Customer Reviews

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

[Note: I tried to make this review 100% spoiler-free, but read at your own risk. Once the book is published, I will update the review to discuss a few plot points and characters in greater depth. However, I'm happy to answer specific questions in the comments section.]

I think it's fair to say that Star Wars: Darth Plagueis is the most eagerly anticipated Star Wars novel of the past 5 years. However, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis is also one of the most risky because it delves into the backstory of Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine, easily the most evil villain in all of Star Wars. Some fans were worried that the book might "demystify" Palpatine or humanize him a bit too much (just as Episode I made Anakin a bit too sympathetic a character).

So let me begin my review by stating that Star Wars: Darth Plagueis does not destroy Palpatine's character - it makes him even more evil and chilling. We do not see Palpatine as a cute little blond boy. While the book spends a good deal of covering Palpatine and his machinations, it's quite clear how the younger Palpatine presented in this book grew up to become the sadistic Sith Lord of the films. There were a few times when Palpatine's actions even sent a slight shiver down my spine. We do, however, learn a bit more about how exactly Palpatine rose to power and where his urges stem from.

As for the title character, I think James Luceno does a great job of bringing Darth Plagueis to life. I admit I was actually a bit worried because Darth Plagueis is a Munn (the same species as San Hill), and we all know that the Star Wars universe has a tendency to stereotype characters by race. I was worried the book would overplay the stereotype of Munns as bankers. However, Luceno handles this pretty well by giving Darth Plagueis a sort of Count of Monte Cristo personality (or alternatively a mix between Prince Xizor and Darth Bane). Like Sidious, Plagueis lives a double life, and he lives each life with a ferocious intensity. In a few scenes, Plagueis transforms from negotiator to killer with frightening speed. Overall, Luceno created a complex character stands out above most of the other Sith characters.

The plot is more of a political thriller and serves as a backstory for the movies. I personally dislike Star Wars books that throw in a bunch of battles just to see the characters whip out their blasters or lightsabers, so I thought Star Wars: Darth Plagueis was a welcome change of pace. There are only a few fight scenes, but those that are in the book are really emotionally intense and bloodcurdling (yes, I said bloodcurdling). More importantly, the action scenes reveal a lot about the characters and how much they enjoy violence. Again, without revealing too much, the book reminded me of The Count of Monte Cristo in how the plot develops.

There were two unique aspects to Luceno's writing style in this book that I want to highlight. First, unlike so many Star Wars books (come on, we know Luke, Han, and Leia aren't going to die!), Luceno does not try to build a false sense of suspense. After all, we know Darth Plagueis is killed and we know who killed him (it was revealed in Episode III, but even if you fell asleep during that scene the murder scene takes place on the first page of the book). Rather, Luceno toys with what we think we know about Star Wars history and holds readers' attention by focusing on HOW and WHEN events unfold. At his best, Luceno forces readers to rethink and relearn the events of the prequels. I for one thought the book filled in many of the holes left by the movies, even more so than the movie novelizations. I finally understand what happened in Episode II!

Second, the narrative style in the book is unlike anything I've seen in Star Wars novels, with the exception of Matt Stover's books. The narrator has a voice of his/her own, one that doesn't intrude into the story but rather makes it more epic. For example, the narrator places certain planets or events in historical context, even referring to events and places from the movies. My favorite line [mini-SPOILER Alert] in the book is: "Naboo and Gungan alike couldn't recall a colder winter than the one that followed [Plagueis'] autumnal visit..." [end SPOILER alert]. The narrator also provides a lot of physical detail making it easy to envision the characters and the scene. It's a different style for Luceno, whose previous books seemed a bit lighthearted, but I think this tone suits this book really well.

One more thing: Luceno worked closely with LucasFilm in writing the book. My understanding is that the book is as close as any novel can get to being canon (although the Star Wars Expanded Universe canon system is pretty confusing). In other words, this is THE story of Plagueis and Palpatine.

Overall, I was pleased to see how James Luceno built Darth Plagueis, Darth Sidious, and Darth Maul into truly compelling and evil characters. It easily stands head and shoulders above most Star Wars novels both for its character development and its storytelling. I haven't been the biggest fan of Luceno's books in the past, but it's clear he dedicated a lot of time, thought, and love to this book. A must read for any Star Wars fan!

"Everything I tell you is a lie. Every question I ask is a trick. You will find no truth in me. " ~ Vergere, to Jacen Solo (New Jedi Order: Traitor)

Expectations are a funny thing, they affect how we perceived things for good or ill. The danger that any book runs is that it's reviews will hype it up too much, that expectations will be set so high that they cannot possibly be met. In the Star Wars fan community, expectations usually outstrip that which is possible. Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a great film, but the expectations of fans after waiting 16 years between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace were simply too high. No matter what George Lucas delivered it would not have matched what fans wanted or expected. It is only with the benefit of hindsight that The Phantom Menace is placed in its proper context and can be judged fairly.

Before you ever begin or contemplate beginning to read Star Wars: Darth Plagueis, be aware that whatever I or other reviewers say, this book will receive tons of hype. I only have one thing to say to you, believe it. Darth Plagueis is simply pardon the pun, a tour de Force.

At 368 pages Darth Plagueis isn't the biggest novel in the Expanded Universe but of any EU work it may have the biggest impact on the story that George Lucas told in the film saga. Author James Luceno delivers his magnum opus with such skill and care that you can tell this was a novel years in the making. Originally slated for release in 2008, this book idea was shelved and then reclaimed. What Luceno delivers is a galaxy spanning masterpiece that takes place in three distinct periods of time and follows the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis as he navigates the Sith Rule of Two, searches and grooms an apprentice, and his subsequent fate. Along the way we are introduced to a young Palpatine who would go on to become Senator, Supreme Chancellor, and Emperor, all the while living a secret life as a Dark Lord of the Sith. The story revolves around the relationship between this Muun and this Man as they seek to enact the revenge of the Sith, bring about the destruction of the Jedi and the conquest of the galaxy.

Through the course of the novel Luceno manages to bring various threads of continuity together from novels, comics, video games, The Clone Wars animated series and the Star Wars films in such a way that is both seamless and stunning. Multiple times throughout this novel, I was stunned with how boldly Luceno went in his storytelling, treading on ground that I was surprised that George Lucas would allow anyone but himself to interpret. This book gets to the very foundation of Palpatine, the conflict between the Jedi and the Sith, Sith philosophy, and the immediate background facts surrounding Episode I.

Truth, lies, droids, clones, slaves, citizens, all of these are but tools to the Sith. With the Sith the ends always justify the means. The above quote by Vergere seems apropos given the scene in Revenge of the Sith between Chancellor Palpatine and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Palpatine plays Anakin Skywalker expertly and manipulates the young man to get what Palpatine wants. How did Palpatine learn these skills, how exactly can someone be some fundamentally evil? This book goes a long way to pulling back the curtain on the mystery that is this man who has one foot in the world of the profane and one in the mystical world of the Force. The danger with telling Palpatine's back-story is that in giving them character more dimension, you diminish him, the more we learn the less imposing is the towering menace that we were introduced to in the films.

One of my favorite things about this books is the unique spin that Luceno puts on some of the Sith, each has their own way of viewing things, much like we have seen in the Expanded Universe with the portrayal of Jedi and how they view and access the Force. There is a ton of Sith philosophy in this book and while relatively light on action, this book is instantly one of my favorites in all of the Expanded Universe.

While there are still some questions this book leaves up in the air, one thing is for sure. You will never watch the Prequel trilogy in the same light again and I am fascinated about how the elements from TCW may come into play with the return of Darth Maul at the end of Season Four.

Well done Mr. Luceno, well done.

[...]

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis is not just the story of Plagueis, but also the story of the rise to power of his apprentice, Darth Sidious. Actually, the first chapter is the death of Plagueis. Then it reverts back to the time when he was an apprentice himself to Darth Tenebrous.

Plagueis is a Muun, and as such, has a much longer life span than humans. His master, Darth Tenebrous, is a Bith, also having a long life span. This being the case, he was given a lengthy tutelage in the Sith arts before finally taking his master down and earning the mantle of Dark Lord. Then he meets a young man, strong in the force and defiant. So defiant in his ways, that this young man shed his given name but kept his house name, Palpatine.

Plagueis decides that it is time to move away from Darth Bane's strict rule of two where the master possesses the power and the apprentice craves it. He sees himself as the one who will implement the Sith's ultimate plan of revenge and desires to forge a partnership for the Sith order. What ensues are the detailed plans and events that lead up to Phantom Menace.

This book does an excellent job in linking with other pre-Episode I books. There are numerous references to past Sith Lords, including Kaan, Darth Bane, and Darth Zannah, as well as hinting to some of the other Sith that came after them (including one who betrayed the order and turned to the light side, which will probably become another book that I will be interested in reading). Keep this in mind when reading because there are a few parts where it seems to skip over a section but the events actually happened in another book and they just did not get repetative. For instance, when Sidious dispatches Darth Maul to take down Black Sun, it skips to the aftermath. That's because this mission is covered in Star Wars: Darth Maul. When he goes after the mining companies, that is covered in Star Wars: Darth Maul: Saboteur (Short Story). So you get the idea.

Also described in here are the events that lead to Jedi Master Dooku's decision to leave the Jedi Order and his dabbling in the Dark Side, the beginning of his transformation to Darth Tyranus. We meet Master Syfo-Dyas, who is the one responsible for placing the order with Kamino for the clone soldiers. Even Jedi Master Jorus C'Boath (from Outbound Flight (Star Wars)) is mentioned here. Basically, this book is quite strong in linking with the other novels as well as the movies.

James Luceno's writing style is great. It draws the reader in and, though I have read several of his novels, this has easily become one of my favorites by him. This is a wonderful addition to the Star Wars extended universe and I highly recommend it. Matter of fact, even if you aren't into the novels, I think you will appreciate this book, although some of the significance of small events may escape you.

I consider myself more than a casual SW fan but not a great deal more. I've of course seen the movies multiple times, including the spinoffs, EVERY TV series and the Christmas special, but I've only skimmed a few graphic novels and been VERY picky about the books, having read around ten. Not because I feel the majority of the books are poorly written, I just try to avoid books in a series and I don't much care for post-RotJ stories, though I have read the Thrawn trilogy.

I give this book 3.5+ stars but not quite a full 4. This is the forth SW book by James Luceno I've read and I enjoyed every one of them. Having said that; however, at times his writing style can be a bit hard to follow because of his over-use of 'big words' when other, more recognizable ones would suffice. I'm not saying expanding one's vocabulary is a bad thing, I just don't like needing to refer to a dictionary and Wookieepedia multiple times per chapter. I also noted SEVERAL instances of grammar/spelling mistakes, but I can let those slide since that would be the fault of the editor and the book was only just (officially) released two weeks ago.

If there's one thing I think everybody who reads this book can enjoy it's the numerous references to not only many other SW works, particularly Luceno's other stories, but also the parallels to real events and organizations; specifically Roman and American politics as well as secret societies like Skull and Bones and Free Masons. Although there were some references to the current Clone Wars series, I had to cringe with each one of them because they also happened to be sources of continuity errors longtime fans (like me) have issue with, but I digress...

One of the main critiques I have with this book is the seemingly contrived plot. As many of the other reviews have pointed out, Plagueis is only in the limelight for about half of the book, slightly more if you add all the sections and mentions but in many ways he is not really the main character. This fact doesn't bother me as much as the main reason this book was written, to get a glimpse into Plagueis's midi-chlorian/Force knowledge! I am satisified with his personality and background information, but instead of getting to read about his experiments first hand we get after-the-fact monologs and completely wasteful chapters, such as his escape from Bal'demnic and beating us over the head with philosophy we already know. I also didn't really care to know about Sith training, because I imagined it was similar to a Jedi's with more pain and suffering. Give us the good stuff James!

A few other minor points that caught my attention: It is mentioned that Naboo's governing body is an elected monarchy. Would it still be considered a monarchy? Damask Holdings was initially drawn to Naboo because they have plasma than can be mined and sold as fuel. Is that even possible for an Earth-like planet to have plasma in its mantle? (I know it's fiction but come on!) I'm sure it's in other books, but I didn't know the rest of Jabba's name is Desilijic Tiure. To my surprise he spoke quite eloquently here; a bit out of character perhaps? The Bando Gora are mentioned as capable mercanaries in this book. Last I knew they weren't much more than zombie-like people with a collective mind of sorts (as seen in the Bounty Hunter video game). Nuclear weapons were used in a plot to kill Plagueis, which is a bit old-fashioned I think. Damask is injured in an assassination attempt and eventually self-heals the long-term wounds he received, yet he still needs a breathing mask for some reason.

All-in-all this book was an entertaining read and I would recommend to even more casual SW fans than I am. The book really does connect some long-standing dots and tie up several loose-ends from other stories, though it is not without its flaws. It does bring Palpatine down a few pegs, realizing that he wasn't the TOTAL mastermind behind the success of the "Grand Plan", but I don't see that as a bad thing. This telling was more realistic IMHO. It's discussed more than once that the two Sith are concentrating on their own strengths throughout, and the last chapter has Sidious claim to Plagueis that many of his recent ideas were actually Sidious's, so it all works out in the end.

After going through a slew of sub-par Star Wars novels I was mostly pleased with this one. Although the book probably should have been titled differently, at least half the book focuses on Sidious and Plagueis quickly takes a back-seat. It was good to get Palpatine's back-story and read his transformation from young man to Sith Lord.

My biggest fault with this book is that it feels a bit slow and unfocused at times. It covers a large span in Star Wars history, several decades leading up to episode I, so it feels as though it jumps a lots. At the same time when it focuses back in on a span of time it feels a bit plodding and almost boring.

Overall it was a satisfying read that will appeal no doubt to hardcore Star Wars fans. Casual fans may want to avoid it though.

One of my enduring issues with the Star Wars mythos, even through much of the Expanded Universe, is the treatment of the Jedi vs. Sith. Lucas created the problem when he depicted the Jedi as the bastions of all that is good and righteous, and the Sith as the servitors of evil. Even when the purity of the Jedi was challenged and their weaknesses were exposed in the prequels and beyond, the Sith were still agents of evil.

Other storylines have emerged over the course of the saga, trying to rectify this. Darth Bane, Jacen Solo, and others have been explored in great detail, all with various shades of reasonable justification for their actions. Ultimately, those justifications give way to extreme choices that can only be termed as self-serving evil, a desire for domination. It's as if there are imposed limits on how nuanced an author can get with the depiction of Jedi and Sith.

So when this novel was announced, I was more than a little intrigued. While it's always an interesting exercise to see how writers tackling the prequel era try to reconcile some of the discrepancies across the board, this was going to be about the Sith Lord that initiated the events of the saga as most of us know it. Could this, finally, bring some measure of balance to the characterization of the Sith, something more than sheer desire for power?

In some respects, it does; in others, not so much. This is as much the story of how the lofty goals of Darth Plagueis led to his own eventual downfall at the hands of his apprentice Palpatine, who gets more than enough page count of his own. It attempts to reconcile details from the prequels, the animated "Clone Wars" series (at least, up to a certain point), and whatever details from the novels that might still be relevant. (Much of "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter" is rendered completely moot, for example.)

In the end, the book is better at fleshing out the motivations of Palpatine than anything else. I still don't see how the Sith philosophy is something that makes sense for anyone to adopt, especially the illogical Rule of Two and its implications. I realize that the author is constrained to work within the boundaries of what Lucas created, but that's the ongoing dilemma: it prevents anyone, even in an effort as solid as this, from truly developing a viable, logical Sith culture.

Even with that personal disappointment, I enjoyed the scope of the novel as it stands. The interplay between Plagueis and Palpatine is excellently done, and eventually pays off in an unexpected way. There's also good groundwork in terms of the politics of Naboo, the intrigues with the Trade Federation, the establishment of the cloning program, and the conversion of Dooku. Simply put, those of us who didn't overly mind the concepts behind the prequel trilogy (as opposed to the execution of those ideas) have plenty of nuggets to enjoy.

First, a disclaimer: I've read very few Star Wars novels written since The Phantom Menace came out. I don't like what's become of the expanded universe fanon since then, for the usual reasons. I'm not going to get into that here, except to say that, in reading Darth Plagueis as a reviewer, I resolved not to criticize this particular book for problems endemic to the continuity it's a part of. If I don't like the fact that, for instance, in a story that's supposed to be set in a society spanning an entire densely populated galaxy, the main characters keep running into the same few dozen people, each with roles to play in the saga that are unrelated to this particular story . . . Well, it's my own fault for reading a Star Wars book, I guess.

So judging this novel only on its own merits, it's a pretty enjoyable read. It's about the relationship between Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious (the Emperor). Despite the title, the latter is the one who steals the show, becoming more and more dominant as the book goes on until it feels more like the Emperor's backstory. That's not a bad thing; he's been a compelling and frightening character since Return of the Jedi premiered. We learned more about him in the prequel trilogy, but while we saw the whole story of the pressures and emotions which made it possible for Darth Vader to be corrupted, the Emperor's motivation was never fleshed out; he seemed like he was just evil for the sake of being evil. In this book he's seduced by the Sith from a place that is really the other side of the coin of Anakin Skywalker: an angry young man, weary of the decadence of his elders, confused about his destiny; but unlike Anakin, who had to have his concept of morality twisted around and turned on its head, his conscience has always leaned toward the Dark Side, and he's very willing to accept its seductive embrace. In fact, whereas Anakin was fooled by his Sith Master until he passed the point of no return, one gets the sense that Palpatine was manipulating Plagueis from the beginning. He appears as someone destined from birth to become a Dark Lord, someone fully embracing that destiny--and yet, his actions make sense from a perspective that is, if not sympathetic, then at least understandable. I wish some of this had been incorporated into the film canon, where, however memorable a character may be, he comes off as just some mustachio-twirling villain when it comes to motivation.

Plagueis, meanwhile, is portrayed as someone who wants to reform the Sith, who has a vision of getting the order away from its destructive routes and turning it into a force for progress . . . but still in a self-serving, arrogant way. He's still a Dark Lord; he doesn't come off as some tragically noble anti-hero. And yet at the same time he manages to be a genuine protagonist, who subtly sells the reader on his dream . . . Very well done!

Otherwise, most of the book is a lot of wheeling and dealing in the realms of politics and business. It's not all that interesting, I'm afraid, especially when the most important plots come to fruition offstage. Worse still is when the ramifications of some Sith fait accompli reverberate through the rest of the story, but, even though these things were done by the Plagueis-Sidious team, we get no scenes of the Sith Lords bringing them about or even explanations about what they are. Maybe if I were one of those people who pours through Star Wars novels by the dozen, I would know all I wanted to know about Yinchorr and . . . Eriadu, I think it was called? But I'm not, and even if I were, this is not a great way to write a novel whose plot centers so heavily on palace intrigue and conspiracy. However, the somewhat botched political thriller plot manages not to bog down, and strong character development carries most of it so easily that it's easy not to notice.

Also, there are a TON of what I assume are call-outs to other stories in the Star Wars fanfic continuity, and I didn't even feel like I was missing something that served a story point; just a gratuitous attempt to tie this book in with all the others. Ah for the days when Star Wars authors were only concerned with meshing with the source material, the films. . . . Ah well, I said I wouldn't get into it.

Otherwise, the only objections I can raise are a few stylistic choices. I found the over-the-top chapter names faintly annoying, for instance. But for the most part the book is stylistically very sound. It's well paced, and its own continuity within the story hangs together quite well. As I said, it's a strong character piece, and the glimpses it affords into the inner workings of the Sith are intriguing. An order which depends on passing knowledge from one master to one apprentice, with each master torn between the need to perpetuate the order's goals and the sure knowledge that some day the apprentice will challenge him for supremacy, as he did his own master before him--It's a rich dynamic to build a character study around. The parallelism of the first and last chapters of Plagueis's story really drive it home.

Oh, the life-extending, death-defying powers that Palpatine referred to at the scene in Episode III, when he seduced Anakin to join the Dark Side? We see them, but--despite a lot of press in the promotional material and blurbs--they're a very, very secondary subplot. Oh well; Star Wars, unlike Star Trek, was always careful to avoid having to make up a lot of fake pseudoscience, and there wasn't much of a way to get deeply into the life-extending studies without relying on that. Invented jargon and descriptions of biological experiments that could never occur in the real world are not the stuff that adventure stories are made of, and esoteric battles with the Force on some disembodied spiritual plane even less so. There's just enough of that stuff in the story to provide a bit of a red herring. I suppose I should ding it a point for that, too. But it doesn't detract from the fact that what we have here is a light, mindless, enjoyable read, good for killing some free time and perhaps giving the reader a new insight into, or at least a bit of nostalgia for, a galaxy far, far away.

This book fills in the blanks quite nicely for the Star Wars fan. It explains well the events that lead up to Star Wars Episode 1. I do not want to give any spoilers, but if you have ever wondered how Palpatine came to the forefront, or was able to hide his 'Sithness', or why he takes such an interest in Anakin, then this is the book for you! You will not be dissapointed.
As an aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the style of writing, the use of language, and the depth of the story. Hands down, one of the best Star Wars books I have ever read!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Despite being titled Darth Plagueis this is really the story of Plagues and Palpatine, perhaps even moreso of Palpatine than Plagueis. The story develops the upcoming fracturing of the Republic as orchestrated by Plagueis as he follows the plan developed by Sith before him, and the apprenticeship and ascendancy of Palpatine.

Plagueis is a fairly interesting character, in his civilian identity he controls vast wealth as one of the highest ranking members of a species known for their business acumen and holdings. In his Sith identity he is devoted to exploring the ability of the dark side to prolong life to the point of immortality and resurrection. As well he apprentices Palpatine and educates him in the ways of the dark side and the plan to overthrow the jedi. For being a Sith lord Plagueis actually comes across as a fairly decent fellow, cut throat in his business dealings, merciless to those who cross him but not demonstrably given to personal evil. In fact he plans to share rule of the Republic with Palpatine once they have toppled the current hierarchy.

Palpatine from the day of his discovery is a bad seed, selfish, amoral and only out for himself, ultimately betraying Plagueis as the Sith are supposed to despite Plagueis wanting to find a different way this time. I have always had problems with Palpatine as a character in the fall of the Republic era. He has always been such a perfect puppet master that there are few challenges for him and that continues here. Though younger he does run into some obstacles even as a rank apprentice he can still manipulate people and events towards the outcome that he desires making him come across more as an authorial push than an actual character.

Were this book actually about Darth Plagueis I would have enjoyed it more. As it was it was an interesting look at the behind the scenes events manipulating the events happening before and during The Phantom Menace but fell a little short of being completely satisfying.

I will keep this short review as spoiler free as possible.

I have been waiting for this book ever since it was first announced. I love the Sith, and always welcome another one of their stories.

This is not a book full of intense physical combat. All of the action is of a political nature, that ties together a lot of the Star Wars Expanded Universe and which actually adds much-needed depth to Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. In fact, this novel has increased my enjoyment of the film.

The character of Darth Sidious/Palpatine and Darth Plagueis are masterfully crafted. From the aforementioned character's first meeting, I could easily see how Palpatine would become Darth Sidious.

I am a HUGE fan of the Darth Bane trilogy, and have read the three books about ten - twelve times, however, Darth Plagueis just might have taken my Favorite Star Wars Books number one slot.

If you enjoy political intrigue and subterfuge, then I feel that you will enjoy this book.