Customer Reviews

The New Rebellion (Star Wars Series)

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Every now and then I have the displeasure to find out what happens when a writer publishes something that with a little touch up could have been a lot better. The New Rebellion is one such book. The plot was there, the enemies were there, but something is missing. The plot involves yet another Dark Jedi trying to kill everyone in the New Republic by putting a bomb into every droid off the assembly line. It sounds okay, but as the book goes on you realize how impractical this plot is. Kueller is a reasonably frightening, if callow, enemy. He does everything right up to the point when someone tries to stop him. Then he seems to shut down, and allow himself to be slain.

The climaz was rather well done, actually, but the rest of the book felt like it was just taking up space. Maybe the book was about a hundred an fifty pages of information crammed into 300. The writing also felt dry at times, like the author knew that the book wasn't turning out properly, but didn't know how to fix it. Indeed, it feels like Rusch knew what the beggining and end of the book were going to be, but didn't have a clue how to connect the two.

If you can put up with pieces of dry, boring writing here and there, you can find some fun in this book. Otherwise, you should read the Jedi Academy Trilogy, or The Courtship of Princess Leia.

The New Rebellion begins with a bang and doesn't stop the tension until the very last page. This wonderful page turner by Kristine Kathryn Rusch brought out every element in the Star Wars expanded universe by executing a flawless narrative that wound around an intense plotline.

By reading the narrative, it was clear that the author had done her homework. Every character down to the evil Kueller and fallen Brakiss were very round and dynamic. Also, many of the expanded universe books fail to illustrate good Star Wars heroes, but in the New Rebellion even the major familiar heroes held the qualities that were given to them in the films.

The pace was as quick as the film. While reading the novel, I could almost hear John Williams' soundtrack in the background during several scenes. I would have to honestly say that The New Rebellion almost matches the intensity and depth of the Thrawn Trilogy. Read the book and remember the feeling of being part of the Star Wars universe once again. If you already read the novel, read it again. It is wonderful. I certainly hope she writes another Star Wars novel.

A new enemy slaughters millions while a terrorist attack on the same day that former Imperials are allowed seats in the senate weakens the New Republic's leader Leia Solo's political power. Luke Skywalker, Han and Leia Solo, and Lando Calrissian shoot off in all directions, chasing down leads and facing slithering threats on all fronts. Rusch's entry into the Star Wars saga moves quicky, jumping from action to intrigue and back to action, always leaving a question as to what will happen next hanging in the air - cliffhanger serial storytelling at its finest. The author also adds a dash of tongue-in-cheek humor to the plotting. The main baddie is a Sith Lord with a penchant for wearing a skull mask who sports the first name DOLPH. Having recently watched the Masters of the Universe movie prior to reading this, I got the semi-subtle joke. Nice to know that someone can have fun with this style of entertainment and not have it spoil the overall seriousness of the story. So close is the narrative to the tone of the movie series that you can easily visualize the visual swipes between cliffhangers, all set to the rousing music of John Williams, of course. Recommended.

The nice thing I can say is the author had a clear understanding of the political elements, and former Imperials becoming Senators was an intriguing concept. There was also a nice interaction when Luke meets Cole. With that out of the way, it was disgusting how main characters lacked any dialouge beyond quoting a Star Wars movie. If that wasn't enough, characters not only spent great amounts of time remembering the past (I was ready to burn the book if Luke had ONE more memory of something Yoda or Ben said), but Luke and Han are introduced reliving movie scenes. The most disturbing thing is the author lacks understanding of the Star Wars characters. Han, for example, greets an old "friend" in a bloodthirsty manner by pointing a blaster under the table Greedo-style, and on the opposite end of the spectrum becomes a melodramatic sap whenever he's around Leia. Luke, who has been training as a Jedi for over 15 years, is once again a whimp, although by this time he would be the ultimate Force in the galaxy. * SPOILER * And one last question to ask yourself: How does the President of the Republic end up running up a staircase ALONE after an explosion in the Senate, when the Senate is located on the most heavily guarded Republic planet in the universe, and Leia is the most important diplomat?

I try to read the SW books chronogically and I must say that it has been painful to go through the books following the Jedi Academy trilogy. The New Rebellion was one of those last books where it seemed like any author in the world had a shot at writing a Star Wars story and having it published. I don't understand how a good sci-fi author can automatically be a good Star Wars author, we're talking 2 different genres here. Anyway, this book had some good elements. The "bombing" of the Senate was cool, and so was Luke's encounter with his student gone "dark side" in the droid factory. Sadly, as with a lot of SW books, some very stupid moments ruin eveything. Like the Jawas in Smuggler's Run. OK it's a fun cameo from a beloved Star Wars movies race. But their purpose in the storyline was completely ridiculous -- *SPOILER* --(The smugglers simulate some kind of desert environment in an asteroid to make Jawas confortable so they can go about in their 300' long Sandcrawler only to pick and clean old imperial suits and equipment). Also, why is it that in every SW book Luke has to be crippled? It would be fun for a change to see him use his powers for something other than healing.

So for those who are looking for important parts of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, I think it would be safe to skip this one. You won't miss anything important and particularly exciting.

The New Rebellion is the first book written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch that I have read. I thought she did an excellent job in describing the characters' actions and in establishing the appropriate Star Wars atmosphere. Plus, the book was just fun to read.

The tale she weaves has the New Republic in serious trouble. Some mysterious force in the galaxy has caused the deaths of millions of beings marked by the associated result of a major disruption in the Force felt by Luke at his Jedi Academy and by Leia on Coruscant. Then a bomb explodes in the Senate Hall causing death and destruction. Allegations soon surface that Han Solo was involved. The mysterious force turns out to be a former student of Luke's who has assumed the name of Kueller. He has strong powers in the Force and is bent on the destruction of Luke, Leia, and Leia's Force-sensitive kids.

Ms Rusch tells a good story. We have Han going back to Smuggler's Run in an attempt to obtain information from some of his old smuggler associates. Han gets in trouble and Lando comes along in a rescue effort. Then Lando gets into serious trouble and Han mounts a rescue effort. Chewie is involved being his usual self. Luke is caught up in a personal battle with Kueller. Leia resigns her office as Chief of State and goes to help Luke. The book has a lot going on.

The New Rebellion also has one of my favorite scenes from the entire Star Wars saga. Artoo and Threepio are on their own for a while on a planet that is primarily a droid factory. Droids of all types are built there, most of them from used parts. The factory has room after room of droids, and our heroes end up in a room full of dormant astomech droids. R2 manages to spur the droids into action and mobilizes them in a flight to freedom. While R2 leads the astromechs, Threepio follows along constantly lamenting their fate but actually lending a hand in the fighting once in a while. I loved reading it.

The New Rebellion is an outstanding Star Wars tale.

This Star Wars novel is getting closer to the New Jedi Order series which changes the nature of the Star Wars Universe. Only three novels written by Timothy Zahn stand between this book and Vector Prime. Once again a threat which could be the greatest threat the New Republic has ever faced has surfaced. This time I actually believed it, which is a plus. Because of a bombing attack at the Senate which killed several Senators and injured many more (including President Leia Organa-Solo), former Imperials have been able to become elected to the Senate in greater numbers than before. Leia has to deal with the immense distrust she feels for the former Imperials and hold herself back from (in my opinion) starting down a path to be like the Emperor in crushing dissent. Evidence for the attack points to her husband, Han Solo, and touches on his past as a smuggler. Luke Skywalker is hunting down a former apprentice of his who is somehow involved in this as a Force user is also responsible for the killing of millions of lives. All of this ties together and there is more plotting and schemes here than one can shake a stick at.

You know, when I put it like that the book does not sound half bad. To be honest, The New Rebellion is not a bad story, but I found it dry and somewhat dull. I suspect Rusch is a good author and she has apparently won nearly every major SFF award out there for her contributions to the genre, but the novel was not good enough to merit a recommendation and it lacked the feel of adventure and excitement (which I firmly believe can still be found in political wrangling, so I don't want just wanton adventure) and other Star Wars authors have succeeded in this (Matthew Stover, Karen Traviss, Ann Crispin, etc). And I pass.

-Joe Sherry

This review covers the audio cassette book (2 tapes, 3 hours). Okay, really 3.5 stars. This audio book had so much going for it: a great start, a terrific plot buildup. Then...nothing. It became overly predictable, along with a very rapid wrap-up. The bad guys get waxed, everybody who needs it is rescued, and comes out the stronger, ad naseum. Anthony Heald does his usual great job of voice characterizations (or I would have rated this much lower). The sound effects and music are great, and expected. Overall I would be cautious in the purchase of this audio book.

This book was good, but I've read better. The author should have fit Wedge Antilles more into the plot, since he seems to be left out of most books. Yes, the "worst enemy the New Republic has ever faced" is a BIT over-used, but the villain was still cool. The only other recommedation would be that I wish there was more of the students at the Jedi academy in the plot. Besides the politics stuff, the plot was quick-paced, making the book a fast read. The plot started rolling right away, keeping the beginning unboring. If you like SW, you should read this book.

Overall you have to say that this is an enjoyable book allthough I did come away from it thinking, not bad but still not the best I've ever read. The droids were good and as active as ever but I think the storyline is wearing a bit thin now. A new dark Jedi comes on the scene and seems to be more powerfull than ever, Luke sustains an injury but still defeats him. The good thing in this book are the refences to the Jedi Acadamy and occational qoutes: "Do or do not, there is no try." (In a Yoda vioce) A good book but only read it if you feel you have to. Read Zhans Heir to the Empire or Shadows of the Empire to get more enjoyment.