Book Reviews

Aardvark wrote:No reason to close the universe. Closing a story makes sense, every story needs an end, but there's really no problem making different stories at different times.

heres an idea. instead of being fucking retarded brainless unimaginative ignorants, maybe people should make their own universes, canon, IPs? im sure if you are imaginative enough to write a decent plot in star wars, youre good enough to make your own universe, maybe even one where the laws dont harm your own plot?

Dray The Fingerless wrote:

Aardvark wrote:No reason to close the universe. Closing a story makes sense, every story needs an end, but there's really no problem making different stories at different times.

heres an idea. instead of being fucking retarded brainless unimaginative ignorants, maybe people should make their own universes, canon, IPs? im sure if you are imaginative enough to write a decent plot in star wars, youre good enough to make your own universe, maybe even one where the laws dont harm your own plot?

Yeah and if I like lightsabers and want to use them? Law suit. I like the flow of a story and try to emulate it? Everyone will say: "You totally ripped off..." I can make a good story, I can make a good world, but I can't make it unique enough to not get sued without devoting so much time and effort that it's no longer the story I want to tell. I've made my own little fantasy universe in ToP, but I did so using elements from games and preexisting fantasy stories, mashing them together until they had no resemblance to anything out there now, but do you think people would hesitate to point out that I took character and creature designs and used them? Do you think they would give it a chance and look to see that while the designs are alike the characters and abilities are vastly different? No they'd just say "You ripped off..." and stop. Hell until I actually read Ringworld and pointed out EVERY flaw with your theory you thought Halo was ripping it off!

Aardvark wrote:

Dray The Fingerless wrote:

Aardvark wrote:No reason to close the universe. Closing a story makes sense, every story needs an end, but there's really no problem making different stories at different times.

heres an idea. instead of being fucking retarded brainless unimaginative ignorants, maybe people should make their own universes, canon, IPs? im sure if you are imaginative enough to write a decent plot in star wars, youre good enough to make your own universe, maybe even one where the laws dont harm your own plot?

Yeah and if I like lightsabers and want to use them? Law suit. I like the flow of a story and try to emulate it? Everyone will say: "You totally ripped off..." I can make a good story, I can make a good world, but I can't make it unique enough to not get sued without devoting so much time and effort that it's no longer the story I want to tell. I've made my own little fantasy universe in ToP, but I did so using elements from games and preexisting fantasy stories, mashing them together until they had no resemblance to anything out there now, but do you think people would hesitate to point out that I took character and creature designs and used them? Do you think they would give it a chance and look to see that while the designs are alike the characters and abilities are vastly different? No they'd just say "You ripped off..." and stop. Hell until I actually read Ringworld and pointed out EVERY flaw with your theory you thought Halo was ripping it off!

well firstly RingWorld did make the halo artificial planet concept, thats where halo got it from.

second, so? people will always say bad things, no matter how hard you try. there hasnt been an original IP in the last century. star wars? probably the biggest rip off, since it rips from EVERYTHING. and lightsabers? sorry but no. i know so many
SO MANY works and pieces where theyve used lightsabers(specially as an homage or an easter egg or sth). as long as you dont call it lightsaber nobody cares. the most recent version ive seen? in Terraria there is a sword called a phaseblade. GUESS WHAT THAT IS. and dont start,because they are making money off of that game, and they dont get sued, so dont bring up copyright. thats not how copyright works. as long as you have originality and shape things well enough so that you can distinguish your work as unique, no one will sue you.

like i said, there hasnt been a completely original IP in decades, but people still make new twists n new stuff soooo...i dont even care if its a sci fi galaxy with similarities to the steam punkish nature of star wars. as long as you are creative and original with what you do, its fine. the plots that these EU writers have are sometimes great, so why the need to use the name Star Wars? or Force? or Jedi? or Lightsaber? Why not the magic sorcerers of the galaxy of Equinos or some shit like that? no, its just because its famous and it sells. thats fucking why.

Because Scifi books are a dime a dozen and often it doesn't matter how good the story is it matters how many people know the name/author. I don't get why you're so against using the same universe. Would KotOR have been any better or worse set in a different universe? No the story mattered, but by using SW they can avoid having to explain so much of the minutia.

And no Halo didn't rip that idea off, it was a preexisting idea that predated the book.

the idea was a ring megastructure or a bysons sphere. it was never a ring shaped planet. ringworld was the first to categorize it, specially in that kind of detail, and the first to put it in the entertainment media.

and like i said Aard, i think its time the EU closed. its had near 40 years. it is saturated. the brand is saturated. you want people to just continuously write on star wars? wihtout stop? from a 100 years now people will be basically editing a piece of work they had no business with? no. its called integrity. star wars should just shut down EU. george should just say ITS FINISHED, STAR WARS IS FINALLY CONCLUDED, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, NOW GO INVADE OTHER PEOPLES WORK AND EDIT IT.

Except the Halos in Halo don't work at all like the ringworld, and you're still proving my point for me by saying it is.

If they have good stories, I don't care if it keeps going, and there are still more good stories in the EU than bad. Do I think Luke's time should be continued with? No time to move on from that, there's so many periods of time to use in SW there's no reason to stay in Luke's time.

yes they do. they are a ring shaped structure with the inner side containing a life sustainable biome included with natural resources and everything.

The scale is off, as well a lot of the detail and the purpose. The only things they have in common is that they're habitable, and you're still insisting Halo stole the idea.

it did. ringworld is a icon of scifi. saying it didnt would be stupid and naive. besides, im fine with it. i just know where they got it from, halo is still decent(story leaves a bit to be desired but oh well)

Book: Darth Plegueis
Author: James Luceno

Biggest Pro: It gives a rather sound explanation for most issues people have with Episode One.
Biggest Con: The title character could have used more page time, as it is less than a third of the book gives you any insight into Plegueis.

Recommendation: Highly Recommended


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OK, I gotta get this out now. I have a love/hate relationship with Luceno. When he does a book well it draws you in and makes you feel like you're really seeing the character rather than just a person's view on the character. But when he does it bad, you get Millenium Falcon. His problem is a lot like my own when I write, when he writes himself into a corner, he takes the first way out, no matter how ridiculous, he doesn't look back and try to find a better way, he just writes it and you end up with a tense and exciting scene broken by hysterical laughter when Greivous fights with a Repulsor in his ass(Whoops wrong book, don't believe that happened? Go read Labyrinth of Evil). But luckily this is probably his best Star Wars work so far.

So back to the review. The book follows Darth Plegueis(I know a real shocker right?) as he goes from a mature apprentice to Darth Tenebreous, all the way through to his death. The early parts of the book are nice and they show how difficult remaining a Sith is in a Galaxy full of Jedi, especially as a Muun Sith over 8 feet tall. In these segments you get a good sense of how his mind works and how Palpatine managed to setup the Jedi's downfall, i.e. that he didn't do it alone and was in fact just in the right place at the right time. Now I can't go into much about the plot without spoiling it as this is one of those books that you really need to read. If someone tells you what happened you'll get no enjoyment because all the fun comes in seeing how they tie it all together. But I will say this, the book clear up a LOT of plot holes in the prequels and even tries to sate the Deus Ex Machina in Episode 2. Some things get just the usual "The Force guided me" as an excuse, but I'm willing to excuse those as necessary to not contradict the awful plot development, and because he manages what I thought impossible: He makes the Prequels probable and does it without contradicting any other books linked in with the same time.

Now after all that praise I'll admit it's not perfect, for being the title character Plegueis gets an incredibly short amount of page time. In fact I think you end up seeing far more of Sidious in the book then you do Plegueis. And in several instances his mood and method shift entirely to accommodate what has to happen. And yes the book uses midichlorians a lot, but just give it a chance, it's not that bad and it does as best as it can to keep the canonical intact while still lending them(and by extension the Force) an air of mystique.

Overall recommendation: Read it. I don't care if you hate the prequels, if you're a Star Wars fan you owe it to yourself, and if you're a whiny bitch about the prequels it will calm your rage substantially. If I had the money I'd be willing to buy the hardcover, and I'll get together enough to buy the paperback when it comes out.

oh man i might have to read this! howd you read it if you dont have the paperback or the hard cover

Library.

By the way I've been thinking of doing a "Shorties" where I just list off a bunch of books I've read, in the past, but not recently enough to give a full review and then just give a short synopsis and a recommendation. Would anyone be interested in that?

id enjoy it personally

OK, let's see doing all of them would entail a post longer then a lot of my DoaJ segments so I'll break them up into Sith Era, Republic Era, Empire Era, New Republic Era, New Jedi Era, & Legacy Era. And yeah these won't cover every SW book, but a majority of them. I'll try to include the ebook novellas I've read as well.

ah thatd be awesome! cuz i dont know alot of the eras

Book: Riptide
Author: Paul S. Kemp

Biggest Pro: A lot of interesting ideas and material.
Biggest Con: The next to last chapter.

Recommendation: Lightly Recommended

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First off I must congratulate this book. You see when I read a book I compose a review in my mind after the halfway point to help me narrow down what I should say about it. Normally the impression I get first is the one I settle on, but not this time. This is the only book I've read that over the course of three chapters had me go from Moderate recommendation, to No recommendation, and in the last five pages managed to get me to settle on Light. And I'll tell you why, but I'll warn you now that it is the biggest spoiler in the book that pissed me off, so if you intend to read it regardless and don't care what I say to distract you then stop reading after this paragraph.

Now that that's out of the way I'll give you a brief summary. This book continues where Crosscurrent left off and yes I will be spoiling that too. After battling the Kam Solusar clone and coming away with a few fingers missing Jaden, Khedryn, and Marr take off in pursuit of the rest of the Force Sensitive clones, Marr now working as Jaden's apprentice. And pretty much that's what you get, the book is entirely trying to catch up to the crazy clones encountered in Crosscurrent, and now the "bad guy" working for the One Sith is a pair of Umbarans and an Iteration. Iterations are essentially blank slabs whose appearance and memories can be programmed to work as the perfect deep cover agent. The purpose is to clone Jaden, though the reasons why they would want to are a bit unclear. Now take my word for it, this Iteration's ONLY purpose in the book seems to be to piss you off right at the end. Anyway you get views from each of the three, the Umbarans, Jaden's group, and the crazy clones, the most interesting of which are the crazy clones, but I won't go much into that. Now I should point out I didn't much like Crosscurrent, the book had bad pacing, a pointless and contrived sub-plot, and the big revelation at the end fell flat for me. Having said that the pacing has improved quite a bit in Riptide, and they've removed any sub-plots to focus on the main plot, the big revelation is actually not bad, I've seen better, but it is a surprise for the most part. Having said that a lot of the key points are contrived and have weak reasoning for keeping the main characters alive. It was something I could look past because the fight scenes are brilliant and nicely spaced. They don't feel too rapid and they don't drag out and it's some damn nice choreography without getting too bogged down in details. Believe me when I say that without the next to last chapter this would be a definite recommendation, but the chapter is there, and I can't put off talking about it anymore.

There are a lot of neat ideas in this, the Umbarans can shut Force users off from the Force and even short out lightsabers. They also appear as a blank spot and their bodies tend to draw shadows around them. This is a really cool idea and a much better way to eliminate the Force from a fight than previously seen. Likewise the plot with the clones, i.e. being that they were functioning crazy, but still sick and needed medicine to keep them alive, is a nice way around canon SW while still providing that shock of having to face one's self and question whether their origin justifies killing them. And the view of the Force is right up my ally, the one thing I liked about Crosscurrent was that they went "No, not everyone gets redeemed, some people will fall, and even if they do they can still do something good" you see there's no question in this that the clones use the darkside, but that in and of itself does not make them evil, they can resist their impulses, it's just much harder. It makes you ask if you can really condemn someone for just using the darkside. But for all those interesting ideas... *sigh* all right, in the next to last chapter Jaden and the Umbaran get into a fight, the Iteration hiding, and while Jaden wins, he's so tired he can't defend himself and ends up getting knocked out by the Iteration and plants the spike in his head that will download Jaden's memory. Meanwhile the Iteration tries to kill Marr, and through some questionable Force powers Marr manages to knock the Iteration out, but when he checks Jaden he finds that the process of removing the memories has killed him, so thinking quick he jabs the spike into the clone, figuring the bodies a blank slate and it'll take the imprint just fine. And it does, the clone gets up thinks he's Jaden, and we just continue. This happens all in the space of 5 pages..... So I'm pretty sure you're thinking what I am: "The fuck was the point in that? He dies to get resurrected as a clone seconds later, and somehow he's no longer a problem as being an evil undercover agent? Then why kill him in the first place?" To which I can only reply, yeah, that's why it went from Moderate to Not. I mean I can come up with a dozen better ways to go about this plot thread, one of which would have the same end result. This parts seems to exist only to piss off fans of Jedi Academy by saying, "Yeah he's that weak nerds!" It has a minor redeeming quality in the last pages that show the clone realizing he's a clone, and that's the only reason I uped it to Light again, because there's potential for the next one.

Now on a technical aspect, the pacing's gotten better, but it's still rough, and the characters at several moments just come across as off, you can't picture them saying what they say. The fights are the best part, and the plot has gotten a bit more cohesive, but the moments when the lead characters are prone lead to some very very weak reasons for the bad guys to leave them alive, I think there was only one instance in which it felt right. I still end up coming away from it feeling it would be better in another author's hands, Karpysheyn and Alston would be much better fits.

Overall recommendation: As you'll have guessed, my first instinct is to say: get it at a library. But if the whole shit on Jaden thing won't bother you than it's an otherwise good book for a casual read, but I do recommend going through Crosscurrent first so you have some idea where you're coming in at.

OK I have a bit of time right now so I'll save some of the shorter Eras(i.e. Sith and Legacy) for when I don't have much. Instead I'll start with the Old Republic Era. This Era stretches anywhere from 100 years BBY(Episode 4) and ends at 11 years(BBY) not right at Episode three because there is still the same general tone to the books until you hit the Solo Trilogy.



Cloak of Deception - Author: James Luceno

OK, remember when I said I have a love/hate relationship with Luceno? This is one of the hates. This book is AWFUL, the plot is contrived and is only there to serve as a "backstory" to the movie, this is something authors did with every prequel, and only one of them turned out well. The characters basically have no personality they're just big names, the setting is ridiculous, and the action scenes, what little there are of them are boring. The story takes place while the Jedi are attempting to foil an assassination plot and is pretty generic. I admit I don't remember a lot of this one and that's on purpose, I hated reading this and it remains in my collection only because it was a Christmas gift and it would be rude to burn it. Please just don't bother with this one.

Recommendation: Avoid like the plague!


Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter - Author: Micheal Reaves

From the worst of this era to one of the best. Shadow Hunter is a nice romp. It doesn't have a lot of mystery for anyone who's seen the movies and not much character, but it's a fun read. It takes place before Episode 1 and centers around Lorn Paven, an information broker who's managed to get information about a possible Sith in the upper echelons of the Republic and contacts the Jedi to relay the information fearing that if he brings it in himself he'll be assassinated before he can get anywhere. After meeting with a Jedi Knight and his Padawan Darth Maul drops in and immediately engages in a battle with the Jedi who he promptly slaughters, the rest of the book is a chase sequence through the undercity ultimately resulting in a sacrifice by the Padawan to get Lorn to safety and someone who can help. Needless to say it doesn't work out in the end, but I won't ruin the final twist. This is a great action book it puts you on the end of your seat for the entire thing and it is very hard to put down. It's an easy recommendation for any Darth Maul fan and doesn't require a lot of active thinking to enjoy. This was my second Star Wars book and is what turned me into the book nerd I am!

Recommendation: Good read for anyone, it won't win any award, but as my friend once put it it's candy, good for a quick read when you're in the mood for some action.


Rogue Planet - Author: Greg Bear

This is a bit of a weird book, I can't definitively nail it down into any category and I can't say I terribly enjoyed it. It takes place after Episode 1 and focuses on Anakin and Obi-wan when they discover that a Jedi and friend of Anakin's has gone missing. They end up following leads to a planet called Zonama Sekot and from there on it's an exercise in weird. The book does it's best to challenge how you think of people and things, even going so far as to invent a new way of viewing the Force. I can't tell you much else without ruining it, it's one of those books whose primary enjoyment is in the discovery. But I can tell you that it's mainly a setup(or backstory depending on the order you read the books in) to the Yuuzhan Vong war.

Recommendation: This one leaves me a little stumped, it was the first Star Wars book I read and it wasn't what got me terribly interested in the series, but it did keep my interest high enough that I got Shadow Hunter. The best thing I can tell you is to go to your local bookstore and read the first chapter, if you like it then you'll like the rest, if you don't then don't bother, any other instances of reference to it are explained fully in those books.


Outbound Flight - Author Timothy Zahn

Ah the Zahn man, I'll tell you now if his name comes up I'm going to recommend a read(not necessarily a buy though), he's just a good author even when his material is bad. This is one of those incidents where the plot strings aren't all that good, and this mostly serves as further explanation for events in the Thrawn Trilogy. So the plot is simple, the Republic puts together a project called Outbound Flight, it's a research project to explore the Unknown Regions and eventually the extra galactic plane, and goes through the view of various crew members, including Jedi. They embark on their voyage and almost immediately run into trouble upon entering the Unknown Regions. Can't really tell you much else as it is another discovery book, all the fun is in seeing how it relates back to the Thrawn Trilogy and later Survivor's Quest. This is pretty much just a book for those that loved the Thrawn Trilogy and want to know EVERYTHING about it.

Recommendation: Pick it up at your library because it isn't a bad book, but I do suggesting reading it after the thrawn trilogy as it's a book with a lot of winks and nods to those that came before it and you won't understand the significance of any of it if you haven't read what it refers to.


The Approaching Storm - Author: Alan Dean Foster

This book is... utterly average. The action is enough for SW and not a bit more, as is the setting, plot, and characters. It's just barely acceptable and is another of those backstory books, this one to Episode 2. For the life of me I remember nothing in this besides Luminara making an appearance and that I didn't DISlike it. A lot of books in Star Wars have struck me as good, not a few as bad, and many have areas I nitpick, but this is the only one I can remember as being completely forgettable.

Recommendation: Don't bother, if you're bored and you can get it without paying then go for it, like I said it's not bad. But it's not worth any money.


Republic Commando(Series) - Author: Karen Traviss

This series includes the books: Hard Contact(Good), Triple Zero(Better), True Colors(Bit slow), Order 66(Slow but tear jerking), & Imperial Commando: 501st(Probably the best of the series). This is a good series, but it is long and it is a bit drawn out. The series doesn't focus on action, political intrigue, or the Force at large. It is a series that focuses entirely on the war from the clone's point of view, and I don't mean "Is this right?" I mean what a real soldier in the field is concerned with: How will this affect me, how will it affect my men, what are you giving me to do the job with, and how am I supposed to do it. Later characters introduced eventually bring up not the ethics of cloning an army, but the question of "When the war's over what happens to us?" and if they deserve the same rights non-clones do when the time comes, i.e. a life. There are a LOT of characters and they ALL get developed into full characters so it will get confusing. I really like this series for the reasons listed above and for the simple fact that it shows you Jedi are not invincible. Mandolorians are not as skilled as Jedi, but in a time when we were getting used to the idea of well only a Sith can kill a Jedi it was nice to see a response of "No not if you have enough training". The book establishes a LOT of Mandalorian lore, history, and culture, and is a wonderful addition to Star Wars, but the series will forever remain unfinished thanks to the Clone Wars series, the specifics of which are in my rant about the series in this same forum.

Recommendation: Hard to say, it's a slow series and it forces you to think so it's not for everyone, but if anything above interests you then I give it a strong recommendation to try it and see, at the very least the first book has a good amount of action so you won't be completely bored.


Shatterpoint - Author: Matthew Stover

Now we're heading into the Clone Wars books(not based on the CG cartoon thank god), and I'll say right now that most of them are average or below average. This is one of the better ones, not because of it's plot which is completely mediocre, but for it's examination of Mace Windu. I've honestly forgotten the plot, it was something to do with helping Mace's homeworld, and all I really remember is the introspection and Force/Lightsaber Forms. It introduces the idea of Shatterpoint(being able to see with the Force the one point in an object, person, or scheme that's the linchpin, and guiding you to it) and shows the turmoil Mace has over missing his opportunity to stop the Clone Wars before they began, i.e. that by sacrificing himself to kill Dooku the entire war would have been avoided. You also get to see how Vaapad works in the series and that it is a style that straddles the boarder to the dark side and that it's very easy to misstep and fall into bloodlust when using it. But I can't really recommend it as a read...

Recommendation: Honestly? I'd only suggest it to people VERY interested in Mace Windu, if you're only interested in Vaapad and Shatterpoint then just look it up on Wookieepedia.


The Cestus Deception - Author: Steven Barnes

Boring book, fallows Obi-wan on a diplomatic to a hive species to help them against the Separatists. Why? Go watch the Clone Wars CG series, or if you hate it like I do then because: DROID GUYS EVIL! Honestly just about all it boils down to. Action, lame. Plot, weak. Setting, probably the only slightly interesting thing, but that's what wookieepedia is for. Remember when I said Approaching Storm was just barely average, this is a bit below that.

Recommendation: Skip it, no redeeming qualities.


MedStar 1: Battle Surgeons & MedStar 2: Jedi Healer - Author: Micheal Reaves & Steve Perry

This is an interesting duology. It's one of the few mystery novels in Star Wars and has good character development, good plot, but only a few scenes of action. It does require you to think, as any mystery novel would, but it's decently paced and there's enough other stuff going on that you never get bored, and honestly it's timing is good because as you feel like you might be getting a handle on something it throws you into an unexpected scenario that draws your attention away. It's not great for a mystery novel or an action novel, but it is good as a character piece and is at least fairly unique. Can't tell you much of the plot because honestly I don't remember much of it, I remember being impressed but I read part two months after part one and I ended up forgetting a lot.

Recommendation: Definitely recommended if you like mystery novels, but stay away if you prefer the more mainstream action types because it can seem slow at times. Moderate recommendation for anyone else, worth the read if you've got the time and cash to spare.


Jedi Trial - Author: David Sherman

This is a book with a promising premise and bad execution. It's plot follows Anakin after he's been back from shore leave and had time to be with Padme, and subsequently realized how hard it is to keep his meets with her from the Jedi Order. He ends up meeting a kindred spirit in the Jedi who helps him cover because he doesn't believe in the Jedi's no attachment policy. Now there's some promising growth there if they had ever decided to do anything with it, but they never do because almost immediately after this they get sent out to help a planet resist being over run by the Trade Federation. When they get there they have an Alamo type stand until reinforcements can arrive so you think you'll at least get some decent action, but most of it is rather boring. So in short this book sets out to do two things: Develop Anakin's character and give us some great action, and it fails miserably at both.

Recommendation: Skip it, the only reason I could give to read this is if you want to see how easily a good premise can be screwed up by bad writing.


Yoda: Dark Rendezvous - Author: Sean Stewart

This is a hard novel to classify. I would call it candy, but it doesn't have the lasting power. It's a nice read when you're reading it, but afterward you realize the plot is contrived and the characters while not bad, are pretty forgettable. In short the book "tastes" good but leaves a bad after taste. I think the problem is in how it handles itself. Like Jedi Trial it has a good premise, but fails to execute, but whereas Jedi Trial just didn't execute at all, Dark Rendezous executes the wrong way. It sets itself up as an action novel when it's really more suited to serious introspection and guilt over mistakes made. The plot's simple, an apprentice weak in the Force is given a chance to train under Yoda after winning a tournament and just as the training begins they get a message that Yoda is needed for diplomatic talks (which if you've watched Star Wars is code for "It's a trap!") and when they get there they find Dooku waiting and... well best if you read from there if you're curious.

Recommendation: Yeah I'd recommend it it's not bad and it's actually got some interesting thought point that it admittedly fails to capitalize on. Light recommendation though, best to get it from a library or used book shop if possible.


Labyrinth of Evil - Author: James Luceno

This is probably the most notorious book I've read in SW. It's a pretty good book, focused entirely on action, but it is all pretty well placed and the characters are actually pretty damn accurate, which is rare for SW books that use movie characters. The plot, such as it is, is pretty much just: chase Dooku, come close, Dooku gets away, chase again. Even though it is that simple it's still pretty entertaining to read. This also takes place during the invasion of Coruscant and provides the last of the three movie backstory books. Now the notorious part of this comes towards the end when Greivous has Palpatine and is trying to escape off-planet. He's got him on the ship, but there's still a couple Jedi remaining that have to be taken care of and, realizing he doesn't have enough arms to fend them all off at once he decides to use his legs to fight. No I don't mean kicks or that one legged thing you see in the cartoon, I mean a repulsor in his ass engages and levitates him off the ground so he can use his legs as another set of arms.... I can't express in words how stupid it is, the fight up to that point is actually pretty tense, but when this came up I just lost it. I must have laughed my ass off for a good ten minutes at the ridiculousness of it all. It's really the only problem with the book, and without the scene I would recommended it to anyone who would like a good primer for Episode 3 because it does have a lot of intense scenes, but I just CAN'T get over the ass repulsor.

Recommendation: Yeah I'd say to take a look at it, don't prioritize it, but it's worth a quick read. Just be prepared for the ass repulsor.


Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader - Author: James Luceno

Ah yes, I did like this one. The title's a little misleading as it sounds more badass then the material actually is. The book deals primarily with Anakin's change into Darth Vader and how he adjusts both to the suits limitations, and the newfound power his Sith change has given him. It also follows some Jedi on the run after the purge and their indecision about whether to go into hiding, or strike back at the pair of Sith ruling the newly founded Empire. This is a pretty damn good book, it's got enough action to explore the raw power, and the massive restrictions of Darth Vader, but doesn't devote so much to it that the plot suffers. Granted I'll say the plot isn't anything new or unique, but it is a decent Alamoish plot(the idea of fighting when you know, in the end, you'll die for it).

Recommendation: I'd put this up there on the list, there are things I'd recommend as being better overall, but I think this is a very good book to start with if you want to start reading Star Wars.


Coruscant Nights Series - Author: Micheal Reaves

Coruscant Nights is a bit of a weird series. It was originally planned for release shortly after Episode Three, but despite three books being written and ready for release the publishers decided to postpone it for three more years. As a result you got all three books in rapid succession in 2008-2009, but the last book in the series was put on hold and is only now being written so it's still incomplete. At the same time trying to analyze these books individually would be a bad idea because they are all tied into one continual story, but it's still an unfinished story so I'll do my best. The series follows Jax Paven(If the last name seems familiar he's the son of Lorn Paven from Shadow Hunter), a Jedi Knight, and Laranth Tarak, a Grey Paladin(Jedi who specialize in weapons other than lightsabers, such as blasters, vibroblades and axes, and even hand-to-hand) in the aftermath of the Purge. And deals mostly with their struggle to stay alive while hiding their natural abilities from the Inquisitors. Now this being a Reaves novel, a good deal of their jobs are detective cases. There are a good enough number of characters and sub-plots that it would take forever to go into each one, but that the general overview. Now from the three books I've read it's not a bad series, but there are some head scratching moments where the power differential is screwed up between Jax and Vader as well as a couple head-scratching changes in character, but it's pretty good. And it's got some neat ideas, the whole Gray Paladin thing shows how versatile the Force can be no matter what weapon is used, and it's nice to see a bit more realistic view of a Jedi after the Purge(i.e. it's less about what to do and more about how you're going to get the money to do it now that the Order's not footing the bill). But despite my like for the author I do have to admit The Rise of Darth Vader is a batter post-purge book.

Recommendation: Yeah, and I'd put it as a higher priority than most of the other prequel timeline books because of the setting, but you won't get as much out of the story if you haven't read other Micheal Reaves books as he tends to bring characters and plot threads from his previous books.




EBook Novellas:


Darth Maul: Saboteur - Author: James Luceno

This is very short not even thirty pages I believe, and is lumped in with Shadow Hunter. It's pretty bland, just a short mission of Darth Maul's, is completely forgettable. If you get Shadow Hunter then yeah read it because it's short and it's not bad, but don't try to find just the ebook, it's not worth the effort.


The Hive - Author: Steven Barnes

This one seems to be an add-on to the Cestus Deception, by which I mean it's fairly obvious the writer finished the book, and then remembered he had wanted to do the Hive's sub-plot in the middle. Same suggestion as Saboteur, but in this case I can't even recommend the book it comes with.

oooh the shadow hunter was a great book in my opinion! one of the very few star wars books ive read

Aardvark wrote:Book: The Old Republic: Revan
Author: Drew Karpyshyn

Biggest Pro: Answers many questions about what happened to both Revan and the Exile after the KotOR games.
Biggest Con: Too rushed and scatter-brained in areas.

Recommendation: Light.

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OK so even though this is the long review, it's still going to be short because almost all the fun in this is finding out about the path the story takes and the Revelations it brings. It follows Revan at first, and we find out the Jedi's still having problems with his memory. He doesn't understand why he turned and even though he knows he's essentially a different person now it still haunts him that he doesn't know why, that his memory is still(to borrow a term from Quantum Leap) swiss-cheesed so he decides to go on a quest to rebuild what he's lost. Eventually he stumbles onto the Sith Empire who, despite what the Jedi think, did not die at the end of the Great Hyperspace War a millenia ago(this isn't a spoiler as it's the same Empire you fight in TOR), and gets captured. Throughout the Revan segments we've been getting bits and pieces from another character, Scourge, who's a Sith(species and Force-wise) living in the Empire. He serves mostly as a way to show you what life is like in the Empire and as a complete party pooper at the end(if you want to know read the book, just don't have anything breakable nearby at the final chapter). After Revan gets captured we go to Meetra Surik, and as some may realize that's the Exile. Yes they give her a name and look now, although they are very careful to avoid mention of any characters or actions in TSL beyond the broadest most inescapable plot point(s)(I think they mention all of 2 or 3). To my disappointment she completely lacks that badass quality you feel in the game and comes across as being the girlfriend that was shot down but still clings to you like glue. That could just be me, I mean when I pictured the Exile I always imagined someone very blunt and powerful, not willing to take shit but still kind. I mean they manage to catch Revan as I imagined him but.... I'm getting off-track, suffice to say she was a disappointment to me aside from the very early chapters with her, but I'm probably looking too far into it. I can't say much about her beyond the fact that she helps Revan escape(and I mean help, I'm pretty sure he could have done it alone), and at that point what little character she has disappears entirely.

Aside from a few chapters with Canderous and Bastila, and T3's ever presence, little of the other characters are even mentioned. They tell you Juhani and Jolee are in the order, but they make no mention of what might have happened to them when the Exile showed up, and all we get of Mission and Zaalbar is that they started a business. HK is shrugged off by both Revan and the Exile, though the last whereabouts they gave could make for an interesting book all on its own from HK's perspective. Carth is never mentioned, and aside from a quick confirmation that Traya is in fact dead(NO FUCKING SHIT!) and Canderous is in fact Mandalore(Again, who does this surprise?) all the TSL characters are ignored. So if you're hoping for some great cameos from some of the only funny characters in SW then you'll be sorely disappointed.

As for overall pacing, I really did like the first third to half of the book, it sucked you in and you even get to see Revan fight(as well as a neat reveal you should read), but as soon as you hit the second half things happen way too fast and I suspect this is because the TSL writers(of which Karpyshyn is one) weren't sure they actually wanted to confirm the events of the game as canon. Who knows maybe he's just ashamed of the rushed product, but it would explain why Meetra has basically no character. And like I explained only three characters are actually explored and Revan and Scourge have been thoroughly explained by this point aside from the last few touches. The last chapter will piss you off though, it's anti-climactic, contrived and probably only exists so they can have some TOR exclusive surprises.

Overall Recommendation: If you're a diehard KotOR fan and plan on playing TOR regardless of what they charge for it, then I recommend reading it as it's nice teaser and explanation for the MMO. If you're just mildly curious, then either get it from your library, borrow it from a friend, or wait for the paperback, because as well as being a sloppy finish it clocks in at only 289 pages.

I've beaten the game on my main and gone through the story Flashpoints. For me I saw the Empire side of things. As the game is set up, the Republic faction is in the past/present and the Empire is set in the aftermath/present. Apparently, the Republic did something to the Emperor and he went into hiding. Then

Spoiler:

I'm slowly going into the Jedi Knight class since the book feeds directly into it. Kind of hard to find time though.

Book: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse
Author: Aaron Alston

Biggest Pro: Lots of detailed fighting and action scenes.
Biggest Con: Setup is rushed and amateurish.

Recommendation: Moderate Recommendation

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Well I have mixed feelings about this one. One of the things Denning has ALWAYS been good at is bringing life and emotion to fights, he brings a lot out of the characters in these and many times you'll get a better sense of the character in a two page fight than you will from ten pages of dialogue. Denning is also really good at revelations, he's one of the few authors who can make the revelation at the end of a long build up live up to the hype and that's rare, extremely rare. In other areas he's good to decent, but I don't know what happened here, I spotted no less than three gaping plot holes in the story and it feels rushed in a lot of places, I'll do my best to explain without revealing anything MAJOR but you might not fully understand until you read it.

OK, let's start at the beginning with the bad. The beginning had me confused and I had to check my page numbers because I honestly thought I was missing a chapter or two somewhere, you see we go from Vestara, Ben, Luke, and most of the order leaving a Sith homeworld in the last book to them in the middle of infiltrating Coruscant at the beginning of Apocalypse. There's not really any exposition as to how we got to this point, and it makes the effort come off rushed, like the Jedi are leaping blind into the situation with the Sith. I can't 100% blame this on Denning though, he had a lot to write in this and the business of doing a setup should have fallen on last couple authors before him, mostly Alston who pretty much wasted his entire last book in filler. But I do have to blame him for the rushed sequences after that as we jump from perspective to perspective without much grasp of the time that's passing until you get to one character and they mention "oh yea that happened days ago" and it's also the site of two of the three huge plot holes.

The first is that, when the Sith figure out the Jedi can get the drop on them they decide it's best to hold up in the Temple and goad the Jedi into attacking a fortified position. This is a huge plot hole because we're talking thousands of Sith stationed at every level of government, including the Chief of State and NO one on Coruscant finds this the slightest bit odd or suspicious. To give you an example of what an equivalent is if suddenly a random assortment of bureaucrats, judges, Congressman, Cabinets members, and the President suddenly decided to run into St. Peters Cathedral and conduct their business there with no rhyme or reason to the selection of each. At the very least you'd wonder if the government had gone insane.

The second is a bit of a spoiler, but you'll know when you read it. Jag manages to trap Daala and her primary supporter in a system from which he has a superior advantage and Daala, instead of coming up with a brilliant tactic goes, "Hey let's do a free election to decide the spot!" This is completely out of character, oh we get the excuse that Abeloth has revealed she can help rig the elections for her, but it rings wrong. Daala is completely against Jedi involvement, and especially corruption, she doesn't trust them and never has, but we're supposed to believe she just consents to a Force being she has literally watched brainwash one of her lieutenants and possessed another completely? I can accept that Jag would agree to this, or at least have to consent, as he wants democracy and has stated that publicly, but Daala? No.

After this the books clears up as Denning gets down to what he's good at, action and fighting. This part of the book is very good and actually reads a lot like a video game would progress, in a good way. You really get a measure for EXACTLY how dangerous Abeloth is and we get a sense of WHO she is as well. These are all handled well and will satisfy both character lovers and action lovers, but I can't tell you much about it because it's why you want to read the book. All I can tell you is that the Abeloth information is never an overload or an information dump, it's doled out over the course of the book and in easy to understand terms, and it DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. It successfully ties in with something the Clone Wars did(that was decent actually) and if you've seen the episodes you will IMMEDIATELY recognize what they're talking about.

The last fourth of the book does tend to disappoint a little though as it is also rushed to fill out what needs to happen, again I blame Alston for wasting so much space. This I really can't even hint at, it's decent, not as bad as the beginning, but the last fight(s?) are drawn out too long and I have to admit I was disappointed at the last turn, which is something I can reveal. You see Luke has to engage Abeloth twice over the course of just a few days, but he survives as most of you expect anymore. I thought this was a PRIME time to kill Luke, he's fighting a Force being literally straight out of ancient myths. I mean, come on! You can't get much better than, "Yeah it took a Force Embodiment to take him out and he took it down with him". And I'm sorry I like Luke, but he needs to die, he's old, he's been explored as much as he can, and after surviving this it's going to raise questions about how he could die in combat if he survived Abeloth.

Luckily his surviving doesn't diminish Ben's and Vestara's roles and the two characters manage to shine without the tacky happily ever after cliche. This is a BRUTAL ending for the pair and you feel for each of them as they struggle with love and betrayal. I honestly would have liked Luke to die in this, it would give Ben motivation and Luke a hero's death, he jumped the shark anything after this is downhill for the beloved farmboy.

The third major plot hole deals with Abeloth and an out of character moment, but again, major spoiler to explain it. So I'll just move on to the other characters I haven't mentioned. Allana(Amelia) gets to do some serious growing as a character and by the end she manages to become a character you like. Han and Leia are Han and Leia, you know they'll survive, they jumped the shark a long time ago and there's no tension when they enter a fight anymore, I believe they could both do with a nice death or retirement as their involvement just serves to spoil that whatever their part works out. Wynn Dorvan is actually a nice character and he grows some serious spine despite his shortcomings, he was probably my favorite of the minor characters and I hope he sticks around a while. Barv, yes I know he's very minor but give me a chance, is actually given a rather emotional moment and is a complete and total badass and you should all hope to be even half as badass. The rest of the minor cast are VERY minor and don't get any development to speak of.

It's a satisfying read and certainly a good ending to the Fate of the Jedi once you get past the plot holes. The action and fights are very good and I just can't stress that enough and they REALLY save it. Abeloth takes up a much more sinister role than what we've been dragged through for the last few books where she seemed like a very tough opponent, but no match for a talented master or enough Knights, but now she's deadly. You get genuinely scared for the characters when she pops up and Denning does a good job of putting characters who you KNOW could die in her path often enough for you to never feel confident in her defeat. The ending though feels more like a To Be Continued than it does a proper ending and it's an obvious setup for another series release, so be on the lookout. Oh and fans of the uhhh, comics, might notice a cameo

Overall Recommendation: This is hard, there's many things I don't like about the book, but so much that's just pure win about the middle. If you're into the Fate of the Jedi series I would give it a High Recommendation, but if you're only mildly interested in it to pass the time then I suggest waiting for the paperback or borrowing it from the library or a friend.

im on the chapter with fett and tahiri when they're working together atm. must say fett feels sooo out of fucking character. reading this feels awkward

Book: Scourge
Author: Jeff Grubb

Biggest Pro: It feels real. So many SW books that I read I like, but at the same time I know what I'm reading is so impossible. This one feels more like the original trilogy. It feels like you could actually make this into a movie without heavy CGI.
Biggest Con: Plot. The plot jumps around like crazy and for a few chapters I actually forgot what had brought the characters to that point, it just feels like a mess, like the author couldn't settle on what story to tell so he told all of them at once.

Recommendation: Light

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Let me start this by saying I really wanted to like this book. I read an excerpt in the back of Apocalypse and it felt like a new way of looking at the Jedi. In the excerpt you're introduced to a Jedi that sucks as a Jedi, he's bad with a lightsaber and is clumsy with his Force abilities. In a time with so many stories about all powerful Jedi leaping 100 stories in a single bound and laying waste to entire armies(I know my own fan fic is guilty of this too) it was nice to see a Jedi like Luke in Episode V & VI rather then Starkiller and Revan. I really wanted to see how that would work out it sounded memorable if nothing else, but sadly that Jedi in the first chapter is never seen again. For the rest of the book he's still underpowered, but not like in the beginning when it was obvious he would be relying on allies and his own ingenuity over his Force abilities. Now this doesn't make the book bad, I liked it well enough, but it could have done better, at least been unique, instead it's a book that's decent but you won't remember any of the details of it a year from now. Anyway, on to the specifics.

So the quick synopsis is that a Jedi winds up dead on a backwater world on a routine mission and his old Master is sent in to investigate what happened. He quickly finds out that the death was no accident and is part of a larger... oh fuck it you've read this synopsis a hundred times. Shit goes wrong, Jedi investigates, Jedi picks up a couple misfits and learns everything is not as it appears and must solve the problem on his own before time runs out. And I guess that's the problem, for a story I held such high hopes for it's so formulaic. Formulaic can be fine if you have an interesting setting or characters to explore, but it never capitalizes on what it brings up.

A woman is brought in and you can see the beginnings of a relationship or fling, but it goes no where. A cool side character is brought in and is pretty awesome, but he slowly fades into obscurity at the end. The Hutts end up being the most interesting characters in the books above and beyond the main character Mander Zuma, but you hardly see them. I will give that all the interactions felt very real, not like the forced conversation you see so often in other Star Wars books, these people feel... well like they could actually exist. It's one of the few saving graces.

The setting is likewise at least interesting, the character bounce from Makem Te, a world obsessed with death whose native inhabitants can't feel pain; to Nar Shadaa's underworld and some of the even more unsavory sides of the Hutts; to Varl even, the Hutt's original world after the cataclysmic events that destroyed it. But again nothing is ever done with any of it, you don't get any insight on how a species that can't feel pain takes so much interest in death, you don't get an explanation as to how the Evocii managed to survive what the Hutts did or even how the current generation of Hutts thinks of their actions after evicting them from Nal Hutta, you don't even get a good chase over the surface of a planet that manages to stay perfectly balances between a Super Nova and Black Hole. All these details are brought up then skipped over and I felt cheated.

The plot like I said is formulaic. You can see every twist coming and about two-thirds of the way through you will KNOW who the "Spice Lord" is, not suspect, you'll know, it's just that obvious. The main drive gets completely lost a third of the way in as all the characters forget what brought them into these events and a man's death takes a back seat to what amounts to an anti-drug PSA.

In short the entire book is reminiscent of the original trilogy, but without capitalizing on any point it brings up. Hell you can see that the woman brought in is supposed to be a Leia substitute, the Bothan a Chewie substitute, and Mander takes personality shifts between Han and Luke. There are scenes that feel like they were ripped right out of the movie and repainted... but despite all that I still think it's worth a read. Yeah I know most of this review has been me harping on it but it's not as bad as I make it sound most of my hate has been because it brings up a lot of interesting ideas that it never uses to their potential, it's the loss of opportunity that gets me mad rather than any real bad parts of the book.

Overall Recommendation: This is a paperback so I would recommend reading it at a library if you can, but it's not so expensive yo can't just outright buy it and I would say it's worth the money if for no other reason then I think this might be a setup for a series in which he'll flesh out the ideas. The interactions are well worth it if for no other reason then you'd like a conversation besides "EVIL'S COME. GO GO JEDI RANGERS!" and I'll be honest I looked forward to seeing how the characters would react more than anything else as they feel as unpredictable in each scenario as most real people would be.

I'm quite enjoyed with Darth Plegueis book Thanks for the review, Aard! Only after reading that review I've started to listen to an audiobook.

OK so I've got some free time, let's do another Shorties, this time I think I'll be doing two at once since the Sith Era books are still a small category and the Empire Era is likewise pretty short on books. Some of books in each of these eras will be missing because there's a full review somewhere in the thread and most of the rest will actually be pretty good as I remember a lot of these books well.

Sith Era:

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance - Author: Sean Williams

Alright, oddly enough this is a pretty recent book and the only one of the "The Old Republic" series of books that doesn't have a full review.... mostly because it was so bad I didn't remember much of it. It was the first of the "The Old Republic" series and tried to present an acceptable universe in which a Jedi and Sith could coexist. So you follow a Jedi with anger management issues and a Sith with issues over being used and betrayed.... I think someone switched the characters and the author just never noticed, because this just comes out stupid. They try to hunt down a Mandalorian who steals a -insert techno babble here- and that's about all there is to it. They try to make a thing about the Sith being related to the creator of the techno babble thing, but no one has enough character for you to give a shit. So in short, stupid plot, one-dimensional characters, and a wasted setting that gets skimmed over.

Recommendation: There's no reason to bother with this. It will not help you understand anything in the MMO from what I've heard, it gets no major events that related forward or back in history and it's a dull read.


Star Wars: Knight Errant - Author: John Jackson Miller

This book is odd. As the reader you are clumsily thrust into an ongoing conflict between the Jedi and Sith at the height of the last war between the two sides until the prequels(1,000 years). It's not really bad writing, it's actually pretty decent thought you can see most of the twists coming. And it's not the characters as you actually have some interesting ones presented and even capitalized on to an extent. The problem comes that you're not given any significant backstory besides a loose sketch of why the antagonist is evil, so you don't have a reason to care that much what happens. It feels like you really should have been reading something before it and it even gives you a clue that you should when in the middle you find a comic book excerpt that urges you to buy the whole thing. I never read it so I don't know, maybe it does help you get into the story, if you decide to read it though I'd suggest getting a hold of the comic first, one way or another....

Recommendation: If you read the full comic it;s probably a good idea as this will fill in some of the post action I believe or maybe just fill in the middle as it kinda ends on a cliff-hanger. Otherwise I would say save it for when you're out of better stuff and then check it out at your library.


Darth bane(Series) - Author: Drew Karpyshyn

The Darth Bane series, though I suppose you could call it a Trilogy, is one of the best series I've read in Star Wars. It's better than Republic Commando, not as long or boring as Legacy or Fate of the Jedi, and on par with my absolute favorite series in Star Wars, X-wing. It's a great series with a lot of Sith history and insight into the Sith philosophies between kotor and the prequels. It's written by Drew Karpyshyn, a video game storyboard writer who has credits including: KotOR, KotOR:TSL, Mass Effect, & Mass Effect 2. There are silly parts in it, I won't deny Karpyshyn can get a little weird at times, but it doesn't detract from the story and the characters, plot, and setting are all well worth the read as you follow Bane's progression from a slave miner, to a Sith student, to the last remaining Sith, and eventually his death at the hands of the student he trained, brought about by his very own philosophy, the Rule of Two.

Recommendation: Yes, a thousand times yes. Any Star Wars fan, yes. Any casual fan, yes. Anyone who ever appreciated Kotor, yes. I cannot recommend this enough, READ THESE.


E-book Novellas:

Lost Tribe of the Sith(Series) - Author: John Jackson Miller

I'll state right off the bat, I've only read three of these and there are eight of them at time of writing with progress on a ninth well on its way. But I also have a reason for only reading the three I have, I found them incredibly dull and confusing. There's little explanation when the time jumps forward and most of the events seem pointlessly mundane. The characters have no characters and result in grade school level discussions and reactions.




Empire Era:

Han Solo Trilogy - Author: A. C. Crispin

This is a good trilogy. It explains a lot of Han Solo's past in an engaging way as he stumbles his way from one job to another always with good intentions at heart and how the constant turns of luck and betrayal slowly turn him from a good man into scoundrel you love in the movies. Lots of good characters and character development in this, a well done plot, and interesting settings make it a good read and the plot tie-ins and explanations for the original trilogy make it a classic in my mind.

Recommendation: I own it. Just let that sink in, I don't even own the Darth Bane Trilogy because it's too expensive in hard back and I haven't found a good deal in paper back, but I own this trilogy. It's good, you can reread it, and the insights it gives you make it a must read in my mind.


Lando Calrissian Adventures - Author: L. Neil Smith

This is rather boring. It follows Lando through three distinct adventures over either three short books or one large one. It sucks donkey ass, Lando is out of character, many laws of physics are broken, and I can't remember a damn thing about any adventure besides a rather stupid scene with a Space Whale and I'm not sure that wasn't some torturous dream I made up.

Recommendation: No, no redeeming qualities. It's not the level of "OMIGAWD THIS SUX!" but it's at least the level of "dafuq did I just read?"


Han Solo Adventures - Author: Brian Daley

Pretty much a copy paste of the Lando Adventures except the only weird scene in this I can remember is of Chewie mounting a giant bat on a probe droid and using it as a hang glider and I'm not sure THAT wasn't just an SW themed dream I had because of Yor's World....

Recommendation: Same as Lando Calrissian Adventures above.


The Force Unleashed - Author: Sean Williams

You remember how the game was pretty OK, not stellar but decent enough if you can ignore the massive canon breaks Starkiller had? Well the book is just like the game! Too bad writing down a playthrough of The Force Unleashed makes for a boring read and leaves the person subjected to it wonder why you didn't just show him the footage. The characters don't get enough time to develop, the action sequences are long and boring and it's very easy to zone out for a while leaving you wondering, "wait, where am I?"

Recommendation: Library read, and that's ONLY if you're interested in what happened but don't want to play the game and find out.


The Force Unleashed - Author: Sean Williams

You remember how the game was fucking shitty with repetitive fights, frustrating close-ups on EVERY SINGLE COMBO, and a story that was contrived and went from one giant leap to the next with no explanation? Well the book is NOTHING like the game, thank god. The book is actually good, unlike the game it takes the time to flesh out the story giving Juno several story sequences all her own, explaining Starkiller's thinking and motivation enough to actually get you feeling sorry for the guy, and altering several sequences that just wouldn't work in a book. The action is down to a reasonable level and the power isn't quite as godlike, lending Starkiller a little bit of reasonable limitations. The end actually explains thoughts the characters were having that the game never brought up and made for such huge plot holes in their characters and the cliffhanger gives the canon plot-hole an out should they ever choose to finish it. This is a weird position where if I told someone to get into the Force Unleashed I would tell them to play the first game and read the second game's novelization. I actually hope they do release a third game to finish it, if for no other reason then I want to see how the novel plays out.

Recommendation: I would advise the paperback of it if you can find one and if you like the first game. Otherwise I'd say look it up in your library if you're interested.


Death Troopers - Author: Joe Schreiber

Alright this'll be short. I admit I never finished this, I found the imagined violence made me queasy and I just wasn't that interested in finding out what happened. This is SW's first attempt at horror and for what it is it does a good job. It's got a nice grim atmosphere, an interesting plot from what I read, and while the characters just fill the standard roles it doesn't detract from the story. It's a good horror book, a yes I am a pussy for not finishing it, I just don't like horror.

Recommendation: If you like horror novels by all means it accomplishes that nicely and it's worth owning if for no other reason than it has Han and Chewie fighting zombies. If you're not really into horror and you've got a very vivid imagination I'd stay away.


Death Star - Authors: Micheal Reaves & Steve Perry

This is decent. It explains the technicals about how the Death Star was constructed and run as well as some history and an interesting insight about the morals of blowing it up considering there were honest bar and restaurant owners who had no idea what the machine they were riding in did. Not much to it beyond that, you get some interesting perspectives on what the Death Star is truly capable of and some decent if easily forgotten characters.

Recommendation: I couldn't in good conscience tell you to buy it, it's not worth the price. Maybe a library read if you run out of things to read, but not much beyond that.


Allegiance - Author: Timothy Zahn

This is a good one. Allegiance is about a group of Stormtroopers who defect from a corrupt system, but still work to bring justice to the citizens they once served. It also shows some of Mara's Emperor's Hand work and it's nice to see what she actually did while she worked for the Empire. There's also some stuff in there that explains the Rebel search for a new base after they left Yavin and it shows how, despite the Empire Comics depiction, he's still a NOVICE Jedi and the lightsaber is little more then a very hot sword in his hands.

Recommendation: Paperback, definitely, hardback if you really like Zahn's work and want to reread his stuff, but for most people, a paperback copy is recommended.


Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine - Author: Voronica Whitney-Robinson

I'll be honest I read this, I don't remember jack shit about it. Nothing memorable and I remember at least SOMETHING from every SW book I've ever read, nothing on this. So I assume it's boring. All I do know is that it was an attempt to tie together the novels and SWG when the MMO first came out.

Recommendation: Not worth the money or time, skip it.


Splinter of the Mind's Eye - Author: Alan Dean Foster

I vaguely remember this as a story with potential but bad execution. For those of you not in the know this was the first Star Wars novel ever published and there wouldn't be interest in another for 13 years... So you know how good it is. It centers around Luke going to grab some mystical thingy mabob encountering Vader and having a "fight". It's got bad characters, a stupid plot, and copy-paste settings from the first movie. In my opinion there's some potential in the story, but it would need to be completely overhauled.

Recommendation: I wouldn't even read it personally, knowing how awful it is, but if you want to just so you can say you read the first star wars book ever written, get it at a library.


Shadows of the Empire - Author: Steve Perry

I don't know if anyone remembers this, but the Force Unleashed was a "multi-media project" meaning it was a game, a novel, and a comic book. Well Shadows of the Empire was also one of these, the only prior MMP Lucas Arts has done. It was a bad game, though the Starfighter section eventually spawned the Rogue Squadron games on the N64, but a pretty good novel and comic book. It's not fantastic, but the characters are loyal to the movies and portrayed well and the plot is at least intriguing, though Vader and Xizor sometimes come off as spoiled brats and it kills the seriousness with which I can take the plot.

Recommendation: If you've got spare time it's not a bad read and it will fill you in on some of the stuff between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I wouldn't suggest a buy though, not THAT good.


The Bounty Hunter Wars(Trilogy) - K. W. Jeter

These books I actually liked. They're mostly done in flashback as you go over the history of Boba Fett, Bossk, Dengar, Zuckass, & 4-LOM while they worked as bounty hunters in the Empire. What is done in the "current" for the book is Fett's escape from the Sarlacc and long recovery with the help of Dengar. There's no real vital info in this save that Boba Fett DOES in fact survive Return of the Jedi through pure badass, but it is an interesting read as you're exposed to parts of the bounty hunter world you didn't know existed. It's got a good story arc, interesting characters even if Bossk sometimes comes off as a TV villian, and a diverse and fascinating setting.

Recommendation: Yeah I'd say give it a whirl. You may not think much of it as you're reading, but you'll find it interesting and it'll stick with you. This is a trilogy though so I suggest getting it from your library or in a used book store to keep the cost down. Only a new purchase recommendation if you are a BIG Boba Fett fan.


The Truce at Bakura - Author: Kathy Tyers

Oh how I hate this book. Good Lord do I hate this book! Not because it's bad, by no means is it good it's just passable, no it's because of what happens in this book. *Sigh* I really hate doing this, but if you intend to read any of the New Republic books including X-wing series which I highly recommend, you will need to read this. There is a lot of shit in this book, a whole mess of important events that you can't really just look up and events that are CONSTANTLY brought up until damn near the New Jedi Order period. This book starts RIGHT AFTER Return of the Jedi and wraps up what happened in orbit around Endor, then goes on to introduce Bakura, a major world, and the Ssi-Ruuk, a species that come up all the time in stories in the New Republic Era. The characters aren't bad, just OK, the plot isn't bad, just sub-par, and the setting is... well OK that's boring. And that's the problem with this book it is boring, but you HAVE to read it to get events that take place later.

Recommendation: If you plan to seriously read in the New Republic Era which has the best and worst books in the Expanded Universe, then this is a must read for the facts and perspective, not the writing. If you only intend to poke around and don't care if you don't understand half the event, then PLEASE skip it, you'll do yourself a favor.