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On the one hand, this book is an excellent companion to the prequel trilogy of films and I’m a little sad it’s no longer canon. On the other hand, this novel is so bloated with Extended Universe references that it’s a perfect example of why The Powers That Be decided wiping that particular slate clean was for the best. Still, I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how the Republic was so thoroughly corrupted. Most of that aspect is still canon. Just be prepared for more intergalactic politicking than you can shake a lightsaber at (yay!) as well as scads of scientific and philosophical discussions of midi-chlorians (boo). I would rate it higher, but I kind of hated the ending for reasons I’ll put under a spoiler tag:
Holy bantha poodoo, that climax was a letdown. I get it. I do. There was a lesson to be learned here. Plagueis got complacent. He truly felt the Rule of Two was obsolete and trusted that his apprentice felt the same. He thought he’d achieved immortality through his control over the midi-chlorians and was above such mortal concerns as assassination anyway. He rather thoroughly set himself up for a fall. And I wanted that fall to be spectacular. I imagined all these epic showdowns between Sidious and Plagueis, and what happens instead? Plagueis is defeated because he lets his guard down on the eve of victory and takes A NAP. And then Sidious just breaks his breathing mask with a little Force lightning and basically proceeds to monologue him to death while a vaguely described “force storm” knocks over some furniture. Are you kidding me with this? THIS is what the whole book was building up to? Bah! I’m going to listen to Duel of the Fates on repeat until I feel better.
