Vaughan Book Reviews

As I own all of the Bantam-era Star Wars books that I bought and read in my childhood, I decided to re-read them all in chronological order and review them, based on my impressions of them.

To supplement this, I have also purchased two of the Del Rey-era stand-alone novels that are part of the relevant time period I am covering, plus the novelisations of the new films.

I will be reading novels only, with the exception of the Dark Empire comic series, of which I have the audio play and written transcripts to refer to. I will be reading all Bantam books, plus those five Del Rey books mentioned, from The Phantom Menace through to Vision of the Future.

If you do not want to read about my opinion, then go away. :P

I will be using the following scale for my review summaries, ranging from Embarrassing up to Awesome. As a point of example, I am expecting something like The Crystal Star or Darksabre to be Embarrassing, while Revenge of the Sith will be Awesome.

Here is the complete list of review summary terms, from best to worst:

• Awesome — Oh my god! I want this book's offspring! I recommend everyone ready this book immediately, as I shall re-read it now!
• Excellent — Wow! This was pretty damned good. This is one I'll definitely be re-reading at some point.
• Very Good — A solid read that I would recommend to others.
• Good — A good book, above average.
• Okay — An average read, but not excessively poor.
• Poor — Nothing spectacular, kind of boring.
• Very Poor — This book was crap. I will make a point of never reading it again.
• Pathetic — This book was so bad that I will go out of my way to urge others not to read it. I don't hate it as much as I just find it extremely low quality.
• Embarrassing — Words . . . cannot describe how bad I feel . . . this makes me feel embarrassed to be a Star Wars fan . . . I will be setting this book on fire and pretending it never existed!

Here are the list of stories already reviewed:

1. The Phantom Menace (Episode I of the Star Wars film saga)
2. Attack of the Clones (Episode II of the Star Wars film saga)
3. Revenge of the Sith (Episode III of the Star Wars film saga)
4. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

And the list of stories waiting to be reviewed:

1. The Paradise Snare (Book I of the Han Solo Trilogy)
2. The Hutt Gambit (Book II of the Han Solo Trilogy)
3. The Final Exit (Part III of Tales of the Empire)
4. Rebel Dawn (Book III of the Han Solo Trilogy)
5. Han Solo's Revenge
6. Interlude at Darkknell (Part I of Tales of the New Republic)
7. Tinian on Trial (Part II of Tales of the Empire)
8. We Don't Do Weddings: The Band's Tale (Part I of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
9. Drawing the Maps of Peace: The Moisture Farmer's Tale (Part XV of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
10. A New Hope (Episode IV of the Star Wars film saga)
11. Empire Blues: The Devaronian's Tale (Part VIII of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
12. Soup's On: The Pipe Smoker's Tale (Part XII of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
13. A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale (Part II of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
14. Trade Wins: The Ranat's Tale (Part X of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
15. Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale (Part VII of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
16. Swap Meet: The Jawa's Tale (Part IX of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
17. At the Crossroads: The Spacer's Tale (Part XIII of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
18. When the Desert Wind Turns: The Stormtrooper's Tale (Part XI of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
19. The Sand Tender: The Hammerhead's Tale (Part V of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
20. Hammertong: The Tale of the "Tonnika Sisters" (Part III of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
21. Be Still My Heart: The Bartender's Tale (Part VI of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
22. Play It Again, Figrin D'an: The Tale of Muftak and Kabe (Part IV of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
23. A Certain Point of View (Part VI of Tales from the Empire)
24. Doctor Death: The Tale of Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba (Part XIV of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
25. Do No Harm (Part IX of Tales from the Empire)
26. Uhl Eharl Khoehng (Part VI of Tales from the New Republic)
27. The Last Hand (Part X of Tales from the New Republic)
28. No Disintegrations, Please (Part VII of Tales from the New Republic)
29. Side Trip (Part X of Tales from the Empire)
30. The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V of the Star Wars film saga)
31. The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk (Part III of Tales of the Bounty Hunters)
32. Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM (Part IV of Tales of the Bounty Hunters)
33. Slaying Dragons (Part VIII of Tales from the Empire)
34. Shadows of the Empire
35. The Longest Fall (Part V of Tales from the New Republic)
36. That's Entertainment: The Tale of Salacious Crumb (Part III of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
37. Return of the Jedi (Episode VI of the Star Wars film saga)
38. A Bad Feeling: The Tale of EV-9D9 (Part XIII of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
39. A Time to Mourn, a Time to Dance: Oola's Tale (Part IV of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
40. Let Us Prey: The Whiphid's Tale (Part V of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
41. A Boy and His Monster: The Rancor Keeper's Tale (Part I of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
42. Taster's Choice: The Tale of Jabba's Chef (Part II of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
43. And Then There Were Some: The Gamorrean Guard's Tale (Part VII of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
44. Old Friends: Ephant Mon's Tale (Part VIII of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
45. Out of the Closet: The Assassin's Tale (Part XVI of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
46. Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade (Part VI of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
47. Shaara and the Sarlacc: The Skiff Guard's Tale (Part XVII of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
48. The Great God Quay: The Tale of Barada and the Weequays (Part XII Tales from Jabba's Palace)
49. And the Band Played On: The Band's Tale (Part X of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
50. Goatgrass: The Tale of Ree-Yees (Part IX of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
51. Of the Day's Annoyances: Bib Fortuna's Tale (Part XI of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
52. One Last Night in the Mos Eisley Cantina: The Tale of the Wolfman and the Lamproid (Part XVI of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)
53. Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88 (Part I of Tales of the Bounty Hunters)
54. The Truce at Bakura
55. Skin Deep: The Fat Danceer's Tale (Part XIX of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
56. Tongue-tied: Bubo's Tale (Part XV of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
57. Payback: The Tale of Dengar (Part II of Tales of the Bounty Hunters)
58. The Mandalorian Armour (Book I of The Bounty Hunter Wars)
59. Slave Ship (Book II of The Bounty Hunter Wars)
60. Hard Merchandise (Book III of The Bounty Hunter Wars)
61. Day of the Sepulchral Night (Part XVIII of Tales from the New Republic)
62. Gathering Shadows (Part III of Tales from the New Republic)
63. A Free Quarren in the Palace: Tessek's Tale (Part XIV of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
64. Epilogue: Whatever Became Of . . . ? (Part XX of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
65. A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett (Part XVIII of Tales from Jabba's Palace)
66. Missed Chance (Part IV of Tales from the Empire)
67. Rogue Squadron (Book I of the X-wing series)
68. Wedge's Gamble (Book II of the X-wing series)
69. The Krytos Trap (Book III of the X-wing series)
70. The Bacta War (Book IV of the X-wing series)
71. Conflict of Interest (Part VI of Tales from the New Republic)
72. Wraith Squadron (Book V of the X-wing series)
73. Iron Fist (Book VI of the X-wing series)
74. Solo Command (Book VII of the X-wing series)
75. The Courtship of Princess Leia
76. Hutt and Seek (Part IV of Tales from the New Republic)
77. Tatooine Ghost
78. First Contact (Part I of Tales from the Empire)
79. Heir to the Empire (Book I of the Thrawn Trilogy)
80. Dark Force Rising (Book II of the Thrawn Trilogy)
81. The Last Command (Book III of the Thrawn Trilogy)
82. Blaze of Glory (Part VII of Tales from the Empire)
83. Isard's Revenge (Book VIII of the X-wing series)
84. Retreat from Coruscant (Part V of Tales from the Empire)
85. Dark Empire (Book I of the Dark Empire series)
86. Dark Empire II (Book II of the Dark Empire series)
87. Empire's End (Book III of the Dark Empire series)
88. Jedi Search (Book I of the Jedi Academy Trilogy)
89. Dark Apprentice (Book II of the Jedi Academy Trilogy)
90. Champions of the Force (Book III of the Jedi Academy Trilogy)
91. I, Jedi
92. Children of the Jedi
93. Simple Tricks (Part XI of Tales from the New Republic)
94. Darksabre
95. Planet of Twilight
96. Starfighters of Adumar (Book IX of the X-wing series)
97. The Crystal Star
98. Before the Storm (Book I of The Black Fleet Crisis)
99. Shield of Lies (Book II of The Black Fleet Crisis)
100. Tyrant's Test (Book III of The Black Fleet Crisis)
101. The New Rebellion
102. Jade Solitaire (Part II of Tales from the New Republic)
103. Ambush at Corellia (Book I of the Corellian Trilogy)
104. Assault at Selonia (Book II of the Corellian Trilogy)
105. Showdown at Centrepoint (Book III of Corellian Trilogy)
106. The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett (Part V of Tales of the Bounty Hunters)
107. Spectre of the Past (Book I of The Hand of Thrawn Duology)
108. Vision of the Future (Book II of The Hand of Thrawn Duology)

Without further ado . . .

The Phantom Menace

Episode I of the Star Wars film saga.

OKAY (An average read, but not excessively poor.)

Felt more like a narration of the film than a book. The beginning was more descriptive, but towards the end it was merely outlining what was happening on the cinema screen. That said, it was an enjoyable read, and did explain some parts of the story better than the film.

Attack of the Clones

Episode II of the Star Wars film saga.

GOOD (A good book, above average.)

Better than The Phantom Menace. Possibly because I had never read this before, then again I could not remember much of the Episode I novelisation when I re-read it. . . Suffered from the same symptoms as The Phantom Menace towards the end, as it degenerated from book to mere narration of events happening on-screen. One point, though: the book made me actually care about Jango and Boba Fett, as it gave them more depth than 'villain' and 'evil son'. Almost made me sad that Windu chopped his head off.

Revenge of the Sith

Episode III of the Star Wars film saga.

AWESOME (Oh my god! I want this book's offspring! I recommend everyone ready this book immediately, as I shall re-read it now!)

This was so much better than the previous two, as it actually felt like a BOOK, not a mere adapted screenplay. Reminded me of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy in places, structurally -- but not focused on humour, even though there was some decent humour throughout. This book took so long to get through because I made sure I stopped regularly to savour it, as I had not bough the next book, The Rise of Dark Vader, yet. I cannot stress how truly excellent this book is. It also ties in so many Expanded Universe elements, such as Carrack-class light cruisers, Garm Bel Iblis, and even a mention that the Sith could only be defeated by 'the new Jedi Order'. When I finish reading the entire collection, I intend to return to re-read this one, as it is by far the best novelisation of the three that I have read so far. The only part where it really falls down, is the last few chapters -- which fly past in a blur, with the last scenes of the film being condensed into single paragraphs each, which left my feeling ripped off and wanting. This seems to be a flaw present in all of the prequel novelisations.

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

Okay — An average read, but not excessively poor.

I must confess that initially I was going to skip over Dark Lord, and not purchase this book. However I am glad that I did in fact read it. While it felt decidedly amateurish and juvenile compared to the awesomeness that was Revenge of the Sith, it still drew me into the story by the end. It was a quick and easy read, with short chapters that encouraged reading onward. Vader and Sidious's characters were handled . . . fairly ineptly, as far as I'm concerned, however despite that I still eagerly looked forward to scenes with Vader in it. I did like how it helped blend in the new trilogy material with the original trilogy, including the razing of Kashyyyk and the introduction of various characters, as well as the transition from the Seperatist/Republic conflict to Imperial tyranny. Chewbacca went from a cameo role in Revenge of the Sith to a minor character of importance in this one. I'm not sure how I feel about that; it wasn't too poorly done, and I did enjoy Wookiees running amok. However, the emotional content of the book felt a bit light, as the Jedi Knight we were introduced to in the beginning chapters was decapitated with deriving nothing more than a raised eyebrow from me. The previous book had me dreading the bad things that were to come, whereas this book didn't get me as emotionally invested in the characters. However, I was drawn into finding out how it ended. Again, I must stress that the Vader/Sidious dialogue didn't feel very authentic, but despite what I perceive to be its flaws, this was a fairly quick and enjoyable read. One thing this book did for me, was give me an interest in reading about the 'dark times' of the Imperial rule, whereas I was never particularly drawn to this era before. So, bravo to it, and I look forward to the live action series between Episodes III and IV . . . I just hope it's good and doesn't suck.