Darth Plagueis (James Luceno)

One enjoyable aspect of the Star Wars movies is the one-liners and references to characters and events from the past.  In Episode IV, Obi-Wan Kenobi mentions the Clone Wars, and the dark times.  Clearly significant, but we got no further detail- what were they?  How did they happen?  We had to wait over 20 years to see both expounded upon, in Episodes II-III, but it was worth it.  References like these arouse the curiosity and heighten interest in the Star Wars mythos, and have led to the creation of over 150 Star Wars books and comic books since 1977.  If you enjoy the references in the movies and want to know more, you'll like Darth Plagueis, by James Luceno.

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine mentions the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis to Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode III.  It turns out Palpatine (as Darth Sidious) was apprenticed to Plagueis for decades, before Palpy killed him and became the newest Sith Master.  That's all we can infer from the movie.  In Luceno's book, we get the backstory.  At its heart, Darth Plagueis is the story of Palpatine's apprenticeship, rise to power, and the machinations he and Plagueis put in place to bring about the destruction of the Jedi Order and the downfall of the Republic.  It's interesting in its own right, but what makes it really cool is the way Luceno incorporates a lot of other references into the plot- not to mention ties to graphic novels, books, and video games set in the same time frame.  In Darth Plagueis, we learn:

- How Plagueis met and recruited Palpatine to the Dark Side
- How Palpatine became a Senator on Naboo, and Amidala the Queen
- How the Sith plotted the downfall of the Republic
- How Kamino's cloning abilities were discovered
- How Darth Maul came into being
- How Anakin may have been conceived by the Force itself
- How Count Dooku fell away from the Jedi Order and was lured by the Dark Side
- How Master Sifo-Dyas (mentioned in Episode II) was involved in the creation of the clone army

In short, it provides excellent back-story to events seen and characters referenced in Episodes I and II especially.  But that's not all!  As previously mentioned, Luceno also ties in events found in other Star Wars stories.  Here are just some; I doubt I caught all the references:

Graphic novels:
- Jedi Council, Acts of War
- Jango Fett, Open Seasons
- Darth Maul

Novels:
- Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter

Video Games:
- Bounty Hunter (starring Jango Fett)

Love him or hate him, George Lucas did a good job requiring all Star Wars contributions (in any media) to fit in one overall story arc, consistent with itself, and Luceno takes many of them and glues them all together.  Overall, a fantastic job, and worthy read- if you're a Star Wars fan.  That's my one criticism; if you're not a fan, this novel would not do well on its own.  It lacks big space battles common in Star Wars tales, or galactic adventures; it's really just a novel filling in backgrounds and tying things together.  It has politics, betrayal, and intrigue, to be certain, but it relies heavily on the knowledge of the reader to arouse interest.  So, be warned; if you know the movies well, you'll like this.  If you know the expanded universe well, you'll love it.  If you don't, you can skip this.

Rating: A