David's Review of Allegiance

3/5 Rancors - Mr. Zahn is best known for his seven previous Star Wars books, and I have always enjoyed his books that I have read. Allegiance is good but not my favorite. The characters are interesting and there is plenty of action, but it all gets very complicated and I grew somewhat tired of referring to the list of characters.

The story takes place soon after A New Hope. Luke is still not comfortable with his Jedi skills and Han is not sure if he and Chewie should be part of the Rebel Alliance. Leia exhibits her strengths as she mediates a dispute in the Shelsea Sector. Also, the young Mara Jade plays a major role on a mission from Emperor Palpatine. All of them have to deal with problems caused by bands of pirates. It is interesting to note that Luke and Mara are both callow youth at this point, but Mara’s effectiveness shows her to be light-years ahead of Luke. I doubt that the difference between the two would have been that blatant.

The most interesting characters to me were a group of five Imperial Stormtroopers led by Daric LaRone. For the first time we see Stormtroopers who wonder if they are doing the right thing by serving an Empire that would wantonly destroy the civilization of Alderaan. When LaRone stands up for his rights and kills an officer of the Imperial Security Bureau, he and four other troopers are forced to desert. They spend the rest of the book trying to elude Imperial forces and trying to do what they think is right in various situations. They end up working with Mara Jade and are still free at the end of the book even though she knows who they are. They also survive a face-to-face meeting with Darth Vader. I found that a little hard to accept because Vader surely would have deduced that something was wrong. I doubt that he would have let them go on their merry way. Mara Jade has an important role in the book, and you have to admire her skills and fearlessness, particularly at such a young age.

Mr. Zahn’s books are always worth reading, and Allegiance is no exception.