Space pirates have attacked the Gungans' sacred place, hijacking ancient statues and threatening to sell them to the highest bidder. They have also taken Rep Teers hostage. Only a small band of Gungans can save Teers and the treasures.
Ryder Windham is an American sci-fi author who has written over sixty Star Wars books, including novels, comics, reference books, and so on. He has also written junior novelizations for Indiana Jones movies. Since 1993, he has been working on Star Wars projects either by himself or with other authors. His reference book Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide had been on the New York Times Best Seller list for three weeks in 2005. Although he has written lots of books, accepted interviews, and appeared at several fan-conventions, little is known about his personal life.
This is part of a series of children's books and I recommend reading the ones before this one. In this one, a pirate is stealing some Gungan's artifacts and the Gungans are not too happy about this development.
I didn't want to rate this a one star but I have to because the way it ended. The ending seems like it is the end of a story arc. If that is the case I have so many questions that I will not get the answers. The biggest questions are who is this pirate and why was he stealing Gungan statues? These are pretty big questions that might not be ever addressed. Even if these questions were addressed this book was only going to get a two star rating as each book in this series is pretty senseless. I want to quit the series but I am so close to the end.
I cannot rate these books higher even if I was giving it leeway because they are children books. These books seem like they break the basic rules of writing a story and this particular offer might be the worst offender. I cannot even fathom having an antagonist of a story without giving ANY information about him or her. Maybe the next book will do a complete turn around and address these issues. I am not holding my breath though.
Pirates from Beyond the Sea is another dreadful entry in the Episode I Adventures line. The pacing is fast, and it can be finished quickly, but that is its only strength. The plot is predictable, the danger is recycled, and there is no tension or payoff. Everything unfolds exactly as expected, and nothing feels earned. As a story, it is thin, mechanical, and deeply boring.
The reading experience is unpleasant. Jar Jar, as well as the Gungan language, remain irritating, and even potentially interesting elements like pirates or Captain Tarpals are reduced to cheap gimmicks. The book fails to establish any clear theme or purpose, and it never gives the reader a reason to care. Like the others in this series, it is only suitable for very young Star Wars fans. For adult readers working through Legends, this is an empty and forgettable read.
The Gungan dialogue is still unbearable. And what's worse... the words "romance" and "Tarpals" appear together in the same paragraph and I can never unsee that.