I started reading Death Star today after finishing Something Rotten (a fun re-telling of Hamlet).
I like the book. I know that it’s gotta be hard to please everyone’s hopes/dreams/questions/obsessions about the most powerful battlestation confused for a moon. My beef is the fact that it jumps the 20 years between III and IV, but I know that Star Wars TV is on its way, scheduled for that time period, and Lucas has told people to keep their hands off his Tatooine 90210 soap.
It does do a good job (so far) of tying things together. Devin and I had concerns with which we liked better, the Geonosians or the Maw Installation coming up with the plans, and the book actually does a decent job resolving the continuity conflict. The two authors are known for their Clone Wars books, so it has some fun “what about that guy?” moments reminiscent of Michael Stackpole and Aaron Alston. (What would you feel like being the gunnery sergeant who pulled the trigger on Alderaan?) Names are dropped, like Daala, Qwix, Ohran Keldor, Raith Sienar, and even a reference to the Hammertong Project and the 501st stealing the power source from Mygeeto (yeah, Battlefront 2!).
But my biggest sentiment? Yeah, Star Wars book! I get to read for my own assignment (Homework for December 27, 2007 – Nerd Out) and not any targeted booktalk. (Sometimes it gets to be like Time Enough at Last.)
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