Tarkin: Star Wars

Tarkin is a novel that is essentially a followup to the same author's great Darth Plegeius novel, which was really about the rise of Palpatine. This novel is mostly set a few years into the Empire 14 years before the events of A New Hope, details Tarkin's rise through the ranks of the Imperial Army. The story does flashback to Tarkin's childhood on the Outer Rim world of Eriadu and to his early days working for Senator Palpatine in the Republic, but the bulk of the story involves a mission that Tarkin is sent on with Darth Vader to investigate a cache of communications devices on the planet Murkhana which suggest a plot to take down the Imperial holonet.While the novel is centered around Tarkin, Vader and Palpatine appear quite a bit and we see the seeds of the early rebellion against the Empire being planted. We do find out that Tarkin suspected Darth Vader's real identity, having worked with Anakin before during the Clone Wars, but he keeps that to himself. In the end of the book, the construction of the Death Star above Geonosis is mentioned.This novel is interesting in that it was written just before Disney's takeover of Lucasfilm and was grandfathered into the canon, whereas the prior book, Darth Plageius was not. This book does have a couple of tie-ins to the Darth Plageius novel, however, so some of that novel is brought into the canon by this one. Of course, at the time this novel was written, characters like Orson Krennic and Galen Erso were not yet created, so some of Tarkin's control over the Death Star project hinted at in this book was changed by Rogue One because the events of the movies trump the books. Overall, I do not necessarily think the book is a must-read if you are a person who picks and chooses which of the Star Wars books to read. If you read all of them then you will read this anyway, but if you read some, but not all, of them, you will not miss anything critical if you skip this, but it is a very good story and one that I think is worth reading at least once.

Such a well written narrative about someone I really didn't want to know anything about Tarkin because he is so unpleasant to deal with in the story line. But like Thrawn you find yourself rooting for him. He's not an anti-hero, like Thrawn, but when he investigates the mysterious holograph "hijackings" he has insights no one else does to go after the "bad guys" and you just don't want him to fail. You sort of forget that he is part of the bad guy trinity of the Empire. And I love the little comical twists though few, like his barbs at Vader to prove his personal suspicion/realization that Vader is the former Annikin Skywalker. Do not skip this read because it's your only chance to see one of the Empires best and darkest, (along with bonus insight into the other two of the trio) in the way Luceno has brilliantly fleshed him out for us.

I've mostly been avoiding the new Star Wars canon due to the fact nothing has really grabbed me the same way the Legends universe did. At the end of the day, Star Wars Legends had Luke Skywalker's wife, Han Solo and Leia's children, plus all manner of interesting new stories to tell about the future. A novel about Grand Moff Tarkin is underwhelming because, really, what's the point about learning the backstory of a big old Space Nazi? It's not really a tale begging to be told. Then again, I've read an anthology about all the aliens at the Mos Eisley Cantina so perhaps I was prejudging. Either way, I decided to pick a copy of the book up and give it a whirl. The verdict? It's not bad. At the end of the day, Wilhuff Tarkin is something of a limited character you can do things with. He is a man who callously murdered billions of pacifists in front of a prisoner. He's a really-really bad person. The novel does it's best not to portray Wilhuff as a cartoon but it doesn't really expand upon the surface details much either. Tarkin is a technophile who believes in the survival of the fittest as well as the ruthless suppression of dissidents because they threaten the public order. He's also a bit of a snob despite coming from the Outer Rim territories where he should, theoretically, know better. These are mostly things people could have guessed. The biggest insights into the character come from the description of the Tarkin family ritual which sends their heirs into the wilderness to live hellish survivalist training for a few years. This is meant to teach them the values of civilization as well as toughen them up. It's also meant to strip them of their morality so they became focused only on survival as well advancement of their cause. In Wilhuff's case, it works. Indeed, the proving which Wilhuff goes through reminds me a bit of the somewhat extremist perspective on hunting which many of my fellow Southerners hold. Quite a few extremist libertarians and reactionary conservatives equate hunting to a way of life that justifies doing numerous questionable things. Ironically, they're contrasted with the hunters who walk away from their trips with a new found appreciation of life and the environment. Strange how that works. One of the more interesting elements of the book, though, is setting up Grand Moff Tarkin against a group of terrorists. These terrorists are 90% like the typical Rebels you'll find in the ranks of Star Wars heroes but they don't hesitate at large-scale collateral damage either. Honestly, I think I would have been more interested in them if they'd been a bit more ruthless and overtly evil. Just because the Empire is bad doesn't mean their enemies have to be any better. The twist on their goals, however, does hint at a larger dissatisfaction with the Empire which will lay the seeds for the future Rebellion. Sadly, Darth Vader's presence in the story is almost entirely superfluous, remaining inscrutable and there as more a cameo more than anything else. Aside from giving some insight into how "normal" Imperial officers perceive Vader, he doesn't really add much. Tarkin is too competent to need Vader's influence and the threat the two face isn't powerful enough to threaten one of the pair let alone both. Overall, I liked Tarkin and am pleased James Luceno is continuing to do work in the Star Wars universe. He manages to backdoor a lot of elements from the previous canon back into continuity such as COMPNOR and the ISB. None of this can help the fact it's about a thoroughly despicable slimy character. Ironically, this is the one book I would have appreciated the appearance of the character of Admiral Daala. If anyone could have brought out Tarkin's humanity, it would have been her.9/10

James Luceno has done it again with another great Star Wars novel. Being his first Disney canon novel, he delivers brilliantly. I also loved that he threw in some Darth Plagueis storylines from his Darth Plagueis novel to sort of give Disney no choice but to make the novel canon again. Tarkin is a very under appreciated character in the Star Wars universe in my opinion. I always wanted to know about his backstory because I always thought he had an exciting story to tell, and guess what? I wasn't wrong. Learning how he became the ruthless Grand Moff was very exciting. Each chapter did not disappoint.

Star Wars: "Tarkin" by James Luceno provides the backstory to Grand Moff Tarkin, Peter Cushing's character in the first Star Wars film published (e.g.  Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope [DVD] [Region 2] (English audio. English subtitles) ) and one of the more memorable villains of any space opera or other science fiction story..Exactly how the Empire's hierarchy worked was never quite clear in the original films but Tarkin appears to be the only person in the empire whose relationship with Darth Vader approximates to one between equals - Vader kneels only to Emperor Palpatine who he calls "My master" while everyone else bar Tarkin in the imperial hierarchy has good reason to be terrified of a man who can personally execute senior admirals on a whim, but Tarkin is the only person who addresses him as a friend, and the only individual other than the Emperor who can ask Vader to stop doing something and have his wishes respected, however sinister the response "as you wish" may sound.Tarkin's reputation has only grown among fans of the Star Wars universe as a result of recent films like  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [DVD] [2016] [2017 ] (the creators of which did an incredible job of making Guy Henry look like Peter Cushing's Tarkin) and books like Timothy Zahn's  Star Wars: Thrawn . Both present him as an extremely strong-minded and powerful character.In this book James Luceno explores some of the backstory of Grand Moff Tarkin, his role in the creation of the Death Star, his family history, relations with Palpatine who he first met as a new Senator, and with Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. At one point Palpatine describes himself, Vader and Tarkin as the three most powerful men in the galaxy and adds that it is no coincidence that their homeworlds of Naboo, Tattoine and Eridu are relatively close together and none of them particularly near to the galactic capital at Coruscant.The story is mostly set between the end of "Revenge of the Sith" and the start of "A New Hope" but has a lot of flashbacks to Tarkin's youth on Eridu, his home planet of which he was later governor (one of many jobs he held during his rise to power.)In particular the book suggests how how Tarkin's family upbringing in a sector where his family, and soon himself, are the main bulwark protecting the people from pirates and brigands forged him not just as a supporter, but a wielder, of strong and ruthless government authority as the only way to preserve order from chaos.A well crafted and entertaining book which manages to be both original and yet almost entirely consistent not just with "A New Hope" but with most of the later films and books in which Tarkin appears. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope [DVD] [Region 2] (English audio. English subtitles)Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [DVD] [2016] [2017Star Wars: Thrawn

I've been reading the more recent "Thrawn" books, expertly written by Timothy Zahn and thoroughly enjoying them. "Tarkin" was a logical next choice as the two exist in the same timeline and though the Empire is vast, know of eachother's existence."Tarkin" was quite the change of pace! James Luceno perfectly captures the essence of this formidable character. The prose are stern and calculated, and riddled with militant political jargon as though written by the Governor himself.It makes for a harder read, bringing the prequel movie trilogy to mind in that it is full of extraneous detail on the inner workings of the Empire, but for a true fan this only serves to enrich the experience.You will learn of Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's upbringing on Eriadu and the rites of passage he underwent that ultimately shaped him into the ruthless military strategist we know and love to hate. You will also enjoy the development of his relationship with Palpetine and Vader and find out how they rose together to become the triad pinnacle of power in the galaxy.Thoroughly enjoyed!

To me this isn't a story about Tarkin, he is just a vessel for the name of his ship. And this is not the Garmin from the films of animated series, it's all wrong. I wanted to read about a cool, calculated leader. But all I got was this emotional, clawing for approval and promotion, this sleaze sycophant. And also facts are taken from The Clone Wars animated series and then other statements are completely wrong.This book has so much redundant detailing that I spent half the time trying to sift through the irrelevant information to find the story. It's a flashback story up until chapter 15 when it actually starts. This book is a filler and I'm disappointed as I thought this would be good.

TarkinDarth and Wilhuff – or bad cop & good cop – I think the key word linking these two is ‘Respect’.Vader can appreciate the bravery, guile and cunning of the man who becomes his effective equal partner in the Empire (pre New Hope ending).The story of how Tarkin became who he did I think is fabulous story and I wish it were possible to have others prior to ‘Rogue One/NewHope)’ – alas.The plot and narration is very well driven and it’s good to ‘see’ other aspects etc of the Empire’s role post Revenge of the Sith.The Emperor himself gets reasonable ‘time’ in the book too with a minor nod to another Luceno book, Darth Plagueis.Overall this is a worthy addition to the overall picture of the universe kindly bequeathed to us by George Lucas.

An excellent read. I put off buying it simply because I didn't think Grand Moff Tarkin would make for an interesting enough protagonist worthy of an entire book, but the reviews I read were overwhelmingly positive. It's a fantastic character study and really gets into detail of how Tarkin became who he is and how his experiences surviving in a harsh environment forged his mentality and disposition towards the emerging threat of dissident rebels attacking an Empire he believes in. There's more to the book than just Tarkin himself, if that helps, with several chapters focusing on Palpatine's hobbies and the working relationship between Vader and Tarkin and the Emperor himself. There's much insight into the pre-Clone Wars years as well as what happened during and after it and this book is one of the few recently released novels (after The Force Awakens) that canonises several major occurrences in the Star Wars universe, therefore it is strongly recommended to fans.