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jaredkwheeler's review against another edition
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #128
Background: The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates was written by [a:Ryder Windham|17735|Ryder Windham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1317014865p2/17735.jpg] and published in July 2010. In addition to his extensive involvement with dozens of Star Wars publications, Windham also wrote the first book in this series, Breakout Squad (my review).
The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates takes place during the Clone Wars, 21-22 years before the Battle of Yavin. It picks up where Breakout Squad left off. The main characters are the squad introduced in the last book: Jedi Apprentice Nuru Kungurama, clone troopers Breaker, Sharp, Knuckles, and Chatterbox, repurposed droid commando Cleaver, and freighter pilot Lalo Gunn. There are also significant appearances by Cad Bane, Count Dooku, and Bossk. Most of the story takes place somewhere in the Chiss Ascendancy and in other parts of the Unknown Regions.
Summary: Fresh from an unexpected victory on Kynachi, the newly formed Breakout Squad has embarked on their next mission, as diplomatic envoys to the Chiss. Unfortunately, the squad never identified the saboteur who caused them so much trouble on Kynachi, and now it seems bad luck continues to interfere with their every move, luck that's just a little too convenient. Can the squad survive long enough to get to the bottom of this mystery?
Review: This book was a giant cut above the first book in the series, though it's not immediately obvious why. It helped a great deal that the characters were established, so we didn't have to hear the inane introductions that made the first book such a slow starter. In addition, Breakout Squad really didn't give those characters anything interesting to do once they'd been introduced. They're on an authoritarian-controlled planet, planning insurrection . . . that's basically the plot of every other Star Wars YA novel, even the ones that aren't set during the Clone Wars. But this book has a lot more going on: the Chiss, pirates, black holes, infinity gates . . . lots of fun stuff.
Of course, the story is still a bit simplistic, and the dialogue is cheesy, and Windham is still getting cute with the Classic Trilogy quotes . . . but he's also beginning to weave together some interesting mysteries that are left unresolved, and that have me at least curious about what is to come. There is a bit of sophistication to this entry that wasn't even hinted at in the last one, which is certainly a step in the right direction.
C
Background: The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates was written by [a:Ryder Windham|17735|Ryder Windham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1317014865p2/17735.jpg] and published in July 2010. In addition to his extensive involvement with dozens of Star Wars publications, Windham also wrote the first book in this series, Breakout Squad (my review).
The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates takes place during the Clone Wars, 21-22 years before the Battle of Yavin. It picks up where Breakout Squad left off. The main characters are the squad introduced in the last book: Jedi Apprentice Nuru Kungurama, clone troopers Breaker, Sharp, Knuckles, and Chatterbox, repurposed droid commando Cleaver, and freighter pilot Lalo Gunn. There are also significant appearances by Cad Bane, Count Dooku, and Bossk. Most of the story takes place somewhere in the Chiss Ascendancy and in other parts of the Unknown Regions.
Summary: Fresh from an unexpected victory on Kynachi, the newly formed Breakout Squad has embarked on their next mission, as diplomatic envoys to the Chiss. Unfortunately, the squad never identified the saboteur who caused them so much trouble on Kynachi, and now it seems bad luck continues to interfere with their every move, luck that's just a little too convenient. Can the squad survive long enough to get to the bottom of this mystery?
Review: This book was a giant cut above the first book in the series, though it's not immediately obvious why. It helped a great deal that the characters were established, so we didn't have to hear the inane introductions that made the first book such a slow starter. In addition, Breakout Squad really didn't give those characters anything interesting to do once they'd been introduced. They're on an authoritarian-controlled planet, planning insurrection . . . that's basically the plot of every other Star Wars YA novel, even the ones that aren't set during the Clone Wars. But this book has a lot more going on: the Chiss, pirates, black holes, infinity gates . . . lots of fun stuff.
Of course, the story is still a bit simplistic, and the dialogue is cheesy, and Windham is still getting cute with the Classic Trilogy quotes . . . but he's also beginning to weave together some interesting mysteries that are left unresolved, and that have me at least curious about what is to come. There is a bit of sophistication to this entry that wasn't even hinted at in the last one, which is certainly a step in the right direction.
C
rachelmcg2004's review against another edition
4.0
I CANNOT BELIEVE that it took me so long to finish this book!!! I LOVED the first book, but when I picked up this book, I have to admit I was bored with the beginning. The plot segways from a dramatic rescue of several clone troopers on Kynachi and the formation of several friendships, however the way this book begins is a bit slow. Smooth sailing until they suddenly encounter a black hole caused by a saboteur who has rigged the ship to exit hyperspace right then and then bam, they are smack-dab in the middle of a fight with pirates!
After the pirates are introduced the story picks up again marvelously and the book is lovely again. One of two reasons I am giving this amazing book less than 5 stars, though, is because of the lack of plot in the beginning.
I do admit though that once Lalo Gunn and Chatterbox became a thing, I shipped them HARD the entire series, and it even inspired me to create a line of fanarts for them (I have since completed one and am excited to begin on more!!!), so I thank you, Ryder Windham, for a great ship in your books. And this brings me to my second reason why this book only got 4 stars: we needed more Lalo and Chatterbox action!! I mean, they are holed away in the cockpit for hours...simply doing repairs? I don't think so...;)
After the pirates are introduced the story picks up again marvelously and the book is lovely again. One of two reasons I am giving this amazing book less than 5 stars, though, is because of the lack of plot in the beginning.
I do admit though that once Lalo Gunn and Chatterbox became a thing, I shipped them HARD the entire series, and it even inspired me to create a line of fanarts for them (I have since completed one and am excited to begin on more!!!), so I thank you, Ryder Windham, for a great ship in your books. And this brings me to my second reason why this book only got 4 stars: we needed more Lalo and Chatterbox action!! I mean, they are holed away in the cockpit for hours...simply doing repairs? I don't think so...;)
hstapp's review against another edition
4.0
This one was a really fun adventure, with a bit of intrigue as well. This one engaged me much more than the first book in the series. I really enjoyed the story, and am interested in Nura's history. Maybe we'll get more of that as we go along. I'm excited to read the next book, but I don't have it yet. But soon, soon I will continue along this story.
oneheart's review against another edition
5.0
This series was recommended by my 9 year old son, so it was always going to get a five star rating. But had I read it without his recommendation I still would have rated a 5.
verkisto's review
3.0
I've decided to review the four books in the Secret Missions series together, since they seem to be more a single story than four individual stories under the same arc. Each book has its own conflict and story, but they seem to be a backfrop for the larger story, which is the conflict between Nuru Kungurama, a Chiss Padawan, and his Master, Ring-Sol Ambrase. There are other characters in the books (four clone troopers, a droid commando, and the captain of a ship), but the central conflict that drives the entire story is that one. And since this is the Clone Wars, of course the events are all orchestrated by Palpatine for his grand scheme.
The stories are decent, in that they move quickly, and the characters are engaging, but this was the first juvenile book that felt like it was written for kids. Despite the complexities of the plot, the story was told simply, with more telling than showing, and an overuse of abverbs. Windham added some humor to the stories, though without making it cringe-worthy, like C-3PO and the droid factory from Attack of the Clones. He also used lines from the original movies, so readers can run their own Easter egg hunts to find them.
The first book, Breakout Squad, sets up the events that separate Nuru and Ring-Sol, while also creating the Breakout Squad itself. The second book, Curse of the Black Hole Pirates, gives us some insight into Nuru's past as the squad goes into unknown space and meets with a Chiss ambassador. Duel at Shattered Rock reveals a Mandalorian assassin on a new mission, and Guardians of the Chiss Key brings the main plot to a close.
When I decided to include the juvenile books into my Star Wars reading project, I decided against adding any adaptation of other works. That eliminated a lot of titles (each movie has a juvenile and an easy-reader adaptation, and there are some books which are adaptations of other books), but now that I'm deep into the Clone Wars, I'm finding that I'm missing out on some details because I haven't watched the show yet. Secret Missions feels incomplete in some ways, and I wonder if it's because Windham is relying on the readers being familiar with the show. The way he wraps up events in the fourth book leaves many questions unanswered, though maybe they're a set up for the show.
So, the books are decent, if a little basic, and they feel like there should be more story once they wrap up. Readers already familiar with The Clone Wars might have more of their questions answered, but other readers should use caution when approaching the series.
The stories are decent, in that they move quickly, and the characters are engaging, but this was the first juvenile book that felt like it was written for kids. Despite the complexities of the plot, the story was told simply, with more telling than showing, and an overuse of abverbs. Windham added some humor to the stories, though without making it cringe-worthy, like C-3PO and the droid factory from Attack of the Clones. He also used lines from the original movies, so readers can run their own Easter egg hunts to find them.
The first book, Breakout Squad, sets up the events that separate Nuru and Ring-Sol, while also creating the Breakout Squad itself. The second book, Curse of the Black Hole Pirates, gives us some insight into Nuru's past as the squad goes into unknown space and meets with a Chiss ambassador. Duel at Shattered Rock reveals a Mandalorian assassin on a new mission, and Guardians of the Chiss Key brings the main plot to a close.
When I decided to include the juvenile books into my Star Wars reading project, I decided against adding any adaptation of other works. That eliminated a lot of titles (each movie has a juvenile and an easy-reader adaptation, and there are some books which are adaptations of other books), but now that I'm deep into the Clone Wars, I'm finding that I'm missing out on some details because I haven't watched the show yet. Secret Missions feels incomplete in some ways, and I wonder if it's because Windham is relying on the readers being familiar with the show. The way he wraps up events in the fourth book leaves many questions unanswered, though maybe they're a set up for the show.
So, the books are decent, if a little basic, and they feel like there should be more story once they wrap up. Readers already familiar with The Clone Wars might have more of their questions answered, but other readers should use caution when approaching the series.
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