One of the many virtues of the new canon has been the Story Group’s overall approach to the scope & scale of the Galactic Civil War. In fact, it is probably one of the more drastic changes versus the old Expanded Universe. Whereas the EU painted a civil war in which the Alliance lacked the resources, manpower, and firepower to conduct barely anything more than simple hit & run engagements, the new canon shows a conflict that is less insurgency and more protracted campaign. Ebbs and flows, victories and losses, major battles and small engagements. Your example of Battlefront: Twilight Company is the shining example of the new direction the Story Group took the Galactic Civil War in. The Mid Rim campaign isn’t some series of minor starfighter strikes, commando missions, and the occasional engagement with a roving battle line. Instead, we see a multi-faceted campaign wherein multiple battles are fought simultaneously across a region spanning a good chunk of the galaxy. Whole armies, armored units, fleets of starships, and a scale that in the old EU would never have been possible due to your excellent point early about the original trilogy movies being sacrosanct.

Life Debt follows this trend, albeit with the major battles and campaigns being mentioned or shown briefly in various interludes or side chapters. However, while the wider war isn’t the direct focus of the book, it ends up painting a picture of the post-Endor war between the falling Galactic Empire and the rising New Republic as being more concentrated, violent, and viscous than any fan ever assumed. Consider that Life Debt is most likely set between six and ten months post-Endor. In this time, we see the Empire lose over half of its Star Destroyers and almost every single Super Star Destroyer. The Core isn’t just contested, it’s already solidly in New Republic hands. I’ll note that the Core is considered safe enough New Republic territory to base the new government there a mere THREE months after Endor. Chandrila, Corellia, Hosnian Prime – all in New Republic Space. Kuat, fortress world and primary shipbuilder, captured by New Republic forces. Coruscant itself is in the midst of a mini-civil war between dwindling Imperial forces (mostly ISB) and a growing insurgency backed by the New Republic.

All of this. IN. LESS. THAN. ONE. YEAR.

The potential opened in these stories can and should be tapped to its fullest potential. It’s encouraging to see that the Story Group sees the value in this, with Insider magazine already announcing mini-stories that will cover the battles of Kuat and Jakku from the perspective of Blade Squadron. We’ve already seen it in Shattered Empire too, with the battle of Naboo being shown after a reference in Lost Stars. The future for more stories seems to be very bright indeed.