Rating: 
Summary: Uninteresting
Review: This book really didn't have any meat to it. The overall story line wasn't progressed much and the book wasn't interesting enough to make up for it. It's a quick read so go ahead and take the time. Just don't expect too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Anderson's best in the Star Wars Universe!
Review: Anderson is second only to Zahn in the Star Wars Universe and he exceeds even those standards in this book. Though he still hasn't surpassed Zahn, Anderson is a great author and this book would take that rank up a notch. He weaves a tale of romance, war and a sense of humor into Darksaber, two of which Star Wars has done without for some time.Durga the Hutt, the new baddie for the book is a horrible, disgusting and yet hillarious enemy. There is a part in the book in which one of Durga's crew men, a nikto I believe, makes some mistake and Durga presses a button on his control pad. But instead of the Nikto, the Twi'Lek sitting next to him explodes in flames. Anderson discribes the moment with a chilling discription, "...the alien opened his mouth to scream, but instead of sound, flames erupted from his mouth..." and so on until you can't help but cringe. At the end of it all, with all eyes on Durga, the Hutt says "Whops, wrong buttton." Now is that not the most classic segment of a Star Wars Novel you can think of? The only thing Anderson should learn to avoid is superweapons. Again we have a Death Star-like weapon that the bad guy uses. Zahn and the others have done wonders avoiding those things and yet Anderson keeps bringing them back. How many times has Zahn blown a planet up? 12? All in all its a good book with a good plot, a good romance backstory and a wonderful bad guy. I give it a five and a round of applause, it easily makes the my list for the top 5 Star Wars novels. May the Force be with you...
Rating: 
Summary: What can I say?
Review: I've never been a Kevin J. Anderson fan, but that's beside the point. This is just ludicrous. Hutts building a superweapon is the equivalent of the mafia stocking up on nukes. It makes no sense whatsoever. To kill a character from the Trilogy over this is inexcusable. The Imperial stuff is better, but I must say I'm pretty sure the only way Daala got the rank of Admiral is because of her little affair with Tarkin. She has a huge fleet and a shieldless moon she wants to obliterate. Anyone who knows anything about Star Wars can tell you all she needed to do was blast the place to shreds from orbit and not even loose a single ship. instead, she sends ground forces and bombers and get humiliated by the Jedi. Speaking of Jedi, I think its a bit too much for the Force to be able to hurl a fleet of Star Destroyers out of the system. I don't care what the cost was. Plus, how can Anderson possibly consider 'Victory'-class Star Destroyers to be nearly as expendable as snubfighters? Vics are someof the largest craft in the Sw universe and Anderson treats them like little corvettes and gunships. All I can say is that Anderson is a horrible military writer. And the 'Luke' storyling is alright, but the basis is off-based. Granted, Anderson was just conintuing a love interesting introduced by another author, but I still find it almost amusing how Zahn sets up Luke and Mara Jade and sits back, waiting for someone to see what he obviously set up. I guess he just ended up frustrated and decided to do it himself. Also, what was with the one-armed Wampa? Does Anderson expect me to buy a Wampa got its arm severed and somehow managed to heal, hunt, and survive amidst swarms of his own kind that would love to kill the defenseless old thing? Give me a break. All I can say is 'blech'. Not reccomended due to numerous absurdities, plot gaps, and the like.
Rating:
Summary: 4.5... but 5 is good enough
Review: As a long time Star Wars fan, I have come to apreciate good story tellers. Kevin J. Anderson is one of the better I have ever read. Before you disregard this review know that most under mine ruin parts of the book( I DESPISE that). Anderson always finds a way to keep you wanting more and this book is no exception. Though I can be slightly difficult to follow if you are in a hurry, it offeres a good variaty of characters and some good plot twists. About the people below this one, I will not say that all of the reviews are overly critical, I will just say that too many Star Wars fans expect perfection for them. Now let me say that if you are looking for a good book to sit down and enjoy... KJA does a wonderfull job and I believe this book is worthy of your attention
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFULLY WRITTEN! AWSOME! EVEN THOUGH IT HAS 3 PLOT LINES
Review: Anderson has done it! He achieved a great star wars novel! AGAIN! I loved it! Luke is trying to find a way to bring back Castillas force powers. Durga the Hutt is creating a superweapon, like the death star, but just the laser. Admiral Daala is in control of the empire, under the co-command of Grand Admiral Thrawn. To find out the rest, read this superb book!
Rating:
Summary: Actually 2.5....
Review: While I don't like Anderson as an author, this book was VASTLY better than the Jedi Academy Trilogy. In fact, I started reading this book with the expectation that, frankly, it would [not live up to my expectations], having read the Jedi Academy Trilogy. Although Anderson manages to totally butcher the character's personalities, especially Callista, and their relationships, specifically the relationship between Callista and Luke, the plot was quite good, definitely an improvement over his previous books. He reverts to old characters he created, like Kyp Durron and Admiral Daala, rather than inventing new ones or utilizing characters from other authors. The actual plot itself is not bad; while all of us are thoroughly sick of superweapons and the reinstated fact that hutts are BAD, the rest of the plot, including the "New" Empire and Daala's growing genius in managing it. Her tactics are fresher and more intelligent than she was portrayed in his previous books. Unfortunately, even here in the height of her reign, her character is still very two-dimensional. If you're looking for character analysis on the characters in this book, the books by Barbara Hambly offer a much better perspective on the emotional turmoil of Luke and Callista as well as others. In short: the plot's great, but look for soul-searching characters somewhere else. Overall, Anderson's improved, but he's still pretty bad. (Use imagery, man!)
Rating:
Summary: Aaaargh, torture!!!!
Review: Actually, to be fair this book was not nearly as horrible as Children of the Jedi, most specificly because the entire focus of the book was not the bogus Luke/Callista relationship. (YUCK) I'll go more into that in a moment, but first here is the basic plot of the book: The Hutts are causing trouble once again, this time by trying to build their own Death Star. Admiral Daala has also resurfased, this time with the unfortunately more competent Pelleaon on her side. Leia is meanwhile trying desperately to balance her duties as the Chief of State with being a wife and mother, and to say the least, she's doing a great job. Meanwhile Luke is still trying to find a way to restore the Jedi powers of his new girlfriend, Callista. Okay, now the bad things about this book: First of all, I thought that way too much time was wasted on the bad guys. It seemed like more than half the book was spent on Admiral Daala arguing with other Imperial warlords, and the Hutts building their new Death Star. That's another thing, why do we need a new Death Star? What is this number four? Enough is Enough! And we can't of course forget the most horrendous problem of all, which is Callista herself! She is the worst possible love interest anyone could have possibly created for him. All through the book it kept saying how when Luke and Callista had been connected through the Force (before she lost her powers) they had known that they were meant for each other and that their personalities fit, but anyone with the least bit of character sense can see that this is not true. Nothing Luke does is good enough for her! She is an ungrateful, jealous, selfish, whiny, weepy, weak female who casts a shallow and dim light on all Star Wars women. Yet somehow through all this she somehow manages to be a sickeningly goody, goody two-shoes. I was seriously hoping (praying actually) that Daala would just blow her empty head off and end her pointless life, but unfortunately I did not get my wish. Luke is too good for her! He would do anything, ANYTHING to help her and make her happy, because he loved her. If Callista had truly loved Luke it wouldn't have mattered if she had her force powers or not, being with him would be the most important thing. Okay, good things about this book: First of all Mara Jade (my favorite character) was in it, and, though she basically had only a brief cameo, it was put to good use. She actually comes dangerously close to trying to flirt with (or hit on?) Luke. I suspected right from Heir to the Empire that there was a relationship in store for them in the future, and this book seemed to build on that theme slightly, despite the fact that Callista is Luke's girlfriend in this and Mara knew that as well as anyone else. Though this does make her seem like somewhat of a loose women (which Mara is NOT when under her creater's pen) even so, I was cheering for her the whole way. How was she supposed to know she'd me married to him in seven years? She took the oportunity given to her and I commend her for that. You go girl! Also, Daala seems to have improved since the Jedi Academy Trilogy, and lived up to her reputation a little better. That however, does not change the fact that this book made it seem as though she lost the battle just because she was female, and therefor couldn't possibly have done as good a job as a man! Ha! and people want to know WHY I hate this book so much! So, to put it lightly this isn't one of the better Star Wars books out there, definitely not one to start on. This series (Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, Planet of Twilight) isn't neccecary to the overall story, though Luke does spend the next few years pineing over this woman so if you want to know who she is, I would recommend you read it. Read it, cringe, suffer, and then rejoice when Luke at last puts Callista behind him and finds his true love, in Vision of the Future. For the two or three people out there who actually LIKED Callista, well, sorry to dissapoint you, but it just wasn't to be. Definitely not for fans who hate romance.
Rating:
Summary: Holding 'Star Wars' back
Review: Although I only marginally enjoyed the Jedi Academy books (mostly for the appearance of Exar Kun) I had decided after reading that trilogy that Kevin Anderson was going to be a major force for good in the Star Wars universe. All I can say now is I am glad I only paid 8 bucks for my paperback of 'Darksaber'. Now that he has some SW material behind him, I think it's safe to say that he was one of the most unoriginal hacks keeping the SW universe afloat. After reading (and rereading) other great authors contributions to the field (Stackpole's 'Rogue Squadron' and Zahn's integral books) I feel that Anderson is doing nothing more than holding the series back from reaching it's potential. In 'Darksaber' we are greeted with another shot at keeping the Empire as the main baddies, another super-weapon that can destroy a planet in one shot (hey, super-weapons began and ended with the Death Stars) another visit to worn out locations, and another adventure which refuses to create any interesting new heroes. I mean, I love Luke and the gang, but having them save the universe every time is getting ridiculous. Anderson seems to ignore every other authors contribution to SW with the exception of Lucas. Has he ever used any characters or locations from other authors? And I don't mean the cheesy cameo of Mara in the Jedi Academy books. I have to admit, he did show some major bravery for killing off a majore main character, but it seemed to be for nothing, a total waste. Get this one to complete your library of SW material only.
Rating: 
Summary: the Imperial babe should have Won!
Review: I don't exactly know why but Anderson created this brilliant character only to make her out to be nothing but stupid and full of pomposity. Admiral Daala has got to be one of the coolest newly created characters in the SW universe yet her creater seems to give little regard for her abilities. Anderson is so eager to make sure that good triumphs over evil that he will do anything to make sure he meets that goal; including sacrificing storylines and dumbing characters to the hilt. This book started out great and ended up being just plain unbelievable and silly. First, Anderson set out to write a storyline about a superweapon similar to the Death Star only to simply grow tired of the storyline in the end and have it simply smash into an astaroid so he could get rid of it. Second, he creates this female Admiral full of determination and stratagy only to have her lose a simple battle which the odds were tipped in her favor. Don't tell me a bunch of cheery jedi can defeat a full imperial attack comprising of numorous star destroyers and a super star destroyer. Don't tell me that only one jedi got killed during this whole assault; don't tell me that some jedi bimbo managed single handedly without the force to bring down a massive war ship full of troopers and personnel; No, Mr. Anderson lets face it, you were looking for excuses to finish the book and you chose the most illogical ones to do so. personally, I think this should have been another trilogy or at least a duology. Admiral Dalla should have won the battle reduced the jedi knights to half their number and gotten close to absolute victory before being stopped for good. She had the means and the determination to do so. As well in a plot twist she could have seized control of the darksaber and exterminated Durga in the process. And how, oh how, I kept hoping in the final scene Daala would have blown Calista's head off; but no Anderson couldn't even let her die because it simply would have not been right. I gave 4 stars for the action Anderson knows how to write about that but I would rate it 1 star for plot and character development. Thank the darkside the New Jedi Order series is full of true villans who are not portrayed stupidly and where the force doesn't always save the day.
Rating:
Summary: Fair, if a bit sappy
Review: Bluntly put, this story is about what you would expect from the Kevin J. Anderson school of Star Wars:slightly tacky writing, overabundant superweapons, lacking villians, and grossly overemphized and exaggerated use of the Force. Kevin J. Anderson writes a fast paced tale, but the devolpment and ideas are lacking. I grow tired of the constant use of superweapons as plot centers in the Star Wars universe. This was no different. Worse was the title weapon failing to work. One of my greatest frustrations, though, is the character of Daala. While she is constantly refered to as a grand tactician, she manages to lose in situations where the odds are tipped in her failure. I like the original idea behind her, a female with skill, competance and command in a sexist environment. But Kevin J. Anderson either has no idea how to portray those attributes or else simply belives in the rumors of her relationship with Tarkin. This breeds another problem in Pellaeon. His portrayal in Tim Zahn's Star Wars novels makes it very unrealistic that he would be serving under Daala since all I've rfead suggests him to be far and away a superior tactician, adding to my previous theory that KJA has no idea how to portray tacticians. Thirdly is the overplay of the force. As with KJA's previous Star Wars novels, the Jedi are vastly exaggerated in their abilities. Never is this exaggeration better exemplified than when the Jedi trainees hurl seventeen star destroyers across lightyears of space. Still, on a fast-paced action level, where the "good guys" always win and the "bad guys" always lose this is a fair read. Consider what type of story you are looking for before you buy this.
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