Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: TARKIN (spoilers)

I'm really kind of sorry to say this considering Plagueis is easily in my top 3 SW novels and I had put Luceno on a pedestal in my mind but.... this book was not good. It felt like he didn't even try. If not for some obvious giveaways in terms of style I would not want to believe Luceno wrote it. Biggest problem was that the plot was boring and the main character couldn't save it as he was also fairly boring. Really Tarkin and Vader chase after a stolen ship? Even the side characters weren't interesting at all. I remember that just in one chapter Plagueis made me care a bit about the crew of that ship Plagueis stowed away on in the beginning and it made his killing them all the worse. He couldn't make me care about this crew with a whole novel. I was so bored I almost gave up which I don't easily do. Some of these scores are way too generous (in my opinion of course) for such a lazy effort.

2/10

Guess JJM is my new current favorite as Kenobi and A New Dawn were both fantastic!

 

I am sorry you deem Tarkin 'lazy' but I respect it. Given how many speak regarding the story and presentation I am inclined to think it is personal bias that hinders enjoyment in some cases not Luceno's topic or story.

 

It's important to note that Plagueis was not written under a normal super-tight tie-in fiction schedule; it was cancelled, and Luceno had plenty of time to work on it. That's why it's the best Star Wars novel. I doubt this will happen again. No one should have expected "Plagueis 2.0".

The Tarkin biographical segments are the best thing about the book -- they are the best thing that has happened to Tarkin since 1977. In the EU, Tarkin wasn't well-defined; he was more of a generic genocidal dick. Now he makes sense. Considering that the novel is entitled Tarkin, this is a success. The Coruscant scenes are great. We see how the heart of the Empire works, and meet many old EU friends (or, you know, old EU slimy Imperial @$$&%es). The chase scenes... are uninteresting. The Sherlock Holmes shtick works, but it never feels like that ship, and the idiots who stole it, are worth all the effort. And any scenes from the POV of the insurgents are almost unreadable. It was, in my estimation, a mistake to do their POV and make them highly unsympathetic. It was a good choice to make them unsympathetic and not "heroic rebels who started the spark that will light the fire" or something stupid like that (no offense, Star Wars cartoon show), but we didn't need their POV. The chapters featuring Teller & Co. weigh the book down so much that the reader almost feels compelled to side with Tarkin and Vader (and psycho old Jova in the last scene). Also: It's almost worth getting the book just for the Tarkin-Dooku scene. It's a real treat.

Despite its flaws (mainly how uneven it is -- how interesting the flashback and Palace intrigue scenes are compared to how dull the chase and Teller sections are), I generally enjoyed reading Tarkin. I enjoy Luceno's style very much, enough to keep going after the second insurgent POV chapter. I don't read these books for the action scenes (I don't read any books for the action scenes, since action in prose boreσ me, and very few authors do them well); I read them for the world-building. And that's why I enjoyed it, despite the fact that it had more action and less politics that other SW Luceno novel. Reading his books makes that wacky pulp universe feel real. Luceno knows how to immerse you in the Star Wars universe better than any other author.

I also feel compelled to note that no one should blame "Sheev" on Luceno. The weight of that sullies another man's soul.

7/10

 

Crosspost from the discussion thread.

I just finished this book. I am so, so glad Luceno is back, and that he saved so much of the old EU. I haven't cross-referenced all of his star-hopping on the Atlas, but it seemed like everything "fit" into my sense of the Galaxy. What I am most happy about is that Luceno brought the Imperial Escort Carrier into New Canon.

I was consistently surprised by Tarkin's brutality. I mean, I suppose I shouldn't be: this is the guy that killed a world (and a Core World, at that!) to send a message. Tarkin's previous acts of brutality help link an otherwise relatable character to a murderer of planets. I found his experiences on the Carrion fascinating, and adds something of an Australian flair to Eraidu, which is neat.

I felt that Luceno could never quite nail down Vader, a sadly common trait among authors. I think some other author had him laugh at one point, which is unforgivable. However, Luceno does better than most, however, and Vader seems to kick an appropriate amount of pants. I REALLY liked the Empire using so much Clone Wars-era tech, including Vader's black Eta-2. TIE Fighters seem to be showing up a bit too early, especially since they're mostly prototypes in Rebels.

All in all, this book is probably the best Star Wars book since Kenobi, and makes me very, very happy about the direction the New EU is taking, both in its own right and in regards to the EU-That-Was.

9 Sheevs out of 10.

 

Same here. I always saw Tarkin as a guy who never personally got his hands dirty.

 

I didn't think Tarkin was particularly well written or very inspired (and I'm a Luceno fan, going back to his Robotech days), but my biggest disappointment was that it had--in my opinion--the wrong focus. I wanted to see the machinations, back room politics and social climbing of the Empire (the Moffs, Imperial officers, etc.). A buddy cop movie with he and Vader just wasn't what I had in mind.

- 5/10

 

IMO the book was not that good at all. Boring for 92% of the book.

Rating: 3.5/10

 

I agree with a lot of the comments here. it was a perfectly read-able book which certainly had its moments, but oddly not when the main character was present. Tarkins backstory was interesting however. I feel that Plauguis was a better, more entertaining read.

 

is there anywhere to go to read a list of spoilers? I don't really want to read the whole book -- I just want to know the cool stuff I'll miss out on from not having read it.

Thanks in advance

 

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tarkin_(novel)

 

Just about to start chapter 8 and it's very good.

 

Finally got around reading this... James Luceno is my favorite EU-author, but this book fell short.

5/10.

 

I read this when it first came out, for whatever reason never reviewed it, and finally when decided to do so, realized I'd forgotten much of it. Usually that's not a great sign, a book being that forgettable. Imagine my surprise on my reread to discover that actually, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Luceno's books tend to range from very solid to some of the very best of the old EU, so it's not that much of a surprise I liked it as much as I did the second time around.

It's difficult not to compare it to previous works. Looking back on it now, it can give the impression of a Plagueis-lite, though much of what worked in that book are the best of this one. I loved the univers building (or rebuilding now), the references to Legends material, learning about Tarkin's career as it transitioned from his homeworld and the Republic to the Empire, getting glimpses of the Imperial brass and seeing that hierarchy at work, and seeing a setting reestablished for us, creating a new chapter for this era that much of the new material is covering. No one's ever done it as well and thoroughly as Luceno does, and this time is no different. It doesn't have the time nor does it no longer have the history that Plagueuis had, which gave that book such rich depth, and it doesn't have the tie-in and direct impact in the movie that Cloak of Deception had with its lead-in proximity, but he still navigates the new status quo effectively and it's appreciated.

The modern story itself, the plot that drives the action is unfortunately much weaker. The infant cell is a nice concept and makes sense, but the execution is lacking. The most developed character is Teller and he comes across as little more than a caricature, a bit of a bumbler with big ideas and words but without the cunning to effectively execute them. It would be interesting, though, to see if their transmissions are referenced in future material, that maybe someone saw what they broadcast and that it's something that to some extent stirs dissent.

The relationship between Vader and Tarkin is entertaining, though oddly didn't feel as natural to me as their few scenes in Dark Lord. Trying to make Tarkin so physically proactive in piloting the smuggler ship in pursuit of his stolen one (couldn't one of the stormtroopers have been Vader's co-pilot? Tarkin could still be in the cockpit) and flying a V-Wing into battle seemed odd. Giving young Tarkin a survivalist training background didn't completely work for me either, though I was gratified that we didn't constantly flash back to that with actual scenes, only revisiting it in Tarkin's thoughts and a drawn out story to Vader. Much of his youth becomes unnecessary after that first disturbing conversation with his parents, so the drawn out backstory simply felt repetitive after a while.

That said, the weaker plot and forgettable rebel characters is at all times surrounded by Luceno's solid framework and details of a living, functioning world. He makes it real, a galaxy with criminal organizations, government agencies, and private businesses, with a history as well as current events. And his portrayal of the Emperor isn't too bad either.

Maybe not Luceno's best, but that still puts it in pretty good company. 7.25/10

 

This is only my second NEU book I'm reading, and I only picked it up because of TFA. I was holding off for a while, even though it's Luceno, because it was pretty much the first book of this canon and, even though I knew the author, I've pretty much been hating anything Disney's put out.

This book began as a slow 5/6-star novel and became an intriguing 7.5-star one. Luceno was a great choice since he's excellent at writing political figures, and he was able to bridge Legends and new canon quite well. I'm not a huge fan of his writing, as I find politics to be dry, which is a personal issue and not against the author or the book.

There are a lot of names and planets mentioned, both as side comments and secondary people/places. It's a little confusing to keep track of it all.

I like the idea of there being a Sith shrine under the Jedi Temple.
ARMAND ISARD IS CANON!! I was hoping to see Ysanne or Qwi Xux, but Armand is a great alternative. That's another reason Luceno was a great choice.

It is fun to see Vader and Tarkin working together with the same goals, and not being nitpicky with each other like they are later on.

There was a funny moment when an officer tells Tarkin that a ship is on the Empire's wanted list.
Then the crew blows it up and the officer essentially says, "It's no longer on the wanted list." (chapter 17). I chuckled quite a bit.


7.5/10 stars

 

I liked the Tarkin novel when I first read it. But what annoyed me in the novel was that Tarkin cared alot about the stupid peronalized imperial shuttle craft he pimped out.

It was gonna get blown up anyway. He could go get another one even though ships like that cost alot of Imperial credits or whatever.

Im kinda planningon re-reading the hardcover of Tarken sometime but right now im busy with book 3 of the Song of Ice and Fire book series and need to read Dune: Chapterhouse of Dune pretty soon

 

I finished this book recently and really liked it. It should be noted first, I haven't read any EU books so I'm only familiar with the Canon material. That being said, I liked the depth Luceno gave of Tarkin. We all know what he becomes in ANH and see him here and there in TCW and Rebels, but it was nice to see how he became that. The scenes on Eriadu with Jova were interesting in my opinion. I also really liked the scenes with Vader and liked the interaction. It was cool getting to see Vader fly. We do see him do some in ANH but it was the PT and TCW which really showed he was a skilled pilot and that was a nice nod to other Canon elements (although he does that some with Tarkin himself by referring to events in TCW).

The rebels weren't too interesting though. Teller had the most depth but even at that it wasn't too much. I would've liked to have known about his background earlier but get why it was held back and the surprise was cool I have to say, it just could've been managed differently.

Overall I really liked it, liked getting to know Tarkin and having these pieces canonized, the Vader & Sidious scenes were cool and added a lot as well. So to sum it up 8/10.

 

I finally finished this a few weeks ago and for some reason didn't write a review. Probably because I'm not sure how to review it. I think I'm going to give it 6/10. Which feels unnecessarily harsh for a novel that in many ways is well-written. In the sense that the prose - when writing in Tarkin's perspective at least - is very well done. It hits a tone, a verbal style and achieves a vocabulary that very much evokes the character.

I didn't feel that I needed Tarkin's backstory, but the story of his youth on Eriadu is fairly strong in the sense that it was not what I expected, but made sense. It fleshed out his philosophy of strength and intimidation in a way that was...satisfying, even if it never quite convinced me it was entirely necessary.

But...the whole thing never came together. The story itself felt...small. Unimportant. The nascent rebel cell lacked charisma and competence. They managed to steal the ship but then never really lived up to the promise of that success. There were nice touches - like Vader tracking them via the meditation chamber - but altogether it...was kind of forgettable. Perhaps even slightly boring.

So...yeah. 6/10 feels harsher than I'd like considering there was nothing actively upsetting or terrible, but 7/10 feels like an active recommendation and I just didn't like it that much.

 

Read this a few months ago so while I'm not completely clear on all of the storyline, I can remember enough to leave a short review on it. It's also the first canon Star Wars book I've ever read.

Tarkin deals with the titular character, along with Darth Vader, dealing with a small Rebel cell that managed to steal the former's ship - the Carrion Spike, while throughout the book, Tarkin has flashbacks to his childhood/ formative years on Eriadu. There are some enjoyable moments with Tarkin pondering on the identity of Vader, the lessons he learned in his formative years helping during the current situation and a lot of the lines from Teller about his Rebel cell only being able to simply stall the Empire rather than defeat it. Ultimately though it did feel like a bit of a drag and the books I've since read have outshone it, I also found the vocabulary to be quite wordy, which detracted from my personal experience as I found myself stopping to check what certain words meant a lot. Vader using the meditation pod to track the ship was cool, and finding out Palpatine's first name was a nice surprise.

6/10 for me.