Shadow Games (Michael Reaves)

Shadow Games by Michael Reaves (and someone else with a really long name) is another disappointing Star Wars book.  It's set right around the time of Episode IV, and stars Dash Rendar, who first appeared in the excellent Shadows of the Empire book.  This time around, though, the adventure falls flat.  The premise starts out as highly unlikely- Dash, who is a pilot, just happens to be broke and hanging out in Mos Eisley Cantina.  For those unfamiliar, pretty much everything in Star Wars happens in Mos Eisley Cantina.  Anyway, a famous pop star, Javul Charn, is feeling threatened, so she hires a bodyguard- Dash.  Now, Dash is a pilot, but apparently reviewing resumes isn't Charn's strong suit, so she meets him, trusts him instantly, and decides that a bodyguard is pretty much like a pilot, so they have an adventure, where Dash finds out Javul has many enemies.  Big whoop.

The plot has some mild twists, but none are over-interesting.  It doesn't feature anything really relevant to the Star Wars saga- it's just a minor footnote in it.  So, what's the point?  It's okay, but really not necessary.  Spend your time elsewhere.  One of these days, I'll review a Star Wars book that I do like- I promise.  I've read over 80 of the things, after all- just none of the recent selections have panned out.

Rating: C