Sith, Paul S. Kemp – 21st April 2015
Ventress (Working Title), Christie Golden – 7th July 2015