Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor was written by bestselling author, Matthew Stover. This tale takes place during the Rebellion era on the Expanded Universe novel timeline, four years ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).
SUMMARY
Another crazy man steps up in an attempt to rule the galaxy! The New Republic faces off against a new enemy on the planet Mindor. The planet is violent, not only because of the war, but the planet – in the Taspan system, is breaking apart! The planet’s atmosphere is a mess of asteroids and meteor slinging all over the place.
Lord Shadowspawn, one name for the villain in this tale is obsessed with destruction and power. Luke Skywalker leads the charge to free hostages that were taken by Shadowspawns raiders. Many of which were either chosen to die, or join Shadowspawn. Much of the villains tactics are designed after popular holovids (what we would call movies).
Luke Skywalker faces one of his biggest challenges yet… guilt. His force ability reaches new heights, resulting to a situation that cannot be undone. The New Republic must act fast as they race against the clock, before the world of Mindor, is utterly destroyed.
Or… did any of the things in this story actually happen… or is this a story within a story about the legendary heroes of the New Republic… It’s hard to tell.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought, “this is gonna be a chore to get through.” That’s right, I judged a book by its cover without knowing a thing about it. Yet, I didn’t let the cover hold me back forever, (I let the paper do the talking).
This book starts off with a bang, it’s fast paced, explosive action, and gritty. My impression of the opening chapters, was that this story is the punk rock of Star Wars. It’s loaded with weirdness, some of it is interesting, while most of it… is not. A theme that runs throughout this book, is that nothing is as it seems.
The characters felt so different than what they should be. The dialogue is a mess, characters cut each other off so much in this book. mid sentence. Everyone is talking back to each other, there’s far too much sarcasm, and witty comebacks… it got annoying.
Stover does a fine job with descriptions… to a point, sometimes the details are so elaborate, it drags out and gets boring, even to the point of forgetting what’s happening in the moment.
I do like the way that Stover explained some of the traits of Vader and Palpatine. Palpatine had a lust for power in the force, he had a knowledge of its power, he was steeped in its lore; but still trying to have the force bend to his own will. Vader on the other hand, was a pawn, using the force in the most shallow ways, as a machine absorbs fuel to operate.
However, what drives me crazy, is when authors attempt to undermine the credibility or weight of characters or actions that have already been established, especially from the films. In this story, Stover attempts to make the villain of this story, far superior than Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. The villain is revealed to be the actual puppet master over the Empire. He was the mastermind behind Palpatine’s demise. I find this character development ridiculous.
Do I recommend that you read this tale? I have to say, no. I had a few interesting moments, but not worth the time.
RATING
I give Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, a D (0.5/5)