Godspeed, John Glenn.

My first post on this blog came a few days sooner than I had intended to start it, because I needed to get some things off of my chest as I tried to cope with the death of Neil Armstrong.  Now today, I mourn the passing of another Ohio astronaut and American hero, John H. Glenn, Jr.  I hurriedly prepped a slideshow presentation to accompany the lesson I plan on giving in my classes tomorrow in lieu of what we were going to cover.  What follows are images of Glenn and some highlights of his career.  I'm going to attempt to record one of the lectures tomorrow, so that I can post it for my online Earth & Space Science class as well- if I manage to do this I will update this post.




UPDATE:  What follows is a recording of one classroom lecture that I made for my online class.  Following that is a YouTube video that I had intended to play at the end of the lecture, but was unable to because I ran out of time.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy- by A.C. Crispin

Star Wars: The Han Solo Omnibus by A.C. Crispin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read these three books back-to-back and because the lines between them are a little blurred I'm going to review them all together here.  I will try to comment on each one separately, but there might be spoilers between the books.

This Han Solo trilogy, which differs from The Adventures of Han Solo trilogy by Brian Daley, introduces a young Han Solo and fills in many of the gaps left by other works.  The gap filling is nice, but also causes the books to jump around a lot and be a little sporadic because they assume you know the backstory from other places.  For example, we don't get to see a lot of Han's time in the Imperial Academy or his meeting of and bonding with Chewbacca.  Also, there are fairly large gaps of time in-between the books that make these books more like three stand-alone novels, than a coherent trilogy.  These books also mark the first time, in-Universe chronology, where we leave the comfort of modern MP3 and CD audiobooks that are unabridged to slightly abridged and enter the uncomfortable territory of really abridged cassette tape audiobooks.  The reader and audio quality went way down.  I was also surprised how much the sound effects that I loved as a teenager got in the way of following the book as an adult [although this could be because of low analog to digital conversion quality or because I listen to most audiobooks at x2 speed].  That being said, I'm going to attempt to briefly review each book individually now that I've introduced the series.

Paradise Snare:

Growing up, my library had this book, but not the two sequels, and so I listened to this one dozens (if not hundreds) of times before I ever found the other two, which I have listened to twice each.  The book explains Han's rough childhood and his escape from being a con-artist.  It also explains his affinity for, and understanding of  Shyriiwook.  From there we meet a new, temporary, furry sidekick as Han develops his piloting skills running spice instead.  There is also the first of several love interests that we see develop in the book, which serves as the driving plot for this novel and the only thread loosely holding together the whole trilogy.  Like many novels, Han's past catches up to him, but in the end [no surprise] he prevails and goes into the Imperial Academy.

The Hutt Gambit:

By the time this book starts Han has already left the Imperial Academy, and although this is discussed elsewhere, it seems like a hole in this series.  We see Chewie serving a reluctant Han, which seems to go against the personality of Han Solo that was established in the first book.  Although, yes Han is a loner, he also has deep friendships with people he has just met.  These friendships come fast, but are hard and true.  As seen with, Bria, Muuurgh, and to a lesser extent Dewlanna.  In fact, Dewlanna should be a motivator for Han to bond to Chewie.  Of course, they do come together, and pretty quickly.  The book also explores Han's joining the smuggling trade again, despite trying to flee from it several times and get his life straight, and his introduction to Lando and other familiar smuggler friends.  Through this we get to see the infamous run that led to him getting boarded and what resulted in the debt he owed to Jabba the Hutt.  The book closes on an (view spoiler)[odd little bit of rebellion and unification amongst the smuggler's as they resist the Empire at the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. (hide spoiler)]

Rebel Dawn:

The book opens with another famous scene where we get to see Han win the Millennium Falcon from Lando.  From there (view spoiler)[we see Han hook up with Bria again and begin to flirt with the Rebellion. For me this was unbelievable because it seems from the movies [although it is not explicitly forbidden] that Han is unfamiliar with and [is certainly] unsympathetic to the plight of the Rebellion (hide spoiler)].  As the story continues, we see the falling out that Lando and Han had in an event that not only wasn't Han's fault, but is hard to see how Lando could possibly interpret it another way.  As the story closes the scene is perfectly set for the actions at the Mos Eisley Cantina, even better than some of the Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina told it.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Kenobi- by John Jackson Miller

Kenobi: Star Wars by John Jackson Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was very disappointing

Ewan McGreggor made me fall in love with Obi-Wan. I never felt that I had a connection with Alec Guinness because he wasn't around that long, and later I came to learn that he was not a huge fan of the movies that he was so instrumental in. However, when the prequel trilogy came out the first thing that really grabbed me was how much Ewan McGreggor sounded like Alec Guinness. I enjoyed his performance there, but it wasn't until the beard and the brotherly camaraderie in Episode II and III that I fell in love with McGreggor and Obi-Wan Kenobi. In fact, it was McGreggor and Portman who were among the few shining lights of the prequel trilogy. One of the most moving scenes in Episode III were when Padmé and Anakin were staring across the large distance at one another and she was crying, however much of the ethos there came from the music. The most moving scene however was Obi-Wan's speech to Anakin on Mustafar at the end of the lightsaber battle, "You were the Chosen One....You were my brother." I teared up there. And in so many other ways I loved Obi-Wan, and so I had high hopes for this book.

Those hopes were shattered. I understand Obi-Wan wanting to play down his Jedi persona in public, but even in private he seemed weak and incapable. The action of the novel revolves around local land disputes and a backwater crime/mafia group trying to establish a foothold. Obi-Wan, the compassionate and self-sacrificial Jedi, tries hard to avoid getting invovled. When he does get involved it is mostly without his lightsaber or Jedi powers, and he spends much of his time doubting himself and his actions. Certain, losing a brother-like apprentice as tragically as he did is going to cause some self-doubt and caution, but I felt that there was too much self-pity and loathing. Furthermore, (view spoiler)[I expected to see some of Qui-Gon's ghost (hide spoiler)] after his appearance in the prior book chronologically and Yoda's tease of him at the end of Episode III. But even here, without Qui-Gon's ghost, Obi-Wan still seems uncertain of himself without his former Master's help.

In the end, Obi-Wan does come up with a good plan and seems to find his footing, but I felt that it was a shame that this is the only major treatment of Obi-Wan, and in the end the last treatment of him in the Legacy's Universe and he was weak throughout.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader- James Luceno

The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For a book that features Darth Vader and you expect it and him to be all badass- this one is a little disappointing. The book is good and delves into Vader's psyche a little bit as he struggles to come to terms with the death of Padmé, the limitations of living in a suit, and his struggle to continue to wield the Force. Also, like many books that focus on the villain, we are given a ragtag group of Jedi that survived Order 66 to cheer for. However, this sets up an inevitable dilemma- we don't like to see evil win [although personally, I think that is more realistic and am OK with it on occasion] and most books don't let the main characters, especially the good guys, die. (view spoiler)[This leads the book into the obvious conclusion of yet another Jedi surviving the extermination order and Vader's attempts to hunt and track down this individual. Like the Darth Maul books, we see the Sith antagonist weakened to the point where it is almost unbelievable, especially when we know that the Jedi were all but wiped out and Vader is given credit. I suppose that not all of the main Jedi survived and so that makes it better, but I found it hard to connect to newly introduced Jedi. (hide spoiler)] The coolest part of the book however, is that James Luceno was given the opportunity to be the one to reveal (view spoiler)[to Obi-Wan that Anakin survived and also to give us the only real appearance of Qui-Gon's ghost in the Legacy Universe (hide spoiler)]. Although, Luceno is normally masterful at weaving in other storylines, this book was a little lacking. It is a good, but incomplete, glimpse into Darth Vader and the time between movies III and IV.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader- James Luceno

The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For a book that features Darth Vader and you expect it and him to be all badass- this one is a little disappointing. The book is good and delves into Vader's psyche a little bit as he struggles to come to terms with the death of Padmé, the limitations of living in a suit, and his struggle to continue to wield the Force. Also, like many books that focus on the villain, we are given a ragtag group of Jedi that survived Order 66 to cheer for. However, this sets up an inevitable dilemma- we don't like to see evil win [although personally, I think that is more realistic and am OK with it on occasion] and most books don't let the main characters, especially the good guys, die. (view spoiler)[This leads the book into the obvious conclusion of yet another Jedi surviving the extermination order and Vader's attempts to hunt and track down this individual. Like the Darth Maul books, we see the Sith antagonist weakened to the point where it is almost unbelievable, especially when we know that the Jedi were all but wiped out and Vader is given credit. I suppose that not all of the main Jedi survived and so that makes it better, but I found it hard to connect to newly introduced Jedi. (hide spoiler)] The coolest part of the book however, is that James Luceno was given the opportunity to be the one to reveal (view spoiler)[to Obi-Wan that Anakin survived and also to give us the only real appearance of Qui-Gon's ghost in the Legacy Universe (hide spoiler)]. Although, Luceno is normally masterful at weaving in other storylines, this book was a little lacking. It is a good, but incomplete, glimpse into Darth Vader and the time between movies III and IV.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith- by Matthew Woodring Stover

Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Woodring Stover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the longest of the prequel trilogy and although it is written the best it is also the book the deviates most from the movie. I don't think that this inconsistency is the fault of the author, Matthew Woodring Stover, but rather the fault of George Lucas's changing vision for the prequels. According to other accounts, Lucas rewrote the script numerous times, even as production began. It is painfully obvious that Stover was working from an early version of the script. As such it deviates from the movie several times in big ways. None-the-less, the writing is masterful. There are times where there is maybe too much narration, but overall those narrative segments give us a deep look into the personality, character, and relationships of the main Jedi. We see the hope of the Republic resting upon the partnership, brotherhood, and success of Anakin and Obi-Wan. Or Mace Windu's love of the Republic [in fact, this was a very narrow bit of writing, but it was so powerful and impactful that I was surprised how short it was in this book and that it was lacking in Stover's other Clone Wars novel, Shatterpoint]. Overall, I don't hate the prequel trilogy as much as many others, but there was a lot about it that was lacking and that could have improved. In general, they got better each step of the way, as did the accompanying novels.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil- James Luceno

Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is hands-down my favorite Clone Wars era novel. It is written by a master author, James Luceno, who is always phenomenal about integrating multiple storylines. Some people have complained that weaving together storylines makes the universe less expansive, but somehow Luceno always pulls it off. In addition to writing a good story, Luceno also hits some many other things just spot-on. From the first chapter, we see how fondness has developed between Clone Trooper leaders and the Jedi, we see the deepening of Obi-Wan and Anakin's friendship and comradery (really the brotherhood that Obi-Wan refers to on Mustafar during his final speech to Anakin), and we see new inside jokes and references to events that we haven't witnessed. The relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan seems so authentic, despite the fact that most, if not all, of the Clone Wars era novels failed to show this relationship deepen and grow- either because they were apart or because the novel focused on the negative and the antagonism between Master and student. In addition to all of this the book also features a side character with a unique name, that might be my favorite and is certainly every entertaining to hear read by an audiobook author, "t'laalak-s'lalak-t'th'ak".
The plot of the novel focuses on (view spoiler)[a discovery of the Sith hologram chair made for a Neimoidian and the fact that this might lead the Jedi to the Sith the Count Dooku referenced in Episode II. As the noose begins to tighten around Darth Sidious, he initiates the Battle of Coruscant and orchestras the events that lead us to the beginning of the Episode III (hide spoiler)]. The only complaint I have about this novel is that it slightly contradicts the other story of the Battle of Coruscant told in The Clone Wars: The Animated Series Season 3. But I remember the first time I read this novel, literally the day that I went to watch the opening showing of Episode III at 12:01 am. I kept thinking that the novel would have to wrap up quickly because they needed to leave room for the movie to set-up itself. I didn't know that the cliff-hanger of the book was setting up the dramatic opening of the final movie in the prequel trilogy.

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A Surreal Jaunt to Chipotle

My wife had surgery today.  This surgery has been a long time coming.  Back at the end of last school year, in fact it was the day after school finished for students on the teacher work day, she was told she would have surgery over the summer.  The surgeon drug his feet scheduling an appointment, then asked that she have one more test done.  Then it was a three week wait to go over the results of the test, before they'd begin to consider scheduling surgery.  Once it was scheduled she had pre-admission testing, which turned out bad and cause the surgery to be postponed and sent us to have a visit to the Emergency Room instead.

Instead of happening one week before school started, or the middle of the summer as we had originally hoped, the surgery was pushed off until Halloween day.  The weekend was already busy enough.  My sister-in-law needed to move back in with us and that happened on Friday.  I am planning on missing the whole week of school after surgery and so I had to crank out a week's worth of quality sub lesson plans on Saturday, and some on Sunday.  Then I had to get my girls packed to spend a week with my parents and get Rachel packed for surgery.  Then finally I could settle in to do my grading, since this weekend also brought the end of the first quarter at school, and I have had many nervous students and anxious parents contacting me about being behind on grading.  I managed to finish grading Sunday night, and although I had hoped to be done putting grades into the computer by then as well, I came to the realization that I would have to spend the day of surgery typing in grades and posting updates on social media to friends and family.

Well this morning rolled around and although I got her all packed up and most of what I needed packed up, like an idiot this morning I left without the laptop charger.  I managed to get about two-thirds of my grades in and Rachel's surgery went well enough.  The doctor was only able to remove one of two bad disks in her neck and she spent the first three outs out of surgery in incredible amounts of pain.  About the time her pain began to be managed, I called the girls to tell them goodnight and Rachel fell asleep while I was out of the room.  Settling back in to continue inputting grades, the computer finally died. I arranged with my sister-in-law to meet at her work in North Dayton to get the charger from her. After that I swung one exit up to get Chipotle for dinner.

Chipotle was pretty packed because they had $3 burritos for customers who came in dressed up for Halloween. I started trying to find somewhere else nearby where I could go and get in and out faster. Then I noticed that the line wasn't as slow as it seemed, but instead the guy in the Donald Trump mask was holding things up by not advancing through the turnbuckles/s-turns. When he advanced the line moved fast and he was about one and a half lanes ahead of me. When he ordered I noticed two things: 1) he didn't take off the mask to talk, and 2) they were low on steak. As I contemplated trying a new meat and the line slowly worked its way forward I got to where I was at the last turn and ready for the straight-away to go order. Suddenly I was clapped on the shoulder by the fake Mr. Trump and as I paused my audiobook [Anathem by Neal Stephenson] he started to talk politics to me. I quickly realized another thing, this fake Trump was a lot older than he seemed at first and also is a Trump supporter.

He started off the conversation by saying, "You know Donald Trump is kind of a despicable guy and has a lot of personal problems, but when you get down to his policies they're great." My day had been too long to say anything in response, so I kind of just looked to my side and could see Mr. Trump's "backpfeifengesicht" face in his mask out of the corner of my eye [he was standing behind me after all- somewhat like the real Mr. Trump in the 2nd debate did to Secretary Clinton at one point]. For what seemed like forever, but was probably just 5 minutes, I watched the gap between the next person in line and myself grow as the line dwindled. I learned about Trump's policies on trade, security, Obamacare, college tuition, Russia, debt, Medicare, and a plethora of other issues. My favorite however, is that despite how old my beard makes me look and this day has made me feel, the fake Mr. Trump called me a millennial several times.

While fake Trump was talking the awesome employees at Chipotle #733 called out to see if anyone else in line wanted steak [there were only three of us left in line]. I gestured and hollered out that if it was possible I would like some and they put fresh steak on the grill for me. Fake Mr. Trump started to wrap up the conversation here, and when he asked me about myself he realized I was not as young as he thought, but encouraged me to do a good job shaping the students and wielding the influence I have over them. We shook hands and I got up to the window line just as the lady in front of me was ordering her second, and last, item.

The man on the tortilla press knew I was waiting for the steak so he and several other employees started making themselves food. The manager asked me which rice I wanted. Since I wanted white and it was low he picked the other rice. The employees were singing and having fun and beginning to get a little rowdy and one of them said something that could be offensive to the wrong person. When a co-worker said, "Hey idiot, knock it off there's still a customer here." I waved and we all laughed. As my steak came off the grill the manager thanked everyone for, "...staying late and working hard no questions asked. Well except for one person who asked one question. Five times. 'When can I leave?' And then left." Needless to say, Wes is in the doghouse next time he shows up to work with his co-workers who stayed tonight. They were dogging on him and honestly, I don't feel bad for Wes, even though he wasn't there to defend himself.

By now, my steak was ready, and someone new was on the tortilla press. As his co-workers began to put away the other meats and pack up the line, he asked me what I wanted. I made the same order I have made for years: steak burrito, white rice, black beans, no salsa, lots of cheese. It has been my experience that at times you can be begging for more cheese and they might add a dozen more thin strands. Well, it was closing time and this man knew how to make a burrito and how to treat a patient customer. After doing the rice and beans he added a scoop of steak, then a second, then said, "It's the end of the day," and scooped on a third scoop. There were maybe four cubes of steak left. Then he double fisted the cheese and puts on the biggest pile of cheese I have ever had on a burrito. But he wasn't done yet, he reached back into the container of cheese and grabbed another generous handful and piled that on as well. The man could barely fold the burrito closed and wrap it up for me. Then the wonderful lady at the checkout looked at me and thought to herself, he's wearing a hoodie and hasn't trimmed that beard in forever, so he must be dressed up as something and charged me $3 as if I was wearing a costume.

Yes I know that they probably charged everyone from fake Donald Trump to woman wearing a headband with cat ears, to normal guy like me $3 tonight instead of arguing with customers about whether they were dressed up or not. Either way after getting such a generous burrito, and having to wait past closing time to get steak cooked especially for me, I was expecting to pay normal price.

Anyway, it has been a long day, and it looks like it will be a late night. If you have read this far, thank you for letting me blow off some steam by sharing what was a very surreal, but in the end wonderful, experience. And fake Mr. Trump, if you're out there, way to go on voting absentee today, I hope to finalize my absentee ballot later this week. I'll weigh everything carefully and try to use my influence over students to encourage discourse and critical thinking, rather than trying to force my opinion into their head. Still I'm glad you're passionate and it was nice to talk to someone different about politics.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Gambit: Seige- by Karen Miller

Stealth by Karen Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Normally when there are a small group of books in a series I review them together. However, I'm going to make an exception this time because these two books were so different. Because The Clone Wars novels covered so much real-world time there seems to be at least two distinct sets. The first are the novels that came out after the release of Episode II and this window continued until The Clone Wars animated movie came out. At this point there became a second set of novels and this one falls into this set. I might be reading too much into it, but it seems to me that there might also be a division within that second set. One is between the release of the cartoon movie and the second sub-set is after the release of the spin-off animated TV series. If this second sub-set does exist this novel falls nicely into it.
The Clone Wars novels seem to be a big mix of good or really bad. This novel is the first the I would call great. There is good action, high stakes, mystery, and intrigue. Furthermore, it focuses on Obi-Wan and Anakin, instead of a book being made to spotlight the Jedi-of-the-novel, that I have complained about in the earlier Clone Wars novels. And really, it is the first time we see the two of them together for any significant length of time in the Clone Wars novels.
The action of the novel focuses on infiltrating a Separatist controlled planet to disrupt the development of another biological weapon. In addition to having real, suspenseful action which is hard to do when you know the main characters are going to survive because sequels have already been made [Episode III], there is a descent amount of humor and a great cliffhanger at the end. If it wasn't for the book sequel being so bad this would probably be my favorite Clone Wars era novel, but the sequel kind of ruined the whole thing.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth- by Karen Miller

Siege: Star Wars by Karen Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Normally when there are a small group of books in a series I review them together. However, I'm going to make an exception this time because these two books were so different. If you want to read my introduction to the series and review of the first book see here.
This book picks up immediately where the other one left off. After the pacing and suspense in the first book being so good, I possibly had expectations that were too high for this book. Either way, this book let me down. I have complained in several other places that every author seems to want to be the one showing Anakin turn evil. If that was my only criteria for judgement, then this book would be perfect because Anakin is almost angelic if not the self-sacrificing Christ-figure. However, the other main character, Obi-Wan, was written so poorly. To some extent, even if I dislike how Anakin has been written in other novels, there is still precedent for his character. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, who is normally compassionate, is cold and heartless here. Yes, Obi-Wan doesn't like to bend, yet alone, break the rules, but there have been plenty of times we have seen him make exceptions, because he seems to always do the right and moral thing. Here he is such a stickler that he becomes dispassionate. Beyond that, because of the setting the resolution is inevitable and therefore felt very predictable. This was disheartening after having such good twists and suspense in the first book in the duology.

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Book Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: No Prisoners- by Karen Traviss

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: No Prisoners by Karen Traviss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After the prior book in "The Clone Wars" series was disappointing this one was such a delight. More than anything this is a book that seems to do retconning well. Before the prequel triolgy there were many Expanded Universe novels that referenced the past, and specifically the Clone Wars era. The prequel movies screwed up a lot of that and for a while it seemed like Lucas Books/Del Rey were just going to ignore it all and little attempt was made to retcon the Bantam books. Then post-Clone Wars movie more and more retconning began to take place. Some of it was good, but most of it was pretty sloppy- this book is a wonderful exception.
The book largely focuses on Ahsoka, whom I didn't really approve of joining the Universe, but since she is here this is not a bad take on her growth. Specifically, we get to see some of the tension between the Jedi and their discomfort with taking command when they are leading beings who have trained for this one purpose and often know better what to do. We are also shown a faction of the Jedi Order, much like religious denominations, and this explains the origin of some Jedi families that the prequel movies seemed to ban. In particular we get to see (view spoiler)[Callista as we was in the time of the Republic before the rise of the Empire or her being trapped aboard the Eye of Palpatine. Her presence and that of her peers was handled masterfully (hide spoiler)]. Lastly, we get to see the fine line that Jedi, who are supposed to be keepers of the peace, but now are not only leading warriors, but also waging war themselves, have to walk. Different views on how to settle the conflict, with a dull ax or a fine scalpel, show the balance between war and peace, if not good and evil. And despite primarily focusing on one planet, the Universe and its' complexity spread by leaps and bounds.
This is hands down one of the best [top two, maybe number 1] Clone Wars novels on audio.

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Book Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Wild Space- by Karen Miller

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Wild Space by Karen Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I never read or hear the phrase, "Die Jedi, die Jedi, die Jedi, die!" again it will be too soon.
This book frustrated me for numerous reasons and I'm pretty sure I can't talk about them without giving spoilers, so you've been warned.
First, although this is a Clone Wars novel, the majority of the book, or at least the last half, is focused on only two characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa. I don't have a problem with this, in and of itself, but the cover shows a lot of clone troopers and we're really interested in this time period because of the Clone War itself. Instead, we get a slowly developing relation between Bail and Obi-Wan that at times seems to following the standard pattern for a romance story where adversaries eventually become lovers. First there is antagonism and a reluctance to work with each other, then there is grudging respect and slowly dawning understanding and seeing the others' perspective, and finally a deep friendship born through extreme adversity.
To make matters worse the extreme adversity comes from a Sith holocron, which somehow seems to have become a commonplace feature in the novels, despite prior novels establishing their rarity. Obi-Wan is physically attacked and mentally continues to hear the phrase, "Die Jedi, die Jedi, die Jedi, die!" which was repeated WAY too many times in the story. When he does finally find the artifact, as you know he must, his weakened state and inability to do much has become so great that it is surprising that he was able to complete the task. The agony of this build-up was almost as unbearable as Fordo and Sam's LONG and SLOW trek through Mordor itself.
Establishing Bail's intimate connection with the Jedi here is about the only good thing that came out of the book and his character was very enjoyable. I suppose I can say that other than Obi-Wan's fatigue all of the characters seemed true to themselves in the movies and other media- that is to say their portrayal seemed accurate. Furthermore, as the Clone Wars novels continue and conclude, this story was regularly references, especially in regards to Obi-Wan and Bail and this only helped to further explain and deepen their relationship.

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Book Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars- by Karen Traviss

Star Wars: The Clone Wars by Karen Traviss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm still not sure what I think about this movie being made. It is the only Star Wars movie that I have not seen in the theater, in fact it kind up snuck up on me and it did so poorly in the theaters that it was done with its run before I got the chance to see it. I really don't like that Anakin (view spoiler)[was given a padawan (hide spoiler)] because it seemed to run against everything that had been written in Clone Wars novels, cartoons, comic books, video games, and the cannon prequel movies. It seemed to me awfully late in the game to be trying to change the storyline so drastically. Having said that the movies did not satisfy fans' desire to see the Clone Wars that were mentioned so fleetingly in passing in Episode IV and became so critical to the early Expanded Universe novels.

I mention all of this to set the scene and to explain that I don't count a bad script against the author. Having said that I also look for one to add to the other. If the book comes first then I expect the movie to add visuals, inflection, scene setting, or something else that is beyond what the original author was able to explain. On the other hand if the movie comes first [or in this case the movie script and idea came first because this is the adaptation of the film rather than a novel turned into a movie], I expect the novel to add some background or insight into characters' thoughts or some other details that add to the story. This novel is very true to the movie, even more so than the Episode I novel I praised previously, but doesn't add anything to the movie or the experience. I suppose if you are going to read instead of watch then the book is good enough, but otherwise I don't find it all that useful or much of an improvement. Not bad, just the same and therefore bland.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Yoda- Dark Rendezvous- by Sean Stewart

Yoda - Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First, I'll say I don't know what to make of a book that I was certain I was reading for the first time, but continually throughout recalled details as they came up to the point where I was sure it was not simply similarities with another text or déjà vu, and yet I don't remember reading it the first time. I don't know what it means for a book to have made so little of an impression.
Despite that the book was very good. It breaks the mold of all of the other early Clone Wars Novels [those that came out before The Clone Wars movie]. All of those other earlier books focused on a main and minor Jedi as their two main characters, but this one stars Yoda and several minor Jedi. Yoda is well written here and has lots of humor and personality, all of which we saw grow in the prequel movies. As was revealed in Episode II: Attack of the Clones (view spoiler)[Count Dooku was Yoda's apprentice (hide spoiler)] and here in this book (view spoiler)[Yoda is given the opportunity to negotiate with Count Dooku and has to go behind the back of the leaders of the Republic to do so (hide spoiler)]. The twists and turns and moral decisions give this book a great pace. Several young and other minor Jedi are introduced in the book and play key roles which help to add to the tension in the book. We also get to learn a lot more about Count Dooku's background and personality. Even though it didn't make a big impression with me the first time I listened to it, this time it stood out as one of the best Clone Wars novels and certainly the best of those that came before the cartoon movie and TV series.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Jedi Trial- by David Sherman

Jedi Trial by David Sherman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Again, like most of the Clone Wars novels this one focuses on a main character Jedi [Anakin Skywalker] and a minor Jedi [Nejaa Halcyon]. Also, the presence of Nejaa Halcyon allows for a LOT of retconning to be done. (view spoiler)[[This is in reference to earlier books in real-world chronology, but later books in-Universe chronology]. It was commonly assumed because of Return of the Jedi that there was such a thing a a Jedi-lineage and family tree and this assumption became common in the the early Expanded Universe novels. Later when the early prequel movies came out this was changed and it left for a lot of discontinuity in the Universe. This book began to fix those problems by showing that Nejaa had a secret family back on Corellia and gave Anakin someone to confide in even if the full truth never came out. (hide spoiler)] This is one of the few books to feature Anakin that doesn't go full-out in trying to make him go Dark, but it does some. There is a side-plot in this novel that is kind of random and doesn't really contribute to the final story. After the introduction the book focuses mainly on one siege. The pace is good and the story is entertaining and believable and the tension was palpable. After several slow Clone Wars novels, this one delivers good entertainment.

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Book Review: Medstar Duology- by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

First, I read the novels in the duology back-to-back in two days and the two are not very distinct for me, so it is possible there will be spoilers for both books. These books broke the standard Clone Wars novel format a little bit because they didn't really focus on a main and minor Jedi. You could make the argument that Luminara is a Master and was introduced back in Episode I and is therefore at least familiar, but she's never really been a main character (even the one book to feature her, both she and her apprentice were an aside to another pair of Jedi). This series also did a good job of integrating a few other Jedi into the story.
Overall the story line was good, but I expected the location and scene to change more than it did. They are supposed to be part of a mobile surgical unit [like M.A.S.H.], but because the location was under siege, for the most part the scene does not change much. It was awesome to see a familiar character from Michael Reaves's Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Lorn Pavan's I-5YQ (I-Five) show up and continue that story line. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of medical detail given without being gruesome. It seems that many novelists have a few fields or specialties that they focus on and here it was very much the anatomical and medical side of things. These books were very hard for me to find on audio when they originally came out, so I was very glad to finally be able to enjoy them.

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Book Review: Star Wars: The Cestus Deception- by Steven Barnes

Star Wars: The Cestus Deception: a Clone Wars Novel by Steven Barnes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like most of the early Clone Wars novels this one follows the same format of starring a main character Jedi with a minor one [this time Obi-Wan Kenobi with Kit Fisto]. The book has a strong start and a strong finish, but the middle is lacking. Specifically, the deception in the title mostly refers to the Jedi using deception, and not being as morally upright as they normally are. There is also a side plot of a Clone trying to understand his existence and place in the galaxy. It was cool to see (view spoiler)[Asajj Ventress (hide spoiler)] appear in a novel. The one thing I didn't like about the ending was much like Shatterpoint it was a little dues ex machina.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Shatterpoint- by Matthew Woodring Stover

Shatterpoint by Matthew Woodring Stover
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Here we finally enter the Clone Wars properly and it has always been a great chagrin that it was mentioned originally in A New Hope, and teased so much in the first two movies of the prequel trilogy, but then fail to be covered by real movies. Instead the gaps have had to be filled in by all the other forms of media: TV cartoons, movie cartoon, comic books, graphic novels, video games, magazine short stories, and novels like this one.
Like most of the Clone Wars era novels this book focuses on one main Jedi [Mace Windu] and one minor/support Jedi [Depa Billaba]. Unlike many of the following novels, this one does not focus on Kenobi or Skywalker and that is a welcomed difference. Furthermore, we get a really close look at Mace and get to see his background developed.
I have listened to this novel several times [I think my most recent read my was my 3rd] and every time I have started the novel I have wondered why I didn't enjoy it in the past because it starts out so good. However, very quickly the novel turns too dark and and brooding. The main antagonist takes a long time to develop and is fairly one-dimensional, the other main antagonist are just nature hazards and are not all that engaging. Also, too many Star Wars novels told from this point of view of a Jedi end up focusing on the wrestling between the light and dark sides- this one is no different and ends up making Mace look kind of wishy-washy, instead of his normal bad-ass self.
As I mentioned earlier, I was kind of surprised that this book turned out as bad as it did because it has a pretty solid start. I also seemed to recall that Mace ended up speaking a lot more about his love of the Republic instead of dedication to the Jedi Order or to any individual leader, but it turns out that those memories came from Matthew Woodring Stover's next Star Wars novel, Revenge Of The Sith . Having said that this book is a pretty good preview of Stover's writing style and there is the possibility that the abridgement of the audiobook is what did damage to the story line, instead of it being the novel itself, because Stover's writing it nowhere nearly as detailed in this book as his movie novelization. This would not be the first time that a movie adaptation was the better book by an author over their own contribution to the Star Wars Expanded Universe.  The end however was abrupt and very <i>dues ex machina</i>.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones- R.A. Salvatore

Star Wars, Episode II - Attack of the Clones by R.A. Salvatore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is hands-down the best novelization of the prequel trilogy. Matthew Woodring Stover did a pretty good job with Episode III and Terry Brooks did the best he could be The Phantom Menace, but R.A. Salvatore really brought this novel to life. He wrote this novel after he wrote Vector Prime and I don't know if he was given the opportunity because of how bad the fan reaction was to the incident (view spoiler)[[spoiler for another book alert] where he was told to kill off Chewbacca in that book (hide spoiler)] or if he was given it for another reason, but either way he pulled it off. Most, if not all, of the deleted scenes from the movie were in the book and they didn't add a lot to the novel, but it didn't detract from it either. It is certainly interesting to see how different authors given scripts by the same man all write uniquely different stories.
However, this does not mean that the story itself is great, just the telling of it. The following is more a critique of George Lucas's script and movie. I've complained in several other reviews of books that come [in-Universe] chronologically before this book, and it will also be a complaint in my upcoming reviews of Clone War era novels- everyone wants to make Anakin evil, or at least to show their own hints of him going to the Dark Side. George Lucas got greedy here too, and wanted to foreshadow it too strongly with (view spoiler)[the death of Anakin's mother being the catalyst for his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders (hide spoiler)]. As the podcast, StoryWonk's Story and Star Wars points out so well, the story of Star Wars is a hero's journey mixed with the dramatic irony of Anakin's downfall. Sure, some foreshadowing might be necessary, but we should not see the hero fail; his flame should not be flickering, but getting too bright. Even so, it happens here and it is a shame, and what adds to that shame is Padmé's acceptance and nonchalance about it. For a better and more thourough review of the shortcomings of the movie, while still respecting it and not discounting it totally, be sure to list to the review by StoryWonk, and their whole series in fact.

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Review: Star Wars: Omega Squad: Targets- Karen Traviss & Dany Pépin

Star Wars Omega Squad: Targets by Karen Traviss

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short story was turned into an audio production by fans and this is a review of that, as much as it is a review of this short story.
It is really hard to review a short story without spoiling everything. For a short story, this one was good and gripping. New characters were introduced and connections were established quickly. There was a descent twist at the end (view spoiler)[even though it didn't allow the hero main characters to shine as much (hide spoiler)]. Before she had a falling out with the Star Wars Universe Karen Traviss wrote a lot of good military novels.</["br"]>

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Book Review: Star Wars: The Approaching Storm- Alan Dean Foster

The Approaching Storm by Alan Dean Foster
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

SLOW, oh my god this book was so slow!
This first novel (in-Universe chronology) establishes a pattern that existed if not through the Clone Wars era novels, then at least through the ones that were written before the Clone Wars movie and TV series came out (real-world chronology). That pattern is to take a Jedi we are familiar with from the movies and pair him with another one that we wanted to know about and focus on both together. I'm reminded of a common criticism of The X-Files and Supernatural TV shows which was "monster of the week", except here it is minor Jedi of the novel.
In this novel, since there were two main Jedi, master and apprentice, Obi-Wan and Anakin, there are two minor Jedi, master and apprentice, Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee. Like most of the novels surrounding Episode I (and to a lesser extent Episode II and The Clone Wars) the emphasis is on politics. In this novel the dispute is between traditional, nomadic people and modern, urban people. Unfortunately, to make matters even worse, the novel doesn't even deal with the politics of the situation. The whole story is the Jedi trying to get to the nomads and having to overcome nature.
It is sad and surprising because Alan Dean Foster is the original Star Wars author- he wrote as George Lucas's ghost writer for Episode IV: A New Hope's novelization and the first Expanded Universe author, Splinter of the Mind's Eye. And now he's been given the reigns of the new trilogy and given the novelization of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Of the ones of those I've read they have all been very good and so it was surprising that this novel was so slow. The world it describes is complex and interesting, but the plot is lacking.

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Book Review: The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery- Sam Kean

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam Kean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I try to keep up-to-date on new science books, I usually do this just by browsing my library's new release catalog. That was how I originally stumbled across Sam Kean's first book, The Disappearing Spoon , which was amazing and I was so excited that I was able to listen to it on audio. That book is still one of my favorite science books I have ever read, and I hope to re-read it soon.
Needless to say I became a Sam Kean fan immediately and have kept abreast of his new books [you can read my review of The Violinist's Thumb here]. When this book came out I was disappointed that the audiobook release was delayed. Eventually, it did come out and I finally got around to listening to it, but not until after I met him at a conference a year ago.
Back in January 2015, he was the first Keynote speaker at the SECO conference and I made sure to leave early enough to make it to hear him in time, since his talk was the first thing after registration opened and since I had a long drive to get to the conference. His talk focused on his second book, which I had read, but like all of his books there was a lot of information overload and I was reminded of a lot that I had forgotten. At the end of his talk he took questions, one of which was mine, and I had learned from his webpage that his background was in physics, so I asked him if/when he intended to do a physics book [since he's done: elements/chemistry, genetics, and neurology]. He told me that he was still looking for the gripping and engaging stories like the ones he told in these books, but that he did have a file of stories to expand upon to eventually write that book. He then signed books afterwards, and I got my copies of his first two books signed, and he informed me that the copy of The Violinist's Thumb that I have is the UK edition/cover and we talked casually for a while. One of the few tweets I've ever tweeted came about after that encounter.
Anyway, on to my review of this book. Like all of his others, this book was stellar. He told amazing, surprising, sometimes funny, sometimes horrifying stories, all of which enlightened me about what we know about the brain and what we still have to learn. I was hardly able to put the book down and enjoyed it thoroughly. I'm debating still whether I want a copy for my classroom because of the age-appropriateness of some of the stories, but I did share many things I learned from the book with my students in off-topic discussions we had around the time I was reading it because I love learning and sharing new things. Now the problem is I am left hanging and waiting for another book from him, because the other downside of this one and his others is that it was over too soon.

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Book Review: Outbound Flight- Timothy Zahn

Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Re-reading this book really just emphasized to me how desperately I need to re-read the original Thrawn Trilogy, even though I probably listened to it a hundred times. I know when normal people say they've done something "hundreds" of times it is usually interpreted to be an exaggeration, but I probably listened to the abridged audiobook at least once a month for 8 years. My biggest conflict is that I tend to confuse the Outbound Flight Project with the Katana Fleet.
Anyway, although I love Timothy Zahn's books, this one was a little odd. First, it seems unnecessary to have the extra anchor of Anakin and Obi-Wan on the flight because fans who are familiar with Zahn's other works probably have enough of an anchor already. It is nice to see this storyline woven into the prequels pretty seamlessly because there were quite a few items in the Thrawn Trilogy that were contradicted by the prequels or had to be retconned to fit back in. A surprise to me was that as the Outbound flight reached the Unknown Regions of space that they ran into not only (view spoiler)[the Chiss, but also Mitth'raw'nuruodo [Thrawn] (hide spoiler)]. That half/view of the story was its saving grace because the Outbound Flight itself and Jorus C'baoth were kind of disjointed. C'baoth as a Jedi seemed too unorthodox, which isn't to say that this wasn't allowed or couldn't have been, but it was made quite clear in the Thrawn Trilogy [spoiler for that series coming up], that the cloning process is what made the clone of the Jedi master, Joruus, crazy. In this series the original "copy" is quite crazy on his own already. Overall, though, Zahn tells great, complex stories and he did an excellent job here of weaving together the tales that he has written with the prequels themselves.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Jedi Quest: The Master of Disguise- Jude Watson

The Master of Disguise by Jude Watson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book is the worst of the four books in this series that were turned into audiobooks. This however is only partly because of the plot of the book itself. Some of this also has to do with the fact that a recurring antagonist [first introduced in the second book The Trail of the Jedi] comes back, but the series is setup to continue this conflict and the listener is left hanging, unless they want to become a reader also. Beyond that this book was just okay. Master and apprentice are again separated [a common theme], but the story focuses on Anakin and pretty much abandons obi-Wan's plot. There is some interesting lightsaber training by a different Master, and although it is a shame to not see someone like Shaak Ti doing this it does serve to expand the Universe. In the end this book was kid of slow and I was disappointed to me left hanging about the series as a whole.

Check out all my reviews of the audiobooks in this series:


Also shows, Junior Novelization of Attack of the Clones [not reviewed]


1. The Way of the Apprentice,
2. The Trail of the Jedi,
3. The Dangerous Games, or
read my review of the Jedi Quest series as a whole.


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Book Review: Star Wars: Jedi Quest: The Dangerous Games- Jude Watson

The Dangerous Games by Jude Watson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has some nice tie-ins to Episode I. As can be seen from the cover, Anakin does a podrace again and someone else (view spoiler) is using his old podracer. The tension and Anakin's altruism are great here and even though he butts-heads with Obi-Wan too much, the reason is Anakin's big heart, which is so similar to Qui-Gon's approach and Obi-Wan's old hesitance with that. Also, different than the first book in this series (view spoiler). I do wish that the book had been able to spend more time focusing on the Galactic Games [essentially our Olympics] than it did, but overall it was a good story and the second best of the audiobooks in this series.

Check out all my reviews of the audiobooks in this series:


Also shows, Junior Novelization of Attack of the Clones [not reviewed]

1. The Way of the Apprentice,
2. The Trail of the Jedi,
4. The Master of Disguise, or
read my review of the Jedi Quest series as a whole.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Jedi Quest: The Trail of the Jedi- Jude Watson

The Trail of the Jedi by Jude Watson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is the worst for Anakin and Obi-Wan butting heads. When we see inside their thoughts [third-person omniscient] we see that they both have doubts, but rather than being open and honest with each other, they keep it to themselves and this drives a wedge between them. That is the point of most of this book, but the point should be the bonding and becoming like brothers. The action is this novel is not what was expected and it is an enjoyable read. We do get to see some team work and bonding and more importantly, we get to see (view spoiler) to give the series a focus on someone other than the Sith for a change. This one is probably the best of the four [audiobooks] in this series, even through I gave the first three 3 stars each.

Check out all my reviews of the audiobooks in this series:


Also shows, Junior Novelization of Attack of the Clones [not reviewed]

1. The Way of the Apprentice,
3. The Dangerous Games,
4. The Master of Disguise, or
read my review of the Jedi Quest series as a whole.



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Book Review: Star Wars: Jedi Quest: The Way of the Apprentice- Jude Watson

The Way of the Apprentice by Jude Watson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book does a descent job of setting the scene for the series. We get to see Anakin's training at the Jedi Temple and the friendships and rivalries he encounters there. The action is somewhat predictable and the team of rivals approach is also obvious, but the story works well and was an enjoyable read.


Check out all my reviews of the audiobooks in this series:


Also shows, Junior Novelization of Attack of the Clones [not reviewed]

2. The Trail of the Jedi,
3. The Dangerous Games,
4. The Master of Disguise , or
read my review of the Jedi Quest series as a whole.

View all my reviews

Series Review: The Jedi Quest Audiobooks- Jude Watson

Also shows, Junior Novelization of Attack of the Clones [not reviewed]

Possible Spoiler Alert: I am going to attempt to review each of four Jedi Quest books that were turned into audiobooks together at the beginning of the review. I listened to them all in a row and there is little distinction between them in my mind and so I may, without intending to do so, give details away. I believe that the audio productions were all unabridged, but it is possible that they were abridged and there are parts of the story I am unfamiliar with. Following this paragraph is my review of the series, before I touch on my review of the individual book in future subsequent posts. At the end there is a link to the other books in the series that I listened to and reviewed.

My complaint about this, and most novels in the prequel/Rise of the Empire era, is that Anakin is too evil. I understand that in a young adult/children's novel that things need to be more black and white [although I do think that many children can handle more complexity that we give them credit for], but still over and over we see Anakin losing his temper or giving into fear and dabbling in the Dark Side. Also, almost constantly, Anakin and Obi-Wan are butting heads here. After recently re-watching the movies there maybe isn't as much camaraderie portrayed as I thought, but still there is a friendship of mutual respect, if not a father-son or even brother-brother relationship between the two. One of my favorite things about all of the prequels is Obi-Wan's sense of humor mixed with the seriousness with which he takes his duties- his lighthearted smile and quick wit are enjoyable. Frequently, he and Anakin trade jokes and tease or even harass each other. I love this, but over and over again in these books and the others around it there is nothing but tension shown and we don't get the chance to see the close relationship developing. Beyond that I don't have a lot of complaints. Too many of Anakin's peers, and the Jedi in general, are human rather than alien and his age seems to be in flux a little bit- at times Anakin is too mature and at times he is too immature. These books came out after Episode II and so they are written as prequels to that rather than as sequels to the young Anakin of Episode I and Rouge Planet.  Overall, for a YA series the books aren't bad, but see my review of the fourth book for my other complaints/issues about the audiobook series as a whole.


Check out all my reviews of the audiobooks in this series:
1. The Way of the Apprentice,
2. The Trail of the Jedi,
3. The Dangerous Games, or
4. The Master of Disguise.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Rogue Planet- Greg Bear

Star Wars: Rogue Planet by Greg Bear
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Although I listened to the abridged audio edition of this book most recently and have listened to that edition a couple of other times, I have also read the print book once [although it took more than one time checking it out of the library to force myself through it].

The last line there should give you a pretty good idea about my thoughts on this book. In fact, I remember specifically reading the full book hoping that maybe something that was cut in the abridgment of it that would make it more enjoyable or understandable, but no- there is a pretty big jump between the middle and the end where things fall to pieces without making much sense.

Even as I re-read it this time I found myself wondering if maybe my mind had wandered too much during my prior readings of it because it wasn't that bad until the end, but once again I was surprised at what a bad turn it took. In fact, maybe that is why I don't like it as much, because it strings you along for a pretty enjoyable ride and then turns on you.

This book was written to be a prequel to the New Jedi Order series with its Yuuzhan Vong invasion. It was interesting, although confusing, to see Vergere and "the far outsiders". It was also interesting to see bio-ships again [this was also done as a lengthy, and disconnected, side plot in The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy with Lando, Lobot and the droids exploring the Teljkon Vagabond]. (view spoiler)[A moving, living planet gives a little more credence to the barely believable construction of the Corellian system from the Corellian Trilogy. (hide spoiler)] My biggest complaint, and this will be a theme through all of my reviews of the prequel/"Rise of the Empire" era novels is that every author wants to foreshadow the downfall of Anakin, and this just becomes unbelievable. For someone to be this terrible throughout, it makes it even less believable that no one saw this coming, or that everyone just turned a blind eye. In addition to that, unfortunately we don't get to see Obi-Wan be the confident Master in this book, although that is probably reasonable at this point in the timeline. Also, a common theme in the pre-prequel [real-world chronology] novels is that everyone wants to claim creation of the Death Star plans which became so convoluted, with Tarkin, Bevel Lemelisk, Qui Xux, Poggle the Lesser, and probably others that I missed all given credit at one point for creating it, that eventually a whole novel was commissioned just to retcon the whole mess. To me, it seems obvious, that authors should have just stepped away from some things and let certain stories be left alone for the movies to address, but often times these extras were written about and it makes little sense. And in the authors' defense, there have been times where they have been directed to do certain things, so maybe this was outside of their control, but it still seems short-sighted. Having said that, this book does a better job than any other in the Legends EU series giving Tarkin some depth of character and background, which was quite revealing to see.

This book isn't the worst in the Star Wars [Legends] Expanded Universe, that honor used to belong to Barbara Hambly, but now I think Joe Schreiber has taken that title away from her with his two horror books, but it comes right up against them.

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Book Reivew: Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace- Terry Brooks

Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Any review of this book has to take into consideration that the author did not write the main story here, but instead was told the story and simply had to flesh it out. With that in mind, I'm going to do my best to limit my criticisms to the book and not to the story, which has its own problems as we know.
This is not the first time I have read this book. After watching a midnight showing of the movie the night it was released I had the next day off of school [I actually had it off, we had a program where if you had a certain GPA you could take one personal day off per quarter- I probably qualified for it 10-12 of the 16 quarters I had in I school, but this was the only time I took advantage of it]. After sleeping in, I drove to the next town over where there was the only bookstore [without my parent's permission because I was using their car] to buy a copy of the book [I'm such a rebel], which had been released about two weeks before the movie. The book was originally released with multiple different covers and I remember debating long and hard about which version to buy, but in the end settled on the same cover as this audiobook, despite Jar Jar being on the back, because it featured Queen Hubba Hubba. I started reading it that afternoon and later listened to the audiobook a few times. In fact, I think that it was probably the first audiobook that I listened to on CD, the first time I saw a dual release of cassette and CD audiobooks [I've been an audiobook fan for a long time], and also the first time I listened to an unabridged audiobook [I remember in the past wondering how I would find the time to listen to so many books if I had to listen to the full-length versions- what a failure of imagination]. Anyway, enough about me and my experiences with the novel and on to the novel itself.
Of all the prequel novels, this one is the truest to the movie. Maybe because this was Terry Brooks's first foray into the Star Wars Universe he chose to not take liberties, or maybe because the story was so different that the past and was somewhat distasteful he decided to just get it done and over with, but overall there are a few side facts added and two extra scenes that were not in the movie or the original screenplay . The book just doesn't add a lot to the movie and so although it is a pleasant read, this is one of the rare times where the movie is better than the book.

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Book Review: Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter- Michael Reaves

Star Wars: Darth Maul - Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I listened to/read the audiobook version of this novel which is abridged.
This was the first book about Maul real-world chronology, but the second one about him in-Universe chronology. Both of them suffer for the same problem, Darth Maul is awesome, but is not shown to be amazing here.
Yes, movie spoiler if you haven't watched Episode I, Maul does get his ass handed to him [really separated from him] at the end of the first movie. And yes, in this book he is still learning and is not quite as fully skilled yet. However, the gap between this book and the movie is minimal and so there isn't really that much learning that he did here that would help him improve. Unlike the prior book, Maul is weak here not because of restrictions, but because the story focuses on Maul and a Jedi. Inevitably this leads the book to steer you to root for the Jedi and the information broker, Lorn Pavan and his droid. (view spoiler)[And although both die in the end it is not really because Maul defeated them, she sacrifices herself to save others and he ends up getting tricked into giving up the information to Senator Palpatine [whom we know is Maul's master Darth Sidious] before being killed in his hospital bed by Maul. This leaves the droid unaware of his master's whereabouts and he shows up again in several more of Michael Reaves's books, which seems out of place. Also, as long as I'm spoiling things, a complaint about carbon freezing [which is used in this novel]- it is not a common way of storing living people, that's why it was risky to trap Luke in such a way and was first tested on Han in the movies. And yet, carbon freezing has become a mainstay of Star Wars books and graphic novels, there was even a carbon freezing guns in video games. Universes should be expansive and although authors have to maintain the delicate balance of anchoring a story to the known with showing new [unknown] material, while at the same time not contradicting other established facts reusing something like carbonite on people so often just cheapens it and the suspense of Han being frozen. (hide spoiler)]. The story does not go the way you would expect it to and so that it surprising, but overall the book was fairly disappointing.

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