Lords of the Sith - Novel Review

       When it comes to the new Star Wars canon, Lords of the Sith has been hyped up as one of the best, if not the best, of the new canon. The cover of the book makes it seem as if the plot revolves around a mission involving the Emperor and Darth Vader, however, this is definitely not the case. Going into the book, I had no idea that the novel actually revolves around separate stories that are coinciding and ultimately having a profound impact on each other. This, in essence, can throw some readers off if they have no pre-existing knowledge of it as it can take a while to really get into the book's fantastic moments.
       Starting off, the book is separated into stories involving the Emperor and Vader, Cham Syndulla and his group of rebels, Lieutenant Belkor who is watching over Ryloth, and, eventually, Moff Mors who is in charge of overseeing Ryloth but really doesn't. Right off the bat, the Emperor and Vader portions of the book were phenomenal! It was incredible reading about their interactions and how they play off each other in that every feeling and, sometimes, thought that Vader has can be felt by the Emperor. I loved getting to read the moments where the light side keeps pulling at Vader and showing him glimpses of his former self, yet he has to brush those emotions away because he's no longer Anakin Skywalker. He's the ruthless Dark Lord of the Sith, and you really get to see that in this book. The ferocity and viciousness of Vader and Palpatine shines throughout this book as they slash, quite literally, their way to their ultimate goal. They don't hold back, and it really does keep you at the edge of your seat, especially if you're listening to the audiobook, which incorporates the wonderful score of the movies. If the book were to only focus off their story, I would honestly give it a 10/10. However...
       My biggest gripe has to be with the other portions of the book. Cham Syndulla comes off as a great leader, but I simply had an issue with his follower, Isval. I hated her probably since the beginning. She's the type of character whose brash and usually does things without thinking things through as long as she can kill as many of her enemies as she can. That's her attitude when it comes to Imperials. I wanted her dead so much because of how much the book dragged on about her and her hate towards Imperials. She would constantly complain to Cham about missions and how they needed to get the job done. This kept annoying me as that was probably the only thing she would keep blabbering on about every time she appeared. You would think the book would rather focus more on the hero of Ryloth, Cham Syndulla, but it doesn't, and I think that's a real flaw with this book.
       Lieutenant Belkor is almost the same as Isval in that their character focuses on one thing and never show any real character development. He essentially wants to overthrow Moff Mors and become Moff. I'll leave it at that since there's not much to talk about him. Moff Mors, on the other hand, is a much better character. She might actually be the surprise standout of this book. The development of her character from when you first meet her is drastic, and you start getting a better sense of why she was like that as the plot progresses. When you have a character like Mors standout from Cham's rebels and Belkor, it really gives you a sense of the flaws this book has in trying to develop newer characters for the new canon.
       The main plot and climax of the book is exhilarating, to say the least. The lesser ones the book has to offer simply drag the book on by trying to establish certain characters that aren't all that necessary to the overall story. The only thing I can say that might save the character of Isval for me going forward is that she is somewhat important to Cham and that might have a strong impact on his character going forward as a revolutionary. Other than that, it's a fine read for Star Wars fans that simply want to get a story revolving around Palpatine's role as master to Darth Vader by constantly testing his allegiance to continuing as a Sith Lord, as well as the evils these two are capable of. I'm split on how to grade this, so I'll just give it a B-. 
       I enjoyed it, just not as much as probably everyone else. Please don't let my attitudes towards certain characters deter you from reading it. Hopefully, you do enjoy this book and all it has to offer.

Star Wars Book Canon

For a short list of the Star Wars Book Canon that does not include the short stories, TV episodes, and comics, please click on the "Book Canon" tab on the right side of the page. I was not sure whether it should have been on the Updated Canon page or not, so I made a separate page. I also did not include the short stories as I know many are not able to get access to those stories as they are mostly in the Star Wars Insider magazine.

Dark Disciple - Novel Review

       Growing up, I always enjoyed going to my local library to check out their Star Wars comics. The ones my library for some unknown reason had were based on the Jedi Master, Quinlan Vos. This then led to me always stating him as my favorite Jedi until high school, which was where I changed my answer to Obi-Wan Kenobi. So when I heard that Del Rey was releasing a new canon book based around Quinlan Vos, I can say that I was beyond excited. Plus, it's based on episodes of The Clone Wars that were not able to be done due to being cancelled, and if you know me, you know how much I loved The Clone Wars.

       Going into this book, you don't really know what to expect as its premise revolves around the Jedi Order sending Quinlan Vos to recruit Asajj Ventress in order to assassinate Count Dooku. However, if you've seen Revenge of the Sith, you know that never happens. Even though that's the case, this book still really entertains you while keeping you wondering what might happen next. This is due to the fact that we don't know the fates of Vos and Ventress post-Revenge of the Sith since Disney wiped the Expanded Universe and made it Legends. I should add, however, that even though both Ventress and Vos are on the cover, this is mostly Vos's story with Ventress being a close second.

       The mission just to even get Ventress on Vos's side makes it that much more entertaining. Knowing Vos's reputation as a reckless Jedi,  the book shows just how much more than that he really is. I really enjoyed how the novel explores his frame of mind both as a Jedi and a human being in that it parallels the conflicting emotions Anakin Skywalker had in the lead-up to him joining the Dark Side. The raw feelings he developed genuinely made you feel for the character and his struggle with sticking to the Jedi Code. 

       His chemistry with Obi-Wan and Ventress is phenomenally portrayed whereby the interactions both characters have with Vos play out as an actual Clone Wars episode. With regards to Vos's friendship with Kenobi, the novel really explored their friendship as a brotherhood and explains it really well by showing how close they are even when the other may be lost, which the films unfortunately could not capture between Anakin and Ob-Wan. This brotherhood really, in my opinion, gives the reader a stronger appreciation for Obi-Wan as an overall character who never truly gives up on his friends as long as there is a glimmer of hope. With respect to Ventress, the novel grasps the difficulty it would naturally be for Vos to be on good terms with Ventress. She shuts herself out to the world and doesn't care, which makes her relationship with Vos all the more entertaining. 

       Speaking of Ventress, she's still working as a bounty hunter, and she is just as angry as ever. I loved how commanding of a presence she has in the novel even though it does revolve around Vos. You can tell how much Christie Golden understands the character of Ventress and her struggle after being tossed aside by Dooku. Her hatred for Dooku is apparent, but it's not as much as you would think in that she's mostly come to terms with it. By the time you meet her, you know she's doing fine as a bounty hunter even though she's built somewhat of a bad reputation among other bounty hunters. I really liked how this book explores her past and her emotions because it makes you have empathy for her character. You learn that under that hard exterior, she is just as prone to emotional damage and scarring as any other person. Because of this, Ventress really shines and dominates the pages she's in.

       Given the praise I have for the main characters, there are some glaring negatives I have with it. First and foremost, the story does drag on. The book dwells too much on Vos's need to gain Ventress's trust as an ally and partner once (spoiler-not spoiler) she does team up with him to hunt for bounties. It mostly drags because you know what his real mission is, yet it takes a while for the Dooku plot to finally kick in. Another issue I had with the overall story was how the story also lags once something important occurs to Quinlan Vos, which was incredibly predictable in the lead-up to it. The way the book drags on twice throughout it, you can tell how the book was only meant to be a three to four episode arc in total. Unfortunately, it felt as if they crammed six to ten episodes into this one book along with the fillers of those episodes, as well as sometimes appearing as two different books due to the shifts in its tone.

       Another issue I had with the story was how easily the Jedi Order would resort to assassination. Before anyone yells at me thinking that I spoiled this, you should know that this is basically decided in the first chapter. Most of the masters would automatically approve the use of it, with Obi-Wan the only one who ever really opposed it, and Yoda never once thought, "Hey, let's calm down and think this through. Maybe assassination makes us just as bad as the Sith, and there might be unintended consequences if we go down this path." But no, Yoda just okays everything without really objecting to it. Mace Windu is just as bad, if not worse, in that he's the one constantly calling for it. It's as if he's officially gone to the Dark Side or just practices it himself. This all just shows how truly lost the Jedi Order really was and how far they had lost their ways. The peace-loving warrior who seeks justice is nowhere to be seen except in Obi-Wan Kenobi. It boggles my mind how much that statement is true. 

       Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Do I think it's flawless? No. It has its issues, but I think it's easy to overlook them. Dark Disciple is a great addition to the new canon due to its engaging, sometimes though-provoking, and entertaining text about a Jedi who doesn't really know if he wants to continue being a Jedi, and a former Sith apprentice who only wants to escape the past and look towards a future on her own terms. I really liked how it gives some more details about the Jedi Order just before Revenge of the Sith, and how certain decisions they make can end up haunting them in the long run. Dark Disciple is emotional and fun, with great action sequences, and I really hope that people get a chance to read it. If I were to rate it, I'd give it a solid B. I think those who've seen the Clone Wars will really gravitate towards these characters and really enjoy the story it has to offer.