Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor [Hardcover]

Pros
1: Stover turns characters from the old Marvel comics SW run into cannonized characters
2: Well linked to other books throuhgout the Star Wars timeline including the prequel EU
3: The writing style keeps the reader from getting bored and skimming pages most of the time.
4: Stover writes Skywalker very well, though at times Luke seems a little too dark sidish lol
5: Book brings all your favorite star wars characters together once again
6: Fenn Shysa, was so happy to see Fenn placed into novel format and Stover did well on him
7: Blackhole/chronal, was awesome to see Blackhole placed into novel format and find out about his origins and fate.
8: Stover really goes into an alternate view of the force which was very intriguing to read.
9: Klick, stover shows a clone trooper still around serving the empire, and it was very nicely done.

Cons
1: If you hated the old Star Wars marvel comics then this is NOT the book for you as it brings many of them into the cannonized universe.
2: Kar Vastor, Im sorry but Shatterpoint was one of the worst SW books ive ever read, it felt like Stover just used modern day racial stereotypes about africa to create a star wars book just because Mace Windu was black, anyway Stover brings Kar Vaster back which links it to his Shatterpoint book. The vaster character im sorry to say i never liked, While this book did portray the character in a much more interesting way then Shatterpoint, the character still seems like nothing but a speach impaired larger then life hulking thug.
3: While i stated the writing does move well when stover writes through the eyes of R2D2 the writing gets very confusing and can drag in some cases or move so fast you miss things
4: From the begining of the book i didnt like stovers take on Han Solo, but i will say by the end of the book he was writing Solo very well.
5: Too Many Abbreviations, I felt like i needed a glossary to know what was going on cuz he keeps abbreviating everything.
6: Not enough Fenn Shysa :( was so happy to see em but there just didnt seem to be enough of him in the book
7: Meltmassif? Apparently theres this liquid rock or crystal with living creatures inside it called melters and the rock can (thru use of sith alchemy) control people minds, imprison ppl in stasis, act as a planetary transportation system, act as armor or other structures, liquefy or harden, and turn into needle shards to kill or drive ppl insane? Yeah the meltmassif was just really really hard to understand and even picture. lol
8: Fuse My Bus Bars? Stover makes up allot of weird random star wars sayings in this some that fit, some like this one that dont.
9: Mr-Stover-Likes-to-use-allot-of-these, yeah he does this several times, especially in the beginning of the book and it is a bit irritating.
10: Luke Skywalker and the Revenge of the Jedi Hollothriller? Stover uses the Holothriller thing in the book for a few different reasons.While some make sense other just get annoying, my biggest complaint on it cuz i did like it at first, was the way the book ends, i dont wanna give anything away but it has to do with the Holodrama thing and it just seemed like a realy retarded way to end the book.
11: Stover has Luke and Chronal fighting in their minds when they battle, which tends to be confusing and when trying to picture it feels really corny and almost cartoonish.
12: Book also links the star wars child books such as glove of darth vader and its sequels into the cannon, which if you have read those just didnt seem to fit into the star wars eu.

Overall there were more cons then pros i found, but i did enjoy reading the book. It had some great classic moments such as when Han loses his blaster to the red head girl but still shows why he love him as Han Solo. Luke is shown embracing and understanding both the light and dark aspects of the force for what they are. It had all the classic characters from the movies as well as some from the old marvel comics. While some of the themes seemed fantastical and the end was very rushed and confusing, the overall story was fun and kept me glued.

So i would recommend the book as its a very fun and entertaining read.

Just dont take it too seriously

First, a warning: you can't take Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor too seriously. Matt Stover's latest entry into the Star Wars universe is at times over the top, but that's the point. As the prologue indicates, this is really a "story within a story." Luke Skywalker expresses his exasperation with tabloid "holodramas" of his adventures and tries to set the record straight. The ensuing story is yet another example of an exaggeration of Skywalker's exploits - and, most likely, Stover's implicit commentary on the direction of the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

The narration for the book often adopts a sarcastic tone or looks into the minds of the characters. Again, odd for a Star Wars novel, but one Stover uses to good effect. Some of the plot devices in the story are quite clever, such as the "holodrama" called "Luke Skywalker and the Jedi's Revenge," a twisted retelling of the events of Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. There were a few other funny or insightful references, such as how Han fumes about the too-perfect, too-handsome Mandalorian warriors. I'd always been a bit flabbergasted at how so many other writers treat the Mandalorians as near-sacred, so I'm glad Stover poked some fun at this.

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because the plot got convoluted, particularly near the end. The use of gravity bombs and weapons simply went over the top. The end battle scenes were littered with techno-babble, which actually obscured how the Republic forces actually escape (if that's a spoiler, then ). One character, Kar Vastor, is introduced near the end, seems important, but is never really explained. It almost seems like the ending was rushed, or at least not quite as engrossing as the first three-quarters.

Overall, this book is probably not quite right for all audiences. You have to be willing to accept it as a fun adventure story, not worry about whether it constitutes "cannon" in the Star Wars EU. I'll put it this way: if you liked Brian Daley's comic-style Star Wars: The Han Solo Adventures (A Del Rey book), then definitely give Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor a try. If you prefer the more serious tone of the New Jedi Order, you might find yourself frustrated with this book.