*Official* LABYRINTH OF EVIL Thread (direct lead-in to ROTS!)

I just finished it, and was very happy. My absolute favorite part was C3P-O's conversation with TC-16 at the end of chapter 53. Breaks me heart ...

I posted this in another thread, but I am re-posting it here, as it is appropriate to this discussion:

I think it's interesting that Luceno left the whole Syfo-Dyas sub-plot vague, while still seeming to "answer" the mystery.

We still really have no idea who Sifo-Dyas is/was, just that he was a confidant and friend of Dooku. Garth_Maul is right to remind us: we hear it on Yoda's authority that Sifo-Dyas ordered the clones from Kamino. But who knows what the nature of Yoda's "evidence" is. And if Sifo-Dyas was so concerned about the "coming darkness," then why wouldn't he take his concerns to the Jedi Council directly? What was he hoping to achieve by secretly ordering a clone army?!

On the whole, I remain dissatisfied by Luceno's apparent solution to the mystery of Sifo-Dyas.

But a great book, nevertheless.

 

So how much do the Jedi know about Sidious at the end of LOE?

 

The Jedi are now sure Sidious exists and they are also sure he is really affecting the Senate... before they didn't think they could trust the information Dooku gave to Obi-Wan on Geonosis. They come very close to discovering Sidious' lair. I think they also know that Sidious is controlling Grevious. Yoda is also suddenly able to sense Sidious on Coruscant, and also when he leaves. Somehow he has finally been able to "tune in" to the Sith. However, he can't sense it well enough to tell it's Palpatine.

The only thing that isn't explained enough is why Sifo-Dyas ordered the army without telling anyone but Dooku. I suppose he could have been that dissatisfied with the Jedi, or at least had some kind of foresight that told him they'd need the army, and no one else believed him. He could have taken his concerns to the Council, we just don't know. I do really like the idea that this Jedi, who was still Dooku's best confidant, was the one who ordered the army and Dooku had to kill him for it. Nice character development.

 

Did Dooku kill him because he was about to tell the Council?



Star Wars is six, two and one
/LM

 

He killed Sifo-Dyas to keep him from telling anybody, especially the Council. It was on Sidious' orders.

 

Cool. There's no doubt the Sifo-Dyas mystery will be touched upon in ROTS, so no wonder it was left vague in this book.



Star Wars is six, two and one
/LM

 

I really want this, but I am afraid to at the same time.

I know it has been said that if I am going to watch Clone Wars season 2....then this will not spoil anything.

I just fear that by reading this I may spoil something

 

Have you read the opening crawl? It contains the one main spoiler in the book. There really aren't many at all, unless you don't want to know anything at all about Grevious, or how the Battle of Coruscant begins.

 

Yeah, it will be interesting to read LoE after ROTS, because I bet many things will become much clearer.

 

I did not read the openig scroll.

I am just sitting on the fence in regards to this book.

Maybe I just need to find another book to read to take my mind off it.

 

Read Dark Rendezvous, if you haven't, that'd be a good alternative.

 

I know I'm behind the times, but LoE is out already? Darn it. I just checked the Star Wars shelf at the local bookstore a few days ago and didn't see it, so I assumed it hadn't arrived yet. I'll have to set a larger search radius and hunt it down.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Luceno's writing. I thought Agents of Chaos I & II were among the worst entries in the NJO series, trailed only by Dark Journey (Cunningham's relentless Mary Sue-ization of Tenel Ka and her rippling muscles and her beautiful hair and her incredible warrior woman prowess made me want to poke my eyes out). Luceno throws in so many superfluous descriptions in an attempt to be artistic that he's hard to understand on a first read-through. I can't tell you how many times I would sometimes have to reread his long paragraphs about explosions that bloomed in space like a red, red rose.

Anyhow. Enough griping, especially since I know I'm going to read this book anyway for the RotS value.

 

It's worth it for the ROTS value and Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship, more insight into Grievous and Sidious.

I didn't gag as much as usual with Luceno's writing. No, I'm exaggerating.

 

Oh come on, guys, you can't fault Luceno for trying to bring some artful writing to Star Wars.

[sarcasm]Boo hoo -- you have to read your paragraphs more carefully. I feel sorry for you.[/sarcasm]

I would prefer the fanciful comparison of an explosion to a rose than an artless sentence like, "**** blew up."

 

Yeah, at least he's not the guys who wrote "Jedi Trial".

Or Anne Rice... damn that woman can describe.

 

I like Luceno.

 

or Charles Dickens.

 

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I actually like Luceno's writing style. I'm also a big fan of the "name dropping" and other references. That just appeals to the way my mind works, I guess.

 

I have to agree with what has been said about the desriptions. But the last chapter..

 

I'm a little over a 100 pages into it. It is about what I expected, over-hyped, overly praised on the JC, and just typical Luceno. The man has a great vocabulary, but somehow messes up in the sequence of it. The name dropping is annoying and takes away from the plot. I'm not at all impressed and don't really want to continue at all. It is the same old Luceno, who would rather repeat a hundred stories that have already been told rather than telling a new one. I'm very bored with it and frustrated from reading it this afternoon.

It has lowered my expectations of Revenge of the Sith, so far.


-Seldon

 

Seldon, you are the consummate pessimist... truly impressive.

 

It is getting better as it develops further, I just don't think it is anything to rave about.

-Seldon

 

If you look at it solely in terms of plot elements for ROTS, then it works - Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship is great, and it's nice to see the Dooku/Sidious interplay as well.

Plus the last 1/4 of the book is quite cool.

The first third is probably the worst, it gets better as it goes along.

There's one point I wanted to raise here, for people that have already read the book completely:

When Dooku sets up Anakin and Obi-Wan, he hides himself in the Force using a "Quey'tek" technique, yet they still manage to sense him.

And Dooku is very impressed with them.

Are Obi-Wan and Anakin going to be able to sense Palpatine hiding himself in the Force? Is this the same technique Palpatine uses?

I also find it interesting the way Dooku always says "The Force is with us, Lord Sidious."

Then in LoE he talks about how the Force is no longer with the Jedi, but Anakin and Obi-Wan are so exceptional, he almost thinks the Force might still be with them.

I wonder if we'll see any of this sort of discussion in ROTS.

 

I got my copy of LoE last Friday, and I have to agree with Seldon: to this point, I don't think it's anything special.
I liked how the story goes deeper into some of the scenes of AOTC however, like the whole Sifo-Dyas mystery, Dooku's turn to the Dark Side, and especially the scene in which Dooku tries to get Obi-Wan to join him.

 

Just finished reading the book, and it was a pretty good read. If there was one gripe I had about this book, it'd be the lack of suspense and urgency. This book leads directly into the events of ROTS yet the tone of much of the book remains light. I also think that the title "Labyrinth of Evil" is not an accurate reflection of the book itself.