Rating: 
Summary: Some fine characterizations, but otherwise not much here...
Review: The tagline "An exciting prologue ot Star Wars : Attack of the Clones" was enough to entice me to buy this book; however, I wonder if I should have just borrowed it from the library. While I found some of what Foster was attmpting to do good, the plot left much to be desired. The beginnings of Anakin's turn are clearly seen : his longing to return to Tatooine, his attitude toward Obi-Wan, his growing impatience, and anger were clearly seen. I even found his questionable attitude toward Yoda's teaching fascinating. I enjoyed the addition of Luminara and her apprentice, Barriss (hopefully they will be around for the rapidly approachiing Episode II). The final pages with Count Dooku also whetted my appetite for more. But the remainder of the book left much to be desired. I just did not find myself caring for the inhabitants of Ansion nor whether or not they seceeded from the Republic.
Rating: 
Summary: If you want more Episode 2 stuff, wait for the movie...
Review: As a Star Wars geek who is counting down the days until AOTC is released, I was excited to see Mr. Foster's book and hoped that it would be a good lead-in to the movie. Unfortunately, this book is too formulaic too satisfy even the most passive Star Wars fan.I imagine that Lucas Books gave the following guidelines to Foster: Take two Jedi's that will be seen in passing in the next movie, have them interact with Anakin and Obi-Wan while trying to figure out a political flashpoint. Make Anakin a brooding teen and portray Obi-Wan as the Jedi model of quiet reserve. Throw in some stock villains such a Hutt, a couple of political hacks, and drop them in a remote backwater planet. Alas, the book doesn't expand much beyond this framework, and you can save yourself the trouble of reading it by using this description as your CliffsNotes. This was a very disappointing offering from the man who ghost wrote the Star Wars novel for George Lucas and gave us the Star Wars classic Splinter of the Mind's Eye.
Rating: 
Summary: A fast, interesting read
Review: While I am not a big fan of the books, I have read a few of them, which oddly enough I have enjoyed them all... anyway, this was a pleasure to read in that I was fully emersed in this book and had it read in a weekend. As someone else commented, Foster uses language that tends to be a bit "formal." While I do not not believe this to be a bad thing (as I enjoy a lot of the classics) I can see where if one struggles with "classic-ish" works then this might be a challenge. I found the political plot rather easy to follow as it reminded me of my WWI history... a small "insignificant" country pulling the entire world into a war through the "insignificant" act of an assassin. Foster's description of the Jedi culture was fascinating and exactly what I was looking for, while at the same time I think he spent too much time holding the reader's hand reminding us how troubled Anakin is, and the feeling I got from Bariss' appearingly constant prodding and pondering of Anakin left me a bit troubled myself. I believe the last few pages by far made up for any of the shortcommings (which I believe are few inbetween) and ties this story tightly to AOTC.
Rating: 
Summary: Yuck. The horrible writing trend of the prequel era!
Review: Well, this was a great disappointment. With Attack of the Clones looming on the horizon and people ready to emerse themselves in the lives and thoughts of Obi-Wan and Anakin again, we get this flop that was so highly anticipated.
First off, the writing was absolutely horrible! Just how this author strung words and sentences together was absolutely awful. No more needed to say about that.
The story line: Has nothing to do with anything. Half the book is the Jedi encountering various animals on the planet of Ansion. You keep on waiting for the plot to take off, but all you get are more dangerous animals! Really infuriating.
Then there are the characterizations. You'd expect to learn some more of Anakin's emotional state, but the author seems to avoid speaking of Anakin at all. You never learn what he's thinking. He never takes any initiative on his own. He is merely background in this story, as is to a lesser extend Obi-Wan. The book seems to mostly follow Luminara and Barris more than the other two, and you are lured into buying this book because it has these two Jedi who will be seen in Attack of the Clones. Oh, and I can't forget to mention that these two Jedi have no personalities!
Well it was a let down, and I don't know how much more I can say. This is one of the few books that I'd declare to be not worth reading in the Star Wars story arc.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre at best
Review: This book seemed rushed to me. A lot of what happens is repetitious, and in fact the middle third of the book feels quite a bit like filler. You can pretty much cut out everything from when they leave the main city up until the encounter with the final tribe and not miss anything plot-wise. A lot of what happens in the plot is paint-by-numbers as well, which doesn't help. There's some pretty interesting insights into Anakin's character (if you consider acting whiny and spoiled interesting), but that's about it. IMHO, most people can and should skip this one. For a much better pre-Ep2 novel, try Rogue Planet by Greg Bear.
Rating:
Summary: A very disapointing book
Review: The best part of the book is the last four pages that (hopefully) lead into the upcoming Star Wars movie. The interactions between Obi Wan, Anakin, and other Jedi are interesting, but they really don't add any new information. The book really lacks for a good strong plot, an unusual problem for Star Wars books. The book is incredibly predictable, and you know what is going to happen long before it happens.
Personally I would recommend this book only to die hard Star Wars fans. If your looking for suspense and action try the New Jedi Order books.
Rating:
Summary: not what I expected, but good just the same
Review: "the Approaching Storm" wasn't at all what I was expecting it to be when I first picked it up. Unlike most star wars books, it focuses more on character development and political intrigue then on space battles and lightsaber duels, and unlike most star wars books it is rather well written. The story itself revolves around two jedi knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luminara Unduli, and their respective padawans, Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee, as they set off to prevent a backward but strategically allied planet called Ansion from leaving the Republic. While the political talk and plotting was sort of hard to follow, I found myself swept away by Foster's descriptions of the planet and by the characters, especially Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan is everything a powerful yet wise Jedi Knight should be, and Anakin is characterized as both willful and well-meaning, arrogant and vulnerable. Both characters are easily recognizable as the grown up versions of the characters that were introduced in Episode one, but at the same time both can be related to the characters they will become for "A New Hope." Luminara and Barriss were also well written and likable, although I can't help but think Foster could have come up with a better name then 'Barriss,' although that may not have been at his discretion.
My one problem with Foster's writing style is the formality of his language. I have a good vocabulary, but I still had to keep a dictionary handy while reading this book. The language is perfectly suited for description, and maybe the Jedi can get away with talking like that because they do seem like a formal crowd, but I just can't picture a hutt saying "Given that, I'm not surprised at the lack of enthusiasm on the part of your peurile hirelings." or Anakin responding to a statement with "Interminably." Even the two nut cases turned native guides talk like college proffesors. Beyond that and a couple of badly worded phrases, I was impressed with Foster's writing, which is almost never the case with a star wars novel.
I know from reading the reviews here at Amazon.com that a lot of people don't like the lack of action or the slow pace of this book. It's true that this book is not fast paced, and doesn't have any space battles, but it does have it's fair share of action, and the descriptions of the planet and the various animals and plants that the protagonists encounter on their journey more then make up for the lack of x-wings in this book. I would deffinately recommend it for older readers, but I think anyone belowe the age of fifteen might not enjoy it as much.
Rating:
Summary: A great step in the prelude to "Attack of the Clones"
Review: For my first reading of a novel written by Alan Dean Foster, I was quite impressed on how he introduced himself into the Star Wars genre.
Few could have handled such undeveloped characters with such feeling and accuracy. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was the importance of character interaction, as it's always good to have characters we can relate to that are as human as we are.
The plotline is classic: seeds of destruction have been sown and it's up to the Jedi to prevent the eruption of chaos. Of course, this is the prelude to the next installment in the Star Wars saga, "Attack of the Clones," so its important that we have some concept of the characters that we will be dealing with in the future. And though some might fear that this is just another "Prequel", it sure doesn't turn out that way. Though the story doesn't take any wild turns, it's packed with mystery and a longing for discovery.
Not forgetting Foster's success, it also requires a significant amount of courage to develop characters in a story when there is little premise to work off of.
All in all, it's a fun read, which is what it's all about.
Stay tuned!
Rating: 
Summary: way cool
Review: An awsome prequel to "Attack of the Clones"!Explore the current situation in the galactic senate,get a small window into Count Dooku,see a jedi "talent show",etc.A MUST for any Star Wars fan.
Rating:
Summary: Not so hot
Review: The approaching storm was not a very good book. I read it in three days but I had to force myself to finish it just so I knew how it would finish. The biggest problem I had with the book was the writing. One example, at one point in the book, one of the characters actually says with excitement, "This sucks!" I don't know about you, but I have a hard time imagining a Star Wars character, much less any other character saying, "this sucks!"
Foster reminds us too many times about Anakin's weaknesses. Now, it is true that that Anakin has some problems, but Foster obsesses over them. With every problem or situation that the jedi face, Foster wastes a couple of pages of the book with the jedi analyzing what's wrong with Anakin. This happens time and time again and it gets tired.
In a previous prequel book, Anakin falls into the dark side for a moment. Killing an enemy in cold blood, but it is a secret. No one else knows about the failure but Anakin. It's left at that. A chilling hint of what is to come. However, Foster isn't content with just hinting there's something wrong with Anakin. He's got to hit us over the head with a frying pan over and over again to make his point clear.
Some might buy the book to see the Episode two character Count Duku. He does make a short appearance but his appearance really reveals nothing. There's nothing to be learned in this book you can't learn in any other prequel book. I would suggest saving your money and not buying it.
|
