"The Sith always betray one another....I'm sure you'll learn that soon enough."
The overthrow of the Republic is complete. The Separatist forces have been smashed, the Jedi Council nearly decimated, and the rest of the Order all but destroyed. Now absolute power rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious—the cunning Sith Lord better known as the former Senator, now Emperor, Palpatine. But more remains to be done. Pockets of resistance in the galaxy must still be defeated and missing Jedi accounted for…and dealt with. These crucial tasks fall to the Emperor's ruthless enforcer, Darth Vader. In turn, the Dark Lord has groomed a lethal apprentice entrusted with a top-secret mission: to comb the galaxy and dispatch the last of his masters' enemies, thereby punctuating the dark side's victory with the Jedi's doom.
Since childhood, Vader's nameless agent has known only the cold, mercenary creed of the Sith. His past …
"The Sith always betray one another....I'm sure you'll learn that soon enough."
The overthrow of the Republic is complete. The Separatist forces have been smashed, the Jedi Council nearly decimated, and the rest of the Order all but destroyed. Now absolute power rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious—the cunning Sith Lord better known as the former Senator, now Emperor, Palpatine. But more remains to be done. Pockets of resistance in the galaxy must still be defeated and missing Jedi accounted for…and dealt with. These crucial tasks fall to the Emperor's ruthless enforcer, Darth Vader. In turn, the Dark Lord has groomed a lethal apprentice entrusted with a top-secret mission: to comb the galaxy and dispatch the last of his masters' enemies, thereby punctuating the dark side's victory with the Jedi's doom.
Since childhood, Vader's nameless agent has known only the cold, mercenary creed of the Sith. His past is a void; his present, the carrying out of his deadly orders. But his future beckons like a glistening black jewel with the ultimate promise: to stand beside the only father he has ever known, with the galaxy at their feet. It is a destiny he can realize only by rising to the greatest challenge of his discipleship: destroying Emperor Palpatine.
The apprentice's journeys will take him across the far reaches of the galaxy, from the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk to the junkyard planet of Raxus Prime. On these missions, the young Sith acolyte will forge an unlikely alliance with a ruined Jedi Master seeking redemption and wrestle with forbidden feelings for his beautiful comrade, Juno Eclipse. And he will be tested as never before—by shattering revelations that strike at the very heart of all he believes and stir within him long-forgotten hopes of reclaiming his name…and changing his destiny.
Being the Vader fan I am, I long looked for this book, liking the idea of him having an apprentice and all that... only to be kind of bored. I understood long before I finally got it that it was based on the video game of the same name, and is focused on Starkiller and all that, but it was still kind of boring. And towards the end, even when this came out with pre-Disney spinoffs and the like, putting the Death Star in it just sounded wrong to the then canon as it was. So it was okay, but I'll wait a while before checking out the second part - especially since the way this one ended, it just doesn't sound like it needs a part two.
Simply put, this book is EPIC! Taking place during the years between Episode III and IV of the Star Wars film saga, this book is the film that should be made as Episode 3.5.
It is so epic, I cannot write too much about it for fear of spoiling all the awesomeness for the next person. I cannot believe it took me so long to get around to reading this. SO, SO much more well written that your typical Extended Universe Star Wars novel. Plus, this novel really puts meat on the bones of the Star Wars story that we already love and gnaw on...
This was pretty good, but it was not great. I mostly say that since the pace slows down a bit in the middle of the book. I rarely pick up books new, but the bookstore I bought it had it on a deep discount, and being curious, I bought it. I was a bit leery since it is based on a video game, but it was a pretty good escapist read. I think Star Wars fans will probably like it. It does bring in some nice perspective on the birth of the Rebellion, and we get another look at Darth Vader's plans. Once you get past the middle, the pace picks up again nicely.
