“These stories were something that I had been working on for a long time. I didn’t know it would be for television. But I loved the idea of doing a st“These stories were something that I had been working on for a long time. I didn’t know it would be for television. But I loved the idea of doing a story [after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi.” Jon Favreau
This book will appeal to three, possibly overlapping, sets of people: fans of Stars Wars, those who have noticed and liked the art displayed with the closing credits of The Mandalorian television series, and those curious about the creation prop and set designs. All three should be satisfied with one caveat: the text font is so tiny and thin it impedes reading the text. So what, you say, this is about the art. Well, yes, but the text deserved better treatment.
“While flipping through these pages I am transported back in time, not just to 2018 but all the way back to 1977. We’ve honored George Lucas’s design philosophy in order to realize Jon Favreau’s bold new vision.” Doug Chiang, executive creative director
The book follows the creative process tracing The Mandalorian back to its roots in spaghetti westerns, samurai classics, and Boba Fett and IG-11. The artifacts spring from World War Two and Gulf War aircraft, ancient firearms, and assorted machine parts. The evolution of the title character’s armor and the Yoda child are especially interesting.
“Our ambitions can make the Force into something terrible even when our intentions might have been good. The Mandalorian has a choice: do his job … or take this lost child in and protect it, become it’s guardian.” Dave Filoni...more
A fun read, if shallow and obvious. Hey, it’s Star Wars. The question is never whether Thrawn will outsm“May warrior’s fortune be ever in your favor.”
A fun read, if shallow and obvious. Hey, it’s Star Wars. The question is never whether Thrawn will outsmart most everyone, but how.
“I don’t think he said no,” [she] said. “Just not yet. So stop pouting, Senior Lieutenant, and get your crews ready.” She looked out the viewport. “The universe is about to get interesting again.”
Timothy Zahn is exceptional in the Legends (formerly Expanded Universe) of Stars Wars (both BD and AD: Before Disney and After Disney) for creating new characters and stories which really do expand the SW universe below the basic story thread. (Karen Traviss is another.) Characters he created, most notably Mara Jade and Grand Admiral Mitth’raw’nuruodo, contribute richness and depth to the Legends. Jade was an unfortunate casualty of the Disney buyout; Thrawn weathered the transition intact: to the point that this series ties into SW Rebels series as well as the central SW thread.
“Learning about each other’s ways and learning how we’re alike despite our differences is a way to enrich our lives.”
This rating is relative to other Legends stories, not an absolute scale against all literature.
“Waiting was always a chore. Waiting for combat was excruciating.” ...more
“You can’t be responsible for every survivor of Alderaan, Leia told herself. It was worse than being the Alliance’s shining symbol and figurehead.”
The“You can’t be responsible for every survivor of Alderaan, Leia told herself. It was worse than being the Alliance’s shining symbol and figurehead.”
The best Star Wars book I’ve read in years. Leia gets a story to show what she’s made of, and it’s quite a bit. True believers may argue whether this story is Expanded Universe or Legends or canonical. IMHO, it fits the canon well enough to make the discussion moot; read and enjoy.
“See, this is the part where you yell at me and prove with, I don’t know, brilliant logic or secret information, how of course we can trust them and I go away embarrassed but reassured.” Leia smiled wryly at her. “I wish.”
Set two years after Star Wars Episode Four (movie). Leia seems to have matured fast, and her relationship with Han more developed. Oh, it’s going where we know it will go, but it seems to already be there.
“Knowing too much about Han and Chewbacca’s non-Alliance-related businesses, past and present, just made her left eyelid twitch.”
Quibbles: “Terae stepped forward and pulled a fusioncutter out of her tool satchel.” Beyond imagining what a fusioncutter is, we’re told it’s pocket sized. “The asteroid riddles with tunnels that followed the paths of what must have been veins of various ores.” Most small asteroids are amalgams of material, not layers.
“When your decisions affected people’s lives, it was important to have the advice of someone who didn’t think you were always right because of who you were. Or who your father was.” ...more
“As if all the stories we heard as children were true.”
Forty Author celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Fourth Episode, but first movie, set “lo“As if all the stories we heard as children were true.”
Forty Author celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Fourth Episode, but first movie, set “long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.” What could go wrong?
“As Obi-Wan will soon learn, the most beautiful form of mastery is the art of letting go.”
Despite the prominent Disney appellation, not much goes wrong. Uneven quality, but a better-than-average anthology of stories surrounding A New Hope from the points of view of often-peripheral characters. A bit self-referential and tongue-in-cheek, but some good reading here.
“We have a wookie on our side. What could possibly go wrong?”
Not to be confused with the Expanded Universe (EU) books covering the same times and places and even people, since they are now by-definition non-canonical. Includes characters and tie-ins with Rogue One.
“Stories, when told exhaustively, lose their magic.”
My favorite? The last story: “Whills.” Hilarious.
“… suffused by the miasma of spilled drinks and dead dreams.” ...more
“Is this what Chiss do? See a trap, and just walk into it?” Good science fiction--albeit a space opera--not just good Star Wars fiction. The reader nee“Is this what Chiss do? See a trap, and just walk into it?” Good science fiction--albeit a space opera--not just good Star Wars fiction. The reader need not have any previous exposure to Star Wars nor Thrawn to enjoy this origins tale in which Zahn skillfully weaves the many threads of existing stories into a fresh, original story. “There’s no trust in politics. Never has been. Never will be.”
Thrawn is there in all his glory, but he is also limited and occasionally tone deaf, so he’s less superhuman.
“All Eli could see in his face was that maddening confidence of his.”
The two primary threads interweave convincingly. Bad people see themselves as serving a greater good, just a good people are often blind to their own faults. Good Holmes-Watson interchanges. Understanding an opponent through his art is a constant with Thrawn.
“Military leadership is a journey, not a destination.”
Quibble: Thrawn’s voice, even his inner voice, is too childish. Don’t care for the cover art; inconsistent with other portrayals of Thrawn.
“A warrior may retreat. He does not flee. He may lie in ambush. He does not hide. He may experience victory or defeat. He does not cease to serve.” ...more
“Child, the belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead.”
Competent young reader’s novelization of Star Wars The Force Awakens movie, told from t“Child, the belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead.”
Competent young reader’s novelization of Star Wars The Force Awakens movie, told from the perspective of Rey, the young woman. Appropriate and readable by pre-teens. Takes the reader inside Rey’s head for questions and insights the movie only hints at.
Unexpectedly good. Raises the admittedly-low bar for Star Wars literature.
“Sometimes there is more to be gained b“It’ll look better with blood on it.”
Unexpectedly good. Raises the admittedly-low bar for Star Wars literature.
“Sometimes there is more to be gained by stepping into a trap than by avoiding it.”
Expands the person of Willhuff Tarkin from the cardboard marinette briefly appearing in Episode Four to a living being: a man with a history and a goal. A partner—if not quite and equal one—with the Emperor and Darth Vader. A true believer that “in the absence of order, there is only chaos.”
“The insidious pursuit of self-enrichment grew only more pervasive through the long centuries, and in the end left the body politic feckless and corrupt.”
Examines the motives of the galactic empire from the inside. Some adherents were not motivated by wealth or power, but by a very different image of the greater good.
“Everyone is expendable.”
Cover Art: Peter Cushing never looked more menacing. Wonder if his estate gets credit for his appearance.
“Discipline and order were the keys, and law was the only unanswerable response to chaos.” ...more
A worthy addition to the Expanded Universe. No, not four stars on any absolute scale of literary merit. (Is such a “No true Sith cares about another.”
A worthy addition to the Expanded Universe. No, not four stars on any absolute scale of literary merit. (Is such a thing possible?) But certainly better conceived and executed than most Star Wars EU books. Star Wars: Darth Plagueis joins many threads from the EU into the canon of Star War orthodoxy (the movies).
“We stalk the Force like hunters, rather than surrender like prey to its enigmatic whims.”
Don’t let the title fool you, this book is mostly about Palpatine AKA Darth Sidious. Oh, it details the genesis, rise and reign of Hego Damask as Plagueis the Wise, but mostly the story is about how Palpatine was apprenticed by and superseded his Sith master. No, mostly the book reiterates copious Star Wars trivia, tying as many loose ends as possible from the EU into the canonical fourth movie (Episode One).
“The power of the dark side is an illness no true Sith would wish to be cured of.”
One of those threads is the theology of the Force. From Obi Wan Kenobi’s opening synopsis of Force theology in Episode Four, the Force has grown from, “The Force is … an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together,” to an independent consciousness able to will and choose light and dark. “The will of the Force begets …” and “[The Force] will strike back.” Therefore, differences of opinion as to the nature and use of the force naturally become sectarian warfare. (Think how Christians and Moslems settle their different concepts of the nature of God.) To themselves Sith are not evil, they’re just following a more real (and powerful) reality.
“Sith are more powerful than Jedi because we are not afraid to feel.”
Darth Plagueis is a space opera with very little space, let alone lightsaber fights, space battles, etc. Lots of dialogue and narrative. Reads like a history book—one on those which interprets everything “from a certain point of view.” With some ridiculous social commentary: “I blame the Senate for encouraging the galaxy to turn on credit.” Or “In the absence of armies there can be no wars.” Star Wars fans will give it a five, the rest may award three stars.
“What celestial body is more luminous than a singularity, hiding in plain sight but more powerful than all?” ...more
A skillful patch of known and previous stories about Obi-Wan Kenobi, this books lacks the originality—the story—of books like Kenobi. However, for itsA skillful patch of known and previous stories about Obi-Wan Kenobi, this books lacks the originality—the story—of books like Kenobi. However, for its apparent audience—young, even middle grade readers—it’s a satisfying story.
Possibly the best Star Wars EU (expanded universe) novel I’ve read, and while I haven’t kept track it’s been dozens. Miller accomplishes the singular Possibly the best Star Wars EU (expanded universe) novel I’ve read, and while I haven’t kept track it’s been dozens. Miller accomplishes the singular feat of writing a good, self-contained story which has all the expected ties to both the official Star Wars canon (the films) and the EU (dozens of books, graphics novels, games, etc.).
Miller admits that he originally conceived this story as a “western” in graphic novel format. It clearly exceed the bounds of that genre—not that there’s anything wrong with graphic novels.
Two minor quibbles: First, the twin suns of Tatooine are presented as following each other in the same order. Binary stars orbit a common center. If Tatoo I and II were relatively close together (so that the planet could orbit the common center also), they would change position--rapidly (like Io around Jupiter). If the stars were far enough apart for Tatooine to orbit only one, the two stars would fail to present the iconic double sunsets. Second, Miller kept telling us how hot it was, but I never felt it. During too much time spent in Southwest Asia, I’ve felt the hot, arid air sucking me dry. It is beyond uncomfortable. It is dangerous.
Why not five stars? Kenobi’s “mediations” almost ruin the story. They are out of character; in fact soundings more like a fat suburban whining to his shrink than a Jedi Master musing on the ineffables of the universe. They come off as a plot narration expedient.
The rating is bumped up relative to others of this genre.
A refreshing change of pace from most Expanded Universe fare. Cast features none of the "usuaThe rating is bumped up relative to others of this genre.
A refreshing change of pace from most Expanded Universe fare. Cast features none of the "usual suspects" and partly because of that major characters could grow during the story. And yet the history, racial types and geography of Star Wars are well represented. An amazingly subtle, well-plotted storyline....more
The usual Star Wars Expanded Universe silliness as only Timothy Zahn seems able to tell it. This rating is relative to other SW EU books.
Choices of OnThe usual Star Wars Expanded Universe silliness as only Timothy Zahn seems able to tell it. This rating is relative to other SW EU books.
Choices of One inserts a new tale, not at the end of the expanding galaxy of SW stories, but in the middle: eight months after the climax of A New Hope (the original SW movie). Zahn manages to weave his "usual suspects"--Mara Jade, Daric LaRone plus four, and Thrawn--into a story consistent with who they--and the SW regulars, Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, et al.--were then. He stumbles only on Luke, as it's hard to bring the future Jedi Master all the way back to his escaped moisture farmer roots and still give him a credible role involving Mara Jade, especially as we all know where Zahn is going to take their relationship.
Good job, but probably only for die hard SW EU fans.
Second reading 2016:
“The Choices of One shape the futures of all.” Zahn manages to insert a fully-developed tale into the stream of the Star Wars canon, in this case just after The New Hope, which advances the characters (some of whom are Expanded Universe, not canon) without doing serious damage to the whole. “We all strive to build empires … we hope will survive us.” As usual with Zahn books there’s entirely too much cooperation and fraternization between Empire and Rebel Alliance, but as usual it’s for a good cause. “He’s never seen the Dark Lord this close … this angry.” Manages half a dozen plot threads to keep the reader engaged. Still, pop corn for the brain. (see below) “Information always matters.” The joke’s on me: I didn’t realize I read this book six years ago until I checked my database. Even knowing that, it was like reading a new story. One of the few advantages (?) of age. “Sometimes it was good to be a law unto yourself.”
The Clone Wars, of course, replows the soil already turned by the movie of the same name. Don't expect any galactic revelations.
Karen Traviss takes usThe Clone Wars, of course, replows the soil already turned by the movie of the same name. Don't expect any galactic revelations.
Karen Traviss takes us into the minds of her characters. In The Clone Wars that's best done with members of the 501st, especially Captain Rex. It works least well with Anakin Skywalker. (She doesn't even try with icons like Obiwan Kenobi and Yoda.) However, the Anakin she portrays is slightly out of sync with the wounded spirit who becomes Frankenstein's monster.
She still writes better than most of the SW usual suspects....more
Not a four star in the real world, but so much better than most SW books that Miller desires the credit. A writer worth reading.
And the story is a genNot a four star in the real world, but so much better than most SW books that Miller desires the credit. A writer worth reading.
And the story is a genuinely enjoyable tale of two "regulars"--Obiwan Kenobi and Bail Organa--and a first dangerous mission which forces them to deal with each other as other than stereotypical Jedi and politician if they are to survive, let alone succeed.
The cover art has absolutely nothing to do with the story. Don't you hate that?...more
One of the best Star Wars books I've read (and I've read 79). Traviss gets right inside people and makes them live and you care about them.
ParadoxicalOne of the best Star Wars books I've read (and I've read 79). Traviss gets right inside people and makes them live and you care about them.
Paradoxically, this story is so far out of the main stream of the SW universe that it's almost general science fiction. Though it has a few of the Big Names, they don't contribute much to the plot. Yes, it could have been more complicated and it could have been longer, but for the thoughtful reader it provides plenty to think about--which is something few other SW books do....more
Well, this was unique. I've read cover blurbs that give away the set up of the book, but never before have I read one, as Stealth has, which gave awayWell, this was unique. I've read cover blurbs that give away the set up of the book, but never before have I read one, as Stealth has, which gave away the entire plot. Granted, this book was just a four hundred page setup for the second book of the series, but you'd think they'd leave the reader some suspense.
Okay story and writing. Tired of the repetitious Anakin and Obi-Wan arguments. Glad to see Ahsoka growing. Hard to believe only Bail Organa sees Anakin and Padme's relationship, but that's SW canon, so . . . . Interesting that so many of the expended universe novels portray the Jedi as clueless buffoons, if not outright villains.
Written like a youth story, rather than adult, but it's hard to tell with the SW universe....more
That's better . . . much better. My advice would be to skip the first book of this duo, Stealth, and just read Siege (which comes up on Goodreads searThat's better . . . much better. My advice would be to skip the first book of this duo, Stealth, and just read Siege (which comes up on Goodreads search's as Star Wars Clone Wars Gambit).
Same young-reader quality, but she starts somewhere and goes somewhere else. And gets there. So many books these days don't....more
This was awful. Pointless. The whole Yuuzhan Vong thing is interminably boring.
Cover art is supposed to make you want For this they killed Chewbacca?!
This was awful. Pointless. The whole Yuuzhan Vong thing is interminably boring.
Cover art is supposed to make you want to buy the book. The art on the covers of this series is so bad, it makes you want to look for a plain, brown wrapper. Is the guy on the left supposed to be Han Solo? ...more
