Monthly Archives: February 2006

Buy it here:

This book is one of many Star Wars novels that I’ve read. I’ve been trying to go back and fill in all the chronological gaps left by the movies. I’ve even been reading the novelizations of the movies because the possibilities for character development are much greater in a novel. The books also give more attention to the subplot about Qui-Gon and the revelation that he retained his identity while yet being “in the Force”. The movies barely touch on this, and to be fair, the books don’t dwell on it too much either.

Anyway, this book isn’t the best of the ones I’ve read. It’s a little thin; most of the novels I’ve read have nearly 400 pages, and this one only has 336 (according to Amazon.com – it seems less than that). There are parts of the book that were slow-going, particularly when the attention was on Roan Shryne and the other Jedi that appear in the book. This book is really about Darth Vader and his struggle against his former self (Anakin Skywalker), Obi-Wan (and the Jedi Order as a whole), Padme, his new suit that he depends on for life, and even Darth Sidious. He learns to tap into his rage for power, and learns the Sith philosophy of power and its proper use. The relationship between Sith Master and Apprentice is fleshed out quite a bit more in this book, which I appreciated.

We also see some familar characters emerge in this novel. Moff Tarkin makes his first appearance (ok, technically he appeared in Ep. III, but almost as an extra). We see more of Chewbacca, a small handful of Imperial captains and officers that we hear more about later on. Some of the usual suspects are present also, like Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and a few others. We learn a little more about what happened to Yoda, although he was noticeably abscent from actually appearing in the novel.

A nice touch is at the end, where a chapter is devoted to Obi-Wan’s new life of watching over Luke on the desert world of Tatooine.

Final Recommendation: A must read, because it does much to fill in the gaps left by the movies, but there’s quite a bit of fluff, and half of the main characters are boring. Worth the read, but don’t drag it out or you might lose interest.