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62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best Star Wars novel, 26 Jan 2005
By A Customer
I'm not a big fan of the Star Wars "Expanded Universe" novels. A lot of them tend to lack to real spirit and the feel of George Lucas' universe, and some authors even try to turn them into science fiction novels, which is not what Star Wars should be about. James Luceno is different - he seems to truly understand the Star Wars universe, and his novels capture the spirit of the movies. "Cloak of Deception" was an excellent novel, perfectly setting things up for "Episode I: The Phantom Menace", and adding further depth to the already complex and ingenious political exploits of Palpatine.
"Labyrinth of Evil" is even better - in fact, it's by far the best Star Wars novel I've ever read. The story is set three years after the end of "Episode II: Attack of the Clones". The Clone Wars appear to be coming to their conclusion, with Count Dooku's Separatist forces being pushed back to the edge of the galaxy. On Coruscant, Palpatine has used the war as an excuse for gaining further powers. In a chilling parallel with current American politics, he intends to change the Constitution for his own policies; he labels insignificant planets as an "axis of evil" that need to be invaded; and his State of the Republic speeches are interrupted by constant standing ovations. Perhaps we should expect George W Bush to appear wearing a black cloak and hood next. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (who seems to be growing closer to the Dark Side with every page) find themselves hunting down Darth Sidious, the evil mastermind behind the whole war, while Mace Windu leads the search for Sidious on Coruscant, and Yoda finds himself contemplating the nature of the Force, with help from an old friend, long gone ... The novel ends with a catastrophe that will lead us directly into the opening of "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith".
What makes this book work so well is the way it keeps the spirit of the Star Wars movies themselves - you can almost see the movie playing in front of your eyes, and it FEELS like a George Lucas Star Wars movie. The story is fast paced, and action scenes are littered throughout, just the right amount and in just the right places. The story jumps about, with four or five parallel stories all going on at once, but Luceno does this in such a way that you never lose track of what is happening in each. There is wonderfully cheesy dialogue, as you expect from a Star Wars movie, and the nature of the Force is explored further - expect this to be delved into even more in "Episode III". Everyone is wonderfully in-character, and there are lots of little nudges and winks to events that take place in "Episode IV: A New Hope". The ending is a complete cliffhanger, and leaves you desparate to watch "Episode III" and find out what happens. The general tone of the novel is perfect - the mysteries of "Episode II" are further explored, many of them explained (if you want to know what really went on with Sifo-Dyas, the clone army and the missing data from the Jedi Archives, this is the book you need to read), and there is a general forboding throughout the novel - things are getting darker and darker, and you know it's not going to have a happy ending. Not until after another four episodes, anyway. ;)
Overall, this is the best Star Wars novel I've ever read, and would recommend it to anyone interested in delving deeper into the mysteries of the prequel movies in particular. It makes me even more excited to see how the circle will be complete - just four months to go now!
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by James Luceno
by James Luceno
by David Sherman
by Matthew Stover
