This is one of the first, in time and chronology canon novels (aside from the existing novelizations of the six movies) to be released under the Disney helm post-purchase of the rights to Star Wars. It is set 8 years after the events of Revenge of The Sith, with Vader installed as the Emperor's right hand/weapon. The Emperor himself is still hiding the fact that he is a Sith Lord from the masses, playing a public role of a weak old man who is just a politician. The Jedi are essentially gone (with Obi-Wan and Yoda in hiding) and it seems the galaxy is beginning to forget about them. Vader is known by reputation as having powers most do not understand, and it is a world where very few know of his true identity as Anakin Skywalker.
The book also focuses on the beginnings of what would become the Rebellion, set around the planet Ryleth and Twi'lek freedom fighters led by Cham Syndulla who was a character in the Clone Wars television series. The organization who have a local imperial in their pocket learns that Vader and the Emperor are going to be coming to the planet with the Senator for the planet. They see an opportunity to take out the head of the empire and the local Moff and hatch a plot to bring down their Star Destroyer. I will not spoil the rest of the plot although everyone knows that Vader and the Emperor survive, but the story of how is really well done and suspenseful.
To me, the best part of the story is the focus on Vader and the Emperor's relationship, and what we get of Vader's state of mind. He has lost everything he loves, and is fueled by rage, and does not care for anyone besides his master, whom he is already considering overthrowing. We learn that he is still haunted by the memories of his past life as Anakin, and uses those to enable his anger and make himself more powerful. We also get a reminder of just how powerful Palpatine is when he wants to be and a sequence where he and Vader take out an entire colony of predatory insect-like creatures native to the planet. It does a lot to set up the characters we eventually see in the original trilogy.
While I do not think the book is perfect, I think it is well done for what it was. I would have liked it to be a novel that gave more post-prequel trilogy check-in on all the major characters. Even just cameos for Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa raising Leia would have been a nice touch. Those novels may, of course, come down the line, but given what the focus of this book was, it was done well. I would definitely recommend it to get more of the canon storyline.
The book also focuses on the beginnings of what would become the Rebellion, set around the planet Ryleth and Twi'lek freedom fighters led by Cham Syndulla who was a character in the Clone Wars television series. The organization who have a local imperial in their pocket learns that Vader and the Emperor are going to be coming to the planet with the Senator for the planet. They see an opportunity to take out the head of the empire and the local Moff and hatch a plot to bring down their Star Destroyer. I will not spoil the rest of the plot although everyone knows that Vader and the Emperor survive, but the story of how is really well done and suspenseful.
To me, the best part of the story is the focus on Vader and the Emperor's relationship, and what we get of Vader's state of mind. He has lost everything he loves, and is fueled by rage, and does not care for anyone besides his master, whom he is already considering overthrowing. We learn that he is still haunted by the memories of his past life as Anakin, and uses those to enable his anger and make himself more powerful. We also get a reminder of just how powerful Palpatine is when he wants to be and a sequence where he and Vader take out an entire colony of predatory insect-like creatures native to the planet. It does a lot to set up the characters we eventually see in the original trilogy.
While I do not think the book is perfect, I think it is well done for what it was. I would have liked it to be a novel that gave more post-prequel trilogy check-in on all the major characters. Even just cameos for Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa raising Leia would have been a nice touch. Those novels may, of course, come down the line, but given what the focus of this book was, it was done well. I would definitely recommend it to get more of the canon storyline.
No comments:
Post a Comment