Oh boy.... This was a rough journey for me... I didn't HATE or DISLIKE the book, per se.... But it's definitely not one I can say that I liked. At allOh boy.... This was a rough journey for me... I didn't HATE or DISLIKE the book, per se.... But it's definitely not one I can say that I liked. At all. It's bizarrely right in the middle for me (though usually, those kinds of books are either stupid middle-school reads or ones I never finished).
What's good about it? The story. Darth Vader having a secret apprentice is a fascinating premise, regardless of how it's executed. Also, the descriptions of the dark side's influence and the overall action sequences are vivid. Plus, the book FINALLY actually drew me during the final climatic scene. And Juno is a relatable and sympathetic character (the ONLY one, for that matter...)
What's bad about it? ..... Redundancy. The first third of the book is so blatantly set-up like a game (one mission after another, with no thought whatsoever put into it), and it's really awkward for a novel setting. To be fair, it's not easy to translate video games into books.... Also, flat characters, with the exception of Juno. Even Starkiller is spelled out to be a mindless killing machine until the last quarter or so, and shockingly, death and destruction does NOT guarantee the character's gonna be interesting. If anything, the lack of conflict up until near the end made him extremely boring. A cardboard avatar character you'd use mindlessly in a video game (huh... I'm starting to see a pattern here...)
What I liked: Juno. PROXY. The last quarter. The overall premise/story.
What I disliked: the execution. Flatness. Way too much worshipping of the dark side with way too abrupt of a change of mind near the end.
So, when all is said and done, it's not godawful but it's hardly awesome either. I'm glad I read it, in hindsight, because I normally never branch out of the original trilogy's characters with reading Star Wars novels, so this was a change. .... A very very drawn-out, put on hiatus too often, change, but a change nonetheless! ^_^
Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna binge on classic children's literature to wash me of this....fascinatingly boring read I've had to endure for the past two months....more
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