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Star Wars: The Callista Trilogy #2
Star Wars: Darksaber
Luke Skywalker strives to help his love Callista regain her Jedi powers as the evil Hutts reconstruct a Death Star. The Jedi head for the ultimate test of their power - a test in which all the temptations of the dark side beckon.
399 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1995
144 people are currently reading
3454 people want to read
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
963 books3,044 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 256 reviews
December 13, 2009
Amateurish. Ridiculous improbabilities, even for SW fiction. Two-dimensional characters.
August 2, 2015
Okay, so it's fairly obvious (to those who have been keeping track of my recent reading list) that I've been on a Star Wars reading kick. My goal (unrealistic as it is) is to eventually have ALL of the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels (post-Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, that is. While I have read a few Old Republic and Clone Wars novels, I'm not as enthralled by them as I am with the New Republic, New Jedi Order, and Legacy novels.) before the new J.J. Abrams film arrives in theaters in December, if for no other reason than because it would be a fun if completely dubious achievement.
Clearly, the place to start with this is the "Thrawn" trilogy by Timothy Zahn, a series I read years ago and loved. While I remember some of that series, my memory fails when it comes to the details. Perhaps someday I will return to that trilogy for a re-read. In any case, Zahn's series helped to jumpstart the whole Expanded Universe, inviting a whole slew of authors to join in the fun by adding their own flavor and ideas to the universe created by George Lucas.
The Thrawn trilogy was followed by a trilogy written by Kevin J. Anderson. In that series, Luke has started up a new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Meanwhile, a new threat arises against the New Republic: an ill-tempered ginger named Admiral Daala, who has the distinction of being the first and only female Admiral in the Imperial fleet. She's a total bad-ass. I remember really liking that series, as well, but, again, my memory is a bit hazy on the details. There was something about the ghost of an evil Sith Lord who tries to possess Luke at some point, I think. And a new weapon called a Sun Crusher that, well… seriously, if you can't figure out what it does then you really shouldn't be reading at all…
In between those series were a few stand-alone novels. Dave Wolverton's "The Courtship of Princess Leia" was, in my opinion, pretty ghastly. Barbara Hambly's "Children of the Jedi" was decent, although fans across the board have lambasted it.
"Darksaber" was the novel published immediately after "Children of the Jedi", I think. Anderson returns as the author of this one, and it may be due to the fact that the previous two authors made a mess of things, so he was invited back to clear things up, which he does, nicely.
"Darksaber" is (almost) everything one comes to expect from a Star Wars novel: exciting, action-packed, fun, and with just the right amount of pathos and comedy to even things out.
Anderson carries on a few story lines started in "COTJ", most notably the love story between Luke and Callista, a former Jedi Knight who died, was a ghost trapped in the computer of an Imperial dreadnought, and returned to life by inhabiting the body of another Jedi. (Go ahead, roll your eyes. It's as silly trying to explain it as it was reading it…) Anyway, somehow in the transition of bodies, Callista lost her ability to use the Force.
Luke and Callista fly off together to revisit various places (Tattooine, Dagobah, and Hoth) where Luke thinks he can contact either Yoda or Obi-Wan for advice on Callista's "condition".
President Leia Organa Solo is conducting negotiations with Durga the Hutt, but it's not going so well. Unbeknownst to her and the New Republic, Durga has recruited Bevel Lemelisk, one of the original architects of the Death Star, to create a new weapon, one that will be as powerful as the Death Star but hopefully minus the weak spots.
Meanwhile, far out in the deep reaches of space, Admiral Daala (who was thought to be dead by the New Republic) is rebuilding the Empire by reunifying the fleet and, unlike the Old Empire under Palpatine, including non-humans and females as officers and soldiers.
Anderson's story is told at such a break-neck pace one may get whiplash. Cleverly tying in many loose ends and story lines from previous novels, "Darksaber" is, in my opinion, one of the best of the post-ROJ Expanded Universe novels.
Clearly, the place to start with this is the "Thrawn" trilogy by Timothy Zahn, a series I read years ago and loved. While I remember some of that series, my memory fails when it comes to the details. Perhaps someday I will return to that trilogy for a re-read. In any case, Zahn's series helped to jumpstart the whole Expanded Universe, inviting a whole slew of authors to join in the fun by adding their own flavor and ideas to the universe created by George Lucas.
The Thrawn trilogy was followed by a trilogy written by Kevin J. Anderson. In that series, Luke has started up a new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Meanwhile, a new threat arises against the New Republic: an ill-tempered ginger named Admiral Daala, who has the distinction of being the first and only female Admiral in the Imperial fleet. She's a total bad-ass. I remember really liking that series, as well, but, again, my memory is a bit hazy on the details. There was something about the ghost of an evil Sith Lord who tries to possess Luke at some point, I think. And a new weapon called a Sun Crusher that, well… seriously, if you can't figure out what it does then you really shouldn't be reading at all…
In between those series were a few stand-alone novels. Dave Wolverton's "The Courtship of Princess Leia" was, in my opinion, pretty ghastly. Barbara Hambly's "Children of the Jedi" was decent, although fans across the board have lambasted it.
"Darksaber" was the novel published immediately after "Children of the Jedi", I think. Anderson returns as the author of this one, and it may be due to the fact that the previous two authors made a mess of things, so he was invited back to clear things up, which he does, nicely.
"Darksaber" is (almost) everything one comes to expect from a Star Wars novel: exciting, action-packed, fun, and with just the right amount of pathos and comedy to even things out.
Anderson carries on a few story lines started in "COTJ", most notably the love story between Luke and Callista, a former Jedi Knight who died, was a ghost trapped in the computer of an Imperial dreadnought, and returned to life by inhabiting the body of another Jedi. (Go ahead, roll your eyes. It's as silly trying to explain it as it was reading it…) Anyway, somehow in the transition of bodies, Callista lost her ability to use the Force.
Luke and Callista fly off together to revisit various places (Tattooine, Dagobah, and Hoth) where Luke thinks he can contact either Yoda or Obi-Wan for advice on Callista's "condition".
President Leia Organa Solo is conducting negotiations with Durga the Hutt, but it's not going so well. Unbeknownst to her and the New Republic, Durga has recruited Bevel Lemelisk, one of the original architects of the Death Star, to create a new weapon, one that will be as powerful as the Death Star but hopefully minus the weak spots.
Meanwhile, far out in the deep reaches of space, Admiral Daala (who was thought to be dead by the New Republic) is rebuilding the Empire by reunifying the fleet and, unlike the Old Empire under Palpatine, including non-humans and females as officers and soldiers.
Anderson's story is told at such a break-neck pace one may get whiplash. Cleverly tying in many loose ends and story lines from previous novels, "Darksaber" is, in my opinion, one of the best of the post-ROJ Expanded Universe novels.
March 30, 2023
Oh, I’m so glad this was a good book. It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve given a truly positive review to a Legends book—although, really it’s only been a couple months.
The thing that I really loved here is the characters and their interactions. The returning Original Trilogy characters are great, as per usual, as are many returning EU characters. Of particular note are Pellaeon, Daala, Dorsk 81, Kyp Durron, and (surprisingly) Callista. These characters all return from past works including the Thrawn Trilogy and the Jedi Academy Trilogy, with Callista returning from the previous book Children of the Jedi. I enjoyed all these characters, possibly even more than those from the OT. Seeing several of these characters from books I’ve loved in the past was a real treat, and it helps that they’re excellent here. Also, the plot here is solid as well. I wouldn’t say I love the plot, but there are parts of it that were very interesting. While I’m not crazy about Luke and Callista as a couple, their actions and discussions in regards to Callista trying to regain her Force abilities were interesting.
As far as negatives, really I just didn’t find parts of the plot terribly compelling. That’s not a huge issue, though, as this was far more of a character book than a plot book for me, and as long as one of those is excellent then I’m happy. Also, as mentioned earlier, I don’t buy Luke and Callista being together. It didn’t feel right to me in the last book and it still doesn’t here.
Overall, this was a really solid read. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a vast difference in opinion between two books in a trilogy/series than between this and Children of the Jedi, but I’m very happy to say I liked this one much more.
Rating: 8/10
The thing that I really loved here is the characters and their interactions. The returning Original Trilogy characters are great, as per usual, as are many returning EU characters. Of particular note are Pellaeon, Daala, Dorsk 81, Kyp Durron, and (surprisingly) Callista. These characters all return from past works including the Thrawn Trilogy and the Jedi Academy Trilogy, with Callista returning from the previous book Children of the Jedi. I enjoyed all these characters, possibly even more than those from the OT. Seeing several of these characters from books I’ve loved in the past was a real treat, and it helps that they’re excellent here. Also, the plot here is solid as well. I wouldn’t say I love the plot, but there are parts of it that were very interesting. While I’m not crazy about Luke and Callista as a couple, their actions and discussions in regards to Callista trying to regain her Force abilities were interesting.
As far as negatives, really I just didn’t find parts of the plot terribly compelling. That’s not a huge issue, though, as this was far more of a character book than a plot book for me, and as long as one of those is excellent then I’m happy. Also, as mentioned earlier, I don’t buy Luke and Callista being together. It didn’t feel right to me in the last book and it still doesn’t here.
Overall, this was a really solid read. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a vast difference in opinion between two books in a trilogy/series than between this and Children of the Jedi, but I’m very happy to say I liked this one much more.
Rating: 8/10
July 19, 2017
A Quickie Review
Despite all the critical drubbing he seems to get, I usually enjoy the writings of Kevin J. Anderson. Whether it was his Jedi Academy trilogy, or his DC-Comics-based works (The Last Days of Krypton, Enemies and Allies), I almost always thought they were better than others did. However, as much as I hate to say it, this one was yet another disappointment from the Star Wars expanded universe. Only somewhat interesting, a bit hard to follow, lacking in action...that's not what I want from a space opera novel.
Content Concerns: Two or three profanities, and some slight violence.
Score: 2.25/5
Despite all the critical drubbing he seems to get, I usually enjoy the writings of Kevin J. Anderson. Whether it was his Jedi Academy trilogy, or his DC-Comics-based works (The Last Days of Krypton, Enemies and Allies), I almost always thought they were better than others did. However, as much as I hate to say it, this one was yet another disappointment from the Star Wars expanded universe. Only somewhat interesting, a bit hard to follow, lacking in action...that's not what I want from a space opera novel.
Content Concerns: Two or three profanities, and some slight violence.
Score: 2.25/5
June 16, 2020
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson.
SOME HISTORY:
Barely six months after Children of the Jedi introduced Callista, the great love of Luke’s life, Darksaber was released to explain their break-up. We have another great cover by Drew Struzan, although this marks the fourth book from 1995 that has Leia in her white ESB garb on the cover. Darksaber made it to number twelve on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of October 29, 1995, and was on the NYT list for three weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
My memories of this book were not of the book itself, but instead of how vehemently it was hated on theForce.net message boards. I remembered the Callista plotline pretty well, but had blanked on all the Hutt intrigue. I knew Daala was in this book solely because of a piece of artwork that depicts her poisoning all the warlords.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
The Hutts are up to something! Princess Leia and Han Solo head to Nal Hutta to figure out what they’re plotting, while Luke Skywalker and Callista set off on a vacation/road trip to unlock her Force abilities. Meanwhile, Admiral Daala has limped her way to the Core Worlds and is consolidating her base of power...
THE CHARACTERS:
The gang’s all here, and they’re not particularly interesting. Anderson doesn’t pay much attention to the political side of Leia’s character, so other than meeting with Durga the Hutt twice (on Coruscant and on Nal Hutta) she doesn’t do much as the Chief of State. Han’s worried about Luke. Luke’s worried about Callista. Chewbacca gets to go off on his own mission for a chapter at most.
There is little trace of the funny, good-humored Callista from Children of the Jedi. The disappearance of her Force abilities becomes the single most important facet of her character, to the detriment of everything else. What if she and Luke have children and they can’t use the Force? She needs the Force to be Luke’s equal! (I absolutely do not understand this. No one thinks less of Han because he’s not Force sensitive. And Han and Leia’s children, despite possessing a non-Force sensitive parent and a flipping Skywalker parent, are all talented. This seems like a non issue.)
After maybe a year of Jedi training, Kyp Durron is now a full-fledged Jedi Knight! (Luke’s Jedi academy seems to offer very abbreviated instruction before you get your diploma and are shoved out into the greater galaxy.) He’s still a bundle of anger, though, which puzzles me; Callista’s huge drawback is that while she can’t use the Light Side of the Force, she can access the Dark Side. Luke is obviously very opposed to it. But Kyp is still running around, very close to boiling point, and appears outright enraged at times. How is that not the Dark Side??
Daala returns. I would say that she learned from her mistakes in the Jedi Academy trilogy, except that during the Yavin IV battle she reverts back to old Daala--firing wildly, hitting her own ships, making a mess. I usually love messes, but Daala possesses too many Mary Sue qualities (the hair, the high rank) for me to root for her. She’s in league with Pellaeon, who seems very unlike his Thrawn trilogy self. Did he really lose all his self confidence after Thrawn died? What happened to the Chimaera, and why is he working for a warlord? This is the first book appearance, though, of his bushy mustache, which I believe originated in the Thrawn trilogy comics. The more you know!
Durga is boring to me. In an interview, Anderson said that the Hutt superweapon plot was inspired by the development with nuclear weapons in the Cold War; at first only the United States and the Soviets had nukes, but then it trickled down to others. I can see what he’s going for, but it’s still not interesting--the Hutts are so tragically cheap and inept that the concept that the New Republic views them as an actual threat baffles me.
I would say “Poor General Madine,” but instead I’m left wondering why he infiltrated the Darksaber practically all alone? He organized the Endor mission, but he didn’t actually go on it. And his death seemed a direct consequence of his poor planning. Farewell Crix, we barely knew you.
Wedge and Qwi Xux are still dating. I’m not sure what they see in each other, but I guess “I find this person attractive” can be reason enough.
ISSUES:
This book is overlong, and filled with enough unnecessary scenes that it felt like Anderson was padding for length. There was absolutely no reason for this book to have 63 chapters.
The climax goes back and forth between the Yavin IV battle, and Wedge versus the Darksaber. Daala’s attack is exciting, and people die (poor Dorsk 81), and it doesn’t look good. But we keep cutting back to the other battle, which is not as thrilling. It’s obvious that the Darksaber is not going to work, and so its eventual demise (crushed between two asteroids after failing to fire its superlaser) falls flat.
Darksaber also feels a bit like a tired reunion tour to me: we start out with Han and Luke on Tatooine, breaking into Jabba’s palace to investigate rumors of Hutt schemes. Luke and Callista go to Dagobah and Hoth on their vacation/road trip; the Hutts are constructing the Darksaber in the Hoth Asteroid Belt. Sometimes Star Wars authors fall back on movie locations to create an instant sense of familiarity, but this felt like too much retread. Luke says he wants to show Callista his Jedi journey, but their time on Dagobah and Hoth are exactly the same: they talk, they get attacked by something (bats on Dagobah; wampas on Hoth), they leave. They almost freeze to death; they go back to Yavin IV; Callista goes off on her suicide run. Why couldn’t they visit Chad, Callista’s homeworld, or Bespin, the last place she saw her Master? Why not some planet that Callista knew was important to the Jedi? Why is this road trip FOR Callista so specifically tailored to Luke’s past?
And I find Callista’s attitude in this book baffling. At the end of Children of the Jedi, I got the sense that she was sad that her Force abilities were gone, and confused, like she had lost one of her five senses. But she still has so much knowledge of the old Jedi, and Luke specifically asks if she can teach them what she knows. By Darksaber, however, she’s not teaching. During the Yavin IV battle, she feels like she’s not needed or helpful. What has she been doing all this time? And why did Anderson choose to focus on what she lacked, what she had in the past? This is not healthy behavior! Callista talks a lot of crap about not being worthy of Luke, which is complete bull.
Also! Why does no one think about whether the absence of her powers is a direct consequence of what she did to be reembodied? Tionne mentions the story of Ulic Qel-Droma, but that’s not a direct analogue--the Jedi forcibly stripped him of his powers, but the Force itself seems to have done this to Callista. I found her decision at the end of Children of the Jedi to have unsettling moral implications, which apparently no one in the Bantam era wanted to touch.
IN CONCLUSION:
Darksaber wraps up Callista’s plotline, as well as Daala’s. A lot happens here, so much so that it feels like a bloated, over-the-top mess. I can’t forgive Anderson for turning Callista into a mopey milksop, and for focusing an inordinate amount of time on the Hutt superweapon. Ultimately skippable, IMO.
Next up: the second of the short story collections, Tales from Jabba's Palace, edited by Kevin J. Anderson.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/4e2t7j2oQBM
Extended Darksaber rants: https://youtu.be/8FV2C2FydsQ
Interview with KJA about Jedi Academy trilogy and Darksaber: https://web.archive.org/web/201412041...
This week’s focus: Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson.
SOME HISTORY:
Barely six months after Children of the Jedi introduced Callista, the great love of Luke’s life, Darksaber was released to explain their break-up. We have another great cover by Drew Struzan, although this marks the fourth book from 1995 that has Leia in her white ESB garb on the cover. Darksaber made it to number twelve on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of October 29, 1995, and was on the NYT list for three weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
My memories of this book were not of the book itself, but instead of how vehemently it was hated on theForce.net message boards. I remembered the Callista plotline pretty well, but had blanked on all the Hutt intrigue. I knew Daala was in this book solely because of a piece of artwork that depicts her poisoning all the warlords.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
The Hutts are up to something! Princess Leia and Han Solo head to Nal Hutta to figure out what they’re plotting, while Luke Skywalker and Callista set off on a vacation/road trip to unlock her Force abilities. Meanwhile, Admiral Daala has limped her way to the Core Worlds and is consolidating her base of power...
THE CHARACTERS:
The gang’s all here, and they’re not particularly interesting. Anderson doesn’t pay much attention to the political side of Leia’s character, so other than meeting with Durga the Hutt twice (on Coruscant and on Nal Hutta) she doesn’t do much as the Chief of State. Han’s worried about Luke. Luke’s worried about Callista. Chewbacca gets to go off on his own mission for a chapter at most.
There is little trace of the funny, good-humored Callista from Children of the Jedi. The disappearance of her Force abilities becomes the single most important facet of her character, to the detriment of everything else. What if she and Luke have children and they can’t use the Force? She needs the Force to be Luke’s equal! (I absolutely do not understand this. No one thinks less of Han because he’s not Force sensitive. And Han and Leia’s children, despite possessing a non-Force sensitive parent and a flipping Skywalker parent, are all talented. This seems like a non issue.)
After maybe a year of Jedi training, Kyp Durron is now a full-fledged Jedi Knight! (Luke’s Jedi academy seems to offer very abbreviated instruction before you get your diploma and are shoved out into the greater galaxy.) He’s still a bundle of anger, though, which puzzles me; Callista’s huge drawback is that while she can’t use the Light Side of the Force, she can access the Dark Side. Luke is obviously very opposed to it. But Kyp is still running around, very close to boiling point, and appears outright enraged at times. How is that not the Dark Side??
Daala returns. I would say that she learned from her mistakes in the Jedi Academy trilogy, except that during the Yavin IV battle she reverts back to old Daala--firing wildly, hitting her own ships, making a mess. I usually love messes, but Daala possesses too many Mary Sue qualities (the hair, the high rank) for me to root for her. She’s in league with Pellaeon, who seems very unlike his Thrawn trilogy self. Did he really lose all his self confidence after Thrawn died? What happened to the Chimaera, and why is he working for a warlord? This is the first book appearance, though, of his bushy mustache, which I believe originated in the Thrawn trilogy comics. The more you know!
Durga is boring to me. In an interview, Anderson said that the Hutt superweapon plot was inspired by the development with nuclear weapons in the Cold War; at first only the United States and the Soviets had nukes, but then it trickled down to others. I can see what he’s going for, but it’s still not interesting--the Hutts are so tragically cheap and inept that the concept that the New Republic views them as an actual threat baffles me.
I would say “Poor General Madine,” but instead I’m left wondering why he infiltrated the Darksaber practically all alone? He organized the Endor mission, but he didn’t actually go on it. And his death seemed a direct consequence of his poor planning. Farewell Crix, we barely knew you.
Wedge and Qwi Xux are still dating. I’m not sure what they see in each other, but I guess “I find this person attractive” can be reason enough.
ISSUES:
This book is overlong, and filled with enough unnecessary scenes that it felt like Anderson was padding for length. There was absolutely no reason for this book to have 63 chapters.
The climax goes back and forth between the Yavin IV battle, and Wedge versus the Darksaber. Daala’s attack is exciting, and people die (poor Dorsk 81), and it doesn’t look good. But we keep cutting back to the other battle, which is not as thrilling. It’s obvious that the Darksaber is not going to work, and so its eventual demise (crushed between two asteroids after failing to fire its superlaser) falls flat.
Darksaber also feels a bit like a tired reunion tour to me: we start out with Han and Luke on Tatooine, breaking into Jabba’s palace to investigate rumors of Hutt schemes. Luke and Callista go to Dagobah and Hoth on their vacation/road trip; the Hutts are constructing the Darksaber in the Hoth Asteroid Belt. Sometimes Star Wars authors fall back on movie locations to create an instant sense of familiarity, but this felt like too much retread. Luke says he wants to show Callista his Jedi journey, but their time on Dagobah and Hoth are exactly the same: they talk, they get attacked by something (bats on Dagobah; wampas on Hoth), they leave. They almost freeze to death; they go back to Yavin IV; Callista goes off on her suicide run. Why couldn’t they visit Chad, Callista’s homeworld, or Bespin, the last place she saw her Master? Why not some planet that Callista knew was important to the Jedi? Why is this road trip FOR Callista so specifically tailored to Luke’s past?
And I find Callista’s attitude in this book baffling. At the end of Children of the Jedi, I got the sense that she was sad that her Force abilities were gone, and confused, like she had lost one of her five senses. But she still has so much knowledge of the old Jedi, and Luke specifically asks if she can teach them what she knows. By Darksaber, however, she’s not teaching. During the Yavin IV battle, she feels like she’s not needed or helpful. What has she been doing all this time? And why did Anderson choose to focus on what she lacked, what she had in the past? This is not healthy behavior! Callista talks a lot of crap about not being worthy of Luke, which is complete bull.
Also! Why does no one think about whether the absence of her powers is a direct consequence of what she did to be reembodied? Tionne mentions the story of Ulic Qel-Droma, but that’s not a direct analogue--the Jedi forcibly stripped him of his powers, but the Force itself seems to have done this to Callista. I found her decision at the end of Children of the Jedi to have unsettling moral implications, which apparently no one in the Bantam era wanted to touch.
IN CONCLUSION:
Darksaber wraps up Callista’s plotline, as well as Daala’s. A lot happens here, so much so that it feels like a bloated, over-the-top mess. I can’t forgive Anderson for turning Callista into a mopey milksop, and for focusing an inordinate amount of time on the Hutt superweapon. Ultimately skippable, IMO.
Next up: the second of the short story collections, Tales from Jabba's Palace, edited by Kevin J. Anderson.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/4e2t7j2oQBM
Extended Darksaber rants: https://youtu.be/8FV2C2FydsQ
Interview with KJA about Jedi Academy trilogy and Darksaber: https://web.archive.org/web/201412041...
January 11, 2024
I would give this book a 3.5/5 stars. I can’t tell if I truly liked the book that much or if it was just such an improvement over Children of the Jedi. If you were a fan of the Jedi Academy Trilogy, this is essentially Book Four.
July 24, 2010
Something is afoul in the Hutt camp, and the New Republic sends Han and Luke to Tatooine to sniff it out. They discover that Durga has codes for secret New Republic information. Meanwhile, Daala attempts to unify the Empire and strike out at the heart of the New Republic.
NOTE: Years ago, I read this book, and recently listened to the audio version.
I Liked:
I know a huge complaint about this book is how it deals with yet another superweapon (the third for Anderson). While I am no fan of this plot device, I did like how the Hutts were the bad guys this time and not so much the Empire. The Hutts have been rather unexplored since perhaps Return of the Jedi. There are more enemies to the New Republic than just the Empire, and this is one of the first times we get to see one.
I even liked how the Darksaber was built and "destroyed". Sure, it ended with the needless death of a Star Wars character (SPOILER: Crix Madine). But that is how life is. Sometimes life ends up with needless deaths. And at least Anderson had the gumption to kill off one of the characters from the movies. It took till Vector Prime for someone else to have enough chutzpah to do it again. But back to the Darksaber's destruction, it was because Durga got hasty, refused to do the double checking his top engineers told him to do (because they ARE the experts after all), and just fired. Nice touch of real life, if you ask me (customers do sometimes act that way after all).
Daala finally gets a chance to be successful. She even remarks, early on, how she was a failure and an embarrassment because she didn't think things through, she just acted on anger instead of strategy. The way she is able to unite the disparate faction of the Empire was exciting and a good tribute to her. Finally, she is allowed to win! I've heard some things about where she ends up in the Legacy series and I could sort of believe it now.
Having Callista being separate from the Force is definitely an interesting concept, one I wish that was explored even more. I also liked the small bit where Tionne shows her disgust that Callista is alive and not Cray. Good work!
We get a few new characters, or new light on old characters, which is really nice. Dorsk 81 gets a chance to buck the Cloning Blues and Bevel Lemelisk hearkens us back to the days of the Empire. Both were important and interesting aspects of the story.
I Didn't Like:
But this doesn't mean Anderson's book is perfect, only better *gasp* than its predecessors, both the Jedi Academy Trilogy and Children of the Jedi (personally, it's pretty sad that this is the best of the so-called Callista trilogy). Anderson still can't quite get a handle on our Big Three. Han doesn't fair as badly, but Leia laughs about behaving like a spoiled brat to Durga (?!) and Luke acts like he skipped a dose of Vallium. And why is the civilian Qui Xux on a military craft? So she can canoodle Wedge when he's off-duty? Please! And while Daala is much better, she still has the strategical skills of a dandelion.
As we saw in previous books, Anderson relies too much on superweapons to carry his novel through. What could have been an interesting look on the Force in Callista becomes yet another attempt to save the galaxy from the destruction of a huge superweapon. Yawn. Been there, done that, got the shirt.
Also, Anderson again writes the Jedi as being far too powerful. The Academy students are able to Force Push 17 Star Destroyers? I hate to even bring this up, but even Galen Marek had trouble pushing ONE in The Force Unleashed, and even there, I didn't like the fact he could do anything at all! These guys have been training for all of, what, two years max and now they can push Star Destroyers out into the depths of space? I know "Size matters not" but, wow, just wow.
My last complaint is Callista. I've never been a huge fan of hers, but at least in the previous book and in Traviss' work, she doesn't make me want to vomit. Here, all she does is whine about how she can't use the Force, claim to love Luke and yet blame him for her not being able to use the Force (?!). What kind of relationship is that? I know Anderson didn't create her and force her into this horrible, insanely rushed relationship in the first place (Hambly gets the credit for that one), but man, if he was aiming to make her disliked, he succeeded. After reading about her bemoaning losing the Force (which kinda doesn't make sense, how can she be devoid of the Force? Weren't the Yuuzhan Vong unique in that regard? Wouldn't Luke and the guys have had experience with the Vong after being around her?), I don't see how anyone could have wanted to cheer her on in a relationship with Luke. I could also complain about how she "saves the day" Mary Sue style, but I don't want to belabor the point.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Perhaps a d*** or h*** but nothing more.
Qui Xux and Wedge are lovers. So are Luke and Callista.
Daala kills a bunch of Imperial warlords. Luke and Callista are attacked by a wampa. Bevel has been killed more than once.
Overall:
The second book in the "Callista trilogy", this isn't too bad--for brain candy. It's not the most brilliant work out there, but at least the characters aren't complete idiots and the story actually wraps up in a half-decent way. I definitely liked this more than Children of the Jedi, but considering how bad that book was, that isn't much of a compliment.
NOTE: Years ago, I read this book, and recently listened to the audio version.
I Liked:
I know a huge complaint about this book is how it deals with yet another superweapon (the third for Anderson). While I am no fan of this plot device, I did like how the Hutts were the bad guys this time and not so much the Empire. The Hutts have been rather unexplored since perhaps Return of the Jedi. There are more enemies to the New Republic than just the Empire, and this is one of the first times we get to see one.
I even liked how the Darksaber was built and "destroyed". Sure, it ended with the needless death of a Star Wars character (SPOILER: Crix Madine). But that is how life is. Sometimes life ends up with needless deaths. And at least Anderson had the gumption to kill off one of the characters from the movies. It took till Vector Prime for someone else to have enough chutzpah to do it again. But back to the Darksaber's destruction, it was because Durga got hasty, refused to do the double checking his top engineers told him to do (because they ARE the experts after all), and just fired. Nice touch of real life, if you ask me (customers do sometimes act that way after all).
Daala finally gets a chance to be successful. She even remarks, early on, how she was a failure and an embarrassment because she didn't think things through, she just acted on anger instead of strategy. The way she is able to unite the disparate faction of the Empire was exciting and a good tribute to her. Finally, she is allowed to win! I've heard some things about where she ends up in the Legacy series and I could sort of believe it now.
Having Callista being separate from the Force is definitely an interesting concept, one I wish that was explored even more. I also liked the small bit where Tionne shows her disgust that Callista is alive and not Cray. Good work!
We get a few new characters, or new light on old characters, which is really nice. Dorsk 81 gets a chance to buck the Cloning Blues and Bevel Lemelisk hearkens us back to the days of the Empire. Both were important and interesting aspects of the story.
I Didn't Like:
But this doesn't mean Anderson's book is perfect, only better *gasp* than its predecessors, both the Jedi Academy Trilogy and Children of the Jedi (personally, it's pretty sad that this is the best of the so-called Callista trilogy). Anderson still can't quite get a handle on our Big Three. Han doesn't fair as badly, but Leia laughs about behaving like a spoiled brat to Durga (?!) and Luke acts like he skipped a dose of Vallium. And why is the civilian Qui Xux on a military craft? So she can canoodle Wedge when he's off-duty? Please! And while Daala is much better, she still has the strategical skills of a dandelion.
As we saw in previous books, Anderson relies too much on superweapons to carry his novel through. What could have been an interesting look on the Force in Callista becomes yet another attempt to save the galaxy from the destruction of a huge superweapon. Yawn. Been there, done that, got the shirt.
Also, Anderson again writes the Jedi as being far too powerful. The Academy students are able to Force Push 17 Star Destroyers? I hate to even bring this up, but even Galen Marek had trouble pushing ONE in The Force Unleashed, and even there, I didn't like the fact he could do anything at all! These guys have been training for all of, what, two years max and now they can push Star Destroyers out into the depths of space? I know "Size matters not" but, wow, just wow.
My last complaint is Callista. I've never been a huge fan of hers, but at least in the previous book and in Traviss' work, she doesn't make me want to vomit. Here, all she does is whine about how she can't use the Force, claim to love Luke and yet blame him for her not being able to use the Force (?!). What kind of relationship is that? I know Anderson didn't create her and force her into this horrible, insanely rushed relationship in the first place (Hambly gets the credit for that one), but man, if he was aiming to make her disliked, he succeeded. After reading about her bemoaning losing the Force (which kinda doesn't make sense, how can she be devoid of the Force? Weren't the Yuuzhan Vong unique in that regard? Wouldn't Luke and the guys have had experience with the Vong after being around her?), I don't see how anyone could have wanted to cheer her on in a relationship with Luke. I could also complain about how she "saves the day" Mary Sue style, but I don't want to belabor the point.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Perhaps a d*** or h*** but nothing more.
Qui Xux and Wedge are lovers. So are Luke and Callista.
Daala kills a bunch of Imperial warlords. Luke and Callista are attacked by a wampa. Bevel has been killed more than once.
Overall:
The second book in the "Callista trilogy", this isn't too bad--for brain candy. It's not the most brilliant work out there, but at least the characters aren't complete idiots and the story actually wraps up in a half-decent way. I definitely liked this more than Children of the Jedi, but considering how bad that book was, that isn't much of a compliment.
November 14, 2024
I'm only 12% in and this is already a 1 star book.
Here's why :
We spend the first couple of chapters with Han and Luke going back to Jabba's Palace. They discover that he had codes and passwords to access Palpatine's high security computers on Coruscant, and that someone came through the palace before them and now has these passwords.. They go back to Coruscant to (presumably) tell everyone in the New Republic administration about this obvious security risk.
Fast-forward to the chapter I'm currently reading, Han and Leia are welcoming a Hutt who wants to make peace. He carries a hundred little beasties telling everyone not to mind them and their natural, extremely curious nature. For some reason, no one considers them a security threat right there and then, merely an annoyance, but whatever. Said beasties eventually make their way to Palpatine's old computers and use the passwords to access high-confidentiality information about the New Republic.
So, what this hack of an author that is Kevin J. Anderson is telling us is that no one in the entire New Republic knows how to change a fucking password. They didn't change password when they took over Palpatine's turf, and they didn't change their passwords when Han came back and (presumably) told them about their passwords being leaked. As far as I can tell, the entire premise of this novel rests upon the fact that everyone in the galaxy is dumber than a sack of bricks.
(I'm reading through the Legends post-episode 6 stuff and am already dreading having to go through the Young Jedi Knights books knowing that KJA wrote them...hopefully, his co-author for that series smacked him upside the head whenever a glaringly stupid thing like this popped up in those books)
Here's why :
We spend the first couple of chapters with Han and Luke going back to Jabba's Palace. They discover that he had codes and passwords to access Palpatine's high security computers on Coruscant, and that someone came through the palace before them and now has these passwords.. They go back to Coruscant to (presumably) tell everyone in the New Republic administration about this obvious security risk.
Fast-forward to the chapter I'm currently reading, Han and Leia are welcoming a Hutt who wants to make peace. He carries a hundred little beasties telling everyone not to mind them and their natural, extremely curious nature. For some reason, no one considers them a security threat right there and then, merely an annoyance, but whatever. Said beasties eventually make their way to Palpatine's old computers and use the passwords to access high-confidentiality information about the New Republic.
So, what this hack of an author that is Kevin J. Anderson is telling us is that no one in the entire New Republic knows how to change a fucking password. They didn't change password when they took over Palpatine's turf, and they didn't change their passwords when Han came back and (presumably) told them about their passwords being leaked. As far as I can tell, the entire premise of this novel rests upon the fact that everyone in the galaxy is dumber than a sack of bricks.
(I'm reading through the Legends post-episode 6 stuff and am already dreading having to go through the Young Jedi Knights books knowing that KJA wrote them...hopefully, his co-author for that series smacked him upside the head whenever a glaringly stupid thing like this popped up in those books)
July 28, 2024
I felt myself getting stupider while reading this. Absolutely atrocious, not a single page makes sense, nothing interesting happens in 399 pages
I only stuck with it because this book is a memory from my childhood, when I would go to the library and comb through the star wars shelves. I remember thinking back then that it was boring too, but that there was a scene at the end that was worth reading to get to. I was wrong, and what I remembered in my head was better than what actually happens in the book
I only stuck with it because this book is a memory from my childhood, when I would go to the library and comb through the star wars shelves. I remember thinking back then that it was boring too, but that there was a scene at the end that was worth reading to get to. I was wrong, and what I remembered in my head was better than what actually happens in the book
July 7, 2023
Meh. I've heard bad things about the Callista books, but man they're bad. The only interesting thing about them were Durga the Hutt building a superweapon that immediately got destroyed, and how Daala briefly took over the empire, killed all the warlords, failed again, and passed it on to Pelleon to rule.
The Callista stuff was painful, I don't like Luke being with someone other then Mara lol.
The Callista stuff was painful, I don't like Luke being with someone other then Mara lol.
August 1, 2024
One of the best EU novels I’ve read yet. Anderson nailed the legacy characters and expertly built off of not only Hambly’s very lackluster start to this trilogy, but also Zahn’s beloved Thrawn trilogy. I look forward to reading more from him, and I’m hopefully that Hambly’s finale to the trilogy makes the most of the momentum that this book offered her.
February 13, 2024
After reading Children of the Jedi, and hearing that this one wasn't that great either, my expectations were very low. So I'm pleased to say that this book wasn't all that bad. I actually ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
3.5/5 stars
3.5/5 stars
June 10, 2016
This is, sadly, a mess. The characters weren't too likable, the new ideas were simply preposterous (the hive-minded mammals were kind of stupid and seemed like a quick idea), and by the end I found myself cheering the Empire on although I knew in the back of my mind the "good guys" would win. Trust me, the protagonists aren't too nice and do some pretty merciless things, killing helpless Imperial underlings and pulling off ludicrous feats. The Jedi, who I have come to despise, manage to escape the main Imperial fortress without sustaining a scratch, Luke and his girl manage to get a stranded band of Wampa hunters killed without feeling a shred of regret, and a number of teenagers manage to PUSH an entire Imperial fleet away at the expense of only one individual (who I felt no sympathy for whatsoever). The book is just bad. At the end I was unhappy to see that Callista did not, in fact, die, and after this book I lost a lot of respect for Luke Skywalker.
I highly recommend avoiding this book. Star Wars seems to be a dying franchise.
I highly recommend avoiding this book. Star Wars seems to be a dying franchise.
July 1, 2011
This book is pretty darn terrible. Not even worth reviewing. If you're bored and have nothing else to read...go ahead. But I warned you.
And if you read this book and liked it...good news...the Lucas people will be taking your money for years and years to come in exchange for very bad novels.
And if you read this book and liked it...good news...the Lucas people will be taking your money for years and years to come in exchange for very bad novels.
October 8, 2019
Woof. I had low standards as a kid. 2.5 stars
April 17, 2024
Stars: 2
Re-read: Probably skip it.
Recommend to: I think casual fans may enjoy this more than hardcore ones.
Darksaber has a special place in my heart because it is the first Star Wars novel I ever read. I was in either 4th or 5th grade and the librarian at the school recommended I read this because it was the only Star Wars book they had. This ultimately moderately enjoyable but it brought low by massively flawed writing.
This is a strange book in that I think you will find it more enjoyable if you aren't very knowledgeable about the Star Wars EU. The inconsistencies in the characters and plot stupidity would be less noticeable if you just picked this up as a sort of random read.
My biggest problem with the book is that it is written by Kevin J. Anderson. Almost all of the problems you see in his Jedi Academy trilogy are on display here as well. His critical weakness is that he either doesn't know how or chooses not to create strong characters. He tears down and destroys almost every character he touches, turning them into idiots.
I didn't think about this until after finishing the book, but I am now pretty confident I know how this book (in terms of plot) came to be. One huge problem with the plot is that there are two many characters and too many things happening.
-Anderson has made virtually everyone in the Republic absolute morons.
-Perhaps the dumbest line Anderson has written.
- This line at the end was weird.
- Anderson still doesn't understand how large ships would move. He describes Victory-class Star Destroyers as moving too fast to hit. They may be small for Star Destroyers, but they are still massive ships. It'd be like saying an aircraft carrier is too maneuverable to hit.
-
- I was just laughing when
-One of the things I liked about the book was how Anderson would give some flashbacks to events in the OT. These were generally interesting. One that I didn't care for though was when
- There is a scene that really stuck in my memory over the decades after reading this as a kid.
-
- Anderson makes a common mistake in having the stakes always be comically large. So everyone has to have massive fleets out of nowhere.
- Anderson keeps describing how fleets get blindsided by a laser barrage by some foe that just showed up. This just doesn't work. Ships have these things called sensors, and they have dedicated people who watch them. If a fleet of ships emerges from hyperspace next to you, this is very easy to spot. The sensor guy would immediately be reporting the appearance of an enemy fleet. Not when Anderson is writing though. Fleets just show up and are hitting you before you are even aware they are there.
First Reads: 1998/2008
After reading the Jedi trilogy by Anderson, I was worried that I may find similar problems in Darksaber when I read it again. Thankfully, this book was written much better than Anderson's previous Star Wars books. The plot of this story was very engaging all the way through. There were few chapters that I felt I had to trudge through. Unlike some of Anderson's earlier books, I was very interested in all of the characters and storylines. I would recommend Darksaber mainly to star wars fans and science fiction fans. The only problem I have is I felt that Admiral Pellaon was made into a weak character, nothing like the strong leader in the Heir to the Empire trilogy when he fought with Grand Admiral Thrawn. The weakness of his character made it unbelievable after reading about him in earlier books.
Re-read: Probably skip it.
Recommend to: I think casual fans may enjoy this more than hardcore ones.
Darksaber has a special place in my heart because it is the first Star Wars novel I ever read. I was in either 4th or 5th grade and the librarian at the school recommended I read this because it was the only Star Wars book they had. This ultimately moderately enjoyable but it brought low by massively flawed writing.
This is a strange book in that I think you will find it more enjoyable if you aren't very knowledgeable about the Star Wars EU. The inconsistencies in the characters and plot stupidity would be less noticeable if you just picked this up as a sort of random read.
My biggest problem with the book is that it is written by Kevin J. Anderson. Almost all of the problems you see in his Jedi Academy trilogy are on display here as well. His critical weakness is that he either doesn't know how or chooses not to create strong characters. He tears down and destroys almost every character he touches, turning them into idiots.
I didn't think about this until after finishing the book, but I am now pretty confident I know how this book (in terms of plot) came to be. One huge problem with the plot is that there are two many characters and too many things happening.
-Anderson has made virtually everyone in the Republic absolute morons.
-Perhaps the dumbest line Anderson has written.
- This line at the end was weird.
- Anderson still doesn't understand how large ships would move. He describes Victory-class Star Destroyers as moving too fast to hit. They may be small for Star Destroyers, but they are still massive ships. It'd be like saying an aircraft carrier is too maneuverable to hit.
-
- I was just laughing when
-One of the things I liked about the book was how Anderson would give some flashbacks to events in the OT. These were generally interesting. One that I didn't care for though was when
- There is a scene that really stuck in my memory over the decades after reading this as a kid.
-
- Anderson makes a common mistake in having the stakes always be comically large. So everyone has to have massive fleets out of nowhere.
- Anderson keeps describing how fleets get blindsided by a laser barrage by some foe that just showed up. This just doesn't work. Ships have these things called sensors, and they have dedicated people who watch them. If a fleet of ships emerges from hyperspace next to you, this is very easy to spot. The sensor guy would immediately be reporting the appearance of an enemy fleet. Not when Anderson is writing though. Fleets just show up and are hitting you before you are even aware they are there.
First Reads: 1998/2008
After reading the Jedi trilogy by Anderson, I was worried that I may find similar problems in Darksaber when I read it again. Thankfully, this book was written much better than Anderson's previous Star Wars books. The plot of this story was very engaging all the way through. There were few chapters that I felt I had to trudge through. Unlike some of Anderson's earlier books, I was very interested in all of the characters and storylines. I would recommend Darksaber mainly to star wars fans and science fiction fans. The only problem I have is I felt that Admiral Pellaon was made into a weak character, nothing like the strong leader in the Heir to the Empire trilogy when he fought with Grand Admiral Thrawn. The weakness of his character made it unbelievable after reading about him in earlier books.
June 29, 2023
3.5 EU read along Book 14!
This might have been the most fun one so far! It actually had a lot of things that ive been looking for - a well executed large scale ground to air battle including jedi being that main thing. For that alone this was my favourite book so far. KJA also attempts to have actual character arcs this time so that was also a nice change. A few of them work out okay but they aren't excellent. It still has a lot of really silly stuff. Its really like junk food to be honest - not really good but its ton of fun and that IS worth something for me. If this would have been episode 7 or 8 I would have been over the moon. If youre reading the EU I really would not reccomend skipping this one (screw the rest of the trilogy tho you don't need it and it's TERRIBLE). I'll move forward with spoilers now for the rest of my thoughts:
This might have been the most fun one so far! It actually had a lot of things that ive been looking for - a well executed large scale ground to air battle including jedi being that main thing. For that alone this was my favourite book so far. KJA also attempts to have actual character arcs this time so that was also a nice change. A few of them work out okay but they aren't excellent. It still has a lot of really silly stuff. Its really like junk food to be honest - not really good but its ton of fun and that IS worth something for me. If this would have been episode 7 or 8 I would have been over the moon. If youre reading the EU I really would not reccomend skipping this one (screw the rest of the trilogy tho you don't need it and it's TERRIBLE). I'll move forward with spoilers now for the rest of my thoughts:
April 9, 2025
This was close to a five star read, but
I rarely read just one part of a trilogy, but in this case I made an exception, and for the most part this worked fine as a stand alone novel. Plenty of action, and also some emotional moments as we lose some characters I hated to see go.
I'm one of those people that think "real" Star Wars material is from the original trilogy (really the middle trilogy timeline wise, but I'm talking Luke, Leia, Han and the crew.) This novel features those characters, but considering this came out well before the Phantom Menace, I have no idea how this fits into current continuity. Multiverse, I hear you calling!
Anyway, overall a good Star Wars novel, but it didn't make me want to rush out and read all of the Star Wars novels.
I rarely read just one part of a trilogy, but in this case I made an exception, and for the most part this worked fine as a stand alone novel. Plenty of action, and also some emotional moments as we lose some characters I hated to see go.
I'm one of those people that think "real" Star Wars material is from the original trilogy (really the middle trilogy timeline wise, but I'm talking Luke, Leia, Han and the crew.) This novel features those characters, but considering this came out well before the Phantom Menace, I have no idea how this fits into current continuity. Multiverse, I hear you calling!
Anyway, overall a good Star Wars novel, but it didn't make me want to rush out and read all of the Star Wars novels.
July 26, 2024
Now THIS is how you do a Star Wars book! It seems like Kevin J. Anderson had enough for a whole trilogy worth of plot but decided to cram it all into one book.
Loved:
- Hutts! I especially loved that their superweapon (The eponymous, Darksaber) was ultimately destroyed by incompetence and cheap materials! That's the most realistic thing I've ever seen in Star Wars.
- Having Luke go to every Star Wars location on a "Hey, remember this?" tour. I do remember it and it was great.
- Gilad Pellaeon is back!
- Admiral Daala is back!
- A cool, new Super Star Destroyer!
- Wedge is back!
Hated:
- The fake issues between him and Callista. So she doesn't have the Force anymore. So what? You're a ghost in the body of a former student of his. Trust me, you've got enough issues on your plate already without having to turn to the dark side and freak out about this!
This was a much needed improvement over the last two books by a mile and ironed out a lot of the plot that had become tangled up.
Loved:
- Hutts! I especially loved that their superweapon (The eponymous, Darksaber) was ultimately destroyed by incompetence and cheap materials! That's the most realistic thing I've ever seen in Star Wars.
- Having Luke go to every Star Wars location on a "Hey, remember this?" tour. I do remember it and it was great.
- Gilad Pellaeon is back!
- Admiral Daala is back!
- A cool, new Super Star Destroyer!
- Wedge is back!
Hated:
- The fake issues between him and Callista. So she doesn't have the Force anymore. So what? You're a ghost in the body of a former student of his. Trust me, you've got enough issues on your plate already without having to turn to the dark side and freak out about this!
This was a much needed improvement over the last two books by a mile and ironed out a lot of the plot that had become tangled up.
January 31, 2025
One again, Kevin J Anderson has written an amalgamation of tropes and plot points strung together with two dimensional characters, flat visualization, and grating internal monologue.
It's one redeeming quality, Kevin J Anderson makes sure that he's playing with the whole Star Wars sandbox when he writes. The story has a wider scope than most of his contemporaries provid (at least that I have yet read).
It's one redeeming quality, Kevin J Anderson makes sure that he's playing with the whole Star Wars sandbox when he writes. The story has a wider scope than most of his contemporaries provid (at least that I have yet read).
February 2, 2025
Solid four star book, and an absolute palette cleanser after Children of the Jedi.
Felt like the Star Wars I know, and I especially appreciated the brief spell on Hoth with the survival against the wampas. That filled me with a deep level of "Oh dip how are they going to escape?"
Felt like the Star Wars I know, and I especially appreciated the brief spell on Hoth with the survival against the wampas. That filled me with a deep level of "Oh dip how are they going to escape?"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2024
Years ago I read someone's summary of the basic plot of most episodes of the original Star Trek series. It went something like this: The Enterprise stumbles across a strange (yet humanoid) civilization that is dysfunctional in some inexplicable way. While on the surface of a planet (or space station, or asteroid) trying to understand what is going on, the landing party is captured/imprisoned/detained and/or threatened with death. Kirk befriends and/or seduces a young impressionable female of the species who aids him and his crew in a daring escape. In the end, Kirk must confront an alien life force/god-like creature/computer/evil dictator and either outsmart or out-reason said being.
If I were to write a similar basic plot outline for the first wave of Star Wars EU stories that I have read, it might come out something like this: A forgotten Imperial general or warlord, angered at the success of the Rebellion, tries to gather some of the remnants of the Imperial war machine and make a new super-weapon to threaten the fledgling Republic. Luke, Leia and/or Han discover this nefarious plot and must try to find a way to defuse the threat and or stop/defend the attack. Travel to a variety of planets and individual heroics from all parties ensue, although Leia is usually left to negotiate meaninglessly with faceless diplomats, while some of the other characters (e.g. Lando, Chewbacca, etc.) do sneaky stuff behind the scenes. In the end, a giant space battle occurs, someone does something selfless and sacrificial and the Imperial general or warlord is either killed or MIA.
"Darksaber" is yet another Kevin Anderson novel and it follows the basic outline above. Admiral Daala is back and she joins forces with General Pellaeon to consolidate the martial power of a number of Imperial warlords in an attempt to bring the galactic war back to an equal footing. Meanwhile, the Hutts have conscripted Bevel Lemelisk, one of the scientists behind the original Death Star, to build a new super-laser (the Darksaber of the title). Luke rallies his young Jedi trainees to ward off an attack from Daala's forces, while Han and Leia try to get to the bottom of the Hutt plot.
There is a lot of action in "Darksaber" and there are a lot of sub-plots in the book, but in the end I felt a little cheated. Of the two rising threats, only one has a satisfying payoff while the other feels like a red herring. Certainly, characters do heroic and amazing things and at times I cared about their sacrifices. But at other points I found it hard to invest. Anderson works hard to seamlessly incorporate characters we first met in his Jedi academy trilogy as well as characters from the films and also from "The Children of the Jedi" novel. He even brings in a minor character from the films, one I have always wanted to know more about, but then removes that character from the action far too quickly. "Darksaber" is full of stuff like this - places where ideas or characters are introduced, but where the payoffs are incomplete or missing altogether.
To his credit, Anderson does an admirable job in keeping everything straight and it all makes a fair amount of sense. But it is not very engaging and only mildly entertaining. I just felt like I had read this book before, and it had been done better before.
If I were to write a similar basic plot outline for the first wave of Star Wars EU stories that I have read, it might come out something like this: A forgotten Imperial general or warlord, angered at the success of the Rebellion, tries to gather some of the remnants of the Imperial war machine and make a new super-weapon to threaten the fledgling Republic. Luke, Leia and/or Han discover this nefarious plot and must try to find a way to defuse the threat and or stop/defend the attack. Travel to a variety of planets and individual heroics from all parties ensue, although Leia is usually left to negotiate meaninglessly with faceless diplomats, while some of the other characters (e.g. Lando, Chewbacca, etc.) do sneaky stuff behind the scenes. In the end, a giant space battle occurs, someone does something selfless and sacrificial and the Imperial general or warlord is either killed or MIA.
"Darksaber" is yet another Kevin Anderson novel and it follows the basic outline above. Admiral Daala is back and she joins forces with General Pellaeon to consolidate the martial power of a number of Imperial warlords in an attempt to bring the galactic war back to an equal footing. Meanwhile, the Hutts have conscripted Bevel Lemelisk, one of the scientists behind the original Death Star, to build a new super-laser (the Darksaber of the title). Luke rallies his young Jedi trainees to ward off an attack from Daala's forces, while Han and Leia try to get to the bottom of the Hutt plot.
There is a lot of action in "Darksaber" and there are a lot of sub-plots in the book, but in the end I felt a little cheated. Of the two rising threats, only one has a satisfying payoff while the other feels like a red herring. Certainly, characters do heroic and amazing things and at times I cared about their sacrifices. But at other points I found it hard to invest. Anderson works hard to seamlessly incorporate characters we first met in his Jedi academy trilogy as well as characters from the films and also from "The Children of the Jedi" novel. He even brings in a minor character from the films, one I have always wanted to know more about, but then removes that character from the action far too quickly. "Darksaber" is full of stuff like this - places where ideas or characters are introduced, but where the payoffs are incomplete or missing altogether.
To his credit, Anderson does an admirable job in keeping everything straight and it all makes a fair amount of sense. But it is not very engaging and only mildly entertaining. I just felt like I had read this book before, and it had been done better before.
July 29, 2023
I have not read the first book in this trilogy, “Children of the Jedi,” other than the wookiepedia plot synopsis. However, this installment gives the reader enough context to understand who the new character, Callista, is. ~ This book is a step up from the last two books in Anderson’s “Jedi Academy” trilogy because it feels at least a little more cohesive. There are less plot lines to juggle. Also, I find exploration of Hutt lore to be fascinating. The idea of a new Hutt created super weapon is goofy but in all the right ways. There are moments where this book has a very comedic “Space Bally” feel to it and that’s where it shines. ~ Unfortunately, and like Anderson’s other Star Wars novels, these ideas aren’t executed in a fulfilling way. The majority of the book barely focuses on the Darksabor super weapon, but instead, the return of Admiral Dalaa and her attempt to reform the empire... again. Goodness. Just let it die. To be fair, her presence is more tolerable in this novel and we do see the return of another infamous imperial (who will likely go on to have a much larger role in books to come) but all this leaves the book’s title gimmick to be anti climactic and dealt with too quickly. ~ In terms of Luke’s Jedi students, Kyp Durron remains annoying to me but Dorsk 81 has a nice coming of age arc that fleshes out his character. And while I don’t hate Callista like others, I don’t find her to have an interesting enough personality that warrants her as a legitimate love interest for Luke Skywalker either. Their romantic journey together drags and feels tacked on to give the characters more “chemistry” which just falls flat to me. ~ This book is undercooked, and while it doesn’t feel nearly as chaotically thrown together as “Jedi Academy 3,” all the plot lines still don’t come together in a meaningful way by the end. The result here just feels like more boring filler to get to Zahn’s next event.
January 12, 2022
It should be illegal for Kevin J. Anderson to write about women.
This story suffers from a lot of lazy coincidences and loose narrative. While it would have been super exciting to learn more about the Hutts and their homeworld, KJA completely butchers their presence, totally missing the mark on their personality and delivery. The whole story just kinda brambles along with what seems like no real purpose. Things magically happen at the right time and everyone walks away happy, except apparently for a bunch of disposable characters (how many did KJA kill off, like 5?)
So, another big meh from KJA. I really wish he had never gotten involved with Star Wars.
This story suffers from a lot of lazy coincidences and loose narrative. While it would have been super exciting to learn more about the Hutts and their homeworld, KJA completely butchers their presence, totally missing the mark on their personality and delivery. The whole story just kinda brambles along with what seems like no real purpose. Things magically happen at the right time and everyone walks away happy, except apparently for a bunch of disposable characters (how many did KJA kill off, like 5?)
So, another big meh from KJA. I really wish he had never gotten involved with Star Wars.
March 13, 2011
May Callista die.
Right now, I'm upset with Luke because I know what happens later on in the books, so him spending all his time talking about how Callista is his "one true love" is making me really sick.
Right now, I'm upset with Luke because I know what happens later on in the books, so him spending all his time talking about how Callista is his "one true love" is making me really sick.
March 25, 2017
Such a fun story, one of my favorite star wars novels for it has all of my favorite characters in it!
Some may not enjoy Kevin's writing style but it suits me!
If you are looking for a book to make the world melt away and to get lost in, you should give this one a chance!
Some may not enjoy Kevin's writing style but it suits me!
If you are looking for a book to make the world melt away and to get lost in, you should give this one a chance!
May 31, 2022
I have a history with Darksaber. I vividly recall: being about 12 years old, inside the Walden Books store in my local mall, and jumping out of my skin when I happened to see a book, a book! with the beloved Star Wars logo on it. I had never encounter one before; this was my introduction into the EU, now Legends, universe. I remember completely misunderstanding the blurb, being confused by the mention of a (the?) Death Star, and by the phrase "Han and Leia's twins" which I misread to mean Han and Leia were twins, so distracted was I by my intense excitement. I literally ran down the aisles, begged my parents to buy it full price for me, which they did....and now, years later looking at the same cover, the only thing I remembered before opening the cover was a character named Bevel and something terrible happens to his eyes.
Because I had such an intense memory around this novel, I really wanted to love it. But much like The Courtship of Princess Leia, it just wasn't as good as I remembered it. It wasn't that it was actively bad...it just never really got better than mediocre. At least now, unlike when I was 12, all the Callista stuff made sense. Anyway, here's my typical review.
Threat of the Day: Hutts, warlords, and deathstars, oh my! Durga the Hutt has hired one of the architects* of the original Death Star to build one for him. Durga's much like Jabba, cruel but silly. Lemelisk was a good avenue for interesting flashbacks, arguably some of the best use of flashbacks in Legends, but had no depth as a character in his own right.
*in Legends, their are 3 architects of the Death Star: Qwi Xux, the brainwashed and manipulated physicist who came up with the idea in a think tank; Lemelisk, the engineer who took Xux's idea and worked closely with Tarkin and Palpatine to build it; and Nasdra Magrody, who did something unspecified.
Meanwhile, in what feels more like bad timing than anything, "somehow alive" Daala is back from her latest suicide run to organize the Imperial remnants with Thrawn's toady Pellaeon. I liked Daala in Anderson's previous trilogy, and early on in the book it seems like she's going to be a great villain, but it just fizzles into all hype and no substance. She never actually villains, not to my satisfaction anyway. 3/10
Thirsty for Skywalker, You Are: Callista and Luke are trying to recover Callista's powers, but compared to their chemistry in Children of the Jedi this was a letdown. I wanted so much more! 2/10 Nerfs Herded
Best part: Seeing the Jedi pull an Ewok and attack the invading Imperials using various Force techniques was pretty cool.
Worst line: Durga frowned and glanced down at his control pad. "Oh," he said, "Sorry, wrong button." The smell of disintegrated flesh wafted through the bridge deck in greasy, sooty wisps from the collapsed body. "Well, let that be a lesson to you, then."
Would I revisit in 20 years: Meh, likely not
Overall 4/10
Because I had such an intense memory around this novel, I really wanted to love it. But much like The Courtship of Princess Leia, it just wasn't as good as I remembered it. It wasn't that it was actively bad...it just never really got better than mediocre. At least now, unlike when I was 12, all the Callista stuff made sense. Anyway, here's my typical review.
Threat of the Day: Hutts, warlords, and deathstars, oh my! Durga the Hutt has hired one of the architects* of the original Death Star to build one for him. Durga's much like Jabba, cruel but silly. Lemelisk was a good avenue for interesting flashbacks, arguably some of the best use of flashbacks in Legends, but had no depth as a character in his own right.
*in Legends, their are 3 architects of the Death Star: Qwi Xux, the brainwashed and manipulated physicist who came up with the idea in a think tank; Lemelisk, the engineer who took Xux's idea and worked closely with Tarkin and Palpatine to build it; and Nasdra Magrody, who did something unspecified.
Meanwhile, in what feels more like bad timing than anything, "somehow alive" Daala is back from her latest suicide run to organize the Imperial remnants with Thrawn's toady Pellaeon. I liked Daala in Anderson's previous trilogy, and early on in the book it seems like she's going to be a great villain, but it just fizzles into all hype and no substance. She never actually villains, not to my satisfaction anyway. 3/10
Thirsty for Skywalker, You Are: Callista and Luke are trying to recover Callista's powers, but compared to their chemistry in Children of the Jedi this was a letdown. I wanted so much more! 2/10 Nerfs Herded
Best part: Seeing the Jedi pull an Ewok and attack the invading Imperials using various Force techniques was pretty cool.
Worst line: Durga frowned and glanced down at his control pad. "Oh," he said, "Sorry, wrong button." The smell of disintegrated flesh wafted through the bridge deck in greasy, sooty wisps from the collapsed body. "Well, let that be a lesson to you, then."
Would I revisit in 20 years: Meh, likely not
Overall 4/10
May 28, 2024
Star Wars: Darksaber, book two in the Callista Trilogy, was written by bestselling author, Kevin J Anderson. This Expanded Universe tale takes place during the New Republic Era, 12 ABY (12 years after the Battle of Yavin).
SUMMARY
Luke Skywalker and Callista work together in an attempt to rebuild the force strength within Callista. Since her possession of a physical body, she has lost touch with the force.
Durga the Hutt and his goons obtain superweapon blueprints from the former Imperial Information Center. The gang plans to build a Death Star like weapon called the Darksaber. Meanwhile, Admiral Daala returns from the shadows in an attempt to bring unity amongst the shattered empire.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Not a bad story overall, but there are many cringe worthy moments. I think Kevin J Anderson did a good job continuing what was set up in the previous book, Children of the Jedi. Often times, an author will set up something in a book, other authors will write a the next event in the timeline, but overlook most of the story that came before it. I'm glad Kevin J Anderson came back to write more of the Jedi Characters that he established in the Jedi Academy trilogy.
I enjoyed the Hutt's and their attempt to gain power. What I liked more than that, was the return of Admiral Daala. I think the setup for her power grab was done well; she didn't want to be in control, but the immaturity of her peers left her with no choice but to wipe the slate clean and take the lead.
I can't stand the relationship between Luke and Callista. Callista says they shouldn't be together, she shouldn't be in Luke's shadow, unable to do the things she was once able to. The foundation of the relationship is the force and the ability to use it... that's stupid.
It was fun to see the empire attempt to take Yavin 4. While I like the Jedi, I do like how things haven't been too easy for them. The resurrection of the Jedi Order has been a difficult undertaking with many challenges.
Do I recommend you read this story? Yes.
RATING
I give Star Wars: Darksaber a C.
SUMMARY
Luke Skywalker and Callista work together in an attempt to rebuild the force strength within Callista. Since her possession of a physical body, she has lost touch with the force.
Durga the Hutt and his goons obtain superweapon blueprints from the former Imperial Information Center. The gang plans to build a Death Star like weapon called the Darksaber. Meanwhile, Admiral Daala returns from the shadows in an attempt to bring unity amongst the shattered empire.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Not a bad story overall, but there are many cringe worthy moments. I think Kevin J Anderson did a good job continuing what was set up in the previous book, Children of the Jedi. Often times, an author will set up something in a book, other authors will write a the next event in the timeline, but overlook most of the story that came before it. I'm glad Kevin J Anderson came back to write more of the Jedi Characters that he established in the Jedi Academy trilogy.
I enjoyed the Hutt's and their attempt to gain power. What I liked more than that, was the return of Admiral Daala. I think the setup for her power grab was done well; she didn't want to be in control, but the immaturity of her peers left her with no choice but to wipe the slate clean and take the lead.
I can't stand the relationship between Luke and Callista. Callista says they shouldn't be together, she shouldn't be in Luke's shadow, unable to do the things she was once able to. The foundation of the relationship is the force and the ability to use it... that's stupid.
It was fun to see the empire attempt to take Yavin 4. While I like the Jedi, I do like how things haven't been too easy for them. The resurrection of the Jedi Order has been a difficult undertaking with many challenges.
Do I recommend you read this story? Yes.
RATING
I give Star Wars: Darksaber a C.
November 23, 2023
Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson
Adventurous, challenging, hopeful, inspiring,
reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5 ⭐
I want to address one thing first. This has NOTHING to do with the Mandalorian "darksaber". I was truly wondering how they were going to make THAT left turn, but thankfully they did not.
I enjoyed this story (and style of writing) a lot better than the previous novel within the trilogy.
The story was more cohesive and moved at a pace that I really enjoyed.
The main thing that lessened the rating, was the overpowering of the a few of the Jedi. They were TOO powerful...and it took me out of the story. Oh, I enjoyed it when it happened, but then I said...wait, that's actually too much (and for the next few pages...well till now writing the review, I cannot get it out of my mind).
This story felt real and part of Star Wars. I am reading the Legends novels...after already being a fan of the Disney Canon. So I accept their place within the "grand scheme" of things.
I am NOW hoping that the final book in the trilogy will pick up...and keep the same tone and storyline. That's my hope.
#BucketListathon2023
Adventurous, challenging, hopeful, inspiring,
reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5 ⭐
I want to address one thing first. This has NOTHING to do with the Mandalorian "darksaber". I was truly wondering how they were going to make THAT left turn, but thankfully they did not.
I enjoyed this story (and style of writing) a lot better than the previous novel within the trilogy.
The story was more cohesive and moved at a pace that I really enjoyed.
The main thing that lessened the rating, was the overpowering of the a few of the Jedi. They were TOO powerful...and it took me out of the story. Oh, I enjoyed it when it happened, but then I said...wait, that's actually too much (and for the next few pages...well till now writing the review, I cannot get it out of my mind).
This story felt real and part of Star Wars. I am reading the Legends novels...after already being a fan of the Disney Canon. So I accept their place within the "grand scheme" of things.
I am NOW hoping that the final book in the trilogy will pick up...and keep the same tone and storyline. That's my hope.
#BucketListathon2023
August 18, 2020
It took me a month to read this book. Not because it was long, but because every night I would pick it up, read a few pages, roll my eyes at the poor writing, then decide I’d read enough and went to sleep. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I wanted to come to the blog and say that Kevin J. Anderson had redeemed himself for the atrocious Jedi Academy trilogy (follow these links for my reviews of books I, II, and III.). But I just can’t.
Darksaber was bad.
Darksaber (1995) was written by Kevin J. Anderson as part of a loose trilogy (dubbed the Callista Trilogy because they involve Luke’s relationship with her) that started with Children of the Jedi and concludes with Planet of Twilight (both by Barbara Hambly). Durga the Hutt, one of the slug-like crime lords has decided to build a Death Star for himself so he can take over the galaxy. Admiral Daala from the Jedi Academy books is back and spearheads an Imperial Remnant push to take over the galaxy. Meanwhile, Luke wanders around the said galaxy with Callista trying to get her back her ability to use the Force. There really isn’t a Han/Leia story here, but that really doesn’t bug me as I would rather a book provide a good story than artificially shove characters in for marquee value.
I have tried three times to put coherent thoughts on paper, only to delete them. This review has puzzled me a bit because I want to try and convey my many issues with the book without descending into an absolute nerd rant.
Let’s talk about Crix Madine. If you’re a nerd, you know who he is. For the Normies out there, he was one of the Rebel Generals in Return of the Jedi who gives a briefing as the fleet prepares to assault the Second Death Star. I have many a happy memory of flying cover while a Rebel extraction team brought him safely off of Corellia in the N64 game Rogue Squadron.
Kevin J. Anderson has Madine set up as the Chief of Intelligence, the highest-ranking honcho in the whole government when it comes to spying. Madine spends the first part of the book on some of the ships in the Republic fleet participating in training exercises. He explains that Madine likes to keep his field skills sharp. Alright. Fine. I’ll accept this at face value. He’s the Chief of Intelligence but he wants to make sure he’s up on all the new ways of spying. But then Anderson does something incredibly stupid with Madine…he sends Madine on a secret mission. Wait. So the Chief of Intelligence is going out on covert ops? That doesn’t really make sense. That’s what agents are for. But wait, it gets better. No sooner have Madine and his two sidekicks departed on their mission than he does the whole “we’re not gonna be coming back from this one” internal monologue. So let’s wrap our heads around this. The Chief of Intelligence, the guy responsible the espionage activities of the entire (fragile) New Republic, thought it would be a good idea to assign himself a suicide mission. That would be like if Eisenhower had decided to go on a nice jog down Omaha beach the morning of D-Day. No leader in their right mind would do something this idiotic.
As a piece of storytelling, Darksaber is subpar. The story in this book just…happens. There are no twists or turns, no emotional roller coaster. Everything unfolds in a predictable way. The Hutts want to build a Superweapon. And indeed they do. The Empire wants to attack the Republic. And indeed they do. The Republic needs to fight back against the Empire and the Hutts. And indeed they do. I mean, that’s it. Anderson has ignored a cardinal rule of storytelling; readers want to be duped. We want betrayal. We want to be surprised. There were only one real plot twist in the story; it turns out a very minor character who, while working for Durga the Hutt, claimed to have been a great Imperial Officer, was actually a Private, and a failure at that. Alright. Neat character development.
Would have been great if it mattered to the story in the slightest. The story moves on and it doesn’t matter if the guy had been a Private, a General, or a Dewback. He dies a few pages later, anyway, and not in any sort of ironic way that brought karmic balance to the fact that he lied.
It’s just frustrating that this book got written. It’s frustrating that after the atrocity that was the Jedi Academy books, LucasFilm decided to give Anderson more contracts. I’m sorry, I just don’t get it. I’m sure the man writes good books (he has over 150 novels to his name), but these aren’t them. I am so glad that Disney decided to delete this book from the annals of Star Warsdom. The storytelling is poor, the love story makes you want to vomit, and what it does with Star Wars characters is just sad. Avoid this book. It wasn’t as bad as the Jedi Academy books, but that’s only because this book was so much funnier than Anderson’s previous novels (by funny I mean you’ll be laughing at how much of a train wreck Darksaber really is). It’s not worth your time. I hope Kevin J. Anderson has a successful career writing his other books if for no other reason than that it keeps him from messing with my Star Wars anymore.
Darksaber was bad.
Darksaber (1995) was written by Kevin J. Anderson as part of a loose trilogy (dubbed the Callista Trilogy because they involve Luke’s relationship with her) that started with Children of the Jedi and concludes with Planet of Twilight (both by Barbara Hambly). Durga the Hutt, one of the slug-like crime lords has decided to build a Death Star for himself so he can take over the galaxy. Admiral Daala from the Jedi Academy books is back and spearheads an Imperial Remnant push to take over the galaxy. Meanwhile, Luke wanders around the said galaxy with Callista trying to get her back her ability to use the Force. There really isn’t a Han/Leia story here, but that really doesn’t bug me as I would rather a book provide a good story than artificially shove characters in for marquee value.
I have tried three times to put coherent thoughts on paper, only to delete them. This review has puzzled me a bit because I want to try and convey my many issues with the book without descending into an absolute nerd rant.
Let’s talk about Crix Madine. If you’re a nerd, you know who he is. For the Normies out there, he was one of the Rebel Generals in Return of the Jedi who gives a briefing as the fleet prepares to assault the Second Death Star. I have many a happy memory of flying cover while a Rebel extraction team brought him safely off of Corellia in the N64 game Rogue Squadron.
Kevin J. Anderson has Madine set up as the Chief of Intelligence, the highest-ranking honcho in the whole government when it comes to spying. Madine spends the first part of the book on some of the ships in the Republic fleet participating in training exercises. He explains that Madine likes to keep his field skills sharp. Alright. Fine. I’ll accept this at face value. He’s the Chief of Intelligence but he wants to make sure he’s up on all the new ways of spying. But then Anderson does something incredibly stupid with Madine…he sends Madine on a secret mission. Wait. So the Chief of Intelligence is going out on covert ops? That doesn’t really make sense. That’s what agents are for. But wait, it gets better. No sooner have Madine and his two sidekicks departed on their mission than he does the whole “we’re not gonna be coming back from this one” internal monologue. So let’s wrap our heads around this. The Chief of Intelligence, the guy responsible the espionage activities of the entire (fragile) New Republic, thought it would be a good idea to assign himself a suicide mission. That would be like if Eisenhower had decided to go on a nice jog down Omaha beach the morning of D-Day. No leader in their right mind would do something this idiotic.
As a piece of storytelling, Darksaber is subpar. The story in this book just…happens. There are no twists or turns, no emotional roller coaster. Everything unfolds in a predictable way. The Hutts want to build a Superweapon. And indeed they do. The Empire wants to attack the Republic. And indeed they do. The Republic needs to fight back against the Empire and the Hutts. And indeed they do. I mean, that’s it. Anderson has ignored a cardinal rule of storytelling; readers want to be duped. We want betrayal. We want to be surprised. There were only one real plot twist in the story; it turns out a very minor character who, while working for Durga the Hutt, claimed to have been a great Imperial Officer, was actually a Private, and a failure at that. Alright. Neat character development.
Would have been great if it mattered to the story in the slightest. The story moves on and it doesn’t matter if the guy had been a Private, a General, or a Dewback. He dies a few pages later, anyway, and not in any sort of ironic way that brought karmic balance to the fact that he lied.
It’s just frustrating that this book got written. It’s frustrating that after the atrocity that was the Jedi Academy books, LucasFilm decided to give Anderson more contracts. I’m sorry, I just don’t get it. I’m sure the man writes good books (he has over 150 novels to his name), but these aren’t them. I am so glad that Disney decided to delete this book from the annals of Star Warsdom. The storytelling is poor, the love story makes you want to vomit, and what it does with Star Wars characters is just sad. Avoid this book. It wasn’t as bad as the Jedi Academy books, but that’s only because this book was so much funnier than Anderson’s previous novels (by funny I mean you’ll be laughing at how much of a train wreck Darksaber really is). It’s not worth your time. I hope Kevin J. Anderson has a successful career writing his other books if for no other reason than that it keeps him from messing with my Star Wars anymore.
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