STAR WARS - THE FORCE UNLEASHED

DEL REY

Written by Sean Williams
Based on a story by Haden Blackman

Copyright 2008 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & Registered or Trademarked where indicated. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpt from Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber copyright 2009 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & Registered or Trademarked where indicated. All Rights Reserved.



In The Force Unleashed - written by Sean Williams - based on the video game from LucasArts for xbox 360, wii, ps3, Nintendo DS, and pc, based on a story by Haden Blackman - Darth Vader has a Sith apprentice and sends him to dispatch Vader's master's enemies.

With female pilot Juno Eclipse becoming the apprentice's pilot to fly them through Empire space, you would think that Juno would automatically relate to the apprentice named Starkiller since she was an empire subject herself and was against the rebellion. With the orphaned apprentice so mysterious, Juno was leery of him initially and even spied on the apprentice - and discovered that Starkiller is actually the apprentice of Darth Vader. Vader is secretly grooming his apprentice to help him overthrow the Emperor. With the apprentice sent by Darth Vader to search out and hunt down the Jedi who had escaped Order 66, it was hard for me to like Starkiller initially as he did so.

I felt the apprentice's journey from evil to good was not quite believable. It did not help in that I could never get into his character. There was no real characterization in the beginning of the book of the apprentice for me to relate to him in any way. In one sense, Starkiller's transformation was too abrupt, as for the most part he was pretending that he was good in order to get to his assigned victims. Although with Vader trying to kill his apprentice, it was quite appropriate that Starkiller starts to change. While Vader faked the apprentice's death to fool the Emperor at the cost of several clone troopers, there is still the weight of Starkiller being Vader's apprentice - with the stigma of The Sith always betraying each other. Having Starkiller's droid Proxy being his sparring partner and programmed to become holographic well-known enemies such as Jedi, was both quite appropriate and unpredictable as Proxy was secretly programmed to kill the apprentice. Juno was quite the obvious romantic partner for Starkiller, despite her fear and Starkiller's dismissal of Juno as his pilot.

While I have never played the game, I could never really relate as much to the characters as much as I wanted to, except for the Jedi. Probably because I knew of the Jedi characters that were used in the book from other books and media like The Clone Wars and not from the game. There is not as much initial characterization of the game characters as I would have liked - and by the time Williams really tried to start to develop the characters in the book, it was too late for me.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR WARS - REVENGE OF THE SITH

Del Rey Books Mass Market Edition

Written by Mathew Stover

Copyright 2005 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.



Revenge of the Sith by Mathew Stover is the novelization of the movie Revenge of the Sith. In the midst of the Clone Wars, the Jedi Council sends Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on a mission to get the cyborg Separatist leader General Grievous. Meanwhile, Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic Palpatine strips away the citizens personal liberties throughout the Republic in the name of security to establish the Galactic Empire. Palpatine also turns the public against the Jedi - including Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, of which the Jedi Council denies Anakin from becoming a Jedi Master. Anakin also has visions and fears that his secret wife, Senator Padme Amidala, will die in childbirth. Palpatine manipulations, and Anakin's fear, leads to an unspeakable new Sith Lord - Darth Vader.

While many of the politics of the book may seem like they came out of today's headlines - George Lucas actually based the politics from the Vietnam War era, since that is the time when George Lucas started writing Star Wars. This is perhaps the darkest story of all of the stories in the Star Wars series as the story of Revenge of the Sith leads into the dark times and the Galactic Empire - and the darkness of the various characters as the Dark Side reaches them.

While I have never believed Hayden Christensen as Anakin in the movie, in the book the characterization of Anakin was much more believable. Having Anakin defeat Count Dooku in the way that he did was rather graphic for the Chosen One - a preview of Anakin's path towards the Dark Side. Chancellor Palpatine seems more like a reasonable regular politician throughout most of the book - although Palpatine does give the infamous Order 66 for the clone troopers to exterminate the Jedi. It is hard for me to believe that the young Darth Vader had no remorse or not having any type of emotion for his deeds, except for his anger toward Obi-Wan at the climax and of what Vader's deeds has ultimately cost him. Having tiny little Yoda do battle with Darth Sidious is great to see, even though Yoda will grow weak by the time of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I liked how the end of the book set everything in motion for the next series of books, starting with Star Wars: A New Hope.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR WARS - CORUSCANT NIGHTS III - PATTERNS OF FORCE

A Del Rey Books Mass Market Original

Written by Michael Reaves

Copyright 2008 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

In the third book of the Star Wars - Coruscant Nights series, Patterns of Force has Jedi Knight, in hiding from the Great Jedi Purge, Jax Pavan find a young man amongst the bowels of the city planet Coruscant with such raw power in the force that he takes him on as his padawan. Pavan also becomes involved in a plot to kill Emperor Palpatine.

I liked the idea of Jax being concerned about young Kaj and that Jax tries to teach Kaj on how to use the Force. Of course Jax is also concerned that Kaj does not fall prey to the Dark Side of the Force as the Inquisitors search for them. Having self-aware droid I-5YQ volunteer to kill Emperor Palpatine since he can not feel the droid in the force is a cute but logical action as I-5's reporter partner goes home. The climax has Darth Vader completing his quest of finding Jedi Knight Jax Pavan.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Star Wars - Coruscant Nights II - Street of Shadows

A Del Rey Books Mass Market Original

Writen by Michael Reaves

Copyright 2008 by Lucasfilm Ltd.



In Street of Shadows, is the second book in the Star Wars Coruscant Nights series written by Michael Reaves. Former Jedi Knight Jax Pavan is now a private investigator who is hired by a rich woman, along with Jax's supportive team of misfit associates, to help her search for the one who has killed her artist lover - while Darth Vader hires an aggressive bounty hunter to find Jax.

It seems that Jax is almost too settled into his role as a private investigator, and is not concerned at all about being discovered as a Jedi Knight - until the confrontation by the bounty hunter. The subplot of Senator Padme Amidala's former head of security, Captain Gregar Typho, driven to find out what had really happened to Padme when she was killed almost makes you want Typho to discover that it was really Anakin who had killed Amidala, and it seems a little unethical that Typho is using innocent Jax in order to kill Darth Vader in revenge.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Star Wars - Shadows of the Empire

A Bantam Sprectra Book/Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Written by Steve Perry

Copyright 1996

Set between the movies THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI, Shadows of the Empire feels like a proper sequel to the Star Wars universe. While searching for the carbon-frozen Han Solo, Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker is pursued by Darth Vader - as well as the head of the criminal organization Black Sun, Prince Xixor, who overhears a private communication between Emperor Palpatine and Vader about Luke. One wants Luke alive, the other wants Luke dead!

The book gives more insight into the Star Wars universe, set during the movies, with the introduction of the criminal syndicate Black Sun as part of the running of the Galactic Empire; this also includes running the various merchants and bounty hunters as part of Black Sun's operations.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.