David's Review of The Force Unleashed

2/5 Rancors - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams is based on the video game of the same name from LucasArts. I have not played the video game, but I feel as if I have because of the way the book is written. The action is basically nonstop. There is much slaughter. The main character exhibits unbelievable skills as he moves from one dangerous encounter to another. Plus, our movement through the book is not smooth and seamless. We seem to bounce violently from one event to the next.

The tale is set in the period after the overthrow of the old Republic and the defeat of the Separatist forces. Most of the Jedi have been wiped out, and Emperor Palpatine is in complete control. His ace #1 henchman Darth Vader has been given the responsibility of rooting out the remaining Jedi and destroying them so the Sith victory would be truly complete. That’s all well and good.

However, Vader in turn has raised a nameless lethal apprentice since childhood and this apprentice is entrusted with the mission of finishing off the Jedi. The apprentice’s skills with any kind of weapon are incredible. His grasp of the force is strong, and his loyalty to Lord Vader is unwavering. For most of the book, we know little more than that about the apprentice. He is a killing machine under Vader’s direct command. Oh, one more small detail. Vader and his assassin also plan to kill Emperor Palpatine when the time is right. Then Vader will rule the galaxy. Much of this was just hard to accept.

The apprentice proves his worth. He goes on several missions and deals with the Jedi. He has his own ship plus any weapons and supplies he needs. He also has the services of Juno Eclipse, an outstanding pilot who is assigned to the missions without at first having any true idea of what they were doing. She plays an increasingly important role as the story moves along. One other member of the team is the droid known as PROXY. I actually very much enjoyed the activities of PROXY. He was always capable and willing to do whatever was needed, so he provided valuable assistance. However, his most interesting function was to serve as a training partner for the apprentice. PROXY had the ability to change into a hologram of well-known Jedi and attack his master by surprise. The resulting lightsaber duels were always intense. The apprentice would win. Then PROXY would be abashed because his stated responsibility was to try to kill his master in these fights. Kind of like in the Pink Panther films where Cato is constantly launching sneak attacks on Inspector Clouseau

I had trouble with a number of areas in reading the book. When you read enough Star Wars books and love the films, you can develop a tendency not to think of them as fiction or at least to feel that the action could really happen. The Force Unleashed just goes completely over the top for much of the book. I had difficulty believing that Palpatine didn’t know exactly what was going on. I had trouble accepting the level of skill that the apprentice had developed, particularly with the Force. Moving a Star Destroyer as it crashes onto a planet seemed a little much. The wanton slaughter of just everybody who crossed the apprentice’s path also became tiresome.

Some of the key plot points bothered me. The apprentice is clearly killed at one point in a fight with Vader. A lightsaber through your chest and being thrown into the vacuum of space should be enough to finish off even the hardiest of Star Wars characters. But no, somehow the apprentice is brought back to life. Late in the book, the apprentice is involved with key figures in the rebellion just beginning against the Empire. We are very familiar with the leaders involved at this point, but we have had no idea until this book that any of the action described had ever taken place. I just found it hard to accept.

I cannot recommend the book highly. Yes, it is Star Wars, so some of it is bound to be fun. However, there is much better reading to be found in the Star Wars universe.