Doug Wheatley

A nice quick read that takes place right after the Clone Wars as the Emperor and Darth Vader are consolidating power. One of the last Jedi and his captain survive one of the last stands of the Separatists. Yes, the Jedi was fighting for the Separatists, having been forced to seek their help with the clones turn on him due to Order 66. The captain's wife and daughter are taken as prisoners and to be sold as slaves, and it is up to the Jedi and him to try to find them. In the meantime, we have Vader coming more into his role as Dark Lord of the Sith and the Emperor's enforcer. Slowly for him, certain realities are starting to sink in. If some of the Darth Vader stuff seems familiar, some of it does come out of Luceno's novel Dark Lord Rising. Personally, I found the Vader parts compelling, but then again, I read the novel too, which I did enjoy. The main story was pretty good, though it seemed to run a bit fast at the end, as if the author was trying to wrap it up nicely at the end, so to speak. Anyhow, this is the first volume of a series, and I will probably seek out others since I do like reading Star Wars material, especially when it takes place in smaller settings and stories like this one. The book is a nice, quick read, but at times, I did wish it had a bit more depth.… (meer)