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Finally! Here we are with the Lords of the Sith review. Because we have just a few novels right now, it seems easy enough to rank the four of them as a thumbnail to start talking about LotS. Here’s my ordering right now (what’s yours?):
1. Tarkin
2. A New Dawn
3. Lords of the Sith
4. Heir to the Jedi
Part of Lords of the Sith getting ranked third is simply because I’m always rooting for the good guys, and clearly, they’re not going to win in Lords of the Sith, which is ultimately about an attempt to assassinate Palpatine and Vader.
So why is Tarkin your number one, Allen?
Well, it’s so darn well written, and it’s a fascinating character study. Granted, there’s not much to the “present day” story of Tarkin – it’s almost more of a biography than a novel. I think A New Dawn is still the most well-rounded story of the four to date. But there was just something special about the Tarkin novel, I just drank it right up.
To say Lords of the Sith comes in third isn’t exactly a knock on it, is what I’m trying to tell you. In fact, it has the most thrilling action sequences of all four of the new canon novels. And fully 30% of the book is given over to the attack on the Star Destroyer Perilous and its aftermath. The first quarter of the book is the lead-up to the attack, and you can feel the tension building toward it.
(Ranking based on action, I’d put A New Dawn 2nd, then Tarkin 3rd because of its somewhat clinical treatment, and Heir to the Jedi 4th, with a tip of the hat to Kevin Hearne, because really, Luke Skywalker describing action in the first person shouldn’t be as compelling as an experienced writer in third-person omniscient, so I see that as Hearne doing his job well.)
We’re going to be covering different aspects of the book this week, and in the meantime, let us know what you think about the book in the comments!
Star Wars Fun Fact
Surprising or little known Star Wars tidbits, sometimes related to today’s Force Feature.Happy belated to John Dykstra! Just how important is he to that galaxy far, far away? From Wookieepedia:
Dykstra led the development at Industrial Light & Magic of the computer controlled motion capture camera system, Dykstraflex, that was responsible for many of the film’s groundbreaking effects. The system was made possible by the availability of off the shelf micro-processors at relatively low cost and secondhand VistaVision cameras.
However, there was tension between Dykstra and Lucas, who later complained that too much of the special effects budget was spent on developing the camera systems and that the effects team did not deliver all the shots that he had wanted. Regardless, following the release of Star Wars Dykstra secured his status in the industry with Academy Awards for best special effects and special technical achievement.
Life on “Tweet”-ooine
A featured dispatch from the Star Wars Twitterverse!
CAPTION THIS #DarthVader #StarWars pic.twitter.com/cNguFRA1Si
— Dave Prowse (@isDARTHVADER) June 8, 2015
Star Wars Swag Bag
So many fun, quirky, and awesome ways to bring Star Wars into your daily life!Fett Rising T-Shirt – click the pic for details and to get yours!
Trivia Time!
Test your knowledge of the Star Wars universe!Yesterday’s answer: The Sanctuary Moon
Today’s question: What noise prompted C-3PO to wander off in Cloud City?