On Dark Force Rising

There were things about this book that were weaker in this book than the first in the trilogy, and some that were stronger.

For one, the worlds felt much weaker, but that can partially be explained by the amount of time spent in outer space. The one major exception is Honoghr, which was really well done, but I must say that I loved Myrkyr and Zahn’s conception of Kashyyyk. The other major thing that stands out here as being weaker is characterization. Mara Jade’s character developed plenty, but Thrawn—who I liked in the first book—felt weaker to the point of being nearly unbelievable. Fortunately, there were some major Leia scenes here, but I believe that Chewbacca is getting the short end of the stick—we don’t see enough of him.

However, the action scenes here are much stronger. There was one scene in particular that was nearly a direct reflection of the second act in the original Star Wars movie, but it didn’t feel gimmicky or like Zahn was out of ideas—instead, it allowed us to compare Luke’s growth to the original trilogy. The final scene of the book was also expertly done. Additionally, Zahn’s expansion of the Noghri is excellent, to the point that the Honoghr scenes were some of my favorite in the whole text. Those were outstanding.

Perhaps the thing I’m most curious about going into the final book of the trilogy is where the Joruus C’Baoth story arc will go. It has a lot of potential, but it feels neglected so far and I hope that it gets greater attention. Nevertheless, Zahn’s book is an excellent expansion of the Star Wars universe.