Review: Star Wars: Darksaber (1995)

★★

Kevin J. Anderson has a love-hate relationship with Star Wars fans. Some fans love his work, considering his "Jedi Academy" trilogy to be just as good as Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. While other fans dislike his work, or even hate it, considering him the worst, and someone who "ruined" the franchise. You could argue that have mixed views of his work.

"Darksaber" is the 2/3 novel in the "Callista" trilogy. Preceded by "Children of the Jedi" and followed by "Twilight of the Jedi." The "Jedi Academy" Trilogy's events are the backdrop for the book. The novel revolves around the Hutts' construction of the gigantic superweapon known as the Darksaber, which poses a new threat to the New Republic. The Darksaber's absence of a protective superstructure makes it more susceptible to damage, even if it was designed to mimic the Death Star's laser's destructive force.

The story revolves around multiple storylines, including Han Solo and Chewbacca's quest to foil the Hutts' schemes and Luke Skywalker's teaching of new Jedi recruits. In the meantime, Admiral Daala, who is still a part of the Empire, is gathering strength to try and retaliate against the New Republic. Along with new characters, the book includes well-known ones like Admiral Ackbar and Leia Organa.

I found this book to be pretty messy and sloppy. The story didn't really do much for me. I felt like I could close the book and not wonder what would happen next. That doesn't mean Kevin J. Anderson is a bad writer. His writing style is actually enjoyable. He's great with writing characters, and I did enjoy little character moments, like with Han and Luke, for example. Other than that, the book was pretty much a chore to read. An abridged version would've been more enjoyable. To be more clear, at least focus on one little thing. There was one thing that bothered me. That was Luke and Callista. I didn't like their relationship, I didn't like Luke simping for her (I guess he got that from his father), or their constant page time. I'm sorry, but I just preferred Luke and Mara as a couple more than Luke and Callista.

Despite my criticisms of the novel, in no way do I find this a bad novel, it's just a novel that needed some work with the story and pacing. The novel, which goes by the title Darksaber, would have been better if the entire plot with the Hutts and Darksaber had been deleted. With the empire throughline serving as its book, the entire tale may have been a stand-alone novel.

I wouldn't recommend this novel as a "must-read." I would suggest reading this if you had read of the higher-praised novels. I would recommend picking this up if you are a completionist and a collector, but definitely not a novel you should start reading if you were to get into the Expanded Universe/Legends.