Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book and very entertaining reading.
Review: Well written, with lots of twisting plot. This book has it all - from characterization to plot. We gain tremendous understanding of the events leading up to the War on Naboo, insight into many of the major players in Episode I and II, and lots of historical bits about the Jedi Order. The writing style Mr Luceno employs is quite a bit more advanced that many other prequel books, which are mainly targeted at intermediate readers. This is a book worthy of Tom Clancy or Le Carre.
Rating: 
Summary: Good thing I had nothing else to read.
Review: I order this book about a year ago and gave up. It is only until now, when I had nothing else to read that I was forced to struggle through it. Luceno uses confusing words like 'diatribe' that only confuse the reader. It's ending was somewhat intriguing which is why it escaped two stars or less. It had great potential but Luceno spent too much time describing unrelated areas of information at a completely irrelevant time. Overall, good story potential, bad writing style.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: Not a great book. Could only get halfway through and I gave up. Glad I checked it out from the library or I would have wasted my money.
Rating:
Summary: The Republic is dying, but do we care?
Review: Luceno puts in a fine effort, but Cloak of Deception does not live up to the standard he set with his Agents of Chaos duology. The fault does not lie in the plot at all. On the contrary, Luceno does an excellent job of shedding light on the background to the Phantom Menace. We are able to see Palpatine the master politician, seeming to support every Senatorial faction, gaining the respect and trust of the most powerful Senators. Luceno also tells us just what the "taxation of outlying systems" - the causus belli in Phantom Menace - is all about. And we learn just how those "baseless" rumors of Valorum's corruption began. Those alone make Cloak of Deception worth any Star Wars fan's time. Unfortunately, Cloak of Deception suffers from the same fault as Episode I itself. We just don't care about any of the characters. There was something inherently likeable about Luke, Han, and Leia in Episode IV; we felt for Luke when he lost Owen, Beru, and Ben. We cheered when Han returned to help Luke destroy the Death Star. And we felt euphoria when Leia presented medals to our heroes. With Phantom Menace, however, there was too much of a distance between us and the characters. It's hard to care for Padme, for example, when she herself is playing a role; we never get to see the *real* Padme. Cloak of Deception suffers from the same problem. Valorum is almost assassinated, and we don't care. Qui-Gon defies the Jedi Council and we are not impressed. Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter does a much better job of drawing us into the characters' lives. For enlightenment into the plot of Phantom Menace, Cloak of Deception is a must read. Casual fans, however, would do better to read Shadow Hunter or a Rogue Squadron book.
Rating:
Summary: A superb prequel to the prequel
Review: If you have ever wondered about how the situation in The Phantom Menace came about, especially why the trade routes were being taxed and what the big deal was with the Trade Federation, then you should definitely consider Cloak of Deception. It is great to see how Darth Sidious maneuvers practically everyone in the novel to do his bidding and set up the situation for the blockade of Naboo. Some people have written that they find this book boring: you will find a lot of politics and debating here, so an action-oriented reader will not enjoy much of it, but personally I think that it is interesting. I really liked the plot. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is an excellent book, and one of the better Star Wars books released in recent times. The book provides a great deal of the backstory behind episode I, and in my opinion, should have been released a couple of months after the movie.
The writing is solid, the dialouge worked in really well with the known characters. The characterisations were fairly good, but I found Captain Cohl to be a little bit two dimensional, he followed a pretty straight bad guy who eventually turns good path.
The book is mostly politics, I enjoy that sort of thing, and some of the Senate characters hardly seen in episode I have big parts here, Valorum in particular. Palpatine was also done very well, the more I read, the more he conformed to the character I had imagined him to be. I think most of all, I liked the details given about the pre-Empire galaxy in general.
James Luceno has done well here, better than those awful New Jedi Order 'books', it's painfully obvious in this novel that he has used the NJO map, but I guess no book can be perfect.
Overall, an excellent book, if you found episode I unsatisfying or you're simply a Star Wars fan, buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: StarWars Junkie Approves!!
Review: Being as I just love all that is Star Wars, this was no exception. I loved getting the meat movies don't have time to cover. Makes the movies all the richer.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrorism in Star Wars ¿ Art Imitates Life
Review: Every Episode I book I read was better than the movie which inspired it, which isn't saying much. This book is more noteworthy now because it is the first book to deal with terrorism head-on AND 3 months before September 11th. Reading the book today is a bit eerie and hopefully they won't censor it when it comes out in paperback. I wonder if the author James Luceno was thinking of Al Quida when he wrote it. Check out this passage from Supreme Chancellor Valorum on page 161 and just substitute Taliban for Vandron and Elegin and Afghanistan for Asmeru. ''I have communicated with the rulers of Houses Vandron and Elegin, who hold sway over Asmeru and other systems in that part of the Senex sector. They deny granting the Nebula Front safe haven. Rather, they contend that the terrorists seized Asmeru from a scant indigenous population, and have been using the planet as a base of operations for raids against ships plying the Rimma Trade Route and Corellian Trade Spine. Wishing to avoid becoming targets of the Nebula Front, Houses Vandron and Elegin have essentially ignored activities on Asmeru.''
Rating:
Summary: Palpatine Plays the Perfect Political Game
Review: The book started a little slow, but picked up pace. We learn from this novel, how suave Palpatine is. He plays several sides of the political arena, and as we know, to benefit his interests in the future. Poor Valorum does not have too many allies, mainly the Jedi. The book centers on the Trade Federation and the Nebula Front...and taxation on the outlying systems. The Nebula Front is a terrorist organization out to get Valorum, or so it seems and also to reduce the control of the Trade Federation on its trading routes. The book is written like a good suspense/political novel, and set in the Star Wars universe. You can expect some action with the Jedi, as well as the terrorists, but mainly dialogue makes up this book, along with plenty of twists, especially a couple toward the end.
Rating:
Summary: All roads lead to Palpatine....
Review: After the release of Kathy Tyer's Balance Point, I have found each subsequent Star Wars novel to be disappointing. To be fair, the NJO books are more a case of central plot that bad writing, but I am also inspired by The Phantom Menace, and want to immerse myself in the old Republic and the ways of the Jedi. Though Darth Maul's ill conceived novel was utter trash, James Luceno has come through with a ripping good yarn that delves into the most complicated parts of Episode I - the politics, and how Palpatine manipulates them. In Cloak, which has to be the ultimate Star Wars politically thriller, Luceno weaves several nefarious plots that threaten to collide, as well as sets up much of the plot to Episode I. In it, Chancellor Valorum tries to deal both to the greedy Trade Federation and the violent Nebula Front, a terrorised organization, which soon leads to an attempted assassination and the mobilization of the Jedi Council. At the same time, Palpatine subtly manoeuvrers all around him towards a secret and singular goal. This book is chock full of intrigue and characters, with enough action thrown in to keep us Jedi fans amused without resorting to Bad Plot Devices like Numerous Dark Jedi and silly SuperTech that Star Wars avoids so well. Also, many characters from other books show up in amusing cameos. But the best thing is how Palpatine stars in this book without taking center stage. Much like the character indeed (I especially love the way both he AND Sideous are dealing with the Front!) After his exciting entrance into the SW universe with Hero's Trial, Luceno proves himself here to be one of the best SW authors around, rising up into the ranks that contain a select few, including the unbeatable Zahn, Stackpole and Perry. Hopefully, this will not be Luceno's last stand in the SW galaxy, and that goes double for the world of the old Republic.
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