Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The success of the novel Dark Disciple turns almost entirely on the creation of a believable relationship between the characters of Quinlan Vos – a comparative blank slate in the Star Wars universe – and Asajj Ventress, a very well-known character from the Clone Wars series.
Suffice it to say, Christie Golden succeeds with it, and manages to largely do so within the first quarter of the book. It certainly helps to have the Force as an emotional guide, and a way into the character’s heads (and into each other’s). It’s quite a job to have Vos manage to ingratiate himself with Ventress for the bounty hunting business, and still another to have him be able to crack the emotional shell that she’s cemented in place, considering that she has lots of stories that don’t end well in her past, to paraphrase the novel.
Guest appearances from Obi-Wan Kenobi are fun, and we even get a little bit of Mace Windu, Yoda, and good ol’ Anakin Skywalker pops by for a mission or two, too. But the story hangs on Ventriss and Vos, and Golden does a terrific job with their relationship, and dealing with both the external stakes of ending the war and saving billions of lives, as well as the internal stakes for Ventriss’ emotions and, for lack of a species-generic word for it, her humanity.
Trivia Time!
Test your knowledge of the Star Wars universe!Yesterday’s answer: “Father”
Today’s question: Who flew a custom, bent-wing TIE fighter?