Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: DARK LORD: THE RISE OF DARTH VADER (spoilers)

And hey, when's this one coming out in the US?

 

In 11 days.

OPPFS

 

Right. Thanks for that.
I'm hungry to see what others have made of this book.

[image=http://www.skapunkandotherjunk.com/images/Icons/airplane_funnyguy.gif]
"Well, I could make a hat, or a broach, or a..."

 

Knowing Luceno this book will be horribly written and in general complete trite. Therefore it is logical to conclude that it will be considered a classic of the EU--hailed by fans as a work of genius.

That is just my feeling and experience with Luceno. Perhaps it will be an interesting story, but that is about it. You can count on zero character development and a lack of description.

-Seldon

 

Seldon,

Given the title, what exactly do you expect? It's a novel about the ascendance of evil, which is, effectively, when you get right down to it, surprisingly simplistic and banal.

JB

 

I found this one a great read with a few very nice twists (as well as dramatic scenes)...

 

Loved it.

Luceno knocked my socks off with his Vader.

I give it a 8.5 out of 10. The only thing keeping this from being a 10 is the random Jedi used as Vader's "kill" in this book. I couldn't get drawn into their story, perhaps if it had been a more well-known Jedi like Tholme or Vos.

But the Vader parts were awesome, Luceno lets us the Vader that wanted to die. The part that is still Anakin.

One of the most brilliant lines in the book is when Vader guestures to himself and Sidious and says, "Do we look like the victors?" He is uncomfortable with himself and his deeds at first, but of course, by the end of the book we come to understand how the character will evolve into the Vader of the OT.

I loved the parts with Bail, Mon Mothma and Obi-Wan, also. Luceno is continuing the tradition of great prequel books and this one ties up the ROTS "trilogy" nicely and fits with "In His Image", also.

 

Counting 6 ratings: 49.5/6 = 8.25

 

is there as much Vader as the book advertizes?

What I mean is, is this book centered mostly around our favorite baddy?

I'm just really just forcing myself not to read any of the spoilers

 

Well we find out the fate of four major characters Fang Zar (who meets his end in one of the coolest parts of the book when Vader apparently well out of range throws his lightsaber at him),
Captain Appo of the 501st (who loses his head to the jedi Roan during the enslavement of Kashyyyk),

D'oh. I liked those guys (this is a good d'oh).

[/i]Tarfull (who is captured & enslaved) & Chewie who manages to escape his home world with the remaining jedi.[/i]

Not Tarfull! To be expected, but still,

The final duel between Vader & Roan is good, as we see how far Vader has fallen in terms of lightsaber technique (he is struck with numerous glancing blows) but the power of the darkside leads him to victory.

Thank goodness. Nowhere in the OT do we see Vader go Mustafar on anybody and this fall in skill should be reflected.

The change in Vader prospective throughout the book is done well, he starts the book as a beaten man who cant believe how far he has fallen, by the end of the book however Vader has truly embraced the darkside & is planning to find an apprentice & kill Palpatine (which is what palpatine wants).

Oo oo! Lumiya? Or does she come later? That's one EU character that I've never heard of that I'm genuinely interested in. I hope she's as good as Asaaj (who I loved).

Bail Organa + Obi Wans discovering that Anakin has survived is priceless
Obi Wans first conversation with Qui Gon (QGJ ensures Kenobi that Vader will near return to Tatooine as the planet has caused him too much pain)

Addressed and stamped. I'm glad they didn't forget about Qui-Gon (for whatever reason, I could see him being overlooked).

The enslavement of Kashyyyk, with palpatine allowing some jedi to travel to the planet so he can claim the wookies were aiding the jedi

Another sigh of relief. The Empire was not all-opwerful even by ANH (enough officers seemed to be worrying what the Senate would think). It's good that LFL realizes that within this time frame, until the Death Star is built and Palpatine can run amok (including disbaning the Senate), Palpatine still must put on a facade of "I'm a good guy doing what must be done." I'm glad this is being axknowledged.

So. those were my big worries and questions and they were answered. I'll have no worries about picking up this book. I'm not expecting poetry that was RotS, I'm expecting only that Luceno do what he does best: Take care of straggling matters into a fairly cohesive story.

 

couple questions. how does bail discover anakin survived? does obi-wan discover anakin's survival through qui-gon? and can u describe bail organa's close encounter w/ vader where he nearly meets leia?

 

After a session with the new Emperor, where Palpatine has basically read the riot act to all the most important senators, Bail is talking to Mon Mothma outside when a shuttle lands. He sees Vader come out, doesn't recognise him, but then overhears one of the stormtroopers refer to him as 'Lord Vader' as he strides past. Bail's a bit disturbed, putting it mildly.

Obi-Wan is drinking in a cantina on Tatooine when the holonet is reporting the battle on Kashyyyk. He also doesn't recognise Vader buts hears the 'Lord Vader' name and is stunned. I thought both scenes were very well done in the reactions depited, especially for Kenobi.

As for Bail meeting Vader...the main thing is that Bail is trying to keep the droids, his wife (can't remember her name) and Leia away from him. At one point she appears on the holo and Bail has to cut her off. Vader says he wants to see her and the child, curiousity, but the escape of Zang Far interrupts all that. Sorry I can't remember more detail about it.

 

@ Damon's "Airplane!/Flying High" reference!!!

E_S

 

I think this book is about on the same level or perhaps slightly below labyrinth, but it?s no were near as good as the amazing ROTS in my humble opinion. Looking back at my reading of the book I think I may have been slightly harsh towards the new jedi, its just I was dying for vader material & reading about a group of newly introduced jedi just felt like padding. If a name jedi were involved things would have been a lot more interesting.

 

Anyone else read it yet?

 

Your description of the reaction is very interesting and almost enough by itself to make me want to read the book.

 

i'll definately be getting this book

 

Well hey, thank you. If you like my description then maybe you should ask Healer_Leona about my single fanfiction attempt sometime

 

This book was released today in the US. With a holiday weekend coming up, there's no excuse for the reviews not to start pouring in. . .

 

I've got the book, and I've read the first 10 chaps. Feeling more for Roan Shryne and the other Jedi than I expected. Will certainly be up for a review and some great discussion when I've finished.

 

Bueller?

 

Well, the reviews should come pouring in now.
Any minute....aaaaaany minute....NOW.

...


Aaaany minute...

 

I'll be getting it today so expect my gushing review soon.

Well, I'm actually a little nervous about this one because I've not read too many original characters from Luceno. Here's hoping it'll be a winner!

 

Maybe you should wait for people to actually read it first...

 

I've read two chapters so far.