Book Review: Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

 

This is another novel fleshing out the story just prior to the events of The Phantom Menace. One of the Nemoidians is willing to sell (to the highest bidder) information that the Sith still exists. Palpatine/Sidious tasks Darth Maul with tracking him down and killing him, and anyone else he may have told, so the Jedi do not discover the existence of the Sith before their plans can be set into motion. It then becomes a cat-and-mouse chase novel between Maul, a Jedi Padawan on assignment to become a full Jedi knight, and an information broker who is no fan of the Jedi, but knows enough to know the Sith coming back would not be a good thing, so helps in trying to get the information to the Jedi. Most people who are reading the book already know the story that plays out in the movies, so while you can guess how this story is going to turn out, it gets there in a very satisfying way.

Most of the main characters from the prequels are not in the book, although Mace Windu, Qui Gon, and Obi-Wan Kenobi do make an appearance. Palpatine is in the book as well, but more in the background. It is very much like many of the ancillary novels in terms of pacing, but not as bogged down with the political maneuvering that Cloak of Deception was. It is, of course, relegated to the legends (non-canon) novels post-Disney buy out to the rights to Star Wars, but given when it was set that is not likely going to be much of an issue.

Book Review: Star Wars

 

This is the novelization of the original Star Wars (before it was subtitled A New Hope) based on George Lucas' original screenplay. The story is almost exactly what you see in the movie, however, some of the dialogue is changed from what ended up on the screen (sometimes for the worse, meaning what ended up in the finished movie was better). Therefore, the story still has some of the issues that the original movie had, namely the story being a bit clunky and some of the character dialogue being pretty stupid (prompting the famous line by Harrison Ford to Lucas, "you can write this shit but you can't say it").

The book was re-released as a hardcover novel just before the special editions of the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy were released, and there is a forward written by George Lucas that discusses the original story and gives some hints about where he intended to go with the prequels. The book is short (under 300 pages) and is a quick read. Technically, the novels are not canon, just the movies, but that really is not a big issue in this case. While I would not say the book is a must-read, it is an interesting one, basically because it allows you to see the very early version of the story as compared to how it has been tweaked over the years. It definitely seems that Lucas' claim that he had the entire story mapped out from the beginning was complete bullshit and that he added major elements to the story after the original movie was a hit and he knew he could continue on with it.  

Book Review: Star Wars: Heir to the Empire - The 20th Anniversary Edition

 

Heir to the Empire was the book that, in the early 1990s, started what would become known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and what is now known as the Legends Universe. For those who do not know the history, in the late 1980s, Lucasfilm was trying to decide how to keep the Star Wars brand alive and thriving given that the original trilogy ended in 1983 after Return of the Jedi and George Lucas had not totally committed to doing the prequel trilogy. The end result was a decision to keep the stories and characters alive through novels, of which this one, written by Timothy Zahn, is the first.

The book is set five years after Return of the Jedi with The New Republic in somewhat of a stalemate with the remnants of The Empire. The Empire has regrouped under the command of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a mysterious Alien commander of the Empire's new flagship who has second-to-none strategic and analytical capabilities and studies the artwork of his adversaries to predict their actions. Leia and Han are married, Leia is pregnant with twins (which is, of course, a major change from the new canon material), and Luke is still trying to piece together the history of the Jedi in hopes to restore the Jedi order. Thrawn launches a plan to take down The New Republic, which involves attempts to capture Luke and Leia and sabotage the rest of the New Republic Leadership. Along with Thrawn, this book introduces the character of Mara Jade, who would become a critical character in subsequent books, and Talon Karrde, a smuggler with a very "New Hope" Han Solo vibe.  

This book was originally published in 1991, and this version, with annotations from the author and editor, was published in 2011 and then reprinted in hardcover after the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm. There is a pretty extensive forward in which the history of how the books came to be is laid out, and the directives from Lucas about what stories could and could not be told. For example, none of the legacy characters could be killed and none of the books could touch on Anakin's pre-Vader life. The annotations give a lot of good insight into how the story was put together and evolved over the writing of the book. Some elements from the book, like the cloning aspects have been incorporated into the new canon material, and as many probably know by now, Thrawn was brought into the canon by a series of new books by the same author and an appearance in the animated series Rebels.  At the end of the book, there is a short story titled "Crisis of Faith" which is a Thrawn-centric story that does not involve any of the legacy characters.

This, and the subsequent novels, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, were the stories that many of us hoped would be a sequel trilogy. But, the reality is, if Lucas ever was going to make more movies, it was going to be the prequels telling Anakin's story (which the forward of this book makes clear), and by the time those movies were made, the original cast members would have aged out of being able to make this story into a movie. Plus, the chances of Harrison Ford returning for a new trilogy of movies when he wanted Han killed off in Empire and Jedi were slim to none. It would be nice if the other two novels in the trilogy would get the same special editions released. Unfortunately, however, Zahn has said that at this point, Del Rey books has not shown any interest in releasing special editions of those books.  If you are a fan of Star Wars, this is a must-read as it is one of the best stories told in the Star Wars Universe, Canon, or Legends.

Book Review: Star Wars: Maul - Lockdown

 

Lockdown was one of the last novels written before Disney took over Lucasfilm, and as a result, it is one of the last Legends novels. The story is set about a year before the events of The Phantom Menace. Sidious dispatches Maul to a space prison to pose as an inmate to make contact with a weapons dealer imprisoned there. The plan is to acquire a nuclear weapon that the weapons dealer has been building in the prison and sell it to a dark-side coven called Bando Gora. The novel is kind of a mix of Star Wars and Death Race, because inmates of the prison are forced to partake in gladiator-style combat, and they have explosives in their chests to keep them in line.

Overall, the book is good, but not great. The plot is a bit silly, but there is a lot of action and the story gives more depth to the character of Darth Maul than he had before in the material that is now Legends. Of course, that changed after Disney took over, but up to this point, Maul was not really developed much beyond what we saw of him in Episode I. I would not say that the novel is a must-read, especially since it is not canon, but if you are a fan of the character of Maul, then it is still worth checking out.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic - Annihilation #StarWars

 

Annihilation is a Legends novel set in the Old Republic by veteran Star Wars author Drew Karpyshyn, who also wrote the great Darth Bane Trilogy and the Old Republic novel Revan. As almost all of the Old Republic novels have, this one includes a lot of Sith infighting and jockeying for power. In this novel, the Sith Emperor is missing and presumed dead. Darth Karrid, who is commander of the fearsome Imperial battle cruiser Ascendant Spear, tries to take control and bring Sith domination to the galaxy. The story's protagonist, Theron Shan, who is the son of a Jedi Master but not a force-user himself, heads a mission to destroy the Ascendant Spear in a joint operation between the Republic Military, the Republic's Strategic Information Service, and the Jedi Order.

The hardcover version of the book is about 330 pages long. While no characters from the Skywalker saga are in the book, the story needs only a little character development. It is easy to follow, and thus the book reads quickly. The book tells a good one-off story that does not require reading any of the other novels to follow. It has a good blend of action and intrigue. I personally like the old Sith stories when there were a bunch of Sith all trying to take control and sabotage each other. There is definitely a lot of that in this book. I would not say that the story in this book is as good as the Darth Bane trilogy. Unlike the Bane story, this one is not likely to ever be folded into the canon material, but even so, it is still worth reading.

Book Review: Star Wars: Knight Errant

 

Knight Errant is set later in the Old Republic before Darth Bane basically destroyed the Sith and instituted the rule of two. This story is set around the Sith-Republic/Jedi war. The protagonist, Kerra Holt a Padawan on a mission with her master and other Jedi in Sith Space. When the members of the group she is with are killed, she goes on a mission to take out as many Sith as she can find, first getting between Lord Daiman and his brother Lord Odion on the planet Gazzari. She helps a group of people escape Gazzari and ends up on another planet ruled over by another pair of Sith siblings. The novel is basically about Kerra going up against various Sith Lords trying to get the group of refugees out of Sith space and into the safety of the Republic.

Overall, the book is good but not memorable. It is one of those that I think is fine to read once but not one I would go back to multiple times. Chances are it is not a story that would ever be brought into the canon via a TV show or movie, which I think is ultimately fine. It is good as a one-off story, but not really anything more than that.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance

 

Fatal Alliance is a Star Wars Legends Novel set in the Old Republic era, which was introduced in a video game, then expanded in a series of novels, of which this is the first. The story involves a starship called the Cinzia that was intercepted by a smuggler named Jet Nebula. Nebula was intent on capturing the cargo contained in the Cinzia, but the ship self-destructed. The ship was carrying something valuable (we do not find out what until late in the book), and it is now in the hands of the Hutts, who intend to auction it off to the highest bidder; either from the Republic or Empire. Once the Jedi and the Sith figure out what it is, they have to team up to prevent the destruction of the galaxy.

The story is told on multiple worlds including Coruscant, the Sith homeworld Dromund Kaas, Nal Hutta, and even Tatooine. Of course, the story is set thousands of years before the events of A New Hope, so not even Yoda is around at this point in the story, but even so, the characters in the book are very well developed, and you do not really miss the absence of the more recognizable characters from the Skywalker Saga. The story is a good mix of action and intrigue, including a lot of backbiting among the Sith that was really their hallmark before the "rule of two" was instituted. Of course, the book is no longer a part of the Star Wars canon now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, but there is always the possibility that some part of the story may end up as canon if Disney decides to revive the Old Republic era. So, if you are one of those who reads some, but not all, of the Star Wars novels, this is a good one to check out.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic - Deceived

 

This is a Star Wars Legends story (meaning not a part of the canon storyline of the movies and the books that have been put out since Disney acquired Lucasfilm). It involves a Sith Lord named Darth Malgus, who ransacks the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and kills Jedi Master Ven Zallow while on On Alderaan the Jedi and Sith are trying to work out the peace treaty. Jedi Knight Aryn Leneer, who had sensed her Master Zallow's death in the Force, turns her back on the Jedi Order to go to Coruscant, find out who killed her former master, and kill the murderer.

There are a couple of intertwined plotlines in the novel. Aryn looking for Malgus and the Jedi-Sith peace negotiations. Malgus hates that the Sith Empire is negotiating peace with the Jedi, and Aryn hates that the Jedi are negotiating a peace treaty with the Sith after the Sith attacked the Jedi Temple. The crux of the story is whether Aryn will fall to the dark side in her quest for revenge and Malgus's plan to take over the Sith Empire. The book has pretty steady pacing, with the action spaced out well, and does a good job with character development. The Legends timeline is set about 3500 years before A New Hope, so not even Yoda is around at the time of the events of the novel. Even though none of the "major" Star Wars characters are in the book, it is no less entertaining than any of the novels that were set after Return of the Jedi. Of course, it is not part of the official Star Wars canon anymore, but it is still worth reading if you are one who picks and chooses different Star Wars novels to read.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic - Revan

 

Revan is a character that was introduced in the Knights of the Old Republic video game. He was a Jedi that turned to the dark side and joined the Sith (back before the Rule of Two was instituted, so he was one of many Sith) and then eventually turned back to the light and redeemed himself. The novel is written by Drew Karpyshyn who also wrote the wonderful Darth Bane trilogy of novels. The novel really tells the story of Revan after he has turned back to the light but before coming back to the Jedi order. When the book opens he is married to Jedi Master Bastila Shan and is experiencing insomnia due to a recurring nightmare he believes is part of his forgotten past as the Sith Lord Darth Revan. He believes that there is some threat to the galaxy that he cannot pinpoint and seeks help to regain his memory.

The novel has ties to the Mandalorian Wars and has a parallel plot that involves the Sith Council and a plot against Emperor Tenebrae, who is known to the Old Sith Empire as Darth Vitiate. The book has a lot of action and suspense and has very good pacing, so, it is a pretty quick read. Of course, the novel is not canon even though the character of Revan is because of references made to him in the Clone Wars series and subsequent canon novels. However, his backstory has not been told in canon. And, there are definitely elements of this novel that have been retconned, such as the mask of Mandalore being replaced by the Darksaber as the artifact that bestows leadership of the Mandalorians. And, the fact that Jedi were allowed to marry. Even though it is not canon, it is still a very good novel and worth reading if you are one who picks and chooses which Star Wars novels to read.

Book Review: Star Wars: Into the Void: (Dawn of the Jedi)

 

Into the Void is a novel that is set thousands (about 25,000) years before the events of A New Hope, about the founding of the ancient Je'daii Order (which was the precursor to the Jedi. The story is basically about a brother and sister named Lanoree and Dalien. She is a powerful Je'daii ranger, and he has no force power and hates the Je'daii order. There is a larger plot that involves a cosmic gateway called the hypergate, the opening of which would risk destroying the galaxy.

Overall, the story is good, but given that the book was written before Disney took over Lucasfilm, it is relegated to Legends status. Given where it appears in the timeline, parts of the story may or may not ever be folded into the canon, but it really does not cross into any of the "official" eras, like The High Republic, that are in the canon material. The Je'daii has some similarities with the Jedi order, but as you would expect, there are some differences too. For example, the Je'daii used swords that were imbued with the force, but they were not lightsabers like the Jedi used. So they were more like very strong Samurai swords. The story has a good mix of action, drama, and suspense. It definitely set up the possibilities of more stories from that era being told, but of course, with Disney taking over, that will probably never materialize. It is still a good story that is worth reading, however.

Book Review: Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

 

Darth Plagueis is a novel that is a mix of Canon and Legends in the Star Wars Universe. It was one of three novels that the same author wrote close in time, only one of which (Tarkin) was brought in as Canon after the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm. But, that novel refers to events in this one, so some of what is in this novel are Canon.

The novel is in part about Darth Sideous' master, Darth Plagueis, who, like Sideous hid in plain sight. In the case of Plaguies, he was a Munn banker named Hego Damask. He takes on Sheev Palpatine as an apprentice and the two live out under the "rule of two" plotting to take down the Jedi. The novel is as much an origin story for Palpatine as it is about Darth Plagueis. It is set mostly before, but partly during the events of The Phantom Menace. It opens with the murder of Plagueis by Sideous and then flashes back 35 years to chronicle the rise of both Plagueis and Sideous. Then it ends during the events of The Phantom Menace. One notable change that has been made in canon versus this novel, in the book, Sideous takes Maul as an apprentice before he kills Plagueis. That has been retconned in canon (according to Wookiepedia anyway) so that Sideous kills Plagueis earlier in time before Maul becomes his apprentice.

Overall, the book is very well-written and has a nice blend of action and the same kind of political intrigue, scheming, and backbiting we saw in The Phantom Menace. We do get some insight into Plagueis' powers and his quest for immortality, and we see just how ruthless Palpatine was, even when he was younger and less powerful. Even though it is a legends novel, it is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader

 

This was a novel put out before the Disney-Lucasfilm collaboration so, it was relegated to Legends status. It is a novel that really retells Anakin/Vader's life through his own eyes, so much of what is told (things that were seen in the movies) are still a part of the official canon. However, some of the inner monologue material and things presented from a slightly different perspective are not. Much of that has been replaced by the Vader comic series that chronicles his life after the battle of Mustafar and being put in the suit.

As others have mentioned, the book does rehash a lot of the "old" or already known material. But, that is not to say that there is nothing new in the book. We get a lot of what Anakin or Vader was actually thinking during the events, which were not always things that were in the movies. So, it is disingenuous to say that there is nothing new in it. That said, it is not going to be a book that will appeal to everyone. While I would not necessarily put it in the category of a must-read, for die-hard fans I do think it is worth checking out.

Book Review: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Darth Bane)

 

This is the first book in a trilogy of novels by the same author detailing Darth Bane's rise to power and the institution of the "rule of two" that is still canon (although often violated) based on the Star Wars movies, video games, and animated series. Bane starts out as a coal miner named Dessel in what is essentially a forced labor colony on a planet called Apatros. After a deadly encounter, he is on the run from Republic authorities and winds up at a Sith academy where he is a standout student. He quickly realizes that the Sith as they are currently constituted will end up destroying themselves and he manipulates events that allow him to institute the rule of two, one master to have power and one apprentice to crave power.

The story is very well-paced, intertwining action sequences with drama and intrigue. It is set well before the events of the prequel series (about 1000 years), so there are no "recognizable" characters in the novel, but it really does not suffer from that like some of the newer canon novels do. Even though this book has been relegated to Legends status after the takeover of Lucasfilm by Disney, the character of Darth Bane is canon from the Clone Wars series, and of course, the rule of two was mentioned in The Phantom Menace. And, because it is set so far in the past, it does not impact the stories that are currently canon, and at least parts of it could be brought into canon via new movies or tv series.

Overall, it is a very good book, telling a good story. And, it is one of the better stories outside of the Skywalker saga that there is. Hopefully, the book will be brought back into canon sometime down the line (or a new book that incorporates some of what is in this novel, such as has been the case with the new canon novels set around the character Grand Admiral Thrawn). It is definitely worth the read.

Book Review: Cloak of Deception

 

Cloak of Deception is one of the novels that is relegated to Legends status since the LucasFilm buyout by Disney. It is set just before the events of The Phantom Menace. For those who hated all the political maneuvering and subplots of The Phantom Menace, this book has quite a bit of that. Set around that is a plot to assassinate Chancellor Valorum, with the strings being pulled by Palpatine. At this point, Palpatine is just a "lowly" Senator from Naboo and is getting ready for the eventual power grab that will enable him to eventually become Emperor.

Even though the novel is no longer canon, it ties into other storylines that are, including The Phantom Menace movie and the book Tarkin by the same author which is considered canon. This book also established Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's relationship and fleshed it out a bit. Of course, this aspect of the book has basically been replaced by the canon novel Master and Apprentice which is also set prior to The Phantom Menace. 

Overall, the book tells a good story. While some of the political subtexts that bogged down The Phantom Menace movie is in the book, it does not slow down the plot of the book. The book manages to weave in the action sequences between the slower parts that made it work. That is always one advantage of a book over a movie and it worked well here. And, as I said, parts of the book are kind of grandfathered into the canon based on the novels Darth Pleguis and Tarkin by the same author that made up a loose trilogy of novels about the events that lead up to and shortly after the formation of the Empire. It is definitely a good read for those who are fans of Star Wars novels.

Book Review: Secrets of the Galaxy Deluxe Box Set

 

This is a set of essentially four handbooks, one given to Jedi Padawans, one for the Imperial Academy troops, one for members of the Bounty Hunter's Guild, and one that is really a written Sith history. They do not read like novels, but more like instruction manuals, codes for the members of the intended audience to live by, etc. In the margins, there are notes by different characters making comments on the text, that range from Luke, Han, Boba Fett, Palpatine, Anakin (both the Jedi version of Anakin and later as Vader), Ashoka, etc. 

The books are relegated to "legends" status and not a part of the official canon material, but certainly, some of the material in them are tied to canon events, so they are kind of a hybrid between non-canon and canon material. They are all relatively short (about 160 pages each), and for the most part, are quick reads. The one drawback is that the "handwritten" notes in the margins can be very hard to read, both because the text size is small, and because it was made to look like handwriting, and sometimes very messy handwriting. They are not what I would call a must-read, even for die-hard Star Wars fans, but they are entertaining. 

Book Review: Darth Maul (Star Wars Episode I Journal # 3)

 

This is one of a set of kid's books that were released around the time of the Phantom Menace movie that fleshed out the storylines of the characters. There was one from Anakin's point of view, one from Padme's point of view, and one from Maul's point of view. This actually details Maul's journey from shortly before the events of the movie up to the point he goes off to duel Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. It is a very quick read, and while it is a kid's book, definitely enjoyable for an adult. And, while it is now considered a "Legends" book, there is really nothing in it that conflicts with the canon material. Given that Maul was one of the best parts of the movie (if not the best part), and he got such little screen time, this does a good job of fleshing out the character and detailing what he was thinking as everything was going on.