main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Club Jocasta - Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by cubman987 , Aug 15, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Dagobahsystem

    Dagobahsystem Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2015
    I will admit the Jedi died honorably, yet Asajj did her duty as well, while under extreme pressure and potential consequences.
    Agreed, this section is definitely a highlight/climax of the book.

    Great catch of the Mark Twain reference! Subtext Mining :)

    And the description of Sidious in the book as "an expert in personal disintegration" is spot on.
    Remember Sidious at the beginning of ROTS, when talking to Anakin "Kill him. Kill him now." And then reminding Anakin about his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders, foreshadowing Order 66.
     
    Sable_Hart and Subtext Mining like this.
  2. Subtext Mining

    Subtext Mining Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Finished. I like Scouts thoughts on one's life being like a drop of water building up, then falling into the water and becoming one with it forever. Reminds me a little of Roy Batty's "Tears in the Rain" speech.

    I also like the descriptions of what it's like to feel the Force strongly in a particular place and the specific sensations Dooku feels through the Force as Yoda nears the Chateau.

    And Vjun's practice of midi-chlorian breeding. Shades of Darth Plagueis, no?

    Scout's comment on how the surviving Jedi who returned from Geonosis have changed was very poignant.

    I’ll ask the obvious question, what do you guys think of Yoda’s tactic of trying to get Dooku to convince him to turn to the dark side? I get the impression Dooku’s intention of the whole tryst was to either turn Yoda or kill him, right? And in knowing this, Yoda used some mental martial arts, much like in the push-feather game. By inquiring into the dark side he showed Dooku it’s ultimate shortcomings while trying to get him to come back to the light.
    And to echo Tony's question, how do you guys feel about Yoda thinking there was a chance to persuade Dooku back to the light, when he was certain there was no hope for Vader?

    I liked Yoda’s use of the rose, illustrating that the dark side can’t create life, all while reminding Dooku of his youth on Serenno.

    Still, it seemed a little unnecessarily repetitive to have Dooku & Yoda duel each other only to have Dooku escape by endangering the lives of Anakin & Obi-Wan whom Yoda must save. Boo on that.

    So, was Asajj trying to turn Whie to the dark side to be her apprentice?

    In some ways this book is a nice little psychological thriller with lots of interesting paralleling motifs & arcs.

    All in all, like Tony, I felt the conclusions were a little unsatisfying. For plot development and resolution I feel this book disappoints. On the other side of the coin however, I liked most of the insights into the Force and into the character’s thoughts and feelings. Here I felt the book delivers quite well and even makes up for the otherwise flat story.

    And yes, I also found the use of a civilian as a Yoda decoy to be very unseemly, even if trying to illustrate the Jedi going astray as participants in a war. Took me out of the story.

    I hate to rate books, but I found this one a 1.5 out of 5, with the insights being it’s only saving grace, along with seeing a Padawan with a minimal connection to the Force. And it takes a lot for me to not love a SW book, especially in the PT-era. I get the feeling it was given a short development stage and was rushed?
    At times this feels like a junior novel. I mean, most SW YA novels are great, but, I don't think this is supposed to be one.

    Definitely foreshadowings of Anakin's fall through Whie's arc woven in there, but it was a little too on the nose.

    And ultimately, I'm not sure if Stewart is writing Dooku inconsistently here or if I'm missing something, but in the end I see the Dooku of the films, not conflicted. He merely wanted to lure Yoda into a trap so he could kill him, and enjoy it, as he says. But then there's all the inner dialogue we get before and after that, albeit somewhat open to interpretation.
     
  3. Tonyg

    Tonyg Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 16, 2016
    I would give it 2 stars for the interesting premising around the arc of masters and padawans. But for me the big problem is ideed that the side characters are even better developed than the main ones and this make the book looks like somehow unfinished.
     
    Subtext Mining and kalzeth like this.
  4. Dagobahsystem

    Dagobahsystem Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2015
    I give YDR 4 out of 4 stars. I really had a fun time reading it and I loved all of the master/apprentice interactions and dynamics. Definitely one of the easiest SW reads I've had, meaning that the pages flew by and it was quite the page turner. I've read some other EU novels that were occasionally a bit of a chore to get through.

    Anyhow, I would definitely recommend and reread YDR. Awesome PT era story with excellent characters.
     
    Subtext Mining and BookExogorth like this.
  5. The Supreme Chancellor

    The Supreme Chancellor Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Why so?
     
  6. Sable_Hart

    Sable_Hart Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2009
    I'm always surprised when anyone assigns YDR a low score. For my money, it's the best-written book with the words "Star Wars" slapped on the title. All the major pillars of a great story - prose, characterization, dialogue, atmosphere, etc. - are just absolutely sublime. Stewart captures the Yoda of yore that we know and love without undermining his tragic story arc in the prequels. Has there ever been a more compelling POV-Sith Lord than Stewart's Dooku? Lesser authors tend to fall into one of two pitfalls with POV Sith Lords: they either make them completely irredeemable and unlikable so as to be poor protagonists OR they whitewash their villainy in an attempt to endear them to the audience. Stewart doesn't do that. All of Dooku's magnificence and villainy are on display here: he's brilliant and charming and commanding and polite and reasonable and logical but also petty and jealous and insecure and irrationally angry and fearful and unbelievably cruel. He's as three-dimensional as a Sith Lord protagonist can possibly be. It's such a great insight into the dangerous but impotent despair of the Sith, rivaled only perhaps by Stover's Anakin in ROTS. I could go on and on about the other components: how sharp and effective the prose is, how memorable the dialogue, how diverse the atmosphere is - at times hilarious, at times heartwrenching, at times hopeful, at times thrilling, etc.

    5/5 from me!


    Just seems incongruent with the character. I mean, there's no question Dooku's evil, but Stover's iteration attributes villainous qualities to him - like xenophobia - that are just... unnecessary.
     
  7. cubman987

    cubman987 Friendly Neighborhood Saga/Music/Fun & Games Mod star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2014
    Realized I never posted my final thoughts on the book.

    Overall, I liked it. I don't think I liked it as much as other people seem to but I did enjoy it. Honestly anything exploring Yoda and Dooku's relationship I thought was top notch. I would have actually liked to have had more of that and less of some of the other stuff. The characters introduced in the book were solid, Scout and Whie were good characters and the evolution of their relationship throughout was well done. Knowing how Ventress ends up in Canon, I find it hard to believe this Ventres would end up in the same place, though I know that's not in any way the fault of Stewart as at the time this easily worked. I liked her in this though, very ruthless and her wanting to become Dooku's apprentice and the exploration into that dynamic was well done. I guess if I were going to give it a grade it would be 3/4.


    Anyways, if anyone else has any other thoughts to add on this book go ahead and do so soon. I'll probably be starting up a new vote thread here real soon.
     
    kalzeth and Subtext Mining like this.
  8. cubman987

    cubman987 Friendly Neighborhood Saga/Music/Fun & Games Mod star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2014
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.