Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

If only they would hire this guy to write scripts for the movies.Star Wars is pretty much dead as a movie franchise but obviously good books are still being written.

For a book about Darth Vader, I expected more content specifically about him. Instead, most of the book was about a group of Jedi who escaped Order 66. There were a few cool tidbits about his suit and some interesting behind-the-scenes dynamics between the emperor and him, but past that I felt it was lacking for a book that's supposed to be focused on Vader.I read eight Star Wars books in the span of a few weeks, and this was my least favorite.

THE RISE OF DARTH VADER by James Lucerno.This novel is set immediately after the events of Episode III Revenge of the Sith and from the outset to me it is a pity that Matthew Stover did not write both books. I say this because reading the novelisation of REVENGE OF THE SITH was one of the literary highlights of 2012 and it would have enhanced this story by the length of the Kessel run if it was written in the same style. In one sense the story of Anakin Skywalker ends on Mustafar and yet George Lucas himself has said that episodes 1 through 6 complete the story of his rise fall and eventual redemption (if such a thing is possible). So what I am saying from the outset is that the novelisation of ROTS and this one is really a two part story which would have been a better read if written by the same author.(NOTE: I have come to realise that ROTS and this book are actually the final two thirds of THE DARK LORD TRILOGY so this criticism is clearly invalid. But I would like to leave this in my review as I refer to this paragraph later on. :-))That out of the way, I can say that there are moments of pure star wars magic to be found in this book. This first one left me breathless early on in the novel when we entered the tormented mind of Vader as he begins to comprehend what has happened, what he is and what he has become. Regrets begin to form in his soul and rise to the surface of his consciousness when he remembers what he was and what he could have been. Little facts are raised in the book which are fascinating to some readers (me!) but possibly pointless trivia to others.Part one of the book is compelling to say the least. We are on Murkhana when Order 66 is implemented and this is a well written but terrifying description of the mass murder of innocents under the guise of war. Part two - subtitled THE EMPEROR'S EMISSARY is when we are introduced to Vader for the first time in the book and this is where the heart of the reader really starts to pump. The story itself too jumps up a notch but in an attempt to humanise Vader it gets stuck in first gear for 50 pages or so. Anyway the heroes of this story become obvious given the context of what has gone before and it is easy to become attached emotionally to what is going on.Part three begins on Imperial Centre and obviously is used to set the scene for what happens in the tumultuous and apocalyptic (for some) climax to this tale. Palpatine (Sidious) is still manipulating his new apprentice but at least we signs of development and independent thought processes begin to rise from Vader. Part four is based on KASHYYYK and is the highlight of the book in an emotional sense as well as from the storytelling perspective. A group of renegade Jedi and their support crew decide to use Kashyyyk as a temporary base and when Vader turns up with his support crew they refuse to surrender. A fantastic battle ensues with lots of action, fight scenes and truly moving events and dialogue to entertain and educate the reader. This part of the book is also significant in terms of Vader's development in the dark side and it is easy to close your eyes and see the book "happen" in front of you as you read each page.With a deeply satisfying and equally emotional ending this book turned out to be one of the all time great EU novels. As I stated at the start of my review, the writing style is definitely different from that used by Stover in REVENGE OF THE SITH but looking back, that was definitely a good thing. I am not criticising Stover by saying this but even though the two books form the bulk of the same trilogy, they have to be sufficiently different in order to entertain and to give each writer his due. What Lucerno has achieved here is a classic star wars novel for the "new" star wars if you know what i mean. So in summary I give this book four stars out of five. The ending was awesome as I have said but held back by a minor lull in proceedings in part two. But definitely worth reading. The hard part now is to decide which SW book to read next!Greggorio (LR)

This was the first book I had read from James Luceno. I picked it up instead of moving on to the next set of books in the New Jedi Order which he also wrote. I was very impressed. His writing style is familiar and expected, a good thing in my opinion, and the story was well thought out even if the main hero, if there was one, wasn't very well defined. This is definitely about Vader and anything beyond him felt a bit like filler but necessary filler and definitely didn't detract from the story. Throwing in a few characters from the movies, besides Vader, was a nice idea but don't expect their story lines to really be fleshed out here. All in all I am glad I picked this book up and enjoyed the story. I'm feeling better about continuing the New Jedi Order series knowing what to expect from Luceno now and am looking forward to reading his others as well. One issue for me, and this is not the author's fault, I started playing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed right after I finished reading Dark Lord and the origin story of the main character steps all over Vader's visit to a certain planet in this book. Someone at Lucas dropped the ball.

Some people didn't feel that this book focused enough on Darth Vader and it is true that he is not the primary focus, despite the title. It does include some pretty cool new characters like Roan Shryne and Olee Starstone.I'm just going to give a brief word as other reviewers have thoroughly discussed it. The book picks up right before Order 66 is given, when Shryne and a group of Clones were on a raid. The order is given and Shryne escapes. In the mean time, you get a look at how Vader is dealing with his injuries and his new bionics. There is a lot of action and an all out great adventure.I highly recommend, if you haven't already, picking up  Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith  (which was much better than the movie) and  Labyrinth of Evil (Star Wars, Episode III Prequel Novel) .

Really great read. Darth Vader fans will appreciate the detailed looks into Anakin and Vader's mindset, the deep thoughts and inner battle he has within himself. However I do feel that Vader us often pulled out of the spotlight and seems as he's playing second seat to the other characters in this book. You'll like the characters for the most part, (at least I did) but crave more Vader, like any star wars fan would

A top class starwars novel that has helped revitalise, my interest and enthusiasm for the starwars universe (or galaxy far, far away etc) Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly disliked the first two prequel films, but I did like revenge of the sith, and this novel picks up, literally a few days after the events of emperor Palpatine's order 66 to destroy all the jedi, and to start with - follows a Jedi: Shryne, and a small group of padawans trying to escape from the new order... That of which is being led by the mysterious colossal figure known as Darth Vader, of whom, no one currently knows anything about... It takes up to about page 50 or more to introduce Vader, and Palpatine as main characters, and I have to state that the characterisation of Vader and Palpatine is excellent, as they are two characters that make compulsive reading, as much as they are great to watch in the films... I particularly liked how Vader makes the transition to evil, from the once prophesized, and noble Anakin Skywalker who was supposed to save the Jedi order, not destroy it, as he sets out to do with the tuition of emperor Palpatine, who has his doubts about Vader's loyalty to himself, and the dark side and always will... There are some really great moments in this book, where you feel sympathy for Vader and the injuries that he lives with, and how he struggles adapting to life in his new infamous suit... And also you feel a deep sad feeling towards Shryne and his group who cannot contend with the sheer power and presence of this formidable foe, who they find more about, as the story unfolds... My only issue with it, is although the novel is a fantastic read, it did lack a descriptive approach to many minor characters in it, in regards to how they appeared, and what they looked and sounded like, but then again, writing about alien creatures etc, is no easy task...

A great story of the untold stories of the times between the films three & four. Well written with characters that you care about. Ties up a lot of loose ends for many questions I had, I would recommend this to anyone that has watched the films or read the books.

As a short star wars story very good. The characters didn't change at all from what we know. So I was very pleased

Product was not as described by seller, World of Books . Condition far from as described or expected . Wonder if it was assessed at all. Was a present. Have no idea about the story.

Good parts: how Vader is characterised, relationship with palpatine, how the empire is perceived in the early days.Not so good: the generic Jedi being hunted, more time spent on them than Vader who you will pick up the book for, ending drags out