Andrew's Review of Dark Tide I: Onslaught

4/5 Rancors - Michael Stackpole’s Dark Tide I: Onslaught picks up the New Jedi Order baton from R.A. Salvatore’s Vector Prime and is the first in a duology. Mr. Stackpole is a veteran of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, loved for his superb series of adventures featuring Rogue and Wraith Squadrons. The Yuuzhan Vong invasion storyline takes a darker turn than those earlier stories but Mr. Stackpole still manage to insert his trademark humor along with the dynamic starfighter battles.

Many of the ongoing Star Wars authors have a favorite self-created character and Mr. Stackpole’s is Corran Horn, Corellian investigator-turned Rogue Squadron pilot-turned Jedi. In some stories Corran’s presence has been a bit overbearing but here it is well-balanced with other plot lines, particularly one following Anakin Solo and Mara Jade to Dantooine. Corran has grown into a mature Jedi leader and a strong supporter of Luke’s in his efforts to rebuild the Jedi. A newer crop of younger Jedi is emerging, headed by Kyp Durron, and in Onslaught Corran is paired with the arrogant but generally good-intentioned Knight Ganner Rhysode. The two have a highly memorable assault on a Vong outpost that requires Ganner to inflict direct pain on Corran to free him from a Vong torture device. They make a good pair to read about and also to provide more viewpoints on the Jedi evolution, going along with the many musings of Luke’s we’ve read about over the various novels.

One technique that Mr. Stackpole chose for Onslaught which was highly effective is keeping the reader in the protagonists’ viewpoints for the entire book, minus the ending scene. With so many books to go in the New Jedi Order, a sense of mystery was needed to keep readers engaged, and while we had many scenes from the Vong POV in Vector Prime, I found it more effective to lose that and keep them an outside force. It allows us as readers to take the journey with the heroes, rather than granting us an omniscient third POV from outside the action.

Anakin Solo and Mara Jade are also well-handled and key parts of this story, as Mara battles a Vong-spawned disease and Anakin struggles with his guilt from the last book while striving to mature into a full-blown Jedi. Rogue Squadron makes always-welcome appearances throughout, giving a nice sense of continuity to Mr. Stackpole’s earlier adventures. They also help balance the serious considerations of the various Jedi characters and the grimness of the war and the refugees fleeing from it.

Onslaught is an exciting kick-off to the Dark Tide duology and solidly carries forward the New Jedi Order, while especially shining in its focus on the heroes while leaving the antagonists mysterious.