Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno - Evil Rising
Written: Sep 05 '06 (Updated Sep 12 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: good evolution of Vader, interesting new characters, good history of the Wookies
Cons: some contrivances, took a while to get into it
The Bottom Line: How Anakin completely transforms into Lord Vader is explored, with the help of some interesting new characters and some familiar ones as well.
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| AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader Books |
Right after the most recent installment in the Star Wars saga, there were fans picking apart the story as to how certain things seemed different between Luke and Leia’s birth and the first time they are seen as adults. There were questions of what seemed to be Anakin Skywalker’s rapid descent to the Dark Side. One moment he’s good, the next he seemed to be totally evil.
To bridge some of the gaps and fill in some of the story, James Luceno wrote Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. I read a few very positive reviews here at the site and picked it up. However, the first couple of chapters didn’t really draw me in and I put it down for a while. The characters Luceno writes about seemed completely unfamiliar to me, with the exception of Vader and Emperor Palpantine. After reading another glowing review a few months back, I decided to give the book another shot.
The book basically begins at the end of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The Jedi have been destroyed, with a few survivors of the Emperor’s execution order scattered across the galaxy. The Emperor has consolidated his power and the Republic has turned into an Empire under his control. Lord Vader is trying to heal, both physically and emotionally, from his encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi on the molten planet, Mustafar.
All of the good hasn’t left Anakin yet. There are doubts about his new path and about his abilities. At the same time, those around the Emperor are reluctant to accept this new figure as suddenly being the Emperor’s right hand.
Into this Luceno writes some interesting new characters. A trio of Jedi have managed to escape the execution order and make their way out from under the watchful eyes of the Imperial Forces. Roan Shryne, Olee Starstone, and Bol Chatak must fight their way out. Only Shryne and Starstone survive. He is the jaded veteran looking at the events that have taken place, while she is still a Padawan - a learner - and is full of belief that if they can just somehow hook up with other Jedi who must have surely survived, the wrongs which have occurred can be righted.
I think the fact that so much of Luceno’s story focused on characters I wasn’t acquainted with was what threw me at first. Once I pushed on past the first few chapters, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader drew me in. The conflicts inside Anakin/Vader are written very well, as well as his growing thirst for power and resentment of the Emperor. This already is laying the groundwork for the betrayal which will occur years down the line in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
Luceno also lays the groundwork for the Rebel Alliance with the character of Bail Organa meeting with other dissidents. At the same time, he treads dangerous line as Vader comes to Organa’s home planet of Alderaan and Bail scurries to keep R2D2, C3PO, and Leia hidden from the Dark Lord, lest he figure out that his children did not die with Padme in childbirth.
The weakest part of the book to me were some of the contrivances. In such a big galaxy, it seems a bit too coincidental that Vader would end up so conveniently at Organa’s doorstep, as well as the encounters with Chewbacca. I did like the whole plot of the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk falling, as well as the motivation for why the Emperor needed the Wookies. Although I still don’t quite understand why it took something like twenty years to complete the first Death Star and the second one seemed to appear in less that three.
The pacing of Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader was good once I got into it. I found that I wanted to find out how the characters Luceno created had their stories resolved and I had trouble putting the book down. I also wanted to read about how Anakin/Vader changed over the course of the book, and Luceno takes that character from point A to point B in such a way that it seems to be a path that fits what we know about him from the films.
All in all, this is a good read. If you have trouble getting into it, I would recommend pushing on and giving it a shot. I know I am glad that I did.
Other Star Wars novel reviews:
The Courtship of Princess Leia ~ Dark Force Rising ~ Heir to the Empire ~ The Last Command ~ The Truce at Bakura
© 2006 Patti Aliventi
Recommended:
Yes
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Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
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