Book Review: Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

  Just recently I saw Star Wars the Force Awakens on video. This, of course, fueled my passion for all things Star Wars again. I reached into my massive pile of books to be read and chose Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. I have heard amazing things about this book. Many who have read it have given it praise. Now that I have read it I know why.

  Christie Golden is definitely no stranger to science fiction.  Having written several Star Trek and Star Wars novels, to me she is perfect to tackle this unaired story. Near the end of the animated series, the Clone Wars, Lucasfilm sealed a four billion dollar deal with Disney to further Star Wars into the future. This immediately saw the cancellation of the series, and it sixth season on hold (later to be released on Netflix). Part of the last remaining episodes was to be a story arc featuring Asajj Ventress and Quilan Vos, entitled Dark Disciple. It was written by George Lucas' daughter, Katie, and sadly was not part of the finished Season Six animated episodes. Christie Golden was hired to create a full novel based on the script by Lucas, and what an amazing job she did! Thankfully this story did not stay buried in the archives of Disney.

  Dark Disciple opens during a Separatist occupation of the planet of Mahranee. During the conflict, the Republic witnesses the devastating circumstances. Under the leadership of Count Dooku mass genocide is committed against the people of Mahranee. Feeling that Dooku's power has grown too great, the Jedi Council deliberate as to what the Republic's next steps should be. After some time it is decided that assassinating Dooku is the only way to stop more lives from being lost. But since this is not the Jedi way, the Council decides to bring in someone who has no qualms about killing Dooku, Asajj Ventress. But she will not cooperate freely, they believe. It is then realized that an undercover operative would be needed to convince the former apprentice of Dooku to end the dark lord's life. Enter Quinlan Vos. Brash, cunning, and expert undercover operative for the Republic, Vos is the man for the job. But can Vos convince Ventress to join him? Does Dooku know more than he is letting on? And can Vos uncover the identity of Darth Sidious? So much is at stake, and the Republic once again hangs in the balance.

   This is an all-star cast of Clone Wars-era players that are written very well. Golden takes her time to establish worlds and character development without dragging the story. Her narrative is swift, and is often presented in a way that is very cinematic in scope. She cares for Katie Lucas' script as if it were her own child, nurturing the original story as it grows into its own. She plays with the characters in a way that keeps us guessing until the very end just whose side they are on. We visit many places in the Star Wars universe, including the infamous Level 1313 of Coruscant. There are dozens cameos, and references to the Clone Wars animated series that made this story fit perfectly into Disney-Lucasfilm's new canon. I was raging at the villains and cheering for the heroes. I felt immersed in the story and invested in the lives of the characters, as I was swept through this novel at hyper-speed.

  I read this in part with the audio book. It was read by Marc Thompson, who did another fantastic job bringing to life the characters of the Star Wars universe. His narrating skills are some of the best voice-over work out there. Truly amazing!

  This is one of the best Star Wars novels written that is available presently. It never bores. Always excites. And delivers an amazing ending that will leave you speechless. I gave this book five out of five stars.

  Run, do not walk to get a copy of this book!  


Because there is always time to read,
  Xepherus3   
 

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All written content and top logo (c) Copyright 2016 by Thomas Bahr II
Dark Disciple cover (c) 2015 by Disney-Lucasfilm