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Choices of One (Star Wars)
by Timothy Zahn (Goodreads Author)
by Timothy Zahn (Goodreads Author)
Crystal Starr Light's review
bookshelves: star-wars, simply-the-best, signed-by-author, so-good-it-s-awesome
Aug 04, 11
bookshelves: star-wars, simply-the-best, signed-by-author, so-good-it-s-awesome
Read in August, 2011 — I own a copy
I haven't had this much fun in the Star Wars EU for far too long!
A new villain at the edges of Unknown Space is rising: Nuso Esva. He is gathering alien races together with the intent of toppling Thrawn and the Empire. Meanwhile, Han, Luke, and Leia have a mission: the world of Candoras, on the edge of Known Space, ruled by Governor Ferrouz, is extending an offer to join the Rebel Alliance. But can they seal the deal before the Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade, and the Hand of Judgement get to him first?
Timothy Zahn is my absolute favorite author, and this book just showcases all the reasons why I will buy pretty much anything he produces in hardcover.
In Zahn's hands, the characters flourish. This time around, I felt Mara Jade was better (not so "super-powered" as I found in "Allegiance"). Sure, she is still really powerful and highly competent, but she makes mistakes and is duped like anyone else. Thrawn also appears and is great. I only have two complaints about him: 1) he was not in the book enough and 2) it was slightly confusing WHERE he was (though that might have been done on purpose, and if that is the case, then it was well done). Luke Skywalker is so well-done in this book! He is just a dorky, naive kid! Zahn perfectly captures his awkward "not yet a Jedi" stage, his innocence, his idealism--basically, all the attributes we saw in "A New Hope". Han is back with a flourish and I loved how he chaffed at not being informed of all of Rieekan's plans. Leia is likewise great, nice and snappy, but never treading into b!tchy territory. And the sparks these two have...WOWSER! The stormtrooper deserters of Hand of Judgement are superb and are really beginning to become their own. I felt like Zahn is doing for the stormtroopers what Traviss did for the clonetroopers, and I am loving it. Each character is really blossoming--I adored how Brightwater had a lucky gold coin, how trigger happy Grave was, etc.
As for newcomers, Axlon and Ferrouz COMPLETELY stunned me. Both of these men refuse to be put into Star Wars EU stereotypes. I can't really say a whole lot more than that as it would completely blow the surprise and spoil the hell out of the novel, but when I got to the big revelation, I wanted to cry tears of joy. Just when I thought that new ideas, that unstereotypical characters were never going to appear in EU, Zahn comes in.
I happen to be a huge Empire Junkie, and I really loved how Zahn refused to make the Empire the Bad GuysTM. Sure, they oppose our heroes, but never once does Zahn make his Imperials goofy villains, chuckling about how powerful they are only to fail when faced against overpowered Luke, having Imperials undermine each other at every cost only for the power, and having the Imperials have little regard for human life. It's something I've said time and again: While I can 100% buy that SOME Imperials are trigger-happy, power-hungry mongrels, you can't have an Empire last for any length of time when all of its citizens are biting at each other to get on top. If there is NOTHING good about the Empire, how come it wasn't overthrown Day Two after "Revenge of the Sith"?
The plot this time was much more cohesive and interesting. I loved how Zahn pulled in all the characters on something seemingly unrelated, only to have it tie together in the end. Now, I will admit there were tons of times where I was wondering what was happening, and even at the end, I asked myself, "So...why did X happen?" Fortunately, Zahn had a little "Summary of What the Enemy Did", which normally I didn't like, but this time I appreciated.
One minor quibble I had was on the words, or should I say, the overusage of words. Zahn very much relies on "Point", "winced", "grimaced", and more in his writing, and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't bug me or at least jump out at me. All these diverse characters, and they all "wince" and "grimace" when something bad happens? Another somewhat closely related complaint I have is how pretty much everyone makes the "right", "intelligent" choice that leads to a perfect outcome in the end. For example, if Mara makes a plan, she hopes that Bad Guy A will move left, so she can do X, which will do Y. And whaddya know? Bad Guy A moves left. After a while, it was a bit crazy.
I came down a bit hard on "Allegiance" (maybe it didn't seem that way, but I am a Zahn fan girl, and I didn't give it a glowing review, as I have with his other works), and I wasn't sure if I would really want to read more of Mara Jade, the Hand of Judgement, and our Big Three (Han, Luke, Leia). But Zahn has restored my faith in him; this book is a joy to read, reminiscent of "A New Hope" and all the things I adore about Star Wars. Definitely recommended!
A new villain at the edges of Unknown Space is rising: Nuso Esva. He is gathering alien races together with the intent of toppling Thrawn and the Empire. Meanwhile, Han, Luke, and Leia have a mission: the world of Candoras, on the edge of Known Space, ruled by Governor Ferrouz, is extending an offer to join the Rebel Alliance. But can they seal the deal before the Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade, and the Hand of Judgement get to him first?
Timothy Zahn is my absolute favorite author, and this book just showcases all the reasons why I will buy pretty much anything he produces in hardcover.
In Zahn's hands, the characters flourish. This time around, I felt Mara Jade was better (not so "super-powered" as I found in "Allegiance"). Sure, she is still really powerful and highly competent, but she makes mistakes and is duped like anyone else. Thrawn also appears and is great. I only have two complaints about him: 1) he was not in the book enough and 2) it was slightly confusing WHERE he was (though that might have been done on purpose, and if that is the case, then it was well done). Luke Skywalker is so well-done in this book! He is just a dorky, naive kid! Zahn perfectly captures his awkward "not yet a Jedi" stage, his innocence, his idealism--basically, all the attributes we saw in "A New Hope". Han is back with a flourish and I loved how he chaffed at not being informed of all of Rieekan's plans. Leia is likewise great, nice and snappy, but never treading into b!tchy territory. And the sparks these two have...WOWSER! The stormtrooper deserters of Hand of Judgement are superb and are really beginning to become their own. I felt like Zahn is doing for the stormtroopers what Traviss did for the clonetroopers, and I am loving it. Each character is really blossoming--I adored how Brightwater had a lucky gold coin, how trigger happy Grave was, etc.
As for newcomers, Axlon and Ferrouz COMPLETELY stunned me. Both of these men refuse to be put into Star Wars EU stereotypes. I can't really say a whole lot more than that as it would completely blow the surprise and spoil the hell out of the novel, but when I got to the big revelation, I wanted to cry tears of joy. Just when I thought that new ideas, that unstereotypical characters were never going to appear in EU, Zahn comes in.
I happen to be a huge Empire Junkie, and I really loved how Zahn refused to make the Empire the Bad GuysTM. Sure, they oppose our heroes, but never once does Zahn make his Imperials goofy villains, chuckling about how powerful they are only to fail when faced against overpowered Luke, having Imperials undermine each other at every cost only for the power, and having the Imperials have little regard for human life. It's something I've said time and again: While I can 100% buy that SOME Imperials are trigger-happy, power-hungry mongrels, you can't have an Empire last for any length of time when all of its citizens are biting at each other to get on top. If there is NOTHING good about the Empire, how come it wasn't overthrown Day Two after "Revenge of the Sith"?
The plot this time was much more cohesive and interesting. I loved how Zahn pulled in all the characters on something seemingly unrelated, only to have it tie together in the end. Now, I will admit there were tons of times where I was wondering what was happening, and even at the end, I asked myself, "So...why did X happen?" Fortunately, Zahn had a little "Summary of What the Enemy Did", which normally I didn't like, but this time I appreciated.
One minor quibble I had was on the words, or should I say, the overusage of words. Zahn very much relies on "Point", "winced", "grimaced", and more in his writing, and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't bug me or at least jump out at me. All these diverse characters, and they all "wince" and "grimace" when something bad happens? Another somewhat closely related complaint I have is how pretty much everyone makes the "right", "intelligent" choice that leads to a perfect outcome in the end. For example, if Mara makes a plan, she hopes that Bad Guy A will move left, so she can do X, which will do Y. And whaddya know? Bad Guy A moves left. After a while, it was a bit crazy.
I came down a bit hard on "Allegiance" (maybe it didn't seem that way, but I am a Zahn fan girl, and I didn't give it a glowing review, as I have with his other works), and I wasn't sure if I would really want to read more of Mara Jade, the Hand of Judgement, and our Big Three (Han, Luke, Leia). But Zahn has restored my faith in him; this book is a joy to read, reminiscent of "A New Hope" and all the things I adore about Star Wars. Definitely recommended!
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Quotes Crystal Starr Light Liked
“Multiple species, with multiple viewpoints and racial philosophies, simply cannot hold power together for long. The dominant voice must certainly be wise enough to adopt ideas and methods from its allies and member peoples. But there must be a dominant voice, or there is only chaos. In this part of the galaxy, that voice is the Empire."
-Thrawn”
― Timothy Zahn, Choices of One
-Thrawn”
― Timothy Zahn, Choices of One
“...But we will succeed. I've seen the future, Jorj. We will succeed, because we have no other choice."
-Thrawn”
― Timothy Zahn, Choices of One
-Thrawn”
― Timothy Zahn, Choices of One
“My point is that true leaders...understand the possible consequences of their decisions, and are willing to bear that weight. The question is whether that's a step you're willing to take."
-Carlist Rieekan”
― Timothy Zahn, Choices of One
-Carlist Rieekan”
― Timothy Zahn, Choices of One
Reading Progress
| 07/25/2011 | page 30 |
|
7.0% | "So excited to be starting this one!" |
| 07/25/2011 | page 36 |
|
9.0% | "Seeing Luke so bright-eyed and young and hopeful makes me smile :)" |
| 07/25/2011 | page 64 |
|
15.0% | "This is shaping up to be MUCH better than Allegiance" |
| 07/28/2011 | page 123 |
|
30.0% | "All the players are moving in, on the elaborate chess board of Poln Major." |
| 07/29/2011 | page 143 |
|
34.0% | "I am super curious how this is going to work out." |
| 07/30/2011 | page 184 |
|
44.0% | "I am having so much fun with this book, I almost don't want it to end!!" |
| 07/31/2011 | page 249 |
|
60.0% | "TOTALLY DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING! OMG, Zahn, you are amazing, you blow my mind, and THANK YOU for doing something new and making bad guys NOT the person you always suspect!!!" |
| 08/01/2011 | page 280 |
|
67.0% | "The plot is kinda convoluted and people come to the same conclusions pretty quickly, but that still doesn't damper the amount of FUN in this novel." |
| 08/02/2011 | page 296 |
|
71.0% | "So close to the end!!" |
Comments (showing 1-7 of 7) (7 new)
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Joseph
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rated it 4 stars
Jul 27, 2011 06:55am
That is good news that it is better then Allegiance, which then would be much much better then Outbound Flight, which wasn't great...
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Joseph wrote: "That is good news that it is better then Allegiance, which then would be much much better then Outbound Flight, which wasn't great..."For me, Allegiance was a confusing novel. It seemed to be going in many places at once. Plus, I had thought it would ONLY be about Mara, but then these stormtroopers and Han/Luke/Leia were thrown in.
When Zahn appeared at a signing at my local bookstore, he explained that he often HAS to include the Big Three otherwise he can't sell the story to the publisher. The FANS may buy the book, but unless the publisher sees Han, Luke, and Leia, they won't. Sad.
That said, now that I know what to expect and what Zahn has to put up with, I've found this book very enjoyable. Plus, it's kinda fun to see a baby Jedi Luke and Han and Leia bicker constantly :)
That is weird about the publisher being that way, considering his creditablity in his other books. The publisher is Del Ray and maybe after books under them like MedStar and a couple of those other crap books they don't want to fray from the main characters? Lame. I guess that is why Han and Chewy were in Death Troopers (didn't read it the book, just looked it up and saw they were in the book).Still the 501st didn't have any main characters. That is just lame though.
Joseph wrote: "That is weird about the publisher being that way, considering his creditablity in his other books. The publisher is Del Ray and maybe after books under them like MedStar and a couple of those othe..."I thought it odd too, as you are right, there have been quite a few Star Wars novels that haven't had any major characters (Darth Bane, Republic/Imperial Commando, etc.). And with Zahn's clout, you would think HE of all people would be able to publish any book he wanted with or without major characters.
I personally find it weirder to have major characters in side books (Anakin and Obi-Wan in Outbound Flight for example) than to have no major characters at all.
Another example of the publisher's needs not being what the consumer wants!
By the way is this book going to have a sequel or anything? You said it was right after Alligence, correct? Just curious if I should buy it or not. Borders is going out of business and this is one of the few remaining SW books left. The rest are gone.
Joseph wrote: "By the way is this book going to have a sequel or anything? You said it was right after Alligence, correct? Just curious if I should buy it or not. Borders is going out of business and this is o..."I do not know if there will be a sequel. When Zahn came to my area, he did not indicate another book about Mara, the Hand of Judgment, etc. And this book is pretty self-contained (no hanging plotlines). In fact, I don't believe after Zahn wrote "Allegiance", he planned on having a sequel. Of course, I could be wrong, and Zahn DID say he wouldn't mind writing more Mara Jade books.
If you can get it cheap, I would recommend buying it. I thought it was a LOT better than Allegiance (plus, I would LOVE to hear what you thought!).
