Rating: 
Summary: Rouge Planet
Review: Rouge Planet, like most STAR WARS books is pretty good, but I think it was missing some good action. I enjoyed reading the book, because I loved the way that the author foreshadowed the events that are to come later in the STAR WARS saga. It introduces some new and exotic alien species, along with more familiar characters, which was pretty exciting to see, especially because of the way their personality was so exceptionally portrayed. What most fascanated me, was how the author so neatly blended in the story with another book which takes place decades in the future of STAR WARS universe. As for the other STAR WARS fans you must read this book if you have a desire to learn more about how the movies are interlocked within each other, and for some of the reasons for Anikan's behavior. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested.
Rating:
Summary: Rouge Planet
Review: Rouge Planet was, like most STAR WARS books pretty good, but what I think it was missing some good action. I of course enjoyed reading the book, because I loved the way the author fore shadowed the events that are to come later in the STAR WARS saga. It introduces some familiar characters, which was pretty exciting to see, and potrayed their personality appropriately. What most fascanated me, was how the author so neatly blended in the story with another book which takes place decades in the future of STAR WARS universe. I would highly recommend this book for any interested STAR WARS fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Woefully Inconsistent
Review: I've been reading a great deal of Star Wars 'literature'. I can't help it, I'm a fan and this is a guilty pleasure. I had stayed away from the books that had to do with the prequels, because I didn't see how novels could be written between the movies that remained consistent with George Lucas's plan for Star Wars. Then I picked up 'Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter' by Michael Reaves and 'Cloak of Deception' by James Luceno. Both were excellent, showed great knowledge of the Star Wars universe, and added to the overall story of the prequel era. With that in mind, I picked up 'Rogue Planet' by Greg Bear thinking it would continue the excellent story. My expectations were certainly dashed.The biggest problem with 'Rogue Planet' is that it is terribly inconsistent with the 'greater' Star Wars story that is the movies. For instance, a great deal of attention is given to some Jedi that left the order, got married, had children, and then came back, as if this is no small thing. Anyone who has seen 'Episode 2: Attack of the Clones' knows that this is an impossibility as the Jedi don't allow it and that not many Jedi ever leave and then are permitted to return. On top of that, Anakin and Obi-Wan entertain thoughts of Jedi disappearing at death as if they had it already figured out, even though this isn't the case in the movies. Second, Bear wasn't satisfied to really develop races that already existed in the Star Wars universe. Instead, he creates new aliens and all new cultures. That is fine, but the effect is that it seems like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are pulled out of the Star Wars universe and plunked into the middle of some other science fiction story. This leads to my overall complaint of the novel: it just doesn't seem like a Star Wars story. The action, which is a hallmark of Star Wars, is minimal and largely relegated to a flat thirty page action scene at the beginning of the book where Anakin attempts to compete in a glider race across a trash pit in Coruscant. The last seventy pages have some rising action, but it is mainly an overly drawn out scene. The redeeming qualities of the book are few. To its credit, 'Rogue Planet' ties the prequel era to the 'New Jedi Order' series and explains how a particular Jedi ended up in the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong, who aren't named as such in this novel, in the first place. I thought that was well done. Even though it wasn't a great Star Wars story, it was decent science fiction. It reminded me more of the second and third novels of the Ender Wiggins series by Orson Scott Card. Overall, this novel is largely for the die-hard Star Wars fan. I would recommend 'Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter' and 'Cloak of Deception' over this novel. I'd prefer to give this book 2.5 stars, but that isn't an option, and since I guess I did like it more than I didn't, three is more appropriate.
Rating:
Summary: An untold story only hinted at in "A New Hope"
Review: We all remember Ben Kenobi's ruminations to Luke Skywalker on how he failed in his training of his father Anakin, now you'll learn why. Anakin (later to be known as Darth Vader) was Kenobi's first apprentice as a rookie Jedi Master, and as such, was affected by his mentor's inexperience, not to mention his own personality as a pretty reckless kid. We got our first glimpse of Little Hot Rod Anakin in "Phantom Menace"--how was a greenhorn instructor supposed to handle that loose turbolaser? Of course, we all know now that Kenobi's second shot at the Skywalker bloodline was a huge success--the New Jedi Order cycle has Luke as a next-generation Kenobi whose talent is such that he can also maintain a marriage. Other prequel material here covers the genesis of Grand Moff Tarkin--in this story, he's only a Commander, but already a key figure in the work in progress that will become the Empire. We learn in this story that the Empire has always been based on human supremacy in the galaxy ("Ven Herr Tarkin tells us ve iss der master race, ve heil (braaak!) heil (braaak!) right in Herr Tarkin's face"). When you consider this book as a Star Wars historical document, the story of a planet that grows starships instead of building them is almost incidental. If you've read the Yuuzhan Vong cycle, that angle is hauntingly familiar. Greg Bear, who usually goes for material that is sometimes so grandiose and bloated that it can lose the basic sci fi reader in the shuffle, has gone for the typical "people story" found in the Star Wars universe, and I must say he can do it as well as any.
Rating:
Summary: A bit boring, yet a should read for Star Wars fans
Review: Three years have passed since "The Phantom Menace". Anakin Skywalker still retains his child-like innocence as he finds a deeper relationship with the Force. His master Obi-Wan Kenobi still feels he is not ready to take on a mission and with good reason, too. Though Anakin is strong in the Force, he still is undisciplined, bearing the scars of his former slavery. But the council and revered Jedi Thracia Cho Leem feel that Obi-Wan and Anakin should be sent to the planet of Zonama Sekot, home of where the galaxy's fastest ships are made. A year ago another Jedi Knight had been sent to the planet but nothing has been heard from her since. And as the two Jedis Obi-Wan and Anakin find strange going-ons of Zonama Sekot, Commander Wilhuff Tarkin and Raith Sienar make plans to extract the secrets of the planet... The plot leaves much to be desired for as most of the story is focused on the building of the ships, plus all of the ceremonies and traditions involved. A bit strange, this part of the book never really held my interest and I had to slowly read along. But the beginning of the story is very interesting and exciting, telling about one of Anakin's romp in the underworld of Coruscant. The last part of the book is also extremely exciting to read. Probably the beginning and last part of the story is what saved "Rogue Planet" from complete dullness. My favorite character of all the Star Wars, besides Harrison Ford as Han Solo, has always been Obi-Wan Kenobi. So when I first had heard about "Rogue Planet" I was very excited to read more about Obi-Wan. Unfortunately, he's in a way placed more as a secondary character to Anakin Skywalker. Also he is made very stern and at times made to be in the wrong. One of the most interesting characters for me was Raith Sienar. Somehow he's a very likable bad guy, if you know what I mean. "Rogue Planet" I recommend for those who are Star Wars fans. But for those who have never read any Star Wars books and plan to start with this book, I recommend you read something first. Here are a few more Star Wars recommendations. First there's the Jedi Apprentice Series and Jedi Quest Series. Though aimed for young adults, they're extremely fun to read even for adults. Another Star Wars Series I recommend and like a lot are the Young Jedi Knights series. More on the teenager level of reading. For adult readings, a few selections I enjoy reading are "The Thrawn Trilogy", "The Jedi Academy Trilogy", "The Corellian Trilogy", and "The Truce at Bakura".
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I expected...
Review: A feew years after the events of the Phantom Menace, 12-year-old Jedi Apprentice Anakin Skywalker is once again becoming restless, sneaking away from the Jedi Temple to compete in illegal races. The Jedi Council decides to give him and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi their first mission to hold some of Anakin's loose energy. Their mission: to go to the little know rogue planet, Zonoma Sekot, the source of the fastest planes in the universe, to search for a lost Jedi Vegere. Soon the two find the planet isn't all it seems as the two are swept up into deadly intrigue that will threaten their relationship and show Anakin his most darkest side. I was sure the combination of George Bear and Star Wars would work out but not really. This book was pretty confusing at times and just not that good. I would recommend "The Approaching Storm" besides this. I did like seeing the beginning of Anakin's dark side and the fact that they introduced the character Vegere who will have a more interesting role in the New Jedi Order series.
Rating: 
Summary: Snore!
Review: I bought this book in the wake of the hype over The Phantom Menace, and the thought of seeing a new adventure of Anakin amd Obi-Wan in between movies seemed appealing. Unfortunately, Greg Bear lived up to HIS hype as "The greatest living writer of hard science-fiction"....epmhasis on HARD. Unlike the excellent Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, by Michael Reaves, Bear emphasizes ridiculous tech (Wooden spaceships?) over characterization, and the characters all blur together into one nondescript bore, and the plot is just non-Star Wars-like; it seemed more like a Star Trek story. I really had to struggle to get through the book, and even though there IS an interesting development with Anakin, it really isn't enough to get me to recommend this clunker. I also didn't appreciate the way Bear wasted huge chunks of the book on the story of missing Jedi Vergere and her confrontation with "The Far Outsiders", a plot that goes nowhere, and is apparently a set-up for the New Jedi Order books. In the context of Rogue Planet, it's just sloppy and pointless.
Rating: 
Summary: Just plain awful!
Review: I wasn't that excited about this book to begin with. I'm not all that interested in books based on the events prior to the classic trilogy but I'm a Star Wars freak and I own every Star Wars based novel so I had to buy this one. This book was terrible. It is almost as bad if not worse than Children of the Jedi. The storyline was disjointed and bland. The new characters were shallow. I especially couldn't stand the bloodcarver. The chapters were so short that it was impossible to get into the pertaining plotline. Because of the short chapters I was never compelled to continue to read. A Star Wars book usually takes me two to three days to read. This one took me a week. The only high point was Tarkin. It was interesting to see this character, who had always compelled me, expanded on. Sienar was also an interesting guy but that was about it. Unless you're a die hard fan like me I would not recommend this book. It really stinks.
Rating:
Summary: A truly captivating book!
Review: I was actually given this book by my aunt before i left the States for France, I would have never bought it myself, considering Star Wars novels to be irrelevant to the true story and only able to confuse one. This book changed my mind. It was a truly captivation book, an intricate plot, sometimes hard to follow, and sometimes quite laborious. After having started this book, i just couldn't put it down, hour after hour, i stayed up in the plane, reading. I truly recommend this book to any Star Wars fans, and others, out there...
Rating:
Summary: It Started Out Well But...
Review: I really went into this book expecting a lot of action, you know, lightsaber fighting,Force using, something! That never really came about. I love Obi-Wan and expected him to be a major part of this book, but he ends up being rather bland and severe. If he acted like that to Anakin all the time, no wonder he went to the Dark Side. The beginning really was the strongest part. It was interesting and fun, but when the scene changed to Zenoma Sekot (sp) everything became almost unbearably slow, the Jedis' actual mission seemed to be put on the back burner, and there were several confusing sub-plots that I lost interest in. It seemed like Bear had a bunch of good ideas and tried to get them all in this book without developing any of them fully enough. It really was a let down to me. Maybe someone who likes their books slower paced will enjoy this one more than I did.
|
