Rating: 
Summary: Weak at best
Review: Frankly I'm embarassed for Alan Dean Foster. I agree with a previous reviewer that the book felt rushed. There's no depth to the story; it is merely a collection of superficial incidents to set up the next movie. There's not much insight into Anakin, just the same info rehashed in each chapter...Anakin's wild and impatient. I think we already know that.I know each book in the Star Wars universe is tightly controlled by Lucas and his people, and his fingerprints are all over this one. Bouncing around the "story" without focusing on any one character or idea. The plot feels recycled from The Phantom Menace, which isn't exactly a good source to copy. There was the token "cutesy" character that added nothing to the story, ala Jar Jar. Alien races on the same planet that don't get along, but by the end are allies. Sound familiar? The entire book could have been condensed to a short story and been moderately entertaining. As it stands, it's too long for its substance and too shallow for its scope. I'm sorry I bought it. If this is a good barometer for the story in the next film, I think I'll wait for it to get to the local dollar matinee...
Rating: 
Summary: Can we just get on with it?
Review: this newest entry in the SW library was at best half- interesting. Whatever excitement the title promises believe me fellow fans it does not deliver. I am a hard core fan thus i had to buy this book and being an audiophile the CD version of course. Well, the audiobook was abridged and thank the force for it was boring enough. I can only imagine how boring the full length version was. On the plus side, the sound effects were excellent. if you ever wanted to hear a Hutt fart buy this audiobook. The beginning of the book did draw me in and I settled in hoping to listen to another exciting story. However after the healing scene it simply went no where. It was like Star wars meets the west; complete with showdown and all. The four jedi in this story were so irratating that I kept hoping for Palpatine to come on and make something happen. While Anakin and Obi won are part of this book they are nothing more then filler material. the other two Luminara and her padawan seem to steal the show but are so bland that you really don't care for them much. The plot itself, trying to stop a world from leaving the republic is thread bare at best. This is nothing more then a short story or at the very least some junior book made to be a full length movel. The ending was a bit interesting though even that was a let down. I mean how original. I would have liked to have seen more. In addition I kept hoping for Anakin to burst out in anger to really give us a glimps of the dark lord within him but no such luck. I finished listening to this book then muttered, is that it? unlike the suspense filled New Jedi order series, I find these prequel books at times combersome to get through. I mean lets have a little more action, a few more deaths,some blood shed for crying out loud! If not that, at the very least lets see the master Palpatine at work behind the scenes like in Cloak of deception and Shadow Hunter. This one was not up to par with those prequel books. I hope the prequel books will become more suspenseful as we move closer to episode 3 otherwise fans wont care what happens by then. At least to compansate we have the New Jedi order series where lots is happening and no one is safe; no shortage of blood shed there. If you are a hard core fan, read this but don't raise your hopes too high.
Rating: 
Summary: The Approaching Storm: Galactic politics at it's best!
Review: The Approaching Storm, by Alan Dean Foster (also author of 'Splinter of The Mind's Eye') is a captivating novel. Though the road to the climax is winding, you learn actually a lot about Ansion and it's people, which can teach a very valuable lesson. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Uldini, Barriss Offee (Luminara's padawan) and Anakin Skywalker (Obi-Wan's padawan) have been sent on a mission to a remote world called Ansion. Unfourtunetely, little do they know that thier success on this mission is vital towards the remnents of the Republic senate. The Ansionians have a dillemma: the city dwellers (the Unity of Communities) and the nomadic primitive tribes (the Alwari) have a double- sided complaint. The Nomads, not knowing of the Galactic Senate's existence, remain undecided, while the Unity of Communities is set on the fact that the senate remains bias toward the 'poor and helpless' nomads. So, the Unity is voting for seccession. This ordinary planet would not make much of a difference, but because of thier tangling alliances with severel worlds, if they leave, over 7 worlds would leave. This is what Shu Mai is hoping for: a seccesionist movement across the galaxy, and a complete kyu. So the Jedi have a mission. To travel in search of the nomadic overclan the Situng Borokki, which play a key role in the nomadic society. Will the Jedi make it in time to the Borokii before the Unity votes for Seccession? Will Shu Mai and the Commerce guild succeed in thier plans? Will the Borokii agree to live peacefully with the Unity and vote for remaining in the senate? Purchase this wonderful book to find out. I found this book to be quite good, from start to finish. The only reason it recieved a 4 Stars (No offense MR. Foster) is was because during almost 120 pages out of 350, they were traveling across the landscape, and avoiding predator after predator- it got boring after about 50 pages of that part. But, if you keep with it, you'll find a very big surprise waiting for you!
In final, I give this a "Bon Livre". Enjoy :-)
Rating:
Summary: A good story - but not that much about the Approaching Storm
Review: I liked this book better than Rogue Planet. The story begins with a plot by the Commerce Guild and a certain senator to have Ancion (a planet in the Republic) leave the Republic, which in turn would cause other favorable events to happen. Anakin, Obiwan, Baris and another Jedi interceed to try and save the union. That is as basic as I can get it without giving too much. I think the book (audio CD) was done well with some exceptions. Although I did enjoy the story I felt that there just wasn't enough in the way of the breakdown of the Republic. Although there were some good jedi battles and the overall description and sounds on the the CD were great. I did enjoy this story, but it just wasn't a grabber. If you are looking for advanced stuff for the Episode 2 movie, you will be disappointed, there isn't much. Still a good story and worth the 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: No plot+No characters=No sale
Review: There is no possible reason why anyone should buy this book. It has no redeeming qualities of any kind, and has no real reason for being. I have no idea why a book such as this is needed to introduce the minor Episode II character Luminara Unduli. Even if such a novel is needed, this is definitely not a good entrance for any character. To begin with, the book has no plot whatsoever. An attempt at plot was made, which revolves around a planet of apparently minor significance that, through an obscure and utterly nonsensical series of alliances, will destroy half the Republic if it decides to secede from the galactic government. A group of corrupt business people decide that destroying the galaxy's government would be good for business, and so they set out an a laughably unsophisticated plot to get Ansion to withdraw its membership. Two Jedi Knights and their Padawans (Obi-Wan, Anakin, Luminara and her apprentice Bariss) are sent to stop the plot before it can unfold. If it sounds like you have heard this before, it's because you have. The plot is totally unoriginal, and actually manages to be worse than the cut-and-paste plots of some other novels based around the same idea. Anyway, the Jedi wander around the planet in their efforts to stop the secession. As time goes on, they become more and more irritating. They have completely interchangeable personalities, and are totally inconsistent in how they are portrayed. Despite little sentences here and there that remind us that Bariss is to be considered "by the book" at all times, and Anakin is supposed to be reckless, they never assert these aspects of themselves at all. Also, I never cared at all about the characters. None of them was the least bit engrossing. It takes some BAD writing to butcher Obi-Wan to the point where I wouldn't blink if he were to catch a blaster bolt, but after reading Approaching Storm I really would not mind at all if he were to die tomorrow. All of the characters behave eratically at best, changing their standards of right and wrong on a regular basis. The Jedi get angry whenever someone tries to provoke them, obsequious and unremarkeable cripples that they cure go around and tell them everything you never wanted to know about an unimportant planet. In one absolutely atrocious scene a diplomat tells them he does not believe in the Force, so the calm and collected Luminara basically says "I find your lack of faith disturbing," while dumping glasses of water on his face. While this is going on, the same Obi-Wan Kenobi that found Han's rejection of the Force so funny in A New Hope is featured in this book silently cheering Luminara on... The cultures they visit are completely ... and unbelievably stereotypical for any planet in a sci-fi novel. You have your primitive race, your tech race, your nomads, and your usual assortmant of miscellaneous creatures. None of the cultures have any memorable qualities, and many [read: all] of them seem to be in the book just to take up pages. The writing itself is also unbelievably bland and unimaginative. Not only does it manage to be completely unengrossing, but at times during the book I could not shake the feeling that I was reading a travel brochure. I guess that this book would have to be classified as character-driven because so much of it focuses on the characters involved without driving the plot at all, but for a character driven book to have nothing but uninvolving, interchangeable, and totally forgettable characters is ludicrous and shows a total lack of focus for a book. Do not buy this book for any reason. I cannot stress that enough. If you want a Star Wars book, get Star by Star. In spite of its dark atmosphere (or perhaps because of it) it really is a good book that is worth every penny of the price. As for The Approaching Storm, it always gives you the feeling that SOMETHING is approaching, but never threatening. The Storm never actually arrives, and the book never actually delivers. Save your money or buy Star by Star. Believe me, Approaching Storm is not worth buying.
Rating: 
Summary: Should have been released after the movie...
Review: This story takes place just before the opening of "Episode II", but after reading it, I felt it would probably make more sense after seeing the new movie. The political climate is easy enough to understand; it was the characterizations I had problems with. New characters like Luminara Unduli and Bariss Offee are introduced, but the author doesn't give us any background information or develop their personalities very well. Also suffering are familiar characters, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, who are portrayed completely different here than they were in "Episode I". Yes, ten years have supposedly passed, but I want to know WHY Anakin is suddenly so arrogant, blood-thirsty and self-centered. Count Dooku is supposedly pulling all the strings and causing all the grief in this story, but since he is only mentioned a couple of times in the whole book, his involvement here leaves me scratching my head. Most of the problems the Jedi encountered had little to do with what was happening in the plot. Birds and tumbleweeds--well, you'll see. There was very little action or excitement and too much political setup. Even the book's cover is deceiving. Obi-Wan and Anakin are secondary characters. The story actually centers around Luminara and Bariss. Disappointing, all around.
Rating:
Summary: Great plot ideas, but poorly written overall
Review: Two line summary: If you are not a hardcore Star Wars geek, you will probably not like this book. If you *ARE* a hardcore Star Wars geek, read this book for the plot and try to overlook the poor writing and sense that the book was rushed. That having been said, I like most of the work of Alan Dean Foster. He is one of those authors that is not on my favorite list, but I know that when I pick up one of his books, more times than not, I will enjoy it. This book is not one of his better books simply because of poor writing. The plot is a good plot. It not only fills in details of the politics of the Republic, it takes you into the hearts, minds and daily lives of two Jedi / Padawan pairs. Since one of these pairs is Obi Wan and Anakin, this becomes even more important to the plot of the next movie. I want to add at this point that I have seen SW:Phantom Menace about 15-20 times and I have read this book. Here is what the book added to what I knew from Phantom Menace:
1) I now have a better understanding of general sense of the people of the Republic that the Senate is corrupt, the bureacracy is so great that it takes years to pass something of the greatest urgency and a lifetime to pass anything less important, and a majority of people feel there has to be a better way. Some planets are even organizing and considering leaving the Republic.
2) Senators live in luxury while most people in the galaxy struggle just to make ends meet in their day-to-day lives. 3) The taxing of trade routes that started just before Phantom Menace is still causing conflict between the people, merchants and the government.
4) While most people hate and distrust the Senate, most people love and trust the Jedi.
5) The book gave me interesting insight into the daily lives of both a Jedi and a Padawan.
6) Anakin has issues. Where most of his peers are calm and have only the smallest amount of turmoil within them, he has barely a surface of calm with a tempest of conflict beneath. Read the book for more.
7) Other Jedi, including Obi Wan, can sense that Anakin has these issues, but they also sense that there is nothing they can do to help until Anakin realizes he needs that help and asks for it. You get a sense of things leading to a single choice that will "kill" Anakin and give birth to Darth Vader.
8) And more... What I did not like:
1) Phrases like "knocked on his butt" that you would never fit into a scene of the movie, but are used liberally throughout this book.
2) A sense that there are two stories going on here: one is the story of the 2 jedi and their padawans on a mission, and the other an excuse to drop hints about the "bad guys" of the next movie. This jedi story works well. The second does not.
3) After finishing the book, I was left with a general sense that this book was written for no other reason than to milk more money out of the dedicated fans (geeks like me). While a pessimistic argument could be put forward that *ALL* things Star Wars these days fall into this category, it is rare that I get that actual sense while reading/watching the piece.
Rating:
Summary: amazed and confused
Review: I'm not sure what to think about all of the positive reviews I've read for this newest entry into the Star Wars literary universe. I for one have been a fan of Star Wars novels for quite some time, and I have found enjoyment in a great many of them, but "The Approaching Storm" left me feeling quite empty. While some have praised its slow, drawn out pacing, I found it to be unnecessarily tedious. Some have been excited about the more in depth look at an older Anakin. I found it overbearing in its attempt to portray the young Padawan as 'conflicted'. Some have enjoyed the introduction of Luminara Unduli. I found many of her scenes to be inconsistant portrayals of the Jedi philosophy. The so-called character development between Obi-Wan and Anakin consisted mostly of Anakin being brash while Obi-Wan gave him stern looks. The so-called refreshing pace was less the result of methodical character development as it was a strained desire to draw out the plot of a short story into a full blown novel. The plot, 4 Jedi traveling across the plains in search of nomads with whom important negotiations must be enacted, is not necessarily a bad one. But most of the their journey is spent foiling the dasterdly plans of the standard Hutt villian, Seorgg. The true villians are in fact supposed to be a group of businesspersons and politicians, but their scenes were mostly spent being shifty-eyed and swapping standard bad-guy dialogue. All of the bad guys in "Storm" are pretty pedestrian when contrasted against the far more cunning and dymanic villians of post-ROTJ novels, such as Borsk Fey'lya or the Yuuzhan Vong. The inconsistant depiction of the Jedi is also a pretty glaring flaw. Consider Luminara Unduli. While there are many attempts to portray her as a thoughtful and serious Jedi Master, she has many scenes which contradict how one might expect a Jedi to act. When she meets two different species native to the same world, she seems oblivious to the prejudice they feel for one another. Are Jedi so naive that they do not understand prejudice? In another scene, she becomes confused when a tribe of Ansionians do not throw her a going-away party, when earlier in the book, she discusses how Jedi do not believe in any kind of extravagances. And in what may have been the most jarring scene in the novel, Jedi Luminara begins an important negotiation (in fact, the crux of her mission) by using her Jedi powers to pour several glasses of water on an antagonistic ambassador. Foster's Jedi are true diplomats. Throw in overly-expository dialogue, contrived plot twists, and a cartoon like supporting cast (Tooqui ranks right up there with Jar Jar in the field of needless inclusion of comic relief) and what you end up with is a dull and quite unsubtle attempt on Alan Dean Foster's part to create a serious, character driven Star Wars book. This one is for completionists only.
Rating:
Summary: Half is an epilogue to TPM/ Half is a prelude to AOTC
Review: 'The Approaching Storm' was a book that was written to serve as showing orgins of the political situations in Episode II - which is that several solar systems are leaving the Republic to form their own government under a mysterious leader. Within this book, the political intrique is described well and offsets Episode II fantastically. Also, it deals with several characters who will have appearances in 'Attack of the Clones' and fleshes them out well. In this way, it IS a prologue to Episode II. However, I stated in my title that half of the book is more like an epilogue to 'The Phantom Menace'. I say this because it clears up alot of questions that I had by the time of the end of TPM. Why was Yoda so upset about Anakin's missing his mother? Why did he say that could be his undoing? What's the matter with him missing the person who raised him from birth? That is all answered in this novel. The evolutions of Obi-Wan and Anakin since TPM is so expertly and perfectly done by Foster, I was actually suprised at the shockingly realistical portrayals. In several parts of the book, I could almost hear a harmonica and coyote howling in the backround - that's right it kind of has a western/cowboy-story feel to it. This is most likely because of the plot's roots in Old West history. Jedi sitting around a campfire. Riding through vast praries. Meeting up with migrating tribes of natives. You get the . This served as a nice, refreshing contrast to other books while still maintaining a Star Wars feel. The diologue was great. The characters were great. The plot was great. So why did I give it 3 stars? There simply just wasn't enough action. Sure the Jedi met up with strange creatures on the praries, sure they had to find each other after kidnapping attempts. But there was a severe lack of lightsaber battles and pure, raw, unadultrated Jedi-fighting action - one of the main reasons I'm drawn to Star Wars novels. Rogue Planet also suffered for the same reason. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book. But I just wish Foster had included more action - it would have improved the book and balanced it out perfectly. Still, good book and fun to read. Oh yeah - loved the ending SO much. :)
Rating:
Summary: IN A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY FROM THE MOVIES
Review: I have to admit right off the bat that I am not an avid reader of Star Wars books. I have read the novelizations of the movies simply to add to their enjoyment but that's about it. I just really have trouble seeing the legitimacy of them when George Lucas can just turn around and say they're irrelevant or never happened. I have picked up one here and there but I have almost always been disappointed. But this novel was different. It had the name of Alan Dean Foster on it, the author of the original two Star Wars books. So I started reading it with a little more affection and hope. I was disappointed. The story concerns the world of Ansion, which, much like Naboo in Episode I, is split into two segregated sections. You have the cosmopolitan city dwellers and the more primitive nomads that roam the plains. The cities want to secede from the Republic to escape its endless red tape and regulations, which they see as inhibiting business. The nomads are more loyal and wish to stay in it. There is much suspicion between the two groups and in the chaos there just happens to be dark forces that wish to take advantage of it. There is a conspiracy on Coruscant to exacerbate the situation on Ansion which would drive them to secession. The problem that confronts the Jedi and the Republic is that if Ansion secedes, their allies will follow, and then their allies and so on. The planet is the crossing point for numerous secret alliances which are interconnected in a giant spider web. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and another Jedi and Padawan are sent to negotiate between the two parties and convince them to stay in the Republic. The problem that I noticed in Rogue Planet and other novels also crops up here. Namely, the fact that the author seems to hold himself back in characterization and plot to prevent himself from stepping on the toes of the movies. You can't get too surpising or unexpected with the characters. You cannot reveal too much about them because only George Lucas knows about them, and he just makes it up as he goes along. So the best thing is to get away as much as possible from the settings of the movies. No great battles, no character evolving experiences. It's more like "I'm going to write about this, but I'm not going to rock the boat." Something that I did not like about the book was that lots of times the jedi seem incompetent. There is one part where the Character of Barris Offee, a padawan, is held captive just by tying here up and putting a bag over her head and she is blinded. Now excuse me if I'm wrong but Jedi are supposed to be able to operate without their senses. This comes up again and again. In another part when Anakin is confronted by wild beasts on the plains, his lightsaber is knocked from his hand. The Chosen One doesn't even have enough power over the force to call his lightsaber to his hand. I know even a padawan would be able to do this. Luke did it with no training. I really liked the other Jedi accompanying Obi-Wan who goes by the name of Luminara. She is much more exotic and emotional than Obi-Wan. Maybe, more powerful. One of the failings of Episode I is that the Jedi WERE always under control. It was like making a Star Trek movie with all the lead characters as Vulcans, speaking in monotones and never making mistakes. Maybe it foreshadows the Jedi's demise, that they're so unworried. Lucas really needs to go about humanizing them. It almost makes me root for the Empire. Of course all this Repulic Senate Empire stuff is from Roman history. When a city state becomes too large, bureaucrats cannot control it. Something as egotistical as an Empire needs a dictator so the bloated city statenaturally becomes an Empire. Maybe the universe was better off with the Emperor. It was corrupt anyway. When Palpatine seized power it just made it official. A side note in the book is that all the Jedi at some point, question what they are doing and whether they are serving a function of a corrupt system. Noone seems to come up with an alternative to it. Or maybe Anakin has. There are shadows of Anakin's turn to the darkside but he is relegated to be a supporting character. Most of the interesting aspects of the novel are in situations or characters which have no direct bearing on Attack of the Clones. While this is a diversionary prologue to that movie, I would hardly classify it as "exciting". For the most part it straddled the line of being just not boring enough to quit reading.
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