399 reviews for:

Tarkin

James Luceno

3.55 AVERAGE


um it sure is a book about grand moff wilhuff tarkin

Spoilerhe sure does drink animal blood and do shrooms with his uncle in the wilderness


it was ok?? it says it's a book about tarkin and that's sure what it is. i don't know what else to tell you.

it has a lot of homeschool words.

can't believe palpatine's first name was only revealed in this book. what the fuck

Not going to rate this, because it’s not fair for me to rate a book about a character that I hate...

"What transforms a man into a monster, Tarkin?"

"Monster? That's a point of view, is it not?"

I hate to be harsh to a book but I really don't see the point of this story. Yes it's great to see Tarkin again but this didn't add anything to the characterisation that we see in the A New Hope, and there isn't much in terms of character development for Tarkin either, the only significant thing to actually happen is that Tarkin rises higher in the ranks of the Empire. Too many flashbacks and too much exposition too, but thankfully this was a really short book. It was nice to see Vader and the Emperor, the parts when Vader and Tarkin interact were good as they establish the "friendship" they have in the first film but still, it wasn't hugely exciting. The story was also very bland and one-note, it can be summarised as: Tarkin loses his ship, has some flashbacks (too many...), interacts with the Imperial higher-ups then recovers his ship. Nothing felt new in this book which is a shame as the expanded media this far has been excellent for doing new things.
dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Everything about the book is Tarkin, his history and his rise to power and his violence. It's surely a good attempt to flesh out a character, and yet, it requires you to care about a man whose whole life is low-grade evil and military politicking. The book survives on the few glimpses of the rebels and even Vader, who has more depth than the titular character by far.

The biggest problem is that Tarkin doesn't fail. He's always the best at what he does - he never actually has to grow as a person. From his ridiculous and abusive childhood sequences on the plateau to the clone wars/outland military prowess, to his magical discovery of the conspirators, Tarkin never falters, not even in his own mind.

It makes for a drudging read that ultimately leaves me unsatisfied.

so much politics

Hát, hol is kezdjem? Szóval maga a sztori jó. Megtudjuk, hogy Tarkin és Vader hogyan lettek szinte egyenrangú felek, miken mentek keresztül, hogy ez a kölcsönös "tisztelet" felépüljön. Azt is jó látni, hogy egy lázadó sejt végre nem sikeres, hanem elbukik. Ez velejárója a háborúnak, s eddig hiányoltam.

Ami miatt három csillagot kap az az, hogy habár roppant érdekesek voltak a Darth Vader szálak, és sokat megtudtunk arról, hogy Vader is csak egy katona volt, s a sötét oldalra térése után is még sokaáig ugyanazt a természetét mutatta: beszélgetett emberekkel, gépeket szerelt, volt kedvenc űrhajója stb stb. Ez azonban nem Tarkin történetébe tartozik szerintem. Legalábbis ilyen részletességgel nem. Továbbá az sem tetszett, hogy a visszaemlékezések keresztbevágják a sztorit, majdnem mindenhol. Tudom én, hogy ez egy amolyan memoár, és nem is ellenzem a visszaemlékezéseket, de kérem szépen: ne a fél fejezet legyen az :)

Ettől függetlenül jó könyv, mindenképpen ajánlom elolvasásra, habár a Disney éra elejéből való, azért sok érdekes infót meglehet tudni belőle a Halálcsillagról. Az sem mellékes, hogy ezt szerzőn kívüli hibát, hogy itt még nincs annyira kirajzolódva az új kánon, tökéletesen megoldja, ha először a Katalizátort olvassuk el James Luceno-tól. Az ugyanis a Tarkin-nak a "közvetlen" előzménye.