David's Review of Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

5/5 Rancors - Let me first say that my copy of Darth Plagueis is an advance copy obtained through the Amazon Vine program. The book is not scheduled to be officially released until January 10, 2012. The wait will be well worth it.

James Luceno's Star Wars books have always been among my favorites, and Darth Plagueis also ranks high on the list. This was a much-anticipated book, and it delivers beautifully. Star Wars fans have thirsted for more information about Darth Plagueis ever since the memorable scene at the Squid Lake performance by the Mon Calamari Ballet in Revenge of the Sith when Palpatine tells Anakin the tale of The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. He succeeds in introducing to Anakin the idea of creating or extending life through manipulation of midi-chlorians.

Now, Mr. Luceno has given us the back-story we wanted. We are introduced to Darth Plagueis' history, and we get to see how he connected with Palpatine and gradually turned him into Darth Sidious. We are also introduced to Darth Maul. The interesting times just never stop. The book has a great deal of technical information about the Sith and about the Force, a huge amount of political intrigue, and some outstanding action scenes. Mr. Luceno does an excellent job of expanding situations that we first saw in the films.

I could go on, but I expect that you get the idea that I like the book. Darth Plagueis should not be missed.