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review: the rise of darth vader

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:15 pm
by feitonglong
personally i think that james luceno did another great job bridging the expanded universe with the movies proper. his previous book, "labyrinth of evil" bridged between episode 2, the clone wars and episode 3. now this sequel to the movie did the same magic again, keeping readers on their toes in an attempt to finish the book in one shot. (i tried but my body is weak haha...)

the rise of darth vader details about the aftermath of order 66 and how our new darth cope with his new suit and prowess. he also showed uncertainty in the emperor's manipulation but grew to accept it as part of his training as a sith. the idea of introducing some new jedis in an attempt to gather more jedis who had survived the order 66 clearly showed that many jedis attached themselves too much to let go of the extinguished jedi order and the failure to accept that the sith had won the battle.

the novel is broken down into 4 parts. the first part introduced the characters of the novel and how they have escaped their destiny to being shot down. it also revealed that some clonetroopers have grown thoughts of their own defying the emperor's order to exterminate the jedis. part 2 of the novel showed us the new right hand man of the emperor, how many wondering who this new black stormtrooper is. was he a jedi? only a couple felt and knew. we also learned how vader used the force to move about in his heavy armour. part 3 and 4 of the novels details how coruscant transformed into the imperial centre of the emperor and how the empire caused the fall of kashyyyk. chewbacca was also featured in the novel, detailing his escape with the surviving jedis. i guess there will be more novels revealing stories of how he become a slave to the empire, etc. i loved the epilogue...

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:33 pm
by freefly
thanks. i'll be reading it next week after my tests

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 8:52 pm
by lhs1701
Thanks too.

Now I will be getting both the novels you mention, first the Labyrinth of Evil since it is already available in paperback. I dislike hardback as they are too big to keep properly.

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 8:57 pm
by Impulse
i am impressed by ur words. I'll surely get them by begging my parents some day! haha!

Vader was quite disappointing...

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 6:32 pm
by sithlordcbw
didn't think it was very catchy...I have read all of Luceno's Star Wars novels, from his debut Agents of Chaos to the more recent Labyrinth of Evil. Needless to say, I purchased Rise of Darth Vader from Kinokuniya the week it was out.

I felt that Luceno succeeded on expanding the character of Darth Vader...but I have to say...I didn't really think fans appreciated and feared his character after the book. We are shown lots of conflicts between Vader and the Emperor, with Vader appearing weak and indecisive on every exchange, and he seemed VERY weak in combat. And I felt too much time was spent focusing on the sub-plot (Shryne meeting his mother), which shouldn't be the case. It could have been dedicated towards expanding on the character of the focus of the novel, Darth Vader. And on a more personal note, I was very bored with the Shryne meets his mother subplot. I realise Shryne needs some allies, but....couldn't it have been some hotshots like Han Solo?

Maybe it's just because I've read too much of Anakin Skywalker in novels like Jedi Trial and Labyrinth of Evil. Anakin seems to save the day every time. But in Rise of Darth Vader, I failed to see what made him to fearful as he is today. Clonetroopers show him disrespect. Bol Chatak manages to wound him. He manages to kill Fang Zar only after a long chase. He admits in his thoughts and to the Emperor that his lightsaber skills are weak. Not the powerful Vader I had envisioned.

I feel that Zahn's work, in comparison, is much better. Buy his Outbound Flight. As for this, wait for the paperback (which shouldn't be a long wait).


-sithlordcbw

Re: Vader was quite disappointing...

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 7:10 pm
by lhs1701
sithlordcbw wrote:didn't think it was very catchy...I have read all of Luceno's Star Wars novels, from his debut Agents of Chaos to the more recent Labyrinth of Evil. Needless to say, I purchased Rise of Darth Vader from Kinokuniya the week it was out.

I felt that Luceno succeeded on expanding the character of Darth Vader...but I have to say...I didn't really think fans appreciated and feared his character after the book. We are shown lots of conflicts between Vader and the Emperor, with Vader appearing weak and indecisive on every exchange, and he seemed VERY weak in combat. And I felt too much time was spent focusing on the sub-plot (Shryne meeting his mother), which shouldn't be the case. It could have been dedicated towards expanding on the character of the focus of the novel, Darth Vader. And on a more personal note, I was very bored with the Shryne meets his mother subplot. I realise Shryne needs some allies, but....couldn't it have been some hotshots like Han Solo?

Maybe it's just because I've read too much of Anakin Skywalker in novels like Jedi Trial and Labyrinth of Evil. Anakin seems to save the day every time. But in Rise of Darth Vader, I failed to see what made him to fearful as he is today. Clonetroopers show him disrespect. Bol Chatak manages to wound him. He manages to kill Fang Zar only after a long chase. He admits in his thoughts and to the Emperor that his lightsaber skills are weak. Not the powerful Vader I had envisioned.

I feel that Zahn's work, in comparison, is much better. Buy his Outbound Flight. As for this, wait for the paperback (which shouldn't be a long wait).


-sithlordcbw
Sad to hear Vader portrayed in this manner. Looks like Dark Horse did a better job.

yeah

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:21 pm
by sithlordcbw
yeah to me he seemed more like a martyr of the war rather than an all-powerful Sith Lord. Seems like he needs more time to regain his powers....

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 4:58 pm
by Impulse
Bought it at kino with 20% off discount.
Mint In Sealed Plastic! My mum advised me start reading before mid yr exams. Wa hahahah

Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:32 am
by freefly
it's interesting to note that it was the Republic Commandos (particularly Climber) who stood up for their Jedi Generals and not Commander Salvo & his team. maybe this has to do with Sergeant Kal Skirata's & Jedi Bardan Jusik's greater involvement with the RCs (to tie in with Karen Traviss' work)? have to agree that Vader is not the all powerful Sith Lord we thought he would be but simply just one of the Emperor's b*tch. though i believe this is keeping in line with the overall storyline, now that Anakin is more machine than man & his ability to manipulate the force weakened. claustrophobia, helplessness & a lack of control of his limbs and senses is what Vader experiences in his reconstructed body, so i reckon it's logical that he turns out the way he is early on.

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:02 am
by SoloFalcon
Anakin adapting to his mechanical body and the helplessness/clumsyness he felt when he fought with a Jedi in his new body. Being a natural tinkerer, he mod/enchance and also realised that he can use the force in another ways. With his mechanically enhanced strength body, he has the freedom to use his force in other ways. He also learnt that Darth Sidous planned Anakin's downfall way to the dark side but because Anakin is still new to the dark side and the vulnerbilities of his body... he cannot opposed his Master yet... he bides his time... until he knows more about the dark side and to find an apprentice of his own as the story goes in ROTJ he wants Luke to join him to defeat the Emperor.

RC or ARC ask trained to think as an individuals thus I think would have a better sense of judgement than the Clone troopers or Clone Commanders...

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 5:37 pm
by freefly
Well.. ARC-trained Commanders like Salvo & etc can be quite capable of disobeying orders, if they want to 8). A good example is Cody, in his decision to go against direct orders (as shown in the free comic book 2006) when he and his team landed themselves in an unexpected situation that Obi-Wan did not forsee.

The reason for Climber's non-compliance as opposed to Salvo's, i suspect, is due more to his association with Mandalorian Sergeants such as Kal Skirata (sergeants who trained their 'boys' to be human & instill in them Mando principles) than just superior specialised training. If it were an ARC or any other RC, i am sure they would've simply blasted their Jedi generals, ask questions later. After all, Order 66 came from the commander n chief himself and independent thinking alone won't make you defy a high command as this :P. So, what i'm trying to say is this.. that Climber's actions were guided not by rationale but by his 'heart' as a result of a different kind of training. One that is not so different from that of Skirata's