Tarkin is the second book to be released that 'counts' as part of Disney's new canon, and the first to deal with characters we saw in the movies. As the title implies, it follows the story of the Grand Moff as he rises in power and position in the new-found Empire, and delves into his upbringing on Eriadu. Taking place between Episodes III and IV, we see the workings of an Empire in infancy- Palpatine forming ruling councils, generals and admirals from the Republic jockeying for position in the new regime, and a band of malcontents who believe the Empire must be stopped before it gets started. To get Palpy's attention, they steal a stealth ship and unleash attack after attack on targets of Imperial importance; can Vader and Tarkin stop them before it's too late?
I read this book mainly because I was curious to see how much material Disney would add to (or remove from) the previous canon. I was surprised to see just how little changed- most of the planets, species, and ships mentioned were well-established in prior stories and appeared to mesh well with them. Perhaps Disney wanted to 'ease' into the new world. Whatever the case, it didn't feel much like a new direction. In addition, I was disappointed to see just how little this book added to the universe. The main theme was showing how Tarkin rose in power and established a good working relationship with Darth Vader. It was mostly background that was completely unnecessary, giving the reader no further insight into the movies, and didn't appear to set up further stories. While pretty well-written and interesting in that it focused on the bad guys (even generating sympathy for them at times), the largely uninteresting and unimportant plot was enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Rating: C+
No comments:
Post a Comment