Dark Force Rising

I was shocked to find out the middle of this trilogy was just as good as the first (in my opinion, at least). I quickly got through this book, cherishing every page. I was immensely excited to read the finale. This book has some thrilling action sequences, and Joruus C'baoth really shines in this one.

Due to back problems, I recently spent the weekend lying down and trying to recuperate, and I chose a fairly easy-to-follow audiobook to listen to. This site isn't for audiobooks, though, so I'll try not to go too far in detail about Marc Thompson's performance (though I thought very highly of it).

These books are very highly recomended, and for good reason. The plotting is tight, and the characterization is interesting and consistent. While some characters may seem similar, they're never cut from the same cloth, and everyone's actions and responses are always unique. The plot always has interesting things for everyone to do, and no one is ever lost or left away from a challenge that suits them.

The prose leaves something to be desired, of course, but I'm not really expecting Proust from a Star Wars tie-in novel. Zahn frequently reuses phrases (‘two heartbeats', ‘what in blazes', etc) and makes word choices that, while it's clear what he means, are inelegant at best (he refers to Han's disregard for authority as his ‘automatic disobedience circuits', for example).

Still, it's the characters and plot that really shines. Zahn does an excellent job shaping the world his characters inhabit, making everything seem like it exists in a sensible yet surreal union that's become emblematic of the franchise. Unlike some other tie-in novels, he doesn't rely on jargon gimmicks to make his scenarios feel grounded, and instead just never forgets who his characters are and what they're doing. If this kind of stuff is for you in the first place, I highly recommend it.

Another fun installment of a neat trilogy I'm enjoying a lot. This book felt like a love letter to the movies, even moreso than the first book. Certain parts, particularly the rescue of Karrde from the Chimera felt pulled straight from the screen, and in a good way.

What more can I say? A very fun book, and I look forward to reading the third in the series.

Might be a smidgen better than the first one, or maybe not. Anyway this has been around for years so I won't critique the work, what's the point??? I recommend it to anyone if you are Star Wars fan and haven't experienced yet as a solidly written Saturday matinee film in book form - a Star Wars story. I listened to it as an audio book and I am found the addition of the incidental music and sound effects a great touch.

While I enjoyed this book immensely, the fact that Borsk Fey'lya managed to continue to be a major player in the New Republic after the events of this book is surprising. At the very least you'd think the Bothans would have sent someone else to represent them on the New Republic Council after he managed to mess up this badly.

Twenty years down the road, I am revisiting the Thrawn series for nostalgia's sake. I would have given this a five star rating the first time, but time has a way of eroding some things.

The highlight of the trilogy is the genius of Grand Admiral Thrawn. We continue to see the strategy play out in the power vacuum left by the deaths of the Emperor and Vader.

Once again, the main characters are already type cast and it is hard to develop those characters further. I would like to have seen a more mature or nuanced political intrigue, but then Star Wars is more about action than complex story.

Bottom line: This is my favorite Star Wars series I've read. The space battle at the end of the book was a fun way to lead to the finale. Still, the Star Wars universe in general seems to be rather predictable. That being said, I sometimes like being clear who is on which side. It's great in the Star Wars universe, but in the end does not inspire me to greater thoughts or perspective for real life.

Great read, getting prepared for the next movie.

Executive Summary: Not as good as the first book, this was still another enjoyable entry in this series.

Audio book: Marc Thompson once again gives a stellar performance. Add to that the sound effects and music and audio is the only way to do this book in my opinion.

Full Review
Empire Strikes Back is probably my favorite Star Wars Movie. So could the middle book of this trilogy top the original as well? No it couldn't.

I found the middle of the book particularly slow, especially Leia's storyline. However the ending of this book make up for the slow pace by being pretty non-stop action.

Apart from finding parts of the book slow, my only major complaint is the level of intuition of Grand Admiral Thrawn. There were a few parts where I was able to predict what was going to happen, not because it seemed like it was reasonable, but simply because Thrawn has rather ridiculous levels of deduction. I mean, I wonder if even Sherlock Holmes would be able to draw the same conclusions. It had me rolling my eyes and going “Oh come on” at points.

I guess though when Luke is able to see glimpses of the future using the force you have to do something to create a worthy adversary. However I just found Mr. Zahn went a little overboard in this book compared with the first.

That said, I still rather enjoyed the book. It's a lot of fun with characters I love. The story is compelling enough to keep me wanting to keep listening to see where things are going next.

I think with this book Talon Karrde has become my favorite new character, as Mara Jade's struggle with her past is starting to wear on me.

Overall I found this to be a decent entry in this trilogy with a fantastic climax making up for some of it's other faults and jumped right into the final book.

3.5 Stars rounded up due to strong finish.

Spoilers ahead!

Definitely one of the finest Star Wars books... but I believe I like the continuation most. I like Zahn's new characters, such as Talon Carrde, Mara Jade and Garm Bel Iblis and I believe he's did a great job with Fey'lya.

Nonetheless, I think that Zahn could have killed someone or put the Empire in advantage at the end of this book, just like the Empire Strikes Back, to motivate the reader to continue the reading... You know what happens with the Katana Fleet, C'Baoth is gaining power and Thrawn loses an Imperial Star Destroyer... and what else? Where to go? I'm not suggesting a rehash, but I think it lacks that nice cliffhanger at the end...