Tom Veitch

This is the stunning conclusion to the 'Dark Empire' series and I loved it!

It captures the feel of the films; with the Rebels barely surviving but triumphing against all odds.

There are the two truly essential Star Wars scenes: A lightsabre duel (several in fact) and a space battle (the latter containing a ship twice as long as Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer).

Keep you eyes peel for Jedi Knights left-right-and-centre! (Including 1 year old Anakin Solo)

This graphic novel contains two stories. The first one is Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, in which a young Jedi learns that a Jedi must have more than courage - he must have patience and perception. The second story is the Sage of Nomi Sunrider, in which a Jedi apprentice, who has rejected violence, learns that to defeat evil violence is too often unavoidable.

My twelve-year-old son is a big Star Wars fan, and he picked up this book so that he could keep on learning about the Star Wars universe. Overall, we found this to be a pretty darn good book. The illustration work is very good, and the stories are quite interesting. We enjoyed the action and the many different creatures and races that are the hallmark of Star Wars.

Yep, we both enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to you.

WHAT'S GOOD:
I liked the way in which Luke and Leia begin to renew the Jedi, gathering together a motley assortment of Force-users; a Jedi-turned-hobo, a Knight all but destroyed by Darth Vader, a former Dark Jedi and two youths from a primitive culture. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the Imperial Dark Jedi, showing them to be arrogant and power-hungry, yet ultimately ineffectual. Cam Kennedy's atmospheric art lives up to the 'Dark' of the title too. People who've read the 'Tales of the Jedi' comics might be interested in finding out what happens to Jedi Master Ood Bnar when he finally awakens from his slumber. We also see the return of Boba Fett, once more, but the tragic destruction of Slave I. For fans of the franchise this book is the essential link between 'Dark Empire' and the Jedi Academy trilogy.

WHAT'S BAD:
As a previous reviewer mentioned, they could have gone to a bit of effort over the name of this book/series; I mean, even the cheesiest sequels have a subtitle (often 'The Revenge'). I wasn't struck on the Galaxy Gun either. I mean, first off it's a bit hard to believe that the Empire can keep churning out superweapon after superweapon and still lose the war. Plus, it's not even a good superweapon; give me a Death Star any day of the week. Finally, although I liked the Dark Jedi in general, the fact remains that (apart from Sedriss), they all look, act and speak the same, making them impossible to tell apart.

WHAT'S GOOD:
I liked the way in which Luke and Leia begin to renew the Jedi, gathering together a motley assortment of Force-users; a Jedi-turned-hobo, a Knight all but destroyed by Darth Vader, a former Dark Jedi and two youths from a primitive culture. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the Imperial Dark Jedi, showing them to be arrogant and power-hungry, yet ultimately ineffectual. Cam Kennedy's atmospheric art lives up to the 'Dark' of the title too. People who've read the 'Tales of the Jedi' comics might be interested in finding out what happens to Jedi Master Ood Bnar when he finally awakens from his slumber. We also see the return of Boba Fett, once more, but the tragic destruction of Slave I. For fans of the franchise this book is the essential link between 'Dark Empire' and the Jedi Academy trilogy.

WHAT'S BAD:
As a previous reviewer mentioned, they could have gone to a bit of effort over the name of this book/series; I mean, even the cheesiest sequels have a subtitle (often 'The Revenge'). I wasn't struck on the Galaxy Gun either. I mean, first off it's a bit hard to believe that the Empire can keep churning out superweapon after superweapon and still lose the war. Plus, it's not even a good superweapon; give me a Death Star any day of the week. Finally, although I liked the Dark Jedi in general, the fact remains that (apart from Sedriss), they all look, act and speak the same, making them impossible to tell apart.