Phasma (novel)

Phasma is a novel written by Delilah S. Dawson which was released on September 1, 2017 as a part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi marketing campaign. The novel centers around Resistance spy Vi Moradi and First Order captain Cardinal, and it reveals the origins and motivations of Captain Phasma.

Publisher's summary
Discover Captain Phasma's mysterious history in this "Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi" novel.

''One of the most cunning and merciless officers of the First Order, Captain Phasma commands the favor of her superiors, the respect of her peers, and the terror of her enemies. But for all her renown, Phasma remains as virtually unknown as the impassive expression on her gleaming chrome helmet. Now, an adversary is bent on unearthing her mysterious origins&mdash;and exposing a secret she guards as zealously and ruthlessly as she serves her masters.''

Deep inside the Battlecruiser Absolution'', a captured Resistance spy endures brutal interrogation at the hands of a crimson-armored stormtrooper&mdash;Cardinal. But the information he desires has nothing to do with the Resistance or its covert operations against the First Order.''

''What the mysterious stormtrooper wants is Phasma's past—and with it whatever long-buried scandal, treachery, or private demons he can wield against the hated rival who threatens his own power and privilege in the ranks of the First Order. His prisoner has what Cardinal so desperately seeks, but she won't surrender it easily. As she wages a painstaking war of wills with her captor, bargaining for her life in exchange for every precious revelation, the spellbinding chronicle of the inscrutable Phasma unfolds. But this knowledge may prove more than just dangerous once Cardinal possesses it&mdash;and once his adversary unleashes the full measure of her fury.''

Development
"There is a playlist. That's a big part of my process…Big surprise, it's two Star Wars soundtracks and the Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack."

- Delilah S. Dawson

Delilah S. Dawson used a Spotify playlist while writing Phasma. It concisted mostly of music from Star Wars and Mad Max: Fury Road. Once she got going, she'd put on "violent" films on Netflix as inspiration. She was surprised how unstoppable Phasma felt and how ruthless she could be, how dark she was. Dawson didn't want to kill off the main characters, but realized Phasma had to.

A subtitle, "Blood and Chrome", was considered for the novel, but it was dropped early on.

Editions

 * ISBN 9781524796310; September 1, 2017; Del Rey; US hardcover
 * ISBN 9781524796327; September 1, 2017; Del Rey; US eBook
 * ISBN 9781524797508; September 1, 2017; Del Rey; Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition
 * ISBN 9781524797515; September 1, 2017; Del Rey; Target Exclusive Edition
 * ISBN 9781524797522; September 1, 2017; Del Rey; Walmart Exclusive Edition