Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Star Wars (Del Rey))

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Star Wars (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed #1)

by Sean Williams (Goodreads Author)

3.56 · rating details · 784 ratings · 111 reviews

“The Sith always betray one another. . . . I’m sure you’ll learn that soon enough.”

The overthrow of the Republic is complete. Absolute power now rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious–the cunning Sith Lord better known as Emperor Palpatine. But more remains to be done. Pockets of resistance in the galaxy must still be defeated and missing Jedi accounted for . . . and deal...more

Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages

Published June 28th 2011 by LucasBooks (first published January 1st 2008)

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Mar 25, 2009

Ron rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, star-wars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 14, 2008

Ryan rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Star Wars Fans and Non-Star Wars fans alike

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is based on a video game of the same name. Most of the time, when I hear about a book based on a video game, I would cringe. Personally, I think that most of the time publishers are out to make an extra buck on a product. This is similar to Disney releasing multiple straight-to-video sequels of all of their popular movies; they don't care about the quality, because kids will beg their parents for it. Similarly, publishers know that hardcore fans of popular game...moreStar Wars: The Force Unleashed is based on a video game of the same name. Most of the time, when I hear about a book based on a video game, I would cringe. Personally, I think that most of the time publishers are out to make an extra buck on a product. This is similar to Disney releasing multiple straight-to-video sequels of all of their popular movies; they don't care about the quality, because kids will beg their parents for it. Similarly, publishers know that hardcore fans of popular games will buy just about anything in order to get more material about their favorite time-consuming past-time.

That being said, The Force Unleashed does not fall into the category of "trying to make an extra buck on a video game". One reason may be that it was planned along-side the game, and not as an afterthought. In fact, The Force Unleashed was planned as a multimedia "event". This included a video game, a comic book, a novel, and even a soundtrack. Each one gives a slightly different take to the story.

Granted, the first few chapters felt like a video game. The characters hop from mission to mission with little more in between than someone telling them, "Here is your next mission". I could tell which parts were probably the playable parts of the game (meaning the fight scenes). I imagined that the first fight scene of the book was probably the tutorial fight of the game (you know, where they take you step-by-step through the controls). To be fair, I've never played the game, so I'm just guessing. But that's how it felt.

This doesn't mean that the first part of the book wasn't well written, or that it wasn't interesting. But I didn't want to read a whole book like that. Luckily, I found that those first chapters were actually a necessary set-up for what turned out to be an excellent book. The author did a nice job of tying those first few missions into the rest of the story. By Part 2, I didn't want to put the book down.

The book brings up fundamental questions about the nature of the Force. Can the Dark Side be used by someone who isn't totally evil? Does it always ultimately lead to corruption? These were some of the questions addressed.

The book also ties in nicely to the origins of the Rebellion. If you ever wondered how that got started, this is the book to read.

I'm glad George Lucas has finally opened this era of the Star Wars Universe up to exploration. It was off limits until Episode III came out, but now more material is being written during this time period, including a live-action TV show and several other novels and comics. If everything is written as well as The Force Unleashed, we have a lot to look forward to. (less)

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Oct 13, 2008

Jesse Booth rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Star Wars Fans

Shelves: 2008

After seeing this book as a bestseller for a couple of weeks, I decided to read it. I typically don't read the Star Wars novels, but this was the second I decided to read.

I read Shadows of the Empire and came away with the taste that it was a great story written very badly. The Force Unleashed, however, was written very well. I was captivated the entire book, watching "Starkiller" change into Galen, his true self.

This book emphasizes changes that can be made wit...more

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Sep 25, 2011

Brad Wheeler rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars, ebook, tie-ins

In the late nineties, Lucasfilm produced their first multimedia extravaganza with Shadows of the Empire. Steve Perry wrote the novel, and there was also a video game, a soundtrack, graphic novels, the whole works. It went pretty well. Now, twelve years later, Lucasfilm did it again with the Force Unleashed. This time, eh....

It's obvious that the video game was the leader of this whole project, because it's a video game story. The characters are broadly drawn, and a lot of the plot cons...more

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Nov 19, 2010

Andrew Nies rated it

· review of another edition

The Force Unleashed is a very interesting and quite shocking book. The Force Unleashed takes place in between the two films of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, which was a nineteen year gap. The Story takes place around a young man name Starkiller, who is found on a planet called Kaysak by the infamous Darth Vader. Darth Vader takes this young boy and trains him to be his secret apprentice. When Starkiller is with Vader, Vader gives his assign...more The Force Unleashed is a very interesting and quite shocking book. The Force Unleashed takes place in between the two films of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, which was a nineteen year gap. The Story takes place around a young man name Starkiller, who is found on a planet called Kaysak by the infamous Darth Vader. Darth Vader takes this young boy and trains him to be his secret apprentice. When Starkiller is with Vader, Vader gives his assignments to hunt down and destroy the remaining Jedi in hiding or wanting to plan a possible threating plan against the Galactic Empire. Along the way of doing Vader's bidding, Starkiller must face a conflict that will determine his choice in the future that will have him cross between being Vader's slave and become a rebel against Vader and the empire that will change his life forever, a cross between the light side and the dark side of the force.
There were many good things about The Force Unleashed. The book have very well written dialogue and had characters that were very easy to notice and relate to. The story and the purpose behind the novel are very well written along with dark twists and turns. The foreshadowing in the novel can somewhat be very noticeable, if you are paying very close attention to the book. Overall, i thought that the book was extremely well written with the plot, climax, resolution, characters and dialogue all together.
I would recommend this book to any Star Wars fan out there. The Force Unleashed is based on a video game that was released a few weeks after this book was published to the general public. I believe that any Star Wars fan out there can believe that the story behind this book can make sense and actually ties in with the six movies that were made by George Lucas. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is a Star Wars fan of the movies, and or the books, or even if a person wants to read a novel with dark twists and turns, or even if you are remotely interested in reading a Star Wars book, even if you haven’t read one before and or seen any of the movies.
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Dec 25, 2010

Mike Saxton rated it

· review of another edition

Books written after video games can really be a hit or miss. In this case, it is a direct hit. Star Wars: Force Unleashed presents interesting new characters along with the classic ones that we know including Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Bale Organa, Leia Organa, and others.

The background for Force Unleashed is that Darth Vader, while on a mission on Kashyyk (the Wookie Homeworld), comes across a Jedi in hiding and his force empowered young son. Vader kills the Jedi and decides to t...more

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Dec 06, 2011

Christopher rated it

· review of another edition

A good book that is intended to be complimentary to the video game coming out in September, 2008. Despite being intended as a complimentary book, it could actually stand- though not always firmly- on its own as a good addition to the Star Wars saga. The story and the characters are compelling and story itself is fascinating. It makes me even more anxious to play the game. The only problem with the book is that the action sequences, in the beginning, feels very shackled at times, as though WIlli...more

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Jul 11, 2010

Crystal Starr Light rated it

Shelves: read-at-your-own-risk, star-wars

Even the bookstore wouldn't buy this one back!
Some two years back, a big deal was made of The Force Unleashed. There was to be a stunning new video game, a book, a comic...the whole shebang. So, I bought the game, tried it out. It was okay (I have a review of it for those interested), but I never had a desire to finish it. A while passes, and a friend of mine recently finished this book, declaring it the worst Star Wars novel ever. I've read some pretty bad Star Wars novels (Jedi Trial and...more

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Mar 02, 2010

Jasmine rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: owned

I think I should start with my star wars history. When I was eleven my (younger) siblings rented the Original trilogy from the library, and settled in to watch these formative pieces of culture. I, being the hysterically brave creature that I am, sat outside on the patio tormenting ants, and only watching when the people were outside. I figured that anything inside was too frightening, which was possibly inspired by unwittingly walking in just in time to see Darth Vader strangle an angry guy in ...moreI think I should start with my star wars history. When I was eleven my (younger) siblings rented the Original trilogy from the library, and settled in to watch these formative pieces of culture. I, being the hysterically brave creature that I am, sat outside on the patio tormenting ants, and only watching when the people were outside. I figured that anything inside was too frightening, which was possibly inspired by unwittingly walking in just in time to see Darth Vader strangle an angry guy in a grey uniform. To make it better, I was watching through the glass doors into the living room. No sound. I'm so brave.

But then flash forward two years, and I have literally read every book in the library children's section that doesn't have a drooling bloody plant or similar horrific thing on the cover, or teenagers making out. This includes some truly unfortunate books which I'm still trying to forget, but that is not the story today. I figured it was time to wander into the adult section. But the Mysteries had a lot of blood on the covers, and other "adult books" had icky romances, and the nonfiction was boring and angry, I didn't like horror, and I had bad experiences with Westerns featuring torture. (This was honestly my rationale.) I settled for the SF/Fantasy section as being my safest bet.

...

I know, some of you are now laughing incredulously at me. But in my defence, the books either went WAY over my head- Yay metaphors!- or they were Star Wars EU novels, and Star Trek books. That was also where my Star Trek knowledge base sprung from, but that is not the topic at hand either. I read the star wars books, found they were good, and put a standing order in with the librarian to order me every other star wars book in the system. The results were, mixed. But I was going through two or more books a day, so I just threw aside the painful ones and re-read the good ones. (Oh, Mara Jade and Thrawn, you never fail to make my heart soar.) (Also, I have never liked Luke Skywalker. Nope.)

And then at college I discovered Karen Traviss's Republic Commando and the New Trilogy movies, and many much lovely expansion in the universe, and even found people who knew more than me about Star Wars. When you've grown up in a small town when you are the only one who has read anything in the SF/F section for the past three years, this is BIG.

So I've been known to elbow the boys aside to get at the star wars section, that's all I'm saying. Even if those stupid boys think I don't know the colour difference between a sith blade and a jedi saber. FOOLS. Ahem. Anyways, I did snatch this book away from a particularly snobby creature of the male persuasion, and carry it in triumph to the counter. Where I BOUGHT it. And then I READ it. So there, boys, I can participate in your fandom just as much as you can.

And the triumph over the purchase was the best part of the book. I think if I want to know a video game story in the future, I'll just watch or play the game. I get the sense that this would be awesome to play. To read, well. The characters weren't fleshed out, the plot was meh, the universe was WRONG- (I read many much books, I know this. ( WHO GOES TO THE GROUND ON KASHYYYK? SERIOUSLY??? ) I gave it two stars out of five. I will now expunge the false history from my mind.(less)

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Jul 08, 2010

Ali Miller rated it

· review of another edition

It was kind of inevitable that I'd love this story - I'm a massive Vader fan and any glimpse into the Dark Times that's been shepherded by Lucas himself automatically has my attention. What I didn't expect was to be so compelled by Starkiller and Juno's respective fates; I mostly craved insight into Vader's mindset during this era and the push-pull power plays going on between him and Palpatine. I got that - but I also got much more.

Perhaps I should backtrack: I played the video game...more

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Jul 08, 2009

Lanier rated it

· review of another edition

Some really great action, here, for someone who has never played the game. Originally I bought this novel because my nephew was Demo-ing this game last August and I was blown away at the graphics, the skills he'd learned during one of these sessions and, did I mention the amazing graphics! Knowing many of of scholars love Sci-Fi, I felt it would have a duel purpose and when a female scholar raved about it, I was more pressed than ever to read it. The first half reads like a video game, where the...moreSome really great action, here, for someone who has never played the game. Originally I bought this novel because my nephew was Demo-ing this game last August and I was blown away at the graphics, the skills he'd learned during one of these sessions and, did I mention the amazing graphics! Knowing many of of scholars love Sci-Fi, I felt it would have a duel purpose and when a female scholar raved about it, I was more pressed than ever to read it. The first half reads like a video game, where the characters NEVER seem to need any recharging or rest of any kind. The plot thickens, as they say, and the action was almost secondary to some of the other subplots, which kept it going.

285-"What was freedom worth if it led to death?" seemed to be the overall theme, though our "Starkiller" protagonist is pondering this more than halfway through the novel. If ever rebel or freedom fighter felt this way, there would NEVER be liberties as we now know them.

185-"He found the world's new ambience familiar but not comfortable, and he felt that he was recognized but not welcome."
I don't know how many times I've felt this way. Though, truthfully, I often move when I've gotten to comfortable in one specific place. Complacency scares the shite, out of me. Sure, once I find the just right place, I'll set down some roots, but until then....

186-"The relationship between Master and apprentice was always a tense one--and from that tension sprang great power.
"Shaak Ti had understood that, too. The Sith always betray one another, she had said, just as every life-form had betrayed every other life-form, if left to their natural inclination. Peace and harmony were aberrations imposed from the outside, to be resisted at every juncture."

A very different take on "Peace and harmony" that I thought was fascinating. Similar to some of Tom Clancy's novels that expose "There's far more money in war, than peace." Sad, pessimistic, dark, but true.

Hated the ending, though realist, I wish it had a better battle. I also expected Captain Eclipse to have a far bigger role throughout the second half of the book. I know, probably not in line with the GAME, but it just seemed with all her experience, the author could've made her a much stronger character.(less)

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Nov 29, 2011

Michelle rated it

Shelves: sci-fi, adult

Starkiller is a secret apprentice to Darth Vader. To prove he is ready to come out of hiding, Darth Vader sends him on several missions to kill Jedi that are in hiding. Helping him are his droid Proxy, and a fighter pilot, Juno. As he fights the Jedi, he begins to question if what he has been taught is correct. [return][return]This was so-so. Because Starkiller believes in the Dark Side of the Force the story is darker. There is lots of anger, betrayal and hate as well as Sith style fighti...more

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Oct 19, 2011

Robert L. rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Any Star Wars Fan

I have never read a Star Wars book up until i found this one. I had played the video game that this was based on and had originaly thought that this would end up being a failure. Contrary to my beliefe, this book became my choice read after I became entranced in its story. After a few minutes, I was almost addicted to the writting style that the author, Sean Williams, chose to use. Sean Williams obviously knew what he was doing when he wrote this book! Being a diehard star wars fan, i would have...more

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May 02, 2010

Zack Marcinkiewicz rated it

· review of another edition

The Clone Wars are long gone and the Jedi all but extinct. Darth Vader has been tasked by the Emperor to root out and destroy the remaining Jedi but what the Emperor doesn’t know is that Vader has trained an apprentice of his own both for this task and for nefarious purposes of his own…
The Apprentice,we don’t find out his name until much later, must travel through a troubled galaxy killing on the command of his master. Although he is confident in his mastery of the Dark Side of the Fo...moreThe Clone Wars are long gone and the Jedi all but extinct. Darth Vader has been tasked by the Emperor to root out and destroy the remaining Jedi but what the Emperor doesn’t know is that Vader has trained an apprentice of his own both for this task and for nefarious purposes of his own…
The Apprentice,we don’t find out his name until much later, must travel through a troubled galaxy killing on the command of his master. Although he is confident in his mastery of the Dark Side of the Force, the apprentice is going to find that the galaxy is still capable of throwing surprises at him, especially surprises that hint at his own hidden origins…

This book is was also made into a video game, which I have and is great by the way. The first few chapters in particular read like a computer game; make your way through to the end of the level, defeat the "end of level boss" (renegade Jedi Masters) and then go into the next stage. It was fun while I was reading it, as with "The Clone Wars" "The Force Unleashed" has everything that a Star Wars fan would expect out of a Star Wars book. It just felt a little contrived to start off with, like the hero had to get through to the next levels otherwise the reader would never get to see what the game was like (as well as it being a much shorter book with a radically different ending!) However, I guess if you’re going to base a book on a video game then you need to be able to show the reader the game in it’s entirety. I think this is one area where gamers are going to get a lot more out of the book than I did.

Reading "The Force Unleashed" also made me realize how much goes into a fight scene on the screen. When a scene like this is broken down and described on the page there’s much more going on than you would think, this is certainly true in "The Force Unleashed" where fights, battles, etc are described in great detail.

I’ve already mentioned that the book has everything that a Star Wars fan is looking for and that being said, I’m a Star Wars fan! The finale is suitably explosive and the book, as a whole, seems to fit fairly well into the overall Star Wars continuity.
The author's masterstroke (at least as far as I was concerned after reading "The Clone Wars") is to concentrate on telling the tale through characters that you won’t meet anywhere else in the Star Wars universe. Maybe the constraints of writing about a video game left him with no choice. I don’t care because what I got were characters that I knew nothing about, certainly not whether continuity would be placing them in future episodes that I had already come across. This meant that cliff-hangers were suddenly cliff-hangers once again and the Star Wars universe felt a little fresher as I was discovering something new after what seemed like far too long. I believe that this book is a great extension of The Star Wars universe and explains a lot and I would like to see it be incorporated in further on screen installments.

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Aug 29, 2011

Derrick rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2008, star-wars

based upon the videogame of the same name. A nameless secret apprentice of Darth Vader's ends up helping to create the rebellion.

This book was yet another good reason why most games don't make good books. This read like a game. Go here, do this, go there, do that. The character development was pretty nil. The contradictions in this story were huge, imo. A sith apprentice who easily switches over to the light? He changed the course of a StarDestroyer for goodness sake, with darkside ...more

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Feb 03, 2011

Maiya rated it

· review of another edition

I read this book after being really bored with myself on the road to Arizona. Jordan (my brother) just picked up this book at Barns And Noble on the way. I was a little curious about it since I do judge a book by its cover. After all I wanted to find out... "who was the man on the cover?"... "He seems so angry".... "he looks pretty powerful" Soon I had this book read in two days! I knew a little bit about Star Wars since I grew up with two older brothers, so I wasn...more

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Nov 04, 2010

Zare rated it

Novel is sort of a tie-in between events in the video-game and comic book with the same title.[return]If you have read the comic you'll find descriptions of events that were omitted and some story gaps will be filled.[return]I haven't played the game so I do not know if book follows events to the letter. It is a fast paced novel with intriguing story (birth of alliance was caused by something nobody could predict :)) - only part that annoyed me somewhat was martial-arts descriptions when it come...more

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Nov 21, 2010

Isaac Hamlet rated it

This book is the reason I was disapointed at the video game. The story is so great that I epect the video game to do a better job. But enough about the game. The book (as I've said) has a great story but there are moments of high action that you might find yourself skiming over. I know it's based on a video game but some of the action (namely on Raxus prime) seemed to much. Also I HATE the ideo of someone being this strong in the force, Anakin is "the choosen one" so shouldn't he be mo...more

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Sep 15, 2010

Debbie rated it

Calling all Techies, Trekkies and Star Wars fan-sies (?) If you are a fan of the world of the vast Star Wars universe, you will enjoy this book of The Force Unleashed which follows Darth Vader's apprentice Starkiller. Sent on jobs to eradicate the last group of Jedi left of the order by his Master, this story follows Starkiller through his assassin jobs, and the power and internal struggles that come along with the jobs. This book is a great book packed with great dialogue & the plot definitely ...more

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Nov 16, 2009

Jesse rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, starwars

This book gets a four only because the sentence structure was very confusing, sometimes making it so that I had to read a sentence 3 times before I could figure it out. Thats very distracting when your in an action sequence and pulled me out of the story more than once. Beyond that, it was a fantastic story. I loved the action sequences and felt connected to the characters very quickly. I found the sith side new and refreshing and enjoyed the action throughout the story. It mirrors the game as c...more

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Jun 05, 2009

Dan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-science-fantasy

It's a book based on a game which is better than most movies based on games. The writing is rather pedestrian but quite readable, though I suspect this has more to do with the limitations of a pre-existing story within the PG constraints of the Star Wars universe than with the author's ability. The character plot and motivations are decent. Really the only reason I read it is because the game is not available for the PC and the story fills in the gaps in the Star Wars canon between episode thr...more

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Dec 09, 2011

Shane Mcgonigal rated it

· review of another edition

I gave the book four stars because of it's cover, the Name of the book and for introducing the ship, The Rogue Shadow.
Other than that, it's pretty obvious it's based on a video game. StarKiller goes on mission for Vader, completes them and returns before finally realizing that he has no memory of his childhood. So, he turns good.
If you don't mind reading a book that's basically a video game, I would suggest that. His force skills are easily picturable because you've seen them in the g...more

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Aug 02, 2011

Ronny Bereczki rated it

· review of another edition

Ähnlich wie bei "Shadows of the Empire" 1997 kommt "Force Unleashed" 2008 als Multimediaprojekt daher. Es gibt ein Videospiel (leider nicht für PC), Comic, Buch und sonstigen Kram. Trotz des großen Geklappers, das um das Projekt gemacht wurde, ist das Buch wirklich lesenswert. Es erzählt die Geschichte von Vaders geheimen Schüler, der als Attentäter zur Jedijagt ausgebildet wurde. Manchmal wirkt der Schüler etwas zu mächtig, seine Fähigkeiten passen sich meiner Meinung nach n...more

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Mar 20, 2010

Bradley rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars, australian-authors

For the most part this is actually quite a good Star Wars read, unfortunately you have to suffer through about 80 pages to get there. I haven't sat down and played the video game but it became quite clear the first part concentrated very tightly on the game, which sadly makes that section a chore to get through. Its not the first Star Wars story to make that mistake, the Kyle Katarn book series also suffered when dealing exclusively with game content. Its kinda strange because most authors, if t...more

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Aug 15, 2010

Jeremy stephens rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: a-list-of-books-i-read-in-2009

I'm such a geek that rather than just jumping in and play the awesome new game, "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" I decided to read the book first.

What I liked:
*This book ends right before A New Hope (episode 4) begins. I like how well this tied the classic movies to the newer ones (episodes 1-3).

*The apprentice is a bad ass. He reminds me of myself in some ways- talented, eager to prove himself and yearning for power.

*The book describes mor...more

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Jan 05, 2010

Erika rated it

· review of another edition

I think I understand why I don’t like the Darth Bane books and why I didn’t like The Force Unleashed as much as I could have. Both have Sith as protagonists. Sith have massive egos. I don’t particularly like massive egos. I’m also tired of reading about the “best” pilot/apprentice/whatever who did everything phenomenally well in their careers, did it early, and are infinitely better than their peers, past and present. What happened to slightly above average, average, or even really below av...moreI think I understand why I don’t like the Darth Bane books and why I didn’t like The Force Unleashed as much as I could have. Both have Sith as protagonists. Sith have massive egos. I don’t particularly like massive egos. I’m also tired of reading about the “best” pilot/apprentice/whatever who did everything phenomenally well in their careers, did it early, and are infinitely better than their peers, past and present. What happened to slightly above average, average, or even really below average protagonists?

I’ll tell you why these massively huge, uncontrollable egos bother me. A character can boast all they want or simmer under the surface with barely contained self-love and admiration, preen themselves flailing a weapon around and showing off to their underlings or other, less worthy souls, but they still wind up getting killed in the lamest, most easy way ever. Are Sith really supposed to be this two dimensional? I don’t think I’ve ever read an in-depth study of any Sith, other than Anakin; the star of the Prequel Trilogy had his psyche picked apart so we could have the movies in the first place. Jacen Solo’s recent dive into the Dark Side was enough to provoke my desires for him to finally do something as a character. I was impressed with his transformation, but ultimately was left feeling like Sith are boring for a reason: they’re single-minded ego-maniacs with anger management issues. There’s only so much repetition of the same archetype I can take before my brain says, “no more.”

It’s not enough that Darth Vader’s apprentice is unnamed (he’s so great, he doesn’t need a name--his presence is enough for celebrity) and gifted in so many ways that are better than everyone else: he’s fast, he’s strong, and he kills on command--his assigned pilot is top notch, too. She doesn’t fear (much) his scalding gaze and threatening undertones. Captain Juno Eclipse has two jobs to do: pilot the Apprentice around the galaxy and stay alive. She’s not about to let an over confident Sith get in the way of her duties. Putting aside her credentials, she wasn’t a very compelling character. Darth Vader hand-picked her because of her talents and accomplishments. She’d proven herself well and on assignment performed as expected: brilliantly, with no hitch to upset her tempestuous charge. But I was more interested in her backstory than I was her current situation. The only interesting thing about her was discovering she was raised after the Jedi Purge, learning of the Jedi as legendary and mythical nightmares of imagination. That perspective is often lost among all of the books that take for granted the foreknowledge of Jedi before the Purge.

The friendship Juno develops with The Apprentice was touching, but should have remained a friendship. There was nothing in the narrative that suggested the story should take the most predictable path and have the two of them fall in love. Their relationship was one of curiosity, probing, and an attempt to understand one another because despite their differences, The Apprentice and Juno were stuck with each other in the same ship. Hostility doesn’t make for a good shipmate. Also, friendship doesn’t necessarily lead to romance. I can’t help but feeling the romance was only here because the story needed something to keep The Apprentice wavering and because Juno is a female. I appreciate Sean Williams’ bringing the two together, but disagree with the romance. It should have stayed a working relationship, if only because that’s what it was. There were no sparks. I can’t fault Williams too much--he was writing based on someone else’s story.

With regard to the writing: there’s some redundant prose, but Star Wars novels are so filled with expected action, it’s hard to avoid the dreaded “show don’t tell.” For example, when The Apprentice has been fighting Kota in the control room for a page and a half, Williams pointed out the obvious, “The duel raged all across the control center” (p.27). It was made pretty clear the control center was The Apprentice’s destination and I hadn’t read any passing narrative with either character passing through any doors or through hallways once the fight began. Other than that, I think Williams was a good choice for this book. It was accessible and, while I haven’t played the video game, seems like it filled in whatever missing moments in time the game had to skip. The ending also bridges itself to the Rebellion and “A New Hope” which, while functional, actually disappointed me.

Not only does Starkiller (the codename for our protagonist) take us back and forth across the same three planets over and over again, he pays lip service to his duties to the Dark Side in what’s never a completely believable manner. It’s clear from the beginning he can’t be all that bad if he has an obvious emotional attachment to a droid. The narrative couldn’t sustain his internal conflicts for very long before they became tired and useless. I’m not too pleased to have what I felt was a mediocre character turn into the symbol of the Rebel Alliance--the ultimate exercise in ego. Also, I think I’m just tired of reading about third rate characters being molded into something more important by having certain relations to either Vader or the Emperor. That trope needs to be dropped.

While I didn’t enjoy this book too much, there are other people who will appreciate the adventure and tragedy better than I did. I’ll have to look elsewhere for the type of Star Wars books I can really dig my teeth into. In the meantime, I’m still glad I finally got around to reading The Force Unleashed.(less)

· see review

Oct 15, 2008

Victor rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Videogame fans

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

· see review

Nov 02, 2008

Gina Lamm rated it

· review of another edition

1. Darth Vader's apprentice, Starkiller, travels the galaxy to find the remaining Jedi and kill them as ordered by Darth Vader. He badly injures General Kota, kills Shaak Ti and Kazdan Paratus, and proves himself worthy of helping Darth Vader to take down the Emperor. When he returned to Darth Vader, Starkiller gets stabbed by Darth Vader when the Emperor found out about Darth Vader having an apprentice, but Darth Vader healed Starkiller later on. Darth Vader told him to find allies so they can ...more

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Sep 19, 2008

Rossrn Nunamaker rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: star wars fans

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

From a literature standpoint this book earns no more than a three, but for Star Wars fans it fills a part of the void between episodes III & IV (prequel movies and originals).

I've only read one other Star Wars book and I forget the title and author, it was a mission Anakin and Obi-Wan were on, so I read this one with little background in what else has been written.

The Force Unleashed was set in time very near the original Star Wars movie and tells the story of the origin ...more

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Nov 14, 2008

El Galan rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My GOD this is without a Doubt the best Book not only of Star Wars but of almost any book I have ever read with the Exception of Jonathan Maberry's Books like the Pine Deep Triology.It shows you not only who the Secret Apprentice really is, but also gives you an in-depth look to the relationship between Master and Apprentice in the Sith and also it reveals how the Rebel Alliance was created in the first place! Now this part will contain a Spoiler so DO NOT read on if you dont want to have the Su...moreMy GOD this is without a Doubt the best Book not only of Star Wars but of almost any book I have ever read with the Exception of Jonathan Maberry's Books like the Pine Deep Triology.It shows you not only who the Secret Apprentice really is, but also gives you an in-depth look to the relationship between Master and Apprentice in the Sith and also it reveals how the Rebel Alliance was created in the first place! Now this part will contain a Spoiler so DO NOT read on if you dont want to have the Surprise ruined.Get this, the Rebel Alliance was originally Darth Vader's Idea YEAH crazy right?! You see the Emperor found out about Vader having his own Apprentice in the first chapters of the book and Ordered Vader to kill him, or he would destroy them Both.Vader faked killing the Apprentice only injuring him with his own Light Saber.The injury was bad though, and Vader had to have his Apprentice taken a Secret Laboratory where Experiments are carried out by the Empire and they made him into a Cyborg, now not as bad as Vader because he is still mostly Human, but now he is even stronger than he was before.Anyway the Emperor tells his Apprentice, Starkiller that the Emperor is constantly watching him now and also that the only way to dethrown him is by distracting him with something else.You see Vader copy cated from Palpatine.Palpatine used the Revolutionary Seperatist Movement to attack the Republic and distract everyone including the Jedi so that he could rise to Power slowly but swiftly.Vader told the Apprentice to go fourth and begin creating a Rebel Alliance of Dissidents,Soldiers, and former Jedi to rise up against the Emperor thus distracting him so that the only choice he will have is to stop spying on Vader and put his full Concentration on the Rebellion.BUT unlike the Seperatist Movement which was a weak Alliance of losely Confederated Systems, the Rebel Alliance is a United Front of people seeking to restore to Former Republic and end Emperor Palpatine's Rule once and for all.His first Allies are Jedi Master/General Rahm Kota (whom Vader had sent to kill Originally, and he ends up blinding in they're first confrontation),Bail Organa and his Adopted Daughter Princess Leia.They begin plotting and Organizing everyone from Radical Senators from the Old Republic, all the way to ex-Jedi and the various Anti-Empire Insurgent Groups that already exist.But Starkiller and his Pilot, Captain Juno Eclipse have been falling in love with each other sense almost the very begining.It makes me laugh how Juno gets Angry and Jealous when many of Starkillers Missions end up with him around another Woman, not Romantically of course because most are people he is sent to kill with the exception of Princess Leia, but she still gets Jealous.You can almost feel the Sexual Tension between her and Starkiller.You also see that little by little he is starting to believe in his own words of Rebellion against the Empire and also begining to have a strong friendship with his New Allies which leads him to betray Vader and turn to the Light Side of the Force.Unfortunately, I am half way through the Book and I am getting the nasty feeling he will be killed by Darth Vader for betraying him.This is only a guess because I havent finished reading it yet but I think that is what's going to happen.(less)

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About Sean Williams

Sean Williams was born in the dry, flat lands of South Australia, where he still lives with his wife and family. He has been called many things in his time, including "the premier Australian speculative fiction writer of the age", the "Emperor of Sci-Fi", and the "King of Chameleons" for the diversity of his output. That award-winning output includes over thirty-five...moreSean Williams was born in the dry, flat lands of South Australia, where he still lives with his wife and family. He has been called many things in his time, including "the premier Australian speculative fiction writer of the age", the "Emperor of Sci-Fi", and the "King of Chameleons" for the diversity of his output. That award-winning output includes over thirty-five novels for readers all ages, seventy-plus short stories across numerous genres, the odd published poem, and even a sci-fi musical.

On the sci-fi front, he is best-known internationally for award-winning space opera series and novels set in the Star Wars universe, many co-written with fellow-Adelaidean Shane Dix. These include the Astropolis, Evergence, Orphans, and Geodesica series, and the computer game tie-in The Force Unleashed--the first such adaptation ever to debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. A series for young readers, The Fixers, pitted an increasingly lost protagonist against zombies, cyborgs, and vampires across numerous universes. His most recent releases in the Star Wars universe are The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance and The Force Unleashed 2.

His fantasy novels--inspired by the landscapes of his childhood--occupy a unique niche in Australian publishing. These include the Books of the Change (The Stone Mage & the Sea, The Sky Warden & the Sun, and The Storm Weaver & the Sand) and the Books of the Cataclysm (The Crooked Letter--the first fantasy novel to win both the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards--The Blood Debt, The Hanging Mountains, and The Devoured Earth). His most recent entries in this world include the Broken Land series (The Changeling, The Dust Devils, and The Scarecrow) and novellas in two anthologies, The Dragon Book and Legends of Australian Fantasy.

Sean’s stories have been gathered in five collections, including New Adventures in Sci-Fi, Light Bodies Falling and Magic Dirt: the Best of Sean Williams. He still lives with his family in South Australia, where his poem “Reflections on Water” forms the text for the new Adelaide Zoo’s welcoming soundscape. He takes an active role in writing-related organisations and writer advocacy groups, sitting on the committees of The Big Book Club Inc, the Adelaide Writers’ Week Advisory Committee, and the premier international representational body of speculative fiction writers, SFWA.

When he’s not writing or in meetings, he likes to cook and DJ, but never at the same time.(less)

More about Sean Williams...

Books by Sean Williams

Remnant (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, #15) (Star Wars: Force Heretic, #1)

Refugee (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, #16) (Star Wars: Force Heretic, #2)

Reunion (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, #17) (Star Wars: Force Heretic, #3)

Fatal Alliance (Star Wars: The Old Republic, #1)

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