Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
Author: Sean Stewart
Release Date: November 2004

Another re-read, but worth every minute. I originally read this before the release of Revenge of the Sith, so obviously I didn’t know how events were going to play out. I’ve always had in the back of my mind that this was a good read, but I didn’t remember just how amazing this novel is.

From start to finish, Sean Stewart grabs your complete attention. Not only is the story captivating and energetic, it’s packed with mind-tickling philosophical sayings that literally make you stop dead in your tracks to ponder them. Not that they are confusing or cryptic; they are, in my opinion, profound enough to make you re-read them and smile.

All the main characters are here, but a perfect balance is achieved with them all. Just enough for each character. Speaking of character appearances, this book contains arguably two of the most intriguing and perhaps the most chilling in all EU. The first is an exchange between Mace Windu and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Now that we know how events play out in ROTS, their exchange is a chilling foreshadowing of what’s to come.

The second is the focus of the title itself: the meeting of Yoda and Count Dooku. The rendezvous was built up throughout the novel and it delivered. While reading this the first time, I hung to every word, wondering if Dooku would indeed return to the Jedi. Even after reading it again, even after I know Dooku’s fate, I still clung to every word spoken by the two characters. I was again stunned into reality when Dooku “snapped out of it”, so-to-speak. I was like oh yeah, that has to happen.

Another aspect of the novel that grabs you is the dreams of Whie. You read of the dreams at the start, and keep them in your mind, until events play out to the fulfillment of those dreams. You brace yourself and think alright, here it is. That is one of my favorite plot devices.

The only complaints I have is the notion that Jedi steal babies in order to train them from infancy. This isn’t the only novel to bring this up, but I disagree with the notion altogether. This being Sith propaganda is one thing, but for it to be mentioned like it is a true possibility irritates me a bit. The other thing that’s not really a complaint but a wish is that I’d like to have seen a final exchange between Dooku and Sidious and Dooku and Ventress. To me, things were left hanging without those exchanges.

Those two things aside, this novel is an outstanding read, worthy of the highest rating from Knights Archive. To my knowledge, this is the only Star Wars novel that Sean Stewart has written. Why? Why has he not been brought back for more novels? Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is without doubt one of the best Star Wars novels in existence. I want more from him.

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous receives a 5 out of 5.

- Master Optician

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Cloak of Deception
Author: James Luceno
Release Date: May 2001

This novel is another re-read for me; the first time was several years ago. I had built up in my mind that this was an awesome novel, which gave incredible detail to the manipulations of Palpatine before the events of The Phantom Menace. After I read it a second time, though, my impression has actually changed.

Sure, this novel does elaborate on just what the ‘baseless accusations’ against Valorum were as mentioned in TPM, but the story is not as in-depth as I remember it to be. Most of the novel is devoted to an assassination attempt on Valorum; I had forgotten about that. The attempt, yes. The amount devoted to it, no. I had to fight boredom this time around, as I was strung along with the Jedi during their search for the assassins.

The ‘in-depth’ political maneuvers I remember turned out to be a collection of gossip mongering. Only in the end did my attention start to sharpen, during the Valorum/corruption discovery and the final dialog between Sidious and Nute Gunray. Everything else was just mindless filler, in my humble opinion. I did not become emotionally attached to any of the secondary characters, such as Captain Cohl, Rella, or Boiny. Even the parts where Senator Palpatine and his Darth Sidious persona made an appearance didn’t demand my attention, though for some reason it did before.

Maybe it’s because not much was known back then; anything about him was simply devoured without much thought. I dunno. What I do know is that this will be my last time reading Cloak of Deception.

Cloak of Deception receives a 2 out of 5.

- Master Optician

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Tatooine Ghost
Author: Troy Denning
Release Date: March 2003

I finished this one a few months ago, and I must say that I was pleased from start to finish. This novel was published nearly a year after the release of Attack of the Clones, so that movie would have been fresh on people’s minds as they read it. Again, I was several years late, as my attention was focused on the Clone Wars era at the time, but I still felt like I had just seen the Prequel Trilogy while reading.

The part that excited me the most was the recordings from Shmi, and the photograph of Anakin as a young child, and the fact that Leia discovered them. I felt that Leia’s mental struggle while seeing these for the first time was very believable. I was pleased to read that Leia discovered something about her grandmother and her father, which helped her to actually learn something about the past. Not only was it informative to her, but this was a nice discovery for readers as well. Anything that bridges the gap between movies in a legitimate way is good in my opinion.

Leia’s strengthening relationship with Han was well explored as well, including the not-so-subtle hint of perhaps when Jacen and Jaina was conceived. Also, having read the Thrawn trilogy recently, it was nice to see how the events in Tatooine Ghost tied closely to the events of that trilogy. Plus there is lots of other things going on to keep the reader fully engaged. I never got bored.

Before reading this, I genuinely had no idea what was in store. I try to keep away from anything that might spoil a novel, even if it’s an older one. Again, I was pleased with what I found, and recommend it.

Tatooine Ghost receives a 4 out of 5.

- Master Optician

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The Ruins Of Dantooine
Author(s): Voronica Robinson/Haden Blackman
Release Date: January 2004

Um, yeah. I just picked this one up recently, as I kept my focus on the Clone Wars/Old Republic era novels. That, and there wasn’t much about this novel that motivated me to hurry up and buy it. Honestly, the only reason why I had a shred of interest before purchasing was the word “Dantooine”. I was hoping that perhaps this was some kind of tie-in to the KOTOR games.

Anyway, bought the novel and read it. And was disappointed. Everything about it is forgettable. Probably because it was so rushed. I dunno. This novel did nothing for me, and I don’t see how it contributes to the EU at all. The back cover is a great read, but it all goes downhill after that. Perhaps the thinking was… millions of people play the game, so that will translate to millions of people buying the book. Maybe it did sell well, I don’t know. What I do know is that much of those buyers would probably like a refund.

Not trying to be harsh, but this is easily the worst novel I’ve read. The only plus that I can see is that it was so short. 280+ pages, and not a whole lot of words on each page. Better luck next time for VWR, if there is a next time. Sorry.

The Ruins of Dantooine receives a 1 out of 5.

- Master Optician

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The Thrawn Trilogy
~Heir to the Empire
~Dark Force Rising
~The Last Command
Release Date: 1991-1994
Author: Timothy Zahn

Believe it or not, I just read this trilogy for the first time about a month ago. When I started my EU journey around the time AOTC was released, my focus was on the Clone Wars era. I started there, and have gradually moved my way forward in the time line. Up until the time of me finally reading this trilogy, I heard so much about it; so many sources referencing these novels from Zahn. Needless to say, I was genuinely excited about reading them. Did they live up to the hype, in my opinion?

One word… absolutely. I was completely entertained from start to finish. Honestly, there’s not much more that I can say that hasn’t been said about them throughout the years. It was very well-written, the characters were engrossing, and the technology – believable. A forum poster a while back had it right… these novels have stood the test of time and are as relevant now as they were nearly 20 years ago.

I’m releasing this review ahead of the 25th anniversary reprint, which will include a few extra goodies, so this review may be edited in the future to reflect the changes. Among those that are definitely welcome is the anticipated new cover art. The existing covers certainly reflect the age of the novels. It’ll be nice to see updated versions.

This trilogy receives a 5 out of 5. Well done.

- Master Optician

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- Minor Spoiler Review -

My first taste of Shadows of the Empire came from the Nintendo 64. I purchased the game because… it was Star Wars, of course. I found that it had awesome graphics, incredible music and was incredibly fun. But most of all, it had a captivating story. Shadows of the Empire was the first time I strayed away from the main story contained in the Original Trilogy. I later read the comic, via Nintendo Power, and became even more interested. I didn’t read the novel until several years later. To which I have now re-read it; the first for any of the novels in my collection.

The novel takes hold immediately with the prologue. What an interesting way to intertwine this story with The Empire Strikes Back! I will never watch the Emperor/Vader scene in that movie the same way again. I now expect that Xizor is indeed watching in silence in the background. This introduction was very descriptive and sets the tone for the book.

The story itself is pure entertainment from start to finish, with all sorts of ties to The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I felt it was fast when it needed to be, slow when required. The writing itself was smart and witty. There were more than a few times that I laughed out loud. The exchanges between the Emperor, Xizor and Vader were especially delicious. I definitely wanted to hear more of the back-and-forth between them.

We also learn more about Black Sun, which is a powerful criminal syndicate, to which Xizor is leader. I’m always look forward to learning more about this powerful organization.

Obviously, I feel the characters were well written and well balanced. Xizor is quite the strong character. Though, I could have done without knowing about his sexuality, including his experiences with Guri, a droid.

I probably know more about Dash Rendar than what the novel tells of him, primarily because of the game and comic. Without those other media, I definitely would have wanted to learn more about him. I felt the transition Luke was making was well written. It would have been nice if Boba Fett made an appearance, though.

All-in-all, this is a novel I recommend reading. Do so with some kind of exposure to the game and comic, if possible. The stories from all three do differ in many places, but I simply try to blend them in for a total experience.

Official Synopsis:

Shadows of the Empire illuminates the shadowy outlines of a criminal conspiracy that exists in the background of the events in the movies, ruled by a character new to us. Prince Xizor is a mastermind of evil who dares to oppose one of the best-known fictional villains of all time: Darth Vader. The story involves all the featured Star Wars movie characters, plus Emperor Palpatine and, of course, Lord Vader himself.